february 2016, vol. 2, issue 29

Dear brother & sister Oblates and friends:

Lent is just around the bend so, Chapter 7, on Humility, should be read and di-gested. None of us are beyond the lessons to be learned here, so beautifully set upby St. Benedict. "Whoever exalt themselves shall be humbled, and whoeverhumble themselves shall be exalted" (Luke 14:11, 18:14).

I like the word "humility" as I recall the root word is "humus" which carries a meaning"down to earth". But the meaning of "humility" takes on a whole lot of work whichentails suffering with endurance to do justice. Not many of us are very willing to takeon the daily challenge of humility but then that is what Christians are asked to do. "Topick up our Cross daily and follow Him". It isn't just during Lent that we are giventhis instruction but "daily". How many of us are so mindful of loving another, thatwhen a difference of opinion or fact occur that we humble ourselves and listen morecarefully to the other and agree to disagree. Many of us become stubborn or arrogantand must have our way right or wrong. Here is where we descend "Jacob's Ladder"because we have exalted ourselves and now through our own undoing we fall lower.

Throughout the world, there is a high importance to reacquaint ourselves with thevalue of "humility". Humility gives strength and lasting relationships in the corporateworld, between people and nations. Humility is a glue to hold "love" in place, makinglove and other virtues possible. Humility is feared and not trusted because of its pro-pensity for honesty. Humility makes forgiveness possible. Humility means obedienceto the will of God through our superior, boss, church, parents, and general laws ofstate and country unless the direction is contrary to God's Law.

Because of limited space here, I ask that you read Chapter 7 on Humility, because hereyou will find the degrees of Humility, all twelve of them. I offer caution to some whomay take the 6th and 7th steps of Humility too literal. For God has made us in Hislikeness and Jesus has said that, we "are worth more than a sparrow" and "aremore than a beast". Here I am reminded that over my years as a monk, seeing oldermonks and nuns with arched shoulders, and suspecting years of looking downward attheir feet. Of course, there may be another cause for this arching such a curvature ofthe spine, known as scoliosis. Having been in the nursing profession for many years, Itry to encourage folks to look straight ahead, and not watch their feet. Physical thera-pists tell us that we are more likely to fall by watching our feet then looking ahead andagain when sitting, sit straight up do not slouch. Enough digression, the lessons in pos-ture fit well, we ought not to be a slouch in humility ether.

In St. Benedict I am, Brother Edmund E., OSB

A L E T T E R F R O M T H E O B L A T E D I R E C T O RB R O T H E R E D M U N D E B B E R S , O . S . B .

O B L A T E S O F S A I N T B E N E D I C TFebruary 2016 Volume 2, Issue 29

S A I N T M A R T I N ’ S A B B E Y

By the time this article is printed and sent to our Oblates, our two recently deceased monks will have had theirfunerals and been reverently buried in the Abbey cemetery. We lost Brother Theodore Vavrek on January 13,2016 and later, Father Alfred Hulscher on January 21, 2016. Celebrating these two funerals, I must admit,made me think of Benedict's words in Chapter 4:47 of the Rule: "Day by day remind yourself that you aregoing to die."

When a person dies, we may experience many different emotions that we don't always understand. And thereis probably not much value in trying to explain them either. We celebrate the funerals in the best way we knowhow. The funeral usually reflects the love and respect for the deceased, but really, the funeral rites are more forthe living, the survivors. Facing death is important for us and having some kind of closure is important, andsome time to grieve for our loss. In the monastery, after all the funeral rites are completed, we monks have amodest party in the evening and toast the departed monk's successfully completing his Christian and monasticjourney .

I have always found John 11:25 a wonderful meditation. "I am the resurrection and the life: whoever be-lieves in me, though he should die, will come to life: and whoever is alive and believes in me will neverdie." That is such a wonderful sweeping promise come from Jesus himself.

Both Brother Theodore and Fr. Alfred suffered with their ill health. We do not get out of this life without somekind of physical, mental, emotional suffering. Suffering and pain are a part of life. Final years in life can befull of suffering. I personally believe that pain and suffering have redemptive value just as charity and good-ness have in one's life. Death can be the key that unlocks the peaceful and gentle passing into the hands of awelcoming and loving God. Anglican priest John Donne, around 1631, wrote a poem titled Death Be NotProud: "One short sleep past, we wake eternally, and Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die."

