Newsletter – 2024 Christmas -E

Christmas 2024

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

As we rejoice in the birth of the baby Jesus, who became human to save us and give us meaning, hope, and joy in life, we bring you a brief monastic update. We wish all of you who show love and concern for Newton Abbey the fullness of the Lord’s Christmas grace.

Monastery Centennial: We are so grateful that, thanks to your support and prayers, we were able to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the monastery on Sunday, October 6, at 11:00 a.m. with a Mass celebrated by Abbot Blasio Park of Waegwan Abbey in Korea, and a time of food, fellowship, and joyful thanksgiving for the Lord’s grace. Approximately 130 people, including clergy and religious, were present to share in the celebration and joy. Bishop Kevin Sweeney of the Diocese of Peterson attended the celebration and offered congratulations and encouragement. In addition, a documentary on the centennial of Newton Abbey, filmed by the Korean Catholic Peace Broadcasting in June, aired in Korea in early October and is still available on YouTube. We are so grateful that so many of you continue to support the renovation and refurbishment of the Abbey Chapel. It will be long before construction begins in earnest, but we are moving forward in small steps. We look forward to your continued support and prayer.

Canonical Visitation: The Canonical Visitation of our Congregation took place June 13-17 and was led by Abbot em., Prior Anastasius of Schuyler Priory in Nebraska, and Prior Pacomio Choi of Joseph Monastery in Korea. Our monastic life, as well as the overall financial condition of Newton monastery, was examined, and the visitators offered much advice, encouragement, and encouragement for the brothers to work together in more dialogue and understanding so that Newton monastery can continue to grow and Benedictine way of life can be deeply rooted in this area.

Guests: May the Lord’s great grace be with all who visit the monastery. In May, we were pleased to welcome Sr. Christina Moon, who served as the Prioress of St. Benedict’s Convent in Daegu, and Fr. Poemen Kang, who works as a secretary in Waegwan Abbey, along with two of his friend priests. On June 19, Fr. Clemens In, who serves as the mission procurator at Waegwan Abbey, and two producers came to make a documentary on the 100th anniversary of Newton Monastery. They stayed for ten days, filming in various parts of the monastery and meeting and interviewing many people. On the 20th, Bishop Kevin Sweeny, Bishop of Peterson Diocese, came here with Sr. Teresa and Fr. John Chris Han to interview Newton Abbey’s relationship and collaboration with the diocese and the beatification of Br. Marinus. Then, in October, Brs. Alexander Kim and Ireneo Kim from Waegwan Abbey with Abbot Blasio Park, Brs. Joseph Baek and Dominic Moon from Joseph Monastery and Fr. Adam from Schuyler Priory came to attend the centennial celebration on October 6 and stayed for a few days. We had a great time celebrating the centennial.

Brothers: Brother Matthias Yu, Subprior of Newton, had a home vacation in Korea for six weeks from April 15 and made a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe in mid-September. Abbot Joel traveled to Europe on business in mid-June, and from June 29 to July 16, he went to Kumily, Kerala, South India, to celebrate the community being raised to the conventual priory. He traveled to Kumily over the years to help out. He also went to the house that Hanga Abbey has in Klamath Falls, Oregon, in September to attend the celebration of being raised to a domus religiosa. On December 2, he visited Inkamana Abbey, South Africa, to give the community retreat. Abbot EM. Justin is still giving witness to Jesus’s love and Joy here at St. Paul’s Abbey, although he frequently visits the doctor’s office and hospital for his health problems. His presence here gives us strength and stability because of his fatherly and spiritual side. Br. Bernardo Seok-Yeong Jee, who came to Newton in June 2017, returned to Wagwan Abbey in Korea on July 1 for various reasons. One of the reasons was that he applied for permanent residency in 2020, but the Pandemic kept delaying it. This year, our community had our annual retreat from September 23 to 27, and Fr. Odilo Yi gave a brief history of Newton Abbey with old photos he had prepared for the centennial. It was a time to reflect on our lives and activities and the changes in the monastery from the early days to the arrival of the Korean monks and envision what Newton Abbey would look like in the future.

Vocations: A vocation knocked on our door for the first time in a long time.  Antonio Moon from South Korea visited the monastery on September 25 and stayed with us for about a month to experience the monastic life. After that, he wanted to enter our community. However, due to various circumstances, especially visa problems, it was difficult for him to join Newton, so he decided to enter Wagwan Monastery next January.

Christmas Tree Sale: This year’s tree sale started a little earlier than usual, the weekend before Thanksgiving, and ran through the 15th, the third Sunday in December. Although the number of sales has been decreasing each year, many people still come to the monastery farm, and with the help of our neighbors and Korean volunteers, we did well. Starting next year, the sale will be held in the back of the Gift shop because the place where we currently sell trees is rented. May the Lord’s great grace be upon all who helped with the tree sale.

Dear benefactors and friends, we are truly grateful for your prayers and support, which allow our Newton community to grow bit by bit and live according to Saint Benedict’s teachings and spirituality, bearing witness to the Lord’s Word and love. May the grace, joy, and peace of the Christmas of the Infant Jesus abundantly bless your homes, and may you continue to live a life whole of blessings in the coming 2025 in the love of the Lord.

Thank you.

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