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Reflections and thoughts about Brother
Fred Buerman, ob.OSB.
Sign the Remembrance Book View the Remembrance Book
Br. Fred's Funeral Mass-December 1st, 2011 Dear
Friends of Fred,
Fred's funeral will take place on December 1st at noon at Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David
Arizona. There will be a reception following the funeral and internment. There will be an opportunity for folks to share their
Brother Fred stories at the reception.
If you plan on coming or would like to stay on the monastery grounds call
Bill or Carol to make reservations. (520 720 4016). They will need to know how many to expect for housing as well as for food
at the reception. It would be great if you would email me as well so I can update you with any pertinent information.
If you prefer to stay off the monastery grounds it might be helpful to know that the Tucson airport is about an hour away.
The closest town is Benson which is about a twenty minute drive.
Many have asked how they could help. Donations
to Hand of Help in Fred's memory would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be sent to:
Hand of Help
Holy Trinity
Monastery
PO Box 298
St. David, AZ 85630
If you would like to be involved in the liturgy please
contact Fr. Dan McCotter. (415 846 1223)
DANIELCSP@aol.com
We understand that many of you would like to attend but due to your own busy lives and other commitments will
not be able to make the trip, We know you will be present in spirit and in prayer. We all have one thing in common and that
is our love for Brother Fred so in that we will be united. Feel free to pass this information on to others that might be interested.
It will also be posted on the website. www.handofhelp.info
Sincerely,
Kathy Taylor
(On behalf of the
HoH board)
Brother Fred Buerman, a Benedictine Oblate, passed away on October 7, 2011 at the Tucson Medical Center. Bro. Fred had been battling
pulmonary fibrosis for the past year and half and was awaiting a lung transplant. He was born in St. Louis, MO on July 14,
1944 to the late Fred J. Buerman and Dorothy F. Buerman. He was a teacher at Helias
High School for over 15 years and was the founder of the Christian Service Program for the Diocese of Jefferson City.
Bro. Fred dedicated his whole life to calling young people to service in the church. He
was as a Christian educator teaching at Catholic high schools in Kansas and Missouri. It was during
his years at Helias High School in Jefferson City, Missouri where began calling young people to service in the church. After
his years at Helias, he founded the Hand of Help Christian Service Foundation and was the Executive Director until his death.
Over the years Bro. Fred influenced countless young adults to give a year or more to service in the church, especially with
a concern for the poor, and to find their place in the church.
Through Hand of Help
he had placed volunteers in Colorado, Mexico, New Zealand, Japan, England, the Archdioceses of St. Louis, Los Angeles and
San Francisco. The first group of international volunteers from Sheffield, England served in the Diocese
Santa Rosa. Volunteers from New Zealand served in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Bro. Fred worked closely with the Newman Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Washington University.
He was instrumental in arranging mission trips to Bangladesh and Mexico. He also was involved in
giving “busy person” retreats to the students.
Because of Bro. Fred’s
tireless efforts he provided opportunities for high school and college students to experience what it was to serve the poor
and what it is to be church. For over ten years Bro. Fred served at Our Lady of
Mercy Parish in Daly City, CA while at the same time ministering in the Diocese of San Jose by giving "busy person"
retreats to San Jose State students and working closely with diocesan Mission Office.
In
recent years Br. Fred has led Hand of Help to service on the East Coast. High school students from the
Diocese of Scranton spent summers working with the poor in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mexico and in
St. Louis. In the Diocese of Charleston, SC he helped facilitate and gave Parish Missions. In the Diocese
of Palm Beach, FL a "Community of Young Adult Preachers" was formed using college students on various campuses to
minister to their parishes and peers. A project that was dear to his heart. A
Funeral Mass will be held at a future date at Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David, AZ where he will be interred in the community
cemetery.
