Christmas 2019
Dear Friends of St. Paul’s Abbey,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Greetings and the abundant blessings of our Lord to all of you in this
Christmastime and the New Year of 2020. We thank you for your kindness and help
which you showed us throughout the year of 2019. We keep praying for you so
that you may always live in the love and protection of Jesus Christ. Giving
thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for his love and grace, I would like to bring
you up to date concerning the news from our community.
Our brothers: When we look back 2019, there were some major
changes for some of our brothers. Deacon Owen Grimes, who lived in our
community as a monastic oblate, moved to a nursing home in Paramus, NJ because
of health problems. Thanks to good treatment, he is getting better. Br. Joseph
Duck-Hyun Kim, who took solemn vows at Newton in 2017, is living outside the
monastery for 1 year from July, 2019 to July, 2020 in order to earnestly
consider his monastic vocation. Br. Barnabas Song, our building maintenance
man, returned to Korea on October 30 after completing his assignment in Newton.
Now he is in Busan monastery. Two more brothers in Waegwan Abbey have been
assigned to come here and are arranging for their visas. Br. Luke had an
operation for cancer in July and now is undergoing anticancer treatment. In
spite of his weakness, he still works at the business office. Abbot Justin, who
stayed here for more than 1 year for his health problem, finally returned to
the convent in Namibia, Africa on October 14 after recovering his health. Fr.
Cyprian Ryu, who studied at St. John’s Abbey seminary, was ordained as a priest
at Waegwan Abbey in Korea on June 24. He came here on August 15 and celebrated
his first Sunday Mass on August 26. After the Mass, we celebrated Fr. Cyprian’s
ordination by sharing food with guests in our retreat house dining room. Now
Fr. Cyprian is studying religious education at Fordham University and staying
at one of the parishes near the university.
Guests: It is God’s blessing to have many visitors in
the monastery. On April 24, Br. Pontiano Kim came here and stayed with us for 3
months. He had lived here from 2010 to 2013 working in the kitchen and
vegetable garden. On May 10, Br. Amadeus, a monk of Hanga Abbey studying at St.
John’s Abbey in Minnesota stayed with us until August 23. While he was here, he
visited St. Mary’s Abbey in Morristown for 10 days. Abbot Blasio Park came here
from June 26 to July 8. While he was here, he visited the Havana community in
Cuba with me. There are 6 monks in the Havana community: 2 Philippines, 2
Cubans, 1 German and 1 Korean. Abbot Blasio visited the community to meet the
Korean monk, Fr. Aaron Jang, and to help the community. Abbot Blasio asked us
to develop a good relationship with the Havana community because the Newton
community is very close to Cuba. Actually, Fr. Aaron even came here to give
retreats for oblates and our community from October 10 to 25. Br. Mark, a monk
of St. Vincent Archabbey, PA, Fr. Paul, a monk of St. Peter’s Abbey in Canada
and Br. Mario, a monk of St. Andrew’s Abbey in Cleveland, Ohio visited us for
their vacation from July 30 to August 2. They were my classmates at St. Vincent
Archabbey Seminary and once in a while we have met together. In addition,
several other brothers, sisters and priests visited us.
The Canonical financial and regular
visitations were made by the Congregation for one week in May and July
respectively. On May 18, Br. Ansgar Stufe and Mr. Marcus Ballhausen came here
for a financial visitation until Thursday, May 23. Abbot Romain Botta from Agbang
Abbey in Togo and Prior Pacomio Choe from St. Joseph’s Priory in Korea came
here for the regular canonical visitation from July 15 to 21. Both financial
and regular visitators encouraged us and gave us several useful advices to
successfully carry out various works and enroot the Benedictine monastic way of
life in this ground. By the way, while Abbot Romain was here, he visited Deacon
Owen in the nursing home. Abbot Romain studied at St. Meinrad Archabbey
Seminary around ten years ago. When he was seminarian, he used to visit Newton
and became Deacon Owen’s good friend.
Mary’s Garden and the Path of Grace: We have completed the way of prayer after
planting cherry and apple trees and also have built up the way of the cross
alongside the way of prayer from behind the monastery building to the Abbey
cemetery. We have named the way the “Path of Grace.” Moreover, we have
installed Mary’s Garden at the beginning point of the Path of Grace. Actually,
many guests and retreatants have come together at Mary’s Garden to begin
praying along the Path of Grace.
Dear friends and benefactors, we again
thank you for your prayer and help. Although we have still many problems and
difficulties, we believe that we can deal with them by the grace of Jesus
Christ and your help. We humbly ask you to keep helping and praying for us in
our work. May God give you and your family his great grace and abundant gifts
throughout the year of 2020.
Fr. Samuel Kim, O.S.B., Prior and the monks of St. Paul’s Abbey
