St. Vincent Community Supports the Steelers!!!

As the summer home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the monks of St. Vincent Archabbey and the entire St. Vincent Community wishes the best of luck to the Pittsburgh Steelers as they go for number six!!!

Retreat this Weekend!!!

The Boniface Wimmer statue

From: http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/

Essential Reading

I was asked recently by one of the men considering religious life here at the Archabbey for some good reading material about Monastic Life here at St. Vincent.  I think one of the essential documents for anyone considering our way of life is the Consitutions and Directory of our Congregation (The American Cassinese Congregation founded by Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B.)  You can read this document online by clicking here.  I will also place a link to it on one of our side panels.  I would also recommend Vita Consecrata by Pope John Paul II, the Catechism of the Catholic Churches writings on the Consecrated Life, as well as a great little book on religious life including: "Come and See" by Rev. John A. Hardon, SJ .  I would also recommend some timeless classics such as "Christ, the ideal of the monk" by Blessed Columba Marmion, OSB which can be found online by googling the title and of course the Holy Rule of St. Benedict.

Please vote for our Blog!!!

Today, I was informed by one of our readers that our blog site has been nominated in the 2009 Blogger's Choice Awards under the best designed blog and best religion blog category. Although this blog was not created to compete in contests (as you know this blog is for young people discerning Benedictine life) I must admit that it is quite a humbling experience for our blog to be nominated in this competition. I would ask that you please take a moment to register and vote for our blog for the sole purpose that it will raise awareness for what this blog is for (promoting vocations to the Holy Catholic Church). Just click on the graphic above or on the side and help get the word out about SVAmonks.

What Monks Do

Chant Mass

If your passing through the area (Latrobe, PA) and are in need of a church for Sunday morning Holy Mass, please join the Benedictine Monks of St. Vincent Archabbey for our Sunday morning Gregorian Chant Mass in the Archabbey Basilica.  The Monastic Schola under the direction of Fr. Stephen Concordia, OSB beautifully chants the Novus Ordo Mass in praise of our Lord Jesus Christ who we know is present in the bread and wine offered by the priest at the altar of sacrifice.  Holy Mass is celebrated each Sunday morning at 7:30 AM following the monks recitation of vigils and lauds.  Hope to see you there.

Check out a great Article on St. Vincent

Check out this great article by Theresa Schwab on the Benedictine Monks of St. Vincent Archabbey.  Click here

2009 March for Life

 

  

Many of the monks from St. Vincent Archabbey will be on hand at the 2009 March for Life in Washington, D.C.  If you see us (Marching under the St. Vincent Seminary sign) please stop and say hello as we gather in our nations capital to pray for an end of abortion and the preservation of the sanctity of life.  

Watch the March and the Events Live on EWTN by clicking here. 

Monsignor Burns (friend of St. Vincent Archabbey) named Bishop

From: www.diopitt.org

The Benedictine Monks of St. Vincent Archabbey rejoice in the appointment of Monsignor Edward Burns as the next bishop of Juneau, Alaska. Check out this great vocation testimony that Bishop Elect Burns gave a few years back when he was in charge of vocations for the USCCB: Click here

PITTSBURGH PRIEST MONSIGNOR EDWARD J. BURNS NAMED BISHOP OF JUNEAU, ALASKA

Bishop Elect Burns (front row left) with Bishop David Zubik (Center), Fr. Joseph Mele, Professor of Homiletics at St. Vincent Seminary (front row right), and the seminarians and faculty of St. Paul Seminary in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH – Pope Benedict XVI has named Monsignor Edward J. Burns, Rector of Saint Paul Seminary of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh diocesan Vocations Director, to serve as Bishop of Juneau, Alaska. The announcement was made today by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, in Washington, D.C.

Monsignor Burns will be ordained by Bishop David A. Zubik at Saint Paul Cathedral, Pittsburgh, on Tuesday, March 3, at 2 p.m. He will be installed as bishop in Juneau on Thursday, April 2.

Bishop Zubik said that Monsignor Burns’ appointment “is a cause of celebration for the Church because it recognizes in him the same qualities of pastoral care and spiritual leadership in priestly vocations that we have known here for many years, and has been recognized nationally in his nearly decade-long service at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington.

“I join his many friends among the clergy, religious and faithful of our Diocese in wishing him well and asking God's blessing on him. As he leaves Pittsburgh, he takes with him the admiration and affection of all of us, together with our prayers for him and his pastoral ministry in Juneau,” Bishop Zubik said.

Edward J. Burns was born on October 7, 1957 in Pittsburgh. His mother and father, Donald and Geraldine Burns, are members of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Beaver. His brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Rose Burns, live in Westmoreland County and run a printing business in Monroeville. His niece, Nicole is in medical school and his nephew Steven works in the family printing business.