A Memorial donation made be made in Bro. Fred’s name:
Hand of Help
Holy Trinity Monastery
P. O. Box 298
St. David, AZ 85630 (Written by Fr. Dan McCotter)
His Life was a Living Testament
Dear Friends of Br. Fred, It is with great sadness that we inform you of Brother
Fred Buerman's passing. He went home to the Lord on October 7th after battling pulmonary fibrosis. He was under the loving
care of Mary McCarthy living at the monastery for the past year. He was taken to the hospital last Monday by helicopter
and tried his best to hang in there for a lung transplant but just couldn't hold on. The Lord had other plans for him. Father
Henri administered the sacrament of the sick. All of us who knew Brother Fred share a deep sense of loss because
to know him was to love him, but we are also rejoicing. He is free from his earthly suffering and is wrapped in the arms
of God with all of the friends that passed before Fred welcoming him home. Fred donated his body to to the hospital,
and then he will be cremated. Once this is done his ashes will be sent to the monastery at which time we can set a date
for Fred's funeral at Holy Trinity Monastery. We will give everyone sufficient notice of the date so people can make arrangements
if they can attend. We will keep you informed as we know more. Our Hand of Help Team sends love to all of you as
we deal with the loss of our very dear friend. There will be a Memorial Mass for him on Saturday, October 22nd, at
11:00 a.m. The mass will be at Our Lady of Mercy in Daly City, CA., where Fred served for over 10 years. Fr. Dan McCotter, CSP, will be the celebrant; Fr. Dan has been
Fred's buddy since high school. With peace and love, Kathy Taylor on behalf of the Hand of Help
Team
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time: July 10, 2011 The
Richness and Challenges of Jesus, Seed and Soil of God Dear Friends, Greetings and peace on this Sunday of
Jesus sower of abundant seed from Brother Fred to all of you! The Arizona sun lets us know that summer is in full swing. Jesus
the Son of God is also in full swing always ready to beam down on us nurturing and life-giving grace. Deacon Jim preached
our liturgy today and bid us be open to God's awesome generosity of gifts. Our God sows gifts in everyone and everywhere.
As I write I am thinking each of us with great gifts, hopes, and challenges. The parables of Jesus speak to us of
energy, a gentle force field of reality that God has in mind for all of us. I invite us to be present to God's sowing in our
lives. Is there a time this week where God is especially present to you inviting to new frontiers? For me the weekly pulmonary
support group meeting every Thursday is one of those times. We meet at the University Medical Center from 11:00 to 1:00 pm.
Twenty people usually attend. Some are post-transplant and some are l ike me pre-transplant. We check in with one another and share stories, wisdom, fears, and dreams. This experience is touching
my soul with grace. I realize that I am in the company of heroes and heroines of the Spirit. The rules of the group
do not permit me to be too concrete, "what is said in the group, stays in the group." Jesus' sowing of good seed,
falling where it may is alive in this support group experience for me. I begin my official rehab plan 7/21/11. This day marks
my official process to be called for new lungs if and as they become available. However, the grace for me is the everyday
journey ever deeper into the mystery of God's will. Friends pray for me as I seek to live the mystery, possibilities,
and adventures of each day. I pray for all of you that Jesus sower of good seed be alive in our lives this week and always.
My birthday is 7/14/11 and I request that you remember me in prayer as I do you. Hand of Help team is preaching our mission
all around the country. I am so very grateful. More to come from me and others next week. Please send your request for
prayers and other needs. We love to hear from you all! In St. Benedict and St. Therese, Brother Fred Buerman ob.OSB
15 th Sunday in Ordinary Time: July 10, 2011
The Richness and Challenges of Jesus, Seed and Soil of God Dear Friends, Greetings and peace on this Sunday
of Jesus sower of abundant seed from Brother Fred to all of you! The Arizona sun lets us know that summer is in full swing.
Jesus the Son of God is also in full swing always ready to beam down on us nurturing and life-giving grace. Deacon Jim
preached our liturgy today and bid us be open to God's awesome generosity of gifts. Our God sows gifts in everyone and everywhere.
As I write I am thinking each of us with great gifts, hopes, and challenges. The parables of Jesus speak to us of
energy, a gentle force field of reality that God has in mind for all of us. I invite us to be present to God's sowing in our
lives. Is there a time this week where God is especially present to you inviting to new frontiers? For me the weekly pulmonary
support group meeting every Thursday is one of those times. We meet at the University Medical Center from 11:00 to 1:00 pm.