Benedict's warning to keep death daily before one's eyes is really meant to impress upon us all, as followers ofBenedict, that it is important to use our time well, time to engage in good works, time to love our neighbor andtime to love God while on this earth. So, we can mourn our two monks gone to God but we also rejoice thattheir illness and pain are gone, and that they have found the welcoming arms of a loving and merciful God.

ABBOT’S REFLECTION— ABBOT NEAL ROTH, O.S.B .

O B L A T E S O F S A I N T B E N E D I C T

Summer, 1955 was as busy as ever for Saint Martin's. On June 16, Father Andrew McHugh left for thesummer session at Catholic University in Washington D.C....On June 17, Fathers and Clerics attendingsummer sessions in Seattle took up a truck load of items for setting up temporary monastic housekeeping. June21 found Fathers John Raymond (199-1974), Leonard Feeney (1908-1980), and Paul Kolling (ofAssumption Abbey, in residence at Saint Martin's 1952-1960) seeking geoducks and clams on PugetSound...On June 24, Father Dunstan Curtis (1921-1981) left for Stanford to continue his work toward adoctorate in education....June 25 found Ken and Don Stevens clearing land to provide more pasture for thefarm....On June 27, Father Augustine Osgniach (1891-1975) began teaching a six-week course in ethics toSisters at Saint Placid Priory.

July 1 found the new high school principal Father Michael Feeney (1919-2000) contacting student prospectsin Tacoma....On July 4, some thirty monks participated in the traditional community picnic at Lambert Lodge.During July, a class in bookkeeping for the Clerics at home was taught by Prior James Piotrzkowski (1897-1974)....On July 10, Brothers Martin (Jerome) Weier and Dominic (Darrel) Hahn were invested as novices. Ata solemn pontifical Mass on July 22, Abbot Raphael Heider (1903-1971) received the first vows of FratersKenneth Keller, Gerard Frederick and Cletus Bradley and of Brothers Bernard Anderson (1898-1971),Norbert Nicklaus, and Louis Bond.

In other news, Father Clement Pangratz was named director of Brothers, and his place as assistant to thenovice master, Father Luke O'Donnell (1913-1999) was taken by Father Placidus Reischman (1926- 2000).Father Felix Wirth (1913-1984) was named infirmarian. Father Urban Feucht (1927-2013) was namedassistant to the procurator. Fathers Bertrand Trautman (1918-1972) and Gerald Desmond (1904-1990)were driving back from the East with a blooded bull in tow for the abbey herd.... Father Bede Ernsdorff(1909-1982) was named vice president of the college and dean of student affairs. Dorm councilors includedFather Bertrand Trautman, dean of residence, at Benet Hall and Father Christopher Abair (1924-1988) atAnselm Hall.

Abbot Damian Jentges of Mount Angel, Oregon was scheduled to be retreat for the four laymen's retreats inAugust. This would prove to be the last series of retreats, begun in 1918, for the new archdiocesan retreathouse was opened in 1956. However, from 1918 through 1955, thousands of men attended these laymen'sretreats, coordinated by Father Sebastian Ruth (1875-1958), who would celebrate his fiftieth anniversary ofordination in 1956 and whose multitasking at Saint Martin's made him a legend in his own time.

IN THE BEGINNING - FATHER GERARD KIRSCH, O.S.B.

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Since my early childhood, flowers have been an integral part of my world. When Iwas growing up, we had a large garden with many flowers and flowering bushes.We visited the gardens of family and friends, went to the many flower shows thatwere a regular part of life in Sacramento, and took Sunday drives, which oftenincluded a visit to a nursery, after which we stopped for ice cream cones. I wasintroduced to one of my many favorites, the oncidium orchid, in my late teenswhen I tried to order a Lily-of-the-valley corsage and was informed that the hot-house variety would cost me eight dollars a stem. I asked the florist if there wassomething more economical, and she suggested oncidiums.

