Monks got extra help this year with a massive corn harvest in Muenster, SK, thanks to a layperson in Regina who rallied some support..St. Peter’s Abbey, a Benedictine monastery 225 km north of Regina and 127 km east of Saskatoon, has large cornfields on its property. The brothers and priests have travelled to Holy Cross Parish in Regina for years to sell the corn they planted and reaped..This year, parishioner Cathleen Devraj decided to help. She brought another four people from Regina to spend an afternoon picking the cobs..“Because they're aging and three are in wheelchairs, I felt that this year we should reciprocate and go there,” Devraj said in an interview with Western Standard..“It was a joy-filled day. And none of us had picked corn before. I wasn't sure whether to go with a pair of scissors or a knife because I'm a city girl.”.Devraj said the monks pray at 7 a.m. and again at 12. Her crew arrived at 11:45 a.m..“We joined them for prayer and then the abbot came out and showed us where to pick,” she said. Father Lawrence, now 86 years old, told them he felt guilty watching and joined them to help..Over 1,000 cobs were picked on the hot day. Devraj took them back to Regina. Ten cobs sold for $5 and the funds went to the monastery. Popular demand had left just two dozen unsold at the time of the interview..“They're all coming back for seconds. They're saying it's very sweet. I hadn't tasted it until last night, and I thought, yeah, this is nice,” Devraj said..“We didn't get any last year. That crop was not good. But this year, they're really pleased with that crop.”.Devraj said they shared coffee and Saskatoon berry pie with the brothers and priests, who were happy to have the company..“We sat around with them and laughed and joked and talked. One man with us said, ‘You know, I really didn't want to leave,’” she recalled..“With a big smile on his face, Father Lawrence shook our hands and gave us a blessing prior to our departure home.”.Devraj said she will be back for more in 2024..“It's a beautiful facility, and there's just so much potential. I don't want to see these communities die,” she said..“I'm hoping that we can get more people to go next year because it was just a lot of fun. Of course, we were really tired when we came, but we were so glad that we'd gone. [...] Faith without works is dead. We need to wake up.”.Brother Basil Schaan told the Western Standard he was glad for the Regina crew..“Everybody comes and picks for themselves. It just happens that usually we went and picked for Regina. But this year, we just don't have the manpower. So it was very nice that they come and picked for themselves,” he said by telephone..Schaan said the abbey rents land for sheep and goats to raise and others for grain. Garden vegetables, Saskatoon berries, and apple trees serve the residents’ needs. A CBC article in 2019 said the monastery hosted 3,000 visitors annually, with spiritual retreats being a draw, and also had bees. The abbey had 16 people then, but its numbers have dropped, Br. Schaan said..“The abbey has five priests and five brothers. And they come together six times a day and pray from 10 minutes to 45 minutes each date. And then we do maintenance and yard work and some are just kind of retired. And then we have one teaching in the college and one monk librarian in the college,” the brother explained..“We’re totally independent, but when they register, all our classes get registered with the U of S–arts and science programs, first and second year university students mostly, but we also have engineering and [kinesiology].”.Br. Schaan expects final registration to number 85 when classes start next week, all in a town of 422 people. The abbey was founded in 1903 and is the oldest monastery in Canada. The Italian monk Benedict, who lived from 480-543, began the Benedictine Order, which has followed the Rule of St. Benedict to this day.
