Favorite Saint!

I would say that I have a few favorite saints but there is one that stands out above the others. Who is that saint? It is the person that the Church remembers on July 11, Saint Benedict. I owe a lot to the Benedictine Monks who follow the Rule that Saint Benedict left for them to live. My first encounter with the Benedictine monks was as a junior in high school. That high school, Maur Hill, was operated by the monks in Atchison, Kansas from Saint Benedict's Abbey. Then, a couple of years later, my vocation as a priest was nurtured and strengthened by the monks at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. I love the Benedictine spirituality, so much so that I became a Benedictine Oblate associated with the Archabbey at Saint Meinrad. The Benedictine life of prayer and work, "ora et labora" is a wonderful motto to follow. Being an oblate means that I can live that charism here in the world and the very communities that I serve as a diocesan priest. A wonderful example of the Benedictine life is hospitality. Welcoming our brothers and sisters as Christ and seeing the face of Christ in them. My prayers this day and everyday are with the Benedictines who live the Rule that their founder, Benedict, left for them to follow. May their example touch our lives and may Saint Benedict intercede for us as we live faithful, prayerful, and holy lives. Have a blessed day!!!

On a personal note: I will be returning to one of the doctors on Tuesday who treated me while I was in the hospital for the blackout incident on the bike. Also, another medical episode arose over the weekend and I am being treated by the local doctor. As someone told me, "If its not one thing, its another!" Keep me in your prayers and know that you are in mine! God Bless You!!!