“I believe that our challenge as disciples is to bravely carry the cross of Christ. I’m very optimistic about the future of the Church. If we keep the faith, look to Christ, pray the Our Father, and purify our relationship with God, everything will be OK.” (Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, OSB)

During my 25 years as a bishop, one of my top priorities has been ministry to the young Church. Wherever I was—celebrating the sacrament of confirmation, speaking at youth conferences, on college or seminary campuses or participating in informal gatherings at my residence—I made a point of telling young people that we need them, we love them and we support them. 

My whole approach has always been to support young people and encourage them to want to serve in the Church, not only as priests and religious but also as lay witnesses to their Catholic faith. Our youth need and deserve the witness of sacrificial love. I have no doubt in my mind that, given the guidance and support they need, our young Church will respond to a prophetic, countercultural way of living because our youth are looking for a life of meaning and love that is real.

In 1985, Pope John Paul II wrote a letter to the youth of the world. Speaking to the young people of that time, he told them how tremendously important their teenage years were because during this time of their lives they were beginning to take personal responsibility for their decisions and to make choices about their future. Young people deal with the questions “What does God want for me?” and “What can I do to make a difference in this world?” 

The Holy Father’s advice was very powerful. He told the young Church: “As you search for answers to answer these all-important questions about the meaning of your life and the world we live in, look to Christ. If you pray every day in your own way, everything will be OK. You’ll find yourself a lot more peaceful, a lot happier and a long way down the road toward figuring out what you can be and do to make a difference in life.”

From Surprised by Grace: Memories and Reflections on Twenty-Five Years of Episcopal Ministry, Chapter 2, “Courage” by Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, OSB

“It’s not a cakewalk. Some days it’s extraordinarily difficult and painful.”

Following the stroke which forced him to retire early and return to Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Indianapolis Archbishop Emeritus Daniel M. Buechlein, OSB, had to learn to be dependent on the care of others. In fact, the Benedictine monks of Saint Meinrad and their co-workers in the monastery infirmary cared for Archbishop Daniel for seven years until his death yesterday.

Here is an excerpt from Archbishop Daniel’s memoirs, Surprised by Grace: Memories and Reflections on Twenty-Five Years of Episcopal Ministry, Chapter One, “Aloneness.”

I am working harder than ever to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, to surrender to the will of the Father, to regain my physical strength, to channel my emotions, and to use my mind to pray, to learn and to teach. In short, I continue to seek God in the dramatically changed circumstances of my life and ministry.

It’s not a cakewalk. Some days it’s extraordinarily difficult and painful. I fall periodically. When I stand up, my blood pressure plummets, and I lose my balance. The last time this happened, I sustained a concussion. Thank God I have wonderful caregivers who prevent me from falling, or who catch me as I’m about to hit the ground, or who pick me up after I’ve fallen and check to make sure I don’t have another concussion or a broken bone. It’s hard to be so dependent on other people, but what a blessing it is to have them so close at hand when I need them!

Since the stroke, I have had to face the fact that I will never be able to live on my own again. My emotions, and my pride, strongly reject this humiliating truth about myself. I know that I have to fight against the temptation to see myself as “damaged goods for life.” In fact, that’s not the case at all. My mind is clear. My body is healing. And I’m learning to deal with my emotions.

I’m not damaged goods. I’m a monk, a priest and a bishop who seeks God alone. I am relentlessly seeking the One who seeks me in the new circumstances of my life. 

My friend and mentor Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, OSB, passed away last night. I was privileged to know him for more than 50 years, and I will miss him very much. Thanks be to God, Archbishop Daniel is now at peace. 

Here is a quote from the preface to Archbishop Daniel’s 2013 memoir Surprised by Grace: Memories and Reflections on Twenty-Five Years of Episcopal Ministry:

During his 85th birthday homily, Pope Benedict XVI, one of my heroes, said, “I am in the final stage of my life journey and I do not know what awaits me. However, I do know that the light of God exists, that He rose again, that His light is stronger than all darkness, that the goodness of God is stronger than all the evil in this world. This helps me to continue with confidence. This helps us to continue, and I would like to thank everyone who, through their faith, continually makes me aware of God’s yes.”

I couldn’t say it any better. I don’t know what awaits me, but I believe with all my heart and mind and strength, that I am in God’s hands. This helps me to continue with confidence, with gratitude and, yes, with joy.

+Daniel Mark Buechlein, O.S.B.

It’s hard not to love St. Francis of Assisi. He’s a saint for all seasons—very modern in his sensibilities and yet an old-fashioned advocate for basic Christianity.

