The coronavirus pandemic has turned the world upside down in a short space of time, leaving people isolated, lonely and vulnerable. We were confronted with a phenomenon that deeply shook our world view and self-image. We suddenly realised how fragile our lives are despite significant scientific and technological achievements. We kept asking ourselves the following questions: How can we cope with this situation? What will happen after this crisis? Is it possible to draw new hope and develop new perspectives on life from fear and powerlessness in the face of the invisible coronavirus, but also from other current events (wars, personal emergencies)?
With these questions in mind, twelve KAAD scholars from nine countries met at the hospitable Benedictine Abbey of the Holy Cross in Herstelle from 21 July to 24 July 2022 to reflect on their own life situation, gain new insights and receive spiritual inspiration for everyday life under the guidance of Fr Professor Ulrich Engel OP and Fr Professor Thomas Eggensperger OP. Under the care of the Benedictine community of 28 sisters, the group had the opportunity to experience the alternation of prayer, Bible discussions, meditations, spiritual readings and group services.
The spiritual days were strongly influenced by the love of the Benedictine liturgy - we celebrated Lauds, Eucharistic celebrations, silent prayers, midday hymns, vespers, vigils and compline together and marvelled at the unique Gregorian chant of the Benedictine nuns. The hospitality of the sisters was overwhelming: each of the guests found open ears and hearts for their questions and problems. Sister Angela Gamon, a qualified theologian, Gestalt teacher and novice master, gave us an informative introduction to the history and life of the Benedictine nuns as well as a guided tour of the monastery and church. She answered all the questions from the scholarship holders about everyday life in the convent, profession and vocation, religious names and their assignment, rights and duties of the sisters, etc. in an open and knowledgeable manner, but also with plenty of humour and anecdotes.
In addition to many interesting topics of conversation, a joint hike was also on the programme. As Herstelle Abbey is located in a very picturesque area on the banks of the Weser, in the so-called border triangle of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Hesse, we couldn't help but climb the observation tower and take more than 300 photos of the fantastically beautiful area. The Weser Skywalk on the Hannoversche Klippen was a real eye-catcher, offering a fantastic view of the Weser valley. Tired but very satisfied, we then celebrated the group mass with the respective national hymns of the participants. Father Ulrich and Father Thomas know very well how to make the group masses intimate, heartfelt and characterised by deep compassion.
An unusually powerful and memorable social drama, the film ‘Grand Torino’ (USA, 2008), which was shown as part of the seminar, also left a deep impression on all participants. The film deals with existential themes such as life vs. death, guilt vs. penance, lack of family values vs. concern for others, racism vs. tolerance, etc. In the discussion of the film, everyone agreed that violence cannot be stopped by escalation, but provokes even more devastating evil. The victory of good is only possible if the spiral of violence is broken.
The seminar programme was very well structured and well thought out. We not only had Bible discussions and intensive dialogue in the working groups, but also enough time for meditation and self-reflection in order to evaluate our own life situation and find opportunities for surprising new things. Trusting in God and in our neighbours, many of the scholarship holders at Herstelle Abbey were able to draw new hope from experiences of irritation.
The programme was rounded off with a joint farewell evening in the ‘Altes Fährhaus’ pub, where we thanked Father Ulrich, Father Thomas and all the other participants for their friendliness, the great conversations and the unique atmosphere.
Thank you to everyone who took part!
