May 2026

May 5, 2026: Meeting with Brother Dan Walters, OSB, “Being a Point of Stability”

Our May meeting included an interesting and honest exchange with Glastonbury’s own Brother Daniel Walters, OSB, bringing our year-long reflection on Stability to an end. Carol Stanton interviewed Brother Dan on the topic of “Being a Point of Stability”. 

After a few years in the Abbey he embarked on an 18 year social justice commitment in the city of Boston. How did that decision come about?   

In his early years as a monk, Brother Dan got degrees in religious studies and spent a few years teaching at Fontbonne High School in Milton. During that time he engaged with student social justice projects at Rosie’s Place and had a life-changing encounter with Gustavo Gutierrez, the Latin American theologian, who coined the name Liberation Theology, a Gospel-based, preferential option for the poor. These were his impetus to commit to living in the city of Boston, doing pastoral outreach at The Franciscan Center and managing the Catholic Worker’s Haley House. The Abbot gave him permission to spend a year doing this work; that extended to two years and then somehow stretched into eighteen years. He talked about how the Center became “home address” for street folks and how his own ability to be a long-term volunteer presence made him a “point of stability” with men and women for whom instability was the daily stuff of their life. He was there long enough for street people to greet him by name on the streets of Boston.

Did his understanding of his vow of stability change?  

Brother Dan said that during his time living in Boston he always thought of the Abbey as his home. This helped him to reconcile his commitment to one place and one group of monks with his larger outreach. He stayed connected to monastic life by faithfully praying the daily round of monastic prayer. He connected to community life by visiting regularly for feasts, holidays and retreats. He was close to the Jesuit community in Boston who were also engaged in social justice work.  Since St. Francis House was a Franciscan outreach, and he was connected to the Jesuit community, he was asked if people recognized that he was a Benedictine. He said they were aware and at times came to the Abbey for retreats and Holy Week Stations of the Cross.  He admitted that he missed some major changes in the Abbey over those years but his regular visits helped keep him in the loop of life at Glastonbury.

After 18 years away, how was the transition back into the monastic community?                               

The Abbot called him back saying they needed him in Hingham. Brother Dan said that he had a challenging transition back into daily life with the monks. Someone asked if he encountered any resentment upon his return. He said no, because very quickly the monks voted him into leadership roles. The Abbot Primate asked him to be Vocations Director and he became active in extended lay community projects such as Listening to Other Voices. He also served on the Hingham Interfaith Committee. He said all of this helped him to think that they really wanted him back in the fold. The extended community was very welcoming. This eased him back into the stability of one place, one group of monks. He did honestly admit that sometimes it was not easy; it took some time for him to adjust. Now, in his 80’s, he said he feels very settled back in, at home and still busy enough with retreats and visitors.

Once back at the Abbey what did he miss from his time in the city?                                               

Brother Dan missed the city of Boston, the people he worked with, the men and women he helped on the streets. Mostly, he said, he missed the diversity. Hingham and Cohasset are fairly homogeneous communities and he liked the mix of races, ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic levels in the city.

Does he see the Abbey as a “point of stability” for the greater South Shore?                                    

He referred to the Abbey’s long presence of 72 years as an active community and praying presence on Hull Street in Hingham. It has served as a place of continuity for generations of families as well as a stable place in the midst of change, both in the church and in society. Someone asked if that very homogeneity made the Abbey feel cliquey and not welcoming to “outsiders”.  He said that over the years the monks had heard that criticism enough to take it seriously. He said he honestly thought that they tried very hard to be hospitable, open and welcoming. However, he did mention that candidates who came to the monastery tended not to stay. The monastic community has developed its own tempo and way of doing things, its “quirks”. He thought this needed looking at.

What about the Oblates? How does he see their role at Glastonbury?                                                           

Brother Dan believes that Oblates are critical for the future of Benedictine monasticism. The late former Abbot Primate, Notker Wolf maintained that Oblates are the future of Benedictinism. What exact form that may take, perhaps live-in Oblates, remains to be seen. Brother Dan’s point of view is that Oblates will be more and more involved in the monastic community itself.

What advice would he give about stability to a new candidate for monastic life?

It takes time to adjust from one lifestyle to another, from one commitment to another. Brother Dan referred to his own re-entry experience and to Fr. Albrecht’s recent experience as examples that adjusting to the monastic life takes time and patience. It is not easy, these days, to promise life-long fidelity to the practice of stability—the commitment to one place and one group of people. It takes time. Be patient.