Welcome back to “Around the House!” For our January/February issue, we’re looking at even more of the simple, day-to-day moments of grace that impact our lives as monks, both on and off the Hill.
Opening the Cloister: A Weekend of Discernment
During the weekend of October 10-12, 2025, we opened our cloister to several men who’ve expressed an initial interest in pursuing the monastic way of life. Father Simon Herrmann, the vocation director of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, led a discernment retreat for seven men, wherein they joined us for all our liturgies and meals and spent that Friday night with our novices and juniors during their recreation at the Placidium. Various monks assisted Father Simon in planning the retreat and offering talks. “We had conferences by Father Archabbot Kurt, Father Subprior Kolbe, Father Eugene, and Brother Zachary,” said Father Simon, who has served as the vocation director for the monastic community since December 2024.
When asked about his work as vocation director, Father Simon commented, “The vocation director is responsible for journeying with young men who are interested in a monastic vocation.” He’s usually the first point of contact for men interested in discerning the monastic way of life, and this work doesn’t occur just around the house. “I would say I am always ‘on’ as vocation director. I never know when a random encounter, either at the monastery or in some of my external work, could lead to a possible vocation.”
In offering some advice to potential monastic vocation seekers, Father Simon reflected, “I would encourage anyone reading this to be an advocate for us with regard to vocations: often a simple encouragement of a young man to consider monastic life at Saint Meinrad can go a long way.”
Discernment retreats for 2026 are currently being planned and will be announced soon. If you’re a man between the ages of 18 and 40 who feels that God is calling you to discern the Benedictine monastic way of life at Saint Meinrad Archabbey, please contact Father Simon at vocations@saintmeinrad.edu or call him at (812) 357-6611.
Samson: A Gentle Giant in Pastoral Service
One of the queries people often ask is about monks who may not live on the Hill. We currently have 11 expositi monks living and working away from the monastery. Father Christian Raab, one expositus, serves as associate pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Jasper, IN, and teaches systematic theology in our seminary. Unlike the other expositi, though, Father Christian has a special assistant in his pastoral ministry.
Samson is a three-year-old Bernese Mountain dog and “is a very sweet and gentle boy, a gentle giant,” Father Christian commented. According to Father Christian, he’s a bit of a “Velcro dog”—he follows obediently, making it ideal for him to help in making sick calls or greeting parishioners after Mass. “I have taken him on nursing home visits and to visit homebound parishioners.” In a spirit of humility, Father Christian quickly added, “I have discovered that one visit from Samson is worth about 10 from me in terms of lifting their spirits.” Samson does particularly well with the children in the parish. With such an amenable temperament for a diverse audience, Father Christian is attempting to get Samson certified as a therapy dog.
Samson has been assisting Father Christian since March 2025. The community’s previous dog, Lexi O’Divina, who was also entrusted to Father Christian’s care, went to her eternal reward in January 2025 after seven years of faithful service to Saint Meinrad Archabbey and St. Joseph Catholic Church.
Christmas on the Hill
On December 23, 2025, the monastic community assembled in our calefactory (living room) for our annual tree trimming party. Brother Joel Blaize and his team of refectorians [Brother Jean and yours truly] set out a delicious spread of meats, cheeses, crackers, sweets, and drinks for the annual celebration. When asked about the soirée, Father Eugene Hensell was utterly speechless—this correspondent may have asked him for a comment right as he began enjoying a piece of cheese.
Several monks decorated the tree with ornaments. Our second youngest member, Brother Isaac Levering, had the honor of crowning the tree with its star. Not everyone took the opportunity to place an ornament on our Christmas tree, though all of us shared in fellowship with each other. Several of our expositi were home for Christmas—Father Warren Heitz, Father Edward Linton, Father Lorenzo Penalosa, and Father Nathaniel Szidik—and seized the chance to catch up with confreres and relish being home on the Hill.
The Christmas season is certainly a festive one here at Saint Meinrad Archabbey. The monks have the opportunity to dial back on some of our work for a couple of weeks, so we’re enabled to enter more actually and fruitfully into the impending mystery of the Incarnation—God become man in the person of Jesus Christ. We already immerse ourselves in a slower pace, though even monks need to slow down and take in God’s grace in the moment. The Advent and Christmas seasons afford us the luxury of slowing down even more so that we can see the abundant evidence of God incarnated among us.