Abbey News

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Hermit Day
October 1st, feast of St. Therese, was our hermit day for the month. Most of us remained quietly indoors because of the rainy and cool weather, a good opportunity to quietly reflect upon the spirituality and mission of our Carmelite sister. Our Holy Father shares some of his reflections on her theology of littleness in today's Lectio Notebook below.

Church Renovation
Several months ago we invited Br. Martin Erspamer, OSB of St. Meinrad's Abbey, to visit us and offer some professional suggestions for possible renovations of our Abbey Church. Thursday of last week he returned with his preliminary report which he made to the Church renovation committee. He will return sometime in November to discuss his suggestions with the community. Br. Martin is a certified liturgical consultant and a liturgical artist bringing with him his understanding and experience of monastic spirituality and liturgical life. A good combination! You can read more about him on St. Meinrad's web site. The traditional monastic tonsure he is wearing is used only for the rite of solemn profession and is shaved off afterwards.

Off to Citeaux
Fr. John Eudes was invited by the French Region to give conferences at a meeting of Novice Directors of both Common and Strict Observance Cistercians at Citeaux in France. He journeyed there yesterday and will return on the 15th of the month. If you want to hear some beautiful Gregorian chant as only the French can sing visit their web site at Citeaux. If you have the proper program the chanting will begin as the site opens.

Like mother, like daughter, the altar in our Church here at Genesee is modeled after the altar in Citeaux, motherhouse of the Order.

ALTAR - GENESEE	ALTAR - CITEAUX

Schedule Change
Looking ahead to the end of the month we've changed our bake days so as not to work on the Feast of All Saints. We'll be baking on Friday, October 31st and not on Saturday, November 1st. Times for Mass will be adjusted accordingly. See our Liturgy Schedule page for particulars.

The theology of littleness is a basic category of Christianity. After all, the tenor of our faith is that God's distinctive greatness is revealed precisely in powerlessness. That in the long run, the strength of history is precisely in those who love, which is to say, is a strength that, properly speaking, cannot be measured according to categories of power.

So in order to show who he is, God consciously revealed himself in the powerlessness of Nazareth and Goglotha. Thus, it is not the one who can destroy the most who is the most powerful - in the world, of course, destructive capacity is still the real proof of power - but, on the contrary, the least power of love is already greater than the greatest power of destruction.

The essence of religion is the relation of man beyond himself to the unknown reality that faith calls God. It is man's capacity to go beyond all tangible, measurable reality and to enter into this primordial relation.

Man lives in relationships, and the ultimate goodness of his life depends on the rightness of his essential relationships. But none of these relationships can be right if the first relationship, the relationship with God, is not right. This relationship itself, I would say, is, properly speaking, the content of religion.

Benedictus
Pope Benedict XVI