A Blessed New Year 2009

The first thing I want to mention in this blog is to recommend to you a video of Christmas in the Basilica. You can see this by going to the Conception Abbey web site:

http://www.conceptionabbey.org/ and then scrolling down to the bottom of the screen on the left you will see items listed, click on the one "video of Christmas at Conception." I think you will enjoy it.

And I pray you all had a beautiful and blessed Christmas. You know the feast continues for the Church until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord on January 11, 2009. So while the business world can hardly wait to begin Christmas already in October or early November, the Church does not start celebrating until December 25 and then continues until the feast of the Baptism.

We have had an unusual winter so far this year. We get ice, snow, sleet and then it gets warm and after a few days begins all over again. For Christmas itself our parking lot in front of the basilica was a sheet of ice. We did try to treat it and made it a little more passable. The Basilica was actually pretty well filled for midnight Mass. Last Friday we had temperatures up into the lower 60's so all the ice and snow disappeared. Friday night and into Saturday morning it rained, then changed to freezing rain and finally had some sleet and snow. So everything was slick again. Today it is supposed to get up to around 50 degrees.

Brother Pachomius was finally able to make it home yesterday. He is in his 4th year of theology at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon. Portland had some big snows in the last week or so. So, while he was scheduled to fly home last Sunday, he was not able to leave until yesterday, December 26. It seems that almost all flights out of Portland were cancelled because of the snow.

In closing I just want to say: HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you.

A BLESSED AND MERRY CHRISTMAS

Once again we are approaching that holy and blessed feast of Christmas. The most important thing it seems to me is that we take time to reflect on what we are celebrating. "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." That is what we are truly celebrating -- God's love for us, his creatures, who are made in his image and likeness. So with all the parties and all the gift giving let's all try to remember what the feast is all about.

With this blog I wish all the readers of this web site a blessed and Merry Christmas. May Christ truly come to each of you anew as we celebrate Christmas, 2008.

Here at Conception it looks like we will have both snow and ice on the ground for the feast. Last Thursday night we had some ice. Fortunately not as much as last year so we did not lose our electricity, heat etc. However, parking lots, sidewalks and country roads are all quite slick. Our parking lot in front of church looks like an ice rink.

Ice on trees and and on top of the snow from the recent ice storm.

Today there is a lot of decorating going on in the house. Tomorrow we will be decorating the church so it will be a busy couple of days.

So again, I want to wish all of you readers a blessed and happy Christmas. You will be in my prayers and remembered at Mass.

Fr. Kenneth

Some very cold weather.

Yes, the last few days we have experienced that winter is here. The temperature dropped down to zero or below the last two nights. And with the wind, especially on Sunday and Sunday night, the wind chill was more like 15 or so below zero. And so what happened on Sunday night! We had trouble with our propane gas line. At any rate the gas stopped coming through the feeder lines with enough pressure so all the furnaces, hot water heaters etc went off. The buildings were pretty cool by morning but fortunately the company was able to come immediately and get the gas flowing again. Of course such things usually only happen when it is very cold and usually at night.

This morning we had snow most of the morning. I took Father Anthony to Maryville for a doctor appointment and it was pretty difficult driving back. Sometimes it was difficult to see and other times there was quite a bit of snow on the ground.

Snow on Tuesday, December 16

This is an exciting week for the students as they finishing the first semester and will be leaving for home on Thursday, December 18. They will not have to return until the 11th of January.

We were happy to welcome home yesterday Brother Anselm and Brother Victor. They both attend school at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. It is good to have them home again for a few weeks.

Brother Anselm on the left and Brother Victor on the right.

With winter time here there is always concern as to whether or not our nursing staff will be able to get in for their regular hours. So far we have not had anyone calling in today but for the next few months we are sure to have some of that. When that happens for the night shift I myself sometimes have to go over and fill in as best I can.

Friday of this week at noon we have a special Christmas luncheon for our employees. It is one little way we can show our appreciation for all they do to help us in our apostolates.

Solemnity of Immaculate Conception

Today is our patronal feast, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. We usually go by just Conception Abbey but we are under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception. When the first monks first came here from Switzerland in 1873 they first called the monastery, New Engelberg Abbey after our founding Abbey -- Engelberg Abbey in Switzerland. The little town of Conception was already located here and the early settlers had named it Conception in honor of the Immaculate Conception. So before long they began to simply call the monastery Conception Abbey.

