End of April

Several items of news waited until the end of April to emerge into the spotlight. On Sunday, April 24th, Fr. Kenneth fell in his infirmary room and complained of severe pain in his right leg. He was taken by ambulance to the Emergency Room for tests and Xrays. They neglected to Xray the lower part of his right leg, and he was sent home. The pain persisted, so we brought him back to the Emergency Room on Monday. This time, they discovered two fractures in his ankle. The doctors decided to put a cast on the ankle, rather than performing any surgery. He was taken to Stonehill Care Center here in Dubuque. When he is able to put weight on his leg, he will be given a program of physical therapy. He seems very content with the care he is receiving and keeps in frequent contact with the abbey via visits and phone calls.

With the restrictions and distancing required by COVID now becoming less necessary, we have been reassessing the arrangements of liturgical furnishings in the church. We had added extra choir stalls, moved the altar to the base of our presbytery steps, and placed the lectern used for the eucharist and divine office at the center of the church. Unfortunately, this placement of the lectern greatly diminished the ability of half the church to hear what was being proclaimed. Considering the importance and centrality of the celebration of the Word in all our liturgical services, this problem needed attention.

Discussions on our House Council led to the following decisions. For one month (beginning May 1st), the small altar on the ground floor will be removed and we will resume celebrating the eucharist at the main altar. This allows us to return the lectern to the east end of the church. The whole speaking system had been designed for the lectern to be in this position. This has raised the level of aural comprehension to more than acceptable levels. Views of the altar and eucharist are no longer blocked by the lectern. The downside of these changes is that presiders and ministers with any physical infirmities will have difficulty in mounting the several steps to the altar. And the placement of the lectern at the east end of the choir area means a longer hike for those who must go to the lectern for readings.

After one month, we will experiment with an alternate placing of the altar and lectern, bringing both closer to the middle of the church and closer to the guest section. Some choir stalls will be removed with this option to draw all the participants into closer proximity. The monastic architecture of the church was designed to create a space which would lead one into an openness where God is met. But this sometimes is at odds with desire for space which binds us more humanly to one another.

Information has already been posted on the Memorial Mass for Fr. Xavier this Saturday, May 7th. We hope the weather will cooperate by providing comfortable and dry conditions for the celebration in a large tent in front of the monastery. The family will have an opportunity to share their memories at the end of the service.