ABBEY BANNER - St. John's Abbey

Art and Artifacts 

Collection, 4 

Elmer Eisenshenk, OSB: 

Water-Witch or Water- 

Finder?, 7 

Environmental 

Sustainability, 10 

Healthy menu for monks 

and others, 13 

Darwin’s Origin of Species: 

Theology or Science?, 15 

Monks in the Kitchen, 17 

Meet the Monks: 

Ninety-year-old 

avid readers, 18 

Update on Phoenix Rising 

fundraiser for Tanzania, 20 

Review: Uncommon 

Gratitude, 21 

The Abbey Chronicle, 22 

Obituaries, 25 

Banner Bits, 28 

Live out loud! 

Alleluia!, 31 

Volume 10 • Issue 1 • Spring 2010 

A B B EY B A N N E R 

Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey 

Alan Reed, OSB (l.) 

and David 

Manahan, OSB 

Co-Curators of 

Art and Artifacts 

Collection

Contents 

Features 

4 The Abbey’s Art and Artifacts 

Collection by Alan Reed, OSB 

7 Fr. Elmer Eisenshenk, OSB: 

Water-Witch or Water-Finder? 

by Daniel Durken, OSB 

Articles 

Editorials 

3 From editor and abbot 

Monks in the Kitchen 

17 Caribbean roots yield fruit 

in Collegeville 

OSB Volunteers 

20 Update on Phoenix Rising 

fundraiser for Tanzania 

Abbey Banner 

Magazine of 

Saint John’s Abbey 

Volume 10, Issue 1 

Spring 2010 

In the cover photo, Alan (l.) is holding 

a “Retablo” of San Martin of Tours by 

the New Mexican artist Charles M. 

Carrillo. 

David is holding an unidentified 

fragment of a very old statue of 

Saint Benedict. 

Pages 4, 5, 6 

Cover Story 

The Abbey’s Art and 

Artifacts Collection 

10 Abbey’s Task Force for 

Environmental Sustainability 

by Isidore Glyer, OSB 

13 Reflections on a healthy menu 

for monks and others 

by Abbot John Klassen, OSB 

Review 

21 Uncommon Gratitude: Alleluia 

for All That Is 

The Abbey Chronicle 

22 Highlights of December, 2009, 

January, February, March, 2010 

Obituaries 

25 Mathias Spier, OSB 

Florian Muggli, OSB 

Paul Marx, OSB 

Editor: Daniel Durken, OSB 

ddurken@csbsju.edu 

Copy Editor and Proofreader: 

Dolores Schuh, CHM 

Designer: Pam Rolfes 

Circulation: Ruth Athmann, Cathy Wieme, 

Tanya Boettcher, Jan Jahnke, Mary Gouge 

Printer: Palmer Printing, Waite Park, 

Minnesota 

15 Darwin’s Origin of Species: 

Theology or Science? 

by Wilfred Theisen, OSB 

Banner Bits 

28 Drawings of Saints Benedict 

and Scholastica 

29 Liturgical Press goes for the gold 

30 Novices explore hermit’s life 

Spiritual Life 

31 Live out loud! Alleluia! 

NOTE: Please send your change of address to: Ruth Athmann at rathmann@csbsju.edu or P.O. Box 7222, 

Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7222 or call 800-635-7303. 

Aelred Senna, OSB 

18 Meet the Monks: The Abbey’s 

Ninety-Year-Old Avid Readers 

by Dolores Schuh, CHM 

Abbey Banner is published three times 

annually (spring, fall, winter) by the 

Benedictine monks of Saint John’s Abbey for 

our relatives, friends and Oblates. 

Abbey Banner is online at 

www.saintjohnsabbey.org/banner/index.html 

Saint John’s Abbey, Box 2015, Collegeville, 

Minnesota 56321-2015

A Triple Treat 


February 14, 2010, was 

a Triple Treat Day: 

1. Valentine’s Day 

2. Chinese New Year 4708 

3. Annual Monks’ Day at Saint 

Benedict’s Monastery to celebrate 

the feast of Saint Scholastica. 

The original visit of our founders is recorded in Pope 

St. Gregory’s Life and Miracles of Saint Benedict. When 

Benedict was unwilling to talk all night with Scholastica 

about the joys of heaven, she prayed earnestly and a rainstorm 

kept her law-abiding brother from returning to his 

monastery—a triumph of love over law. 

Our celebration was highlighted by an inspiring DVD 

honoring the 80th anniversary of the Sisters’ mission to 

China and Taiwan. In 1930 the monastery was asked to 

send teachers to the Catholic University of Peking. Of 

the 992 community members, 109 volunteered. Six were 

chosen. 

Sisters’ letters describe conditions: “There is an abundance 

of wiggly, wooly centipedes along with scorpions, 

fleas and even a bed bug crawling on my scapular. The 

chapel is so cold that we can see our breath. There is little 

relief from homesickness.” 

After two years of language study the Sisters opened 

schools for young women. Their educational efforts were 

disrupted by the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1941), 

World War II and the Communist takeover. From 1941- 

1945 the Sisters were moved to concentration camps where 

they were safe but with very little food. They moved to 

Taiwan in 1948 and established a monastery which now has 

independent status. 

The Haehn Museum of Saint Benedict’s Monastery 

features this extraordinary exhibit: “1930-2010—Mission 

to China and Taiwan” from mid-March to December 23. 

I highly recommend it. I also recommend that when the 

Vatican-sponsored visitation of women’s religious life in 

American reveals the stories of thousands of these valiant 

and determined women, Cardinal Rodé should insist that 

Benedict XVI follow the current “A Year for Priests” with 

“A Year for Women Religious” and canonize hundreds 

of them. + 

Making a 

vision statement 

actionable 


FROM EDITOR AND ABBOT 

In March 2009 the monastic 

community finalized a vision 

statement that takes us to 2015. 

One of the traps in such statements is that they can take on 

a life of their own. “If we edit this one more time, maybe 

we will get it perfect . . . .” The real question is, “Is the 

vision statement actionable?” 

Here are the results of a planning process we did last 

January. Each vision element (in bold) is followed by an 

actionable goal for fiscal year 2011. 

In our monastery we will: 

• strengthen our Catholic, Benedictine identity 

Beginning Ash Wednesday, each confrere commits to 

being present for five liturgies or meals per week above 

and beyond his current typical observance. 

• support our apostolates and vital ministries 

We will develop and solidify the recruitment, staffing, 

formation, placement sites and funding for a Benedictine 

Volunteer Corps for 20-25 SJU graduates for 2011. 

• practice environmental and sustainable stewardship 

We will serve one meat, one starch and two vegetables at 

the evening meal. We also removed desserts from all meals 

except on Sundays and feast days to reduce sugar sources. 

• create stronger working relationships with laity 

During 2010 we will develop an integrated volunteer 

program with a coordinator [or team] to assist in essential 

abbey operations. 

• serve the poor and under-resourced, locally and 

globally 

We will provide educational, cultural and social support 

to minority groups in transition, focusing especially on 

local Hispanics and Somalis. 

I appointed four confreres to coordinate the implementation 

of these five elements and to assure leadership and 

necessary resources in each area. Results will be reported 

at the January 2011 community workshop. It should be an 

exciting year! + 

Abbey Banner Spring 2010 page 3

Abbey Archives 

FEATURE 

The Abbey Art and Artifacts Collection 

by Alan Reed, OSB 

The Abbey Art and Artifacts 

Collection traces its beginning 

to a community museum 

established in 1901 and composed of, 

as an early report put it, “an enviable 

collection of specimens and curios, 

products of years and centuries gone 

by . . . Compared with other wellknown 

and elaborate museums of this 

country, this museum is still quite 

an (sic) humble one. In its own way, 

however, it follows its famous models 

in its well-arranged and well-labeled 

exhibits.” 

page 4 4 Abbey Banner Spring 2010 

“The dignity of the artist is to keep awake the sense of 

wonder in the world.” (G. K. Chesterton) 

Some of the museum’s early 

exhibits include the following: 

• a variety of Native American items 

presented as gifts to the Benedictines 

working on Indian reservations in 

northern Minnesota 

• specimens of the Tlingit Indians 

and Eskimos of Alaska including two 

miniature kayaks, a miniature totem 

pole and basketry presented by a 

friend of the school 

• a set of stud-buttons of President 

John Quincy Adams 

1918 photo of the Abbey Museum 

• a sword of President Theodore 

Roosevelt in the sword and gun 

collection 

• conch shells, sponges, sea fans 

and other coral products from the 

Bahamas where the monks of Saint 

John’s labored for over a century 

• a duho, a carved, wooden ceremonial 

stool used by the pre-Columbian 

tribal chiefs of the Arawak people, 

earliest inhabitants of the Bahamas, 

and discovered in a cave by a Saint 

John’s missionary 

Paul Jasmer, OSB

Penitential hair shirt, pre-1940 

Snuff box with picture 

of Pope Leo XIII 

(pope 1878-1903) 

• a thousand stuffed birds, from the 

eagle and vulture to the extinct 

passenger pigeon 

• three large snake skins, the longest 

measuring 18 feet 

• a mounted buffalo and other 

animals, thanks to the taxidermist 

skill of Norbert Gertken, OSB 

12th century 

Madonna and 

Child, gift 

of Mary and 

James Mabon 

Duho: wooden, carved ceremonial stool 

of pre-Columbian tribal chief of Arawak 

people, earliest inhabitants of 

the Bahamas 

Front view of duho: discovered in Bahamian 

cave by Arnold Mondloch, OSB, missionary 

FEATURE 

• collections of insects as well as 

geological and mineralogical 

specimens 

• coin, medal and stamp collections 

including a large bronze disc bearing 

the date MCCCCXLVI (1446) 

• art dating from the Medieval to 

contemporary by some notable and 

some less-than-notable artists 

Plate of Twin 

Towers of 

Abbey Church 

“Fiddle-back” chasuble, Mass 

vestment of detailed embroidery 

Paperweight, c. 1910 


FEATURE 

As the museum was moved from 

place to place to accommodate other 

facilities, the holdings fell on hard 

times. Many pieces came into disrepair, 

some were misplaced and 

others stolen by souvenir hunters. 

