Brother Stephen was born and baptized William Joseph Maguire, Jr., the second of six children born to Martha Kelly Maguire and William J. Maguire. A few years after his birth in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the family moved to Northern Virginia. Br. Stephen grew up in Falls Church. When he was the Abbey’s Bakery Manager, I remember him recalling the house he grew up in; it was a rainy day, as he reminisced, a light rain pattering on the metal roof of the Bakery. That reminded him of the metal roof back home and the comforting feel of being able to read a book to the gentle drumming above. From Falls Church he went on to education with the Jesuits at Gonzaga High School in Washington, DC. After he graduated he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1948 and was honorably discharged in 1952.
The next step in his journey was spending three semesters at Georgetown University (Washington, DC) in the School of Foreign Affairs. As Br. Steve might have punned, his interests became really foreign at that point and he pursued the less conventional path of priestly ordination, joining for a while the Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut where he studied for two years. In those years seminaries had the regularity and self-enclosed atmosphere of a monastery and there he felt called to the Trappist life. He came to Holy Cross Abbey in 1962 and there he settled for the rest of his years. In the transition, he was satisfied with the simple alteration of manual work and prayer choosing the brothers vocation. He never seemed to mention the priesthood thereafter.
Following the normal procedures of the Novitiate and years in simple profession when the Abbey was at the peak of its population, Br. Stephen had some colorful stories to tell later, related to his particular needs. At that time, before we had individual rooms, the monks slept in dormitories, each “cell” being a partitioned cubicle–not unlike the precarious privacy of office cubicles. Br. Stephen talked in his sleep; for the well being of others he was directed to sleep in the novitiate. I don’t know whether he also suffered from allergies (ah! life in the country!) but he is the monk who described to me the special dormitory for those who suffered hay fever and a few colorful stories related to those accommodations. He was always keen on a story with some comedy in it!
Past that stage, he was eventually appointed Bakery Manager, a job which he held for fifteen years. From the time when he entered, he saw fruit cake baking (the cakes were sold in the monastery’s miniscule Porter’s Lodge) disappear as an industry but remain as a one-bake event in November. Those cakes were used as gifts for benefactors and to provide three cakes for each member of the monastic community to mail out as Christmas gifts. But before he ended his tenure in the Bakery, he saw the industry revived as a source of income to replace gradually bread baking.
When Fr. Mark Delery was Abbot, a new Retreat House was built and soon after it was opened, Br. Stephen became the Guest Master in 1986. Anyone who knows Br. Stephen, knows that he did not come out of a cookie cutter but was a unique character with a style all his own. I remember his habit on the evening of the Fourth of July to climb a ladder to the Bakery roof and from there watch the fireworks display from the direction of Winchester. The rest of us were in our beds conserving our energies for Vigils. I recall him saying once that when the fireworks ended the show put on by the fireflies was even more spectacular. He enjoyed science fiction and Walter M. Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz was a favorite he read again and again. He was always the person to ask about which bright planet was appearing near the horizon at sunrise or sunset and I’m pretty sure that he hoped to spot a UFO some day. In some ways, Br. Stephen was my living link with the free-wheeling Celtic monks of yore. And it was precisely those unique, independent–dare I say non-Trappist?–qualities that made him an unparalleled Guest Master at our Retreat House. His quiet manner, unrushed style, gentle wit and corny humor was a breath of fresh air and helped many a retreatant to enter into the quiet and peace of the place and the serenity of a silent retreat. The testimony of many whose lives were deepened through contact with him is impressive.
Suffering a number of ailments and, eventually, battling dementia, Br. Stephen had to retire as Guest Master after some twenty years in the job. Though he could be stubborn and display a temper, even in a disoriented sate, he became amiable and co-operative. When someone else might feel panic, Br. Steve remained calm and witty when he could no longer remember his name. Finally in 2009, needing care around the clock, he retired to Carroll Manor on the campus of Providence Hospital in North East Washing, DC; even there, it is said, he sometimes believed that he was at Holy Cross Abbey Retreat House, greeting his neighbors as newly arrived retreatants…More recently, Brother had been bedridden and he peacefully slipped away this past Tuesday.
Abbot Robert described Brother’s decline in the past weeks as his “going home to God” which struck a personal note for me. In the solemn profession ceremony, after a monk professes his vows, he is greeted by each monk in seniority, from Abbot on down. The newly professed monk is supposed to ask the prayers of each community member, but usually they are busy congratulating the newly professed. When I made my solemn profession, it was Br. Steven who came to me and said, “Welcome home!” It couldn’t have been said better. And I imagine that is how the good Lord is greeting him now.
