Overdue Update...

It has been a while since my last update (May 10)... and a lot has been going on...

We had a Junior monk outing on May 11 - Dinner and Movie (There be Dragons). Decent movie but not as much focus on St. Josemaria as I would have liked.

Benedictine College (BC) graduation activities were May 13-14... nice Mass and Graduation ceremony... and now a few hundred more young people in the world to help transform it into the Kingdom of God that it is supposed to reflect!

Visits to Philly (May 17-19) and home (May 19-23) provided a welcome break from the monastic life. My class celebrated its 20th priestly anniversary in Philly at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (my ordination date was June 1, but my Philadelphia classmates were ordained on May 18). And it was great to see my family and a few friends in Montgomery and Birmingham (where I attended the diaconate ordinations of Br. Patrick and Br. Leonard at EWTN).

Part of my visit to Montgomery was attending the inaugural meeting of the Association of Catholic Coaches (A of CC). It is the creation of my brother Barry (so I am on the initial Board of Directors) and its purpose is to assist Catholic coaches in actively living their faith in the "workplace" of sports. It has great impact potential and I have high hopes that it will flourish!

One of our fellow monks, Fr. Hugh Keefer, passed away on June 1. He had not been well for a while... may his soul Rest In Peace!

We had our annual Abbey retreat from June 6-9 with Fr. Justin Matro, OSB as our Retreat Master. It was a good retreat and everyone seemed to enjoy the time together.

We had a Development meeting where the results of the recent Feasibility Study were presented and we were encouraged us to start a Capital Campaign in the very near future. More on that as it "develops"!

I assisted with the annual FOCUS Staff Summer Training in Champaign, Illinois (at the U. of Ill Newman Center) from June 10-24. It was a joy and a blessing to be with so many young, enthusiastic, orthodox, evangelistic Catholic young adults. In their first 13 years, 286 FOCUS young men and women (students and missionaries) have entered the seminary and/or religious life! And hundreds have entered faith-filled Catholic marriages. That says it all!!

I attended the wedding of Justin Kraft (former FOCUS missionary) and Sara Carlson in St. Joseph, MO on June 25th. It was blessed Nuptial Mass (with 7 priests concelebrating) and it was good to see some of the former FOCUS missionaries who attended.

The annual LifeTeen Leadership Conference (LTLC) starts today at BC. We will be inundated with about 500 people during this week (approximately 450 high schoolers [going into 12th grade] and 50 chaperones).

That is about all for now. I am just getting the hang of the blogging world. I changed the setting so you should be able to post comments easier now. And I found a lot of past comments saved in a particular place which I never knew were there.

Anyway... back to work. God bless you all and please keep me and our Abbey in your prayers!

In Christ,

Fr. Justin Damien Dean, OSB

Update...

Not exactly a "monthly" update, but an update nonetheless!

The last day of exams at Benedictine College (BC) is today as the students begin to trickle out of town. Baccalaureate Mass this Friday and Graduation on Saturday will see most of the remaining students pack their bags. It was been a great first semester for me at BC and I look forward to more in the Fall!

I was privileged to teach the 2nd half of the RCIA class.... we saw 8 come into the Church and 4 Catholics get confirmed. As always, it was a great blessing to see the Catholic faith through the "new eyes" of those becoming Catholic!

I am busy with Abbey Development also. I was involved in the Feasibility Study that is the precursor to a possible (and needed) Capital Campaign to repair our leaky roof and replace our antiquated windows (some 885 of them!). Say a prayer for its success!!

That's the big picture - and about all I have time for...

God bless,

FrJDD

HE IS RISEN!!

He is risen, indeed!!

Just a short post to wish everyone a Blessed Easter!!

And to ask if anyone is still reading this blog? If so, let me know (Father.JDD@gamil.com) and I will update it shortly...

God bless you all,

FrJDD

Monthly Update...

It is the first weekday of our Spring Break... and it is SNOWING! It is a beautiful snow - as it is sticking on the ground, but NOT on the pavement!! It won't be around long because it is supposed to hit 44 today, 54 tomorrow, 67 and 70 the next two days. And after the snow/rain mix today the forecast is for a clear week. It should be a nice.

Campus Ministry at BC has been hopping. Lots of great students and a lot of work to do. Just more of the same as reported before - RCIA, Masses, Confessions, Spiritual Direction, Knights of Columbus, FOCUS, etc... all great stuff.

One note - BCM has been sponsoring a series of classes entitled "How to Pray Like a Saint". How could someone not be interested in that?!? The teacher is Dr. Matthew Ramage and the classes are excellent. I wish you were all here so you could take advantage of them... but, wait! You are in luck, as they are available on our website: http://www.bcsmc.org/index.cfm?load=news&newsarticle=19&page=1

I highly recommend that you print the notes and listen to these classes.

The KCCSC (organized by BC) went very well in mid-Feb. Dr. Thomas Woods did a great job among the many good speakers. Archbishop Joseph Naumann did an outstanding job on the Sunday Mass & homily. We are very blessed to have him here.

On to Development... my training in the process of interviewing people for a feasibility study for a future monastery capital campaign begins today! I will watch a training video this afternoon and go with a professional on 4 interviews tomorrow, 1 on Wednesday and probably 1 more during the week. Next week, I go solo!! PRAY for me!!

I recently bought my airline ticket for a week vacation in May. I will be in Philly for a couple of days to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the priestly ordination of my seminary class. Then on to Montgomery for the rest of the vacation.

Not much else to report for now...

Oremus Pro Invicem!! (Let us pray for one another)

God bless,

Fr. Justin Damien Dean, OSB

FINALLY...

My monthly update (slightly late).

