Very Hot Again

As most of you know Nebraska won again yesterday.  This is really a football state.  It seems that just about everyone wears red on game days.  When you walk into HyVee there is a big display right inside the door for the Cornhuskers.  I don't get their games on my T.V. so haven't been watching them.  Also, cannot get the Missouri games on T.V. either. So I will just stick with the Royals.  

Today the parish here is having their big Festival.  I went down there for about an hour.  Very hot so I came on back home.  This evening they have a big barbecue contest so those people cooking outside, will have not trouble keeping warm for sure.  They seem to have a very big crowd.  Many of the things are indoors so that helps.  The beer garden was outside and I did have one beer.  In the beer garden I met a brother of Father Joe Hannappel, an alumnus and priest in the Grand Island diocese.  His brother and wife are both psychologists and live here in Norfolk.

Today, September 8, is actually the feast of the Nativity of Mary.  It was on this date in 1954 that seven of us made our temporary vows --- 59 years ago.  Hardly seems possible.  So next year I will celebrate sixty years as a Benedictine monk.

Here is a picture of our profession class:

Left to right:  Frater Shawn Ryan, Frater Alexis Saathoff, Frater  Damian Parker,

Frater Kenneth Reichert, Father Maur Burbach, novice and formation director,

Frater Virgil Mudd, Frater Owen Moran, Frater Paul Kelly.

Four of us made solemn profession in 1957 -- Paul Kelly, Damian Parker, Kenneth Reichert, and Alexis Saathoff.  Of the four I am the only one still living.  Joe Mudd was killed in an automobile accident, Ed Moran lives in the Kansas City area and Michael Ryan lives in the Washington DC area.

So much for this week.  Keep cool, take care of yourself and let us all pray for peace in our world and for one another.