St. Benedict Center Reopening

Dear Friends,

“When will you open your doors at St. Benedict Center again?” – “I truly missed this retreat which I have attended annually for many years.” Questions and Comments like these were frequent in your letters and messages during the past weeks. It is nice to sense that you miss coming to this place; and we miss you! Here is the good news: Starting on June 1 we will be open again!

We will go about reopening with caution and great concern for everyone’s health and safety. We ask those who have a health problem or are older to wait for a while yet before coming. The number of the people in the conference rooms will be limited in keeping with the orders of the health department. You will be required to wear a mask when you are indoors and around other people as a sign of respect for your health and the health of others. Six foot social distancing will be observed in conference rooms and throughout the facility. We are continuing and stepping up our disinfection practices. Meals will be served by the kitchen personnel. In the dining area, tables and seating will be in conformity with social distancing and number allowed.

Even after June 1, we will continue to live stream our Masses and some of the Liturgy of the Hours at the priory. Please join us. – Also, please share your prayer intentions with us on our website. We read them and make them our own. – For your inspiration and reflection about the human relationships in your life, I would like to offer you a podcast by Fr. Mauritius Wilde, OSB, in which he speaks about Encountering Foreign Worlds with The Little Prince. Fr Mauritius was the prior at our monastery till 2016. – I am looking forward to seeing you again soon!

Fr. Thomas

Updates from St. Benedict Center

Dear Friends,

“I believe that God can bring forth good out of evil, even out of the greatest evil” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer). The coronavirus crisis is stressful and challenging for most of us professionally, economically, in regard of human relationships… However, we can also find good in this situation. Overall I have more time for prayer and spiritual reading at the moment. We learn how to work with others and to stay in touch with them though Zoom, Skype, and Facebook Messenger. Parents say they are spending more quality time with their children. Watching a live streamed Mass together at home and praying together in the family creates an atmosphere of domestic church that some have not known before.

During the Easter Season, the readings at Mass are frequently taken from the Acts of the Apostles. One illumination of The Saint John’s Bible titled, Life in Community depicts the early Christian church in Jerusalem as described in Acts 4:32-35. On top it shows Christ in the mandorla, the overlap area of two circles, as so often in early Christianity. In him the divine and the human circle overlap and are at one. He, the Risen One is with us consoling us, bestowing His peace upon us and guiding us. In the semicircle around the table we see Mary, the apostles and other folks, including a man in a Middle Eastern tunic and vest to the left and a woman wearing a Guatemalan skirt on the right. All are welcome in his company. There is food and drink on the table. At the center, there is an altar with of bread and wine and also with a book representing Holy Scripture. When we are gathered in his name, Christ can feed us with the Eucharistic gifts, but also with his living word.

Last Friday we received the good news from Governor Ricketts that starting next Monday many of you will be able to go to church again. The requirement of social distancing will continue, however, which will limit the number of people who can be in a particular church space. And not everybody is advised to go to Mass, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions better stay at home. Here at the priory we will continue to life stream our Masses and some of the Liturgy of the Hours. Please join us. On our website, you can share your prayer intentions with us. We read them and make them our own. I wish all of us may experience the presence of the Risen Lord when we are gathered with others in his name, in person or remotely, and that we can, like the early apostles, give witness to the power of the Resurrection, of His new life, within us and among us.

I wish you could be here and see everything in bloom around the lake at St. Benedict Center. We will let you know when we are ready to re-open this facility! I am looking forward to seeing you again soon!

Fr. Thomas

A Spring Prayer from Fr. Thomas

Spring Newsletter

Dear Friends,

I wish all of you a blessed and joyful Easter, in spite of and in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic! Easter Sunday morning was stormy here on the hill. We ignited a fire in the monastery courtyard and from it were able to light a little candle in a lantern with which our prior, Fr. Joel, carried the Easter light inside, to the Easter Candle. There Fr. Adam sang the Lumen Christi three times and we monks lit our own candles from the Easter Candle. The light of Christ dispelled the darkness, also in our hearts.

To me one of the most touching Easter stories is the encounter of Mary Magdalene with Jesus. Magdalene had experienced more strongly than others what St. Paul would later describe: “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus had driven seven demons out of her (Luke 8:2). She had become a completely new person through his word and his company. She and Mary, the mother of Jesus, had been among the few who had remained close to Jesus even during his passion and death. Now, according to the Gospel of John (20:11-18), she is the first to meet the Risen One. At first she does not recognize him in his risen, transformed body. Then he addresses her by name: Mary!

