There was plenty of Lenten suffering in our midst this year, but not of the ecclesiastical variety. Fr. Lawrence found his recovery from hip replacement longer and more painful than he had anticipated. But he proceeded to do his walking exercises in typical steadfast fashion. Several of the monks experienced back problems, so visits to the chiropractor in Dickinson were a regular occurrence. Fr. John came home from Valley City to spend a couple of weeks in the infirmary after a bout of pneumonia. We knew he was sick because he did not work in the carpenter shop on his beloved stick-crosses.

     Plans are moving forward to install bathrooms in four of the rooms on the second floor, east corridor. Of course, private bathrooms are costly, but as the community grows older and less agile, they become less of a luxury and more of a necessity. Furthermore, we will have an increasing number of older priests retiring home to the monastery and their needs have to be taken into consideration. As always, a committee is working on the plans for this project: The Bathroom Committee. In addition, Fr. James and Candidate Rick are remodeling Fr. Robert’s old apartment on the first floor.

This March the community has been studying a paper on celibacy. We meet in small groups every Monday night for discussion of the paper by Raymond Dlugos, a priest-psychiatrist from the famous Southdown Clinic in Toronto. Fr. Dlugos thinks that one of the primary aspects of celibacy is loneliness. Now obviously loneliness is not a condition sought by many people, but Dlugos connects it with the human condition apart from God. So he sees the fruitful practice of celibacy to lie precisely in cultivating a kind of sacred loneliness where one comes closer to God, our ultimate destination.

     The spring open house, which actually took place on the last day of March, was quite a success. Even though we had minor snow storms before and after the event, the day of the sale was decent enough. The main preparation takes the form of heavy baking chores (Easter bread) for Fr. Thomas and Bro. Alban. But the wine cellar and the gift shop also do a good business. As always, Bro. Gregory worked late into the night completing his decoupage projects for the sale just in time.

     Bro. Aelred had the sad duty of burying his father, Joe Reid, during Easter Week. He got back to Maine just a few hours before Joe passed away of cancer, but he had been able to visit with him a few weeks earlier. Joe said that he wanted no funeral, but Aelred assured him that he would have a funeral. Given Aelred’s flair for liturgy and also the fact that Joe was in no position to resist, we can be sure that the funeral was fairly grand.

    This is the time of the year when we have lots of visitors in choir. In the old days, hardly anybody but the monks was permitted to pray the Divine Office, but now that it is in English and fairly simple, we are much more accommodating. Still, every Office involves three books, so we often use special pamphlets when a large group will be present. One of the regular groups these past two years are the Episcopalian clergy and deacons. They study at Sacred Heart Monastery, but many of them start out the weekend with Vespers with the monks.

     May 16 was a truly historic day for the community. On that day the big, old Scotch Pine in the monastery courtyard was cut down. This tree, which was about a century old, was the subject of controversy among the monks for the past few years. There were those who thought the tree should come down since it posed a threat to the priceless stained glass window in the east transept of the Abbey church. In addition, many of the branches were broken off or dried out. Others said that the courtyard without the great pine tree would be like a body without a soul.

     The matter was settled when a man by the name of Robert Underwood called Fr. Abbot and offered to come and cut the tree down for us! He is a professional lumberjack who teaches at the forestry school in Bottineau, ND. So on a bright, warm spring day, Mr. Underwood arrived at noon; he had the tree down by 3 p.m. Of course, he was aided by a crew of monks to pick up the branches and cart them out of the courtyard. It was a marvel to watch this artist take down a giant tree like a surgeon doing a delicate operation. But it was also a very sad day for those of us who loved that old tree.

     A footnote on the tree. Some years ago two experts passing through here identified it as the biggest White Pine in North Dakota. It was 58 feet tall and was listed as such on the official register. But Mr. Underwood informed us that the tree was not a White Pine at all but a Scotch Pine. Whether it was the largest Scotch Pine is now a moot question.

     Over the weekend of May 5-6 the Oblates of Assumption Abbey gathered here for their spring retreat. Oblate Director Fr. James arranged a program that featured talks by Abbot Brian and Barbara Etter, an Oblate from Bend, Oregon. Fr. James also produces a high-quality oblate newsletter every two months. Since many of our oblates live far from the Abbey, the newsletter helps to keep them energized with monastic ideals.