The museum became a kind of 

dumping area for the paraphernalia 

of deceased confreres. 

Beginning in 1979 a serious effort 

was made to recover, restore, and give 

the holdings proper storage on the 

ground floor of the Breuer wing of the 

abbey. A computerized inventory of 

these art pieces and artifacts has been 

created. Brothers Alan Reed, OSB, 

and David Manahan, OSB, the current 

co-curators of the collection, face 

the formidable task of continuing this 

effort to sort the genuine from the 

junk and thereby preserve the really 

valuable items related to the history 

of Saint John’s. + 

Brother Alan Reed, OSB, former art 

curator of the Hill Museum & Manuscript 

Library, is the co-curator of the Abbey Art 

and Artifacts Collection. 

Crucifixion painting of Georges Rouault, 

French artist (1871-1958) 

page 6 Abbey Banner Spring 2010 

Drawing of original log cabin on Mississippi River, 1856 

College football team photo-printed 

stuffed pillow, c. 1915 

St. Florian, patron 

of firefighters, puts out 

a fire in the abbey church. 

Drawing of Saint 

John’s from across 

Lake Sagatagan by 

Julius Locnikar, OSB, 

1892 

Photos of art objects by Alan Reed, OSB


Known and beloved as a Benedictine 

monk, teacher, pastor, 

convent chaplain and builder 

of a large church in Moorhead, plus a 

nursing home and additional school 

facilities in Cold Spring, Minnesota, 

and the one who in 1950 personally 

asked Pope Pius XII to permit school 

children to receive Holy Communion 

on school days without observing the 

Eucharistic fast, Father Elmer (1895- 

1976) has an additional claim to 

humble fame. He was a dowser. 

In the early 1800s geologists were at 

a loss to explain how certain individuals 

were able to locate underground 

water in areas where they themselves 

could not. Rather than study the unexplainable 

abilities of these individuals, 

geologists simply referred to these 

water-finders as “water-witches.” 

Stories of Elmer’s ability to locate 

underground water abound. When a 

small group of Benedictine women 

missionaries of Saint Benedict’s Monastery 

moved from China to Taiwan 

FEATURE 

Fr. Elmer Eisenshenk, OSB: 

Water-Witch or Water-Finder? 


“Many knew Father Elmer for his uncanny performance 

as a dowser, locating underground veins of water.” 

(Obituary) 

in 1948, they invited Elmer to come 

to their foundation to locate water for 

their garden. He asked the Sisters to 

send him a photograph of their garden 

upon which he successfully designated 

a site of underground water. 

Despite his knowing that oil and 

water do not mix, Elmer was asked to 

find oil on the land of an Oklahoma 

friend. Using a state map, he pinpointed 

the place where soon there 

was a gusher of oil. 

“Gone but not forgotten” could 

be Elmer’s epitaph. His work as a 

dowser is kept alive by James and 

Carol Kuebelbeck of St. Joseph, 

Minnesota. They own and operate 

the Underground Water Locating by 

Dowsing business. Their motto is 

“Call Us BEFORE You Drill.” 

James was a youngster when his 

father Max hired a well digger to 

provide more water for his expanding 

dairy herd. The strenuous work 

of hand-digging a well was about to 

begin when Father Elmer drove up. 

He listened to the discussion about 

where the well should be dug, got out 

his dowsing rod (a Y-shaped willow 

branch), and walked in an expanding 

circle around the spot Max had 

marked for digging. At one point the 

end of the dowsing rod dipped toward 

the ground as though attracted by a 

magnet. It was there Elmer told Max 

to dig. 

When Max asked Elmer just how 

deep the crew would have to dig for 

water, Elmer again applied his rod to 

the site and replied, “If you dig 23 feet 

you’ll have all the water you need.” 

Max countered, “All the wells in this 

area are about 50 feet deep,” but he 

reluctantly agreed to start digging. 

Several days later he found a great 

supply of water at exactly 23 feet. 

This experience sparked the curiosity 

of young James and he was determined 

to discredit Father Elmer. But 


FEATURE 

Carol and James Kuebelbeck 

the more he talked with well diggers 

who depended on dowsers plus the 

research he did, the more he was convinced 

that Father Elmer had a Godgiven 

talent that could not be denied 

despite the many scientific studies that 

found no acceptable explanation for 

this phenomenon. 

The earliest known historical records 

of dowsing are 8,000-year-old cave 

drawings in France, Australia and 

Africa. Donald Jackson, illustrator 

of The Saint John’s Bible, includes a 

drawing of an aborigine using a dowsing 

rod in the creation scene of the 

Book of Genesis. 

The Book of Exodus, chapter 17, 

recounts the story of the Israelites’ 

demand of Moses to “Give us water 

to drink.” The Lord directed Moses to 

“Go over there in front of the people, 

holding in your hand the staff with 

which you struck the river. . . Strike 

the rock, and water will flow from it 

for the people to drink.” This Moses 


did—and left us an 

ancient account of 

dowsing. 

Jim Kuebelbeck 

admits, “Never would 

I have guessed that 

my concerted efforts 

to discredit dowsing 

would lead to my 

full-time occupation.” 

During the past thirtyplus 

years, James and 

his wife Carol have 

located over 4,000 

satisfactory well sites. 

James’ filing cabinet is 

bulging with testimonials 

of gratitude from 

satisfied customers. 

The Kuebelbecks used 

to specialize in “last 

resort” cases but now 

they work for anyone 

in need of satisfactory 

groundwater supplies. 

■ A newly married couple decided 

to drill for water before building their 

home. A professional company drilled 

420 feet but found no water. Second 

and third drillings to 400 and 440 feet 

produced no water. The driller then 

suggested hiring the Kuebelbecks. 

Jim and Carol selected a site. The 

drillers found water at 57 feet with 

an output of 15 gallons per minute. 

■ A Foley, Minnesota, customer 

reported that area granite made drilling 

for water difficult and expensive. 

His original well of 450 feet into the 

granite only produced a gallon of 

water an hour. Jim located a likely 

spot and the well driller found water 

at 55 feet, directly over the granite 

and producing 12 gallons per minute. 

James Kuebelbeck and his dowsing rod

■ The builder of a hunting lodge 

in northern Minnesota hired a well 

driller who drilled five unsuccessful 

holes for water. The driller then called 

the Kuebelbecks who located three 

promising sites, one of which became 

a new 120-foot well producing 30 

gallons per minute. 

Saint John’s benefitted from the 

Kuebelbecks who located an abundant 

supply of water in November, 2004, 

near the abbey’s vegetable garden. 

This well and one other source continue 

to supply all the water for the 

Collegeville campus except for lake 

water for lawns. These wells pump 

an average of 238,630 gallons each 

day for a total of 87,100,000 gallons 

yearly. 

In the summer of 2006 Jim and 

Carol helped locate future water supplies 

for the Crazy Horse Memorial, 

the world’s largest mountain carving, 

near Custer, South Dakota. Recently 

they were informed that one of their 

sites has been drilled and the well is 

an artesian flowing at an estimated 

75 gallons per minute. 

The day Father Elmer found water 

for Max Kuebelbeck he took young 

Jim by the arm and said to him, “Hey, 

my boy, you can also do this. You are 

one of us.” As a prophet as well as a 

dowser, Elmer would surely confirm 

this statement of Jim: “I am a professional 

water dowser. It is my belief 

that everyone has been given special 

talents from God and it is our responsibility 

to try and discover these special 

gifts. I believe God gave me my 

special talent to carry out God’s will 

for the good of others so that those 

who see and benefit from my efforts 

will appreciate God even more.” + 

A cave drawing possibly 

showing a dowser with 

his rod appears on the 

second-last panel of this 

detail from Creation by 

Donald Jackson with 

contributions from 

Chris Tomlin, The Saint 

John’s Bible. 

The Lord tells Moses, “Strike the 

rock, and the water will flow from it 

for people to drink” (Exodus 17:6). 

Was Moses a dowser? 