Oncidiums are very small. They are a bright yellow with some deep brown"freckles" on them. They appear in great numbers on a stem and have beendescribed as tiny saffron-colored butterflies in flight. The butterfly often appears

on greeting cards at Easter, as it is a symbol of the resurrection. The monastic community might well havegiven some thought to this symbol during the first month of the New Year. Our confrere BROTHERTHEODORE VAVREK was taken to be with his Creator on 13th January, and our confrere FATHERALFRED HULSCHER was called by God little more than a week later on 21st January.Both of our late confreres were Tacoma-born. FATHER ALFRED was born there in 1933 and BROTHERTHEODORE nine years later. For both men their early education was Benedictine. They both attended gradeschool in our then Benedictine-staffed parishes, and later attended Saint Martin's High School and College. Atone time or another, each worked in our school library. While BROTHER THEODORE'S work mainlyrelated to the monastic chapel and the monastery, FATHER ALFRED received many degrees, and his work,like that of the late FATHER SEBASTIAN RUTH, touched almost every facet of our apostolates. In his lastmajor assignments, FATHER ALFRED was our long-time prior and also procurator and director of fiscal af-fairs. Both had many health issues at the end of their lives. BROTHER THEODORE had lived in assistedliving facilities for several years, and FATHER ALFRED for little more than a year. At one time, FATHERALFRED appeared to be in an improved state of health and was in hopes of returning home to the monastery,but it was not to be.

We remember BROTHER THEODORE for the loving care he gave to his mother Anne Ambrose Vavrek inher declining years, for the great interest he always showed in the life of the community, even in his yearsaway, and for his great love of icons and the Byzantine liturgy. FATHER ALFRED had responsibility for thephysical and fiscal needs of his community for many years. He was a knowledgeable man, greatly competent,who always endeavored to act with good stewardship on behalf of his community. He showed concern for thedisadvantaged and for monastic guests. A licensed counselor, he acted in that role almost up to the time of hispassing to God.

ABBOT NEAL ROTH was principal celebrant for the con-celebrated Mass of Christian Burial for each ofour confreres. FATHER GERARD KIRSCH, who had been in high school with BROTHER THEODOREand who studied bookkeeping at one time under FATHER ALFRED'S tutelage, delivered the occasionalsermon at the funeral of each of his confreres. The musical settings for each funeral was unique to each of thedeceased. BROTHER AELRED WOODARD and the monastic schola focused on Gregorian Chant at thefuneral of BROTHER THEODORE, and that of FATHER ALFRED centered more on Bach.

F R O M T H E H I L L - B O N I F A C E V . L A Z Z A R I , O . S . B .


May they rest in peace and may the angels lead them into paradise!

Brother Theodore David Vavrek, O.S.B. (1942-2016)

Our long-time confrere Brother Theodore David Vavrek, O.S.B., passedpeacefully to God in the early morning hours of Wednesday, 13th January2016, at Providence Mother Joseph Care Center, Olympia, Washington,following several years of failing health. David George Vavrek was born inTacoma, Washington, on 23rd September 1942, the second son of MichaelEdward Vavrek and Anne Vavrek, nee Ambrose. Young David began hiseducation in Tacoma public schools, but later attended Holy Rosary School,at Holy Rosary Parish, Tacoma, at that time staffed by monks of SaintMartin's Abbey. His teachers at Holy Rosary School were Benedictine Sistersfrom the nascent Saint Placid Priory. He enrolled in Saint Martin's HighSchool, Lacey, in 1958.

The late Abbot Raphael Heider, O.S.B., invested David as a Benedictinenovice at a quasi-pontifical Mass on 20th March 1961, giving him the namein religion of Theodore. Brother Theodore made his simple profession ofmonastic vows on 21st March 1962. In 1965, on the Feast of Saint Benedict,

he made his perpetual vows. On January 22nd 1967, following the recent reforms of the Second VaticanCouncil, he was among the first group of non-ordained monks to make solemn vows at Saint Martin's.

For a dozen years, Brother Theodore's special charge was the Abbey chapel, which he devotedly kept inperfect order. In the 1970's, Brother Theodore returned to school, and in 1977 was awarded a Bachelor'sDegree in History by Saint Martin's College (now University). He later enrolled in a course in librarytechnology and he then worked in the periodicals section of the Saint Martin's College Library for severalyears. At various times, he was in charge of the Abbey commissary, looked after the Abbey motor pool, andassisted with the care of Abbey guests. In 2012, Brother Theodore celebrated his golden jubilee of monasticprofession.

In middle age, his care for his aging widowed mother was a fine example of filial piety. At that time, BrotherTheodore developed a strong interest in the Byzantine Catholic Church of his ancestors, and he often attendedthe Byzantine Divine Liturgy accompanied by his mother, a devotion he continued long after her death.Brother Theodore also developed a great love of icons and iconography, and icons dominated the walls of hismonastic cell in his later years.

