FOUNDATION DAY FOR MISSIONARY BENEDICTINE SISTERS OF TUTZING.

Today (September 24) is FOUNDATION DAY for the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing.  So this morning we had a special Mass at 7:00 AM to celebrate the day and the Sisters are celebrating throughout the day.  At noon we had food prepared by various Sisters from various countries throughout the world.  The group of Sisters here at Norfolk is pretty much an international group with Sisters from Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, South Korea, the Philippines etc.  The meal was very good and enjoyed by all. 

In order to understand more about this day I looked up the web site for the Sisters at http://www.osb-tutzing.it/
Here is a little introduction as to the beginning of this community of Benedictines.

Joseph Georg Amrhein was born on February 4, 1844, in Beromünster, Canton Luzern, Switzerland. He entered the Beuron Abbey in 1870 and received the religious name, Fr. Andreas.

Fr. Amrhein dreamed of founding a community that would live according to the Rule of St. Benedict and establish monasteries in the “foreign mission” to do apostolic work. His exemplars were the Anglo-Saxon Benedictine missionary Boniface and his companions who, with the support of Sts. Lioba, Thecla and Walburga, evangelized German-speaking northern Europe in the 8-10^th centuries.

In 1884 he founded a mission house in Reichenbach, Oberfalz, Diocese of Regensburg, and received the first brother candidates. From this beginning developed the Congregation of the Missionary Benedictines of St. Ottilien. 
(see also: http://www.ottilien.de )

On September 24, 1885, the first four women candidates, who came from Westphalia, entered in Reichenbach. This is the Foundation Day of the present Missionary Benedictine Sisters.

In 1887 the entire community moved from Reichenbach to Emming in Upper Bavaria, Diocese of Augsburg, later called “St. Ottilien”.

In 1904 the new motherhouse of the Sisters was finished in Tutzing. On July 29 the community of Missionary Benedictine Sisters, under the leadership of the first prioress general, M. Birgitta Korff, moved from St. Ottilien to Tutzing.

Today the Sisters are very happy as a young lady, college graduate from South Dakota is entering the community as a postulant.  She seems to be a very good candidate so all you readers pray for her and for the grace of perseverance.  

Last week Keith Jiron visited me again.  It is always good to see him.  He again had to speak to the teachers in the Catholic school here and then stopped by after the meeting. We had a little lunch here at the house.  I believe Keith is now in Colorado as his mother was having surgery on her back I believe.  He just sent me a picture of him and Father James Spahn out fishing.  I was Father Spahn's chaplain during his junior year in college at Conception.  Now he is pastor of a large parish in the Archdiocese of Denver

 Father James Spahn on the left with Keith Jiron

And look at that fish.

About three weeks ago I got a phone call from my very good friend Benjamin Darnell.  Ben was a seminarian at one time but left the seminary after discerning he was not called to the priesthood.  In 2008 he married Alicia and I presided at their wedding  About two or three weeks ago Alicia had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital.  They found a tumor in her brain.  The doctors are now watching it very closely and many of us are praying everyday for her and Ben and their family.  They have two small children -- about 3 and 5 years of age.  

Ben and Alicia with their two children.

Ever since Ben left the seminary he has worked for the Church -- as a youth minister in three parishes and now as Director of Faith Formation in a parish in Kansas City.  Please keep them in your prayers.

Fall is now here and some of the trees are now beginning to change color.  This is a beautiful time of the year, but unfortunately we all know that winter follows fall.  But, let's thank God for this time of the year and enjoy it as long as we can.  I am thinking of driving to Yankton, South Dakota tomorrow just to see the open country and how the crops are looking and trees that are changing color.  Yankton is a little over an hour drive from here.  

Finally I invite you to visit the Missionary Benedictine Sisters facebook page at:   https://www.facebook.com/MissionaryBenedictineSisters

Have a good week and God bless you all.

Reflections on 60 years as a Benedictine Monk of Conception Abbey

September 8, 2014, I celebrate being a professed monk of Conception Abbey for 60 years.  This is the feast of the Birth of Mary and it was on that day that seven of us made vows in 1954.

