Conception Abbey

Winter Scene:

We remember the old Missouri saying (actually its used in many places!) which goes like this: "If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes and it will change." A bit of an exaggeration of course, but it’s certainly one of the things that makes living in the Midwest very interesting. After a pretty normal Christmas season with intermittent snows we here in Missouri have gone from the drab and dry weeks after the holiday season to an old-fashioned snow storm which dumped about 10 inches on us. On the morning after the storm slick roads caused some traveling problems for our employees getting to work. I’m sure we were not alone in battling the white stuff. Br. Placid and the maintenance crew got the sidewalks cleared in time for the morning "rush hour" traffic of students and monks going to classes. The trees and bushes in the abbey courtyard were sculptured in snow giving it a very different look, a great opportunity for the shutterbugs of the community.

School year off and running (again!):

Classes got off to a good start after the three week Christmas break with 110 full time students and 9 part-time students. Most of the students reported that the break was good (how could it be otherwise?) and about the right amount of time to be fully energized and ready to return to the classrooms. Some were soon on the road again in buses either going to the January 24 March For Life in Washington, DC or going to Mundelein Seminary for the annual Seminarian Basketball Tournament. At the time of this writing we haven’t heard how the basketball team did but the March For Life is always an arduous but very worthwhile experience of support.

Sometimes simple things are very interesting. While walking through St. Maur’s main corridor the other day a table of art pieces caught my eye. The pieces were submitted by the art class. The assignment had been to take a picture of an object, and then reproduce it using different materials and textures in a 3-D format. Some were very simple; some were more complicated using a variety of materials. It was a good exercise in attempting to portray and translate a flat image into something with depth. I wonder if that might be something we should all be challenged to do, not necessarily as an exercise in art but in the art of life. How well do we actually look at something, could we describe it, reproduce it?

Healthy Care Center Report:

Our elderly brethren continue to give us a good example of entering their autumn years with great faith and a variety of interests. Our senior at 92, Fr. Joachim continues to listen to a variety of tapes and reads by means of a special book magnifier. Msgr Louis McCorkle, also in his 90s, of the Jefferson City diocese lives right next door to Fr. Joachim and is busy with reading and correspondence. Next door Fr. Anthony continues to read from a wide variety of interests and has a good view of the lake which is presently frozen. Next door Fr. Paschal is more mobile and can make the trip to the library where he continues to restock his reading materials. Next door Br. George is almost totally absorbed in his rosary-making routine as he turns out many rosaries each day. Fr. Francis continues to be in touch with the "world out there" through the use of the TV in his room and through correspondence. He has become known wherever he has served with the year round request "Pray for snow!" Right now his prayers seem to have been fully answered.