A Trip to St. Meinrad

Last month, I had the good fortune to go visit St. Meinrad, an Archabbey in southern Indiana.  I make the pilgrimage out there normally once per year, but this time it was different.  This time I went with members of my church.

Now, before we continue, I’m going to give the backstory on the Archabbey.  St. Meinrad was founded in 1854 by Benedictine Monks who came to Indiana at the request of a local priest who needed help serving the pastoral needs of the local German community and help preparing future priests.  The layout of the main building includes a church connected to the monastery that houses the monks, and it is also connected to a multi-story school that houses artwork, classrooms, offices, and whatever the school needs.  Across from the entrance of the school is the campus library and across from the side of the school opposite the monastery is a theater for live performances and films (which is where I first saw Minions 4).  Besides that, there’s a pub behind the library that is run by seminarians, and a guest house up the road that most guests stay at that provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the retreat.  It’s a short walk to the church from the guest house with a statue of St. Meinrad between the two.

Saint Meinrad of Einsiedeln the man was himself a Benedictine monk who is known as the martyr of hospitality.  Living as a hermit, people would come to visit him for spiritual guidance and give him gifts that he passed along to others.  Two men later murdered him in the hope they could get the gifts he was being given, thus being attacked for his good will towards those he knew.  St. Meinrad the Archabbey, meanwhile, embodies the ethic of the saint and his hospitality by providing food, housing, and spiritual experiences for guests who arrive and come visit.

Going back to visiting, most of my past experiences had been very self-guided.  There was always a tour and opportunities for spiritual direction, but most of it was built more on getting away from the rest of the world and spending time with God.  Going to the one through my current church though, had more events and was more group oriented.

I was initially going to drive alone, but the fellow who was serving as the point of contact for the event had suggested going on a carpool as a way to help build fraternity.  After reconsideration, I took up the suggestion and asked for a ride.  So I took a trip down with a fellow from my church who was originally born in Germany.

We had good conversations; discussing politics, religion, philosophy, and just about any topic that came up.  He and I did not always agree, but that made it all the more interesting.  After that, we stopped by the Monte Cassino Shrine, a small chapel not far from the Archabbey’s campus, and did a rosary together.  It was a real pleasure to do all that with him and made me all the more grateful I agreed to take a ride.

Besides that, there were a lot of opportunities to spend time with the other members of the retreat.  I got to talk to members of my church (and a neighboring one) at the Archabbey pub, the dining room, and a retreat room where we shared drinks.  I even got to see a friend of mine from the Knights of Columbus become an Oblate in a Benedictine lay group.  We got to share our interests, beliefs, hobbies, and just about anything else.  It gave me a real sense of connection with my church and faith community, one that can’t really be put into words but of which, I’m filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

Nevertheless, the highlight of the trip was the talks given by Brother Zachary.  The theme of his talks were on hope and its meaning.  Specifically, hope is not merely a good feeling that things might turn out alright.  It is to wait.

God has promised us that we will be reunited with him when we die.  That all our suffering does matter and that we are connected to him, even when we can’t feel it.  We have hope that God will make good on his promise to us, come hell or high water, because he loves us and promises us his glory.

Now, there are many obstacles to hope that test us and drip us on our path.  People leaving the faith, the decline of institutions, and personal tragedies that can make us lose sight of God, and thus lose hope.  Yet, if what God says is true, then we will get through it and, through the Holy Spirit, he will give us the power to do so.

Which is why we must remain obedient (one of the key values of the Benedictine order) to the will of God.  We must do as he commands, and trust in his plan, even when it seems impossible or makes no sense.  So we as Christians have to trust in him, remain obedient (to listen), and keep moving forward in service to him.  For we believe that there is something waiting for us when this is over, and it will be worth every hardship, or even because of them.

Well, the final day came and the retreat ended with Mass.  The Gospel reading was on the transfiguration, and the fellow I rode with had a lot of thoughts on it so it was fun to pick his brain.  We stuck around for lunch, had one last round of conversations, and then went home.  An all around perfect end to a perfect weekend.

I told several people there that I was going to write this when it was over.  I didn’t want the trip just to be an event that happened and then I moved on from there.  I wanted the experiences and Br. Zachary’s words to stay with me, and the memories made with the people I met to stick around.  So, I’m happy to report I accomplished that.

To those given a similar opportunity to go on a retreat, a conference, or a trip with your church, definitely try to take it.  It’s an opportunity to make friends, grow in faith, and maybe even learn something about yourself.  These are experiences that can’t be quantified, but are definitely worthwhile.

