Dear Friends and benefactors of St. Paul’s Abbey,

When we see the deep blue sky and beautifully tinted trees in this season, we can feel God’s grace. Asking God’s abundant grace and gifts for you and your family, I would like to share the news of our community with you.

I. Our Brothers

New face: Br. Barnabas Song came here from Waegwan Abbey in Korea on September 22. When he was in Seoul monastery, he worked as a cellarer and manager of the monastery. Now he is learning English and having his period of adjustment.

Abbot Augustine: On May 25, our beloved brother Abbot Augustine Hinches passed away peacefully and returned to God at St. Catherine of Siena Health Care Center in Caldwell at 3:07am. In spite of his Parkinson’s Disease, he worked hard and made good efforts for the community with his whole strength and heart. He loved Christmas trees and the tree farm so we decorated the altar with Christmas trees at his funeral mass. Around 150 people attended the funeral mass and burial rite.

Sad news: On August 25, Br. Marinus’ father, Mr. Basil Do-Su Kim, passed away because of lung cancer at around 4:38pm. The funeral mass was at the Korean community in Brooklyn, NY at 10:00am. All Korean brothers attended his funeral mass and consoled his family. Postulant Jin-mo Paul Chung, who joined on June 4, left the monastery on September 24 because of his view of the monastic ideal. He wants to live a more prayful life.

Other Brothers: Br. Bernadin and Fr. Odilo went on their home vacation to Korea and Tanzania in June. Br. Bernadin visited Korea for two weeks on the way to Tanzania. He visited Waegwan Abbey and its dependant houses. He had a good time and experience with Waegwan brothers. In June and July, Abbot Joel attended several celebrations such as the 25th Anniversary of Ordination Mass for Fr. Prior Elias Lorenzo at St. Mary’s Abbey, the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Profession of Fr. Raymond Studzinski at St. Meinrad Archabbey, the alumni reunion and the 50th anniversary of the class of 1964 at St. Meinrad Archabbey with Br. Luke. On September 8, Abbot Joel went with Br. Luke to St. Mary’s Abbey to attend the inauguration of the 75th anniversary of Delbarton School with Abbot Primate Notker at 5:30pm and on September 23, he went to Cuba and then El Rosal, Colombia for the major superiors’ meeting.

II. Guests

This summer many guests visited our community. On June 12, Fr. Aaron Jang of Waegwan Abbey and Fr. Elias Lee of St. Joseph Priory in Korea came here to learn English and experience some American culture before attending “Study Weeks” in Germany for abound two months. While they were here, they visited some Benedictine Abbeys and convents, and also visited Niagara Falls, New York City, Washington D.C., etc. On June 23, Mr. Bob Lunny, who was one of the crew members of the ship “Meredith Victory” and 5 Koreans visited us in memory of Br. Marinus and his heroic act and humanitarian mission at the evacuation of Hyungnam Harbor during the Korean War. They visited our Abbey cemetery and honored Br. Marinus. On July 28, Fr. Christian Temu, who was a Congregation Secretary, visited us and stayed with us until August 2. On September 6, Abbot Primate Notker visited us and had lunch with us. He came to St. Mary’s Abbey in New Jersey on September 5 for the inauguration of the 75th anniversary of Delbarton School on Sept. 8. In spite of his age, he always looked very energetic and spirited. Abbot President Jeremias and Fr. Stephan Raster came here for the Canonical Visitation from September 16 to 19. The day before, the newly elected prior of St. Joseph Monastery in Korea, Prior Pacomio Choi, arrived with Abbot Blasio Park who came here for the visitation. After the visitation, they went to Cuba and El Rosal to attend the major superiors’ meeting.

III. Canonical Visitation

Abbot Blasio also joined discussions with the visitators. They encouraged and stimulated us to thrive as a community so that we can firmly root the Benedictine monastic way of life in this ground. On the basis of the visitation, Abbot Blasio and brothers made several decisions, after having deeply reflected on where we should focus to realize the goal of the community and its missionary obligations. So we have made the following decisions:

1) Vigils, morning prayer, vespers and Mass are celebrated in Korean. 2) Noon prayer and compline are celebrated in English. 3) However, Mass on Wednesday and Saturday is celebrated in English. In special cases, the language of the liturgy can be determined differently after community notification is announced. 4) The time of the community Sunday Mass changes from 9:00am to 10:30am. 5) We started this schedule on Sunday October 5.