FEATURE 

Google Monica Bokinskie 


FEATURE 


Isidore Glyer, OSB, chair of Task Force for 

Environmental Sustainability 

The Abbey’s Task Force 

for Environmental 

Sustainability 

In his letter of June 6, 2008, Abbot 

John wrote, “As a Christian 

monastic community gifted with 

rich resources in land, lakes and forest, 

we are called to bear witness to 

our students and those who work with 

us, that we receive everything we 

have from the hand of God; that our 

journey on this earth is a short span of 

years and we are gone; that our commitment 

must be to leave our earth in 

such a condition that the next generation 

will be able to flourish. With this 

awareness, I wish to establish a Task 

Force for Environmental Sustainability 

with its focus on life in the 

monastery.” 

by Isidore Glyer, OSB 

“Care for God’s creation is an urgent 

call for the present generation.” 

(Abbot John Klassen, OSB) 

As chair of this Task Force I am 

grateful that the abbot gave us these 

goals: 

• to conduct an environmental audit 

of our monastic life in terms of energy 

used and waste generated that cannot 

be recycled; 

• to focus on the most basic elements 

such as reducing or eliminating 

our use of plastic in such areas as 

garbage bags, plastic water and soda 

bottles on campus and plastic picnic 

tableware; 

• to evaluate our use of cars with a 

view toward recommending changes 

that lessen the environ-impact; 

• to work with the refection committee 

towards the use of locally grown 

food; 

• to propose an education program 

for the monastic community that 

raises our level of awareness of environmental 

issues; 

• to insure that the abbey’s commitment 

to environmental sustainability 

is integrated into the core messages 

for vocations and the larger public; 

• to work with others on campus 

to enhance the overall awareness of 

creating and sustaining the beauty and 

integrity of our lands, forest and lakes; 

• to address sustainability issues in 

our new building construction and 

renovation projects; 

• to have representatives from the 

College of Saint Benedict and Saint 

John’s University engaged in work 

related to the Association for the 

Advancement of Sustainability in 

Higher Education. 

Aelred Senna, OSB

FEATURE 

Live Simply. Be Green. 

Slowly but surely the Task Force 

has been looking at all aspects of 

our community life with a view to 

recapturing Saint Benedict’s spirit 

of moderation, simplicity and the 

elimination of superfluities. Our 

mantra is “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” 

The message on a new abbey cloth 

shopping bag puts it this way: 

“Live Simply. Be Green.” 

An early examination of monastery 

trash revealed that 50% of it could 

be recycled but only 20% was actually 

being recycled. Small baskets for 

recyclable items are now available for 

monks to use in their private room. 

Incandescent light 

bulbs are being replaced 

by energy-saving, longer 

lasting fluorescent twister 

bulbs. The use of community 

cars has been 

reduced by establishing 

a once-a-week shopping 

trip to St. Cloud to buy 

various needed items. 

Paper napkins for meals 

in the monastic refectory 

have been replaced by an 

individual monk’s cloth 

napkin that is laundered 

weekly. Batteries are 

being recycled. 

At recent meetings of the Task 

Force, agendas included the following 

items: 

Household cleaners: Laundry detergents 

were to be phosphate-free as of 

January 1; individual cleaning chemicals 

are being tested to determine 

how effective these “greener” options 

might be. 

Lawns: Can we find organic methods 

to fertilize and treat for weeds? 

Compact fluorescent light bulb. $55.00 is 

saved in energy costs over the average rated 

life (10,000 hours) of this lamp compared to 

a 75-watt incandescent bulb. 


Bee keeping: There is a desire to have 

sufficient bee hives to pollinate the 

apple orchard and garden and increase 

production. Is there a community 

member interested in this project or 

can a local bee-keeper be found who 

would be willing to place some hives 

here? 

Printer paper: The clean side of 

printed pages should be used instead 

of a new sheet. Better use of computer 

or projection generated notices will 

reduce the need to print copies for 

everyone. 

Abbey church lighting: Is it time to 

change the lights in the church so they 

are more energy-efficient? On a practical 

level, what habits in our daily use 

of lighting can we change to decrease 

our electrical use? 

Food: At the conclusion of Abbot 

John’s remarks on a healthy monastic 

diet (see p. 13), he proposed such 

changes as these: 

• At the evening meal only one kind 

of meat (chicken, turkey, pork or beef) 

plus fish and vegetarian; one kind of 

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. 


FEATURE 

carbohydrate such as brown rice, pasta 

or potato; two kinds of vegetables; 

vegetarian and meat-based soup; salad 

table; varieties of fruit; low-fat yogurt; 

• dessert only at mid-day and 

evening meals on Sunday and at the 

evening meal on special feast days; 

otherwise, eliminate desserts from 

lunch and supper in Ordinary Time 

and sweet rolls from breakfast; provide 

a variety of fruits such as apples, 

oranges, bananas and melons; 

• menus to be checked by a 

dietitian for overall balance and total 

caloric intake with regular attention 

to portion awareness. 

The items at the right are part of 

Saint John’s Abbey’s slow but certain 

readjustment to the simplicity of Saint 

Benedict’s vision of monastic life 

and our desire to accept and act on 

Pope Benedict XVI’s theme of World 

Peace Day of January 1, 2010: “If 

you want to cultivate peace, protect 

creation.” Our efforts towards environmental 

sustainability are motivated 

by our dream and our desire “that 

in all things God may be glorified” 

(Rule, chapter 57). + 


Household cleaning 

chemicals are being 

tested to determine 

how effective these 

“greener” options 

might be. 

Blue “We Recycle” baskets are now 

available for monks to use in their 

private rooms to recycle items. 



Brother Isidore Glyer, OSB, is assistant 

guest master and chair of the Task Force 

for Environmental Sustainability.

FEATURE 

Reflections on a healthy menu for monks and others 


Monks at lunch in the monastery refectory 

In a fine book entitled In Defense 

of Food (The Penguin Press), 

Michael Pollan summarizes his 

thinking about nutrition with three 

short phrases: Eat food. Not too much. 

Mostly plants. 

Eat food. A comedian noted that he 

was going along a counter in a supermarket 

and came across a package 

labeled “cheese food.” Anytime we 

have to be reassured that something 

is food, it probably isn’t. 

Not too much. Eating slowly and 

having a good sense of portion control 

is essential to healthy eating. Each 

of us has an individual balance of 

exercise to eating that will keep us at 

a good weight. For me, it is probably 

A synopsis of Abbot John’s remarks to the monastic 

community on January 12, 2010 

25% exercise and 75% eating. 

Snacking in mid-morning and 

mid-afternoon with an apple, orange 

or banana is important to reduce 

overeating at mealtime. 

Mostly plants. Plants provide an 

enormous array of macro and micro 

nutrients. They are available in a 

highly unprocessed form so that most 

nutrients are still there. However, 

vegetables and other plant nutrition 

can be utterly ruined in the preparation, 

both in terms of taste and 

nutrition. Our dining service 

is working hard to 

improve the 

preparation of 

vegetables. 

What strikes me is how distant we 

are from the time of Saint Benedict in 

terms of: 

• how food is produced and 

distributed 

• the technical expertise and 

understanding of a healthy diet 

• the demands of our work as 

pastors, chaplains, educators, 

Simon-Hoa Phan, OSB 


Aelred Senna, OSB Aelred Senna, OSB 

FEATURE 

Fresh fruits and healthy snacks 

Meat and vegetables on the lunch 

buffet line of the monastery refectory 

administrators and multiple other 

things we do 

• the mobility and variety that are 

part of our lives. Only a few of us 

do daily heavy manual labor in 

which we can burn large doses of 

fat in the diet. 

From a nutritionist’s point of view, 

we orient the nutritional agenda for 

the day at breakfast. Nutritional input 

should be biased toward the front end 

of the day rather than with a big 


The salad bar of the refectory 

supper or evening snacking that are 

heavy in the fatty acids that locate 

themselves around our midsection. 

Benedict would say, “Don’t snack; 

you will lose your appetite for the 

main events.” Nutritionists say, “Do 

snack with good stuff because you 

will be less likely to overeat.” 

If a monk of Benedict’s time missed 

the main midday meal (followed by 

a siesta), he was in trouble because 

there was no other place to get food. 

The evening meal was probably the 

light fare of the Mediterranean culture. 

By contrast, we have a tradition 

of fairly substantial meals at midday 

and in the evening. With very few 

monks working side by side anymore, 

we generally see each other only at 

meals and at scheduled prayer times. 

We need to come to a clearer understanding 

of the spiritual, theological 

and social significance of our dining 

together, for we are communitycentered 

cenobites, not self-centered 

sarabaites (see Rule, Chapter 1, “The 

Kinds of Monks”). 

Given Benedict’s admonitions 

regarding the eating of meat, I do not 

know how we came to have such an 

intensely meat-centered diet. It is time 

for us to seriously question our focus 

on meat. For one thing, most meat in 

this country is produced under factory 

farming conditions with containment 

and forced feeding procedures. 

