Why on earth would a grown man subject himself to obedience, stability and something called “conversatio morum” unless he was a bit looney? – Tim Backous, OSB
A Way of Life, A Way of Faith
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Excerpts:
Tim Backous, OSB
I entered the candidacy period in 1978 while still a teacher at St. John’s Preparatory School. This initial testing was a lot less organized in those days. We would meet occasionally with our “master” who would in turn invite us to hear other members of the community tell their stories. They ran the gamut from practical (“I joined to avoid the war”) to mystical (“I had this out of body experience…”), so we all had something to grab onto.
Tim Backous, OSB
Why on earth would a grown man subject himself to obedience, stability and something called “conversatio morum” unless he was a bit looney?
Dennis Beach, OSB
Of course, Saint John’s suffers too from human foibles; it can succumb to the tendency of any institution to nurture its myths at the expense of its realities. And no one knows these foibles and myths better than the monks.
Don Talafous, OSB
For one who has lived in student dorms for many years as a prefect or faculty resident, it’s always a delight when the student- Benedictine relationship is not that of inmate and warden. Probably the most satisfying aspect of my academic life at Collegeville has been being able to retain as friends at least some of the extraordinary students who have spent their college years here. Like the many other loving people in our lives, they are signs of God’s love for us, these people who light up our life when present and whose memory does the same when they’re gone.
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See Also: Cloistered Passions