This moment is captured in this illumination of The Saint John’s Bible. We see Jesus from behind, robed in royal purple. His light is reflected on her face. Her hand that reaches out to him has become translucent. Her response, Rabbouni, ‘Teacher,’ is written besides her in its Aramaic form. Fading into the background, we see the three crosses of the crucifixion on the left and the empty tomb with the two angels on the right. Jesus’ words to Mary are written above: “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father.”

I wish all of us may experience during this Easter Season the light, the closeness, the joy and the peace of the Risen Jesus. May we, like Mary Magdalene, the Apostle of the Apostles, become witnesses of the Resurrection and of God’s New Life in us, through who we are and through what we do – even though, as it was with Magdalene, physical touch has to be replaced these days often by different gestures of affection, love and caring for others!

At St. Benedict Center, our work on our new displays continues. In this picture you see how we are putting power and data cables into the floor which will be needed at the interactive globe in the current seating area of the Center’s lobby. There a person will be able to learn about our Missionary Benedictine work of evangelization and service all-over the world.

I am looking forward to seeing you again soon when we can re-open this facility!

Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB

St. Benedict Center Updates

Dear Friends,

St. Benedict Center has been closed now for about two weeks due to COVID-19. We miss you here and also at the monastery where you cannot physically be present with us right now for the celebration of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours. However, there are ways for us to stay connected. Most importantly, we can pray for one another. We monks need your prayer; and we lift you up in prayer to God, all your joys and concerns, all the challenges that you are dealing with at the moment. On our website, you can share your prayer intentions with us. We read them and make them our own. 

We also live stream most of our Masses, Evening Prayer (Vespers) and occasionally other prayer times on Facebook. Mass on Sundays is at 9:00 a.m., on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 11:15 a.m. and on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in conjunction with Vespers. Vespers on Sundays is at 5:00 p.m., on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 6:00 p.m. Here you can find a printable version of the Liturgy of the Hour’s most current prayer time.

Another way of staying connected with us is through praying with the arts:  The art pieces at St. Benedict Center and the monastery invite you to an online tour on our website. Little reflections are given there as well that can guide you in your prayer. Please visit our oblate blog on this topic, too. While you are on the website you can also, if you have not done so yet, check out the new videos on the homepage. 

During times of suffering and uncertainty, it can help to hold something in hand that makes God’s faithful love and protection from the power of evil tangible and palpable for us. On our website we offer the St. Benedict Medal, which is a Sacramental of the Church. The medals are blessed according to the prescribed prayers and ritual. We provide medals as a ministry to promote the devotion to Saint Benedict. All medals are blessed by a Benedictine priest prior to shipping.

I’d like to update you on our display project. We have begun to prepare the space. The photo shows the area in which the seven volumes of The Saint John’s Bible’s Heritage Edition will be on permanent display for prayer and meditation and where one will also be able to learn about copying the bible by hand and illuminating it in the monastic tradition. Along with that, we are preparing new permanent displays on our Benedictine missionary work and on our Benedictine way of life. Installation is slated for June. This is the plan at least. We will keep you posted.

A last point: St. Benedict Center has no income during this time of closure. You can help us with our cash flow either by a donation to the Center or by purchasing a gift certificate for somebody to use at St. Benedict Center and so treating your spouse, parent, relative, friend or co-worker with a retreat or just time for themselves. We can list on the gift certificate whether it is for overnight accommodation(s), meals, and/or attendance at one or more of our sponsored programs. Or we can put a $$ amount on it for the recipient to use.

I am looking forward to seeing you again soon!  

Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB 

Retreat with Father Mauritius Wilde

The Rev. Mauritius Wilde, OSB, Ph.D., will present a retreat titled, Sober and Merciful: Saint Benedict’s Journey of Mindfulness at Saint Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, on March 27 – 29, 2020. [Please note: This retreat has now been rescheduled for January 29-31, 2021!] Saint Benedict suggests a way on which we will be able to let go of our “ego” – at least a little bit – and become open to the fullness of life. What he recommends to the Abbot of the monastery, is helpful for all: Sobriety not only of the stomach, but as a basic attitude of mindfulness. How can we courageously let go of thoughts, desires, and emotions, in order to face our own truth? How can we accept the reality of ourselves and become merciful to others? This retreat is an invitation to discover what God has in store for us every day.

