On February 28, 2000 Father Louis B. Hasenfuss, OSB  finished his lifelong journey to our Father's house. His last message to us is presented here. Father Louis is lovingly missed.  
 
Fr. Louis B. Hasenfuss Conference Center
Slideshow of building progress


Since our last entry of the Chronicles -  

May 2008

May 1, Willow Siebert ecumenical group of eight met at the monastery for a 4 day retreat.  

May 2, a small group from The Oasis Assisted Living facility came for Mass and lunch.  

May 3, Oblate workday in preparation for the spring festival. Volunteers helped clean all of the food facilities, wash windows, distribute supplies, signs, equipment, etc. as well as mark of the 160 stalls for the vendors.

May 4, The Italian Federation from Green Valley came for Mass and lunch.

May 5, Seventy people from the “Young at Heart” club from Our Lady of the Mountains, Sierra Vista , came for Mass and their annual indoors picnic.

 May 6, the Medical Missionary Sisters came for their 3 day quarterly meeting.

May 10-11, our spring festival was held this weekend. It was a success. Attendance wise and financially the festival figures were better than the previous year. There were approximately 160 vendors and about 1400 cars were parked. One of our faithful oblates from Vernon , CT , Fr. Stan Szczapa was here, as he is twice a year.  Br. John Hansen, OSB, St. Johns Abbey, MN, was also here for the festival

May 15, Fr. Benedict, OSB, with Br. Gary, OSB, went to El Paso , TX to facilitate the El Paso Oblate meeting.

May 23, Fr. Benedict, OSB, joined the Tonga community for a weekend retreat at the Redemptorist Renewal Center , Tucson

May 24, Fr. Henri, OSB, attended the 50th anniversary of Prince of Peace Abbey, Oceanside , CA

April 2008

April 4, United Methodist Singles had a 2-day retreat for 40 people.  

The Friday of the month the monastery had monthly adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.    

April 5, monthly Oblate meeting facilitated by Fr. Benedict, OSB, with teachings from “Living the Mass” and the Rule of St. Benedict.

 April 11, World Community Christian Meditation group had a 2-day retreat for 20 people sponsored by Midio Media in Tucson.

April 18, Fr. Benedict, OSB, led our monthly Trinitas (Taize) service.

April 19, Fr. Benedict, OSB, left for Sacramento and Pittsburgh, CA, to minister to the Tonga community. He returned April 21.

April 23, Fr. Henri, OSB and Fr. Benedict, OSB, attended a 2-day Diocese of Tucson convocation with Bishop Kicancas.  

April 25, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Tempe sponsored a 2-day 12-step retreat for 79 men. Fr. John, OLMC’s pastor and Fr. Mike from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia were the retreat masters.

April 26, Fr. Benedict, OSB, meet with the Sierra Vista Oblates for their monthly meeting.

April 27, Manual and Liza Delao from Sun City, CA renewed their Benedictine Oblation to the monastery. They have been oblates of the monastery for 20 years and are part of the San Diego chapter. The Delao’s were visiting Pat Dawn, a residential oblate. 

April 28, Fr. ODO Recker, OSB, from Mt. Angel Abbey, visited Fr. Benedict, OSB, and had lunch with the community.

Barbara English-Hay and Ian Hay arrived in their RV to begin the Associate Program.

April 30, several people from the community - Marco, David, Linda and Bill - provided a cookout, sponsored by the monastery, for the students at Collego de Guadalupe (the Passionist Sister’s school) in Auga Prieta, Mexico.

January 2008

January 1, the monastery celebrated Mass at midnight and had a small social afterwards to welcome in 2008.  Mass was also celebrated at 10:30 am. 

January 3, Isak Keyman, a student from Assumption Seminarian in San Antonio returned to San Antonio after spending the Christmas holiday with us. 

January 4, there was an Oblate meeting which was facilitated by Fr. Benedict, OSB. His teaching was based on the book Living the Mass and a commentary on part of the Rule of St. Benedict.  

January 4, a 12-step program from Phoenix has a 2-day retreat for 50 people. 

January 10, Fr. Henri, OSB, as the Congregation’s Definitor, visited the Abbey in Pecos, NM. 

January 11, ten men from Catalina Foothills Community Church came for a 2-day retreat. 

January 12, The School of the Lord’s Service had a day long seminar.   

January 15, the Tucson Diocese Cochise County Vicariate monthly meeting was held at the monastery. 

January 20, a group of Third Order of Franciscans from Phoenix joined us at Mass today to celebrate national unity day. 

