Conception Abbey
Day in the Life of a Seminarian
Ever wonder what a seminarian does each day? Check out this video that goes chronologically through a seminarian’s day, from prayer to studies to recreation. One of the freshmen, Dave Sotelo (Diocese of Wichita), helped me film this video which we put together. This weekend we have more than 100 men visiting for the weekend…
CSC Fall Production
The moment has come. The initial vision, followed by months of planning and hours upon hours of hard work are about to become a reality. The audience—seminarians, their families, faculty members, and monks—enter St. Michael’s Gymnasium, traversing the wooden floor in search of choice seats for the performance. Actors, stagehands and tech crew are in…
Fading Daylight
The afternoon sun is setting a little too quickly for my preference these days. While everyone enjoyed that extra hour of sleep for Daylight Savings Time, it is strange going to Evening Prayer while the sun is already set. Nevertheless, these days of fall have a beauty of their own, even if the leaves are…
All Souls Day Procession
Early this afternoon, the monastic community gathered for their All Souls Day procession to pray for the faithful departed. We chanted Psalms and invoked the intercession of the saints as we walked to the cemetery. There more prayers were offered for the deceased. Many of the monks remained at the cemetery for a while to…
October’s Beautiful Colors
If the wind doesn’t blow all of the leaves off of the trees, then we’ll be able to enjoy the nice colors for a little longer. This year’s fall colors are no disappointment. Campus is looking great as the temperatures drop. This morning it was close to freezing temperature, but forecasts say Sunday and Monday could…
Thunder Cup Weekend
We had lots of activities and visitors this weekend. First, our Board of Regents members arrived on Friday for their meetings in order to help offer input and feedback regarding the Seminary planning. Bishop Dendinger celebrated Mass Friday evening. Bishop Johnston, the Bishop-elect of our Diocese, Kansas City-St. Joseph, is pictured with the seminarians from…
Family Weekend
Above and Below: Beautiful weather– this is my favorite time of the year. It was our annual Family Weekend for the seminarians. Their parents, siblings, and other relatives enjoyed a weekend of activities and some wonderful weather. All enjoyed Evening Prayer with the monastic community, a social afterwards, and a banquet in the dining rooms.…
Witnessing the Faith
On Sunday early afternoon, seminarian Chris Davis (Diocese of Salina) and I decided to bike to Maryville to participate in Life Chain Sunday. I tried getting others involved, but not too many were thrilled about the 35 mile round trip. We planned to do this a couple days before, but when Sunday rolled around, it…
Seminary Fundraiser
Friday evening was our 7th Annual Partnering for Future Priests (PFP) seminary dinner/auction fundraiser. The dinner was held in St. Joseph in the parish hall at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. More than 200 friends and benefactors joined the monks of Conception Abbey, priests of the diocese, and the seminarians of Conception Seminary College. The…
Alumni & Open House
This past weekend was our annual Alumni Reunion Weekend. We welcome more than 100 alumni. Many of them were eager to return to see the newly renovated monastery, a capital campaign to which many of them contributed generously. Bishop Pates (Diocese of Des Moines) was the Guest Speaker for Alumni Day and he also celebrated Mass…