Updates
Last weekend, I indulged in beautiful liturgy, great food, dancing and fiddling Celtics, Owen Roe wine, and a host of speakers wonderfully singing the praises of the contemplative vocation and Clear Creek Monastery at a large banquet setting in the heart of downtown Tulsa, OK. Father Richard John Neuhaus of First Things was the keynote guest and delivered a rousing reflection on the Catholic tradition of monasticism. In his "On the Square" blog, he mentions his experience with this community of monks so dear to my heart.
The affair was deemed a great success, with more than 500 people turning out for a gala (very un-monastic) dinner and evening of entertainment and edification. There is a remarkable story behind all this, going back to three professors at the University of Kansas who were instrumental in many young men discovering their vocations, including vocations to the monastic life.
Many of them found their way to the Benedictine monastery in Fontgambault in France, which, in turn, is a foundation of the Solesmes monastery. Solesmes, established in the fifteenth century, was the source of the monastic and liturgical renewal of the nineteenth century and had a powerful influence in the revival of, among other things, Gregorian chant. The Americans who went to Fontgambault have now returned to this country under the patronage of the wise and generous Bishop of Tulsa, Edward Slattery.
Among that group of students from KU he mentions is my former spiritual advisor, the now Bishop Coakley of the Diocese of Salina, KS. Another alumnus is a monsignor from my diocese currently working in Rome. The story behind the famous humanities program at the University of Kansas and the three professors spearheading it back in the early 70s is nothing short of inspirational. Because so many students involved in the program converted to Catholicism and later pursued various religious vocations, the university became gravely suspicious and eventually dispersed the program. Truly though, nothing nefarious ever occurred, no Catholic brainwashing. Just a very deep and hands-on approach to the liberal arts and history.
An article written by a friend of mine, Kirk Kramer, gives an illustrative account of this unique story.
The affair was deemed a great success, with more than 500 people turning out for a gala (very un-monastic) dinner and evening of entertainment and edification. There is a remarkable story behind all this, going back to three professors at the University of Kansas who were instrumental in many young men discovering their vocations, including vocations to the monastic life.
Many of them found their way to the Benedictine monastery in Fontgambault in France, which, in turn, is a foundation of the Solesmes monastery. Solesmes, established in the fifteenth century, was the source of the monastic and liturgical renewal of the nineteenth century and had a powerful influence in the revival of, among other things, Gregorian chant. The Americans who went to Fontgambault have now returned to this country under the patronage of the wise and generous Bishop of Tulsa, Edward Slattery.
Among that group of students from KU he mentions is my former spiritual advisor, the now Bishop Coakley of the Diocese of Salina, KS. Another alumnus is a monsignor from my diocese currently working in Rome. The story behind the famous humanities program at the University of Kansas and the three professors spearheading it back in the early 70s is nothing short of inspirational. Because so many students involved in the program converted to Catholicism and later pursued various religious vocations, the university became gravely suspicious and eventually dispersed the program. Truly though, nothing nefarious ever occurred, no Catholic brainwashing. Just a very deep and hands-on approach to the liberal arts and history.
An article written by a friend of mine, Kirk Kramer, gives an illustrative account of this unique story.