Saddened to hear of the passing of Father Matthew Kelty, one of the monks of Abbey of Gethsemani. He was a real treat to those of us who visited the monastery because often he would spend evenings with guests doing homilies, reading stories, poetry, and other conversations. They even video taped some of his talks for a dvd because so many people appreciated those times so much and yearned for a little more.

The community of Gethsemani is saddened today by the loss of its eldest member. Fr. Matthew Kelty died after a brief illness. He spent the morning talking with community members who dropped in to see him. He was lucid and interested up to the last. He passed away during a nap, near noon. Several community members, including Abbot Elias, were with him when he died.

Fr. Matthew was one of the community’s most prominent members, who touched many retreatants over the years with his compline talks, and many more people around the world with his writings.

I have some great memories of times at Abbey of Gethsemani on retreat and look forward to some more in the future. It will be a little different knowing that one of the keystones of the monastery for us visitors is no longer with us in physical presence gracing prayer times, but part of the cloud of witnesses that surrounds the hills of Kentucky.

thanks Lilly for the news. Some of my photos from a retreat a number of years back