In addition, raising meat is a resource-intensive 

activity in terms of 

fossil fuel and water. For example, it 

takes 16 pounds of grain and soybeans 

to produce one pound of beef, 

6 pounds of grain and soybeans to 

produce one pound of pork, 4 for one 

pound of turkey and 3 for one pound 

of chicken. This is not to mention the 

use of antibiotics, growth hormones 

and other strategies to improve the 

efficiency of converting grain into 

meat on the humble animal body. 

Changing our diet around meat will 

dramatically change the way we are 

plugged into a system that I believe is 

unsustainable. + 

Aelred Senna, OSB

Darwin’s Origin of 

Species: Theology 

or Science? 

by Wilfred Theisen, OSB 

“The antithesis that some assume exists 

between the concept of creation and 

evolution is absurd.” (Pope Benedict XVI) 

Charles Darwin’s Origin of 

Species is the most significant 

scientific work of the past 350 

years. Quite an achievement for a man 

whose father told him, “You care for 

nothing but shooting, dogs and ratcatching 

and you will be a disgrace to 

yourself and all your family.” 

Darwin (1809-1882) was confident 

that natural selection was the chief 

means for explaining the origin of 

species. But biologists of his time 

were convinced that the contemporary 

species of plants and animals were 

directly created by God. Consequently 

the Origin argues that natural selection 

is the only explanation for the 

origin of species, not special creation. 

Darwin had to address a fundamental 

theological concept—God as creator 

of the world. 

Before the religiously conservative 

Darwin could convince others, he had 

to be certain that special creation must 

be rejected as an explanation for the 

existence of species. He was a great 

Charles Darwin 

admirer of the works of William 

Paley, especially his Natural 

Theology. 

Natural theology is the belief 

that one can infer the existence and 

wisdom of God from the order and 

beauty of the world, implying that 

every detail of the physical world was 

carefully designed by God: the hand 

for grasping, the eye for seeing, the 

ear for hearing. The key word here is 

design. When he began his roundthe-world 

voyage on the Beagle, 

Darwin was prepared to find 

evidence confirming this belief. 

Instead, he found many facts that 

seemed to contradict it. When he 

returned from his voyage he wrote a 

note to himself: “Permanence of species 

doubtful.” 

The plan of the Origin is simple. 

Darwin first gives facts that can be 

explained through his theory of descent 

with modification by means of 

natural selection but are incompatible 

with belief in special creation. Then 

he shows that the belief in special 

FEATURE 

creation is incompatible with these 

facts. For example, in chapter 11 he 

deals with the issue of geographical 

distribution of plants and animals 

throughout the world. He was amazed 

to find distinct species of finches and 

mocking birds on the various islands 

of the Galapagos Archipelago, even 

though these islands are proximate. 

In chapter 13 Darwin points out the 

similarity in basic structure between 

“the hand of a man, the leg of the 

horse, the paddle of the porpoise and 

the wing of a bat. Why should they all 

be constructed on the same pattern? 

Nothing can be more hopeless than to 

attempt to explain this similarity of 

pattern. . . On the ordinary view of the 

independent creation of each being, 

we can only say so it is, that it has so 

pleased the Creator to construct each 

animal and plant. On the theory of 

natural selection, we can satisfactorily 

answer this question. The old argument 

of design in nature, as given by 

Paley, which formerly seemed to me 

so conclusive, fails, now that natural 

selection has been discovered.” 

Google 


Google 

FEATURE 

Darwin’s The Origin of Species 

But Darwin could not completely 

suppress Paley’s ideas of design, defining 

natural selection as the “preservation 

of favorable variations and the 

rejection of injurious variations.” This 

definition implies that natural selection 

is an “active agent that preserves 

and rejects, always ready to act, daily 

and hourly scrutinizing, throughout 

the world, every variation, even the 

slightest; rejecting that which is bad, 

preserving that which is good, . . . 

working at the improvement of each 

organic being.” 

Yet natural selection 

is not the cause of 

the preservation of 

favorable variations 

and the rejection of 

injurious ones, but the 

consequence. Darwin 

really means that 

natural selection is the 

result of “the survival 

of favorable and the 

disappearance of unfavorable 

variations.” 


Darwin’s critics lampoon him. 

There was a strong religious reaction 

to the Origin. Atheistic societies 

rejoiced, claiming that the Origin 

had done away with the need of a 

creator. Religious leaders saw it as 

a direct attack on the veracity of the 

biblical account of creation. Cardinal 

Henry Manning called Origin “a 

brutal philosophy, to wit, there is no 

God and the ape is our Adam.” His 

sentiments were shared by Cardinal 

Nicholas Wiseman. However, Cardinal 

John Henry Newman did not find 

it difficult to believe that humans had 

non-human ancestors. 

On the whole, the official reaction 

of the Roman Catholic Church has 

been quite restrained and careful to 

defend its belief in the inerrancy of 

the bible, the dogma of original sin 

and the uniqueness of humans. As 

late as 1941 Pope Pius XII insisted 

that Catholics must hold that Eve was 

physically taken from Adam’s body. 

But in his 1951 encyclical On the Human 

Race, the pope allows Catholics 

to accept the theory of evolution. 

More recently Pope John Paul II 

praised the work of scientists that 

supported evolution but restated that 

the soul is directly created by God. 

Benedict XVI 

stated, “The 

belief in the 

Creator does 

not exclude 

accepting 

the theory of 

evolution . . . 

and the antithesis 

that some 

assume exists 

between the 

concept of 

creation and 

evolution is 

absurd.” 

Google 

The handwritten title page of Darwin’s 

manuscript of Origin of Species 

Cardinal Walter Kasper in an 

address at Saint John’s last year was 

very positive: “Darwin is not a new 

doctor in the church or evolution a 

new dogma. Evolution is and remains 

a scientific theory . . . and not a matter 

of faith. So those who believe they 

have the evidence can deny evolution, 

but they cannot do it in the name of 

Christian faith.” 

The official Catechism of the 

Catholic Church is very positive: 

“The question about the origins of the 

world and of man has been the object 

of many scientific studies which have 

splendidly enriched our knowledge of 

the age and dimensions of the cosmos, 

the development of life forms and the 

appearance of man.” It is therefore 

clear that these are scientific issues, 

not biblical ones. + 

Wilfred Theisen, OSB, is professor 

emeritus of physics at Saint John’s 

University. This article is a condensed 

version of his “Sunday at the Abbey” 

lecture on January 17, 2010. 

Google


Brother Neal prepares rolls of fresh bread 

for the monastic community. 

Born and reared in San Fernando, 

Trinidad, Neal Laloo, 

OSB, learned to cook from 

his mother. She made sure that her 

two daughters and five sons learned 

to cook, clean and do laundry, teaching 

them that there is no such thing as 

men’s work and women’s work. 

From an early age, Brother 

Neal learned by trial and 

error to marinate and cook 

meat, gather herbs for 

seasoning and bake bread 

and cakes. There were no 

Caribbean roots yield 

fruit in Collegeville 

by Aelred Senna, OSB 

cookbooks, just recipes that his 

mother passed along with loving 

care to her children. 

Food preparation methods in 

Trinidad are somewhat unconventional 

and used to prepare 

“poor man’s dishes.” Methods 

of outdoor cooking are popular 

such as placing planks of green 

wood that imparts a smoky flavor 

over a charcoal fire so that meats 

are cooked directly on the wood 

rather than on a grate. Fish are 

placed within a large piece of foldedover 

chicken wire that is turned over 

to grill both sides. 

In 1984 Neal went to Kingston, 

Jamaica, and worked for five years 

Jerk Chicken (serves 4-6) 

1 onion, coarsely chopped 4 oz. grated fresh ginger 

6 cloves garlic Zest and juice of 1 orange 

1 T. fresh thyme leaves or salt/pepper to taste 

1½ t. dried thyme ½ c. olive oil 

¾ c. white vinegar 4-6 boneless skinless 

8 whole cloves chicken breasts 

MONKS IN THE KITCHEN 

with the Missionary Brothers of the 

Poor. He helped run a soup kitchen 

by collecting donations of soup from 

local hotels. He befriended the chef 

at the Four Seasons who inspired him 

with her knowledge of foods and her 

easy way of bringing out the best in 

those who worked with her. 

Coming to Collegeville in 1990 via 

St. Augustine’s Monastery in Nassau, 

Bahamas, Neal now serves as the 

abbey’s refectorian, sharing his 

culinary skills with the monks and 

students of Saint John’s. + 

Aelred Senna, OSB, is the administrative 

assistant to the abbot and prior 

and assistant monastery 

refectorian. 

• Place all ingredients except chicken in blender and process to a puree. 

• Pierce chicken pieces all in several places with fork and place in zip lock bag or 

baking dish. Pour marinade over chicken and coat well. Marinate overnight. 

• Heat grill to 350˚F. Place disposable aluminum pan on grill to preheat for several 

minutes; begin cooking chicken on pan, keeping oily marinade from causing 

flare ups. 

• After a few minute, chicken can be removed directly to grill grate and basted 

with drippings from pan. 

• Marinade can be made ahead and stored in tightly closed jar in refrigerator. 