In September, 1948, I first came to Conception as a sophomore in high school, thinking I had a vocation to the priesthood and wanting to begin my studies for that goal.  I was 15 years old at that time and for the first couple months I was a very home sick boy.  Many times I wondered if this was the place for me.  When we came in September we did not go home again until Christmas vacation.  But, I stuck with it and then, after my 2nd year in college I petitioned to enter the novitiate of Conception Abbey.  Having been accepted I entered the novitiate on September 7, 1953.  At the end of the novitiate I petitioned to take vows for three years and, again being accepted, I took my vows along with six other young men on September 8, 1954.  Originally eight of us entered the novitiate but one left around Christmas time that year.

 My mother and Dad visited me for the first 

time in the novitiate at Easter, 1954.  My Dad is 

holding the first grandchild, Joe.

On Easter Sunday of 1954 my entire family 

came to see me.  My younger brother, Ed, who

died of cancer in May 1955, is holding our

first nephew.

The seven who made profession of vows on

September 8, 1954.  This is when I received

the name of Kenneth.  My baptismal and

birth name was Maurice Peter.  

Shown above from left to right (using their new

names and the title Frater which is what we

were called then -- simply is "Brother" in Latin.

Shawn Ryan, Alexis Saathoff, Damian Parker, Kenneth Reichert, Father Maur Burbach,

Novice Master, Virgil Mudd, Owen Moran and Paul Kelly.

On the day I took vows, September 8, 1954,

with my Dad and younger brother, Ed.

When I took vows the Mass and the entire profession rite was in Latin.  We wrote  our profession of vows and read it in Latin.  We were given our new name in Latin by the Abbot.  No one could figure out my name since the Latin for Kenneth is "Canicus."  Very few, if any, knew my name until after the ceremony.  The Mass at that time was celebrated with the celebrant having his back to the people.  The Prior was the celebrant for the Mass, but Abbot Stephen (our third Abbot) received our vows.

On September 8, 1957, four of us took our solemn and final vows.  Three left the monastery at that time.  Paul Kelly, Damian Parker, Alexis Saathoff and myself made our solemn and final vows that day, September 8, 1957.

Solemn profession, Setember 8, 1957

Left to right:  Paul Kelly, Damian Parker, Kenneth Reichert & Alexis Saathoff

Of the four of us who made solemn profession together, I am the only one still living.

And so as I reflect after sixty years as a Benedictine monk, I most of all feel a spirit of gratitude.  Obviously, there have been ups and downs in my life, as there are for most of us.  But, I have to say I have always felt a sense of peace in doing what the Abbot 
or other superior has asked me to do and persevering in what I promised on that day in 1954.  I have known many great men who have been members of Conception Abbey and are now in heaven.  Now that I have an assignment outside the monastery, I always try to make it a point to visit the cemetery when I go home.  Many, many of those buried there I knew in my life.  Some of them were very dear friends.  All of them were my brothers.  

I also think so frequently of my family and all they gave me.  I have come to realize that when a young son or daughter leave home, it is more difficult for our parents than it is for us.  But, my parents always encouraged me and helped me financially to go to the seminary and to go forward in the life God wanted me to follow.  

Living through the years in the 1960's and 1970's were sometimes difficult.  I remember at one time in those years thinking that I made a mistake and should have been a diocesan priest.  But, after prayer and reflection I stayed where I was.  God's grace, I know, helped me to continue to be faithful to the vows I made.  

The shooting event at Conception Abbey on June 10, 2002, was a major event in the life of the community and certainly in my own life.  I was critically injured and sometimes wonder why God left me here.  I'm sure God had a plan and I can only hope I am doing what he had in mind for me.  I am just grateful that I can continue to serve in some way even as I am now over 81 years of age.

At this time I can only hope that with God's help I can continue to serve the Church and my brothers and sisters as long as I am able to do so.  When my home parish at Brunswick, Missouri celebrated my 60th anniversary when i was home in June, I had a card printed and on it was this prayer:

"Lord, you have given me so much.  Please give me one thing more, A GRATEFUL HEART."

