St. Benedict Center ~ Christ the King Priory

In Times of Confusion

How do you stay calm in face of distractions, temptations, a whirling frenzy of activity, either from the outside or within your own spirit? Sometimes the disturbance is our mind– we just think too much! The Rule of St. Benedict gives guidance to help monks manage the disturbances and confusion that inevitably come. Fr. Mauritius provides some insight on how monks find their way back to peace and tranquility.

Follow the link to Fr. Mauritius’ Wilde Monk blog to read more, but be sure to come back to BeingBenedictine to share your comments.

Consider: Does advice in the Rule apply to the ordinary person’s life? How do you manage disturbances from the outside or from within? How do you find rest and peace in confusing times? Continue reading “In Times of Confusion” →

January 29, 2017 0

One of my favorite monks moved to Rome!

Fr. Mauritius, pictured above, with the new Abbot Primate Gregory Polan, OSB from Conception Abbey in Missouri.

So you know that I have some favorite monks. One of them, Fr. Mauritius Wilde, recently accepted a new assignment as Prior of Sant’Anselmo in Rome, Italy. Our heartland is well represented in the Eternal City! Fr. Mauritius gives us an update on his new home:

I have been in Rome now for a little more than a month. Everything is new to me. But I am excited and feel privileged to serve the People of God here in the center of the Church. The internationality strikes me. To see Christians from all over the world learning, studying, working for their home countries, is stunning. To be close to the tombs of so many wonderful saints is life-giving. I am lucky to live on the Aventine Hill. Pope Leo XIII gave the Benedictines this place as a gift with the intention that they run a school. We at Sant’Anselmo still do this. There are almost ninety Benedictines from all continents who study monasticism, liturgy, philosophy, and theology. The change from rural Schuyler, NE, to the metropolis of Rome was interesting. Though I was born and raised in a mid-size city, as a Benedictine I have been used to living in the countryside for more than thirty years. The Aventine is the perfect place for Benedictines in the city of Rome. As you walk up the hill, you feel more tranquility and peace. And, still, we are not far away from the Vatican. What do I like most in Rome at this point? The cloister of Sant’Anselmo, our liturgy chanted by the student monks, and the sweets you can buy in the pasticceria!

Continue reading “One of my favorite monks moved to Rome!” →

January 22, 2017 0

Our Life is a Balance

January 2017 Oblate Reflections and Lectio Divina–
Balance: Our life is a balance between stability and openness to change

Invitation to Discussion by Fr. Volker Futter: The aim of Benedictine spirituality is the conversion of the whole person. “Benedictine spirituality wants no sector of life to be isolated from God’s presence; work becomes a means through which we can know and love God more deeply…God is present and accessible in every moment and in every activity.”

Balance, proportion, harmony, moderation are central. They so underpin everything else in the Rule, that without them the whole Benedictine approach to the individual and to the community loses its keystone. Continue reading “Our Life is a Balance” →

January 16, 2017 3

Always, we begin again.

“Always we begin again.” –St. Benedict

I just started my 41st semester of teaching. I love the “beginning again” that comes with the teaching profession. Two of my favorite things about teaching are discovering new ways to share the love of learning with students and the chance to start the next semester with a clean slate. Fresh ideas, new teaching strategies, another opportunity to grow, learn and improve—and hoping a little of that rubs off on my students. I want to make a difference and help students learn. Continue reading “Always, we begin again.” →

January 4, 2017 8

Benedictine Spirituality, Hospitality…and My Favorite Monks

I’m not sure how it really started, that I call the monks of Christ the King Priory “My Favorite Monks”, but I’ve been calling them that for several years now. Once upon a time, I didn’t know ANY monks and now I have “favorite” monks. It was an advertisement in the Lincoln newspaper for a contemplative prayer retreat that brought me to St. Benedict Center (and the Monastery, across the street) in 2002. I am grateful to the monks who have shared their faith and wisdom through contemplative and guided retreats (dozens of them!), the Oblate program, Continue reading “Benedictine Spirituality, Hospitality…and My Favorite Monks” →

December 30, 2016 1

A Nebraska Birthday Wish

It’s Nebraska’s 150th birthday next year, but I get to blow out the candles and make the wish!! I know you aren’t supposed to share a birthday wish, but this is a secret I can’t keep. My wish: To share with everyone in Nebraska (and beyond) my favorite place in the whole world—a Benedictine monastery and retreat center in Schuyler, Nebraska.

Photo: St. Benedict Center

Continue reading “A Nebraska Birthday Wish” →

December 30, 2016 1

Music as Prayer ♫ This Journey Is My Own

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.” -Plato

Singing is soulful. It is prayerful and it is powerful. I love to sing (in the privacy of my own car). I love to listen to others sing, from the liturgical chant of Benedictine monks to contemporary Christian artists. Whether it’s the melody or insightful lyrics that I find a connection with, music can create a mood, help recognize or express a feeling, or bring me to a place of prayerful listening.

Continue reading “Music as Prayer ♫ This Journey Is My Own” →

September 15, 2016 0