We are following our Sunday schedule today and there are no classes for the students. We had a solemn Mass at 10:30 AM celebrated by Abbot Gregory. That was followed by a banquet meal. We will now have solemn vespers of the feast at 5:30 PM.

Two of our young monks who are away studying theology at St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana returned home Saturday evening as they completed the first semester. The other monks who are studying away from home will be returning for Christmas in the next week or ten days.

Brother Guerric and Brother Macario

The 10th of December will mark the first anniversary of the big ice storm we had here a year ago. It started freezing rain the night of December 10 and continued throughout most of the day on December 11. We hope and pray we have nothing like that again this year.

That's about it for this week. I pray you are having a blessed season of Advent and looking forward to the feast of Christmas. If you are interested you might also like to read my "Oblate blog." You can find it either on the Conception Abbey web site (http://www.conceptionabbey.org/) and click on oblates or go to http://osboblates.blogspot.com/

First snow fall

Saturday morning, November 29, when we came out of Lauds it was snowing. It snowed off and on all day and part of the night and even some on Sunday. No snow accumulated on the roads but it did accumulate on the grass and the trees. So I guess we can say that winter has begun. It's a beautiful time of the year, especially if you can stay inside and look out the window.

Snow on the ground Sunday morning, November 30

Advent also began this weekend so that means the feast of Christmas is soon approaching. Advent is a beautiful time of the year in the Church but unfortunately this whole season has been so commercialized that probably many do not even think about what we are preparing to celebrate.

About two or three weeks ago we had a man from Houston, Texas come to Conception for a visit and for some days of quiet and rest. I found out his last name was Reichert. He and his wife are from Germany but presently he is working for a German-American Company in Houston, Texas so they live there most of the year at the present time. He spoke very good English so I had a couple of good visits with him. He is from a part of Germany that is not far from where my ancestors came from. He heard about Conception on the internet and just decided to call and see if he could come up for a few days. Little did he realize he would run into another Reichert up here.


Picture of Markus Reichert (from Germany) and Father Kenneth. (He visited here shortly after I had my nose operated on for a skin cancer.)

The students returned last evening. They will be here now until December 18, when Christmas vacation begins.

I was surprised on Saturday to have some very good friends come for an overnight visit. Benjamin and Alicia Darnell who now live in Dayton, Ohio, were back in Missouri for Thanksgiving and decided to stop by here to visit on their way back to Ohio. They left Sunday afternoon to drive back. It's a long trip from here but it was sure good to see them. Some of you will remember that I presided at their wedding in Springfield, Missouri in May, 2007.

Benjamin and Alicia Darnell

THANKSGIVING WEEK

Thanksgiving day is such a wonderful day and a day that gives us all a chance to take time to reflect on all we have to be thankful for. First of all of course all that God has given us and his many blessings but also all the love and good that others have done for us. Despite some difficult times I'm sure all of us have much to be grateful for in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones.

Most of the monks who are out in parishes or chaplaincies will be coming home this week. We will have a number of community meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thankgiving day we celebrate the jubilees of monks who have jubilees this year. This year we will be celebrating the following: Abbot James - 60 years professed. The following will be celebrating 50 years professed: Abbot Marcel, Father Roger, Father Reginald, Father Xavier, Father Joel. Finally celebrating 50 years ordained will be Father Augustine.

The students will be leaving for vacation tomorrow (Tuesday) and will return then on Sunday. Our monks who are away at school will not be returning for Thanksgiving as they will all be returning in just a few weeks for their Christmas break. That includes: Brother Pachomius, Brother Anselm, Brother Victor, Brother Guerric and Brother Macario.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving... (psalm 147)

I will give thanks to you, O Lord.... (psalm 108)

And as they went, they were made clean. Then, one of them when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him... (Luke 17:15-16)

Monks residing in the infirmary

As most of you know one of my jobs now at the monastery is "Director of the infirmary." While I am not a nurse or in anyway officially a part of the medical profession, I am the supervisor, as it were, of the nurses and aides who work there and the members of the community who reside in the infirmary. As a result when there is a problem they usually first of all call me. Frequently I drive the older members to doctor appointments, sometimes in St. Joseph, MO and other times to Maryville, MO.

