January
2008
1/29/08
Music and Culture Celebrated
On January 24th, our grade school in Detroit
was honored with a presentation from an expert on history, culture and
music. Mr. Lem Sheppard who is known as a talented
presenter/entertainer came to St. Scholastica Grade School to give our
students an opportunity to have an enjoyable experience learning about
the African American culture’s influence on the creation of musical
instruments and song styles. With a focus on “the string”, Mr.
Sheppard guided the children in presenting the history of the guitar
starting with the basic musical devices that the early American slaves
used before they were brought to this country. During the
presentation, he performed many songs (many of which the students
participated in) on different stringed instruments from the banjo to
the guitar, representing different eras in American history. The
students received Mr. Sheppard with great enthusiasm and it served not
only as an educational experience but an entertaining one as well.
1/22/08
Welcoming Seven Oblates of St. Benedict
Last Saturday, January 19, was a joyful day for our community. Seven men and women made their oblate promise “to dedicate (themselves) to the service of God and mankind according to the Rule of St. Benedict in so far as (their) state of life permits.” During the Vespers ceremony, our Prior Father Dan Homan, O.S.B. warmly welcomed our new lay members and encouraged them to make the work of monastic vocations part of their Benedictine living.
Since our oblate program began, a little over a year ago, this is the first group to complete the entire twelve month oblate novitiate here at St. Benedict’s. They are a diverse collection of people. Several of them are long-time friends of our monastery. Others have more recently sought a spiritual home here at St. Benedict’s. Some live in the Oxford area, some in another county. However, the bonds of understanding and a shared spirituality have helped them to form community among themselves and with our monks. This is something that must truly gladden the heart of St. Benedict!
Please continue to pray for both our oblate and monastic community. We want to persevere in our life of pray, work and fraternity and continue to invite others to join us!
Capturing the Beauty of Ocean, City
and More!
It’s a real pleasure to periodically update
our readers on Br. Antony’s Maldonado’s recent artwork. Over the
past two years alone, Brother has produced over twenty paintings of
various subjects. A few have been still-lifes –very popular
compositions among our gift shop visitors. More often, however,
Br. Antony has concentrated on landscapes and “cityscapes”, most of
which depict scenes from his native Puerto Rico. Done in oil or
acrylic, Brother’s paintings capture the rich colors and textures of
both buildings and nature alike. Much of his artwork has been
displayed in our monastery gift shop, although a number of paintings
have sold at our annual fundraiser, were requested by family members or
were painted on commission. We are grateful for Brother’s talents
as he continues to explore the beauty and versatility of color on
canvas.
Stories Heard “At Table”
As many of you know by now, one of the ancient customs of the monastic life is the “table reading” that is frequently practiced at meals. One of the monks would read from an edifying book while the rest of the community ate in silence. Here at St. Benedict’s we put a modern spin on this tradition: many evenings at dinner we listen to books and lectures on tape and CD.
One of our latest selections was a popular biography of John Adams, the second president of the United States. This work was written by David McCullough and published in 2001 by Simon and Schuster; our edition was read by actor Edward Herrmann. The book gives a striking and sympathetic portrait of President Adams as well as the events surrounding his life. The community thoroughly enjoyed McCullough’s rich and often tender narrative.
Another notable installment on our listening list was a reading of “Gift of the Red Bird” by spiritual writer and retreat director Paula D’Arcy. The book was published by Crossroad Publishing in 1996 and recorded by St. Anthony Messenger press in 2005. In it the author describes her movement from great personal tragedy to renewed faith and hope. There is great beauty and depth here, but also painstaking introspection. Our community observed that the book requires considerable patience and attention in order to be appreciated by the listener.