Twenty people usually attend. Some are post-transplant and some are like me pre-transplant. We check in with one another and
share stories, wisdom, fears, and dreams. This experience is touching my soul with grace. I realize that I am in
the company of heroes and heroines of the Spirit. The rules of the group do not permit me to be too concrete, "what is
said in the group, stays in the group." Jesus' sowing of good seed, falling where it may is alive in this support group
experience for me. I begin my official rehab plan 7/21/11. This day marks my official process to be called for new lungs
if and as they become available. However, the grace for me is the everyday journey ever deeper into the mystery of God's will.
Friends pray for me as I seek to live the mystery, possibilities, and adventures of each day. I pray for all of you that
Jesus sower of good seed be alive in our lives this week and always. My birthday is 7/14/11 and I request that you remember
me in prayer as I do you. Hand of Help team is preaching our mission all around the country. I am so very grateful. More to
come from me and others next week. Please send your request for prayers and other needs. We love to hear from you all! In
St. Benedict and St. Therese, Brother Fred Buerman ob.OSB
July 2 in the Year of Our Lord 2011 A Message of Joy, Hope, and Update From Brother
Fred Buerman obl.OSB Dear Hand of Help Community, Supporters, Friends, and Board Members, greetings and peace on
this wonderful celebration of our independence! I have long been out of touch with most of you these last nine months. This
year has been a year of serious medical challenges for me with both my heart and lungs. However, God has been very good to
me giving a me a home at Holy Trinity Monastery as I work with a team of doctors and support community. I have asked Mary
McCarthy and Kathy Marie Taylor to handle updates and communications with all of you. This has been a difficult year sorting
out the details of my illness. Once again the Lord is with me through all of you. I am now ready to be in direct contact via
email, phone, text, and in person. Saint Philip Neri once was asked what he would do if he had only one hour left
in his life. At the time has was playing a pool game with two other priests. His answer, "I would simply finish the game.
All is God's!" Friends, congestive heart failure and pulmonary fibrosis of the lungs are two experiences this year
of my mortality. My heart is coming along but the pulmonary fibrosis of the lungs is an end stage illness from about one to
five years. One possible hope is a lung transplant. Friends I have been approved to be on the list once I begin pulmonary
rehab exercises at the University Medical Center in Tucson on 7/22/11. A waiting time can be from a few months to two years.
In the meantime, my overall health is good and I am beginning to feel a great peace. Friends, I take counsel and medication
to help me both with depression and hope. Your many messages of love and care mean the world to me. Our Hand of
Help board and advisors of Father Daniel McCotter, Terence McCorry, Danny O'Regan, Father Loren Allen, Father Gerry Kleba,
Helena Moniz, Kathy Taylor, Gabriel Hulsey, Father Ray Kirk, Marco Svoboda, Peter Cereneka, John Gregory, Bob Edler, Bill
Drennan, John Vatterott, David Butsch, Tim Danis, Mary McCarthy obl.OSB, Michael Porterfield, and Father Henri Capdeville
obl.OSB have all stepped up to preach and administer Hand of Help. Words cannot express how grateful I feel. With all this
care and support, I offer the community of Hand of Help both my services and my presence over these next couple years of God's
goodness. In the next paragraph I spell out concretely to you my friends a list of what you can expect from me for Hand of
Help and my own life. I offer the following in a list format with a brief phrase of explanation. Further contact
and communication will unfold these processes: - Daily prayer apostolate for Mission of
Hand of Help- (you are invited to send daily prayer requests)
- Weekly Spiritual email- (this is the first one, we
will also try audio formats with the help of Danny O'Regan)
- Planning with team for Mission Co-ops 2011-2012
-
2012 Meeting at Holy Trinity Monastery for Hand of Help board and advisors
- Resource for Web Site working with team
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Mary McCarthy basic administration and backup
- Finish DMin in Preaching during 2011 in consultation with Sister Mary
Margaret Pazdan O.P. advisor at Aquinas Institute.
