BENEDICTINE MISSIONARY SISTERS: 90th ANNIVERSARY

Today, on Sunday, September 22, the Benedictine Missionary Sisters here at Norfolk celebrated 90 years of being in Nebraska.  We had a beautiful celebration with Mass at 10:30 AM with Father Prior Mauritius, from Christ the King Priory, at Schuyler as celebrant.  After my 9:30 AM Mass at the nursing home I came back to the monastery and concelebrated the Mass.  We had a deacon here from Omaha and many guests.  The Mass was followed by a dinner for the Sisters and guests.

Father Mauritius and Father Kenneth and the deacon at 90th anniversary Mass.

Earlier this week, on Thursday, I went to Winnebago, NE for a visit to the Indian Reservation there.  Fathers David Korth and Father Dan Wittrock are both stationed there to take care of their spiritual needs.  Father Korth was gone but I had a nice visit with Father Wittrock.  The Benedictine Sisters from here have worked there since 1957.

 Some of the children eating lunch in the cafateria

Alumnus Father Dan Wittrock

The weather has been more like fall lately.  Yesterday it started off in the morning with a low of about 45.  Today was warmer again but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

In closing I would like to call attention to my modified Smugmug photo site.  Smugmug has changed a number things and I hope you will enjoy the new site.   http://kennethosb.smugmug.com/

Also, to remind you again, I am, for the most part now using my Conception e-mail address:  kenneth@conception.edu

My phone number is:  402-371-5657  or my cell phone:
402-750-9684

Have a good week and God bless you all.

More News from Norfolk, Nebraska

The Sisters here in Norfolk sometimes ask me if I get lonely here by myself.  I tell them that I do indeed miss Conception.  After being at Conception for about 65 years as a student and a monk, of course I miss it.  But, I am adapting.  In so many ways the Sisters have made me feel so welcome and  they welcome me to many of their activities.  I eat two meals a day with them and have many opportunities to share with them.  They encourage me much with their kind words and compliments.  I appreciate all of that.

And I have to say that the staff and residents of the St. Joseph Home, where I also serve as chaplain, have also received me so well. The residents seem to enjoy it when I stop in to see them.  One lady who is 100 years old, expresses her thanks to me again and again for stopping in and when I tell her goodbye, she will say "be sure to stop in again tomorrow."  She is not a Catholic but a very friendly person and her mind still seems to be perfect.  I try to visit all the patients at least a couple times each week.

The weather is now much more like it should be by this time in September.  About three or four days ago I turned off the air-conditioner and have the windows and doors open.  At night especially it gets quite cool.  Makes it hard to get out of bed but I long ago trained myself to get out of bed when the alarm goes off. 

The Sisters had a workshop this weekend.  It was given by two Mercy Sisters, although they go by a different name now.  Sister Pia, the Prioress here, had asked Abbot Marcel for some suggestions for the workshop and he suggested these Sisters.  They were formerly Mercy Sisters but left the order in the early 1970's.  There were eight of them at the time and now they number about 100 Sisters.  They wear a habit and a veil and are now located in Michigan, I believe.

This coming Thursday I plan to drive to Winnebago, NE.  The Sisters here have a mission and school there.  The two priests stationed there are Fr. Daniel Wittrock and Fr. David Korth.  Both are alumni of Conception Seminary College.  One of the Sisters here will go with me since I have never been there before.  

I continue to keep busy, especially in the mornings.  I have one more talk coming up in November when I will speak to the priests at the Norfolk Serra Club "Priests Appreciation Dinner."  

By the way, a week or so ago Archbishop Lucas was in Norfolk and I spoke with him a while.  He is a wonderful person and is very grateful we have a priest from Conception working here in Norfolk.

Conception Abbey and Seminary College

Picture taken from Fr. Paul's Facebook page.

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.

Today it is three months that I have been at Norfolk

Sometimes the time just seems to fly by.  It was three months ago today, June 1,2013, that I arrived at Norfolk to become chaplain for the Missionary Benedictine Sisters as well as the St. Joseph Care Center which is just across the street from the monastery.  I enjoy my work here very much

This past week it has been so hot  Everyday it seemed to be way up in the 90's and the heat index up to 100 or more.  Oh well, we will soon enough have cold weather and we will be complaining about the cold weather.  After all I am in air-conditioning most of the day. My house has central air and does the monastery and the St. Joseph Care Center.

On Wednesday of this past week I went to the Norfolk Public Library to apply and pick up a library card.   They seem to have a really nice public library.  I was happy to see the large number of larger print books they have.  I sure appreciate that larger print at this stage of my life.  They have many computers there so I can go there if necessary to use a computer.  They also have wi-fi there so I can take my Kindle down there to load books etc.  

