By Michael Patrick O’Brien–
I often often share fond memories in this blog about my old friends, the Trappist monks who lived at the now-closed Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity monastery in Huntsville, Utah. I am fascinated by the unusual combination of jobs often assigned to monks and performed with great skill. One of my favorite examples is the beekeeper-theologian-plumber.
The Utah monastery was famous for its honey, notably its flavored creamed honey. One of the monastery’s pamphlets asked the mouthwatering question, “How do we make Trappist creamed honey?” The very tasteful answer was: “The alfalfa-clover honey is carefully mixed with choice nut meats, fruit pieces, flavored extracts, or fresh spices. Each of the different flavors is allowed to age until it has naturally changed to a fine, crystalline state, giving it a soft, creamy texture that is delicious on fresh bread or toast.” It was especially delicious spread on the monks’ homemade brown wheat bread.
The resident beekeeper for many years was Father Bartholomew (Paul) Gottemoller, one of the original monks who came to Utah from Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. Born in Indianapolis in 1914, Father Bartholomew joined the Kentucky monastery in 1934, and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1942. My family knew him a little bit beginning in the 1970s, but not well. He was shy and modest, but always smiled and said hello when we saw him. Our longest conversation was in 1997, at a picnic celebrating the 50th anniversary of the monastery, when he was absolutely engaged and delighted at meeting my wife Vicki, and our two young daughters Erin (then age 6) and Megan (age 2 at the time).
Father Bartholomew not only cared for the Abbey’s bees, he also developed a sophisticated technology for processing the honey and producing the containers in which it was sold. I love the old photos of him tending the bees while wearing his beekeeper spacesuit. Although often stung (including once inside his nose), he was a big fan of the hive dwellers, once saying, “It’s amazing what bees can do,” and calling them, “a revelation of God.”
I did not know, until much later, that Father Bartholomew also was a famous and prolific writer of scholarly books and articles on theology and spirituality. One of his published books, called Words of Love, painstakingly compiled and shared the words of Jesus to three 20th century mystic nuns who lived in Jerusalem, Italy, and France. A friend also told me he had served as a mentor of Thomas Merton at Gethsemani Abbey, but that in writings he was identified him as “Father Nathaniel” to preserve his privacy.
Last, but certainly not least, Father Bartholomew was a talented plumber. When he died in November 2007, the Intermountain Catholic reported that these skills “were especially appreciated by his brothers in the monastery.”
He truly was as busy as his bees.