Friends, I invite you to be in contact as
I will be with you. May the Lord and Mary guide, protect, and prosper. I look forward to responding to your graced communications. In
St. Therese and St. Benedict, Brother Fred Buerman obl.OSB
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Feast of Christ the King 11/21/10 Greetings and peace dear friends from
Brother Fred Buerman ob.OSB. I have been out of touch with you for a few months. It is a joy to be back in touch writing this
email. I have had both heart and lung challenges. They are both now much improved. Your prayers and calls have been a sustaining
grace. The community of Holy Trinity Monastery welcomed me home in early September. Mary McCarthy ob,OSB, administrator and
nurse has taken care of me allowing me to both live in her guest suite and mentor me medically and spiritually. A deep sense
of loss and depression came to me September and part of October. Then prayer, the community at Holy Trinity, Mary, the Hand
of Help board and advisors especially Kathy Taylor, Helena Moniz, John Gregory, Terence McCorry, Danny O'Regan, Father Loren
Allen, and Father Daniel McCotter CSP, Marco Svoboda ob.OSB, and Pete Cerneka preached our Mission Co-ops and deeply encouraged
me. Father Henri Capdeville OSB and Father Daniel McCotter, president of Hand of Help shared also their heart and soul with
me. I will stop saying names now because I am leaving out hundreds who have been in touch with prayer and love. In God's mercy
the depression has lifted! The young Community of Preachers mentored by Terence McCorry in the Diocese of Palm Beach
never stopped caring and being in touch. Their most recent gift brought joyful tears, a wonderful new Bible engraved to Brother
Fred Buerman ob.OSB preacher. I am calling and thanking them all this week. Friends my depression has lifted and energy has
returned. I still have lung and heart issues to monitor but I can preach again, travel, dream, dance and cry in the Lord.
This email is first of a weekly effort to be in touch not about me but about our community and mission. Yet I feel that I
must begin updating you. I hope to live a long life but as Dr. King preached: "It is not how long you live but how you
live!" Thanks for listening. Keep me in prayer as I preach with Father Henri Capdeville ob.OSB this morning at Sacred
Heart in Tombstone, AZ. Happy Thanksgiving and more to come! In St. Theresa and St. Benedict, Brother Fred
Buerman ob.OSB
8/12/10 Jesus
the "Pacemaker of God" a spiritual email from Brother Fred to the Hand of Help Community Dear friends, blessings
and peace, I write to update on both my health and the health of Hand of Help. You all are very dear to me. These last three
months have been a journey as I developed congestive heart failure and almost went home to the Lord, God's gentle hands and
care brought me to both Urgent Care and Centerpoint Hospital in Kansas City. I am very grateful and blessed to be writing
to you all today. The title of this spiritual email is Jesus, the Pacemaker of God. Congestive heart failure is an experience
I did not understand much about. Over these three months, I have come to understand much more. At first, I wrote off the experience
as just a "wiring problem" that could be fixed by the body, willpower, medications, and prayers. These three months
have taught me differently. I have come to know that I have a weak heart with certain strengths and weaknesses. One of my
strengths is the lack of heart disease and blockages. One of my weaknesses is the off rythim and injection fraction. These
two areas are my challenges. Off rythim can cause discomfort, disconnection, and even death if the heart is not able to pump
blood. Injection fraction is the rate at which the heart operates. My heart is about 30 to 35 percent. Average is 55 to 50
percent. I have learned these truths over the last three months. I have also learned in God's time what can be done to help
and heal. In the last few weeks the doctors in Kansas City have done what is called a "cardio version". This
is a simple shock treatment to bring my heart into regular rythim. Dr. Chu, a fine doctor with me from the beginning, performed
this procedure last Thursday. I am blessed to say that this procedure worked, restoring my heart a regular rythim. However,
I still noticed palpataions and an off rythim pattern. I asked what more could be done. The other doctors on the team offered
me the procedure of a pacemaker and cardioverter-defibrillator to be installed in my body. Prayfully, I said yes with great
hope. The operation was done this week on Monday. The operation was a success. These two devices keep my heart at a regular
rythim and give a special backup , shock to a special rythim that might be life threating. Over the next six months, I can
also with medicines and exercise increase the injection fraction of my heart for greater health. I went back yesterday to
Centerpoint to check out the data and ask a few more questions bringing some of my own anxiety and depression to my doctors.