God bless you all.

NEWS FROM NORFOLK

It's time to write from my assignment at Norfolk again.  The past week or so we have had quite a bit of rain.  And we have had a lot of cloudy weather and a lot of humid weather.  Tomorrow already is the first of September and Labor Day so I suppose we will soon see the beginning fall.  Fall is a beautiful time of the year but we all know that winter follows soon after.  One morning it started raining during morning prayer and by noon we had received about 3 1/2 inches of rain.  The next night I didn't hear a thing but the rain gauge indicated almost another four inches of rain.  I hope the rivers south of here are not flooding.  All that water ends up in the Missouri river.

This past week another monk died at Conception Abbey.  Brother George Strohmeyer died at the age of 92.  In his last years, living in our infirmary at the abbey, he spent much of his time making rosaries.  I think we have enough rosaries to give them away for a long time.  

Brother George originally was a member of Corpus Christi Abbey in Texas but when that abbey was closed he transferred to Conception Abbey.  Now he is in the heavenly kingdom.

School has started at Conception with, I believe, about 95 students. Pray for vocations and for the perseverance of those who are in the seminary.  

 Abbot Gregory teaching a scripture course

 Archbishop Jerome Hanus, O.S.B. teaching a religion course.

I have been following the Kansas City Royals very closely. Fortunately they are on television up here and a lot of people in the area follow them.  Of course in Nebraska football is the big thng.  Just about everyone wears red when the Huskers are playing.  Someone even gave me a Husker cap.  The Royals have done well this year but right now seem to have a difficult time getting timely hits.  

It was good to see Keith Jiron when he was in Norfolk a couple weeks ago.  He and his family now live in Omaha.  He will again have to come to Norfolk, I think he said September 17.  So hopefully I will get to see him now and then.

And, keep in mind, that if any of you are up in this area or just going through the area, stop and see me.  It's always good to call first to make sure I am here but I would love to see you.  My phone number here in the house where I live is:  402-371-5657.  I also have a cell phone but do turn it off when I am visiting in the nursing home or celebrating Mass etc.  402-750-9684.  You can always leave a message if I am not home.  As for e-mail I continue to use the Conception e-mail -- kenneth@conception.edu

I am still eating a lot of fresh fruit and sweet corn and tomatoes.  I love this time of year and I can buy peaches, blueberries, raspberries and even black berries.  I put them in the freezer and take them out as I need them.  People have been very good in giving me tomatoes.

Must go for now.  Hope God continues to bless each of you.

Fr. Kenneth

Liver today for dinner. I love it.

It seems as though there are many who do not like liver today. When I was growing up on the farm the only time we got liver was when we butchered and we looked forward to having fresh liver that evening.  My mother would fry it with onions and then make a delightful gravy and then make real corn bread and how I liked to put that gravy and liver on the corn bread for a delightful meal.  O well, that was years ago but I still like liver and we do have it here at Norfolk now and then.  I usually eat the noon meal with the Sisters and then make my own meal for the evening. People have been giving me fresh tomatoes and sweet corn so it has been good eating at this time of the year.  I also have been buying fresh fruit at the grocery store -- strawberries, peaches, blue berries, plumes etc.  Good eating at this time of the year.

These days are auction days at Conception Abbey.  After all the cleaning out of the monastery in preparation for the renovation, there are three days of selling things that will not be going back into the monastery.  Hope they get rid of most of the things.  Good to have the sale before the students return. 

I have not been doing much traveling recently.  There have been a couple changes in schedule so I have stayed here even on my days off.  I did finally sign up for AAA, so I can call them if I am out on the road and have a flat tire or car trouble.  I honestly don't think I could change a tire today.  I have changed many of them in my life, but I kind of doubt that I could get the job done now so I thought I should sign up for AAA so I can call for help.

This coming Wednesday, August 20, I will be going to Humphrey, Nebraska for a 4th degree Knights of Columbus meeting.  I am now the chaplain for the 4th degree Knights in this area.  Most of the time we meet in Norfolk, but during the summer especially meetings are held in the various towns in the area.  