IV. Renovations

The plan to remodel the retreat house is still being promoted. When we submitted the construction proposal to the township on July, the Building committee rejected it because our buildings need fire warning systems and handicap restrooms, etc. Thus, the construction was delayed in order to revise the drawings and prepare for fire equipment, and the cost has more than doubled. Although we asked for help from the congregation at the visitation, we also should pay our own expenses. But it is very difficult for our present financial condition to complete this construction without your help. I humbly and eagerly ask you for help. When we renovate our retreat house, we can accept retreatants and guests in more modern, convenient facilities. Thank you for your prayers and support. May God repay your good deeds with his abundant gifts and grace.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Samuel Kim, O.S.B., Prior
and the monks of St. Paul’s Abbey

Easter 2014

Dear friends of St. Paul’s Abbey,

Happy Easter! Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead by defeating sin and death. Let us rejoice at his triumphant resurrection! From now on, we do not have to worry about anything in our lives because Jesus became our true hope as our savior and Lord. We would like to share the joy of resurrection with you. We also wish the abundant grace of Easter to overflow in you so that you can bear abundant fruit in this blessed Easter season.

Brief Monastery News

We brothers of St. Paul’s Abbey have sincerely sought and followed God’s will and made several development plans in order to deeply implant the Benedictine monastic way of life again in this area. As I mentioned last newsletter, we have properly proceeded with the installation project for showers and toilets in the retreat house rooms with the help of a Korean architect.

Visit of Abbot Blasio Park: On February 20, Abbot Blasio visited us and stayed with us until March 3. He met with all the Korean brothers twice for almost the whole day, talked about many things and made some decisions. In particular, we decided to renovate our retreat house mainly for retreatants. However, we also will install showers and toilets in our brothers’ rooms and expand the monastery area a little more. While Abbot Blasio was in the USA, he attended Abbots’ and Priors’ workshop at St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama from Feb. 21 to Feb. 25. He asked for some help from the abbots who have colleges and seminaries because he plans to send some Korean brothers to America to study. I also attended the meeting with him.

Our Brothers: Fr. Augustine So, who came here in 2011, returned to Waegwan Abbey in January. Now he works at the Abbey library. On April 25, Br. Mario Kim, who worked at the library in Waegwan Abbey, came here. He will be given his new assignment after having some time to adjust. The second Abbot of St. Paul’s Abbey, Abbot Emeritus Augustine Hinches, moved to a nursing home run by Dominican sisters in Caldwell, NJ on March 4. He worked and made good efforts for our community with his whole strength in spite of his Parkinson’s disease. Our brothers occasionally visit him. I ask you to pray for Abbot Augustine. Br. Matthias Yoo visited Korea for his home vacation for two months. Fr. Odilo also went to Korea for 2 weeks to attend the funeral mass for his sister-in-law. During Lent, Korean priests helped several Korean communities to hear confessions and gave some lectures. On February 6, Br. Luke had eye surgery once again because a fragment of cataract fell into his eye during the last surgery and it was successfully removed. After the surgery, Br. Luke along with Br. Bernardo Lee and Br. Ezekiel Kim attended the celebration of Consecrated Life with Evening Prayer presided by our local Bishop Serratelli at St. Philip in Clifton, NJ. Br. Ezekiel prayed one of the intercessions in Korean. On March 29, Abbot Justin returned to Namibia after having medical treatment for several months in the U.S.A.

Vocation Guests: Mr. Jong-kun Chris John Han and Mr. John Cho visited our community in January and in March respectively. They are both from the West coast. Mr. Jinmo Paul Chong will join our community on June 4. He was supposed to come here in March, but he asked me to postpone his entry until June because of his father’s eye surgery in May.

Guests: From January up to now, many guests have visited us, especially on March 21, the Solemnity of Passing of our Holy Father Benedict. Fr. Edward and Fr. Benoit from St. Vincent Archabbey visited us and stayed with us until the next day. They work at the Saint Benedict Education Foundation for Saint Anselmo in Rome. Around 6 people attended the Easter Triduum Retreat from Thursday, April 17 to Sunday April 20. Fr. Michael Goonan and Fr. Sebastian Lee, who are priests of the Society of St. Paul in Staten Island, visited us and attended the Easter Triduum Liturgy. Several Koreans and Americans attended Easter Vigil Mass and shared the joy and glory of the Lord’s resurrection with us.