They assured me all is well and that I am in a process of healing and recovery. Friends, my job is to preach this weekend
for the mission co-op and to continue to coordinate our Mission Co-op with the help of Helena and Terence. At my core, I know
that the Lord Jesus is my true pacemaker and defibrillator taking all of us into his Sacred Heart. I rejoice to again send
you this spiritual email remembering the words of the Lord from the Gospel of John: "Do not let your hearts be troubled
or be afraid. In Jesus' spirit let us pray and care for one another as Jesus, Pacemaker of God, brings our hearts into God's
rythim. I will be in touch next week. Pray for me as I do all of you. Brother Fred Buerman ob.OSB
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June 10, 2010
At the very threshold of death, rescue me, Lord!
Dear Hand of Help Community,
Blessings and greetings from Brother Fred Buerman ob. OSB
to all of you. I have been out of touch with you for a few months. I write to resume our dialogue and sharing. The antiphon
I just quoted at the beginning of this page, I have experienced in God’s mercy. This beautiful phrase introduces the
Canticle of Isaiah in the Office for the Dead (Is.38:10-14, 17-20). The words of Isaiah tell of a man in trouble and woe who
begs God for mercy. Mercy flows in abundance as Isaiah places all his trust in God.
 Friends,
on May 11, I was in Kansas City for a mission trip. I had been nursing a winter cold and cough for about three months. I was
having trouble sleeping and my energy was diminished. Finally, that Tuesday evening unseen, gentle hands moved me to go to
Urgent Care. I asked them for a pill for my cold. Instead, there in Independence, Missouri they said, “You need to go
to Counterpointe Hospital just a mile away.” I did not know at the time that this is the best heart hospital in Kansas
City. Once again, I asked for a pill and instead they admitted me for congestive heart failure.
Friends, through all this I felt the gentle, unseen hands
guiding and directing me. I heard again and again from the Lord, “Do not be afraid.” For three days they took
care of me, looking over my heart, and draining the fluids that I had been living with all winter. To my joy, they said, “You
have a sound heart but some irregular rhythms, this is very treatable, your heart is sound and free of heart disease.”
I was discharged on May 15 after three days of lifesaving
care. I came back to San Francisco saw my primary care doctor and he put me in touch with a fine cardiologist, Dr. Mailhot,
of Golden Gate Cardiology Clinic. Again Dr. Mailhot is treating my rhythm patterns. He also affirmed the health of my heart
and the plan of treatment. Along with this, he is a Christian Brothers alumnus from Rhode Island, one more gift for me as
I began my vocation almost fifty years ago as a Christian Brother.
Friends, this experience is a profound and healing one for me. Again and again, I thank God for
all his goodness and care. I very much want to share God’s goodness with all I meet. I come to preaching with a new
kind of compassion that I cannot quite find the words to describe. I also come to Hand of Help as a community of collaboration
and service called together in Jesus’ Spirit.
Friends, you can now expect these spiritual emails every two weeks. I am looking forward to being in touch and hearing
from you. One of the gifts of this experience is to realize what unites us rather then what divides us. The same canticle
of Isaiah ends with these words of hope, “The Lord is our savior; we shall sing to stringed instruments in the house
of the Lord, all the days of our life.”
In joy and gratitude, Brother Fred Buerman ob. OSB
March 9, 2010 Jesus, the Cave of God Dear Hand of
Help friends and supporters, Greetings and blessings from Holy Trinity Monastery our spiritual
home base at St. David, Arizona. We have the honor and joy this week of hosting a monastery spring
break trip from the Campus and Young Adult Ministry Office of the Diocese of Palm Beach, FL. Terence McCorry, Director and
Hand of Help board member, is here with eight young adults. Terence and the young adults have graced Holy Trinity and I hope
we have welcomed and nurtured them. Along with prayer, work, community, and spiritual formation we have taken time as the
psalmist says to, play before the Lord. One of our little trips last Sunday was to Kartchner Caverns State Park about ten miles from Holy Trinity. In the midst of
a cold and windy day, we descended into the earth to spend two marvelous hours.