Brother Theodore is survived by his monastic confreres, by his brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs.

Michael Vavrek, and by several cousins. His monastic community, family and friends, will gather at the Saint

Martin's Abbey Church, Lacey. The Right Reverend Neal G. Roth, O.S.B., Abbot of Saint Martin's, will be the

principal celebrant for the Mass. The Reverend Gerard D. Kirsch, O.S.B., will deliver the occasional homily,

and the Monastic Schola, under the direction of Brother Aelred M. Woodard, O.S.B., will provide the music.

The customary suffrages for the deceased are recommended to the members of our American CassineseCongregation.

May the angels lead him into Paradise!Abbot Neal G. Roth, O.S.B., & Monastic Community

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Father Alfred John Hulscher, O.S.B. (1933-2016)

Our confrere, Father Alfred John Hulscher, O.S.B., passed quietly to Godthe evening of Thursday, 21st January 2016, feast of Saint Agnes,fortified by the Sacraments of the Church. Several of his monasticconfreres and his colleagues were with him at the time of his death. Hisdeath occurred at Providence Mother Joseph Care Center, Olympia,Washington, where he had been in residence for the past year. JohnHulscher was born in Tacoma, Washington, on 15th December 1933. Hewas the eldest of four children of John Hulscher and his wife VioletDeEtte Hulscher, née Walls. The younger John Hulscher was envelopedin a Benedictine milieu from birth to death. Father Mark Wiechmann,O.S.B., baptized him into the Roman Catholic Church two months afterhis birth, and on the afternoon of the day of his death he received theAnointing of the Sick from Abbot Neal. Roth, O.S.B.

Until the time came for graduate studies, John Hulscher attended onlyBenedictine schools: Visitation Academy, Tacoma; Saint Martin's HighSchool; and Saint Martin's College (now University), from which hegraduated with a B.A. in 1956. The late Abbot Raphael Heider, O.S.B.,

had invested him as a Benedictine novice on 10th July 1953, and also received his solemn profession of vowson 8th September 1957. Following four years of theological studies at Mt. Angel Seminary, St. Benedict,Oregon, Frater Alfred (as he was now known) was ordained to the priesthood by the late Archbishop ThomasA. Connolly of Seattle on 21st May 1960. At various times Father Alfred exercised his priestly ministry athospitals and Catholic parishes in the Pacific Northwest, as well as at Saint Elizabeth's Hospital, WashingtonD.C., where he was serving as a chaplain intern (1980-1981).

Father Alfred was a highly educated man. In 1959, he received a second B.A., this time a B. Ed., from SeattleUniversity. The University of Washington, Seattle, awarded him an M.L. in 1964, and in 1980 he earned anM.S. from Central Washington University. Father Alfred studied German at the Goethe Institute, Munich,Germany (1965-1966) and at the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies (summer 1967), Monterey, California.

In his professional life, Father Alfred touched all areas of our apostolates. He served as assistant librarian, aswell as bursar, in both college and high school. He served as high school principal, as chaplain, and as teacherof bookkeeping, Latin and German. Father Alfred taught English in the college, though briefly, and laterserved there for four years as a psychological counselor. Father Alfred was a licensed counselor and continuedto counsel privately until shortly before his death. From 1974-1978, Father Alfred was chair of the college'sBoard of Trustees; from 1990-2015, he was corporate Secretary for both Abbey and University.

A member of the college (later university) and abbey boards at various times, Father Alfred also served as theAbbey's director of Fiscal Affairs/Treasurer-Procurator from the early 1990's until 2015. During his more thansixty years as a monk, Father Alfred variously served his community as novice master and junior master and,from 1986-1990 and again from 1998-2015, as its prior. In 1998 he received the college's DistinguishedAlumni Award for Benedictine Service and in 2005 then president David R. Spangler presented him with thePresident's Medal. In 2012, the Abbey and University named the newly configured courtyard between themonastery and Old Main for him.


