The I.T.I.
Community opened the school year in a decidedly Benedictine spirit, beginning
with the feast of St. Gregory the Great on Monday and capping the week with a
spiritual talk on the Medal of Saint Benedict on Friday night. As a novice oblate of
the monastic family of San Vincenzo al Volturno in Italy, it couldn’t have been
a better kickoff!
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| Monsignor Hogan blessing medals of St. Benedict. |
We have
also in our midst a returning alumnus, Dom Thomas Bolin, a monk of Monastero San Benedetto located in Norcia, the birthplace of St. Benedict. As the resident
Roman-rite priest, he is able to join the formation community for Divine Office,
replacing P. Johannes Cornides of the Community of the Beatitudes, who goes to the
École Biblique in Jerusalem to carry
on with his dissertation.
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| Dom Thomas Bolin, O.S.B. (right). |
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| Pater Johannes, a shepherd after God's own heart. |
I thank
God for this tremendous spiritual support. A little over a week ago, the mistress of oblates at San Vincenzo and my spiritual mother, Dame Agnes Shaw, wrote these prophetic words: “Know that we are behind you in your search. Hold on to your Benedictine
spirituality, knowing that it can open to other horizons but is a strong guide
in itself.”
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| Learning a true art with Mother Agnes: "Obsculta, o fili..." |
I should
also like to mention another Benedictine companion, Dom Gregory Casprini, whose
unfailing help (even if mostly via Skype and email) has been a source of strength and inspiration in the
last couple of years. A monk of Solesmes in France, he now serves as novice master of this
famous abbey’s daughter house in Lithuania, Palendrių Šv. Benedikto vienuolynas.
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| My trusted friend and guide, Father Greg. |