We presently have five members of the community who reside regularly in the infirmary. Father Joachim who is the oldest member of our community (89 years old) and will be 90 in January. He is able to take care of himself and takes very little assistance from the nursing staff. Abbot James is there. Abbot James is 84 years old and he is pretty well confined to a wheel chair. He requires for the most part, full nursing care. Father Roland resides there and is under hospice care. He is 81 years old and has a very bad heart condition. He requires quite a bit of nursing care and also has his meals in his room. He is on oxygen twenty four hours a day. Father Paschal is in the infirmary. He is partly able to take care of himself but needs supervision for his medicine etc. And Brother George is there. Brother George is a monk who transferred to Conception Abbey a few years ago when Corpus Christi Abbey in Texas was suppressed. He moves about in a mechanized wheel chair and needs supervision for his medicine. Father Hugh just left the infirmary after being here a few weeks following colon surgery. It is not unusual for us to have another one or two there after surgery or a rather serious illness. Father Regis was residing there when he died a week or two ago.

To take care of these confreres we have nine employees in the infirmary, including one who only comes in three days a week for four hours for housekeeping. Only four of the employees are full time, the remainder being part time employees. Mrs. Carol Madden is the only R.N. and she is in charge of the nursing staff. Four of the other nurses are L.P.N. We have to staff the infirmary of course seven days a week and twenty four hours a day so that means three shifts each day. All the residents eat their meals in a dining room in the infirmary. The meals are prepared in the central kitchen for the whole institution.

Finally I thought you might like to see a picture of the author of this blog after my skin cancer surgery a week ago. It is healing nicely and the stitches come out this Friday

Busy weekend

The picture with the windmills in the background shows part of the new soccer field which is being built this fall to accomodate more facilities for recreation. The other picture is just a scene from this fall. By now most of the color is gone from the trees but when this was taken on October 29, the trees were still in full color.

Last weekend was a very busy weekend here at Conception with, I believe, every bed in the guest houses filled. In fact they had to put some of the young men here for the "Encounter With God's Call" weekend in the student dorms with some of the students sleeping in the lounges on the floor.

It was also the weekend for the drama production by the seminary. This year they did a comedy called The Canterbury Tales, or...Geoffrey Chaucer's Flying Circus by Burton Bumgarner. The production was put on Friday evening, Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. It was delightful and filled with many laughs. It was directed by Brother Cyprian.

Tuesday of this week I spent all day in St. Joseph, MO. The dermatologist had discovered a skin cancer on my nose so she took that off surgically. She had to do it twice to make sure she had gotten all the cancer cells. Then she had me go to a plastic surgeon nearby to have the wound closed. So I left here at 7:30 AM and arrived back home about 7:00 PM. A pretty full day.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops this week at their meetings in Baltimore, approved the Revised Grail translation of the psalms for use in the liturgy in the United States. This translation was done right here at Conception Abbey, primarily by Abbot Gregory. The bishops approved it for use by a vote of 203 in favor and only 5 opposed.

We have had a lot of rainy and dreary weather this week with the temperatures fairly cold. Today the sun is shining again so that is great. Thanks be to God.

Have a good week and let us pray for one another.

November is here

To hear the beginning of the ringing of the Basilica tower bells for first vespers of the feast of All Saints play the short video above. We sang first vespers on Friday evening at 5:15 PM with the students and monks joining in the prayer. While this year the feast was not a holyday of obligation since it fell on a Saturday, we celebrated it as usual with ceremonies at both vespers and a solemn Mass at 10:30 AM on Saturday. Abbot Gregory was celebrant for the Mass.

The students had a Halloween party on Friday evening to which the monks were invited. I did not go myself as I was tired and wanted to go to bed early.

Father Hugh Tasch came through his colon surgery last Tuesday in fine shape and is due to return to the infirmary here at the Abbey, probably tomorrow (Monday). Father Norbert and I have been taking turns going to Savannah to take his place as chaplain for the Franciscan Sisters there.

Even though today is the 2nd of November, it is very warm and sunny. I think the temperature must be well up into the 70's and it was a nice afternoon to go for a good walk. I'm sure it will be changing soon.

This is an altar built and placed in the hallway outside the Basilica. It was built by the Hispanic students, a custom of theirs to honor the dead on this day -- All Souls Day.

Autumn Colors

Last week I was out for a walk one nice afternoon and I took my camera to take a few pictures. Many of the trees are really beautiful right now. It's a nice time of the year. The only thing is that we know winter is to follow. Hopefully it will be a mild winter but who knows!!

This past Sunday I drove to Des Moines to attend an oblate meeting at the Basilica of St. John. Those oblates have belonged to St. Gabriel Priory at Des Moines but since that Priory is now being closed they have to change their affiliation. Most of them want to change to Conception Abbey. I spent the night in Des Moines and returned yesterday by noon.

