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St. Michael Messenger St. Michael Messenger - St. Michael's Abbey

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Autumn 2011<br />

The<br />

<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong> <strong>Messenger</strong><br />

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Ms. 64, fol. 152 (detail)<br />

Dear Friends of <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s <strong>Abbey</strong>,<br />

We opened the Golden Jubilee this past August<br />

at first Vespers of the Assumption, and already<br />

it is well into October as I write this letter. The<br />

time races by, and as we approach Advent, I am<br />

thinking a theme for the rest of this year might<br />

be: Are we good stewards of our time?<br />

A peculiarity of the human experience is that<br />

beginnings and preparations seem so lengthy<br />

and then time seems to speed up. I look back<br />

at my entry and novitiate at <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s in<br />

1973, and those first few years seemed like<br />

they each lasted a long time. A partial - and<br />

inadequate - explanation would be that as we<br />

age, each passing year represents less of the sum<br />

total of years that we have lived. But there is<br />

another facet worth considering: preparations<br />

always take up the longest part of a work of<br />

great scope. When we make a beginning at<br />

a new venture, be it spiritual, intellectual or<br />

physical, the time spent in preparation will<br />

be intensive, and we must pay close attention<br />

to what transpires, so that we lay a good<br />

foundation. Once the process is established<br />

and in motion, we run the risk of becoming<br />

less attentive to what is going on around us and<br />

so losing out on some of the most important<br />

elements of the active process - mastery.<br />

This Jubilee is a time of signal graces, from the<br />

treasury of indulgences our Holy Father has<br />

bestowed on the community, to the daily prayers<br />

in our abbey church and events with you our<br />

dear friends. My prayer is that each one of us will<br />

be aware of God’s daily graces and cooperate with<br />

them, for they will be our peace and sanctification.<br />

God bless you for your generosity and friendship,<br />

Eugene J. Hayes, O.Praem.<br />

Opening the Golden Jubilee<br />

Photo by R. Belcher<br />

s you know, on August 14th, first Vespers of the Assumption of our<br />

Lady, <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s opened its Golden Jubilee year, a celebration<br />

of 50 years in existence. We can consider this Jubilee year under<br />

many aspects, but this meditation will focus on time and our use of it. Since the<br />

first opening of this year of grace - and it is a year of grace, richly endowed by the<br />

Holy Father with indulgences and blessings - over 2 months have passed. What<br />

have we done with those months? Days come and go, flowing into weeks and<br />

months adding to years and decades; we say that we are so very busy, and busy we<br />

are. But a good question to ask is, how well do we use time?<br />

In the recent past, there have been years focusing on the Eucharist, <strong>St</strong>. Paul and the<br />

holy priesthood. All of these occasions of grace are past; have we benefited much<br />

from them? Have we fully appropriated the graces of those times and let them<br />

bear fruit in our lives? Is not in fact our protest of being too busy merely an<br />

illusion, a distraction from the double challenge of facing ourselves and realizing<br />

that now is the acceptable time? (2Cor 6:2)<br />

What we can do that matters most is turn our hearts over to God’s care every day,<br />

and abandon ourselves to Him. Spending time quietly sharing with Him our<br />

heart’s concerns is part of this, as well as quietly listening to what He has to say<br />

to us. Often as not, this will take the form not of locutions or visions, but rather<br />

an interior peace that allows better decisions to be made throughout the day. In<br />

this Jubilee year, there are still a little over eleven months left to give thanks to<br />

God for <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s, the founding priests from Csorna, the community they<br />

fostered and all the blessings flowing from their tenacious perseverance.<br />

So – what will you get out of the year? If you live in the vicinity of the abbey,<br />

could you make a visit to pray at Abbot Parker’s grave at Ascension Cemetery<br />

a few times before the year ends on September 29, 2012? Could you visit the<br />

abbey church and attend Vespers a few times before the year is out? If you live far<br />

away, could you say a rosary for our community? Don’t delay – time’s wasting…


Life at <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s<br />

<strong>Abbey</strong> Life<br />

One of the delights of abbey life is the coming together<br />

of old and young, united in a common purpose of<br />

prayer and conversion. In this aspect, a monastery<br />

resembles nothing so much as a large family, with lots of<br />

members. The elder members are a steadying influence on<br />

the young, and the young keep the older confreres youthful.<br />

This past August, 28th, the feast of our holy father <strong>St</strong>. Augustine,<br />

two young novices, fr. Pio and fr. Clement, pronounced their<br />

first vows during Mass in the abbey church. Other confreres<br />

renewed their temporary vows at first Vespers the previous<br />

day—fr. <strong>St</strong>anislaus, fr. Cyprian, fr. Herman Joseph, fr. Bruno<br />

and fr. Jacob—the same day five new postulants arrived to try<br />

our way of life. The postulants will be vested in the habit and<br />

become novices on Christmas Eve. Thanks be to God, the<br />

abbey continues to grow steadily.<br />

Photo by R. Belcher<br />

Photo by R. Belcher<br />

Photo by R. Belcher<br />

fr. Pio and fr. Clement<br />

Photo by R. Belcher<br />

Left to right: fr. Herman Joseph, fr. Jacob, fr. Bruno, fr. <strong>St</strong>anislaus, fr. Cyprian


