September 2022 Benedictine Newsletter

Saint Benedict’s Abbey 1020 North Second Street Atchison, KS.? 66002

PRISON OBLATE NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2022

“...but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.” (Gospel of St. Luke 24:16)

How many times on our networks of roads have we lurched with broken spirits because the unexpected seized the place of the expected?? What of the wrenching disappointment that came with that?? In such moods, even if what was expected comes to us, we often cannot see it.? It is unrecognizable to our pain, splintered hopes, and wishes, all of which had taken on a certain shape.? What should have been familiar (because it is what longed for and prayed for) is a stranger to us.? Two disciples, most likely a married couple Cleopas (Clopas) and Mary (cf: St. Luke 24:18 where they are mentioned) walking the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus.? Both were despondent due to Christ’s recent crucifixion.? A stranger then joins them, who, instead of being sympathetic, bursts with impatience at their grief and hotly argues that the Crucifixion of Jesus was not only necessary, but GOOD!? The issue with the couple--they cannot see it that way and it should have been something to celebrate rather than mourn.? After all, the Crucifixion was promised for centuries.? No doubt, as the miles peel away, the couple ask the stranger to stay at their house when they reach the village.? One gets the image of a hooded man stooping through the doorway to sit at the table.? There were always hooded men who were more than they seemed -- Henry V slipping among his troops before the Battle of Agincourt in Shakespeare’s play; Richard the Lionheart returning to England from the Crusades in the guise of a beggar; Eowyn, princess and heroine in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Return of the King, hooded and helmed to the glare of the Witch King Nazgul (who cannot be killed by a man) just before she runs him through-- just to name a few.? We return to the house in Emmaus where the stranger picks up the bread, breaks it, passes it to Cleopas and Mary, and in that glimpse of the way a friend always blessed and broke the bread, that interstice of human and divine or “crack” between Heaven and Earth, the couple sees God!? Then, Jesus disappears but is not gone.? “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking to us?”? (cf: Luke 24:32)? Their broken hearts became hearts that burned.? We, too, can be surprised and blessed by the God who is expected, but rarely appears where, when, and how we imagine.? It is His way to come cloaked and for his promised to come cloaked.? It is His way to come when the storm is peaking, our fear most heightened, or when we are on the brink of despair.? It has always been His way.? No Resurrection without Golgotha.? No freedom without Gethsemane.? No Christmas without Passion Friday.? It is stitched into the fabric of thousands of years of the human race.? The other truth is that the Word is interstitial--He will fling back His hood and throw off His robe to make obvious His heraldry, revealing His glory in those flashes of light between ‘mortal’ and ‘immortal’; between the now and the forever.? He will incarnate His power and love through Jesus when we least expect it.? Our task is not to figure out everything or imagine every angle God might come at us from, but to stay on the roads of our years, plodding on, encouraging one another with the voices and the mysteries of Heaven.? It is only that...FAITH!? To stay on the road until God in disguise joins us and eventually comes to sit at our table...or we at His.? “And never to despair of God’s mercy.”? (RSB 4:74).? May God and Mary be with you!

Pax.

Oratio Devota

(said “Oar-AH-tsee-oh / Day-voh-tah”) is where we take a little Latin, the ancient and sacred language of Holy Mother Church, and apply it to our daily lives.? This month’s phrase is:

“Si comprehendis, non est Deus”

(said:? See / kohm - pre - hen - dis, / nohn / ehst / Day - oos)