Last night we had a lecture by Rabbi Alan Cohen from Kansas City. He shared a lot about what Jews believe. He has been to Conception two or three times before. It was an interesting lecture and I think we all came away with a better understanding of the Jewish religion.

Tomorrow Bishop Lucas from the diocese of Springfield, Illinois will be here. He will celebrate the conventual Mass tomorrow. He has two or three students here studying for the Springfield diocese.

This morning Father Hugh is having colon surgery at Heartland Hospital in St. Joseph. He will have to spend some days in the hospital after his surgery. Father Norbert and I are taking his place as chaplain for the Sisters at Savannah during his absence.

Busy Week

We had a busy weekend here at Conception with about 45 oblates here for retreat as well as candidates for the diaconate from both the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and the diocese of Des Moines, as well as another one or two smaller groups. Then when they left on Sunday we had to get the rooms ready immediately for a couple more groups who were arriving on Sunday evening and on Monday. This week a group called Companions of St. Luke will be here. This is a group of Episcopalians who follow the Rule of St. Benedict. Then also the priests of the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph will be here for some continuing education.

This morning Brother Blaise and Father Allan and myself are going to Chillicothe to attend the funeral of Monsignor Lawrence Speichinger. Monsignor Speichinger is originally from my area around Brunswick, MO although he attended the mission church at Indian Grove, MO, about 10-12 miles from Brunswick.

Weather has been cool but at least the sun is shining most days and the leaves are in great color now.

Enjoyable Weekend

This week I'm including a winter scene photo of Engelberg Abbey in Switzerland. This is the monastery that sent monks here to Conception in 1873 to found the monastery of Conception Abbey. You can see the beautiful mountains they left in Switzerland when they came to the plains of northwest Missouri. I visited Engelberg once in 1980 and absolutely loved the scenery there. At first our monastery here in Missouri was called New Engelberg (New Mount Angel), but it was later changed to use the name of the town which had been named in honor of the Immaculate Conception. So today we are known as Conception Abbey.

I had a very enjoyable visit in Kansas City last weekend with my family. We did a lot of visiting and I also got a lot of good rest. I returned on Monday afternoon.

The new bishop of the diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri visited here Sunday until today. His name is Bishop James Johnston. He was a priest in the diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee until named a bishop this past spring. On Monday evening he prayed vespers with the monastic community and ate the evening meal with us.

It has rained the last couple of days. Not heavy rain but enough to keep the farmers from continuing their harvesting.

This next weekend I will be giving the retreat to the oblates of our monastery. There should be between 40-45 attending the retreat.

What's going on?

Here we are beginning another week. Already we are well into the month of October. I am including in this blog an older picture of my family. This is the only family picture we have. It was taken only a few days before I left home to enter the novitiate at Conception and my youngest brother, Edward, died less than two year later of cancer. He was only 19 years old at the time. That was in 1955. In the front row, seated, are my parents Joe and Alice (Gladbach) Reichert. My Dad died in 1973, my mother in 1980. In the back row from left to right are: myself, my oldest brother Raymond who died in the year 2000, my second oldest brother Harold, who is still living in Kansas City with his wife of over 56 years, my brother Jim, four years older than me, who died in the year 2002 and then my brother Ed. I have 13 nephews and nieces and I was privileged to witness the marriage of all of them. And of course I have many grandnephews and nieces. Next weekend I plan to go to Kansas City to spend the weekend with my brother and his wife and also visit with my sister in law, Jim's wife.

This past weekend I was at Plattsburg, Missouri to celebrate the weekend Masses. It's a pleasant parish to help in as the people are very friendly and welcoming. Here at Conception this past weekend we had family weekend for the students. I understand that there were about 190 guests here for the weekend so it was well attended. Thank God the weather was beautiful.

Next Friday and Saturday the seminary board of regents meets here at Conception. The regents include a number of bishops, vocation directors and lay people and they serve as an advisory board to the seminary administration.

The weather has been beautiful. The trees are just starting to turn colors and the farmers are busy harvesting.

My prayers and best wishes to all of you.

Alumni Reunion 2008

The annual alumni reunion for Conception Seminary College was held last Friday and Saturday, September 26-27. I'm not sure of the number attending but I think there were about 65-70 alumni here for some part of the of the two days. There was a lecture on Friday afternoon at 3:00 P.M. and then Mass was celebrated at 4:30 PM. At the conclusion of the Mass the "Distinguised Alumni Award" was given for this year. This year it was given to Sam Cline who attended school here 1974-78. He and his wife, Carol, were here to accept the award. The Mass was celebrated by Father Daniel Petsche, O.S.B., Prior of Conception Abbey.