The Pioneer Press<br />

News from <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s Preparatory School • www.<strong>St</strong><strong>Michael</strong>sPrep.org<br />

The school year is underway! The student body has an individual personality<br />

which distinguishes it from previous years. This year, there is a greater<br />

appreciation for music and a larger number of students practicing a greater<br />

variety of instruments. This variety runs the gamut from ukuleles and accordions<br />

to clarinets, brass horns, and<br />

percussion. “Music brings out the<br />

beauty and unity in life,” says senior<br />

Georgio Navarini. “My playing the<br />

music makes the experience all the<br />

more spiritual.” In the classroom,<br />

students practice piano while others<br />

harmonize as a barbershop quartet.<br />

Sophomore Moises Gomez, who sings second tenor, explains it thus: “When we sing<br />

barbershop it goes from having four separate voices to one common voice. It’s a wave<br />

which overtakes and elevates you.”<br />

Additionally, our athletes demonstrate amazing grit rallying in the third and fourth<br />

quarters; the football players have closed game scores which had a 20 or 30 point spread at<br />

halftime. Varsity player Marco Saglietto understands the value of this sort of comeback.<br />

“Football is the ultimate team sport. We’re all a ‘family,’ and without my individual<br />

commitment and sacrifice for the team, my ‘family’ suffers.<br />

Therefore, I do all that I can – every time.” In an Orange County<br />

Register article dated September 27, 2011 <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s Prep<br />

was recognized as the best 8-man football team in the county.<br />

Finally, there is a lively sense of tradition. Two of the men on<br />

staff are graduates of the Prep School. Frater Bruno Johnson<br />

is a seminarian and teaches US Government; Isaac De Robles<br />

is an Iron Man competitor and coaches our cross country<br />

team. “I wanted to give back something,” De Robles explains<br />

Nicholas Munsell<br />

“for everything I received while I was a student here.” Two of<br />

the freshmen are the sons of alumni who graduated in the ’80s. One of the freshmen is<br />

Nicholas Munsell. “My Dad said he learned a lot and had a lot of fun. So, I wanted to do<br />

it too. What’s neat is that we both have Fr. Gabriel as our history teacher.”<br />

Even as the years go on, some traditions at <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s seem not to change.


<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s Prep Alumni News<br />

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Peter Berghammer ’77 who<br />

died unexpectedly in mid October. Peter leaves behind his wife and<br />

young daughter.<br />

After a recent visit, Alphonso Pena Mendoza ’95 emailed, “I am really<br />

proud to see how you have improved the <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s experience and<br />

how strong my alma mater is.”<br />

Tom Tuttle ’99 and his wife, Sarah<br />

Tom Tuttle ’99 is married and works for<br />

Veritas Solutions, a company his Dad,<br />

Tom Tuttle, and Tim Bowdish started in<br />

2010. Phil Tuttle also works for them.<br />

Phil and his wife have 3 children.<br />

John Kuhlen ’01 is married and works<br />

in San Jose. John is still in school and<br />

working on a degree in police work.<br />

<strong>St</strong>eve DiLuca ’03 is working in home mortgages for Chase Bank. <strong>St</strong>eve<br />

has a young daughter and lives in the Seattle area.<br />

Robert Gallaher ’03 is married and has 3 children. Robert has a general<br />

contractor license as well as a plumbing license. He works in the building<br />

and maintenance of apartment complexes. The Irvine Company<br />

is one of his clients. Robert has been in business for himself since<br />

December 2010.<br />

Paul Ledbetter ’05 has started giving monthly donations in memory of<br />

the Founding Fathers. In his note he wrote, “Many thanks for the foundation<br />

you gave me. I miss the tranquility of the <strong>Abbey</strong> as compared to the Coast<br />

Guard. May the <strong>Abbey</strong> always be a sanctuary from the world’s turmoil!”<br />

Alan LeMire ’07 recently visited the abbey to attend Holy Hour. Alan is<br />

aiming to work in the film industry.<br />

Paolo Saglietto ’08 attended a recent football game. Among his many<br />

activities, Paolo worked at the recent Emmy Awards.<br />

There is an alumni gathering coming up in December.<br />

Please visit <strong>St</strong><strong>Michael</strong>sPrep.org/alumni for more information.<br />