Msgr. Burns attended Holy Rosary Elementary School in Homewood, Saint Agatha, Ellwood City, and Lincoln High School, Ellwood City, before entering St. Paul Seminary in Pittsburgh. He received an undergraduate degree at Duquesne University in 1979 and continued his studies at Mount Saint Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he earned a master’s degree in theology in 1983.

After his ordination as a priest by Bishop Vincent M. Leonard on June 25, 1983, he served as Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Burgettstown from 1983-1988. He was then named Parochial Vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish, Washington, PA from 1988-1991.

In 1991 he was appointed Director of the Vocation Office at Saint Paul Seminary, a position he held until 1996. At the same time he was named Vice Rector of the seminary. During this six year period he also was appointed as Director of Spiritual Formation at the Seminary. In 1996, he was named Rector of the Seminary and in addition held the titles of Director of Clergy and Ministerial Formation, then Director, Office for the Diaconate and Director Pre-Ordination Formation.

In 1997 he was appointed Director of Clergy Personnel, moving to the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Pittsburgh.

On July 1, 1999, he was appointed Executive Director, Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington DC.

He had been named a monsignor by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006, with Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl bestowing the papal honor on August 9th of that year.

Msgr. Burns returned to Pittsburgh August 18, 2008, to serve as Rector, Saint Paul Seminary, Director, Department for Pre-Ordination Formation and Director of the Vocation Office for the Diocese. As director for pre-ordination formation, Msgr, Burns worked closely with Bishop Zubik in ensuring that the men who are called to holy orders are well prepared to accept the challenges, responsibilities and duties of priesthood.

“I’m blessed to be a part of a great group of priests who serve this local church,” Msgr. Burns told the Pittsburgh Catholic after his return to the Diocese of Pittsburgh last August.

“Coming back has increased my appreciation for my brother priests, and it’s fantastic reconnecting with them. It’s wonderful coming back into contact with the good people who make up the Diocese of Pittsburgh, whether they are colleagues in the diocese, former parishioners or collaborators on past projects.”

While in his position at the USCCB, he served as co-chairman of the Third Continental Congress on Vocations to Ordained Ministry and Consecrated Life in North America called by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

Msgr. Burns was responsible on a national level for assisting in priestly vocations and formation, including seminaries. He served as staff to the apostolic visitation of seminaries throughout the United States requested by Pope John Paul II in 2005 and 2006. He was a consultant to the bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People and served as interim director for the Bishops’ Committee on the Diaconate and the Committee for Priestly Life and Ministry.

A nationally recognized expert on vocations and priestly formation, Msgr. Burns has said that we “live in a culture that does not promote the benefit of serving others and elements within society scoff at entering into a lifelong commitment. … It is time to restore the great gifts that come from committed service to one another.”

Msgr. Burns sees the parish as having a critical role in vocations.

“The parish is to create the vocation culture by actively praying for vocations, establishing a vocations committee, highlighting good examples of priesthood and religious life and offering the youth opportunities for discussion and prayer, in particular, Eucharistic Adoration and the rosary,” Msgr. Burns told the Serra Club of Saint Louis in a 2006 talk.

Msgr. Burns has served the Diocese of Pittsburgh on numerous boards and committees, including the Priest Personnel Board and Priests Benefit Plan Board, the Administrative Board of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and as chaplain to the Catholic Alumni Club of Pittsburgh.

After his ordination and installation in March, Msgr. Burns joins Bishop Zubik, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, and Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence as Pittsburgh priests who serve as heads of dioceses throughout the United States. Cardinal Adam Maida recently retired as archbishop of Detroit.

Auxiliary Bishop Paul J. Bradley, General Secretary of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, is a Pittsburgh priest as are retired auxiliary bishops John B. McDowell and William J. Winter.

“I know from my own experience when I was appointed bishop of Green Bay that it can be bittersweet leaving Pittsburgh,” Bishop Zubik said. “But our vocation is to serve wherever we are needed by the Church. Msgr. Burns will bring his deep faith, his great skills, and his love of Christ and His Church to the people of Juneau. We will all miss him. Yet, we are excited in knowing that the Diocese of Juneau is blessed to have such an extraordinary bishop,” Bishop Zubik said.

6 High School Students complete "Come and See' weekend

A young St. Benedict praying

This past weekend, six young men joined the monks of St. Vincent Archabbey to get a better idea at what the Monastic Life is like. The young men enjoyed sports, recreation, and most importantly Prayer with the Monastic Community. Please keep these young men in your prayers as they discern a call to the religious life and complete their schooling.

Christmas 2008

Wimmer Celebration to be streamed live!!!

Tonight's Solemn Vespers in remembrance of Archabbot Boniface Wimmer's 200th Anniversary of birth will be streamed live at www.bonifacewimmer.org  Please pray for the monks of St. Vincent and all the people we serve as we remember the life and heroic example of our founder this year.