After the Mass there was reception held in the lower plaza area outside of St. Raphael Welcome Center and then a banquet was held in the guest dining room in St. Joseph Hall. Later in the evening refreshments were available in St. Michael Hall.

Abbot Gregory arrived home from Rome and the meeting of Abbots on Friday evening.

Pictures posted up above: All three photos were taken at the reception following the Mass. Two are general pictures and the third is of Sam Cline and his wife Carol, along with Fr. Kenneth.

To enlarge any of the pictures, click on it.

To see a few more photos of the alumni reunion go to

http://kennethosb.smugmug.com/gallery/231360_txGmj/7/382234307_DxotD/Medium

Busy Fall Season

Accord-

ing to infor-

mati0n that I have from the internet the fall or autumn season officially begins today, September 22, at 10:48 AM Central Daylight Time. So that's about the time I am writing this.

As usual for us the fall season turns out to be a rather busy time. We had three or four groups of retreatants here this past weekend. This evening we have about 75-80 priests coming from the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas for their annual continuing education workshop. They leave on Thrusday and then Friday and Saturday we have our annual alumni reunion. So you can see the guest house keeps rather busy this time of year, especially making beds, cleaning rooms, bathrooms etc. Soon after that we will be having Family Weekend for the students and then after that the Kansas City-St. Joseph priests come for a continuing education workshop.

I am again including a couple more older pictures in this blog. Sitting at his desk in his room is Father Patrick Cummins, O.S.B., a famous scholar in our community for many years. He died in 1968 but taught many of the "old timers" who went to school at Conception. The other picture is a young picture of then Frater Jerome Hanus, O.S.B. Later on in 1977, as Father Jerome, he was elected abbot of our community and in 1987 was appointed bishop. He is presently the Archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa.

This past weekend was an off campus weekend for the students. They were all due to be back last night.

That's it for this time. Let us keep each other in prayer.

Fr. Kenneth

Lots of rain again

This time on the blog I decided to use a couple of older pictures that I had available. On the left is a picture of Brother Godfrey and Brother Thaddeus. Both are now deceased but they were great friends and for many years provided flowers for the church on feast days. We had a green house at the time and they always had poinsettas ready for Christmas and lilies ready for Easter. The other picture is of Abbot Stephen and myself when I was serving as Abbot Stephen's secretary. Yes, that's me at the typewriter. The picture was taken about 1960 or 1961. Abbot Stephen died of cancer in November, 1961. I continued to serve as secretary for Abbot Anselm for about a year before being sent over to the seminary to work as a prefect.

We had lots of rain again last Friday -- about three inches. Not far from here in other parts of the state they had as much as five, six or eight inches. So many rivers and streams are out and there is much flooding and many road closings. Just this morning I looked at the map of Missouri roads that are closed and through central and eastern Missouri there are many.

Fortunately, despite the heavy rain on Friday they were able to have the seminary and soccer tournaments on Saturday and Sunday. I believe about six seminaries participated in the tournaments. I understand Conception Seminary College won the championship in the soccer tournament and Mundelein Seminary in the Chicago Archdiocese won the championship in the volleyball tournament.

Yesterday the annual golf classic was held in Kansas City. It was a beautiful day for that and I'm sure it was well attended. It is a day when the Serra Clubs in the Kansas City area honor priests and seminarians and make money for the seminary. It is sponsored by the Serra Clubs on the Missouri side (Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese) and the Kansas City, Kansas side (Kansas City, KS Archdiocese).

Let us continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Fall is just around the corner

Yesterday evening we had a beautiful sunset so I took a couple pictures. In case you live someplace where you never see the sunset you can look at these to cheer you up. In the meantime it feels like fall is coming. We have had some cool days and cool nights. Last night I think it got down in the 40's so it was a little cool this morning. It is only in the 60's this afternoon but at least the sun is shining so it feels good. I just came back from a nice walk. Walking outdoors is so much more interesting than walking on the treadmill.

Monday morning Abbot Gregory left for Rome. Every four years all the Benedictine abbots of the world have a meeting in Rome. This is the year for such a meeting. They usually meet for about ten days or two weeks. The meetings are held at Sant' Anselmo in Rome, the International Benedictine College.

