Death of Fr. James O’Connor.

The senior monk of our community, Fr. James O’Connor, made his final flight into the home of his Heavenly Father on April 8th. At 97, he had been a monk for 73 years after serving in the Air Force during World War II ( he flew 35 combat missions) and studies at De Paul University in Chicago. He died from complications after a fall in his room in the infirmary on March 22nd. He had been a philosophy teacher for young monks and spent his later years on top of a grass mower. He had been the author of Monastery Seasons, a newsletter which was widely popular and sorely missed when he was no longer able to compose its crisp columns. His funeral was held on a bright and brisk Saturday morning, April 9th. His cousin and some members of his family were able to attend. A touching end to the service was the somber playing of military taps as his body lay at peace.

We are happy to announce the presence of a new observer, Charles Wuebner (age 42). Charles had previously spent some time with us and has now begun the process of closer discernment of his vocation. He was a practicing lawyer in the state of Texas (near Dallas). We ask you to join our prayers that he may respond whole-heartedly to what the Lord is asking of him.

In preparation for the next session of the General Chapter in September of this year, each community has been asked to prepare a house report which will be the subject of the Chapter’s reflections and decisions. The reports are meant to be concise and condensed, while giving a true picture of the concrete reality of each community. Four questions were presented: l) What would you like to share about the life of your community over the last 5 years? Can you share a positive initiative undertaken or an experience your community had in the last 5 years? 2) How do you live communion within your community and with the Order as a whole? 3) Does work, as an important value of our monastic life, help integration in the community and fraternal collaboration? Is it a source of life for each member of the community? 4) What is the impact of secularization and globalization on your common life? The community met one Thursday morning and made suggestions in response to each question. A summary report was drawn up and presented to the community on the next Thursday. With a few minor corrections, this report was accepted and forwarded to the Generalate in Rome well before the due date.