Father Mauritius has been a Benedictine monk of Muensterschwarzach Abbey, Germany, since 1985. He studied Philosophy and Theology, and then earned his Ph.D. at Tuebingen University with a thesis on Meister Eckhart. He worked as teacher and educator at the abbey’s high school and, for eleven years, was the director of the abbey’s publishing house, Vier Tuerme Verlag. For five years he was the prior of Christ the King Priory near Schuyler. Currently he serves as prior at Sant’ Anselmo, the Benedictine study house in Rome, Italy. Fr. Mauritius is the author of several books, including Be Yourself: The Call of a Christian (Paulist), and directs retreats regularly. His blog can be found at wildemonk.net/about-mauritius-wilde. For his reflections on the Holy Rule of St. Benedict, listen to Spirit Catholic Radio or visit DiscerningHearts.com.

The retreat begins on Friday, at 7:30 p.m. and ends on Sunday after Lunch. The program fee is $70; room and board charges are additional.

News Release: Retreat with Father Larry Gillick

The Rev. Larry Gillick, SJ, will present a retreat titled, Listening in the Gardens at Saint Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, on February 27 – March 1, 2020.

During these early days of Lent, we will pray with the three gardens of our Redemptive History. Lent is the time for personal and communal preparation for the renewal of our baptismal ordinations and life orientation. On this Ignatian Silent Retreat, there will be scripture-based conferences with plenty of time for hearing, listening and comforting of spirit. Reverent silence will surround us while we allow God to pray around and within us.

Fr. Larry Gillick, SJ

Jesuit Father Larry Gillick was ordained a priest in 1972. His former assignments include Spiritual Director for the younger Jesuits, Rector of the Jesuit Community at Creighton Prep in Omaha, and Superior of Mulumba House. He currently serves as Director of the Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Creighton University. He is a sought after retreat master around the country and spiritual director of students, faculty, alumni at Creighton University, and people from far and wide.

The retreat begins on Thursday, at 6:00 p.m. and ends on Sunday after Lunch. The program fee is $80; room and board charges are additional.

News Release: Retreat with The Saint John's Bible

Retreat with The Saint John’s Bible

Sower and the Seed, Aidan Hart, Copyright 2002, The Saint John's Bible, Saint John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA.

Brad Neary, M.A. from Seattle, WA, and Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB, will present a retreat titled, Praying with The Saint John’s Bible at Saint Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, on October 19 – 20, 2019. The Saint John’s Bible is the first handwritten, hand illuminated Bible in more than five hundred years, on approximately 1,150 pages and including 160 major illuminations. The Heritage Edition is a limited edition, fine art reproduction of the original and has engaged the world’s finest printing experts and binders to ensure faithful representation of the original manuscript. A copy of it had been donated to St. Benedict Center where it will be on perpetual display starting in 2020. On this weekend, you will get to know The Saint John’s Bible and receive help with practicing lectio divina with the text and visio divina with the stunning and inspiring images.

Brad Neary is the director of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program. He is responsible for collaborating with institutions in the western region of North America who express an interest in acquiring one of the 299 sets of the 7-volume Heritage Edition. Mr. Neary also serves as senior development officer for St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota. He holds a Master’s in Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota and resides in Seattle, WA. Listen to one of his captivating presentations here.

Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB holds a Master’s of Religious Studies from St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO, and serves as administrator of St. Benedict Center.

The retreat begins on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and ends on Sunday after lunch. The program fee is $ 50; room and board are additional. For more information call St. Benedict Center 402-352-8819 or register here.

Fall Newsletter from Fr. Thomas, OSB

Dear Friends,

A French diplomat, who had close contact with Pope John XXIII, was asked what impressed him the most with this pope. His witty and humorous response: “It is his big ears!” Pope John XXIII was a good listener.

Mary and Martha, Donald Jackson, Copyright 2002, The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA

So was Saint Benedict. He begins his Rule with a call to listening. We are meant to hear Christ when he speaks to us. We are meant to listen to him, not only with our physical ears, but with our hearts: “Incline the ear of your heart,” Benedict advises (Prologue 1). According to the Father of Western Monasticism, the voice of the Lord reaches us through Holy Scripture—and through people as well, each of whom could be a messenger of Christ to us. Benedict devotes his long Chapter 53 to hospitality: “All guests who present themselves should be received like Christ, for he himself will say: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’” (Rule 53:1; Matthew 25:35). All guests: Openness to all people is characteristic for Benedictine hospitality, without selection, without social, political or religious prejudices. Benedict does, however, show a special fondness for the poor. “In them more particularly Christ is received” (53:15).