Keith Jiron, who now works for the Archdiocese of Omaha will be in Norfolk this coming Tuesday so we are planning to have lunch together.  Keith was a seminarian some years ago and then he worked for us at Conception as admissions director for a few years. He and his wife, Kate, now have four children -- all boys.  I haven't seen Keith for some time so am looking forward to seeing him.  

Pictured above are the two new novices who entered the novitiate at Conception on August 14.  Pictured with Abbot Gregory are Novice Eric on the left and Novice Joseph on the right.  We thank God for the new and younger members seeking to join our community.  Please keep them in prayer.

This is a picture of the old altar in the parish where I grew up -- St. Boniface Church at Brunswick, MO.  All that beautiful work is wood so it certainly took a lot of work.  This is where I celebrated my first solemn Mass in 1959 -- at the old altar above and in Latin. Now of course the newer smaller altar is used for Mass.  I served many Masses at this older altar when I was young.  I think I started serving when I was in the third grade.  

So much for now, let us all continue to pray for one another.  

Visitors and Trip to Mount Michael Abbey

Just a few words and some photos.  We have had some cool weather up here in Northeast Nebraska for the past week or so, but according to the weather forecast it is once again supposed to get hot with temperatures in the 90's for part of next week.  

Last weekend I was happy to have some friends here to visit as Brother Maximilian, his mother Debbie and his brother Mike were here for a couple days.  It was good to see them. Here are a couple pictures from their visit.

 The young man and the young lady were

not here visiting me but were guests.  The young man

is from Norfolk and goes to college at 

Benedictine College in Atchison.  The

young lady is from Germany and had been

an exchange student here.

On Wednesday of this week, July 29, I drove to Mount Michael Abbey at Elkhorn, NE to visit the monks there.  It was good to see them all, but I especially enjoyed seeing and visiting with Abbot Raphael and Abbot Theodore.  Both have served as abbot at Mount Michael and both originally came from Conception Abbey.  I could not believe all the changes that had taken place at Elkhorn.  Way back in the summer of 1956 Fr. Alexis and I were sent to Elkhorn to help get the place ready for school to begin that fall.  At that time they were pretty well out in the country, but, like most large cities Omaha has spread out in all directions.  I took highway 275 all the way down and then exited onto Maple Road.  That is now a four lane divided highway and of course the road that takes you to Mount Michael is only a couple miles after you exit on to Maple.  

I also had never seen the newest addition to their monastery.  It is very nice.  Not extravagant but comfortable with a bathroom in every room and the rooms are quite large.  It was an enjoyable visit for sure and I hope to go back sometime this fall.  They were very hospitable with their present abbot, Abbot Michael, just getting home Wednesday night but I had a chance to talk with him a while on Thursday.  I left shortly after lunch on Thursday to head back to Norfolk in time to take the 5:00 PM Mass for the Sisters.

 Abbot Theodore as he and I were visiting the cemetery.

The new wing of the monastery taken from over toward the high school building.

 Bell tower built on the campus since I was last at Mount Michael

View of the school.  This year they are expecting about
250 students.

When I was visiting my family in June the parish at Brunswick celebrated my 60th anniversary of profession.  At that time my sister in law, Vera, had put together a collage of part of my life.  I took it over to the Sisters and left it there for about a week or so.  They enjoyed very much looking at the photos.  Here is a picture of the pictures.

Collage put together by my sister in law for my 60th anniversary.

When I was at Elkhorn Abbot Theodore reminded me of photos of deceased monks at Conception that I formerly had on my computer.  Well I had removed them and he missed them.  Fortunately I kept a copy of them on a disc and was able to put them back on my photo site.  They are not complete as it only goes up to 2007.  They are also not in order but anyway here is the web site for them.

http://kennethosb.smugmug.com/Conception-Abbey/Deceased-monks-of-Conception/

God bless you all.  Today is the first day of August so soon schools will be opening for a new school year.