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My Father Alfred. By Oblate Patricia McClure

With the passing of Father Alfred Hulscher, I am saddened. He hasbeen described in the numerous articles of this newsletter, but for mehe was the father I didn’t have on earth. I met him 30 some years ago,when I was a college student. A naïve and wide eye student. He em-braced my wonder and innocence with gentle guiding hands. A firmand practical mentor and a caring man, is who he was to me. When Ineeded anchoring, he would throw me a line. When I said I didn’tbelieve in God’s mercy he told me God believed in me and wouldwait. I have memories of long conversations and letters, challengingme, encouraging me, everything an earthly father would have done.The loss in my life is huge but the things he taught me will sustainme and I am sure I will call upon his wisdom in the future, as I writethis I am sure I can hear him saying, “Give it some time. It will bealright.”

Our confrere Father Alfred was not given to spontaneity. His actions were deliberate and well thought out. Hewas a cautious individual. During the years he was responsible for the fiscal affairs of the community, healways acted with good stewardship. He insured that the needs of the community were met and also providedthe possibility of the community's reaching out to assist the disadvantaged. Likewise, he showed concern forthe monastery's guests, and was very loyal to his longtime friends. There was a period of years when FatherAlfred enjoyed spending a day off baking at the monastic cabin on the Sound. His baked goods were alwaysgreatly anticipated by his confreres. They were usually perfectly done, as he never deviated from the recipesone iota.

In addition to his monastic confreres, Father Alfred is survived by his sister, Louise Hulscher Vargo, hisbrothers, Ronald and Richard Hulscher, his nieces and nephews, and many colleagues and friends.

Abbot Neal G. Roth, O.S.B., Abbot of Saint Martin's, will be the principal celebrant for the Mass. FatherGerard D. Kirsch, O.S.B., will deliver the occasional homily, and the Monastic Schola, under the direction ofBrother Aelred M. Woodard, O.S.B., will provide the music.

The customary suffrages for the deceased are recommended to the members of our American CassineseCongregation.

May the angels lead him into Paradise!Abbot Neal G. Roth, O.S.B., & Monastic Community

I went to watch your crucifixion,see them drive the nails in,watch them raise your bodyso all could watch your pain.Dying before my eyes, I was powerlessto remove even one iota of your hurt.

It had been a year and a halfsince you'd found your mother dead,a thirteen year-old who discovereddeath was not something only on TV.And now you're fatherless,your Dad taken to treatmentfor alcoholic abuse, and whenasked if it had happened before,you say, "Too many times to count."So I sit in your living roomtrying to say the right words -but I talk at you, then to you,never even coming close to you.The pain is so near the surface,yet too deep to cut out.I fail and leave as empty as I came.I've witnessed you upon your cross -and as I leave, you whisper, "Thanks."

GOOD FRIDAY BY FATHER BENEDICT AUER, O.S.B.


"...et per sanctam Crucem liberati sumus...."Antiphon for Good Friday

Oblate Chinwe Cecilia Nwankwo passed awaysurrounded by loving family on January 6,2016 in Olympia, Washington State, USA. Shewas born on April 7, 1963 to the late Albert andCecilia Unobagha of Ogidi, Anambra State,Nigeria. She received her accounting degreefrom the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.She got married in Nigeria in 1990 and movedto the United States in 1991 to join her husbandand raise a family. She worked for the State ofWashington (1997-2016) in various capacitiesas a Contract Analyst, most recently as DataSharing Manager at the Washington StateEmployment Security Department.A loving mother, wife, daughter and sister,Chinwe was a devout Catholic as she wasraised in a deeply religious catholic household.She was a member of St. Michael Parish,Olympia, WA, and worked in variousministries there including the prison ministry.Chinwe was an Oblate of St. Benedict at St.Martin's Abbey, a lifelong commitment todeepen her relationship with God and to enrichher Christian spirituality.Chinwe is survived by her husband of 25 years,

Ikechi Nwankwo; daughter, Adora Nwankwo (sophomore at Cornell University); son, Ikechi Toby Nwankwo(a junior at Olympia High School); step daughters Jacqueline Nwankwo and Robyn Nwankwo; brothers Chike,Ogugua, Ezika, Oraefo, Olisa, and Chidi Unobagha; sisters Ada, Unobagha, Uchenna Uba, Ifeoma Onwuka,and Ifeyinwa Unobagha.

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ChiChi was a member of the Oblate Advisory committee and active in the prison ministry. She will bemissed. If you are interested in carrying on her ministry please contact Oblate Bene Reece at St. Michael'sparish in Olympia.