 

Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, O.S.B., Archabbot of St. Vincent Archabbey, Presiding

 

Abbot Primate Notker Wolf, O.S.B., homilist

Boniface Wimmer,O.S.B., a brief biography

From: http://www.bonifacewimmer.org/

Please join the monks of St. Vincent Archabbey on Wednesday, January 14th for the official opening ceremonies of the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B. founder of Benedictine Monasticism in North America.  The event will begin with Vespers in the Archabbey Basilica at 7:00 pm and refreshments will follow.  Presiding at the opening ceremonies will be the Rt. Rev. Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, O.S.B.  Abbot Primate Notker Wold, O.S.B. will deliver the homily.  Abbot Notker is the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical College of Sant’ Anselmo, Rome, and representative of the Benedictine Order in Rome.  The event is free and open to the public, please contact the Archabbey for more information: (724)532-6600.

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and Abbot Primate Wolf, O.S.B.

Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, O.S.B., was the Bavarian Benedictine who established the Order of St. Benedict in North America. Wimmer came to America to evangelize immigrants from Germany and elsewhere, educate priests for the immigrants' pastoral care, and establish Benedictine monasticism in the New World.

 Sportsman's Hall, the humble roots of St. Vincent Arcahbbey

Born on January 14, 1809 in Thalmassing, not far from Regensburg, Wimmer was ordained a diocesan priest for the Diocese of Regensburg, but given on loan to the Diocese of Passau. He was baptized with the name Sebastian. In 1832 he joined a small group of monks and monk-candidates to reestablish Benedictine monastic life at the Abbey of Metten, recently restored by King Ludwig I. As a monk of Metten, Wimmer assisted in the subsequent restoration of the Benedictine monasteries of Scheyern, St. Stephen's (Augsburg), and St. Boniface (Munich).

 St. Boniface

In 1846, Wimmer led a band of 18 novices to Pennsylvania, where he founded the first Benedictine monastery in the United States at Saint Vincent. During the remaining years of his life, he followed the missionary example of his namesake St. Boniface by preaching the Word of God to countless souls, teaching the Love of Christ to tens of thousands, and establishing 7 Benedictine abbeys, 150 Benedictine parishes, and 75 Benedictine schools in America. At the end of Abbot Wimmer's life, Benedictine priests under his supervision were providing pastoral care for more than 50,000 souls.

The 200th anniversary of Boniface Wimmer's birth in 1809 falls within the Jubilee Year 2008-2009, announced by Pope Benedict XVI to mark the 2000th anniversary of the birth of St. Paul. The fact that these two celebrations are occurring concurrently is a happy coincidence and reminds us of some salient parallels between the life of Wimmer and the life of St. Paul.

 St. Paul

Like St. Paul, Wimmer was a missionary who preached the Gospel over a wide geographic area. He was a community builder who traveled extensively and established Christian communities everywhere he went. He was a man of strong faith whose zeal and single-minded devotion to duty strengthened the Church of Christ. He was a prolific letter writer who through his persuasive correspondence inspired those to whom he wrote to remain faithful in the face of adversity.

Today, Saint Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania, founded by Wimmer in 1846, is the largest Benedictine monastery in the world. American Benedictines who trace their roots directly to Wimmer pray and work in more than 20 American states, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Colombia, Brazil, China, and Japan.

Novititate 2009-10

Rome Pilgrimage 2009

Each year the St. Vincent Archabbey Vocation Office hosts the "In the Footsteps of St. Benedict" vocation retreat in Italy for young men discerning the monastic way of life here at St. Vincent.  Here are some early pictures from the retreat.  Check back for more updates and please pray for these men as they discern the Lord's call.

Christmas 2008

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI

CHRISTMAS 2008

"The grace of God our Saviour has appeared to all" (Tit 2:11, Vulg.)

Dear brothers and sisters, in the words of the Apostle Paul, I once more joyfully proclaim Christ’s Birth. Today "the grace of God our Saviour" has truly "appeared to all"!

It appeared! This is what the Church celebrates today. The grace of God, rich in goodness and love, is no longer hidden. It "appeared", it was manifested in the flesh, it showed its face. Where? In Bethlehem. When? Under Caesar Augustus, during the first census, which the Evangelist Luke also mentions. And who is the One who reveals it? A newborn Child, the Son of the Virgin Mary. In him the grace of God our Saviour has appeared. And so that Child is called Jehoshua, Jesus, which means: "God saves".

