Dear Friends,
In our monastery courtyard across the street from the retreat center, we have a beautiful garden fountain. It has several tiers: two smaller bowls on top, a mid-size one at the center, a large one and then a basin below. During our recreation time in the evening, when the weather allows it, we monks sit together in the yard, visit and listen to the gentle bubbling of the fountain.
The fountain has a water reservoir and a stem in which the water rises. The water flows into the first bowl and fills it. It overflows and fills the second bowl. The second bowl overflows and fills the third and so on. The Doctor of the Church, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090 – 1153) must have seen such a fountain when he wrote: Those who are wise will see their lives more like a fountain than like a canal. The canal simultaneously pours out what it receives; the fountain, on the other hand, retains the water till it is filled, then discharges the overflow without loss to itself. You, too, must learn to await this fullness before pouring out your gifts. “Do not try to be more generous than God. The fountain imitates the spring. Only when it is saturated with water, it flows to the river and becomes a lake. Do likewise. Start with filling; then pour out” (On the Song of Songs).
This is wonderful advice for our human and spiritual journey. We need times of being re-filled physically, emotionally, and spiritually. A retreat at St. Benedict Center can serve all three purposes. Particularly it can be a time of being replenished with the life-giving water of the Holy Spirit that wells forth in us so that we then can overflow in everyday life with the goodness of God.
Form our monastery I can report that Fr. Anastasius Reiser became the new prior of our monastic community in January. Fr. Anastasius was the abbot of a large Benedictine abbey in Tanzania for eleven years and has now lived with us in Schuyler for a year. Congratulations, Fr. Anastasius, we are happy!
Especially worth noting among the upcoming events of our program schedule is the weekend retreat on June 16 - 17 with best-selling author Kathleen Norris from Hawaii titled, Discovering What Matters: Embracing a Life of Meaning. Through storytelling and poetry, and inspired by the monastic tradition, Kathleen will help us ponder what is truly important to us in our lives. – I am looking forward to seeing you again soon!
Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB, Administrator