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Feast. Pray. Meet the Monks.That was the guiding theme for the fifth annual Saint Benedict Festival at Mount Angel Abbey on July 13.

Fasting and prayer gave way to feasting and prayer, as a thousand-plus of the Abbey’s friends – old and new – and generous supporters made their way to the Hilltop to meet and celebrate the feast of St. Benedict with the monks.
By all accounts, both guests and monks enjoyed the food, drink, music, tours, games and, especially, the camaraderie.
Mount Angel residents Kathy Wall and Mary Grant were eyeing the strawberry shortcake when they stopped to give their impressions of the festival.

“I love the way the monks mingle and are out here with everyone,” Wall said. “… they are so friendly, so welcoming, so warm. I love it.”

“Everybody needs to socialize,” Grant added. “We need to socialize with them. They’re not just strange guys dressed in black on top of the hill. They are normal, nice people that like to have fun.

“And what a selection of wine – wow!” Grant continued. “And Fr. Martin’s beer! You can’t beat it.”

Trent Sislow, who entered the monastic community as a postulant in March, was hosting the lawn game competitions during the festival. A self-described introvert, Sislow said after all the socializing ended he would probably need to spend some quiet time with a book in his room. But he was clearly having fun interacting with the folks who stopped by to try their skill, and said he was glad to be a part of the festivities.

“This festival is a real full-blown hospitality experience,” Sislow said. “It’s great to have all these people here to experience a little bit of our monastic life …. We are not here doing all this for our own sake. We’re here so we can share with all these people. We have such a great community here; it kind of makes it easy.”

One of the popular tours offered at the festival was of the newly-renovated Saint Benedict Guesthouse and Retreat Center. Guest master Fr. Pius X Harding, O.S.B., led large groups through the stunning new common spaces in the building. He apologized for not being able to provide a glimpse of the bedrooms, noting all the rooms were full for the weekend.

Bob and Char Wendling of Oregon City and Mike and Mamie Dec of Milwaukie lingered in front of the Last Supper sculpture in the guesthouse dining room. The impressive piece was done by Tomasz Misztal, a Polish artist who now resides in Oregon. Mamie Dec, who knows Misztal, pointed out details and shared insights about his work.

Bob Wendling marveled at the complete transformation of the guesthouse.

“I have attended retreats and stayed in the retreat house many times in the past,” Wendling said. “It is such a serene place. My first retreat here was with my Catholic fraternity – Phi Kappa Theta – at Oregon State University back in 1962. It was a beautiful place then but is even more beautiful now.”

Mike Dec said, “We do retreats for married couples in our parish, and our next retreat will be here. But I have a feeling it will continue to be full a lot of the time.”

The one frustration for a festival guest is that there was not enough time to see and do everything. As the last guesthouse tour ended, it was nearly time to join the liturgical procession with the monks leading everyone into the church to bless the new St. Benedict statue, followed by Vespers.

As Abbot Jeremy Driscoll told the guests when the festival began earlier in the day: “Feast. Pray. Meet the Monks. All this is what we are here to celebrate and give thanks for.”

Many are no doubt already looking forward to next year’s festival, scheduled for Saturday, July 11, 2020.

– By Steve Ritchie for Mount Angel Abbey

At a Mass celebrated March 8, two dozen seminarians from Mount Angel Seminary took a step forward in their journey to ordained priesthood.

The Most Rev. Joseph J. Tyson, Bishop of Yakima, was the principal celebrant and instituted nine men in the ministry of lector and 16 in the ministry of acolyte. The seminarians are currently studying theology at Mount Angel and represent seven dioceses and one religious community.

As instituted lectors, the seminarians are called to serve the Church as “bearers of God’s word,” proclaiming the word in the Liturgy and preparing people for the sacraments. Accordingly, they are to be especially attentive themselves to the Scriptures and meditate on it constantly so as to better witness to others our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Instituted in the ministry of lector on Friday were: Anthony Hoangphan and Efrain Razo, Jr., from the Archdiocese of Portland; Sylvester Musonda Chanda and Andrew Charles Hollands, from the Archdiocese of Seattle; Michael Thomas Evert, from the Diocese of San Diego; Ian Michael Gaston and Hun Chae (Mark) Jung, from the Diocese of Orange; Oscar Saúl Medina Zermeño and James Joseph Tasy, from the Diocese of Fresno.

As instituted acolytes, the seminarians are entrusted with the responsibility of assisting priests and deacons in carrying out their ministry, especially as ministers of Holy Communion at the Liturgy and to the sick. Accordingly, they “should strive to live more fully by the Lord’s Sacrifice and to be molded more perfectly in its likeness.”

