The Saint Louis Abbey Society Board of Directors
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THE SA IN T L OU IS A BBEY VoluJOURNALme XLV Summer 2006 CONTENTS FROM THE MONASTERY The Abbey Golden Jubilee . .3 Cardinal Dulles Lecture . .7 Golden Jubilee Scholarship Dinner . .8 Society Board of Directors Dinner . .9 Concert Series . .11 Vocations . .12 Father Dominic’s Assignment in Washington, DC . .13 Endowment Campaign . .14 Development and Public Relations . .15 Obituaries . .15 Necrology . .17 FROM THE SCHOOL The School Golden Jubilee: Headmaster’s Message . .19 Graduation Day: May 28, 2006 . .22 Achievements and Awards . .26 The Year in Sports . .33 Faculty Development . .35 Junior School Report . .36 College Counseling . .36 Admission News . .37 Aim High . .38 Campus Organizations . .39 FROM THE ALUMNI President’s Message . .43 Class Notes . .44 Alumni Picnic . .47 FROM THE PARISH The Parish Fortieth Anniversary: Benedictine Pastoral Work . .49 Pastor’s Message . .50 Parish Committees . .50 Saint Louis Abbey Year . .56 Saint Louis Abbey Organization . .Inside Back Cover At 3:00 p.m. we gathered in the Kline Theatre to hear a lec- ture by George Weigel, the noted Catholic commentator, and biographer of Pope John Paul II, on “Revolutionary Papacies: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and the Church in the Twenty-first Father Abbot asked Father Timothy Century.” Besides his biography of the late pope, Mr. Weigel cov- to write the following account of the ered for the major media his death and funeral, and the election inaugural weekend events of the and inauguration of his successor. His main comments on Pope Golden Jubilee of Saint Louis John Paul II painted him as a revolutionary, but in what he called Abbey. The celebration took place the Polish sense of going back to the roots, not in the political the weekend of October 15-16, sense of overturning what was there and starting afresh. But 2005. before that he said that the late pope was an optimistic reaction against the view, not uncommon after the reign of the perfectly prepared Pope Paul VI, that the papacy was becoming a job too big for one man. Pope John Paul turned away from the CEO model back to a New Testament model of witness, evangelizing, Abbot Thomas Frerking, (thirty shelf-feet of teaching, providing a key to the interpretation of Vatican II), unity, and even martyrdom. He listed ten revolu- The Abbey Golden Jubilee tionary aspects of John Paul II's papacy, (of which his emphasis on n October 19, 1955, three Ampleforth monks arrived at ecumenism in general and relationship with Judaism in particular; 3:50 p.m. at Saint Louis Union Station. The tempera- his theology of the body; his involving the papacy in aspects of Oture was in the 80s and we were wearing heavy woolen international policy may be the most significant) but, as he said, suits and overcoats. The one thing we wanted was to reach our he did not have time to comment at length on them. This was a new home and get comfortable. Instead there was a reception pity, but his list served as a guide to his excellent but lengthy biog- committee on the platform along with photographers. We were raphy. then whisked off to a cocktail party to meet a large crowd of our He saw Pope Benedict XVI as hoping to lead the world, espe- future friends, and it was not until about three hours later that we cially Europe, back to a sense of the sacred; a theologian well reached Saint Louis Priory, our new home. The golden jubilee of equipped to deal with problems of medical, scientific, and sexual this event was celebrated at Saint Louis Abbey on October 15-16, ethics. But would he be able to challenge a Europe with a rapidly 2005, a Saturday and Sunday. falling birth-rate, a continent, he thought, dying of spiritual bore- The first event, at 10 a.m., was our Conventual Mass. It was a dom stemming from the conviction that the God of the Bible is votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Mediatrix of the enemy of human progress? Grace, asking for her continued intercession. The Ampleforth He thought there might be, under the new pope, a new monks had chosen Mary as the patron of the new monastery approach to inter-religious dialogue with Muslims: Can the under the title of Mediatrix of Grace, since it was through her that Catholic Church from its own experience help Islam to educate its Jesus, the fountain of all grace, had come into the world. As extremists out of violence towards political persuasion and civility? Abbot Thomas Frerking of Saint Louis Abbey noted in his homily, There might be a more theocentric understanding of our