New Monk Admitted to Local Abbey

The sound of steeple bells faded into the icy air as worshippers filed in and shook off the chill of a frigid Saturday in which the mercury would crack the lower teens. Filled with the strains of organ music and illuminated by candles and natural light filtering through frosted windows, the sanctuary provided a welcome respite for congregants who had braved the cold and were on hand to witness a special event at the Church of the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Louis.

Then, all grew quiet.

“Brother, by baptism, you have already died to sin and been consecrated to God’s service,” intoned Abbot Thomas Frerking into the still air." In your first profession you chose to live out that consecration in the monastic life. Are you now resolved to unite yourself to God by the bond of lifelong profession?”

“I am,” replied Michael McCusker as he stood before the assembled clergy.

McCusker’s question-and-answer session was part of the mass of the Solemn Profession, a rite that makes the young man, now known by his religious name, Brother John McCusker, the newest monk at the institution.

At a reception held afterward, Frerking said the event is both special and somewhat rare.

“This is always a very solemn occasion for us and also a joyful one, because somebody is giving his life to the Lord God and his service and the service of all of his people,” Frerking said. “He joins us as a brother. He supports us in that, and we support him in that. We couldn’t have a better day."

He said the timing, just weeks after Christmas, was appropriate.

“That’s the Lord’s gift to us.”

Frerking said he’s only been involved with about 10 or 15 solemn professions since coming to the institution in 1979. Oddly, five of them have been in the last year. About 30 monks are at the monastery, founded in 1955 by three English Benedictine monks.

“Are you resolved to prefer nothing to the love of Christ, freely to commit yourself to him with all your heart, and to promise stability in this Monastery of Saint Mary and Saint Louis?” asked Frerking.

“I am,” McCusker said.

As the series of questions continued, McCusker went on to vow a commitment to the search for God and the monastic life. He then promised stability, obedience and conversatio morum.

Conversatio morum?

“It’s not translatable, really,” Brother Maximilian Toczylowski said, “But, it means conversion of lifestyle including celibacy and communal poverty.”

Toczylowski would know. He took the same vow having undergone this ceremony four and a half years ago. He said he’s known McCusker since they were both students at , a Catholic junior high and high school for boys, housed on the church’s campus.

There’s little doubt why he does it.

“It was the desire to see God above all other things,” he said. “In particular, at this monastery, there’s a balance in that contemplative life where we see God but also serve as people in education and pastoral work.”

After signing his profession document, McCusker placed it on the altar and then lay face down on the tile floor, his head down upon his folded arms as fellow monks covered him with a funeral pall. As the young man lay still, a list of saints was recited while the entire congregation repeated, “Pray for us,” in response to each name.

“Gracious Lord, ruler of all, we invoke your mercy on this servant of yours whom you have called to follow Christ your Son in the monastic way of life,” Frerking said. “Grant that he may remain faithful to his vows, and obtain the salvation he seeks.”

The Abbot then read a list of 18 qualities from bearing suffering cheerfully and accepting correction willingly to being constant in prayer and never tiring of showing mercy. After each, a loud “Amen” echoed through the sanctuary.

Though he admitted it was a bit warm under the heavy cloth, McCusker recalled this part of the rite with special fondness.

“I think one of the most meaningful points was when I was covered by the funeral pall, and the litany of the saints was sung,” he said. "It was just a beautiful symbol of the spiritual death to the world that the monastic life is, and the resurrection in Christ that comes.”

McCusker said he had been thinking about joining the monastery as far back as the seventh grade.

“It’s the sort of thing that grows over time,” he said. “It was just a thought in the back of my mind that kept coming back.”

Growth over time is an important part of monastic life. A monk’s initiation into his new lifestyle comes in stages, beginning with Postulancy, a brief period during which a candidate gets a taste of what’s entailed while participating as little or as much as he likes in religious life. That’s followed by the Novitiate, a year of study and reflection living within the monastery walls. Afterward, a Simple Profession is made, committing the prospective monk to three years of monastic life. Finally, candidates enter the last stage, a Solemn Profession in which a lifelong vow is made.

Like the funeral pall, McCusker’s new name is meant to symbolize the death of his old life and the rebirth of a new existence dedicated to God.

“With the Abbot’s discernment and lots of prayer and reflection, I decided to make this leap of faith,” he said.

As the rite drew to a close, Frerking welcomed McCusker as a part of the monastery. He was then greeted by his monastic brothers who hugged him one by one.

“We confirm that you are now one with us as a member of this monastic community of Saint Mary and Saint Louis, and a member of our chapter,” Frerking said.

The morning concluded with communion.

Dolores Mohrman, a congregant for 17 years, said she was impressed by the turnout for the event.

“We try to get to most of the monk’s affairs, and this was one of the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen come for vows--even for some of the ordinations,” she said. “I’ve seen him grow as a monk and as part of the order. I know he’s going to be a dedicated member of the monastery.”

McCusker’s sister-in-law, Becky McCusker, was in with her husband from Chicago to see the ceremony. She had also been there for his simple profession three years earlier.

“We’re just all very blessed and excited for Brother John and excited that we can share it with him,” she said.

Father Ralph Wright has been with the institution for four decades. He described McCusker as a straightforward individual with a good sense of humor and a talent for music and singing. He’s known the 28 year-old since the young man’s days at Priory where he was in Wright’s creative writing class.

“It’s always a big moment in a monastery when there’s a Solemn Profession,” he said. “Living together as a family, you get to see how people are appreciated by one another.”

For McCusker, it’s the start of a whole new life. He thanked God, his friends, the community and particularly his parents and family.

“I’m very blessed, and I’m extremely excited that I’m able to dedicate my life to God and this amazing and wonderful vocation of the monastic life,” he said.