Part of hospitality is inviting the guests to prayer. The guests are taken into the Liturgy of the Hours, which is the center of the monks’ community life. Also, the monks are meant to show the guests every kindness, to make time for them, to sit down with them and to read Holy Scripture with them. This is an encounter at eye level. It is about exchanging experiences, not about instruction; it is about listening and sharing.

The guest is, according to Benedict, a gift of God to the community. He makes this point by having the community, in the presence of the guest, pray the Psalm verse: “God, we have received your mercy in the midst of your temple” (53:14; Psalm 47:10). A contemporary of Benedict, Cassiodorus, writes in an explanation of this verse: “We call Christ, the Lord, ‘mercy;’ in him, God has shown mercy to an orphaned world.” In the guest Christ, the mercy of God, comes and remains in the monastery. – At St. Benedict Center we are grateful to you, our guests; we try to listen to you and to serve you in the spirit of St. Benedict.

Among the upcoming programs I would like to point out to you especially those related to our permanent exhibit of The Saint John’s Bible’s Heritage Edition which will open early next year: the presentation by Tim Ternes from Collegeville, MN, on September 10, and the retreat on Praying with the Saint John’s Bible on October 19 – 20. – I am looking forward to seeing you again soon!

Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB, Administrator

News Release: Marriage Enrichment Retreat at Saint Benedict Center

On September 7 – 8, 2019, Jim and Maureen Otremba will come to St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, and present a retreat for married couples titled, Gifts and Fruits: Cultivating a Spirit-Filled Marriage. Come join these veteran facilitators as they examine the transformation which comes when couples accept and live out the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. Each couple will be empowered with tools and practices that will bless their marriage with new and abundant fruit. Includes talks, personal and couple reflection time, Mass and Reconciliation.

Jim and Maureen Otremba have been married since 1995 and have been part-time stay-at-home parents since 1999. They are the parents of 10 children, 7 in Heaven and three on earth. They are frequent presenters of retreats and workshops for couples, deacons and their wives, and lay ministers around the U.S. Both hold Master’s degrees in Catholic theology and have appeared on EWTN. Maureen is an adjunct instructor in theology at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN. She has held a variety of Catholic ministry positions including working with youth and adults. Jim also holds a Master of Science in Applied Psychology, is finishing his doctorate in psychology, and is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Minnesota. He is the owner of a state licensed mental health clinic in MN. Jim is a regular guest on national Catholic Radio (Relevant Radio). Together they bring their personal and professional teachings to thousands of Catholics each year throughout the U.S. through workshops, Catholic workbooks, and retreats. They created www.catholicfamilyresources.com to empower and equip Catholic families to live out their baptismal calling to holiness.

The retreat runs from Saturday 9:00 a.m. to Sunday after lunch. The program fee is $ 70 per couple. Room and board are additional. Register at www.StBenedictCenter.com or call St. Benedict Center 402-352-8819.

Kathleen Norris to Speak at Saint Benedict Center

On June 28 - 29, 2019, award-winning poet, writer, and best-selling author Kathleen Norriswill come to St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, and speak on the topic of Seeking God Together.On Friday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m. she will give an evening presentation, followed by discussion and sharing.  On Saturday, June 29, she will present from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

“Whether he truly seeks God”—this is the criterion in the Rule of Saint Benedict (58:7) for the novice master in regard of a person who wants to become a monk. Seeking God leads all of us beyond superficiality to what matters. Seeking God is not only an individual pursuit, but must be anchored in one’s local community. This means a constant struggle between freedom and obedience, listening and asserting oneself, possessing and letting go, clinging to stability and embracing change. Kathleen Norris will present stories of her own seeking God, as well as those of monastics, and invite participants to bring their own stories to share. Some reviewers have compared Norris’ portrait of the world of the monastics to the writings of Thomas Merton. Her presentations will be at once intimate and historical, rich in poetry and meditations, brimming with exasperation and reverence, deeply grounded in both nature and spirit, sometimes funny, often provocative and always important.