Is Marco Rubio Running the White House?

The headline is extremely clickbaity, but it’s a question that might be worth asking.  Since being confirmed as Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has been heavily involved in some of the most important international political events of the still developing 21st century, and his influence only seems to be expanding with each passing day as more situations globally keep developing.  It might be worth investigating how much influence he has, then, and how his role continues to develop.

So to start off with, a little background on Marco Rubio.  Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, Rubio would go on to serve on the Senate Committee on Intelligence (where he was the acting chair and then ranking member) and the Committee on Foreign Relations.  He also served on the Committee on Appropriations, which, while not directly dealing with foreign affairs, does have full jurisdiction over all discretionary spending and military spending constitutes 56% of the federal discretionary budget.  So he was very heavily influential in government legislative committees that focused on foreign and military affairs.

Of note, he had a particularly prominent history of supporting military intervention in foreign affairs.  In the senate, he supported the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, supported giving ammunition to Syrian rebels during the civil war under Bashar al-Assad, pushed against establishing diplomatic ties with Cuba during the Obama administration, called for revolution in Venezuela and met with an opposition leader that was accused of attempting a coup by the Maduro government, supported increased military ties with China’s neighbors (and enemies), etc.  Of note, during the 2016 presidential primaries, he was the candidate who called for use of military force third most out of all of them according to the CATO institute (Trump was dead in the center between most calls and least calls).  So he has a history of wanting to use military force to accomplish America’s foreign policy objectives.

This is noticeable because since he’s become Secretary of State and National Security Advisor (the first to hold both positions at the same time since Henry Kissinger back in the 70s), the Trump administration has taken a noticeably more hawkish tone since its first term.  Similarly, many of Rubio’s policy agendas when he was in the senate have been coming to fruition.  During his tenure as Secretary of State, the US has captured now former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, placed an oil embargo on Cuba while talking about regime change, and placed steeper tariffs on China while pushing stronger military relations with Japan.  In addition, the US has pushed to take Greenland and has created the largest military buildup in the middle east around since the Iraq War due to a growing possibility of war with Iran (a country which Senator Rubio supported sanctions on).  So it seems like much of Rubio’s agenda in the senate is being reflected by the Trump administration.

Now, one could argue that Trump possibly changed his mind during his four years out of the office.  Besides, many of these countries are ones he clashed with during his first term as President.  After all, he did take out the leader of Iran’s Quds force, struck Syria, and recognized Venezuela’s opposition leader as the real head of the country’s government during his first term.  He’s also been a long term critic of China so being strong against them isn’t all that surprising.  Therefore, Trump’s actions are not definitive proof that Rubio is in complete control of the US’s foreign policy.

However, the fact that Rubio is getting most of his foreign policy agenda as a senator made a priority by the current administration does show the impact and influence he is having.  Likewise, he has publicly disagreed with his boss, noticeably when he downplayed military options to take Greenland when Trump refused to rule that out and took a more collaborative tone towards working with Europe than did JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference.  The fact that he is able to push back on those with higher authority than himself when disagreement has led to firing of officials in the past shows that Rubio may be in a safe position.

Similarly, there have been reports about Trump’s dependence on those closest to him.  There was a saying that during Trump’s first term, the last person he spoke with was usually the one he agreed with at the time.  Keeping in mind that Trump had never been elected before, it’s not surprising that he wanted to take advice from people with more experience than himself in the governmental field.  However, Rubio was not a direct member of Trump’s administration during his first term so that means he has a lot more opportunity to influence the President.

The final point to consider is the weakness of Trump’s ability to accomplish his domestic agenda.  Noticeably, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has struggled to get legislation passed, making an inactivity record, which makes it hard to pass domestic policy since most of that is in the hands of the legislature.  Similarly, a lot of the early policies of the Trump administration was supported by investigations from the Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative championed by Elon Musk.  However, Musk is no longer part of the administration so that initiative seems no longer to be front and center in Trump’s administration.  Increasingly, Trump’s agenda is moving away from what requires congress’s help and is becoming more focused on how he can assert himself internationally.  That means that much of the Trump administration’s second term will be defined by Marco Rubio.

In fairness, there’s a saying that leadership is about getting the right people in the right positions.  If Rubio is directing the White House’s current agendas, then that isn’t a statement of weakness on the President since his goal is to lead the executive branch and make sure the right people are doing the job he requires of them.  However, this blog post should show how much influence Secretary of State Marco Rubio has and how much he can shape the direction of the president.  So it is likely he might be the one actually determining US policy, at least internationally, going forward.  Regardless, whatever his influence, a biography on him will likely be a fascinating read, and a must for anyone who wants to understand US foreign policy in the 21st century.

