Saying Goodbye, to a Brother, a Friend
cont.
On June 6th, 1969, Brother Daniel was
ordained to the priesthood and attended his duties and assignments with
great devotion including serving as Associate Pastor at St. Scholastica
Church in Detroit, but it as in 1975 that he
opened the doors to a ministry that enabled him to touch the lives of
countless young people. It began during his tenure at St.
Scholastica, where he started a youth group with Mary C
ummings. Fr. Dan as deeply moved
by his experience with the youth and the positive feedback from the program he started at the
parish. This inspired him, upon his return to St. Benedict’s in
1977 to minister to young people in a way that would serve even more
than a single youth group. This is how Subiaco Retreat House was founded. The
retreat house itself started out as a converted barn and was later
renovated and expanded upon to the form that it has today. It was
through the retreat ministry that Father Dan, with the help and support
of Mrs. Cummings and his brother monks that over 100,000 teenagers were
able to experience a time of peace and spiritual renewal in the
Catholic faith.
Although Father Daniel was devoted to his ministry with youth, it was
through his monastic vocation that this was made possible. Father’s work at Subiaco Retreat
House did not distract him from his vocation as a monk and
priest. His devotion and admiration for his confreres and monastic life was
very apparent in the way he expressed himself and attended his duties
at the monastery. Although he was elected Prior and served in
that capacity for 19 years, he never thought of any task as being
“below” that office. His leadership was highlighted primarily by
the way he served, whether it was the monks in the monastery, the
teenagers in the retreat house or the cows in the fields. When it
was time for him to step-down from his position as Prior in 2009, he
graciously assumed his proper place without any hesitation or
difficulty in the transition of authority. Although on the
surface, Father’s life might seem to have been complex (he also
co-authored four books), his life was actually simple because his
motivation was simply – love.
Our community will greatly miss Fr.
Daniel! May he rest in peace!
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