FINDING THE ROSARY ON DEATH ROW by J.D. TinerThe Blessed Virgin actually brought the Rosary into my life before Ibecame a Christian. I had a conversion experience on death row thatstarted with a letter from a stranger, a woman in Switzerland. One ofthe things she told me was, "Mama Mary loves you." When I wroteback to her, I asked about Mary, wanting to know more.In her next letter, my new friend in Switzerland told me that nobodyis closer to Jesus than His own Mother and that the surest way topetition Our Lord is through His Blessed Mother. She also advisedme to make a Rosary prayer each and every day of my life.

I then noticed that among the items sold on the prison store list was a 95cent plastic rosary. I promptly orderedone. Along it came, a poor little plastic rosary, the figure of the Lord barely recognizable in such a rudimentaryform, and the words "Made in China" molded onto the reverse side. So now I had my little rosary beads butnot a clue as to how to use them, or how to pray with them. Later that day, I was fiddling around with myradio, down at the lower end of the FM dial trying to locate a blues station, when I stumbled upon KBVM.And there was the evening Rosary! A few days later the Jesuit priest, who was the prison chaplain at that time,came by my cell. I asked him if he had any information about how to pray the Rosary. The next week he cameback with a beautiful little "how to" pamphlet from the Rosary Center in Portland.I began to pray the daily Rosary in earnest. I learned that often when I had spiritual questions, the answerwould come to me during Rosary prayers. I even found that in the meditative aspect of the Rosary I coulddrown out the constant noise of prison, going into the Immaculate Heart of Mary as I ask her to offer myprayers up to Jesus.I found that I could petition Our Mother and offer up a Rosary for my friends and family who were sick or inneed, and soon I would have good news of recoveries and good tidings. As well, I found that in times oftrouble or danger from the enemy, one heartfelt Rosary will drive away any evil.After experiencing all manner of these graces from heaven during Rosary prayers, and as I advanced inlearning about the Catholic faith, something became very clear to me as I studied the lives of the saints.Almost without exception, every saint you might read about had an exceptional devotion to the Mother of God.And since the time of St. Dominic, all the saints relied upon the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Maryas a guiding light in their spirituality, the light illuminating the path to their sanctity.Perhaps the greatest grace I have received through the Blessed Mother during Rosary prayers is the rebirth inmy soul of compassion, humility, and true contrition and sorrow for the crimes I have committed and thewrongs I have done to my neighbors. And when the weight of my sins seemingly combine to crush my heart,Our Sorrowful Mother, in the Rosary, is there to remind me that Christ cleansed me in Holy baptism, that I cango forward through the divine mercy of Jesus, and that I can live the remainder of my life in an honorablefashion, loving Jesus through Mary.The Rosary is the centerpiece of our private prayer life, joining our hearts to Our Mother, who allows us afilial nearness to her Crucified son, through the mysteries of her most holy rosary. As for the little 95 centplastic rosary? I wore it around my neck the day I was baptized in the prison laundry cart that had been filledwith water form a garden hose. From there I mailed that little rosary to the woman in Switzerland, a woman nolonger a stranger but now by baptismal sponsor, a mentor dear to my heart. Through her introduction to Maryand through her declared love of the holy rosary, I found the straight path to Jesus. Take our mother’s hand inone of yours, clasp the rosary firmly in the other hand and follow our lady’s light to the scared heart of Jesus

Reprinted and distributed with permission from the author.

Sent to us by Oblate Loretta Matulich


V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2 9

Burial Smocks: Burial smocks or habits for Oblates has a long tradition which not many Oblates seem to

know about. I did not know much about them until I started to get requests and then spoke with Abbot Nealabout them. They used to be made here at St. Martin's years ago by the mother of one of our monks. Thesmocks are a simple tunic that goes to the waist plus a scapular over it. The women’s smock has a white lacearound the neck of the scapular. On the scapular, off center to the left over the heart is a Benedictine Medal-lion about 4" across. They are made of 100% wool - do not attempt to wash or they may shrink. They aremade only for burial. We will have samples on display on Oblate Sundays. Photos of those samples will be inthe next newsletter with an order form. The price will be $75.00. An oblate and her cousin are preparingthem for us. To order one for yourself please let Oblate Director Br. Edmund know.

ABBEY CHURCH EVENTS

Abbey Church Events http://www.saintmartinsabbey.org/ArtsEvents/201516abbeyevents.pdf

March 12th at 8:00 pm Tao Lin, pianoApril 16th at 8:00 pm Borealis, string quartet

Events are not ticketed and seating is generally unreserved. Doors open one hour prior to starting time. A free-will donation in support of Abbey Church Events is suggested.