liturgy, we had for some years wanted an outside shrine or grotto in stressing it as our participation in the heavenly liturgy. There Mary's honour. Thus when Ceil and Michael Pulitzer offered to might be reform of the Church, with a leaner administrative struc- commission a statue for us and asked us to choose a subject, Our ture in Rome. Prophecy is always interesting, especially for those Lady of Grace came at once to our minds. So Philip Howie of who will live to see it fulfilled or otherwise. After time for ques- Catskill, New York, made us a wonderful bronze of Our Lady, car- tions, there was a reception. rying her Child on her shoulder and sheltering representatives of At Vespers on Saturday evening Abbot Cuthbert of Ampleforth the Abbey family with a mysterious, a marvelous cloak. The stat- reminded us that the basis of that hope for which so many are ue stands just over six feet tall and is outdoors on the southwest looking is, for us, fidelity to our monastic way of life. It was good, side of the church. he said, to have some of the founding monks still with us because At the end of Mass, Philip Howie, told us of some of the they reminded us that life based on the Gospels would produce influences on the final statue, more Italian and Spanish than good results, but also because they could be seen to be ordinary northern European, and how he had tried to adhere to the basic men like ourselves, which gave us hope. We rounded off that principles of strength, openness and grace. day's celebration with a special dinner given us by Food Service, Then we had the blessing itself with the prayers said by Abbot our regular suppliers of food for boys and monks. Thomas and the sprinkling done by Father Timothy, our initial On Sunday we had the main event, Mass celebrated by liaison with the Pulitzers. Then there was a reception. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke and attended by a sell-out crowd 3 of the Abbey Family. In his Abbot Richard Yeo, Abbot of homily Abbot Thomas reminded Downside and President of the us that as we give thanks to God English Benedictine for the blessings that he has given Congregation, spoke next. What us, whose results we can see all monks are is more important around us, we must also and than what they do: they may equally rededicate ourselves to his teach or farm or run hospitals, service. He asked the Archbishop and may be very busy with these to accept this rededication. A affairs, but they are not teachers monastery is truly a school for the or farmers or doctors; they are Lord's service, where we learn to monks. He quoted Pope John Abbot Luke Rigby, OSB serve the Lord and, having learnt, Paul II, “All Christians are the Father Timothy Horner, serve him. Great and wonderful light of the world . However, are the works of the Lord. the monastery . radiates a more intense and constant light . .” After Communion, Archbishop Burke accepted the rededica- It does this by showing the world the beauty of God. In Croatia tion offered by Abbot Thomas and added kind and observant the word for a Benedictine nun is “koludrica” etymologically con- words of his own. He approved the mission and aims of the priory nected with the Greek “kalos” beautiful. The beauty the monk and abbey in education, and later in pastoral work, and believed shows the world is not his own but that of community life and that they had been well carried out. He showed remarkable famil- especially of our life of worship. At its centre may be an empty iarity with our early history, and especially with the bond that had space in which the beauty of God can appear and shine intensely existed from the earliest days, and still exists, between the laity and constantly so that the world may see it. and the monks. We felt that his words were much more than a Abbot Richard was followed by the Prior of Saint Louis Abbey, routine tribute, and came from the heart. We were encouraged. Prior Gregory Mohrman. The Catholic world of 1955, he said, After Mass, there was a short break, and we then embarked on was very different from that of today. There was then what could a marathon of speeches, seven in all, from the Abbot of fairly be called a Catholic culture that touched the whole life of a Ampleforth, Mr. James D. Switzer, Abbot Richard Yeo, Prior Catholic: worship, morality, social mores, politics, art and so on. Gregory Mohrman, Abbot Thomas Frerking, Abbot Luke Rigby It smacked somewhat of the ghetto, but it was also a centre, a and Prior Timothy Horner. The last two are the two survivors of base, a mooring, a security. In the 60s and 70s much of this faded the original three of 1955.