Dear friends,

March 15 was the 90th Anniversary of Foundation of Newton monastery. We Korean brothers have lived here for 12 years since we received stewardship from the American community. Soon it will be the 100th Anniversary of Foundation. We have sincerely tried to root our monastic way of life in this area, but it is not easy. There are many problems and difficulties, especially old and worn-out monastery buildings. Last year, we renovated roofing on the retreat house wing. This year, we have a plan to install showers and toilets in the rooms of the retreat house. We expect that our retreatants and guests will stay here more comfortably. I would like to ask you for help in order to faithfully seek and follow God’s will as monks and missionaries. Once again, we thank you for your generosity. May the Risen Lord give you and your loved ones his abundant grace and love.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Samuel Kim, O.S.B., Prior
and the monks of St. Paul’s Abbey

November 2013

Dear Friends of St. Paul’s Abbey,

The sky of Autumn is pure and high like a deep blue sea. The fruits are getting ripe and the leaves of trees are falling to the ground. We may give thanks to God for his abundant gifts and love. Asking God’s grace for all of you, I would like to bring you the recent news from our community.

Visit of Abbot Blasio Park: On September 9, Abbot Blasio, who was newly elected as the fifth abbot of Waegwan Abbey on May 7, visited us and stayed with us until September 18. On September 11, he visited Christ the King Priory in Schuyler, Nebraska to give thanks for their financial help for the construction of Waegwan Abbey. The next day, he returned to Newton with Br. Ansgar, Fr. Richard, Fr. Stephan, Br. Victor and Mr. Ballhausen who had a meeting at Schuyler of the congregation mission procurators. They were supposed to go to Niagara Falls on September 12, but they couldn’t go there because of excessive flight delays. The next day, Abbot Blasio and the mission procurators went on a Manhattan tour guided by Fr. Matthew and me. On Saturday, September 14, the mission procurators left Newton. Abbot Blasio met all the members living at Newton Abbey, from September 14 until returning to Korea on the 18th. We talked about many things and made some decisions.

Guests: We always welcome friends and guests. In April, we had a visit frrom Fr. Paul Rubadue, who is a priest of St. Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania. Abbot Simon Ri visited here on April 9 and stayed with us for around one month after his resignation as Abbot of Waegwan. Now he is chaplin of the Trappist convent in Su-jung, Korea. In May, Fr. Paul Kasun, monk of the Schuyler Priory, and his two friends, Mr. Richard T. De Luna and Mrs. Diane E. De Luna visited us. Other visitors in June were Fr. Ildelfonce Mapara, Fr. Volker, who is a monk of Schuyler Priory, Fr. Paul Paparosky from St. Peter’s Abbey in Canada and Br. Mark Florianiani from St. Vincent Archabbey. In July, Fr. Peter Ahn, who lived here for 10 years, came back for a visit. Now Fr. Peter works at the Suck-jun parish as a pastor. In September, Br. Herman Kim, who transferred to Assumption Abbey in North Dakota five years ago, came here for his vacation and met with Abbot Blasio.

Brothers: In April, Deacon Owen went to Pinebeach, Bayville, NJ to preside at the wedding of his grandniece. Br. Matthias went on pilgrimage to Mejugorie. I went to Mount Angel Abbey, OR, to attend the evaluation of Br. Marinus and ask for a scholarship. In May, Fr. Matthew, Br. Bernardo and Deacon Owen went to the Motor Lodge in Parsippany to take Pool Water Class and take the course and an exam for the license. Fr. Matthew and Br. Bernardo got their license. Abbot Joel went to Namibia to visit Abbot Justin in the Windhoek Priory and Fr. Peter Blue in Inkamana, South Africa. Fr. Augustine So returned home from Korea after his home vacation. Fr. Matthew went to Detroit Korean community in Michigan to give some lectures for the Charismatic Prayer Seminar. In June, Fr. Odilo took the oath of American citizenship. He became the first American citizen among Korean missionaries. Abbot Joel went to Waegwan Abbey, Korea, to attend Abbot Blasio’s blessing. Fr. Matthew went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his seminary classmates. Deacon Owen and I went to Our Lady of the Rosary monastery to attend Deacon Rafael Jose Perez’ ordination. Deacon Rafael is a hermit of Hermits of Bethlehem. In July, I went to Korea for my home vacation for around two months. I returned to Newton with Abbot Blasio on Sept. 9. In September, Br Luke went with Br. Bernardo and Steve to the summer meeting of the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers Association in Washington, NJ. Abbot Joel, Abbot Justin and Br. Luke went to Good Shepherd parish in Andoverto attend the funeral Mass for Fr. Steiger who was the founder and former pastor of the parish. In October, Abbot Joel went to Africa to visit the Benedictine students studying at Morogoro, Tanzania and at the Langata study house in Nairobi, Kenya. While he was in Tanzania, he visited Fr. Damian Milliken at Mazinde Juu, Lushoto, TZ. Br. Pontiano, who worked in the kitchen and the vegetable garden, returned to Waegwan Abbey on October 14. He took charge of the kitchen in Waegwan Abbey. Br. Ezekiel, who worked as goldsmith, will come here from Waegwan Abbey as soon as he can get a visa.

