LENTEN REFLECTION
By Fr. Abbot Thomas

Yes, it's that time already. Lent. Those long, forty days of penance, prayer and good works that the Church sets aside each year before Easter. There is always a certain amount of dread in our hearts as Lent approaches. We go to Church on Ash Wednesday and get ashes smeared on our foreheads to remind of our mortality and the need to do penance for our sins. That's enough to put dread into anyone's heart. 

We might be asking ourselves: "Isn't there enough penance and hard work in our daily life already, why add to it? I mean there are family difficulties which pop up almost every day. Not to mention one of my fellow workers who is a pain in the neck. And then a close friend is seriously sick with cancer.  

Perhaps we have Lent turned inside out. The whole purpose of Lent is to lighten our load, to bring a sense of hope into our dark, despairing world, to cleanse our hearts of sin and selfishness. Lent is a time to look up for our salvation is close at hand.  

Lent means prayer and prayer means getting back on familiar ground with God and my relationship with Him. As someone has said: "If we are too busy to pray, then we are too busy." So this time of forty days is a time to put aside our busyness and spend some quiet time with the Lord. After all he loves us more than anyone else and desperately desires to spend time with us, if we would only give Him a chance. 

Lent, above all, means works of charity. As St. Paul says in so many words, "I can do all sorts of penances, I can pray for hours, but if I don't have love in my heart, if I don't  practice charity, then I am nothing."  Penance is only a good penance if it opens our hearts more to those around us who need a kind word, a helping hand, a cheerful smile. Prayer is true prayer when it gives us energy and a burning desire to be of service to others.  

BLUE CLOUD VESTMENTS

       For over thirty years, we have been selling our own line of handmade vestments and altar cloths.   Br. Sebastian Goldade is our community tailor and has much experience making vestments as well    as    monastic   habits    and    altar   cloths.

         This material was selected both for its quality and also so our business would provide work for native Guatemalans.  Originally, Fr. Lawrence Kratz began bringing this material back from his visits to our priory in Coban.  Today we purchase it  from  a company  in Guatemala City that deals directly with native workers.   This unique cloth incorporates metallic strands for a richly textured look, and is used in stoles, chasubles, copes,  dalmatics and altar cloths.   Br. Sebastian also offers various styles of albs made from conventional white cloth.   The black and white pictures shown here do not really do the garments justice. Our internet web site has color photographs of  many  of  these  items, along with more descriptions at this address:
http://www.bluecloud.org/vestments.html

       Our vestment display room is located right next to Br. Sebastian's work area, and is a popular stop for tour groups and visitors.  Even groups of school children, who presumably would not be customers, find the display interesting because of the many rich colors.  Young people often ask about the particular colors we offer, which gives a chance to explain about the Roman calendar and the seasons of the liturgical year.           

       We have regular customers from many different  churches and denominations.   Because each garment is handmade, the priests and ministers who order from us know that there will be some waiting involved.  They seldom seem to mind this however, and Br. Sebastian usually has all the work he can handle.

OTHER ABBEY NEWS

           Br. Michael returned from his studies at St. John's University for the Christmas holidays.  Br. Leon also got a break from his classes in Watertown. Once again we had a capacity crowd for Christmas midnight mass.  Attendance has been good each year as long as the weather does not make it difficult.  December usually brings a temporary slowdown for the retreat center, probably due to the general busyness of the season.  January saw the center return to activity, with groups that included the Community Bible Church  of  Montevideo,  MN,  a centering prayer retreat  from  the  twin  cities  area,   a  local   AA retreat, and the United Methodist Church from Aberdeen, SD.

FR. CHRISTOPHER'S COMPOSITIONS PUBLISHED

          This spring, Augsburg Fortress press will publish Christmas at Blue Cloud Abbey, a book of organ compositions by our organist. Fr. Christopher composed all 18 pieces in the collection, basing them on well-known Christmas melodies. This is the third collection of organ pieces that Fr. Christopher has had published.  He has studied music composition at Chicago's DePaul University, and at the University of Illinois in Urbana.  Fr. Christopher was recently honored by the American Guild of Organists, who added him to their roster of Important Figures in the Organ World. A professor of music at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN,  performed a Christmas concert in Fargo this December, featuring five of Fr. Christopher's compositions.

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD 
By Fr. Matthew

          I was speaking with Fr. Paschal from Mt. Angel  Abbey during our retreat, and we got onto the subject of visiting different abbeys. Blue Cloud and Mt. Angel both belong to the Swiss- American  Congregation, which has 15 member monasteries throughout North America.   Fr. Paschal and I noted how each house in our Congregation is quite different from all the others in its location and environment.  With  Swiss-American abbeys ranging from Canada to Guatemala and all points between, there is bound to be a wide difference in climate, culture etc.  But even more specifically, each Swiss-American abbey has very different scenery around it, a unique neighborhood if you will. 

          Our guests often comment that Blue Cloud is a quiet, peaceful environment that helps them relax and meditate.   But even that doesn't completely describe the uniqueness of our neighborhood.    The nearest towns that have any kind of stores are over ten miles down the road.  The major cities for this area, Fargo and Sioux Falls, are well over 100 miles away.   This means that we do not simply run out to the store when we need something.  Instead, we try to plan our trips and share the ride if possible.  We consider this a small but important detail of community life. 

           Now just because our neighborhood does not have many people living in it,   doesn't mean it is  empty.    In fact the hills all around the abbey are full of life.    Most people arrive at Blue Cloud by car.  Driving over the hilly pastures around us, you might not see anything but grass and cows, at first glance.  But to those who are patient and know how to look, nature reveals a side that some might never notice.   I often like to hike through the hills and ravines around the abbey. On most days I don't see any wildlife, but over four years I have spotted some very interesting critters.  Local populations of deer and wild turkey make their home in these hills, along with small numbers of pheasant, grouse and partridge. Birds that migrate through include Canada geese, blue/snow geese, various ducks, loons, and blue herons.  On a few lucky days I have gotten a look at a fox, a jackrabbit, owls, or even an eagle. (I'm told that jackrabbits used to be abundant in Dakota, along with pheasants. Those days are gone, at least near us.) Without a doubt, coyotes pass through our area regularly.  They are rarely seen, but frequently heard yapping around dusk or shortly afterward.  Guests who hear the coyotes sometimes say that it makes them feel far away from civilization. 

            Spotting all these different animals in our seemingly empty neighborhood took patience and time.  Wildlife does not put in an appearance on demand. Wild animals do not loiter in one spot very long, or pose for pictures.  Someone can't expect to just step outside and spot them in minutes.  Some things in life just can not be rushed.  This too is part of our neighborhood - a natural rhythm to life that is slower than the modern pace.   And this may be part of why people come to Blue Cloud.