Daniel Durken, OSB 

MEET THE MONKS 

The Abbey’s Ninety-Year-Old Avid Readers 

by Dolores Schuh, CHM 

When I lived on the Saint 

John’s Abbey/University 

campus from 1974-2004, 

I occasionally visited the retired 

monks in Saint Raphael Hall. I retired 

in Iowa but when I get to Saint John’s 

twice each year I spend at least a 

few minutes with the monks in 

Saint Raphael’s. 

Edwin Stueber, OSB 

Edwin Stueber . . . 

On one recent visit I learned that 

Father Edwin, an avid reader, could 

read several languages. This intrigued 

me so I decided to visit Edwin. What 

a delightful experience! 

When I entered Edwin’s room I 

immediately recognized the mellow 

voice of Dean Martin singing “That’s 

Amore.” To my amazement, on a 

small table right inside the door was 

an old phonograph spinning a twelve- 


inch vinyl record (remember those?). 

Edwin enjoys good music. 

This gentle monk was raised by an 

aunt and uncle in New Ulm, Minnesota, 

when his mother died at age 39. 

His father suffered from chronic ill 

health most of his life but ironically 

lived to the ripe old age of 109. 

Edwin attended 

Catholic schools 

in New Ulm and 

followed his older 

brother Everardo to 

Saint John’s to study 

for the priesthood. 

His first pastoral assignment 

was Saint 

Bernard’s parish in 

Saint Paul. It was 

here he developed an 

interest in languages. 

In the early 1960s 

a Learn-A-Language 

record service in 

Saint Paul fascinated 

Edwin. He said it 

was a cheap way of 

getting an education as each course 

consisted of four long-playing records 

and each record cost only $1.10! 

Over the next fifty years Edwin 

learned to read Arabic (most difficult), 

Dutch, German, Greek, French, 

Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Norwegian, 

Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, 

Swahili, and Swedish. There are 

bibles and other spiritual books in 

various languages on his bookshelves. 

He has read Leo Tolstoy’s War and 

Peace in English and in Russian! 

Remember the size of that volume? 

Although his eyesight is remarkably 

good at age 93, Edwin doesn’t read 

much anymore. He is not familiar 

with John Grisham, Steven King or 

Nicholas Sparks. He loves to listen to 

music. Well organized is his sizeable 

collection of records, cassettes, and 

CDs by artists such as Johnny Cash, 

Luciano Pavoratti, Nat King Cole, 

Patsy Cline, and Floyd Kramer. He 

can fill almost anyone’s request for a 

classical hit song (not rock n’ roll) or 

a symphony. 

I left Edwin’s room feeling inspired, 

entertained and informed. 

Fintan Bromenshenkel, OSB 

Fintan Bromenshenkel . . . 

Another avid reader is 91-year old 

Father Fintan. This soft-spoken monk 

grew up in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, 

with his parents and eight siblings. 

He graduated from Saint John’s Preparatory 

School and University, made 

monastic profession in 1940 and was 

ordained in 1945. 

Daniel Durken, OSB

In 1961 Fintan started work on the 

brand new main computer frame and 

was involved with the development of 

computer services at Saint John’s for 

the next thirty years. 

Fintan was assigned to Saint Augustine’s 

Monastery in Nassau, Bahamas, 

in 1990. He worked in the business 

office of the school (grades 9-12), and 

also spent many hours each week pulling 

weeds on the campus. 

Fintan developed a love of reading 

in grade school. Spiritual books, novels, 

biographies, histories are all now 

on Fintan’s reading list. He likes thick 

books with lots of pages so he doesn’t 

have to go to the library so often! He 

is reading the bible in English and 

Spanish and enjoys works by Thomas 

Merton, Flannery O’Connor, Helen 

Prejean, and Walker Percy. One of 

his favorites is The Long Walk: The 

True Story of a Trek to Freedom by 

Slavomir Rawicz. 

Still an outdoor lover, Fintan can 

often be found pulling weeds in the 

monastery garden in the summertime 

and splitting logs for the fireplaces on 

campus in the fall and winter months. 

It can be said that he doesn’t let the 

weeds grow under his feet. 

George Wolf. . . 

George Wolf, OSB (l.) and Don LeMay, OSB 

The oldest member of Saint John’s 

Abbey is also an avid reader. Father 

George, 94 years young, spends most 

of every day reading; that is, when 

he isn’t out for his mile or more daily 

walk! 

George does spiritual reading each 

morning and prefers the works of 

Columba Marmion, a Belgian Benedictine 

abbot who did extensive 

writing on the Holy Spirit. 

Along with spiritual books, 

George finds good biographies 

and nonfiction works 

in the abbey library. The 

story of Our Lady of Fatima 

is one of his favorites and 

he prefers a mix of light and 

heavy reading but doesn’t 

like comedies. 

Don LeMay . . . 

MEET THE MONKS 


Not eligible for the nonagenarian 

club for a couple years, Father Don, 

too, enjoys reading and has several 

books going at one time. Recently 

he enjoyed The Horse Whisperer 

by Nicholas Evans; Fifteen Days of 

Prayer with Alphonsus Ligouri by 

Jean-Marie Segalen et al; The Code of 

the Wooster by P.G. Wodehouse; The 

Good War: An Oral History of World 

War II by Studs Terkel. 

With the computer and the Kindle 

rapidly becoming America’s methods 

of reading the works of both old and 

new authors, it is refreshing to know 

there are still readers who enjoy turning 

the pages of a good book. More 

power to these avid readers in the 

monastery. + 

Sister Dolores, CHM, was the executive 

associate of the Collegeville Institute 

for Ecumenical and Cultural Research 

at Saint John’s for thirty years. She now 

lives with the Sisters of the Humility of 

Mary in Davenport, Iowa, and serves 

as copy editor and proofreader for 

Abbey Banner and a proofreader for 

Liturgical Press. 


BENEDICTINE VOLUNTEERS 

Over two years have passed 

since Lew Grobe and I 

hatched the idea of Phoenix 

Rising, a 900-mile bicycle safarifundraiser 

through Tanzania, East 

Africa. I initially wrote off the idea as 

ludicrous. Did we really need to go 

to such extremes to raise educational 

funds for poor Tanzanian youth? 

Why not? So we took off on what was 

an unforgettable two weeks. We never 

imagined that our efforts would result 

in 23 Tanzanian students now being 

well on their way to graduating. 

Gloria Sanga, student of St. 

Laurent’s Primary School, happily 

holds her scholarship certificate. 

This past summer I returned to 

Tanzania as the leader of a service/ 

immersion trip for university students. 

Revisiting the village of Hanga where 

I spent three years with the Benedictine 

Volunteer Corps, I checked 

in with the recipients of the Phoenix 

Rising Scholarships. I am thrilled to 


Update on the 

Phoenix Rising bicycle 

safari-fundraiser for Tanzania 

by Paul Conroy 

report that seven of the original 23 

have graduated and all the others are 

diligently continuing their studies. 

One recipient is 19-year-old Neema 

Msanga who spent three years working 

as a maid for a relative who had 

lured her away from home with the 

false promise of sending her to school. 

Neema was able to reconnect with 

her sister who approached me to help 

Neema fulfill her dream of going to 

school. Each student’s story is equally 

moving and their lives have truly been 

forever changed. 

Our original expectations for Phoenix 

Rising have been greatly surpassed 

by the $23,000 raised to date. These 

funds are sufficient to support all 

currently studying scholars for their 

remaining years of secondary school, 

and for this we thank our generous 

donors. 

Stephen Komba, student of the Hanga 

Vocational Training School, displays his 

scholarship certificate. 

Paul Conroy with St. Benedict’s Secondary 

School scholars 

Charlie McCarron awards Shaibu Nyoni 

at St. Benedict’s Secondary School his 

scholarship certificate. 

We invite Abbey Banner readers to 

join us in our ongoing safari of giving 

the gift of education through the Phoenix 

Rising Scholarship. Please use the 

attached remittance envelope to send 

your tax deductible donation. + 

Paul Conroy is a supervisor in a student 

residence of Saint John’s University.

Monica Bokinskie 

Sometimes a book is the end 

point of an author’s early planning 

and long labor. But sometimes 

a book explodes in a moment 

of unexpected insight, of surprise. 

Uncommon Gratitude is of this second 

sort. 

Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, 

recounts that moment when she and 

Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams 

of Canterbury were talking about the 

spiritual life as they know it—and are 

always learning it. 

“Finally I asked him directly, ‘What 

really interests you most about the 

spiritual life?’ He said, ‘I find myself 

coming back again and again to the 

meaning of alleluia.’ And then we 

were off.” 

These two soon realized that God 

is calling them not to the easy task of 

praise for all things wonderful, but to 

a much tougher assignment: how to 

find the meaning of alleluia in “moments 

that do not feel like alleluia 

moments at all.” 

The wide range of topics is daunting: 

faith, doubt, differences, conflict, 

sinners, saints, life, crises, death, 

future, to name a few. Most chapters 

are written by Chittister. There is no 

attempt to blend the styles of the two 

A Review — 

Uncommon Gratitude: 

Alleluia for All That Is 

by Patrick Henry 

How to find the meaning of alleluia. 

authors, but there is deep resonance 

between their understandings of how, 

as John Lennon put it, “Life is what 

happens to you while you’re busy 

making other plans.” Or, as Joan’s 

very wise mother used to tell her, “Of 

two possibilities, choose always the 

third.” 