This week we have the Episcopalian priests from the diocese of West Missouri meeting here at Conception. They come every fall for such a meeting. I believe they are here until Thursday. This coming weekend we have a number of seminarians from other seminaries coming here for a soccer and volleyball tournament. I believe there will be over a hundred here for that.

Otherwise there is not much new to report on.

Let us pray for one another.

Labor Day Weekend

On Monday afternoon, Labor Day, I went for a good walk. I was out in the area of the orchard and took a picture of a couple of pear trees we have there. You can see there are a good number of pears on the trees this year. Then also, the apple trees seem to have a pretty good crop this year. Last year we had no fruit at all on any of our trees as we had such cold weather in the latter part of the spring and everything got frozen.

Also, on Labor Day the students had a Day of Recollection. It began Sunday evening with a Holy Hour and concluded with vespers yesterday evening. The day was conducted by Bishop Robert Finn, our own bishop of the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. After the day of recollection the students and monks had a picnic together on the plaza area between St. Joseph and St. Michael Hall. I did not get any pictures of the picnic.

This past weekend we had very few guests here and no retreats. From now on every weekend is pretty well filled with retreatants and even during the week we have some groups coming to use our facilities. Both the priests of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese and the priests of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas will each be here for three or four days for continuing education.

The weather has continued to be very comfortable and we have had a couple of small rains so the grass is staying green.

Wednesday of this week, September 3, is Abbot Gregory's nameday. So keep him in prayer, especially that day.

Let us all keep one another in prayer.

Solemn Vows for two monks

On Sunday, August 24, two of our young monks professed their solemn vows for life. The picture shows them singing the Suscipe... after they read their profession formula. On the left is Brother David Wilding and on the right is Brother Victor Schinstock. The Basilica was filled to capacity for the event. Abbot Gregory was celebrant for the Mass and presided at their profession ceremony. In the evening they were honored at a special banquet in the monastic refectory and after the meal were officially received as members of the monastic chapter.

Early Monday morning four of the young monks left for school in various places. Brothers Anselm and Victor left for Washington, DC where both will be students a the Catholic University of America and Brothers Guerric and Macario left for St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana to continue studies at St. Meinrad Seminary school of theology. Later this week Brother Pachomius will leave for Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon where he will complete his last year of theology studies in preparation for ordination to the priesthood.

Today is registration day for the seminarians here at Conception and tomorrow is the first day of classes. The official opening of school Mass was celebrated today by Father Samuel, President-Rector of the seminary.

The photo used in this blog is courtesy of Jarrod Thome, director of communications.

Novitiate and Vows

On Thursday, August 14, Postulant Adam Burkhart was received as a novice in the community. He has been a Postulant for the past year and now begins his official period of the novitiate for one year. Novice Adam is from Kansas City, MO. He along with Abbot Gregory and Brother Bernard, the novice master, are pictured after the ceremony.

Then on Friday, August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption, Novice Isaac Dale made his temporary vows for three years. Novice Isaac was given the name Placid so is now known among us at Brother Placid. St. Placid was one of the first disciples of St. Benedict. Brother Placid is pictured professing his vows before Abbot Gregory. Brother Placid's parents and a number of family members and friends were here for the occasion. The day after his profession he left for a one week vacation and time to visit with his family and others.

Now this week the students arrive. The new students are due to arrive on campus today (Wednesday) for some days of orientation and then the returning students will arrive on Saturday. The enrollment this year will be about 108 students.

On this coming Sunday we have two of our monks, Brother David and Brother Victor, making their solemn vows. This will take place at the regular 10:30 AM conventual Mass.

(Both photos in this blog are courtesy of Jarrod Thome, director of communications)

Back home after a week of vacation

I returned home yesterday, August 7, after spending a week relaxing and resting on the farm near where I grew up in Brunswick, Missouri. Our old farm house is no longer standing. That is the house where all five of us boys were born. There were no girls in the family. My poor mother had her hands full. In those days the doctor came to the house to deliver babies. My only living brother, who lives in Kansas City, owns a neighboring farm and keeps a trailer home on it so I use that when I am home but of course go around to visit relatives -- one sister in law still lives in the area, plus a number of nephews and nieces and grand nephews and nieces, as well as a number of cousins. It was a good week.

As usual when you arrive home there is a lot of work piled up for you as I check my e-mails, my regular mail etc. I have a good staff in the infimary so things went smoothly there while I was away.

This weekend I go to Cameron and Maysville, MO for three Masses. Father Paul Turner is pastor there but he is gone so I will go down to take the Masses for him.

