What's Going on at Conception

The weather is changing. Fall is here and winter is coming. Nothing new about that, is there? On my last blog I wrote on this site I included some pictures of the trees and flowers on campus. Well the leaves are pretty well gone now and the flowers have frozen a couple times. We have had a lot of windy weather in this area and so the beautiful leaves are mostly on the ground by now. We are well into November. I went into Walmart in Maryville yesterday and you would have thought it was already Christmas. Christmas decorations and Christmas music. The business world has certainly taken over the Christmas feast.

Speaking of the weather, however, the last few days have not felt at all like Christmas. We have had some days when the temperature got down into the 20's at night, but the last few days it has been getting up into the 70's. Great weather for being outside. The harvesting is pretty well all done in this area. We had a lot of nice weather for the fall and so the farmers were able to harvest all their crops in good time. Some years they are barely finishing by Christmas.

This coming weekend will be the first vocation weekend of the present school year. Called "Encounter With God's Call" two of these are held each year, one in fall and another in the spring. It is a good way for young men in high school or college to visit and get acquainted with the seminary as well as those who are presently seminarians. Talks are presented by seminarians here.

This next weekend too will feature the drama production for this fall. Cotton Patch Gospel will be presented in the gym and auditorium on Friday evening, November 12, on Saturday evening, November 13 and on Sunday afternoon, November 14.

Last week we had a farewell luncheon for two of our employees in the Development Office. Jarrod Thome, an alumnus of the seminary, and his wife, Emily, are moving back to Wichita, the home town of both of them. They have four girls, two sets of twins. Olivia and Sophia were three years old last August, and this fall another set of twin girls were born, Nora and Grace.
So I think they are looking forward to some help from family and friends when they get back to Wichita. Jarrod began work here in March 2007, as Director of Communications. Later his wife Emily also began working here on investigating available grants. They will be missed by all of us here at the Abbey and Seminary and we appreciate their friendship and all they have done for Conception. We wish them many blessings in their life.

Jarrod, Emily, and family

I myself have been seeing doctors recently. For years I have had high blood pressure, but suddenly it went up very high. Finally it is coming back down after the changing of medicine and adding more medicine. I had to cancel an oblate trip to both Des Moines and Wichita because of this. Sorry about that.

Let us all continue to pray with and for one another.

Fr. Kenneth

FALL COLORS

Some of the beautiful fall colors seen around the Abbey and on campus at this time of the year.





We have had some beautiful fall weather in recent weeks. Last week it actually got quite warm for a couple days again -- up in the mid eighties, but a cold front soon moved in and so it is again cool but pleasant.

Last weekend we had our fall oblate retreat. About forty oblates attended the retreat given by Brother Thomas Sullivan, O.S.B. All seemed to enjoy the weekend very much and the weather was cooperative.

It seems I have spent a lot of this past week seeing doctors. On Monday I had to see the dermatologist in St. Joseph, on Monday night I did a sleep study at the hospital in Maryville and yesterday I saw my primary care doctor in Maryville. Such is life as you get older it seems.

How about the story of the miners in Chile being rescued from deep in the earth? That was something to watch and certainly it was good to see good news rather the usual bad news on television. We all, I'm sure, join in giving thanks to God for their safety after so days underground.

This weekend the Seminary Board of Regents will be meeting here at Conception. They usually meet on Friday afternoon and evening and again on Saturday morning.

So that's it for this time. Have a wonderful day and don't forget to give some time to God. We have much to be grateful for and we all know we need God's help in living our Christian life. Let us pray for one another.

To go to the Conception Abbey web site, click on the marker at the top of this blog.

It's Been a While

Sorry folks -- I realize it's been a few weeks since I last wrote anything new on this blog. Seems like time goes so fast and I don't always keep up to date on things.

This weekend is a very busy weekend here at Conception. It is "Family Weekend" for the students and many, many guests are coming. The last I heard it was up to 260 or more guests for dinner this evening. The enrollment goes up and that means there are more families coming for this annual family weekend. Fall in general is a busy time for our guest department as many want to come for retreats and many larger groups come at this time of the year.

Last weekend I was in Kansas City and St. Joseph. On Friday afternoon I left for Kansas City to celebrate the Mass and funeral of a good friend, Eleanor Harshner. Her daughter Sandy Darnell wanted me to celebrate the Mass and so I went down on Friday, attended the wake service, spent the night with my brother and his wife and then had the funeral Mass and burial at 10:00 AM at St. Andrew Church. I got acquainted with the family through their son (Eleanor's grandson) Benjamin Darnell, a former student here. He left the seminary and is now married and has a little boy. It was good to see them all again.

Weather is gradually turning cooler. Tonight they are predicting some light and scattered frost as the temperature drops into the 30's. We had a very hot summer but soon we will be wishing we had some of the warm weather back.