For more alumni news, go to www.<strong>St</strong><strong>Michael</strong>sPrep.org.<br />

Do you want to stay in touch with teachers and friends from your days on the hilltop? Please send us news about and photos of yourself and your family.<br />

You can do this by sending an email to alumni@<strong>St</strong><strong>Michael</strong>sPrep.org. Be sure to tell us whether you wish to make your contact information available to<br />

others, so we can respect your wishes.<br />

IN MEMORIAM ETHEL WRIGHT<br />

It was with great sadness we learned of the death of Ethel Wright on October 18, 2011. Ethel was<br />

the maternal grandmother of Fr. Patrick Foutts, O.Praem., a member of the abbey, and she was a<br />

great benefactor of our community as well. She was 92 years old. She was married to LeRoy Wright<br />

for 72 years, and they had two daughters, Susan and Janet. She was beloved by people of all ages<br />

because she was friendly, kind and always sought to help those in need. May her soul rest in peace.<br />

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Maxine Louise Ruhl, who died at the age of 73, on October<br />

17, 2011 at her home, surrounded by loved ones.<br />

Maxine was a chef who worked for at the priory of the Norbertine fathers in San Pedro, California<br />

until her retirement in 2006. After retirement, Maxine and her husband Joseph moved to their vacation<br />

home in Cocolalla, Idaho.<br />

May her soul rest in peace.<br />

IN MEMORIAM MAXINE RUHL


<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s <strong>Abbey</strong> Foundation<br />

The Norbertine community sang the Salve Regina beforehand for the guests<br />

Photos by R. Belcher<br />

12th Annual<br />

Vantage Point Gala<br />

A magical evening - Mission San Juan<br />

Capistrano in the saturated colors of<br />

dusk; dear friends coming together to<br />

celebrate <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s 50 years; the<br />

music of Gershwin, Cole Porter and<br />

other greats from the 1930s - the 12th<br />

annual Vantage Point Gala, honoring Dean<br />

and Gerda Koontz will never be forgotten<br />

by anyone who was there.<br />

Sherry Van Meter and Casey Cook worked behind the scenes to bring<br />

together an evening that featured Johnny Crawford and his orchestra,<br />

and the confreres of the abbey were out in force for this special event. The<br />

silent and live auctions brought in funds to help the abbey, school and<br />

foundation, and net proceeds from the evening were well over 300,000<br />

dollars. Donations that came in around the occasion of the gala itself<br />

pushed this amount to over 1,000,000 dollars - making it an evening<br />

that helped our school and community greatly and brought together an<br />

ever-widening circle of friends for an evening full of love and joy.<br />

Gala honorees Dean and Gerda Koontz with Abbot Eugene Hayes<br />

From top left: Abbot Eugene Hayes addresses the audience • Dean and Gerda Koontz speaking after receiving their award • Supervisor Bill Campbell presents Abbot Hayes<br />

with the Resolution from the California Legislature • Bidding at the live auction was spirited • Fr. Charbel with Doug and Barbara <strong>St</strong>ephen and family • Burton Young,<br />

Fr. Justin Ramos, Dale and Ann Rincon


From the Hilltop<br />

News from <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s <strong>Abbey</strong> • www.<strong>St</strong><strong>Michael</strong>s<strong>Abbey</strong>.com<br />

Photos by R. Belcher<br />

Golden Jubilee First Vespers<br />

First Vespers of the Assumption is always a beautiful occasion at <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s - it is the patronal feast of our abbey church - but<br />

this year was something special because it inaugurated the Golden Jubilee. Abbot Eugene presided at the solemn occasion and<br />

gave a homily recognizing our roots and the many reasons for gratitude we have as a community these past 50 years.<br />

Many guests were on hand as well, and after the dismissal and recitation of the Angelus, they joined the abbey community for<br />

a reception in the courtyard. Thanks be to God for all the graces given to our community, and for the many dear friends His<br />

Providence has put in our path.<br />

Fr. Abbot’s homily<br />

Fr. Abbot with Mike Hagan and Jim and Susan Tecca<br />

Fr. Gerlac, the last surviving Hungarian priest<br />

Fr. Gregory with Carrie and Don Nikols


Events<br />

Norbertine Saints<br />

Patron saints are chosen as special protectors or<br />

guardians over areas of life that are important to<br />

us. The saints listed are either Norbertine saints or<br />

patrons of the confreres of <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s.<br />

