Conventions ~ Sections ~ Activities

Online Spring 2025 Liturgy Speaker Series

Saturdays, 9am PT/ 10am MT/ 11am CT/ 12pm ET

Register

• March 22– Fr. Lorenzo Penalosa, “Work and Work: Monastic Hope in Light of Opus and Labor”
• Fr. Lorenzo Penalosa, OSB, is a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey. He is a doctoral candidate (STD in Liturgical Studies) at The Catholic University of America. He is interested in liturgical history, inculturation, church art and architecture, and monastic spirituality. His hobbies include calligraphy, photography, and sketching.

 

• April 26– Fr. Anthony Ruff, “Renewing the Monastic Office: Thoughts 60 Years After Vatican II”
• Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB is a monk of St. John’s Abbey who teaches theology at St. John’s University and School of Theology and Seminary. He is abbey music director, organist, and Gregorian chant conductor. He chaired the international committee that wrote the English chant for the 2011 Roman Missal, and he has served on the board of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians and the leadership team of the Catholic Academy of Liturgy. He has published several books and articles in his specialties of hymnody, Gregorian chant, liturgy, and liturgical music. He is currently on the committee revising the Liturgy of the Hours at Saint John’s Abbey.

 

• May 17– Sr. Cecilia Dwyer, “How Liturgy of the Hours Helps Build and Sustain Community”
• Sr. Cecilia Dwyer, OSB, has been a Sister at Saint Benedict Monastery in Bristow, Virginia since 1963. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Marywood University in Scranton, PA and a master’s degree in liturgical theology from The Catholic University of America. In addition to having served as prioress, she has been a lecturer, retreat director, and liturgist, and presently serves as subprioress, formation director, and accompanist for her monastic community. She also is on the Board of the international Benedictine organization for interreligious monastic dialogue.

 

• June 14– Dr. J.J. Wright, “New Musical Approaches to the Liturgy ”
• Dr. J.J. Wright is the Director of the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir. As a conductor, pianist, composer, and producer his interests lie at the convergence of the creative process, music-making, spirituality, and liturgy. J.J.’s work has appeared on Grammy-award winning and #1 Billboard Classical albums.

Register

See the Series Flyer

See the Upcoming Session Flyer

SECTIONS

Many members of the Academy belong to ABA “sections.” Sections facilitate communication during and between conventions among members who have common interests. Current sections are Visual Arts, Monastic Research, Library and Archives.

The Archives Section is for those who keep the archives of their monasteries and for all friends of the archives. Monastic archives house community records which are no longer in current use but are of enduring value, ensuring their availability to scholars and researchers. The Archives Section is a resource for newly appointed monastic archivists as well as a community for all monastic archivists and archive volunteers. The Archives Section meets during the biennial ABA conference, at which time those in attendance discuss current projects and concerns. Between times, section members keep in touch by e-mail on an as-needed basis. If you would like more information or have suggestions, please contact: Virginia Jung, OSB, St. Scholastica Monastery, 7430 N. Ridge Blvd., Chicago, IL 60645 [email protected]

The Monastic Researchers Section is a forum for those studying monastic history, spirituality or related fields and includes many scholars who are not members of religious communities as well as the monastics. The section meets during the biennial ABA conference to inform others of their current projects and interests and to share resources. There is a regular newsletter which announces new publications by members, topics of current research and other items to facilitate networking among those fostering scholarship in this field, edited by Sister Ephrem Hollermann, OSB. Sister Colleen Maura McGrane is the current convenor of the section and may be reached at: [email protected]

The Visual Arts Section provides for sharing and support among ABA members who practice painting/drawing, sculpture/pottery, photography, textile arts, or any branch of the visual arts. Gregory Evans, OblSB, is the coordinator, please contact him at [email protected]

The Library Section provides a forum for monastery librarians as well as librarians of their sponsored institutions and anyone interested in monastic resources.

OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES

Benedictine Studies Sessions are sponsored by the Academy at the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI. The congress is a worldwide gathering of scholars that takes place every May, and the ABA is one of many organizations that sponsor sessions. Each organization decides its themes for the following year at the time of the meeting. In late summer a call for papers is circulated and all sessions have to be organized and confirmed by October. Thus anyone wishing to participate should consult the congress website during the designated time frame or, if someone has a particular area of interest and would like to propose a topic for a future session, they may contact the ABA organizer:

Hugh Feiss, OSB
Monastery of the Ascension
541 East 100 South
Jerome, ID 83338
[email protected]