Brother Timothy marks 50 years as a monk after swapping finance for poverty
This article by Donal O’Regan appeared in the Limerick Leader on 21st January 2023 and has been copied here with permission – www.limerickleader.ie
Brother Timothy McGrath recorded 50 years as a monk in Glenstal Abbey this month, which he describes as a “uniquely personal epiphany for me.” The Dublin native’s connection with Glenstal goes back to 1958 when he enrolled as a first-year student in the school. After leaving, he graduated in History and Economics at UCD, and, at the invitation of the then headmaster, Fr Celestine, returned to take up a teaching post in Glenstal Abbey School, where he remained on staff from 1967 until becoming a novice monk in 1971. Br Timothy was duly professed on January 6, 1973.
For the next 50 years he served in the community of Glenstal in many different roles – for almost 40 of those years in the sports, academic and admin departments. In 1993, at the behest of the then headmaster, Fr Simon Sleeman, he undertook the role of student career counsellor. “It was where I felt I was possible most effective and positively most fulfilled.” said Br Timothy.
In 2010, he decided to spread his wings after he was invited to a sister monastery in India for four to six weeks each year teaching and supporting fellow monks. “These were periods of great happiness and self-affirmation. I think I made 18 such visits between the years 2000 and 2019, initially in the company of the late Abbot Celestine, who was, and remains in every respect, my personal North Star, and continued after his death in 2019.However, these personal odysseys became too arduous for me and the local terrain too challenging. Respecting the realities of the impact of a series of cardiac surgeries and two hip replacements, it became obvious that these expeditions had to be brought to a close,” said Br Timothy. But the old adage, “When one door closes…” came true for him.
“I have now linked my long association with Poland to a recently established relationship with Ukraine. Just two years ago a visionary monastery of Benedictine monks and nuns combined was established near the Ukrainian city of Lviv. It is relatively close to the Polish border and, at the moment, is only an occasional target in the cross-hairs of the on-going Russian bombardments. This embryonic but ambitious monastic project has had quite a mesmerising effect on me. To date, I have been able to visit there once a year, but aspire to increase that ratio if possible.”
Br Timothy, who is closer to 80 than to 70, says he is “not quite ancient but I am elderly.”
“And, to deploy a sporting motif, about round eight of a 10 round boxing match! Thus, I have adopted a pivotal fragment of the Rule of Saint Benedict to guide me through this final quarter: the one when Benedict urges his monks to keep death before our eyes – daily. This I do – it is the most momentous advice I have ever received.”