His remains will be received by the community at a short ceremony this Monday, 1 June, at 8:30 AM. A Vigil of Psalmody will be prayed over him by two individuals in thirty minute watches. Friends and neighbors of the Abbey are warmly invited to join the monks in these prayers for Br. Stephen. The Psalms will conclude at 1:55 PM, and the Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at 2:00 PM by Abbot Robert. We expect the burial to begin around 3:30 PM in the monastic Cemetery east of the monastery (not the green Cemetery by the front gate).
Patricia Balser says
What a beautiful account of the life of Brother Steven. I never knew him, but in reading the account, I feel like I did. I attended Notre Dame Academy, which was next door to Gonzaga. The Jesuits from there taught some of our religion classes. Rest in peace, Br. Steven.
I came upon the Abbey’s website by chance. My son and his family live in Winchester, and I am always looking for things of interest in the area for his family and myself. They have only lived in Winchester for about 4 years, and are still learning the area. I live in Maryland.
I am interested in visiting the Abbey Bakery sometime when I am out there, and would like more information.
John Reier says
When my brother and I made our first retreat at the Abbey several years ago, Br. Stephen was our retreat master, and he left a lasting impression on us both. We remember fondly his reading to us during meals, a book about an Irishman’s spirituality. We enjoyed our “work” in the kitchen cleaning the meal’s dishes and chatting informally with Brother–we did dishes after every meal. When we returned for another retreat, Brother was at Carroll Manor, and I made sure to ask Fr. Robert about his health because he had left a lasting impression on us. I consider myself fortunate to have two images of Br. Stephan that are fixed in my memory: first, seeing him on the last day of our first retreat at Sunday mass, finally robed in his monk’s habit, offering a prayer for the intentions of all of those on retreat and second, the beautiful picture in the retreat house of brother bent over like St. Francis tending his cats. “Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.” [Irish for “May his soul be at the right hand of God.”]
Laurel LaCivita says
In addition to the things that Fr. James mentioned, what made Br. Stephen an extraordinary Guest Master, was his focus, through his selection of reading material, to the work of salvation. In this, he was an amazing guide to someone seeking to understand and dwell in the contemplative life. He realized that most of us didn’t have a clue, and he read us stories that were always riveting, unexpected, and — painful. Through his stories, he invited us into this process. He taught us not to fear it, but to embrace it. To begin. He gave us space. Space to be silent. Space to speak. Space to laugh. Space to seek. Space to confront ourselves. To me, the Trappists’ greatest gift to the world, is the relentless focus on the inner journey – and Br. Steve was masterful in sharing that invitation with us!
The Rev. Linda M. Kapurch says
After Bro. Steve would read to us during supper, he always ended with: Does anyone have any answers? To which he added, people usually have too many questions. That was Bro. Steve: much monastic wisdom, clothed in his Irish wit. Thanks Be to God for giving him to us! Requiescat+
Art Cromwell says
What a kind soul he was. In addition to reading during meals, and helping with the dishes afterwards, I have one memory from years ago. Though the payment for the retreat house stay is a donation suggested within a certain range, one year as a younger man I didn’t feel I was paying enough, so I mentioned to him I was going into town to the ATM to be able to pay more. I think he sensed things were tight for me so he reassured me “Don’t worry about it.” I am sure he is praying for us all now.
Sarah Ackerson says
God rest your soul dear Br. Stephen. It was a gift to have known you. I pray that you already have been welcomed into Heaven, your well deserved home for eternity. It was a privilege and joy to have known you as Guest Master when I went on retreats. Always you were welcoming. Always you were kind. Always you were encouraging with your wit and unique Holy Words of Wisdom. Now please pray for us that we also would be faithful to Jesus until called home.
Michael Waugh says
I had the honor of filling in for Brother Stephen when he no longer could go on as Guestmaster. I never got used to the disappointment I saw on people’s faces when I had to tell them that Brother Stephen was “retired” from the Retreat House. He touched so many people’s lives, including mine. I would often seek him out in the monastery to pass along all the messages retreatants had for him. I would say “they all want me to tell you that they MISS you.” He would reply and say, “tell them I miss them too,,,,(and with a grin say) I don’t remember them, but tell them I miss them too.” I spent 2 years not even trying to fill the massive size shoes of his.
Another time at the monastery I asked how he was doing, and he said with a big smile, “I’m alivin, conivin and survivin.” He would have stayed Guestmaster the rest of his life if he could. He loved being with people. And yet, he accepted that he could no longer go on. But he never stopped aliving, conniving and surviving. I love what Fr. James said about his connection to the Celtic Monks. I think of Brother Stephen every-time I step on the sacred ground of a monastery ruin here in the west of Ireland.
Is í an dias is troime is ísle a chromas a ceann.
(It is the heaviest ear of grain that bends its head the lowest)
Brenda Schwieger says
I think of Brother Steve often. He was treasure to all who knew him. I have misses him since his retirement and I know that he has found true peace. God bless him and all of you.