January 26, Whelan Baptist Church History Class of ten came for a tour and talk about monasticism. They also joined us for lunch. 

February 2008

February 1, Luz de Cristo had twelve people on a 2-day retreat. And Grace St. Paul had twelve people on an overnight retreat. 

February 2, monthly Oblate meeting was facilitated by Fr. Benedict, OSB. He continued from the same teaching as last month. 

February 7, Fr. Henri, OSB left for a Benedictine Superior’s meeting in New Orleans and then to the Notre Dame Abbey in Maylis, France for a Difinitor’s meeting. He also visited the monastery in Hawaii.  

February 8, Community Church has a 2-day retreat for 15 people.  

February 9, St Steven’s Episcopal Church had a ladies group of 30 spend the day at the monastery.  Also today, the School of the Lord’s Service had their monthly day long theological seminar. 

February 13, a small group from the monastery visited and took donations of food and clothing to the Casa Hogar de Nuestros Pequenos, the orphanage for boys in Nogales, Sonora which is operated by the Italian Carmelites.   

February 15, a women’s 12-step program from Phoenix had a 2-day retreat for forty. 

February 22, Church of the Apostles had a 2-day retreat for 13 people. 

February 23, the monastery had their annual Appreciation Mass and Luncheon.  Approximately 140 people were invited of which 90 plus attended. 

February 24, St. Andrews Episcopal Church had a 1-day retreat for 15 people. 

February 29, Matt Talbot Lodge had a 2-day 12-step program retreat for 35 men. 

March 2008

March 3, Fr. Benedict, OSB, left for Tonga to preside at his father’s funeral. His father, Stanley Lemeki, past away the prior Friday.  

March 6, Our Lady of the Mountains “Young at Heart” group from Sierra Vista came to the monastery for an “Indoor picnic.” 

March 7 was the annual 2-day Oblate retreat which was directed by the monastic retreat team. Fifty-nine Oblates attended, including about 16 Oblates from El Paso.  There are a number of Oblates who made their oblation during the retreat, not to mention all of the Oblates attending the retreat renewed their oblation.

            Novice Oblations                                                        Final Oblations

            Henry Muhlenbrich, St. David, AZ                              Patrick Young, Benson, AZ

            Stan Everhart, Tubac, AZ                                           Elizabeth Gonzales, Benson, AZ

            Laura Lopez, Nogales, AZ                                          David King, Portland, OR

            Maria Alaverez, St. David, AZ                                    Rufina Fernandez, Benson, AZ

            Rosa Guerro, El Paso, TX                                          Sherry Savio, Sierra Vista, AZ

            Rosemarie Calingasan, St. David, AZ                          Mary Strom, Monastery Resident

            Carmen Perez, St. David, AZ                             

            Blanca Alabador, St. David, AZ

March 12, a group of people from the RV Park visited Our Lady of Guadalupe College, the Junior High School that the Passionate Sisters staff and the school that the monastery helps support from time to time.

March 14, Joe Doerffler from the World Community of Christian Meditation facilitated a 2-day retreat on Fr. Richard Rohr’s spirituality – M.A.L.Es (Men As Learners and Elders).

March 15, Joe Hernandez facilitated a 1-day retreat/organization meeting for parish facilitators for Catholic Singles in Phoenix Diocese. The School of the Lord’s Service had their monthly day long theological seminar. 

March 17, the monastery community attended the diocese Chrism Mass. Prior to Mass the group met for supper.  The monastery had an active Holy Week with Seder Meal, Adoration, Stations of the Cross, Tenebrae, etc.  After the Easter Vigil Mass we had a reception/social gathering in Benedict Hall. This year, John Schere, one of our RV Park winter residents and Benedictine Oblate (from another monastery) was accepted into the Catholic Church. John and his wife, Mary, were very excited as well as was the monastery community.

March 23, Easter Sunday, the Carmelite sisters from Italy, Hermanos Cristo Rey IA.P., from the Nogales, Sonora orphanage began a 3-day retreat.

March 27, Fr. Benedict, OSB, attended a Formation Director’s meeting in Schuyler, NE. After the meeting, at the invitation of the Bishop of the Diocese of Tonga, Fr. Benedict, OSB, flew to San Francisco, CA to meeting with the Bishop.

P.S:

During this past month two people began a 3-month stint in the Associate Program, David King from Washington State and Dwayne Weiss from Oregon.  