I can best explain why I recommend 

the book by pointing to two of the 

chapters in which I found the authors’ 

message especially intense. 

Rowan Williams’ riff on “Friday” 

is one of the freshest things I’ve read 

on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. 


Chittister is an 

international 

lecturer and 

author of some 

40 books. 

Williams is an international 

theological 

writer, scholar 

and teacher. 


REVIEW 

He begins with Friday as in “Thank 

God it’s,” harks back to creation when 

God rested on Saturday, marvels at 

the wisdom of the Jewish reverence 

for the Sabbath, and takes us deep 

into the experience of Christ and his 

disciples in those culminating hours 

of Holy Week. Williams helps me see 

what it means that one fully human 

and fully divine was on the cross. 

Throughout the book Chittister 

makes skillful use of her own story, 

most poignantly in “Darkness.” Her 

mother was afflicted with Alzheimer’s 

for many years, an excruciating 

estrangement from one to whom Joan 

was so close. Only toward the end 

did Joan come to “understand that 

God is at work in our lives even when 

we believe that nothing whatsoever 

is going on.” 

A friend has paraphrased an observation 

of novelist Gail Godwin: our 

lives can keep on making more of us. 

Uncommon Gratitude is a guidebook 

for that journey. 

Order this 136-page, hardcover 

book from Liturgical Press, Box 

7500, Collegeville, MN 56321- 

7500; email: sales@litpress.org; 

phone:1-800-858-5450. $16.95 plus 

postage/handling. + 

Patrick Henry is the former director of 

the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical 

and Cultural Research. 




THE ABBEY CHRONICLE 

Minnesota and Collegeville 

lost their winter bragging 

rights to places like Boston, 

New York City, Atlanta, and Waco, 

Texas, that made our snow total of 22 

inches look wimpy compared to their 

accumulations of 40 to 50 + inches. 

During January we had 15 days of 

below-zero temperatures with -24 on 

the 3rd the lowest. March leaped in 

like a lamb and stayed long enough for 

us to revel in a welcome early spring 

of above-freezing temperatures and 

plentiful sunshine. 

The Wimmer family and relatives of 

Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, OSB 


Early spring arrivals 

What’s Up? 

The Abbey Chronicle 


December 2009 

“The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an 

example of the external seductiveness of life.” 

■ Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, 

Pennsylvania, has the most boasting 

rights to Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, 

founder of Benedictine life in 

the United States and first abbot of 

the Latrobe community. However, the 

great-great-great grandnephews of 

Boniface settled in our area and operate 

Wimmer Opticians in St. Cloud. 

They were invited to celebrate the 

200th anniversary of their great-greatgreat 

granduncle’s birthday (January 

14, 1809) at 

Saint John’s. 

Jeff and Deb 

Wimmer and 

Joel and Annette 

Wimmer 

with son Ryan, 

a SJU senior 

and All-American 

middle line 

backer on the 

2009 football 

team, and daughter Lindsay, a CSB 

junior, joined the monastic community 

for dinner on December 7. 

(Jean Giraudoux) 

■ How do you get a 27-foot tall, 20foot 

wide white spruce tree through the 

8 x 8-foot entrance to the Great Hall 

to set up Saint John’s Christmas Tree? 

With a lot of pulling by a team of volunteers. 

These photos are from a video 

by Ben DeMarais, former Benedictine 

Volunteer to Tanzania and current SJU 

supervisor in student housing. See the 

whole show at: http://www.youtube. 

com/watch?v=Rd-XigVFVTY. 

1-2-3 PULL! 

Ben DeMarais



■ Directed by Michael Bik, OSB, 

chaplain for retired and ill confreres, a 

“Secret Santa” program began in Advent. 

Monks randomly picked names 

of St. Raphael Hall residents and 

secretly gave them small, inexpensive 

gifts during pre-Christmas weeks. Just 

before Christmas the “Secret Santas” 

gave their final gift and revealed their 

identity. Presents included a 2010 

calendar with pictures of Saint Augustine’s 

Monastery in Nassau, Bahamas 

for George Wolf, OSB, who worked 

there for over 60 years; a “memory 

jar” full of notes that confreres had 

written of their memories of the recipient; 

several murder mysteries and a 

CD of favorite music. 

St. Raphael Hall residents meet their 

“Secret Santas.” 

■ Your roving editor walked through 

the monastery and counted 65 poinsettia 

plants that brightened the church 

and cloister with their brilliant red. 

Italians call this colorful plant stella di 

Natale, “star of Christmas.” 

A shelf of poinsettias in the monastic 

refectory 

■ Almost 15 inches of snow fell 

before, during and after Christmas Day 

to force the cancellation of the Saint 

John’s Boys’ Choir’s appearance at 

Midnight Mass. Enough intrepid 

travelers 

plowed over 

snow-covered 

roads to 

nearly fill the 

main floor 

of the abbey 

church. 

In his Christmas homily, 

Abbot John considered the 

mystery of the incarnation: “When I 

reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ, I 

can’t help but begin with the God who 

is not contained in this vast universe 

of 100 billion galaxies. When God first 

thought of the incarnation, God must 

have burst out laughing. It is so exactly 

what we would NOT have done 

as human beings if it had been 

up to us. We tend to go toward 

muscle, control, perfection. God 

goes toward frailty, weakness, 

vulnerability and the messiness of 

human decisions. And so a child 

is born, a Son is given to us. . .” 

■ The 2009 Christmas Midnight 

Mass from Saint John’s Abbey is 

archived and available by following 

this link: http://saintjohnsabbey.org/schola/christmas.html 

■ The abbey 

received a gift of 

hand-carved wooden 

statues of Mary, 

Seat of Wisdom, 

holding the Christ 

Child, and Joseph, 

holding a miniature 

church as Protector 

of the Church, both 

created by Gerald 

Bonnette, a 1953 

art and philosophy 

graduate of Saint 

John’s who died in 

1988. The statues 



Hand-carved wooden 

statutes of the Holy Family 

by Gerald Bonnette, the 

gift of Fr. James Notebaart 


were given by Father James Notebaart 

of the Saint Paul/Minneapolis 

Archdiocese, in memory of the late 

Aelred Tegels, OSB, editor of Worship 

magazine and liturgy professor in the 

School of Theology•Seminary. 

■ The Saint John’s Fire Department 

purchased a 1991 Grumman 102-foot 

ladder truck with a platform/bucket 

that allows a number of people to be 

evacuated from a location.Without it 

the department would have to wait for 

help from a nearby fire hall that could 

mean a 20-minute delay in the rescue 

effort. Bought in Alabama, the truck 

has a service-life of 25 years. 

The Saint John’s Grumman ladder truck 

with platform/bucket. 

As it begins its 61st year of service 

to the campus, the Saint John’s Fire 

Department includes Steve Berhow, 

fire chief, assistant chiefs Bradley 

Jenniges, OSB, and John Brudney, 

OSB, drivers Dennis Beach, OSB, 

and Neal Laloo, OSB, 15 

certified SJU students and 

three laymen. 


■ Nathanael Hauser, OSB, 

was featured in the December 

issue of Minnesota Monthly 

magazine. Entitled “Puppet 

Master,” the article describes 

Nathanael’s practice of the 

Neopolitan art of crèche-dollmaking. 

His Christmas scene 

of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, a 

kneeling shepherd and three 

winged angels graced the 

cover of the winter 2008 issue 

of Abbey Banner and was 

displayed in the Great Hall. 



The figure pictured above is at the 

entrance to the Abbey Gift Shop. 

January 2010 


One of the Epiphany magi 

by Nathanael Hauser, OSB 

■ The annual community workshop, 

held January 4 and 5, concentrated on 

converting the abbey’s Vision Statement 

into goals and action steps. For a 

concise description of the agenda see 

Abbot John’s column on page 3 of this 

issue. 

■ To conclude the annual Week of 

Prayer for Christian Unity on Sunday, 

January 24, the Rev. Katherine 

Wallace was the homilist at the 

community Eucharist. Katherine, 

a priest of the Diocese of Ottawa in 

the Anglican 

Church of Canada, 

has been 

pastor of rural 

and city parishes 

for 21 years. 

An Oblate of 

Saint John’s, 

she represented 

Oblates last 

October at the 

International 

Rev. Katherine Wallace 

Benedictine 

Oblate Congress 

in Rome. 



Jerome Tupa, OSB 

February 2010 

■ A busload of monks thoroughly 

enjoyed the annual celebration of the 

feast of Saint Scholastica with the 

Benedictine women of the Monastery 

of Saint Benedict on Sunday, February 

14. The editor’s “A Triple Treat” 

column on page three describes the 

highlight of the occasion. 

Benedictines pray in the oratory of Saint 

Benedict’s Monastery. 

■ In his homily during the abbey/ 

university Ash Wednesday Mass, 

Abbot John focused on the theme of 

ashes: “We are a walking, talking, 

thinking, doing package of dust and 

ashes. So why do we bother signing 

ashes on each other’s foreheads? 