A prayer by Estella Wright Szegedin submitted by Oblate Kathleen Hystad

Lord, in the quiet of this morning hourLet me feel Thy love and powerLet me so full of Thy spirit be,

That others can see the Christ in me.Let me reflect Thy presence sweet

To every one I chance to meet.Let me a friend to people be

That they, too, will search for Thee.Let me add to this. Thy day.

Love and peace in every way.

O b l a t e S u n d a y C o n f e r e n c e s 2016

May 1st, talk by Br. Aelred Woodard

July 10th (annual picnic) and presenter Fr. Marion Nguyen, September 4th, December 4th.

Note the change in the date of the Oblate annual retreat. Aug 13th. Meet for Mass at the Abbeychurch. We will carpool to Lambert lodge and return back to the abbey around 3pm. This is apotluck event.

Those wishing to move forward in their formation need to contact Brother Edmund with their intentbefore the May 1st meeting.

MARCH 6TH OBLATE CONFERENCE SUNDAY


Join us for Mass in the Abbey church at 11 A.M.Followed by brunch, for purchase, in the student cafeteria (St. Gertrude’s Hall).1:30 presentation in the Abbey Church. Speaker: Oblate Father Jim Lee. “The Oblate ‘Evangelic Gardium’ andMary in every day life.”

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Holiday/Christmas Bazaar is being planned for November or early December of 2016. Please

start thinking about what you can bring and contribute. All you crafty Oblates, there is the time to createsomething beautiful to share with others. Feel free to use your imaginations. We are looking for items forchildren as well as for adults. Needle work, jewelry, wood, ceramic handcrafted items would beappreciated . Those wishing to contribute baked items please hold off until the date of our fundraiser is setsome time in Nov. 2016.Non-perishable items can be brought to the Oblate office at any time. We plan to have the bazaar in theguest dining room over a couple days so we can reach more folks and include staff and students. We alsowill be asking volunteers to set up and take down and to be available to operate the display.

The Way of Humility by Jorge Mario Bergoglio, (Pope Francis)

Laudato Si: On care for Our Common Home by Pope Francis

Short stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi by Amy-

Jill Levine.

ON THE BOOK SHELF

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PRAYER REQUESTS

For our recently passedFather Alfred Hulscher OSB

Brother Theodore Vavrek OSBOblate ChiChi Nwankwo

Health issues forOblate Michael Wilson

Oblate Rob St. Clair

For vocation to St. Martin’s Abbey

GOOD WORKS

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2016 Oblate Advisory Meeting: Saturday at 10 a.m. in St Gertrude’s Hall.

March 5th, April 30th, July 9th, September 3rd, & December 3rd.

Any Oblate having interest in serving on this committee and being in a leadership-working role please joinus.

Lambert Lodge: 9:30 to 3:30.

Please plan to assist in the cleaning andsprucing up of Lambert Lodge on the fol-lowing days:April 9th and Oct. 8th

These are both Potluck days so bringsomething to share.

For more detailsContact: Brother Edmund 360-438-4457;[email protected]

Rosary Work.First Saturdays of every month ex-pect August 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm.Meet in the Guest dining room ofOld Main across from the Monasteryrefectory.Rosary makers and twine cuttersare needed. Come tie a knot withus.

Gardening and Wood:Saturdays 1:00pm to 3:30pmGardeners and wood workers are ap-preciated during the summer and win-ter. Please call Br. Edmund to makearrangements.

Brother Edmund 360-438-4457;[email protected]

Prison Ministry: If you are interested inbeing a Pen Pal to a prison inmate, please contactBrother Edmund. This ministry can be as simpleas mailing a card of encouragement and prayers.


Oblation Renewals: Attached is a form, please fill out and return to the Oblate Director during Lent with youroffering. If you don't normally make a contribution during the year, this would be a fine time to make an offering tosupport the works of the Oblate Program such as : Mailings, gifts to San Anselmo in Rome, Alliance of InternationalMonastic's etc.

Mail your form to the Oblate Director Brother Edmund Ebbers, O.S.B.

St. Martin’s Abbey

5000 Abbey Way SE

Lacey, WA 98503

2016

february 2016, vol. 2, issue 29

Documents