Anonymous recommendations lead Brother Stephen Johnson, OSB, to Benedictine order

Fargo native, Brother Stephen Johnson, OSB, professed his solemn vows as a Benedictine monk on July 22. New Earth interviewed Brother Stephen for a deeper understanding of his journey to Assumption Abbey in Richardton, N.D.

When did you first hear the call to religious life? What was that like for you?

I only vaguely considered religious life, a call to the priesthood, or marriage during my childhood and adolescence. I did not spend much energy thinking about my vocation until I was attending NDSU. While there, I got a call from Father Kyle Metzger asking me if I wanted to join a program called the Melchizedek Project. This was a group of young men who met with Father Metzger every week to discuss potential vocations to the priesthood. Apparently, he had been receiving comments from people in the diocese about me and how I might make a good priest. Who made these comments is still a mystery to me, but I thank them! Though I did not discern into the diocesan priesthood, these meetings were very helpful in making me take my vocation more seriously. I began to spend more time thinking and praying about it, while God was slowly moving me towards joining a religious order. After I graduated from university and worked for several months, I felt God calling me very forcefully to visit a monastery or else I might regret never seriously looking into it.

Why the Benedictines? How did you get connected with them and come to know God was calling you there?

I started looking online for places near me. I saw that Assumption Abbey was in North Dakota, that it had beautiful buildings and scenery, and what I had read about the history of the Benedictines interested me. The Rule of Saint Benedict was written in the 6th century, so I knew that if I decided to be a monk, I would be joining a very long tradition. I contacted the vocation director of the Abbey, Brother Michael Taffe, in the late summer of 2018 and we arranged that I should come for a weekend visit. I don’t remember that first visit very well because everything was so new, but I know I liked it enough that I came for another weekend visit and eventually a week long live-in for an immersive experience of daily life. During my second visit to Assumption Abbey, I went for a walk in the evening down to the monks’ cemetery where I sat on the foot of the grotto with a crucifixion scene and prayed to Jesus about what he wanted me to sacrifice for Him. I felt strongly in that moment that He wanted me to offer my life as a monk in that place. After my live-in, I decided to apply to become a candidate and moved into the cloister in January 2019.

What does a day in the life as a Benedictine monk look like?

On a normal weekday, we meet in the church for Mass and prayers of the Divine Office five times a day. The first prayers are at 6:20 a.m. and the last are at 8:10 p.m. We eat all our meals in common with silence at breakfast and table reading at supper. We work for three hours in the morning and three in the afternoon. My work is varied but is mostly maintenance, cleaning, and gardening. I also took formation classes from my seniors before I took solemn vows. I was instructed in various topics including the Rule of Saint Benedict, Spirituality, Scripture, and History. We have more free time on the weekends. I take walks in the pasture with some other monks every Sunday afternoon.

What do you want the readers of New Earth to know about your experience?

Though some may say I have limited my options in life by becoming a monk, and in many senses they are right, I also never could have guessed about all of the opportunities I have here. I have learned many skills in music, building maintenance, gardening, prayer, and monastic studies that I probably never would have been able to have otherwise. This autumn, I will have the new experience of beginning seminary studies at St. Meinrad Seminary in Southern Indiana.