| Volume 36, Number 1 |
Richardton, ND 58652
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January 2008
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September
Chronicle |
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| One day in mid-September a big truck pulled up at the powerhouse and unloaded a new machine. It was something we had wanted and needed for a long time, namely, a backup electric generator. Every time we get a power outage, which is not a frequent occurrence here, we fret about a possible disaster. A long outage in an institution like this could mean considerable material damage. For example, the contents of our freezers would be ruined. If it happened in winter, the pipes could freeze and that would mean major damage.
On Friday, September 14, some of the monks attended the open house at Red Trail Energy, the new ethanol plant just east of town. It was a beautiful day, so the crowd was large—so large that some of us had to wait in line for a long time only to find out that we could only get into a tour in a couple of hours. But one monk had better luck. Fr. Valerian drove out from Bismarck after school at the U of Mary, so he only arrived at closing time. Not to worry! An employee gave our man a personal tour, that included the inside of the control unit where the crowds were not taken. As it says in the Good Book, “The last shall be first.”
At the beginning of September, Fr. Warren Heidgen arrived at the Abbey from points south. He is a member of the now-defunct Holy Cross Abbey, Canon City, Colorado. Fr. Warren was once Abbot of Holy Cross, but he has been a parish priest for many years. His latest assignment was at Bailey, CO, southwest of Denver. For a couple of months this summer, Fr. Warren served at the Cathedral of Cheyenne, WY. He will live at Richardton for at least a year, which will serve as his probationary period before official transfer to our community.
On September 25, Fr. Victor had an exciting experience. He was teaching at the University of Mary in Bismarck when a fire broke out. He and five students were trapped in a third-floor classroom in the Science Center. When Victor opened the door, the smoke was so dense that he could not see the other side of the hallway. Eventually, he and the students were rescued from the building by means of a ladder. Miraculously, no one was injured in this fire, but four buildings were evacuated. |
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October Chronicle
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| Since we are renovating some of the east wing, second floor, six monks had to move out of their rooms. For most of them, this took only a few hours. But Bro. Placid is different. He has lived in his room for 26 years, he says, and a feller can accumulate lots of stuff in that time. So his move, which took days and the help of many brethren, was on a completely different scale. When there were gasps of surprise at the size of his old room when it was empty, he decided to put all these ugly rumors to rest by measuring the old room and the new room. To his delight, he found that the new room is a couple of feet deeper. This will enable him to increase his total amount of junk, er, equipment. To each his own.
Our autumn Oblate Weekend took place Oct. 5-7 with 25 or 30 people in attendance. The presenters this fall were Fr. Boniface (lectio divina) and Abbot Brian (doing God’s work). Of course the heavy lifting for such a weekend is done by the Oblate Director, Fr. James. He has to work out all the logistics and also extend personal hospitality as the host of the gathering. Six Oblates made various forms of commitment at Noon Prayer on Sunday, October 7.
Fr. Warren and Fr. Jerry are getting settled in among us this fall, and both of them are finding ways to be active and useful. They have been helping Bro. Louie bring in the last of the garden harvest for the year in the form of potatoes and carrots. The beautiful fall weather has been good for this. Fr. Jerry now has charge of the vacuuming in the monastery, which is more extensive than it sounds. Fr. Warren is working at watering our young trees before the winter drought.
Bro. Aelred now lives in Beach, ND, and works at Home on the Range for young people. Recently, he received a certificate for outstanding work at the Home during his first year of employment. In addition, Aelred teaches CCD to the high school students at St. John the Baptist Parish in Beach. He has been living in a basement apartment, but is now moving above ground level to better digs.
The other day Bro. Pius went over to the Health Center to engage Fr. Robert in a game of checkers. Now Fr. Robert was an old chess player, so he now tends to mix in some chess moves with his checkers maneuvers. When Bro. Pius reminded him of the checkers protocols, Robert said indignantly: “I can’t win with those rules!” |
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November Chronicle
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| Recently our Development Office put out an offer to the people on our mailing list to enroll in Partners in Prayer. Participants will receive periodic printed materials to assist them in their daily devotions. To our amazement, 400 people signed up! That meant that we had to get busy and produce the goods. A call went out for the monks to write short reflections on the Sunday gospels, and about 20 of us took a stab at that. But the main work was done by Brothers Michael and Alban. They designed and produced the attractive material that will soon be mailed out to The Big 400.
Construction began in October on our renovation of the second floor east rooms. This is the famous Bathroom Project, which will convert six bedrooms into four bedrooms with private bath. Once Fr. James stripped the rooms of what needed to be removed, the various crews of carpenters, electricians and plumbers began to make their cameo appearances. Everybody seems to be fascinated by the new faux-onyx sinks, which will give the place an aura of faux-opulence. Best of all, we are in for new carpets, including the removal of the poor old rag in the hallway.
It’s tough to get old, but God seems to favor those who are having senior moments. The other morning, Fr. Francis placed his breakfast tray on edge of the table, with approximately 51% on and 49% off said table. In these matters, everything depends on just how the dishes are distributed on the tray. The other brothers at the table gasped in anticipation of what was about to happen, but good old Bro. Pius gave the tray a little shove and saved the day.
Bro. Michael is teaching Psychology 101 at Dickinson State this semester. His class meets only once a week, for three hours on Tuesday evening. Michael is able to use his preparation for similar classes at the U of Mary for this work, but there is no way to make a long evening class easy. One class a week for three credits may look inviting, but it takes a hearty student to concentrate that long at one sitting. |
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