Br. Luke, Br. Matthew, OSB, profess solemn vows

CONCEPTION, Mo. – On Saturday, September 7, 2019, Br. Luke Kral, OSB, and Br. Matthew Marie, professed solemn vows as monks of Conception Abbey in the presence of their family, friends, seminarians, and monastic confreres. 
 
In the ceremony, Br. Luke and Br. Matthew made perpetual commitments to live as monks of Conception’s monastery, vowing obedience, stability, and conversion of life. 
 
After the proclamation of the Gospel, Rev. Xavier Nacke, OSB, brought Br. Luke and Br. Matthew to the altar with hands joined. Right Rev. Benedict Neenan, OSB, abbot of Conception Abbey, began the rite by calling forth the young monks in the name of the whole community. The abbot sang, “Come, my son, hear me.  I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”  Br. Luke and Br. Matthew began together their intention to profess vows before the Abbot, the community, and before Almighty God. 

After the Abbot’s admonition, the young monks came forward to profess vows, by reading aloud their profession documents and signing them on the Book of the Gospels on the altar.

Br. Luke and Br. Matthew then signed their profession documents, stood before the altar, and prayed, “Suscipe me, Domine, secundum eloquium tuum et vivam, et non confundas me ab expectatione mea” (Psalm 119:116- Receive me, Lord, as you have promised, and I shall live; do not disappoint me in my hope). They sang this prayer three times, each time it was repeated by the solemnly professed members of the monastic community, who then add the doxology. It is a prayer of total surrender and trust in the Lord. 

 
Then, the newly professed monks lay prostrate on the floor as they were covered with the black funeral pall and the funeral bell tolls, which is symbolic of their deaths to self and their former way of life. The entire assembly then prayed together for Br. Luke and Br. Joseph.  

 
Following the Prayer of Consecration, the funeral pall was removed, and the two stood, receiving new life in Christ. They stood before the Abbot to receive the cuculla, the pleated robe worn by the solemnly professed members. The Abbot and the solemnly professed monks congratulated them with the Kiss of Peace, which seals their permanent fraternity in the community of Conception Abbey. 

Originally from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Br. Luke Kral, OSB, came to Conception in July of 2013, and professed simple vows on August 15, 2015. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri – Kansas City and worked in Kansas City and Washington, D.C. before coming to the monastery. Since coming to Conception, Br. Luke has spent time working in the seminary, the library, and now in The Printery House.

Br. Matthew grew up in Washington, Iowa. He attended Conception Seminary College and began his novitiate in November 2015. After professing simple vows in November of 2016, he began work in the Business Office and is currently welcoming visitors in the Abbey Guest Center.

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