The bells of Saint Meinrad Archabbey calling the monks to prayer have been a sign of hope for me for most of my life. It began when I was a little girl, and my dad visited Saint Meinrad for rest and prayer.
My mom passed away unexpectedly when I was four years old. I was the sixth of seven children, and Dad was left to raise us on his own. Returning home from the Hill, he would talk about the bells, the monks, and the prayer.
As I look back through my now adult eyes, I can name the peace dad found, which offered him great hope in the midst of the stress, chaos, and grief he experienced at times with the challenges of life back at 6000 N. Olney. In later years, I accompanied my dad to Saint Meinrad for various functions, and when those bells grabbed his attention, he would smile with joy and say, “Listen to those bells!” They were so soothing to his soul, and I knew their graces ran deep within him.
As the years have passed, I have come to experience my own love affair with those bells during my time at Saint Meinrad, beginning with joining high school students on visits as a campus minister, later for my theology classes, and, gratefully, over the past eight years or so, as a member of the Board of Overseers.
The stability of the bells call, along with the image of the monks routinely and solemnly filing into the Archabbey Church to chant the psalms in unison and in humble prayer for the world, always offers my soul a deep and profound sense of hope!
When daily life is difficult for a myriad of reasons or the news of the world just gets overbearing, I will often look at my watch and remind myself that the monks will be praying soon, in however many hours or minutes it is until their next gathering, with “the presence of Jesus among them.” This sacred moment, tied deeply to both my past and present, brings me an immediate sense of relief – and hope.
The bells of Saint Meinrad offer a beacon of light for the world, as they did for my dad and continue to do so for me. They are loud, steady, and eternal. They call us all to bring the world a joy it struggles to know and a hope it longs to believe in.
Mary Schaffner, Graduate Theology Alumna, Board of Overseers