vocation
Hoop Dreams
Yesterday evening after Compline, I went over to St. Michael’s Gymnasium to watch the seminarian basketball team play their first scrimmage game against a local men’s team. The seminarians have been practicing for a few months under the direction of Coach Skip Shear. Skip has coached for several schools including, Northwest Missouri State, Southwest Baptist…
Camera and Ice
Br. Etienne left today to return to St. Vincent Seminary for the spring semester of his first year in theology school. During Christmas break I gave him my Canon Rebel XS camera, since I got an upgrade from my parents. Br. Etienne, a camera enthusiast and former camera store worker, took this amazing macro picture…
School is Back in Session
This week the seminarians of Conception Seminary College have returned to campus for the spring semester. “Spring” is somewhat of a misnomer at this time of the year, for today brought some more snow flurries as the seminarians made their way between buildings for breakfast and their first classes. Please pray that God blesses the…
Meet Br. Maximilian
Today, Br. Maximilian departs for Chicago for 4 months to work at St. Joseph’s Home with the Little Sisters of the Poor in Palatine, Illinois. He hopes to gain experience with gerontological health care. We wish him the best and look forward to his return in April. Br. Maximilian was scheduled to leave yesterday morning,…
Lights Out
I woke up this morning to the sound of my alarm, at the customary time of 5:00am. In my usual morning slumber, I instinctively turned the light on, grabbed my bathrobe, and slipped into my flip-flops, seemingly in all one motion. I opened the door to my room, and before I even wiped my eyes,…
Epiphany
“Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory.” -Isaiah 60:1-3 We celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. We celebrate three great mysteries: The Adoration of…
From the Archivist’s Files
This posting was submitted by Br. Bernard Montgomery, O.S.B., a monk of Conception Abbey. Br. Bernard has several monastic job assignments, but he contributes this entry in his role as Abbey Archivist. I became archivist of the Abbey in November of 2009. I am responsible for the day to day oversight and work of collecting…
Monks on Wheels
This posting was submitted by Fr. Joel Derks, O.S.B., a monk of Conception Abbey, and a jubilarian in profession and ordination. Who takes care of the car you use? What kind of attention does your car need? I help out with maintenance for the Abbey’s fleet of vehicles. I care for everything from the wheels…
Snow: Part Deux
A quick glimpse of campus this morning after the snow finished falling sometime last night. Our workers did a good job having the sidewalks cleared so that we can carry on business as usual. The snow is not terribly deep, but the wind enabled drifts to collect in various areas.
New Year’s Day
The monks’ Christmas celebrations continued as we opened the New Year with the Universal Church by honoring the feast of Mary, Mother of God. New Year’s Eve in the monastery was fairly quiet, and I doubt that any of the monks stayed up until midnight to welcome in the New Year. The Prior, Fr. Daniel,…