Because God has given us a way out 

of this continuous loop of ‘Ashes to 

ashes and dust to dust.’ It is the way 

of the Cross. . . We renew ourselves 

in that sign of the cross, to re-commit 

ourselves to God and the way that 

God’s Son has shown us.” 

■ The devastating earthquake in 

Chile on February 27 turned our 

prayers and concerns to our two Benedictine 

Volunteers, David Allen and 

James Albrecht, stationed in Santiago. 

In his e-mail of March 2, David wrote, 

“James and I were awakened by large 

tremors. James yelled, ‘Dave, get up! 

This is an earthquake.’ Our entire 

house shook for about a minute as 

things around the house were crashing. 

My bed literally moved across 

the room. The earthquake could not 

have occurred at a worse time for the 

children of Chile because their school 

year is starting this week. Please keep 

us all in your prayers and thoughts, 

especially the people of Concepcion, 

Constitution and Talca that have 

particularly been damaged.” 

March 2010 

■ The Lenten theme of ashes took 

a different twist on March 2 and 3 as 

a crew from the Chemical Agency 

Deployment Accounts of Ham Lake, 

Minnesota, cleaned out a deposit 

of ashes 40-feet deep and 12feet 

in diameter from the base 

of the powerhouse chimney. A 

high powered vacuum cleaner 

appropriately named “Super 

Sucker” piped the ashes into a 

large container that was taken to 

a landfill at Big Lake, Minnesota. This 

chimney sweep is done every three to 

five years. 

The crew and the “Super Sucker” remove 

ashes from the powerhouse chimney. 

■ March showers may bring early 

flowers and certainly the start of 

another maple syrup season. The 

Community Tapping Day commenced 

the morning of March 13 when 150 

student volunteers put out 800 sap-taps 

in two hours. The absence of belowfreezing 

nighttime temperatures got 

the sap dripping off to a slow start. + 

The sap-to-syrup season begins with 

tree tapping. 

Saint John’s Arboretum 

Daniel Durken, OSB

Mathias Arnold Spier, 

OSB 

1931 – 2010 

The fourth of the six children 

of John and Genieve 

(Schmeing) Spier of nearby 

Freeport, Arnold came to Saint 

John’s Preparatory School in 1945 to 

determine if he had a vocation to the 

priesthood. Indeed he did as proved 

by the forty-five years Father Mathias 

(the name given him as a novice) 

served God’s people in Minnesota 

parishes. 

Ordained in 1958, Mathias was the 

associate pastor and pastor of parishes 

in Albany, St. Paul, Medina, Richmond, 

Northeast Minneapolis, St. 

Joseph and Jacobs Prairie and chaplain 

of nursing homes in New Hope 

and Cold Spring. 

On the occasion of his silver anniversary 

of ordination, Mathias 

reflected on his assignment as pastor 

of Holy Name Parish in Medina: “The 

day before I arrived the old altars and 

carpets in the church were removed, 

and for the first month I offered Mass 

in a makeshift surrounding. Finishing 

the remodeling of Holy Name 

Church was one accomplishment that 

brought me the greatest satisfaction.” 

He added his gratitude for the help of 

three Benedictine sisters from Saint 

Scholastica Monastery in Duluth. 

Mathias left his mark on other 

parishes. He renovated the rectory of 

Saint Boniface Parish in Minneapolis 

so confreres studying in the Twin Cities 

or needing an overnight stay close 

to the airport could have free lodging 

and a well-prepared meal. In Medina 

he worked with local officials to bring 

sewer and water to the church and 

area. In St. Joseph he developed the 

community food shelf, began Meals 

on Wheels and cajoled the fire depart- 

OBITUARIES 

ment to put Christmas lights on the 

big fir tree in front of the rectory and 

set up a fine crib set. When the Minnesota 

Gophers’ football team held 

their pre-season camp at Collegeville, 

Mathias invited a coach to the monks’ 

retirement center to distribute maroon 

and gold caps and sweat shirts. 

In his homily at Mathias’ funeral, 

Abbot John identified him as a “warm, 

outgoing, friendly man with a dry, 

lively sense of humor.” Mathias’ obesity 

complicated other health problems 

and a month before he died he was 

told he had inoperable cancer. Abbot 

John remarked, “As a faith-filled 

pastor who helped many other people 

face similar situations, Mathias gave 

it all to Christ. When he died, he was 

truly at peace.” 

Mathias’ funeral was celebrated on 

January 22. May he rest in peace. + 

Fr. Mathias was the Grand Marshall of the 1989 4th of July parade and celebration of 

St. Joseph, Minnesota. 

St. Joseph Lion’s Club 


OBITUARIES 

Florian Elmer Muggli, 

OSB 

1925 – 2010 

The Benedictine roots of Father 

Florian were deep and widespread. 

Elmer Joseph was the 

son of John and Eleanor 

(Pallansch) Muggli of 

Richardton, North Dakota, 

the location of the 

Benedictine Assumption 

Abbey. His older brother 

Julius became a member 

of Saint John’s Abbey 

several years before 

Florian followed suit. 

His three half-sisters, 

two aunts and three 

male cousins were 

Benedictines. 

Benedictine Sisters of 

Yankton, South Dakota, 

were his grade school 

teachers. The abbot of 

Assumption Abbey was 

instrumental in Elmer’s 

recovery from scarlet 

fever as a sixth-grader 


through a relic and intercession of 

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. He 

attended Assumption Abbey High 

School. Upon entering the novitiate 

of Saint John’s Abbey he received the 

name of Florian in honor of his monkfriend, 

Father Florian Fairbanks of 

Assumption Abbey. There was no way 

Florian could have become a Jesuit. 

Ordained to the priesthood in 1951, 

Florian taught mathematics and served 

as a faculty resident of the university 

until his appointment as procurator/ 

treasurer of the abbey and university 

in 1955. For the next sixteen years he 

supervised the surge of new construction 

on the Collegeville campus 

including the monastery wing, abbey 

church, expansion of Liturgical Press, 

new Preparatory School complex, 

Alcuin Library, Peter Engel Science 

Center, and four university student 

residences. His tireless service to the 

community was a faithful fulfillment 

of Saint Benedict’s description of the 

monastery cellarer in chapter 31 of 

the Rule. 

Florian moved into pastoral ministry 

in 1971 as pastor in Stillwater, 

Hastings, St. Joseph and Jacobs 

Prairie. His major accomplishment 

was the merging of the two parishes 

in Hastings, one staffed by diocesan 

priests, the other by Benedictines. 

With patience and persistence, Florian 

overcame the opposition of some 

of the parishioners and oversaw the 

building of a new church and parish 

offices that united the Catholic 

community in a splendid setting. 

His retirement to the abbey was 

marked by the progression of 

Alzheimer’s disease to which he 

succumbed on January 26. The Mass 

of Christian Burial was celebrated 

for Florian on January 30. May he 

rest in peace. + 

Front row, l. to r.: Noreen, mother Elinor, father John, Norbert. Back row l. to r.: Fr. Julius, 

Sr. Nillon, Sr. Alexia, Sr. Joanne, Fr. Florian, all OSBs. 

Osborn Studio, Dickinson, N.D.


Paul Benno Marx, OSB 

1920 – 2010 

Benno was the fifteenth child of 

George and Elizabeth (Rauw) 

Marx of St. Michael, Minnesota, 

and grew up on the dairy farm 

that was in the family for five generations. 

He attended parochial grade 

school, often walking the 3½ miles in 

all kinds of weather, and then Saint 

John’s Preparatory School where he 

excelled in his studies and extracurricular 

activities including football and 

track. He followed his older brother 

Michael into the abbey, received the 

name of Paul, made his first profession 

of vows in 1942, completed his 

Father Paul meets Pope John Paul II. 

seminary studies and was ordained in 

1947. 

After teaching history, religion and 

English in the Preparatory School, 

Paul studied at The Catholic University 

of America where he received the 

doctorate in sociology and had his 

doctoral dissertation, Virgil Michel 

and the Liturgical Movement, published 

by The Liturgical Press. He 

founded the sociology department of 

Saint John’s University and became 

firmly focused on the family and 

responsible family planning. 

Paul put his intense convictions into 

practice by founding the Human Life 

Center at Saint John’s in 1972 and in 

1981 establishing Human Life International 

in Washington, D.C. Driven 

by his belief that life begins at the moment 

of conception and that the family 

is the most important unit of society, 

Paul personified the zeal and energy 

of his biblical namesake, the Apostle 

Paul. He was known as “The Apostle 

of Life” in the pro-life movement and 

labeled by Planned Parenthood as 

“Public Enemy #1.” Pope John Paul II 

said to Paul during a 1979 papal audience, 

“You are doing the most important 

work on earth.” 

Well deserved accolades for Paul’s 

uncompromising dedication to life accumulated 

over the years. 

Of him it was said, “What 

Shakespeare is to poetry, 

what Mozart is to music, 

what Babe Ruth is to baseball, 

Father Paul Marx is 

to the pro-life movement.” 