Norris is the author of The New York Timesbestsellers, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith,Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, The Cloister Walk, Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks and a Writer’s Life, and The Virgin of Bennington.  Shealso has published seven books of poetry.  Norris also appears on the DVD and companion book project titled Embracing a Life of Meaning: Kathleen Norris on Discovering What Matters. Kathleen Norris is a Benedictine Oblate of Assumption Abbey in Richardton, North Dakota. Widowed in 2003, she resides in Hawaii. She travels to the mainland regularly for speaking engagements.    

The program fee is $ 60, for Friday only it is $ 20; for Saturday only it is $ 40. On Saturday, lunch is available at the Center for $ 10.76 (includes tax), if you pay for it BEFORE the program starts.  Guest rooms are available at St. Benedict Center for the night from Friday to Saturday.  Room and board charges will be added to the program fee. Register at www.StBenedictCenter.comor call 402-352-8819.

St. Benedict Center Summer Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Throughout the Easter Season, the Liturgy offers us readings from the Acts of the Apostles. Hearing these I marvel ever anew about how these apostles, without much education and not trained in public speaking, gave their witness to Christ who had suffered the terrible death on the cross but who lives and who is for us the "leader to life" (Act 3:15). That's perhaps the best translation of the Greek archegon tes zoes in the speech that Peter gave in the temple after he had healed the blind beggar in Jesus' name. Dangers and persecution cannot stop the apostles! Their own personal prayer supports them, as well as the prayer of the Christian community.

The starting point of this amazing and wonderful dynamism was the experience of Pentecost when the live-giving force of the Holy Spirit had transformed their hearts. We, too, need the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is not sufficient to pray for it once a year only. We need it daily in order for us to learn how to love as Jesus loved and to keep his commandments and his word as he desires.

Pope Paul VI once asked the question: "What is the greatest need of the Church?" He answered: "The Church's first and greatest need is to live Pentecost. The Spirit is the Church's mystery and life. It is he who animates and sanctifies the Church. The Spirit is her divine breath, the wind in her sails, the inner font of her light and strength. The Holy Spirit is her source of charism and song, her peace and joy. The Church needs her perennial Pentecost. She needs fire in her heart, words on her lips, and prophecy in her outlook. If we really love the Church the main thing we must do is to foster in her a new outpouring of the Divine Spirit."

Our greatest need as a Christian people, especially at this challenging time for our Church, is a continual Pentecost, an interior Pentecost. We need to live Pentecost. The Fire still falls. The Breath of God is still given. The Living Water is still poured out. Come, Spirit of God!

Throughout the year, St. Benedict Center is a good place where we can pray in this sense, like Mary and the disciples in the upper room, for the promised and always surprising gift of the Holy Spirit. Often people tell me that they experienced the presence and the working of the Holy Spirit in one of the many retreats that take place at St. Benedict Center. - I wish you blessed summer months and am looking forward to seeing you again soon!

Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB, Administrator

Kathleen Norris to Speak at Saint Benedict Center

On June 28 - 29, 2019, award-winning poet, writer, and best-selling author Kathleen Norriswill come to St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, and speak on the topic of Seeking God Together. On Friday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m., she will give an evening presentation, followed by discussion and sharing. On Saturday, June 29, she will present from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Genuine spirituality is not an individual pursuit, but must be anchored in one’s local community. This means a constant struggle between freedom and obedience, listening and asserting oneself, possessing and letting go, clinging to stability and embracing change. Spiritual formation is part of life, not only for monastics but for married couples, parents, children, members of faith communities. But formation is difficult, and demands that we be accountable to others. Kathleen Norris believes that one reason many people resist joining groups is that they fear losing their individual freedom. Such freedom is illusory, however, and leaves us susceptible to narcissism and materialism. Norris will be bringing stories of her own formation, as well as those of monastic people, and invite participants to bring their own stories to share. Her presentations will be at once intimate and historical, rich in poetry and meditations, brimming with exasperation and reverence, deeply grounded in both nature and spirit, sometimes funny, often provocative and always important.

Norris is the author of The New York Times bestsellers, The Cloister Walk, Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks and a Writer’s Life, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith and The Virgin of Bennington. She also has published seven books of poetry. Some reviewers have compared her portrait of the world of the monastics in The Cloister Walk to the writings of Thomas Merton. Norris also appears on the DVD and companion book project titled, Embracing a Life of Meaning: Kathleen Norris on Discovering What Matters. Kathleen Norris is a Benedictine Oblate of Assumption Abbey in Richardton, North Dakota. Widowed in 2003, she resides in Hawaii. She travels to the mainland regularly for speaking engagements.