Instituted in the ministry of acolyte were: Peter Atwood Laughlin and Luke Aaron Stager, from the Archdiocese of Portland; Sergio Armando Chávez Cabral and Tristan Peter Alec Dillon, from the Diocese of Salt Lake City; Arturo Cisneros, Oscar Saúl Medina Zermeño, Juan Carlos Reynoso Lozano, and Dalton Scott Rogers, from the Diocese of Fresno; Agustin Rajan Henderson, Darrell James Segura, Jr., and Adrian Julian Sisneros, from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe; Chad Kirwan Hill, Alexander Thomas Nelson, and Brody Robert Stewart, from the Archdiocese of Seattle; Michael John Hoolihan from the Diocese of Orange; and Br. Joseph Mary Tran, O.C.D.

Since 1889, Mount Angel Seminary has educated and formed thousands of priests to serve more than 11 million Catholics in nearly 100 dioceses and religious communities around the world. As the oldest seminary in the western United States, Mount Angel is the only seminary in the West that offers a College of Liberal Arts, a Graduate School of Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry Program.

Resurrection means going deep.

Just in time for Lenten reading and in preparation for the Easter Triduum, my friend, who figured out how to publish a children’s book about 4 years ago and has been going strong ever since – informed me that Liturgical Press has published Abbot Jeremy Driscoll’s new book, Awesome Glory: Resurrection in Scripture, Liturgy, and Theology.

With the clarity of an experienced teacher, Abbot 
Jeremy offers readers a deep dive into the mystery of 
the resurrection of Jesus. Starting from the conviction that the liturgy is meant to offer an immediate and effective contact with the resurrection, this profound and beautifully accessible book draws out the liturgical riches of the period from the Paschal Triduum through Pentecost. Abbot Jeremy focuses particularly on the Scripture texts of Mass, but also on important rituals like the washing of feet, and the Lucernarium (Service of Light).

Awesome Glory is a beautiful, reflective read for anyone who wants to better understand, teach, and live the startlingly good news of Christ’s Resurrection.

For more information about Awesome Glory, email the Abbey’s bookstore or call 503.845.3345.

Awesome Glory is also available on Kindle from major online booksellers.

What else do monks read in Lent?

Br. Charles Gonalez
“The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Times”
by Dom Jean-Charles Nault

Br. Israel Sanchez
“The Imitation of Christ”
by Thomas a Kempis

“Earthen Vessels: The Practice of Prayer According to the Patristic Tradition”
by Gabriel Bunge

“The Heart of the World”
by Hans Urs von Balthasar

Prior Vincent Trujillo
“Story of a Soul”
by St. Therese

Fr. John Paul Le
“Everybody Needs to Forgive Somebody”
by Allen R. Hunt

Fr. Aelred Yockey
The Passion Narratives, from the Gospels

“The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
by Anne Catherine Emerich

“Mystical City of God”
by Mary of Agreda (17c)

Mount Angel seminarians have always been attracted to hiking and other outdoor pursuits. So it was natural for current seminarians, inspired by the life and spirituality of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, to form a fellowship group devoted to seeking God in the wilderness.

The group has organized a number of weekend outings, including one camping trip last fall. On the trip, priests who accompanied the seminarians celebrated the Eucharist at the campsite. “Two Masses were celebrated on beautiful Merrill Lake up by Mount St. Helens,” said seminarian Adrian Sisneros, second year theology student for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and group co-founder.

Sisneros grew up as an avid hiker and outdoorsman in the mountainous desert of New Mexico. He enjoys seeking out places of beauty in the Northwest and encountering God on mountaintops, rivers, lakes, and beaches. Each Frassati Group trip, he notes, has a strong spiritual component, and helps bond the seminarians.

“Our aim is holiness and fraternity. It’s about the opportunity for us to venture out together, as brothers sharing in this journey to the priesthood, allowing the fruits of formation to naturally grow in us.”

The group members also recognize that these experiences are great preparation for their future ministries in parishes and other settings. They work together to carefully plan the trips and utilize each person’s skills and abilities.

“A lot of it is about [building] character, learning how to be inter-dependent and work well with each other, balancing time and being responsible, and praying for each other,” Sisneros said. “Those are great things that we are learning together as a group. We’re mentoring each other.”

Sisneros said even the challenges they’ve encountered on trips are welcome opportunities for growth.

“The wilderness is beautiful but it can also be rugged. Sometimes you have to dig deep. You might have to help someone else who is feeling a little uneasy. It breaks down barriers between us … it provides a great opportunity for letting your guard down and entering into authentic fraternity.”

The group is grateful for the inspiration of Frassati and Pope St. John Paul II, who beatified Frassati and was an outdoorsman himself as a young priest. As
Frassati once wrote, “The higher we go, the better we shall hear the voice of Christ.”

– Steve Ritchie