There is a pervading sense of gratitude filling my heart and spirit for all the careful planning and unending generosity offered by the Norbertines, planning committee, associates of St. Norbert Abbey, and attendees. You welcomed us into your spiritual landscape, your college, your abbey home, and your hearts.
Communio was abundantly evident in our prayer together, in educational sessions, in sharing from minds and hearts, in celebrating, and in widening our “circle of empathy” in our personal, communal, planetary joys, and suffering.
Let us continue to hold all in prayer, and our mother earth, as we journey through life. I will.
that I will have fought for what was right and fair,
that I will have risked for that which mattered,
that I will have given drink to the thirsty,
that I will have welcomed the stranger,
that I will have clothed the naked,
that I will have cared for the ill,
that I will have visited the imprisoned,
that I will have left the earth a better place for what I’ve done and who I’ve been.
—Adapted from Matthew 25 and C. Hoppe
On Saturday, May 27, 2017, Rev. Frater Michael J. Brennan, O. Praem., will be ordained to the priesthood. The Mass of Ordination will be celebrated by Most Rev. David L. Ricken, DD, JCL, Bishop of Green Bay, at 2:30 p.m. in the church of St. Norbert Abbey.
On Sunday, May 28, 2017, the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord, Rev. Brennan will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at 10 a.m. in the church of St. Norbert Abbey.
Deacon Brennan, 39, is the son of Michael and Dorothy Brennan of Michigan City, Indiana, and a son of Queen of All Saints Catholic Church in Michigan City. His parents now belong to St. Pius X Catholic Church in Granger, Indiana.
A 1995 graduate of Marquette Catholic High School, Michigan City, Deacon Brennan graduated from St. Norbert College (SNC), De Pere, in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology and a minor in religious studies.
In 2001 he received a Master of Education degree from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. He was also named Teacher of the Year at Our Lady of Prompt Succor, White Castle, Louisiana (1999-2000), and at Ascension Catholic Middle School, Donaldsonville, Louisiana (2001-2002), and received the Young Alumni Award from SNC (2005).
Deacon Brennan completed his Masters of Divinity in May 2017 and anticipates completing an M.A. in Scripture in the fall of 2017. Both degrees are granted by Catholic Theological Union, Chicago.
After his priestly ordination, Fr. Brennan will be assigned to SNC, where he will serve in sacramental, teaching and vocation ministries.
An Evening of Prayer, Service, and Brotherhood With Deacon Brennan, Frater Johnathan Turba, O. Praem., and Frater Anh Tran, O. Praem., at Old St. Patrick’s Parish, Chicago
By Frater Jordan Neeck, O. Praem.
A Lesson in Humility Reflections on Norbertine Volunteer Community By Michael Brennan
Ongoing Program: Sunrise Scripture
Facilitated by (soon-to-be) Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem., Fr. David Komatz, O. Praem., Tony Pichler, and Kathie Tilot
Lenten Lessons and Chants 2017 in the Church of St. Norbert Abbey
Sunday, April 2, 2017 | 7 p.m.
Join us for this time of Word, silence, and song.
In this season of Lent, the Church invites us all to prepare for the Easter Feast through a deepening life of prayer, fasting, and works of mercy.
On the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the Norbertine Community of St. Norbert Abbey is offering Lenten Lessons and Chants.
The abbey church will be filled with praise of God’s Mercy through Word (Scripture and other Christian writings), rich silence, and sacred music sung by Norbertine cantors and the Abbey Singers of St. Norbert College.