The program fee is $ 60, for Friday only it is $ 20; for Saturday only it is $ 40. Early bird rate for bothFriday and Saturday (register before May 24) is $ 55. On Saturday, lunch is available at the Center for $ 10.76 (includes tax), if you pay for it BEFORE the program starts. Guest rooms are available at St. Benedict Center for the night from Friday to Saturday. Room and board charges will be added to the program fee. Register at www.StBenedictCenter.com or call 402-352-8819.

Saint Benedict Center, Schuyler Retreat with Father Larry Gillick

The Rev. Larry Gillick, SJ, will present a retreat titled, Spiritual Resistance at St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, on June 13 - 16, 2019.  We will be praying with and reflecting upon the various ways we resist Jesus’ relating with us. Two presentations will guide our prayer. These will not be lectures, but guide-helps for those interested in allowing themselves to be met and how being met can be cause for protective and defensive positioning. The Eucharistic liturgy will be celebrated each day and there will be an optional Friday and Saturday evening session for shared reflections and questionings. The basic belief is that God reverences and labors with our human resistances as does a sculptor reverences the resistance of the clay.

Jesuit Father Larry Gillick was ordained a priest in 1972. His former assignments include Spiritual Director for the younger Jesuits, Rector of the Jesuit Community at Creighton Prep in Omaha, and Superior of Mulumba House.  He currently serves as Director of the Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Creighton University.  He is a sought after retreat master around the country and spiritual director of students, faculty, alumni at Creighton University, and people from far and wide.

The retreat begins on Thursday, at 6:00 p.m. and ends on Sunday after Lunch.  The program fee is $ 80; room and board are additional.  For more information call St. Benedict Center 402-352-8819 or visit www.StBenedictCenter.com

News Release: Sister Marie Micheletto to Speak at St. Benedict Center

On April 27 - 28, 2019, Sister Marie Micheletto, RSM, M.A., L.P.C., LMHP, from Omaha, will speak at St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, on the topic of“The Path is Made by Walking…” (Anthony Machado).

For those of us on the Path to “Emmaus” asking “now what, why, how, where?”, the Beatitudes invite us to open our hearts and minds to God-with-us in our daily life, teach us the broader meaning of “Give us this day our daily bread,” and coach us to “Pass it on” in thanksgiving for God’s mercies received. Together we will explore what it means to be “Beatitude People.”

Sr. Marie Micheletto is a Sister of Mercy of the Americas, a psychotherapist and an educational humorist. She is a national and international speaker, as well as facilitator of retreats. For many years, Sr. Micheletto worked as psychotherapist at Archdiocesan Consultation Center, Omaha. She provides individual, marital, and pre-marital counseling and offers seminars on personal and professional growth and development, life cycle transitions, stress management, assertiveness training, wellness, and holistic health and lifestyles. Her work in implementing the "No One Dies Alone" program for Alegent Health is an example of her caring for other people.

The program begins on Saturday, 9:30 a.m. and closes on Sunday after lunch.

Thank you very much for all your help in making this event known!

Sharon Doran to Speak at St. Benedict Center

On April 26 - 27, 2019, Sharon Doran, M.A., M.A.,the teaching director of Seeking Truth Catholic Bible Study,Omaha, will speak at St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, on the topic of Mary, Mother of Divine Mercy.

Jesus is the RISEN face of the Father’s Mercy; Mary was his mother. Looking at the Biblical revelation about Mary, as well as church approved Marian apparitions, you will fall more in love with our Spiritual Mother and be well prepared for Mary’s Month of May!! Mary only wants us to “do whatever Jesus tells us.” Also St. Faustina with her personal revelations about the Divine Mercy of God will be our companion.We will end with the Sacrament of Reconciliation available Saturday at 3:00 PM, the hour of Christ’s Divine Mercy in preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday the following day.

An experienced Bible Study teacher for over a decade, Sharon Doran has a passion for Scripture that will motivate and challenge you to immerse yourself in God's Word and apply His message to your everyday life. She has a Master’s of Arts degree in Education and has taught at both the high school and university levels. She holds a second Master's Degree in Pastoral Theology with an emphasis in Sacred Scripture from the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colorado. She is frequently invited to speak at church events, city-wide venues, regional seminars and conferences. Sharon is married to Dr. Stephen Doran and is the mother of five sons. She has endured several cancer surgeries for more than a decade but the blessing has been a deeper walk with Him and urgency to share the gospel. The Doran family attends St. Margaret Mary's parish. Sharon was invited by the Archdiocese of Omaha's Adult Faith Formation Office to start a new Catholic Bible Study for men and women in the Omaha area.