 Kartchner Caverns is a breathtaking underground cave discovered by two explorers in 1967. You can Google the
cave online and see the wonders yourself. The explorers found a little "sinkhole" in 1967 that took them into sights
beyond their dreams. Two vast rooms hold an array of nature's bounty. Kartchner caverns are alive and developing caves carefully
protected and monitored. Our special two-hour tour to the "throne room" (one of two massive cave) is only possible
a few months of the year because bats faithfully come to give birth during the other months. We walked the trail into the
cave as a faith community in awe of the Lord's creation. At the end of our journey, we were given an insight we continue to
share and discuss, A small sinkhole opened for the two explorers into a world of mystery and majesty
that changed their lives forever. Their care of this treasure has made Kartchner Caverns a gift to all of us and the many
generations to come. Our community talked of Jesus as taking us through Word and Eucharist into Jesus the Cave of God. Jesus
is the divine sinkhole calling us to come, explore, and surrender. Like the explorers at the caverns, our lives are forever
changing as Jesus takes us into God's world. May this Lent find you and me saying yes to Jesus-the Cave of God, the Divine
Sinkhole. Hand of Help News: Friends, I am very grateful to Helena Moniz, mission
coordinator for the Diocese of Charleston and Hand of help board member. Helena, just returned from the Diocese of Salina,
Kansas, where she spent a week in the grade school sharing and inviting young people into mission. Pictures of Helena's blessed
trip will be posted on our website this week with a little explanation from Helena. Friends, we
have the joy to congratulate Father Bill Brown, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy in Daly City, California, on his new appointment
effective July 1 to pastor St. Hilary's Parish in Tiburon, CA near the Golden Gate. Father Bill is a dear friend and supporter
of Hand of Help. His parish has been our pastoral base in the bay area for eight years. Father
Brown is now assisting me in a discernment process to see if we remain at Our Lady of Mercy or move Hand of Help and me to
another pastoral base in the Bay Area. We will keep you posted. The words of St. Paul to the Galatians on life in the Spirit
guide our process, In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. Against these there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23) Finally
friends, please pray for Mary McCarthy ob.OSB, our administrator and dear spiritual sister to me, as Mary has some surgery
this week to further give her good health. Mary is the soul of Hand of Help, one of the finest women I have ever met. Blessings and farewell for now, I am feeling deeply the call and energy of the Spirit to write these spiritual emails
and updates every two weeks. Pray for Hand of Help as we pray for all of you. Please let us hear from you, share your wisdom,
requests for prayers, and the spiritual adventures of your lives. May Jesus and Mary bless and guide all of us. In St. Benedict and St. Therese, Brother Fred Buerman ob.OSB http://www.handofhelp.info/ http://www.holytrinitymonastery.org/ ___________________________________
January 18, 2010
Dear Friends,
Blessings and peace in this New
Year of Our Lord 2010 from Brother Fred Buerman, executive director of Hand of Help, to all of you our dear friends and supporters.
I write at the urging and request of many of you. Your interest and care give me the energy in the Spirit to resume our spiritual
emails. I also asked many of you, what is a good schedule for these reflections in the Spirit to all of you. “Send one
out about every two weeks, but we also understand if that is not always possible.” Friends, thank you for your words
and prayers of encouragement. My hope is to offer you all spiritual email every two weeks.
Our Dear Brothers and Sisters in Haiti
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| Pictures tell a tale of massive destruction following the January earthquakes in Haiti. |
Two people who have touched my life and that of Hand of Help come from Haiti.
Their names are Cassey Alexandre and Father Souvenir John Paul SM. Cassey
is a student I met through Terence McCorry, Director of Campus and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Palm Beach, FL.