A couple of years ago, I spent 8 days in Assisi with a group of pilgrims from Marian University in Indianapolis. We studied, prayed, ate and drank, toured the Umbrian countryside and in all things sought to encounter Francis (and his friend St. Clare) to learn more about the Franciscan way of life.

What we learned was that Francis was a man of many contradictions. He was the son of a rich man who chose to become radically poor. He was a joyful man who voluntarily underwent intense suffering. He was a peacemaker who tried to end the Crusades single-handedly by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the “enemies” of Christendom in the Middle East.

Francis was a man of prayer who loved to sing and dance. He was strict—even rigid—with himself and his followers but full of gentleness and mercy toward all others.

He wanted to follow Jesus, to rebuild his Church and to serve the poor with all his heart—to be Christ for them in all his words and actions. He did not want to found a religious order, but the Franciscan movement founded itself around him—for better or worse.

Those of us the world over who have come to know and love the followers of Francis and Clare of Assisi are deeply grateful that St. Francis didn’t always get his way. The Franciscans can be full of contradictions, too, but they keep the Franciscan movement alive and present to us spreading the joy of the Gospel and seeking the peace of Christ!

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Today is the feast of St. Meinrad, the patron of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana. Happy Feast Day to all the Monks of Saint Meinrad!

Here are some reflections from my book The Benedictine Way:

Saint Meinrad is a holy place because God is taken seriously there. The monks seek him in their daily prayer and work. They celebrate his goodness, and they implore his help in times of need. Of course, a lot of ordinary stuff—pettiness, quarrelling and selfishness—happens on the “holy hill” because sinful human beings live and work there every day. Still, the things of God are evident to anyone who has eyes to see. Saint Meinrad Archabbey reflects the presence and power of God sometimes in little ways but often enough in big ways. It truly is a holy hill, a sacramental sign that God is with us always.

The Archabbot of Saint Meinrad, Kurt Stasiak, summarizes Benedictine monasticism as “seeking God in community.” This presumes a commitment to being guided by others and helping others find God. Prayer and fidelity to the common life are the principal ways that followers of St. Benedict seek God in community over the course of a whole lifetime. Archabbot Kurt goes on to say that “mutual obedience to the Rule, the abbot and to each other is the way to God” for monks and for all who strive to live according to the teaching of St. Benedict.

Once it is understood and lived authentically, The Benedictine Way  is truly a way of peace and joy. That never happens overnight. It takes time to absorb the principles and practices of Benedictine spirituality and to integrate them into our minds and hearts. This is true for vowed monks whose whole lives are dedicated to living the Rule of Benedict in a particular place and time. It’s also true for ordinary people who are not called to be monks but who are seeking ways to live the Gospel that can help us cope with the madness of everyday living “in the world.”

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The Benedictine Way by Daniel Conway is available at www.danielconwayauthor.com. 

What do I Own and What Owns Me? It’s a question worth asking. Am I obsessed with stuff? Do material things rule my life? What does my spending/buying say about me? What about my desire for success? For the approval of others? For comfort and control?

The spirituality of stewardship speaks directly to this age-old problem. It shows us how to let go of dependence on worldly things and values so that we can truly be free.

The basic insight of stewardship is that God is the owner (creator & sustainer) of all things—visible and invisible. God alone can claim absolute dominion over the material and spiritual world. We have been gifted with all that we have and all that we are. And we have been invited to serve as stewards (managers, caretakers) of all God’s gifts.

Our stewardship of all God’s gifts expresses itself in four predominant values: Gratitude, Accountability, Generosity and the Willingness to Give Back with Increase.

Gratitude acknowledges that we have received abundant blessings from a good and gracious God.

Accountability affirms that we are responsible for ourselves, for our sisters and brothers, and for all of creation.  We will be asked to render an account of our stewardship of this great responsibility according to the words of Jesus: Whatver you did (or failed to do) to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did (or failed to do) to me.

Generosity imitates the creative work of God whose abundant sharing of life and all the good things of creation is boundless. God is Love and at every turn God’s Love is given unconditionally to us regardless of who we are, what we own or what we have accomplished with the gifts God has given us.

Willingness to give back with increase demonstrates our desire to take the material and spiritual gifts that God has given us and use them to help build a better world.

Stewardship is a form of spirituality, a way of living the Gospel in a me-centered, materialistic culture. What do I Own and What Owns Me? It’s a question worth asking.

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What Do I Own and What Owns Me: A Spirituality of Stewardship by Daniel Conway is available at www.danielconwayauthor.com for $12.95.