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SUBIACO — The Benedictine monks of Subiaco Abbey built their community on the strength of their faith and their backs, in equal measure. Starting this year, they’re letting the students of Subiaco Academy get back into the action themselves.
The school revived its Saturday morning work detail with the dawn of the new school year, as a means to reinforce the Benedictine motto, “Ora et Labora” (Prayer and Work).
“From the earliest moments when the academy was founded in 1887, manual labor by the students with the monks has been an integral part of their formation,” said Father Elijah Owens, OSB. “It is not just that the students undertake manual labor, but that they do so beside a monk who is trying to lead by example.”
Generations of students helped clear land, raise crops, tend to animals, bale hay and other agrarian pursuits the abbey has pursued over the years on the acres surrounding the hilltop monastery and boarding school. This year’s tasks include picking the crop of habanero peppers, picking up trash, clearing trails and cutting fallen trees.
“It’s year ‘round, just whatever needs to be done,” said Brother Reginald Udouj, who with Father Owens oversees the program. “The students will be like, ‘Ahhhh, no more peppers to pick,’ and we say ‘Yeah, but we got pecans coming.’ There’s always something to do.”
The tradition of students working on the farm fell into disuse as the population of monks thinned. However, as the community has enjoyed a resurgence of numbers over the past few years, the decision was made to bring the tradition back.
The number of workers varies widely on any given Saturday. Greg Timmerman, dean of men, said those boys working off a detention for minor rules infraction number from one to nearly a dozen, but that’s only part of the workforce. A surprising number — by Brother Reginald’s estimate, a third to a half some weekends — show up to earn service hours or just for something to do. Sang Woon Lee, a ninth-grader from South Korea, was one who volunteered his time — 10 Saturdays this semester to be exact — to pick peppers and clear brush. While that undoubtedly befuddled his peers serving detention, it didn’t detract from the feeling of being involved with his school.
“I didn’t get any different reaction from the boys on detention,” he said of his peers. “I was picking peppers on the weekend to get service hours. And it was fun. I liked to help the monks. And it was fun with other students, too.”
The monks who manage the boys in their tasks also gain from the experience. Primarily made up of junior monks (those who have yet to profess solemn vows) Father Owens said the interactions are important bonding and teaching moments on monastic life.
“While the primary work of the monk is daily communal prayer, manual work is also integral to who we are as monks,” he said.
For an academy alumnus like Brother Reginald, there is something familiar, almost nostalgic, in the Saturday ritual. Some of his fondest high school memories include the unscripted moments he spent with the monks.