Where to begin... WARRRRRR EAGLE! Of course!! It is great to be an Auburn Tiger!!

Lots going on in the monastery and outside of it.

I am busy in Campus Ministry at Benedictine College (BCM) and with Development at the Abbey.

BCM:

- I attended the FOCUS conference in Denver with about 175 of our students... a great conference which had a significant effect on many of our students. Most were strengthened in their practice of the faith which was already central in their lives. Some were brought back. Success stories abound!! Praise God!!

- It is a pleasure to once again be the main celebrant and preach at Masses. I am scheduled to celebrate Mass at our campus chapel twice a week (and I am usually blessed with a third time when a sub is needed). And I am on the rotating schedule at the Abbey. I celebrated Mass at the latter yesterday and got to wear my Marian vestment (which is my First Mass vestment given to me by my family) as we celebrated the votive Mass of Mary, Pillar of Faith.

- I am teaching RCIA and we have a good crew... about 10-12 attended last week...

- Many students seeking spiritual direction is encouraging. These are not your ordinary college students!!

- Kansas Catholic College Student Conference (KCCSC) coming up Feb 11-13. We (BC) are hosting it - Please keep that in your prayers.

- It is just great be on this wonderful Catholic campus.

Development:

- I have been calling to thank donors and meeting the members of the Friends of St. Benedict's Abbey to get their ideas of how to improve our fundraising efforts. A great group of people with some GREAT ideas!

- I recently brought to the Development Board the idea of a Donor Newsletter. They were receptive and open to the idea and now I have to run with it to provide a sample issue for their approval (keep that in your prayers and if you have any suggestions, please send them to me!!).

Monastic Life:

It is great to be active in my priestly ministry while living in the monastery. The monastic life gives me some camaraderie, structure and discipline (though I can always use more of the latter!). It is a blessing to be around men striving for holiness and challenging me to keep up!!

Future Developments:

- Following an invitation from FOCUS, I have received permission to help out at FOCUS Summer Training for 2 weeks this summer. What a blessing it will be for me to be around so much young, dynamic, Catholic energy!! And it will hopefully be a good opportunity to make our monastery better known among the young men of FOCUS and the young men on the campuses where they will be serving next year! With God's grace (and YOUR prayers), it could lead a couple of men to seek entrance into our monastery!!

- I was approved by my superiors to host another series on marriage for EWTN with the wonderful Greg & Julie Alexander (of Alexander House fame!)! It will be taped in mid-Oct of this year. This series will focus on Marriage Enrichment.

Have you had enough yet?!? I have... and I have to go concelebrate our Sunday Mass!

God bless you all,

Father Justin Damien Dean. OSB(!)

Overdue Update...

I got a couple of questions via e-mail that have prompted me to write this much overdue update!

Now that I am back at the monastery, I have received a couple of work assignments. I am now the Assistant Director of Development at the Abbey and I will assist in Campus Ministry at Benedictine College (BC) (Masses, confessions, spiritual direction, teach RCIA, chaplain of the KofC, assist with FOCUS leaders, etc.).

Since BC is on their Christmas break right now, my time has been primarily focused on development. I am currently engaging our 13-member Development Board through individual meetings with each person (learning our history and getting ideas for the future - BE AFRAID, be very afraid!), reading some books on fundraising, meeting with development personnel at other institutions, attending in-house meetings here at the Abbey, etc... whatever I can do to catch up in this field. It has been enlightening, educational and somewhat daunting to learn what can be done in this endeavor and, indeed, what needs to be done for it to work well. Please keep me and the Abbey in your prayers!!

Mom is doing well for her condition (early stages of dementia). Though she forgets things on occasion, her memory is still intact for the most part. She gets around with the help of Barry, Richard & Laura and her wonderful siblings. I talk to her frequently and look forward to getting home on a more regular basis with not so much time between visits.

Richard & Laura and their kids are doing well... really getting into good shape (well, except for Richard!). Barry is no longer dating his previous girlfriend, Alyson. Say a prayer for each of them - that they will find God's will and peace in their lives.

As for me, I am settled into my new room - Out of the Novitiate and onto the main hall on the 3rd floor of the monastery!! A little more room which is now pretty full with my books, files, computer, etc. (oh yeah, and my bed - as it doubles as my bedroom and my working office). Christmas has brought many celebrations (as usual), liturgically and socially (in the monastery and outside). I am just trying to get ready for the onslaught which will begin when the students get back to school.

That's about it for now... Oremus Pro Invicem (Let us pray for one another).

In Christ, our infant King,

Father Justin Damien Dean

P.S. And there is the matter of a little college football game on January 10th, but that is a long way away from my thoughts right now...

Vows and Home Visit...

For the Mass of my first monastic vows, my mom made surprise visit with Richard, Barry and Ann Marie (Richard's daughter). Everything went well with the vows Mass on December 8th. We had a nice dinner reception afterwards and I left for Montgomery the next morning at 5:00 AM, dropping mom, Richard and Ann Marie off at the KC airport on my way to Montgomery. (Thanks for the many prayers for my trip home - they worked!!)

I am now in Montgomery for my 5-day Home Visit. I had a few gatherings (in Montgomery, Troy & Auburn) so that I could see a lot of friends and former parishioners. They concluded yesterday at Queen of Mercy. It was great to see everyone.

Right now (Monday morning) I am sorting through stuff and putting it into 3 piles - (1) take to Kansas, (2) leave at home and (3) get rid of! It is a big job and I am glad that I started it 2 days before I return to Kansas. I drove a van to Montgomery so that I can take my books and other things back with me.

That's all for now. Thanks for the prayers and be assured of mine for all of you!

God bless,

FrJDD