Uncategorized
Summer brings gardening…
I have heard that there is something that can be very therapeutic about gardening. I think I have learned this first hand within the past month. This summer one of the monastic associates asked if he could reclaim one of the many gardens on the property that had been neglected. (Actually, the monk that had [...]
Monastic Bee Keepers…
Two of the novices began keeping bees on campus again. Over the years the bee hives have “come and gone” and for a few years we were bottling honey for our own use. Two hives were begun again this spring with the novices being coached by monks who had kept them in the past. So [...]
Saint Mary’s School, Melrose, MN!
I had the pleasure of hosting about 30 students from Saint Mary’s Catholic School in Melrose, Minnesota this morning. We toured the Great Hall and the Abbey Church. They went on to enjoy a presentation of the Saint John’s Bible and after lunch on campus will be doing a tour of the Arboretum.
Below are two [...]
Two old friends are leaving…
Tree experts have determined that the two large Silver Maple trees located between the Abbey Church and the Great Hall have deteriorated to the point of being dangerously weak. Should a strong wind come up they could easily come down. The monastic chapter voted to have them removed. The plaza between the Great Hall and the Church are being [...]
Welcome to Saint Andrew’s School from Elk River, MN!
Given the approaching end of the school year we have had a number of Abbey Church tour student groups. Today students and teachers from Saint Andrew’s School of Elk River, MN came to visit the campus and I had the pleasure of showing them the baptismal font, the nave, the monastic prayer stalls, the Mabon [...]
New Benedictine Volunteers!
With the University graduation yesterday came a new crop of Benedictine Volunteers. Below is a picture of the majority of this year’s group. All are from Saint John’s University and have just graduated in a variety of disciplines. The entire class will be divided into two groups that will each spend two weeks living, dining, [...]
Dead Sea Scrolls and the Saint John’s Bible opened last night at the Minnesota Science Museum!
Saw the opening of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Minnesota Science last night. Mind boggling! Scrolls of parchment that are the first known record of a number of books in the Old Testiment. No New Testiment passages, as all was written just before or at the time Jesus was walking the earth! Wonderful educational displays, artifacts, [...]
Alternative Spring Break Vocation Retreat Wrap-up…
Last Friday was the last day of the Alternative Spring Break Vocation Retreat. After morning prayer we went to Saint Benedict’s Monastery to listen to one of the sisters talk about what a Spiritual Director is (and isn’t!) and how the students might go about getting one. We wrapped up the session with a debriefing [...]
Wonderful students from Saint Olaf College!
As part of their curriculum a number of students from Saint Olaf’s College in Northfield, MN, visited the abbey today and had the opportunity to ask dozens of questions about the Rule of Saint Benedict and the life of Benedictine monks here at Saint John’s. They are a very sharp group of young people who [...]