The picture I posted above was taken at Qumram in the desert of Israel when I was there over two years ago. Qumram of course is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

Hope you are all enjoying the summer and keeping cool. In the past week we had some really hot and humid weather.

New International Program for Priests

Pictured to the right are the 16 priests who attended the first International Program for Priests held here at Conception Seminary College. It is called "Language, Culture and Church for International Priests." It is for priests from foreign countries who have volunteered for service in dioceses in the United States. Priests attending this year were from Nigeria, the Philippines and India, but all are presently serving in dioceses in the United State. The program was three weeks in length and included language, as well as culture. The mornings were pretty well taken up with language courses and the afternoons had a variety of workshops involving many different aspects of parish life in our country.

One evening the priests prepared a special meal for all the monks and guests. We had native foods from the various countries represented. It was an enjoyable experience for all of us.

In August we are looking forward to welcoming one new novice, Adam Burkhardt; one novice who will make his first profession of temporary vows on August 15, Isaac Dale; and two who are completing their three years of temporary vows and will make solemn profession on August 24, Brother David Wilding and Brother Victor Schinstock.

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Please note that I will be leaving for some vacation days on July 29 and will return on August 6. So there will be no new entries in this blog for the next ten days or so. Fr. Kenneth

Hot and humid in July

The brief video above includes the front of the Basilica and the towers and the ringing of bells before vespers on Saturday, July 19, 2008. Hope you enjoy it and that it will serve as a reminder of Conception Abbey.

The weather has been quite hot lately and is supposed to stay that way. We have not yet had a day up to 100 degrees but it has been up in the 90's and, as any of you know who have lived in the midwest, we usually have some rather hight humidity.

This weekend and through Monday, July 21, the Swiss American congregation of Benedictines are having their Congregation meeting at St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. This meeting is held every three years. It includes the Abbot (or superior) of each monastery in the Congregation and one elected representative from each monastery. Abbot Gregory and Father Patrick are there from Conception Abbey. Brother Thomas is also there as he is on the Abbot President's Council. There are sixteen abbeys or priories in the Swiss American Congregation.

Father Daniel, the Prior returned home from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land last Tuesday. It seems to have been a good trip but very fast and so much to see in a short time.

Hope you are all having a good summer. God's blessing be with all of you.

Oblate Pray and Work weekend

We just completed our 7th annual Oblate Pray and Work weekend. While we did not have quite as many attending and taking part in the weekend this year as in past years, it was a good group and they did a lot of work as well as prayed with the monks. They also enjoyed one meal with the monastic community and also had some social time on their own. To see more photos of the weekend go to:
http://kennethosb.smugmug.com/gallery/4728968_kPd9C

The weather for the weekend was perfect as it was cloudy and cool on Saturday. We did have a little rain shower around noon but it soon passed and we were able to work outdoors again by 1:30 or 2:00 PM.

Our own confrere, Father Karl, spent a couple days here with us. He left today to fly to Australia for the World Youth Conference. He is the pastor at Fulton, Missouri in the diocese of Jefferson City.

4th of July weekend

On the 4th of July, Friday evening, we had a community picnic out on the plaza between St. Joseph Hall and St. Michael Hall. The weather was beautiful -- not too hot and there were not even any flies or bugs flying around. It was a delightful evening. After the meal we even had a water balloon contest and that pretty well ended in a water balloon fight. The monks were joined by the guests who were here for the weekend and some of the lay employees who live here. Even a few of our seminarians were here for the day.

Today the Pri0r, Father Daniel, left for a week long trip to the Holy Land. He is chaplain for a group of about 22 Catholic high school teachers
who are going there for a week of study.

Arriving here at Conception today are about 16 priests from foreign countries who are working in dioceses in the United States. They are spending three weeks here to better learn the language, as well more about the culture of our country so they can better serve the people in the parishes where they will be working.

Tomorrow, July 7, is an eventful day for me as I celebrate my 75th birthday. Time does fly by fast.

Pictures from up high and bicycle tour

Last weekend Father Frowin and Postulant Adam and some other monks used the cherry picker we have rented to go up high and take some pictures. These two were taken by Postulant Adam and are rather impressive of the Basilica and towers and the front part of the monastery. To enlarge the pictures, just click on them.

The other picture shows some of the bicycles here last week on Thursday when a couple hundred bicycle riders descended on Conception for a stop on their eight day tour of Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. They are known as the Border Raiders and the ride is an opportunity to test your stamina, enjoy the scenic Missouri River Valley and ride through some inspiring places of history in our country. The ride starts in Lawrence, Kansas and ends back at Lawrence. They stopped here early in the morning to tour and enjoy some refreshments.