The grace of God has appeared. That is why Christmas is a feast of light. Not like the full daylight which illumines everything, but a glimmer beginning in the night and spreading out from a precise point in the universe: from the stable of Bethlehem, where the divine Child was born. Indeed, he is the light itself, which begins to radiate, as portrayed in so many paintings of the Nativity. He is the light whose appearance breaks through the gloom, dispels the darkness and enables us to understand the meaning and the value of our own lives and of all history. Every Christmas crib is a simple yet eloquent invitation to open our hearts and minds to the mystery of life. It is an encounter with the immortal Life which became mortal in the mystic scene of the Nativity: a scene which we can admire here too, in this Square, as in countless churches and chapels throughout the world, and in every house where the name of Jesus is adored.

The grace of God has appeared to all. Jesus – the face of the "God who saves", did not show himself only for a certain few, but for everyone. Although it is true that in the simple and lowly dwelling of Bethlehem few persons encountered him, still he came for all: Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, those near and those far away, believers and non-believers… for everyone. Supernatural grace, by God’s will, is meant for every creature. Yet each human person needs to accept that grace, to utter his or her own "yes", like Mary, so that his or her heart can be illumined by a ray of that divine light. It was Mary and Joseph, who that night welcomed the incarnate Word, awaiting it with love, along with the shepherds who kept watch over their flocks (cf. Lk 2:1-20). A small community, in other words, which made haste to adore the Child Jesus; a tiny community which represents the Church and all people of good will. Today too those who await him, who seek him in their lives, encounter the God who out of love became our brother – all those who turn their hearts to him, who yearn to see his face and to contribute to the coming of his Kingdom. Jesus himself would say this in his preaching: these are the poor in spirit; those who mourn, the meek, those who thirst for justice; the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers, and those persecuted for righteousness’ sake (cf. Mt 5:3-10). They are the ones who see in Jesus the face of God and then set out again, like the shepherds of Bethlehem, renewed in heart by the joy of his love.

Brothers and sisters, all you who are listening to my words: this proclamation of hope – the heart of the Christmas message – is meant for all men and women. Jesus was born for everyone, and just as Mary, in Bethlehem, offered him to the shepherds, so on this day the Church presents him to all humanity, so that each person and every human situation may come to know the power of God’s saving grace, which alone can transform evil into good, which alone can change human hearts, making them oases of peace.

May the many people who continue to dwell in darkness and the shadow of death (cf. Lk 1:79) come to know the power of God’s saving grace! May the divine Light of Bethlehem radiate throughout the Holy Land, where the horizon seems once again bleak for Israelis and Palestinians. May it spread throughout Lebanon, Iraq and the whole Middle East. May it bring forth rich fruit from the efforts of all those who, rather than resigning themselves to the twisted logic of conflict and violence, prefer instead the path of dialogue and negotiation as the means of resolving tensions within each country and finding just and lasting solutions to the conflicts troubling the region. This light, which brings transformation and renewal, is besought by the people of Zimbabwe, in Africa, trapped for all too long in a political and social crisis which, sadly, keeps worsening, as well as the men and women of the Democratic Republic of Congo, especially in the war-torn region of Kivu, Darfur, in Sudan, and Somalia, whose interminable sufferings are the tragic consequence of the lack of stability and peace. This light is awaited especially by the children living in those countries, and the children of all countries experiencing troubles, so that their future can once more be filled with hope.

Wherever the dignity and rights of the human person are trampled upon; wherever the selfishness of individuals and groups prevails over the common good; wherever fratricidal hatred and the exploitation of man by man risk being taken for granted; wherever internecine conflicts divide ethnic and social groups and disrupt peaceful coexistence; wherever terrorism continues to strike; wherever the basics needed for survival are lacking; wherever an increasingly uncertain future is regarded with apprehension, even in affluent nations: in each of these places may the Light of Christmas shine forth and encourage all people to do their part in a spirit of authentic solidarity. If people look only to their own interests, our world will certainly fall apart.

Dear brothers and sisters, today, "the grace of God our Saviour has appeared" (cf. Tit 2:11) in this world of ours, with all its potential and its frailty, its advances and crises, its hopes and travails. Today, there shines forth the light of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High and the son of the Virgin Mary: "God from God, light from light, true God from true God. For us men, and for our salvation, he came down from heaven". Let us adore him, this very day, in every corner of the world, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a lowly manger. Let us adore him in silence, while he, still a mere infant, seems to comfort us by saying: Do not be afraid, "I am God, and there is no other" (Is 45:22). Come to me, men and women, peoples and nations, come to me. Do not be afraid: I have come to bring you the love of the Father, and to show you the way of peace.

Let us go, then, brothers and sisters! Let us make haste, like the shepherds on that Bethlehem night. God has come to meet us; he has shown us his face, full of grace and mercy! May his coming to us not be in vain! Let us seek Jesus, let us be drawn to his light which dispels sadness and fear from every human heart. Let us draw near to him with confidence, and bow down in humility to adore him. Merry Christmas to all!

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