Events: We purchased a generator for the well and the sewage plant. Although it was rare, in recent years electricity has gone out because of hurricanes and heavy snow. When super storm Sandy hit this area, we lost power and used water from our pond for the toilets. We also installed a new roof on the Retreat House. From now on, we don’t have to worry about blackouts and leaks. We continue to renovate our buildings and our monastic way of life. We have discussed our liturgy, especially how to harmonize English with Korean. We have agreed to the Korean brothers’ proposal to pray the Divine Office separately in Korean instead of English from vigils to vespers on the first Saturday each month. If something happens on the first Saturday, we will do it the next Saturday. We will try this form for 6 months beginning in December, 2013. After 6 months, we will discuss this form and adjust it if desired.

Vocation Guests: Mr. Martin Eo and Mr. Jinmo Paul Chong visited us as vocation candidates. Mr. Jinmo will visit again in December and will decide if he will join our community. He is an American citizen who got a MA and Phd degree in mathematics at UCLA.

We continue to pray for you for your kindness and help. May God give you his abundant blessings and gifts. Thank you.

Fr. Samuel Kim, O.S.B., Prior
and the monks of St. Paul’s Abbey

Advent / Christmas 2012

Dear Friend of St. Paul’s Abbey,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Greetings and the abundant blessings of our Lord to all of you. When we see the people who buy the Christmas trees to prepare for Christmas, we strongly feel the coming of the Lord to us. We pray and hope that you and your family have a glorious and blessed Christmas and New Year. On the other hand, we know that there are still many people who suffer from Hurricane Sandy. We also ask our ever loving God to strengthen them so that they can recover their normal life and share the joy and happiness of Christmas. Asking our Lord Jesus Christ for his love and grace, we would like to bring you up to date concerning the recent news from our community.

General Chapter: From October 3 to October 18, I attended our General Chapter which took place at Damme Priory and St. Ottilien Archabbey in Germany. The Chapter meets every four years and this was our 20th General Chapter. Superiors and delegates from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas were present. As the Prior of this community, I reported about the condition of our community. Abbot Joel also attended the meeting as the superior of the American community. Now we all 9 Korean monks live together with 4 American brothers and 1 Tanzanian brother, Br. Bernadin, observing monastic discipline as missionaries. As Abbot President Jeremias mentioned, our most pressing need is to take care of aging buildings. It is very difficult to build a new monastery building because of lack of funds. Therefore, we may hurry to repair the roofs of our buildings, inspect the heating system and install a new boiler system as soon as possible. I hope that our Newton community will grow constantly in order to be the salt and the light to the world as faithful Benedictine monks and missionaries.

Ordination and Renewal of profession: Deacon Bede Na, who went to Waegwan Abbey to prepare for his ordination, will be ordained as a priest in Waegwan Abbey, Korea on January 25, 2013. After ordination, he will return to St. Paul’s Abbey. We have planned for him to celebrate his first mass in our Abbey church some day in February. Br. Marinus Kim will renew his temporary profession for two years in mid-January 2013.

Christmas tree sale: Thanks to many volunteers and friends from several Korean communities and American neighbors, our annual Christmas Tree Sales are favorably progressing. We wish that with the fresh tree scent, God’s grace and blessing will fill the homes of the people who buy the trees. We also pray for God’s abundant graces to all of the volunteers and friends who helped sell trees and made beautiful Christmas wreaths.