This gem comes from St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the best critical Catholic writers of the fourth century and possibly, ever.? He certainly is a Doctor of Holy Mother Church and he, in combination with Sts. Jerome, Ambrose, Pope Gregory the Great, forms the foursome known as “The Latin Fathers”.? I could be accused of being a “St. Augustine bigot” and would be guilty as charged, along with Sts. Jerome, Thomas Aquinas, and of course, Benedict…(but my Catholicism is no secret, and if you receive this newsletter, I would hazard a guess that neither is yours.)? The phrase means “If you can comprehend [more correct: ‘grasp’] it, it isn’t God.”? This is certainly applicable to my co-author’s article above.? Imagine yourself in the place of Cleopas and Mary.? They are grieving the death of Christ, sad, and even perhaps borderline despairing. It isn’t until the end of the visit with the “hooded stranger” that their confusion and lack of comprehension is cleared up.? This Bible scene, like so many others, can be expanded and applied to our lives.? Why are you suffering in prison or out of prison?? Why are you saddled with your unique cross in life?? Are the reasons clear?? (I doubt that very much and am sure you would agree…)? God has each and every one of us where He needs and wants us always; not where we would necessarily choose to be, especially incarcerated.? Consider, my brothers and sisters, all of the Apostles were prisoners at various times in their lives, so we too, are part of the very singular cadre of warriors for Christ in our sufferings, whatever the reason for your incarceration.? Much like the Apostles and Saints throughout the travails of the ages, we are vessels of the Holy Ghost and we all have our respective crosses of our own.? This confounds our limited human minds, as we know not the mind of God.? Recall how Moses was shielded in the crux of a rock as the Almighty revealed His back to him.? Why?? Because if Moses saw the full majesty of God his head would explode and he would die.? (A more temporal example would be if you were to wire a 220 electrical line to a 110 appliance...that would be very bad.)? Do you willingly pick up your cross daily or do you confound your mind, heart, and soul with the question of “why do I have this cross?”? You are engaging in futility, as all will be made clear in the life to come.? Your mission, bolstered by Faith and our Holy Mother Church, is to pick up our respective cross, and carry it always, no matter how heavy.? Not convinced?? Look at St. Mother Theresa, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. John of the Cross, Mother Cabrini, et al., who all felt the absence of God from their lives at one time or another, yet persevered in their faith.? Still not convinced?? Look at the litany of martyrs:? St. Stephen, St. John the Baptist, St. Justin, St. Perpetua, St. Felicity, St. Januarius, and the rest.? If you were to ask them if they had it all “figured out” they would say “no.”? I put forth, then, why should we think that our plight is any different?? Take some time this month and reflect on how best you can carry your cross and also recall the line “God loves a cheerful giver.”? May you be an exemplar of the faith to those around you and remember, it isn’t our mission to “figure it all out.”? Bear in mind, all will be revealed to us in the life to come, or, as I like to call it “the Great AH-Ha” at the end of our lives here on earth.? This is the blessing of the “Grace of a happy death” and as Benedictines, we must pray and work, not ruminate and figure things out while down here.? Keep “Si comprehendis, non est Deus.” in the forefront of your minds this month, cheerfully lift up your cross and carry it, and live your Benedictine Oblation.? You are all in my prayers, and may God bless each and every one of you!

“Pax + Domini sit + semper nobis+cum!”

Book of the month:

The Second Greatest Story Ever Told

?by: Fr.? Michael E. Gaitley, MIC?(ISBN:? 978-1596143166)

This book is an excellent read on how St. Pope John Paul II had a special connection with the Divine Mercy and Marian Consecration.?

Prayer Intentions and Requests:

For regular availability of the sacraments in all prisons.

For the soothing of prisoners anguish during times of personal trials and sadness.

For the continued growth of the Benedictine Oblates.

?For the healing of the wounds of sin and division in Holy Mother Church.

For all our brothers and sisters throughout the world in solitary confinement.

For the intentions of our Supreme Pontif..

Important Dates in September:

SEPTEMBER: 1-Holy 12 Brothers & St. Giles; 2-St. Stephen of Hungary; 3-St. Pope Pius X; 5-St. Laurence Justinian; 8-Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; 9-Sts. Gorgonius & Peter Claver; 10-St. Nicholas of Tolentino; 12-The Most Holy Name of Mary; 14-Exaltation of the Holy Cross; 15-The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary; 16-Sts. Cornelius & Cyprian; 17-Commemoration of the Imprinting of the Holy Stigmata on the body of St. Francis of Assisi; 19-St. Januarius and Companions; 21-St. Matthew, Apostle; 22-St. Thomas of Villanova; 23-St. Pope Linus; 24-Our Lady of Ransom; 27-Sts. Cosmas & Damian, Martyrs;? 28-St. Wenceslaus, Martyr; 29-Dedication of St. Michael; 30-St. Jerome.??

Do you have questions or comments about the Prison Oblate Program?? Write to:? Fr. Matthew Habiger, OSB, Director of Prison Oblates, St. Benedict’s Abbey, 1020 North Second Street, Atchison, KS.? 66002.? Share this newsletter with a friend, prayer partner, or fellow parishioner, wherever you may be located.

Chant:?

?V:? “Procedamus in pace;? R:? In nomine Christi, Amen.”

(Let us proceed in peace; In the name of Christ, Amen.