Terence is also a board member of Hand of Help. Cassey was in the first group of students I visited with and reflected with
on how Hand of Help might be a hand of help to young adults seeking to live life in the Lord Jesus. We had a spirited two-hour
sharing about young adults and their hunger to know and preach the Lord Jesus. I came to the evening with a mentoring program developing and ready to be offered. I
left the evening minus the program but with the peace that the Spirit is guiding and sharing our mission to and with young
adults. Cassey’s hospitality and warmth touches my life after four years. Cassey’s mission spirit gives me energy
to write this email. I also know that Cassey has family in Haiti and is deeply touched and tried by the events of one week
ago. Thanks Cassey for your presence and welcome in my life and that of Hand of Help. Our prayers and support go with you. Father Souvenir John Paul S.M. is a Marist priest from Haiti
ministering at a parish in Brooklyn at this time. I met Souvenir John Paul when I was a Marist novice studying and reflecting
on the Marist way of life. My journey led me in different paths but the vision and care of the Marist mission still impacts
my life and that of Hand of Help. Souvenir is the first native Haitian vocation for the then Marist, Boston Province. Father
Souvenir was living at Our Lady of Pity Parish in Cambridge, MA. Our
novitiate was in the old convent on the same property. I delighted in Father Souvenir’s joy, hope, and care for all.
One day I asked him, “how did you get the name Souvenir?” Replying in the joy of life, Father Souvenir recounted
how his mother prayed to the Lord for one more child. Then he proclaimed, “I came along.” My mother thanked God
and proclaimed my name to be “Souvenir” (in the Creole, GIFT). Mother counseled, “You are Souvenir John
Paul, gift of God.” Father Souvenir gifts me to this day. Souvenir’s welcome and hospitality
gave me the strength to follow the Spirit into my vocation as a Benedictine oblate brother.
Thanks Souvenir for your presence and welcome in my life and that of Hand of Help. Our
prayers and support in these trying and difficult times go with you. We hold your family and friends in Haiti in our prayers. Friends, these are two simple
stories of wonderful and caring people. Both Cassey and Souvenir touch my life and that of Hand of Help in ways only God knows.
May you and I touch one another’s lives through the Holy Spirit in ways only known to God. Friends, since I have last written
you, Hand of Help has lost some wonderful members of our family called home to God: Bishop Pat Ziemann, Ms. Janet Laursen,
Bill Winter, Margaret Kemner, and Father Norbert Lickteig. My joy and honor is to share a little of their graced lives
with you in two weeks. Thanks to all for your support and grace in helping me to begin again these spiritual emails. Please
feel free to be in touch, request prayers, share life, and journey with us! Our websites follow along with my cell and email.
May Jesus and Mary bless and guide our lives. In St. Therese and St. Benedict,
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| Holy Trinity Monastery, St. David, AZ, spiritual base of Hand of Help. |
AUGUST 15, 2009 Dear friends, Blessings and peace to
all of you in this time of midsummer. I hope that you all are having a summer of peace and rest. I have not been in touch for a couple months. However, you all are in my prayers each day. I ask Mary
McCarthy ob.OSB, adminstrative coordinator of Hand of Help, to bring you all to prayer at Holy Trinity Monastery. I am delighted
to once again resume this spiritual email. I offer a few reflections on the majestic feast of Mary's assumption into heaven:
All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus
as well as his brothers. (Acts 1:14) As a
child growing up in St. Louis, Mary, Mother of Jesus, seemed to me as the perfect person, completely open to God's will, from
giving birth to Jesus to holding his dead and broken body in her arms and finally being assumed into heaven. As a young brother,
in the novitiate we were counseled to pray two full rosaries daily; one in community and one in private. We celebrated every
feast of Mary. Often, we raised our young voices
in music to praise her name. Then some storm clouds came to my life of 18 years on this day 8/14/62. On this day, my novice
master Brother Emery Hogan F.S.C. (God rest his soul) called me into his office. Looking at me with kindness and compassion,
Brother said: "Fred, I am sorry to tell you that your father died suddenly this morning." Assuring me of his care and support and that of my brothers, Brother Emery advised: "Go to chapel,
spend some time with Jesus and especially his mother Mary."
Trying to pray left me cold. The shock of my father's death, mother a widow, and losing my father, penetrated my whole being
like a cold, fall drizzle. Mary's perfection, grace under pressure, and constant Yes to God starkly contrasted with my weakness,
fear, anger, and the NO that I experienced in God's presence.
Over the next few days of going home, visiting my mother and other family members the same feeling of my world turned upside
down plagued my spirit. In the midst of this somber time, the Spirit sent me a gift, a nudge, an insight I treasure today.
