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August 8, 2019At the very beginning of his journey to becoming a monk at Saint Gregory’s Abbey, Brother Peter Shults only could describe what he was feeling as a hunger.
He was content, but not at peace. He eventually understood he was experiencing a hunger for the living God.
On July 11, he left behind his old identify as Matthew Shults and took his solemn vows to become a lifelong monk as Brother Peter. It was the culmination of a process that unveiled itself to him over many years, yet it marked the beginning of his service to God.
“The only way I know how to explain it is that I fell in love with Christ and his Church,” he said. “He gave me the opportunity to feel his grace, mercy and love, and I wanted to be where he wanted me to be, and nowhere else.”
Brother Peter grew up in Del City in a Protestant home. During his college years, he struggled with doubt and often was vocal about his unbelief. One day, he was invited to attend Mass, where he couldn’t help but notice the look of peace as people received the eucharist.
“I started going to a parish across town so I didn’t have to admit to anybody that I was wrong about my unbelief,” he said. “I started reading everything I could about Catholicism, began praying and, for the first time in several years, I opened up my Bible.”
During his senior year of college, he was confirmed in the Catholic Church. He earned an accounting degree and began thinking about his next steps. He decided to enter the U.S. Army in 2004. What he thought would be a couple of years of military service turned into 10. He served on missions in Africa, Europe and the United States, earning his master’s degree in accounting along the way.
During what would be his final duty assignment in Detroit, he began praying intently about what God would have him do. He visited with a spiritual director and felt the question of a vocation burning in his heart. During some time off, he decided to attend a vocations retreat at Saint Gregory’s Abbey.
“I deeply wanted some quiet and time away, but after the retreat, as I was boarding the plane to go back to Detroit, I thought, ‘I don’t want to go back.’ I felt a peace so deep that it was alarming,” he said.
Brother Peter attended several more retreats, then turned in an application to the monastery. After his honorable discharge, he entered the abbey as a postulant on March 3, 2015.
After four months as a postulant, he entered the novitiate to take his temporary vows and further explore becoming a lifelong monk. The time as a novice is when the abbot confers a new name to signify a new way of life. Brother Peter submitted three names for consideration, along with a description of why he chose each. The abbot can pick one of them, or none of them, but Abbot Lawrence Stasyszen ultimately chose Peter.
“As a relatively young man who has had significant experiences in life as a student, a professional and a soldier, he knows in his heart that the Lord has the words of life,” Abbot Lawrence said.
Brother Peter’s first vocation is to be a monk – praying for his community and church seven times a day. He also continues his service as the community’s landscaper. But, he also felt a call to another vocation – the priesthood – so during the academic year, he is working toward a master’s degree at Saint Meinrad Seminary in Indiana.
“Brother Peter is dedicated to everything he does as a means of deepening his relationship with God and serving the needs of the community,” Abbot Lawrence said.
Below: Abbot Lawrence and Prior Boniface clothe Br. Peter in the monastic cuculla. Photo Theresa Bragg.