October 4 <strong>St</strong>. Francis of Assisi<br />

Patron saint of animals, environmentalists, lacemakers<br />

and zoologists<br />

October 6 <strong>St</strong>. Bruno<br />

October 18 <strong>St</strong>. Luke<br />

Patron saint of artists, doctors, sculptors, surgeons and<br />

unmarried men<br />

October 20 Blessed James Kern, O.Praem.<br />

October 20 <strong>St</strong>. Jacob<br />

October 24 <strong>St</strong>. Anthony Claret<br />

Patron saint of Catholic press and weavers<br />

October 26 <strong>St</strong>. Gilbert, O.Praem.<br />

November 1 All Saints’ Day<br />

November 3 <strong>St</strong>. Hubert<br />

Patron saint of forest workers, hunters, mathematicians<br />

and metal workers<br />

November 3 <strong>St</strong>. Martin de Porres<br />

Patron saint of African-Americans, barbers,<br />

hotelkeepers, public health and television<br />

November 10 <strong>St</strong>. Leo the Great<br />

November 11 <strong>St</strong>. Theodore<br />

November 13 <strong>St</strong>. <strong>St</strong>anislaus Kostka<br />

Patron saint of broken bones and last sacraments<br />

November 13 All Saints of the Norbertine Order<br />

November 14 <strong>St</strong>. Siard, O.Praem.<br />

November 23 <strong>St</strong>. Clement I<br />

November 23 Blessed Miguel Pro<br />

November 24 <strong>St</strong>. Andrew Dung-Lac<br />

December 1 <strong>St</strong>. Edmund Campion<br />

December 6 <strong>St</strong>. Nicholas<br />

Patron saint of brides, children, judges, longshoremen<br />

and travelers<br />

December 7 <strong>St</strong>. Ambrose<br />

Patron saint of bee keepers, candle makers,<br />

schoolchildren and students<br />

December 25 Christmas - the Birth of Our Lord<br />

December 26 <strong>St</strong>. <strong>St</strong>ephen<br />

Patron saint of coffin makers; deacons and stone masons<br />

January 7 <strong>St</strong>. Raymond of Penafort<br />

Patron saint of lawyers<br />

January 14 <strong>St</strong>. Godfrey, O.Praem.<br />

Patron saint of benefactors<br />

January 14 <strong>St</strong>. Gerlac<br />

January 20 <strong>St</strong>. Sebastian<br />

Patron saints of athletes<br />

January 25 Conversion of <strong>St</strong>. Paul<br />

Patron saint of public relations personnel<br />

Photo by R. Belcher


<strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong>’s <strong>Abbey</strong> & Preparatory School<br />

<br />

<br />

NONPROFIT<br />

ORGANIZATION<br />

U.S. POSTAGE<br />

PAID<br />

EL TORO, CA<br />

PERMIT NO. 122<br />

MOVING?<br />

Please let us know before you move. Send us both your current<br />

address and the new address. That way we will save postage,<br />

and you will not miss an issue of the <strong>St</strong>. <strong>Michael</strong> <strong>Messenger</strong>.<br />

If you receive duplicates, please send us both mailing addresses,<br />

and tell us which one is correct.<br />

Calendar of Events<br />

October<br />

31 Eve of All Saints’<br />

November<br />

1 All Saints’ Day, 11:00 a.m. Mass<br />

2 All Souls’ Day, 7:00 a.m. Mass, 11:00 a.m. Mass,<br />

7:00 p.m. Mass<br />

5 Prep School Open House, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.<br />

6 Daylight Saving Time Ends<br />

24 Thanksgiving Day, 11:00 a.m. Mass<br />

29 through December 7th - Advent Novena in<br />

preparation for the Feast of the Immaculate<br />

Conception, Each evening at 7:00 p.m.*<br />

December<br />

4 Prep School Open House, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.<br />

8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 11:00 a.m. Mass<br />

11 Advent Lessons & Carols, 7:00 p.m.<br />

24 Christmas Eve<br />

25 Christmas Day, 12:00 a.m. Midnight Mass,<br />

11:00 a.m. Day Mass<br />

31 New Year’s Eve, 11:30 p.m. Solemn Thanksgiving<br />

Benediction (Te Deum)<br />

January<br />

1 Solemnity of Mary, 11:00 a.m. Mass<br />

8 The Epiphany of the Lord, 11:00 a.m. Mass<br />

28 Prep School Entrance Exam, 8:30 – 12:30 p.m.**<br />

*For details on the Advent Novena, visit<br />

<strong>St</strong><strong>Michael</strong>s<strong>Abbey</strong>.com/Novena<br />

**Registration required for Prep School Entrance Exam.<br />

Please contact: admissions@<strong>St</strong><strong>Michael</strong>sPrep.org or call<br />

(949) 858-0222 ext. 237.<br />

Mass is celebrated each day at 7:00 a.m. and on Sundays at 11:00 a.m.<br />

For further information on calendar of Liturgies and events,<br />

please visit www.<strong>St</strong><strong>Michael</strong>s<strong>Abbey</strong>.com<br />

Photo by Jean-Louis Pagès

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