Our Brothers: The Korean brothers made an annual retreat at the Sacred Heart Center of the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, Newton from Monday, Sep. 10 to Friday, Sep. 14. This time Fr. Yeyoun Whang, who studies “Spirituality of Priests” at Washington University, gave some lectures and spiritual directions for us. We had a good time sharing fraternal love in the love of God. On Nov. 20, Deacon Owen and I attended Bishop Serratelli’s Meeting with Superiors at St. Paul Inside the Walls. Bishop Serratelli reported on the USCCB meeting and pastoral priorities and affairs of the diocese. The superiors also shared and talked about some issues, especially action on urban collaborative initiative. They decided to established a Neighborhood Center in Passaic, NJ and support it in various ways. Our community also will support it with prayer and donations.

On Oct. 13, the Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburga invited us to the Eucharist for the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Monastic Profession of two sisters. Br. Luke, Fr. Augustine, Br. Bernardo and Deacon Owen attended the celebration and shared in their joy and thanksgiving.

Hurricane Sandy: Due to Hurricane Sandy, we didn’t have electricity and water for a couple of days. Many trees on our property also fell. While electricity was gone, we changed prayer time and used water from our lake for flushing toilets. Fortunately, we gained back power two and a half days later. When the electricity came back, we also turned off or turned down the heat in some areas of the monastery building to save oil because the oil and gas companies were running low. Now we are looking for a generator for our water and sewage plant. We also talked about how to help the needy when our neighbors lost power and water because of the natural disaster. We agreed to donate some amount to Paterson diocese to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Guests: Many guests visited us, especially in November. Frs. John Lee and Paul Jang, who are my classmates, visited us for about one week. Fr. Lee came on vacation from Chung-ju diocese in Korea and Fr. Jang is pastor of a Korean parish in Montgomery, AL. While they were here, they went to Washington D.C. with me. On Nov. 14, Fr. Young Gil Joo, who is a pastor of the Kansas City Korean community, also came here to meet Frs. Lee and Jang because they are all from Chung-ju diocese. On Nov. 21, two more Korean priests, Fr. Myoung Suk Peter Han and Fr. Bo Yo Seo visited and stayed overnight with us. On Nov. 27, Br. Young-ho Philip Bae, who is a brother of Kkottongne Brothers of Jesus in California, also visited us and stayed with us until Friday, Nov. 30. Abbot Justin also visited us in November for health care. He had a surgery and then went to Boston. I hope he may regain good health. I appreciate all the guests for visiting us.

Dear friends of St. Paul’s Abbey,

We should not lose our hope in Jesus even though many difficult things happen in our life such as Hurricane Sandy, several tragedies and financial problems. We believe that Jesus Christ will bless us with more abundant gifts and grace when he comes to us if we trust him with our whole hearts because Jesus will never disappoint us. I again thank you for your help and your kindness. We wish you a blessed Christmas and a hopeful New Year of 2013. May God bless you and your loved ones. Thank you very much.

                                                          Fr. Samuel Kim, O.S.B., Prior
and the Monks of St. Paul’s Abbey

Advent / Christmas 2011

Blessed Christmas! May the resounding message of Christmas
bring peace and love of God to you and your beloved ones!

Greetings and abundant blessings of our Lord to all of you as you prepare for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and the New Year of 2012. Although we live with various difficulties these days under the turbulent economic circumstances of the world, we should not forget that we can deal with them by the hope of Jesus Christ who alone can give us true happiness and peace in our lives. We pray and hope that you and your family have glorious and blessed Advent and Christmas seasons. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and your loved ones with his abundant grace, peace and happiness. Asking our Lord Jesus Christ for his love and grace, I would like to bring you up to date concerning the recent news from our community.

Diaconate Ordination and Solemn Profession : Br. Bede Na was ordained a deacon with 5 other seminarians presided by Bishop Arthur Seratelli at Saint Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown on May 20. Fr. Samuel and 11 other brothers attended and congratulated him upon his ordination. Now he works at the retreat house and camp. On July 23, Br. Bernardo Lee took his Solemn Profession in a ceremony presided by Abbot Simon Ri. His parents, who are from Brazil, and around 110 guests attended the celebration. He was the first candidate and also was the first to take solemn vows at our community since we Koreans came here. Although Deacon Bede took solemn vows first, he took them at Waegwan Abbey in Korea last year. Br. Bernardo works in the business office and studies accounting at Sussex County Community College.

