Dr. William K. Thierfelder
2008 Commencement - Welcoming Remarks
(Dr. Thierfelder welcomed all in attendance and offered a special thanks to
parents, spouses, families, friends and lead the crowd in acknowledging the faculty and staff as extraordinary teachers and mentors as well as life long friends. The conclusion of his remarks is below.)
This year we lost a dear friend and member of the Monastic Community, Father Paschal Baumstein. I thought it appropriate to share a couple of quotes from Father Paschal’s book My Lord of Belmont which is an autobiography of Abbot Leo Haid.
I think Father Paschal best captured the depth and significance of our heritage and tradition as a College and Monastic Community when he wrote:
“Benedictine Monks take a vow of stability: a lifetime profession to a particular monastery. This commitment provides a unique base of strength and longevity on which the monastic community, and in turn, that of the greater College stands.
True to this Benedictine tradition, the pioneers of Belmont Abbey sought to develop a life and character that would endure. Abbot Leo Haid believed sturdy brick buildings would express values like stability and beauty. Around these structures thrived a rich human element, comprised of varied individuals, both young and old, monk and student, cleric and lay, male and female, who were nurtured into a whole by scholarship, religion, strenuous effort and the fraternity of their common life.
For both College and Monastery, the buildings, the people and their activities have formed a strong, enduring tradition and a lasting stability, a bond that cannot be broken”.
As you venture forth today into exciting, but still uncertain times, do your best to dedicate yourself entirely to the service of others, trust completely in Divine Providence, and take comfort in the “stability “ of which you are now part, your home here at the Abbey.
I do not believe in accidents, you were brought here for a purpose. You have placed your hands upon the same bricks that were formed and put in place by our founding monks over 130 years ago. You are a part of the Abbey and it is forever changed because of you.
I will leave you with these final words, a prayer and a blessing, by Abbot Leo Haid, on May 4, 1886. These were the words he used to bless the cornerstone of the College Building, now know to you as Stowe Hall.
“The work and prayers here “shall spread God’s blessing over this beautiful country in years to come, when perhaps few of you who are listening to me now, shall be among the living”.
This is a beautiful vision of each member and generation of the Belmont Abbey community, as a blessing from God, to be shared with the world for all time. You are that blessing and with it come the obligation and responsibility to double the talents God has entrusted to you.
I hope that by your example, you will inspire others to greatness, excellence, virtue and holiness as you live out the Abbey’s motto, Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus, That in all things God may be glorified.
Each of you and your families will remain in my daily thoughts and prayers.
Thank you and God bless you.