He was named “Catholic 

of the Year” by Catholic 

Twin Circle and received 

the Cardinal John J. 

O’Connor Unambiguously 

Pro-Life Award and the 

Family Life International 

Lifetime Achievement 

Award. 

OBITUARIES 

Father Paul and his favorite people 

Remember our deceased 

loved ones: 

Barbara Jean (Theisen) Betts 

Alfred Bill Braun 

Archbishop Lawrence Burke, S.J. 

Anthony Del Greco 

Aloysius Fischer 

George Franta 

Dr. Ronald Gearman 

Katherine Vonnie Ibes 

Richard Jochman 

Joseph Moorse 

Angie Olberding 

Hilda Petermeier 

Leo Rahm 

Doris Rowe 

Joan Swenson 

Kiriji Takahashi 

Florian Winczewski 

James Worline 

May they rest in peace. 


It is fitting that Paul died March 20, 

the first day of spring when the earth 

begins its new journey of life. The 

Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated 

for him on March 26, 2010. 

May he rest in peace. + 


BANNER BITS 

Drawings of Saints Benedict and Scholastica 

as twin, young adults 

by David Paul Lange, OSB 

It is fascinating to imagine Saints 

Benedict and Scholastica as twins. 

Western Christian monasticism 

owes more than we think of the intimate 

relationship between them. 

Surely they were influenced from the 

beginning by a heightened sense of 

connectedness, equality and balance. 

I portray the two as young adults, 

not already advanced in years, wisdom 

and monastic experience as 

they are so often depicted. They are 

somewhat conflicted and uncertain as 

to whether they are capable of what 

they are being called to, the way many 

of us experience monastic life at the 

outset. 

I wanted them to look like Italians— 

not as northern Europeans—with dark 


Young Saint Benedict Young Saint Scholastica 

eyes and wild, unruly hair. So that 

one gender would not be privileged 

over the other, they are both the same 

height, their habits are similarly 

designed, both heads are uncovered, 

and both regard us with a steady gaze. 

There are obvious differences between 

the settings, and the two drawings 

deliberately depend on each 

other. Between the two portraits there 

is only one cross, one Rule, one 

library (indicative of a powerful 

intellect), one empty and undefined 

cell, one protective raven and one 

anachronistic symbol of the light of 

Christ. Neither drawing tells a 

complete story without the other. 

As for the 20th century light bulb in 

a 5th century setting, the best explana- 

David Paul Lange, OSB 

tion I can give is this: Christ did not 

belong only to their time, nor does 

he belong only to ours. God moves 

both in-and-outside our dimensions 

of time and space, and I needed a 

startling element to suggest this. 

Perhaps there should be more 

surrealism in religious art. 

Each print is a high quality, high 

resolution limited edition reproduction 

of an original 36” x 54” drawing. 

The prints come in four sizes, 

matted or matted and framed, and 

priced from $60 to $500. Prints are 

available from the Abbey Gift Shop 

or by emailing the artist directly at 

dplange@csbsju.edu. + 

Brother David Paul Lange, OSB, is 

assistant professor of art at Saint John’s 

University.


Without going to the Vancouver 

Winter Olympics, 

Liturgical Press won two 

gold awards in the 2010 ADDY 

award competition for the Central 

Minnesota Advertising Federation. 

In the category of Interactive Media, 

the Press won a gold award for its The 

Saint John’s Bible website. The same 

website received one of three Judges 

Choice (gold) awards. 

Prior to the preparation of this 

website, there were three Collegeville 

websites promoting The Saint John’s 

Bible, namely, Liturgical Press for 

the marketing of the project, the Hill 

Museum & Manuscript Library for 

the background history of the project, 

and the Heritage edition for this elite 

product of the project. There was an 

obvious need to combine these three 

websites into one for a clearer, cleaner 

focus. 

Liturgical Press employees Kris 

Isaacson, web manager, and Connie 

Carlson, The Saint John’s Bible 

program manager, led the diverse team 

that included HMML, the Heritage 

edition, copywriter Susan Sink, and 

two design firms. Their goal was to 

enable the visitor to this one website 

to actually experience the text and the 

illuminations of the Bible. They were 

delighted that the judges expressed 

this result of their use 

of the website. 



Kris Isaacson, web manager (l.) and Connie Carlson, 

The Saint John’s Bible program manager, with their 

ADDY Awards 

Liturgical Press goes 

for the gold 

Readers are welcome to visit the 

website to experience The Saint 

John’s Bible at: www.saintjohnsbible. 

org. + 

Screenshots from 

The Saint John’s 

Bible website 




Front row, l. to r.: Lewis Grobe, Michael-Leonard 

Hahn. Back row, l. to r. : Nickolas Kleespie, 

Stephen Warzecha 

Benedict wrote his Rule “for 

the strong kind of monks, the 

cenobites, who belong to a 

monastery where they serve under a 

rule and an abbot” (Rule, chapter 1). 

Yet he began his own monastic life 

as a hermit, living alone in a cave at 

Subiaco, Italy, for three years before 

he became the superior of a nearby 

monastery and began his commitment 

to community life. 

When he described the four kinds of 

monks in the first chapter of his Rule, 

Benedict revealed the high regard he 

had for hermits. Of them he wrote: 

“Hermits have come through the 

test of living in a monastery for 

a long time, and have passed 

beyond the first fervor of monastic 

life. Thanks to the help and 

guidance of many, . . . they have 

built up their strength and go from 

the battle line in the ranks of their 

brothers to the single combat of 

the desert. Self-reliant now, 

without the support of another, 

they are ready with God’s help to 

grapple single-handed with the 

vices of body and mind.” 


Novices explore the 

hermit’s life 


For five days in early March, 

the four Saint John’s Abbey novices 

experienced the hermit’s life at two 

nearby hermitage sites sponsored by 

the Franciscan Sisters of St. Francis 

Convent at Little Falls, Minnesota, 

and the lay Franciscans of the Pacem 

in Terris Hermitages near St. Francis, 

Minnesota. 

During a debriefing session the 

novices agreed that these few days 

of solitude and simplicity (no radio, 

TV or indoor toilet, one daily com- 

One of the Pacem in Terris hermitages 

“Benedict stole away secretly and 

fled to a lonely wilderness.” 

(Life and Miracles of St. Benedict, 1) 

mon meal, a minimum of furniture) 

were spiritually profitable. The daily 

schedule was not established by others 

but rather upon the individual novice’s 

initiative and fidelity to specific times 

for reflective reading, exercise, meals 

and rest. The setting quickly brings to 

the foreground issues that might otherwise 

take months to surface. 

The high point of each day was the 

evening meal taken with the hermitage 

staff and retreatants. Conversing 

with others helped these young men 

appreciate the community 

aspect of monastic life. 

Not feeling attracted to 

the life of the hermit as 

such, they nevertheless 

recognized the need to 

make space and time for 

the silent solitude of the 

hermit. A monthly “desert 

day” is a needed antidote 

for the rush-rush-rush 

syndrome of our time. +

Placid Stuckenschneider, OSB 

Placid Stuckenschneider, OSB 

Live out loud! Alleluia! 

by Robert Pierson, OSB 

Imagine this: 

I get a phone call from Regis— 

he says, “Do you want to be a millionaire?” 

They put me on a show and I win 

with two lifelines to spare. 

SPIRITUAL LIFE 

Now picture this: 

I act like nothing ever happened 

and bury all the money in a coffee can. 

Well, I’ve been given more than Regis ever gave away. 

I was a dead man who was called to come out of my grave. 

I think it’s time for makin’ some noise. 

CHORUS 

Wake the neighbors. 

Get the word out. 

Come on, crank up the music, climb a mountain and shout. 

This is life we’ve been given, made to be lived out. 

So, la, la, la, la, live out loud! 

These words from the Steven Curtis Chapman and Geoffrey Paul Moore 

song, “Live Out Loud” challenge us to live what we believe about the Good 

News of Easter: “If we have been united with Christ through likeness to his 

death, so shall we be through a like resurrection . . . If we have died with Christ, 

we believe that we are also to live with him” (Romans 6:5, 8). 

What does it mean for us to live the Good News of the resurrection? Are our 

lives any different because we believe that Jesus rose from the dead and that 

we, too, will rise with him “on the last day”? One way we live out loud is by 

giving up our need to worry and fret about the details of day to day life. If God 

can raise us from the dead, God can take care of us in the meantime. We don’t 

need to be afraid. God is with us to provide what we need when we need it. 

If such is true for us individually, it is also true for us as the human family. 

We are in God’s care, and no matter how much we may foul things up, God’s 

Holy Spirit continues to work good out of evil, resurrection out of death. 

That doesn’t mean we have nothing to do. We still need to do our part, 

whatever that may be. But we do not need to worry about the outcome. As 

Julian of Norwich puts it, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all 

manner of things shall be well.” Our belief in the resurrection assures us that 

“the strife is o’er, the battle done.” Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! + 

Robert Pierson, OSB, is the director of the abbey’s spiritual life program and 

guest master. 


PO Box 2015 

Collegeville, MN 56321-2015 

www.saintjohnsabbey.org 

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