One more reminder to the Oblates. The "Pray and Work" weekend is coming up soon, July 11-13. If you have not yet registered be sure to contact the guest department at 660-944-2809.

Intrigued by the Wind Turbines

Most of you can tell that I am very much taken up with the windmills in our area. They strike me every time I see them and sometimes I find myself just looking at them from the distance, especially in the early morning. They are so immense and generate a lot of electricity. Well last Monday morning I went out about 5:30 AM with my camera and took a short video of the windmills as they were turning and also a still picture or two.

So since I am so taken with these machines you will probably see pictures of them now and then from different angles.

The Abbot is away this week giving a retreat. Other monks are coming and going as usual during the summer months. I hope to get away for a few days in July and then in early August for a little longer time.

Keeping the grass cut around here has been a big job this summer. With the rain it seems to just keep growing and growing. We have many working on the lawns but it still is difficult to keep ahead.

Today is the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist. I was celebrant for the Mass in the basilica today. Present with us for Mass were Dr. Elizabeth McGrath, academic dean in our seminary college, and her sister and husband from Florida, Kathy and Michael. I had lunch with them after Mass.

New Machine Shed

We are building a new building to store machinery and other items in out on our farm. If you look back to my blog on April 1, 2008, you will see a picture of an old shed or barn. That has since been torn down and we putting up a new metal building. The old one would hardly give much protection from the weather anymore since there were so many holes in the roof and elsewhere. Our own workers are putting up the building. (click on picture to enlarge)

Just yesterday, June 19, we got out elevator in the infirmary back in service. It stopped running at the very end of April and they had to put in a new piston and other parts. It took about a month to get the parts and then a couple weeks to do the work. The work was done by the Otis Elevator Company.

This week I gave a four day retreat to the Benedictine Sisters who live in Our Lady of Rickenbach at Clyde monastery. These are their older and infirm Sisters. I gave them two conferences a day and celebrated Mass for them at 11:00 AM.

This weekend I will be going to Trenton and Princeton, MO for the weekend Masses. We have a lot of requests for weekend pastoral help, especially during the month of June. I enjoy the work but am usually pretty tired when I get back home.

Oblates please take note: the "Pray and Work" weekend is getting closer -- July 11-13. If you have not already done so, be sure to contact the guest department to make your reservations for the weekend.

Blessing of Windmills

Yesterday on June 12 we had a blessing of the wind turbines in our area. It was scheduled to take place out at the site of the windmill located on our property, but after over 2 1/2 inches of rain the night before, it had to be moved to the outside terrace in front of St. Raphael Hall. Abbot Gregory had the blessing. Refreshments were served after the blessing in St. Raphael Hall. A number of our neighbors as well as representatives of the Wind Energy firm and John Deere were present for the blessing. The turbines are almost all in operation now and generating electricity.

Yes, the rain still seems to be coming. All the local rivers are full and overflowing. Just to the north of us in the state of Iowa the flooding is even worse. They have had more rain and have also had tornadoes and hail.

This weekend is the annual boys camp here at Conception. It is for grade school boys and hopefully begins the process of their beginning to think about the possibility of a priesthood or religious life vocation. There are close to 60 expected for this weekend. Some of our own seminarians as well as other high school students come to help supervise the weekend and it's many activities.

We have been without an elevator in the infirmary for about the last six weeks or so. The Otis elevator company is here now and making some major repairs. They hope to have it in operation again by the end of next week.

A Beautiful Day

On the right: Alumnus Vic Brulez along with Fr. Norbert and Fr. Kenneth during his visit last weekend

The brief video is of Conception Abbey, taken from the south side of Lake Placid

Probably you have been seeing on the news something about the storms and lots of rain in the Midwest. We have fortunately missed the bad storms but have had a lot of rain. Many of the local rivers in this area of the state are flooding and some of the secondary roads are closed because of high water. Today was a beautiful day after having rain most of last night. Today the sun was shining brightly and it was cooler and less humid. Tornadoes were sited in Northwest Missouri last night but I am not aware that they caused any damage.

I was in Kansas City part of Thursday as I had a regular check up with the cardiologist. All seems to be going well and I will see him again in November.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I will leave for Plattsburg, Missouri where I will celebrate the weekend Masses. We seem to have a lot of weekend pastoral assignments in the summer as many of the parish priests take some time off for vacation.