Oklahoma Visit

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all mni, catholic, Catholic Church, church, Conception Abbey, Conception Seminary College, Diocese of Tulsa, Jesus Christ, monastic life, monks, Oklahoma, Ordination, photos, pictures, Prayer, priesthood, religious life, Stillwater, Tulsa, vocation, vocations

I was asked to attend the diaconate ordination of one of our alumni, James Porter III, who is a seminarian for the Diocese of Tulsa, my home diocese. It was going to be a quick trip to Oklahoma, departing last Friday morning and returning Saturday evening, but I was looking forward to seeing my friends in the diocese.

On Friday I made to Stillwater (my hometown) in order to concelebrate Mass at my home parish. A new St. Francis Xavier Church was recently constructed and it was dedicated in March 2018. It is quite an amazing church from an architectural standpoint alone (as you can see below).

I joined our new pastor, Fr. Brian O’Brien for Mass on Friday.

Before the ordination in Tulsa on Saturday morning, I was able to visit with many more priest friends and alumni of Conception Seminary College, including Fr. Gary Kastl. Fr. Gary was a senior at CSC when I first entered seminary as a sophomore. I hadn’t seen Fr. Kastl in several years, so it was nice to catch up.

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Notre Dame Trip

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basilica, Benedictine, Benedictines, Benet Lake, catholic, Catholic Church, church, community, Conception Abbey, Graduation, Indiana, Monastery, monastic life, monks, Notre Dame, photos, pictures, Prayer, priesthood, religious life, vocations, Wisconsin

Last Friday I traveled to South Bend, Indiana to the campus of the University of Notre Dame. I spent the weekend attending the graduation festivities of Gregory, one of the three men who is planning on entering this monastery this July. Though the weather was not the greatest (it was overcast and rained part of the time), it was still a wonderful and joyful weekend.

Commencement was Sunday morning in the Notre Dame football stadium.

Below: After the celebrations on Sunday I went to our daughterhouse in Benet Lake, Wisconsin to meet with two other vocation candidates. While I was there I flew the drone to capture some aerial photos of the place. Even though it was still overcast, it’s a beautiful place right near the lake.

Seminary Graduation

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celebration, Conception Abbey, Conception Seminary College, family, Graduation, priesthood, seminary, vocations

Conception Seminary College joyfully celebrated the Baccalaureate and Graduation this past weekend. Graduation took place on Saturday afternoon and the Mass of Thanksgiving was held Sunday morning.

Spring Photos

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basilica, catholic, Conception Abbey, May, monastic life, monks, photos, pictures, spring, weather

Hooray for spring! Enjoy these photos from the past few days.

Bible Study Retreat

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Bible Study, catholic, college, Compline, Conception Abbey, Conception Junction, evening prayer, faith, friends, games, Night Prayer, Northwest Missouri State University, Prayer, Reconcilation, retreat, silence, Vespers, volleyball

On Sunday afternoon I invited several of the college students from my Wednesday Bible Study to come to the Abbey for a few hours for fellowship and some time to pray at the end of an academic year. The group all graduated from the local high school in Conception Junction within the past 4 years and have known one another for most of their lives. We had Bible Studies every Wednesday evening throughout most of the semester in Maryville, where I help out at the Newman Center at Northwest Missouri State University.

The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was a good time for them to disconnect from their phones and be with one another. After beginning the afternoon with prayer in the Abbey Basilica, we played a few different games.

Below: The opening activity was a few rounds of “Bunco”- a simple dice game that served as an ice breaker.

For a good part of the afternoon, we played volleyball. Fr. Guerric and Fr. Victor joined us for multiple games in St. Michael’s Gymnasium. Before Vespers, they had the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and quiet reflection time to walk campus by themselves before joining the monks for Evening Prayer. Supper and a Bible Study followed. We looked at the first chapter of Acts of the Apostles and talked about Jesus’ Ascension and the promise of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The group joined the monks for Night Prayer and one last game (see below) in the meeting room. Our day together concluded with sharing the challenges and blessing of the past semester and how Jesus is inviting us to be witnesses to the world.