The sister of our Subprior, Brother Bernard, died this past week of cancer. She lived in Lincoln, Illinois. Brother Bernard attended the funeral and returned yesterday evening.

This week I wanted to include a picture of the five residents presently living in our Health Care Center. In the front row left to right: Fr. Joachim Schieber (91 years old), Fr. Anthony Shidler (89 years old), Bro. George Strohmeyer (88 years old). All three of these use electric wheel chairs. In the back are Fr. Paschal Thomas (76 years old) and Monsignor Louis McCorkle (90 years old). Monsignor McCorkle is a priest of the Jefferson City diocese and an alumnus of Conception Seminary.

Next weekend (October 8-10) we will be having an oblate retreat. We have two of these a year, one in the spring and one in the fall, and during the summer we have what we call a "Pray and Work" weekend. Brother Thomas Sullivan, OSB, will be conducting this retreat and it is entitled:
"A School of the Lord's Service."

May God continue to bless each of you.

Please don't forget to go to the Conception Abbey website. Click at the top of this blog.

HOW THE YEARS GO BY...............

I'm sure all of us look back on the years of our life and wonder "Where have all the years gone?" It seems to me that people born around my time and earlier have seen so many changes in our society and certainly in the area of technology. I was born in 1933, still during the great depression. In so many ways all of us were poor in those days, at least poor as far as not having much money. But, perhaps we had many other things that people today do not have. They were happy years until the 2nd World War came along.

There were five boys in our family (no girls) This is one of the earliest pictures I remember of my younger brother and I. He was two years younger than me and the youngest of the family. He died of cancer in 1955

In the early part of September, 2010, it came to my mind that it was 62 years ago that I came to Conception as a sophomore in high school A very home sick boy for sure but here I am still here today. There have been a lot of changes in those years.

This was our sophomore high school class in 1948-49. I am in the 2nd row, far right.

I made my first vows in 1954 and was ordained a priest in 1959. So I have been professed for 56 years and ordained for 51 years. They have been happy years but of course many crosses too along the way.

Three friends and classmates in the early years of college:
from left, Bill Dunphy, Ralph Steffensmeier and myself .

I have worked many years in the seminary since my ordination but have also served in the Indian Missions in South Dakota and had many other jobs and positions in the monastery.

Below are a couple pictures from my days of working in the seminary.

Paul Vowell and Richard DeMeulenaere (now Fr. Martin OSB)

Dennis (Cassian) Heath and Ronald Montgomery (now Brother Bernard OSB)

Well, I think that's enough reminiscing for this time. We older people like to do that, don't we?

Be sure to check out the Abbey web page -- CLICK HERE

God bless you all.

THE FALL SEASON IS ABOUT HERE

On Sunday, August 22, some of the Reichert first cousins who grew up together on farms north of Brunswick, MO had a reunion. Six of us were able to be there (refer to bottom picture above) and the upper pictures is of all those who were able to come (including in-laws). We had a delightful time talking about the "good old days."

As we enter into the month of September we realize that the fall season is soon to be with us. Already we have had some cooler days and nights. As usual this time of year it goes back and forth for a while. It's hot for a day or two and then a cold front moves in and the temperatures drop. Last evening and last night we had about 1 1/2 inches of rain which we can use.

School is now back in full swing. While I have worked for many years in the seminary as a prefect, chaplain, spiritual director, manager of the book and supply store, etc., I am relieved of all that. I miss being around the students but have to admit I don't have the energy I used to have.

Yesterday I took Father Anthony to a doctor appointment in Maryville with Dr. Tom Di Stefano, an orthopedic surgeon. He was one of the surgeons who worked on me at the time of the shooting incident here in 2002. He thought I looked really good and came out of that in good shape. I agree with him. Father Anthony is in quite a bit of pain much of the time. Some years ago he had hip replacement surgery and gradually that has gotten worse. Now they are not able to do anything other than try to make him more comfortable with pain pills. He just turned 89 years old a couple weeks ago.

Father Joachim is also not able to walk much anymore. We are hoping to obtain an electric chair for him soon. Father Anthony already has such a chair. Brother George also uses an electric chair so soon we may have to put up signal lights in the Health Care Center. The other two residents are Father Paschal and Monsignor McCorkle who both can still walk.

The monks who study away from here have all returned to school. Father Frowin of course is still in Rome. He did not come home for the summer. Brothers Guerric and Victor are at St. Meinrad Archabbey for theological studies and Brother Paul is at St. Vincent Archabbey for theological studies.

I have a grand niece who is studying at Notre Dame University.
This semester she is studying in London on some type of special
program. She sent me the above picture of Big Ben on top of the
parliament building in London. I hope she will continue to send
me pictures now and then as I have never been to England.

And so for now that is it. I do encourage, especially our oblates, to also check out the oblate blog. CLICK HERE and then click on "oblates" on the left side of the screen.

Thank you and God bless you all.