Sunday, May 5, 2013

Father Edward


For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:6

Father Edward entered Spencer in 1951 when the Abbey was being completed. Through the years he has served the brethren generously in numerous capacities. He currently works at the labeling machine in the Trappist Preserves kitchen. Father is a man of prayer, and he says that he treasures the early morning hour when he meditates on a verse of Sacred Scripture.

With special permission Father Edward lives his monastic life as a hermit. He tells us, “I love the solitude of the hermitage where I have lived for 44 years. And when I am in community or at work at Trappist Preserves, I love serving the monks and being with them. They are Christ among us. We all have faults and when we love one another as we are, we imitate God who loves us in Christ without condition. Precious!”

He adds exuberantly, “I wish the whole world were attracted to the beauty of monasticism and that young men would fill our Abbey, as they did in 1960 when we had 200 in the community."