Venezuela was Just the Beginning

On January 3rd, Americans and Venezuelans woke up to the announcement that U.S. special forces had captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.  This was met with many opinions, but mostly shock as an action like that rarely happened outside of war and the U.S. was not at war with Venezuela at the time.  Now, because Maduro was arrested on drug trafficking charges, one may think that this was an isolated event based on conflict that had been brewing between the two countries for sometime.  However, if we look at events going on in the world, we’ll see that this might be part of a growing strategy realignment for the U.S., one that suggests what happened in Venezuela was only the first step.

Since the downfall of Maduro, the U.S. has been getting more heavily involved in international affairs and setting up possible regime change.  The Trump administration’s attempt to take control of Greenland is probably the most publicly well known example, but that’s hardly the only one.  Examples of Trump’s growing involvement in foreign affairs include:

• Iran-at this time, the U.S. is providing support to protesters, engaging in nuclear talks, and considering military strikes 

• Cuba-the Trump administration placed an oil blockade on the country at a time of economic decline and following major protests

• Russia-the U.S. let the START treaty, which put limits on nuclear weapons, expire, 

• Somaliland-the United States has defended Israel’s right to recognize Somaliland, a breakaway state from Somalia.  Of note, Israel is the first country to do so

  
  

Keeping in mind the U.S. is the world’s largest empire, it’s not surprising it’s involved with so many different world events and is trying to influence foreign governments.  However, this seems at odds with the Trump Presidency because in his first term, he was the first President since Jimmy Carter to not start a new war and set the original timeline for withdrawal from Afghanistan (which was disregarded by the Biden Administration).  Likewise, this is still a break from his predecessors as Obama and Biden sought to improve relations with Iran and Cuba, and Biden’s administration even increased the bounty on Maduro’s head yet didn’t go through with the military capture.  So what could be motivating the change?

To put simply, China and, to a lesser extent, Russia.  The two countries have been growing their influence around the world and seem to have plans to build (or in Russia’s case, rebuild) a global empire that threatens U.S. dominance as the world superpower.  There are many actions they are taking that put the U.S. influence at risk and increase their potential power, such as:

• Europe and Canada-China has been seeking to expand their influence financially and politically with the U.S.’s historic allies, creating division and serving as a potential long term threat to the U.S. and national liberty

• Iran-80% of Iranian oil exports go to China and both China and Russia have been supplying weapons to the country

• Cuba-Interestingly, Cuba has a history of supporting communist groups globally, and had strong relations with Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez.  In regards to China and Russia specifically though, both countries have provided trade and aid to Cuba, and China was accused of building advanced listening posts on the island to spy on the U.S.

• Venezuela-Under Maduro, China is Venezuela’s largest purchaser of oil and Venezuela sits on the world’s largest oil reserves.  Longterm, that’s a strategic threat to the U.S. if it’s helping fuel China’s military

• Nuclear testing-Russia had already suspended its participation in the START treaty back in 2023 and had been accused of violations by the state department even in 2025.  However, the Trump administration also mentioned China performing secret, underground nuclear tests back in 2020 as justification for letting it expire as well.  China wasn’t a party in the START treaty, but their handling of nuclear weapons makes the one with Russia out of date and stresses the need for new treaties that include both countries

• Africa-there was a series of coups across former French colonies.  Russia has been using them as an opportunity to grow its economic and military power, even supporting some for Moscow’s benefit, moving Africa away from France and towards Russia.  Also, China has its only foreign military base in Djibouti, near Somaliland

  
  

That’s only a drop of international involvement from China and Russia that’s been stirring tensions around the world.  From China’s Belts and Roads Initiative to increased investments in Brazil in Argentina (which the latter was recently bailed out by the U.S.), to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin going on trips to former Soviet territories and allies, it seems that both countries are getting more heavily involved in international affairs and trying to shore up resources and support.

With current events being what are, that puts a lot of actions by the U.S. in context, from seeking to build an anti-missile defense system that would include territory in Greenland to regime change to Secretary Marco Rubio’s speech calling for good European-US relations based on shared culture at the Munich Conference to increased involvement in Latin America and much, much more, the U.S. seems to be drawing lines in a new, growing cultural and political war with the two largest countries on the Asian continent.  Only time will tell what this leads to, but the events in Venezuela foreshadow a growing international divide and may be the start of a new political reality.