The program begins on Friday, 7:30 p.m. and closes on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

Thank you very much for all your help in making this event known!

Spring Newsletter from Fr. Thomas

Dear Friends,

The Danish philosopher of religion Søren Kierkegaard wrote, “As my prayer became more and more devout and interior, there was less and less I had to say. Finally I became completely still. I became—this is perhaps an even greater contrast to talking—I became a listener.” 

We can train ourselves in everyday life to take this stance of listening in prayer, for instance, by relating the thoughts and emotions that rise within us in the course of our day to God time and again. The next step is to receive from God, in a stance of openness and listing, what God wants to tell us. – We also need times, on a daily basis, that are completely set aside for God, especially in the morning and in the evening.  During my quiet morning time every day I read a passage from Holy Scripture and ask God to speak to me through it. – It is good to have special places for our personal prayer, a room or a prayer corner in our home, for instance. A regular Holy Hour in church can be an excellent time for becoming still and a listener of God. And sometimes it is really helpful to go on retreat. 

Rabbi Kuk used to tell his disciples, “God is everywhere; and God is the same everywhere.” When work became too much for him though, he withdrew into the desert for prayer. His disciples were astonished about this. One day they asked him, “Rabbi, you said that God is everywhere, and God is the same everywhere. Why do you go to the desert to pray if God is everywhere?” – “You are right,” Rabbi Kuk responded. “God is everywhere; and God is the same everywhere. However, I am not the same everywhere. That’s why I go to the desert to pray.” Rabbi Kuk had experienced that in stillness, in being alone at a place of retreat, he could sense God’s presence in a special way.

St. Benedict Center is such a place of retreat for many. One could call it a rest stop for the soul. Its sacred architecture with its spaciousness, arches and crosses is conducive to this, and so is the religious artwork from around the world. The serene beauty of nature on the grounds with the lake is helpful, and so is the stillness. Even more important is the fact that people pray here, the monks and our many retreatants.

From our monastery I can report that our community has become larger: Our Fr. Adam who had spent some time at our motherhouse in Germany has come home. Br. Remigius from Muensterschwarzach, Germany, is living with us while improving his English language skills for a mission assignment. Fr. Jacques from Togo is spending some time with us as well.

At St. Benedict Center nearly all our guest rooms have queen-size or full-size beds now, which offer greater sleeping comfort to everyone. – Especially worth noting among the upcoming events of our program schedule is the weekend retreat on June 28 – 29 with best-selling author Kathleen Norris from Hawaii titled, Seeking God Together. She will share stories of spiritual formation from her own life and from the monastic tradition. – I am looking forward to seeing you again soon!  

Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB, Administrator

News Release - Reflective Writing Retreat at St. Benedict Center

On March 28 - 31, 2019, well-known writing instructors Mary Kay Shanleyand Diane Douiyssi will come to St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, and present a program titled, Charting Your Soul’s Compass: A Women’s Reflective Writing Retreat. Visualize yourself with other vibrant women, tending their souls, responding to a call to pursue reflective writing as an entrance into the deeper self. Trust yourself, embrace your spirit, experience the treasure of expression waiting to emerge. And if you wish, consider possibilities — essays, poems, stories for you alone, or to share with others. Any option is rich, worthy.Finally, experience the joy of relating to women equally intent on greater discovery, celebration of purpose and direction in their own lives.

Mary Kay Shanley began her career as a newspaper reporter, then moved into freelance writing when her children were small. Her first book, She Taught Me to Eat Artichokes, became abestseller. Nine books followed; she’s currently writing a memoir about adoption. Mary Kay is an instructor with the University of Iowa’s Summer Writing Festival. Her most profound experience has been leading classes inside the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women. She and her husband live in West Des Moines, IA.

