15 minutes with Brother Matthias, (Matt Meyer), brother of Tonya Meyer, director of the Bluffton Senior Citizens Center and son of Basil Meyer of Bluffton.

Where did you graduate from high school?
I attended school in the Northeastern Local school district and graduated in 1981. Our family moved to Bluffton in 1984 and my younger brother and sisters attended Bluffton schools.

 When did you join the Abbey of Gethsemani, located in Trappist, Kentucky? 
After living in Bluffton about 30 years, I joined the Abbey in November of 2014.

How many monks are at the abbey?  
There are currently 40 monks here.

What was a prerequisite to joining?
Men who want to join must be in good health, debt free, and between the ages of 22 and 50.

Tells us about your decision-making into becoming a monk. 
A religious vocation in the Catholic Church is considered to be an interior call by God, which requires some discernment by the individual. For many years I considered different religious options. The monastic vocation is a balanced life of work and prayer in a community of like-minded men, and the setting is rural. I felt that I could serve God well in this lifestyle.

To which order does the abbey belong?  
Our order is the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (O.C.S.O.), also known as the Trappists. We are an affiliation of the Roman Catholic Church.

Describe your regular daily schedule. 
The day begins at 3 a.m., with a 40 - 60 minute "office" called Vigils beginning at 3:15 p.m. Then a period for private Bible reading and prayer calledlectio divina (divine reading), and breakfast at the monk's discretion.

At 5:45 a.m. begins Lauds (Praise), followed at 6:15 a.m. with daily Catholic Mass, (10:30 a.m. on Sundays). 

Terce (the Third hour) is a 12-minute office at 7:30 a.m., followed by a 4-hour morning work period. 

Sext (the Sixth hour) is about 12-minutes at 12:15 p.m., followed by the main meal of the day, Dinner, in the refectory. The monks do not talk, but a monk will read aloud from a book at this time. After Dinner is a free hour called Siesta. 

None (the Ninth hour) is 12-minutes at 2:15 p.m. followed by an afternoon work period of about 3 hours.

At 5:30 p.m. is Vespers (Evening Prayer) for about 30 minutes. Supper is at the monk's discretion, and occasionally guest speakers will address the monks in the evenings. The last office of the day is called Compline, at 7:30 p.m. for about 15 minutes. Then the monks are free to go to bed.  

The Bluffton Senior Citizens Center is selling your fruitcake and chocolate this month. What's your involvement the creation of these items? (I'm eating the chocolate walnut fudge as I write this.)
At this time of the year, most able-bodied monks are on the shipping floor during the working periods helping package orders for postal or UPS deliveries. After my first Christmas here, my initial involvement was in packaging finished fruitcakes and managing the inventory of the packaging department.

I was temporarily assigned to manage the fudge making for about four months, which included the packaging and refrigeration of the finished product. The last two years I've been managing fruitcake production, which also involves maintaining inventories of ingredients, as well as producing all the bread that the monastery needs.

Have you made enough that you could probably make these in your sleep? Attention to detail is important, although the routine rarely varies - we work to produce a high quality product that our customers can rely on to be the same year after year. I'm not good enough to do that in my sleep.

Where do your customers live?
Besides the 50 states, Puerto Rico and other territories, we ship to Canada, Europe, Africa, the Philippines, and some U.S. military bases abroad. The cost of shipping beyond U.S. borders usually exceeds the value of the product.

Are there members of St. Mary’s in Bluffton who inspired you to enter your vocation?  
In 30 years at Bluffton I met many people whose values were reflected in lives of integrity and service to others. Good people inspire others by the lives they live.

Tell us a little about your own spiritual journey and what it means to you? 
I think God calls everyone to holiness wherever they happen to be. It's a whisper though, so one must be still to hear it. God offers something much better than what we already have.

To get it, we need to let go of what we think is of value, and put God first. So the journey involves being still, listening and letting go.  It means trusting that God has your best interest at heart.

That's my journey in a nutshell. I think God is calling me to something better, I don't know exactly what for sure, but I'll never know unless I take a step in trust.

On another subject, what’s the most recent book you’ve read?
Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides, who also wrote Ghost Soldiers. It tells the story of how the western territories of New Mexico, Arizona and California became states, the principal characters involved, especially Kit Carson, and the Native American tribes of the area, particularly the Navajo. A good read, I recommend it.

And, finally, can anyone visit the monastery? 
Yes, we have a retreat house with 30 rooms to accommodate people who would like to visit. Meals are provided. Attendance of services is optional. There are miles of trails through the wooded hills to hike, and the place is known for its beauty and peacefulness.

Currently the church, retreat house and gift shop are closed due to the pandemic, but we do not expect that to be a permanent situation.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Perhaps when the pandemic is over, we will come visit and hike trails and experience the peacefulness.