Christmas tree sale: Thanks to good weather, we have sold a good number of trees so far. We hope that we can sell as many trees as possible this year under good weather conditions. When we see the people who buy the Christmas trees to prepare for Christmas, we feel the coming of the Lord to us. Every year many volunteers, Koreans and Americans, members of Knight of Columbus, officers from the County Sheriff’s Department and our neighbors come here to sell Christmas trees. We really appreciate their good efforts and help. We pray that God will give them his abundant grace.

Our Brothers : Fr. Bosco celebrated his 40th Anniversary of Ordination on July 5. Around 100 guests attended the celebration and congratulated him upon his anniversary. Every year our local bishop, Author Serratelli, invites Jubilarians to a Mass of Thanksgiving. Fr. Bosco was invited to attend the Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Mary Church in Denville, NJ on June 7, commemorating the Ordination to the Priesthood of Thirty Jubilarians. Br. Bernardo and I attended this Mass. Fr. Bosco also celebrated his 70th birthday on Oct. 3. We congratulated him and wished him good health and a loyal monastic way of life.

Abbot Joel traveled to St. Michael’s Priory in Kumily, India twice as usual. In addition, he was nominated “The Congregation Study House Advisor” by Archabbot Jeremias Schrőder and approved by the congregation council. Our organist Br. Luke had surgery on the lymph gland under his left arm on Oct. 6. Thanks to God’s help, he has gotten better and can play organ again. Fr. Odilo Yi visited Waegwan Abbey to attend the 50th Anniversary of Monastic vows of his borther Br. Nicolaus Ri on July 11. Fr. Peter went to Madrid, Spain from Aug. 15 to 21 to attend World Youth Day 2011 with a Korean-American youth group. On Aug. 20, Junior monk Br. Marinus Kim went to Mount Angel Abbey Seminary to take his first semester there. Br. Bernadin, Br. Dominic and Fr. Peter went on their vacations in Tanzania and Korea, respectively.

This year, I attended Bishop Serratelli’s Meeting with Superiors at St. Paul Inside the Walls with Deacon Owen on Nov. 22, and the Knights of Columbus “Pride in Priests” dinner with Fr. Bosco Kim in Haledon, on Nov. 21. On Sep. 12, I also went to Pittsburgh to give some lectures and celebrate Mass for Koreans for a couple of days.

Guests : Again this year many guests visited us. Fr. Damian and Abbot Justin visited us for medical issues. From Waegwan Abbey, Abbot Simon Ri came for the solemn profession, Fr. Raphael Sun and Fr. Mataeo Kim for selling books. Other guests were Br. Herman Kim, a former member of our community who now lives at Assumption Abbey in ND; Fr. Juanito, who was an oblate of our community; Monsignor Philip Franceschini, pastor of Church of our Lady of Pity in Staten Island, who came for a private retreat. On June 3, Fr. Michael Lee, a Korean-American who was ordained on May 28, visited us and celebrated Mass with us.

Events : We invited Fr. Hoyoung Choi, who is a music director and professor at Seoul Catholic University, and Mr. Sung-hun Yoo from Korea to give the Gregorian Music Retreat for Koreans from July 8 to 10. Around 53 people attended the successful retreat. Retreants asked us to invite them again next year. We also invited Fr. Prior Polycarpo Kim from Waegwan Abbey as a retreat master for our Annual Retreat from August 22 to 26 at St. Alphonso Retreat House, Long Branch, NJ. After giving our retreat, he was scheduled to give a retreat for Korean laity, but it was canceled because of Hurricane Irene.

We have some sad news. On July 24, Fr. Augustine So’s father, Aloisio So, passed away as the result of a car accident in Korea. Fr. Augustine went to Korea to attend his father’s funeral mass and returned home on August 7. Fr. Peter Ahn’s father has been hospitalized in critical condition. Now Fr. Peter is taking care of his father in Korea. Our novice Martin Cho left our community due to personal reasons. We hope he may faithfully seek God’s will at all times wherever he may go.

Dear beloved friends and benefactors, we always are thankful for your kindness and support for our community. We hope that our Lord Jesus Christ will give you abundant gifts and grace in this Christmas season. May the peace and happiness of the Nativity of Our Lord remain with you and your loved ones always.

     Fr. Samuel Kim, OSB, Prior
and the monks of St. Paul’s Abbey