Also during this past spring the monastery was blessed with an abundance of winter workers.  Together they have donated thousands of hours of labor!  Much was accomplished such as: pecans harvested and cleaned; the old Outside Inn building was torn down; many major and minor maintenance projects were completed; three monastery mobile homes were painted as well as the buildings in the plaza; the Vigas in the cloister and church were oiled; the cemetery was again cleaned and new rail fencing was placed around the Oblate cemetery as well as the road near the office and St. Scholastica; pond near the Hermitage was set-up to be drained for cleaning; numerous hours helping in the kitchen,  bookstore and thrift store; trees and bushes pruned; gardens watered; pot holes filled; museum roof, again, repaired; items bought, repaired and sold for Ebay account (“Junk from Monks”);  cleaned the meditation pond; reshaped and planted the island in the meditation pond; gutters cleaned throughout the property; the inserts in the outside wall on the south side of Fr. Louis Hall were tiled with picture tiles; kitchen laundry done weekly; walks around office and Fr. Louis Hall cleaned weekly; provided library help; fought off the increase of gopher population; music and voice lessons were provided for the Easter choir and community choir in signing the psalms; etc., etc., (I know that some projects were not mentioned as they should have been, but you have the idea – much was accomplished through the labor of love.)  

The hard working generious RVers who were here a month or more were from many parts.
Rudy and Liz Alveraz from New Mexico
Buck Buckley and Sheila Quigley from Alaska
Lee and Rose Cowan from Illinois
Ken and Arthurine Dampier from British Columbia
Jim and Judy Finnerty from Wyoming
Steve and Sandy Flatgard from Nebraska
Gordon and Judy Hunt from Alberta
Bill and Nancy MacLean from California
Roy Marlia from Oregon 
Donald and Marcy Meyer from Kansas
Vern & Thelma Meyer from Iowa 
Frank and Joanne Ripley from Minnesota
John and Mary Schere from Nebraska
Joe and Judy Schueneman from Minnesota 
Dennis and Patty Schreiner from Nevada
John and Elizabeth Scott from British Columbia
Harvey and Mary Jo Vogel from South Dakota
Bill and Lorraine Webb from Alberta
Elayne Welle from Minnesota

Coach Leo Golembewski, an Oblate and coach of the University of Arizona Ice Cats, extended the stucco wall in the Monastic Cemetery and planted 24 Italian Cypress trees along the wall. He also had an Our Lady of Guadalupe grotto built in the southeast corner of the cemetery.

John and Mary Strom’s daughter and son-in-law and two grand children spent over a month visiting them at the monastery. They also provided a significant amount of work. Thad rebuilt the rail fence in the cemetery, trimmed and cleared trees, as well as helped with many of the projects the RVers were involved. Deb installed WIFI equipment that one of her friends donated. This has greatly enhanced our internet service.

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Bookstore and Gift Shop

The Bookstore and Gift Shop carries  the work of local and international artists which consists of watercolors, oils, hand painted porcelain, gourd art, stained glass, pottery, wood and jewelry, as well  as a selection of religious books and music along with medals, rosaries and other religious articles. Much of the artwork is exclusive to Holy Trinity Monastery. 


We continue to sell our own Benedictine Bread, Banana Pecan Bread and Chocolate Bread, as well as pecans from our orchard.  Recently we began featuring ground coffee from the Trappist monks of La Loma, Venezuela. Each Sunday after Mass, there is hospitality meeting on the porch of the bookstore featuring coffee and baked goods to allow for fellowship.


The e-Scrip program has been a means for the monastery to receive financial support. 

What is eScrip?

 eScript is a program established by Electronic Scrip Incorporated to provide support to non-profit organizations.  eScript is connected to approximately 600 merchants nationwide that contribute a percentage of the money spent at one of their establishments by a supporter of a specific non-profit organization, in this case Holy Trinity Monastery.

How does it work? 

1) Signup for eScript on internet – www.escrip.com and register your grocery store club card(s), frequent customer card and/or your credit card.  When registering please use our group ID# 9607198 or name, Holy Trinity Monastery.

Whenever you use your card(s) at any of the eScript businesses a percentage of your purchase automatically goes to support the monastery.  It does not cost you anything.  The registration section of the website is secured.  Your information is handled confidentially.  The website lists the participating merchants.  Each merchant gives a different percentage, from 1% to 10% of the purchase. Merchants such as, Safeway, Vons, Chevron, Pep Boys, OfficeMax, Eddie Bauer, etc. participate in this program

If you have any questions please see the website of eScript above or call the monastery, (520) 720-4016 ext 17. 

For those who do not have access to internet they may register through the monastery by requesting a registration form at the above number or writing us at PO Box 298, St. David, AZ 85630