I guess they had an outbreak of scabies in the community during this past week.  The nursing home where I work put a "no visitors" sign on the doors and they treated all the residents, including the staff as a prevention.  No one of the residents picked it up.  I also had to go through the treatment since I am an employee of he Care Center as well as of the Sisters.  They gave me this tube of Permethrin which I was told to massage into my skin from head to the bottom of my feet.  The next morning I was told to take a shower.  Today, for the first day they are allowing visitors and outside people to come to Mass there. 

This coming Wednesday, September 4, I have been asked to give a talk to an adult education class at the local Catholic church. The title is "Our Catholic Heritage."  I have been working on it the last couple days so hope I will be able to offer them something worthwhile on Wednesday evening.

Tomorrow, Monday, is Labor Day.  I understand the Sisters are having a picnic meal both at noon and in the evening.  They told me to come to both if I want so I most likely will do so.

Some of you remember my friend Benjamin Darnell either from the seminary or other places.  He left the seminary after 2nd theology, is now married and has two children.  He has worked as a youth minister in Catholic parishes at Springfield, MO, Dayton,OH and Wea, KS.  He is now taking a job as Pastoral Associate at St. Charles parish, in Kansas City North.    

Benjamin and Alicia Darnell

with their two children Isaac and Anya Marie

My e-mail:  kenneth@conception.edu

My phone:  home - 402-371-5657

Cell phone:  402-750-9684

WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW !! FR. KENNETH IS BACK ON HIS BLOG

Entrance to the monastery

\Considering my last blog goes back to May, 2013, and that at that time I wrote about my new assignment, and that I have now been at my new assignment at Norfolk, Nebraska for almost three months, I thought it was time I again start writing on this blog.  

Some of you have probably read some things that I have written on Facebook or maybe you even received an e-mail from me.  At any rate I am happy here at this assignment.  I don't have to overwork but I do keep busy most of the time.  Here is my, more or less daily schedule.   I actually arise (and my alarm set) for 5:40 AM.  I clean up and then use thirty or forty five minutes praying, doing lectio etc.  I also drink a couple cups of coffee at this time.  At about 6:00 AM I go out my back door and then about 50 or 60 yards to the back door of the monastery (Immaculata Monastery).  I pray morning prayer with the Sisters at 6:25 AM and then celebrate Mass for them almost immediately after morning prayer at 7:00 AM.  A number of lay people also come for this Mass on a daily basis.  

I then eat breakfast with the Sisters, go back to my residence and at about 8:45 AM walk over to the St. Joseph Care Center where I celebrate another Mass each day at 9:30 AM.  I go over early in order to pray the rosary with the residents and others at 9:05 AM.  After that Mass I take Communion with me and go around to visit patients.  Some of the Catholics in the home are able to come to daily Mass but others I take communion to in their rooms  I visit all the patients whether they are Catholic or not.

I am usually leaving the Care Center anytime from 10:45 to 11:15 AM.  At 11:55 AM I pray day prayer with the Sisters and then eat lunch with them.  My afternoons are for the most part rather free except for preparing a homily for the next day or doing computer work, preparing a talk for some group that has asked me to speak to them etc.  I pray vespers on my own and get my own evening meal.  
At night I read or watch the Kansas City Royals on T.V.  Thank 
God there is a Fox station that carries their games up here.  Around 9:00 PM I go to bed.  

I do get asked to do other things.  This past week on Wednesday evening I took the Safe Environment training for the archdiocese of Omaha.  They do not use the Virtus program but rather one that was developed by Boys Town I believe.  It is much like Virtus but the Archbishop wants all the priests to go through this program.  Then on Thursday evening I was asked to give the talk for the regular Norfolk Serra Club. Last night I helped the two diocesan priests who are stationed here:  Father Dan Andrews and Fr. Greg Carl, hear confessions for a Quest retreat.  About 90 freshmen and sophomores were either making or helping with the retreat.   

We have had more rain up here than you have had and it has not been too hot -- that is, until the last few days when it has been way up in the 90's and very high humidity.  

I live in a two bedroom house owned by the Sisters and located on the next street behind the monastery.  The Nursing Home is just across the street from the monastery.  I like the city of Norfolk.  Just about the right size with a population of around 25,000.  Has most things you need and yet it is not so large that I am forever getting lost. Everybody I meet is very friendly and I don't need to tell you the Sisters are very good to me. 

Sister Kevin on the left and Sister Pia Portmann

on the right.  Sister Pia is the prioress  She is from

Switzerland originally

If you would like to see more photos go to my Smugmug Photo Site

at http://kennethosb.smugmug.com/

and then look for the album called "Norfolk Nebraska photos."

My e-mail is still the same as when I was at Conception:  
kenneth@conception.edu and my phone number here at Norfolk is 402-371-5657

I hope to write on this blog about once a week but check back now and then to see if I have anything new.  God bless you all.