Diane Douiyssi is founder and owner of Inner Wisdom Wayfinding where she is a Writing Mentor, certified Martha Beck Life Coach and Creative Business Coach who helps individuals listen to and follow their inner wisdom so they can find their own unique way home in this world. She’s a lifelong writer who, having discovered the richness of reflective writing, uses it daily to access her own inner guidance and suffuse her writing, business and life with spirit. Previously, she worked for 15 years in the corporate world, most recently as Director, Content Marketing in Global Marketing & Communications where she wrote professionally, consulted and led workshops. She’s lived across the globe and is currently settled in the Midwest, close to the earth and peoples that nourish the world.

The program fee is only $90, room and board charges will be added to the program fee. For more information call St. Benedict Center 402-352-8819.

Thank you very much for all your help in making this event known!

Newsletter of Fr. Thomas, Fall 2018

Dear Friends,

In his Rule, St. Benedict reserves an average of three hours per day for lectio divina, the prayed reading of Holy Scripture. In lectio divina, a person reads Holy Scripture less for the sake of information than for the sake of formation. I ask God to speak to me through his word. Then I slowly read the text I have chosen, paying attention to which word, line or phrase speaks to me and resonates within me. When I have found such a word, I pause, repeat this word in my heart, and hear it as spoken to me personally. I ask myself: How does it express the deepest truth of my life? Then I take the word as starting point for my prayer, for my conversation with God. I ask God to fulfill the longing of my heart that this word has awakened. Finally, I rest in God’s presence, similar to the way I sometimes can enjoy being together with a friend with no need for many words.

A modified form of lectio divina is visio divina, prayerfully looking at a piece of art, paying attention to what strikes a chord in me, then entering into prayer with this detail or aspect of the image, and finally just resting in God’s presence. 

The Saint John’s Bible is a wonderful fruit of both lectio divina and visio divina. It is the first handwritten Bible commissioned by a Benedictine monastery in more than five hundred years on approximately 1,150 pages and including one hundred sixty major illuminations. A copy of the large, seven-volume leather bound Heritage Edition, which is a fine art reproduction of the Saint John’s Bible, had been donated to St. Benedict Center! It will be on perpetual display in our lobby later in 2019 as an eminent help for prayer and meditation. We will keep you posted.

From St. Benedict Center I can report that we replaced the twin beds in the single guest rooms of our west wing with full size beds. Particularly for improvements like this, as well as for special projects like the display described above, we are in need of financial assistance from you, our friends. One way of supporting us, besides through cash donations, is through a gift from your IRA account or through donating stock to us. In these ways you can take advantage of tax benefits. For more information, please visit our webpage.

Especially worth noting among our upcoming retreats is the retreat with spiritual author Sr. Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB, on September 28 – 29, titled, Abide: Keeping Vigil with the Word of God, which is about prayer and mindfulness in the midst of daily life. – An exhibition of keyboard instruments will take place at the Center on September 7 – October 14. Pianos and organs from the collection of Steve Misener, Stockholm, SD, will be on display, which either have a connection to a Classical or Romantic Era composer or are from those musical time periods. – I am looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Fr. Thomas Leitner, OSB.
Administrator

News Release: Sr. Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB. to Speak at St. Benedict Center

On September 28 - 29, 2018, well known spiritual author Sister Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB, will come to St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, and speak on the topic of Abide: Keeping Vigil with the Word of God. On Friday, September 28, at 7:30 p.m. she will give an evening presentation, followed by discussion and sharing. On Saturday, September 29, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., she will present a one-day retreat.

Sister Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB.

‘Abide’ is a very rich and sacred word. It is an invitation to dwell in Christ, to be immersed in the Divine, to be absorbed in God. Spend time this weekend searching out ways to restore some of the blessings you’ve missed because of the busyness of your lives. Special emphasis will be given to the practice of living mindfully in the midst of daily life. We will explore the sacredness of both BEING and DOING. Give yourself the gift of sacred space for soul-work, for keeping vigil with the Word of God and with the Hours of the Day.

Sister Macrina is well known for her creative writing and retreat ministry. She has authored eight popular books on prayer and spirituality and is a regular contributor to the Catholic devotional Living Faith, published by Creative Communications for the Parish. Her tri-monthly scripture column titled, Romancing the Word forms the core of her latest book, Abide: Keeping Vigil with the Word of God (Liturgical Press).  She is a member of St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Guest rooms are available at St. Benedict Center for the night from Friday to Saturday.  The program fee is $60, for Friday only $20; for Saturday only it is $40. Early bird rate for bothFriday and Saturday (register before August 24) is $55.  Room and board charges will be added to the program fee. For more information call St. Benedict Center 402-352-8819 or visit here.