 My dear Aunt Margaret, a second mother to me,
reached out to my tears and sad spirit: "Fred, remember how your dad loved Mary, especially as Mother of Perpetual Help."
A light shined on in my soul with her words. My father especially loved the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Mary holds
the young Jesus in this picture while angels on either side hold crosses and instruments of Jesus' coming torment and passion.
Mary appears worried and concerned for Jesus, not perfect and above all pain. I embraced this Mary, cried and prayed to Mary,
Mother of Perpetual Help. This is the Mary, I
believe, who prays and supports the new Church in the last time we see Mary in the Acts of the Apostles 1:14. This Mary cries
and rejoices with me, holds us in her arms, and lets us know on this feast of her Assumption that God and Mary love us just
as we are: striving, weak, challenged, and imperfect. Mary, Mother of God guide me and welcome me into the home of your Son
on earth and in eternity. A blessed and grace
filled Assumption to all of you. In St. Therese and St. Benedict,
Brother Fred Buerman, ob.OSB
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality,”
St. Peter. (Acts 10:34)
Greetings dear friends and supporters
of Hand of Help, I am very blessed to be in touch with you all once again. These words from St. Peter shared in the Acts of
the Apostles are compelling and dramatic in their power and simplicity. This statement coming from Peter who was raised in
a time and culture based on God’s partiality for Israel continues to amaze me each time I read and hear these words
proclaimed.
This Easter time is no different. Peter
embraced, confronted, and loved by the Risen Lord, lives a new life in Jesus’ Spirit. The exact context of his words
is Peter’s visit to the house of the gentile, Cornelius. St. Luke records: “The circumcised believers who had
accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they
could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God.”
The Acts of the Apostles vibrate and pulsate with new life in Jesus’ Spirit. Apostles and
disciples, men and woman of this first Post-Resurrection community are taken beyond their comfort zones, called to love and
be loved by people and in places beyond their wildest dreams. 
Friends, you and I are also called in the Jesus’ Spirit beyond our frontiers
and comfort zones meeting the Lord in people, places, and situations that may astound, amaze, and transform us. A few weeks
ago in the midst of an ordinary day of reading and research for my doctorate in preaching, the Spirit called me.
Father Bill Brown, pastor of Our
Lady of Mercy, in Daly City, CA, one of my bases of mission and community, asked if I might take communion to a parishioner,
Raymond Tyler, gravely ill and perhaps near death at Kaiser Hospital. Coming to Raymond’s room, I was welcomed by Raymond,
his wife, and family. Ray asked me: “Brother Fred, have you brought the Eucharist?”
I answered yes and I saw a peace come over Raymond.
For the next few minutes, we prayed together. Ray’s faith and love for God filled the sick room touching all of us.
Completing our prayers, I asked Ray if he was ready to receive the Lord. He replied: “I can’t digest very well
and I am unable to take in much water right now, but I want to receive Jesus.”
Guided by the Spirit, I offered to give Ray the Lord and then place a little water on my finger for Ray to absorb in
for the digestion. In the Spirit, Ray responded, receiving the Lord and gently taking a little water from my finger. A quiet
joy and peace came from Ray and embraced all of us.
Leaving Ray and his family, I realized that I had brought the Lord, but in truth had
received the Lord from Raymond. The Lord called Raymond home a few days later. Now, I am praying to Raymond.
The Spirit of Jesus moved me beyond my comfort zones and frontiers.
Friends, the Spirit offers all of us this adventure of life in the Lord Jesus. May you and I continue to be open to the Spirit’s
dreams, hopes, plans, and challenges for us this week! In St. Benedict and St. Therese, Brother Fred Buerman, ob. OSB www.handofhelp.info www.holytrinitymonastery.org P.S. Please let us know any prayers,
hopes, and dreams that you have. We love you all and pray for you, the friends, community, and supporters of Hand of Help.
Next week, I will share an update on our mission. I pray in the Spirit that I
may be faithful to these weekly spiritual emails. Thanks for all of your encouragement and patience. Brother Fred.
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