Schuyler, Nebraska, Christmas 2022
Dear Friends,
“The root of joy is gratefulness... It is not joy that makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy.”
These words of Camaldoli Benedictine Brother David Steindl-Rast express a deep truth. "Our eyes are opened to that surprise character of the world around us the moment we wake up from taking things for granted… Surprise is the beginning of gratefulness," he writes. Standing by our lake often helps me to marvel again. St. Ignatius of Loyola considered gratitude to be one of the most important virtues. He said that ingratitude is the root of all sin, because sin is abuse of the gifts God has given us. If we are truly grateful for the gifts, then we will not abuse them. Therefore, I would like to share with you some of God's gifts that I have received during the past year.
Fr. Anselm explains rituals
Thinking of St. Benedict Center fills me with gratitude. It is well occupied again now, almost as it was before Covid. A highlight of our program schedule was a day with Fr. Anselm Grün in June. He gave us guidance and suggestions for good, supporting, religious rituals that we can practice in our everyday lives. – After some personnel changes, we now have a good team of co-workers again. Mark, Patty, and Liz: Your retirement is well-deserved; thank you very much for all the good you have done for us! Linda: May heaven reward you abundantly for your good and faithful service! RIP.
On July 7th we celebrated the Center’s 25th birthday. In a panel discussion, guests shared many wonderful experiences that they had while on retreat. Fr. Prior Joel’s summarizing words in the end were programmatic: “That we accept everyone as Christ is not just a saying on the wall, it is something we live. We let people be who they are; we do not judge. This is what hospitality is and it is absorbed into the culture of monastic life.”
Keynote address by Rev. John Ross
Our permanent and interactive exhibition on The Saint John's Bible continues to give me joy, too. July 17 was also the day of its Grand Opening. As mentioned earlier, The Saint John's Bible is the first handwritten and illuminated Bible in over 500 years, commissioned by a Benedictine monastery: St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, MN. Our Heritage Edition, which we received as a gift from Allen and Vivian Hager, is a fine-art, leather-bound, seven-volume reproduction, whose gold and silver leaf were applied by hand and which in its size and beauty is not inferior to the original. The Rev. Dr. John Ross, Executive Director of The Saint John’s Bible’s Heritage Program, emphasized in his keynote address that we have lost the skill of patient and prayerful reading. The beautiful text of the Bible with its impressive illuminations invites us to do so.
"Gratitude creates a space of peace in the human heart", P. Prior Joel recently said in a sermon. I wish you gratitude for God's gifts during this Christmas Season, in spite of and even in the midst of difficulties and suffering. May this gratitude create a space of peace in you! May God bless your Year 2023 abundantly!
See you again soon!
Fr. Thomas