September 2020
In this email we bring you our continuing monthly series of blogs written by our seminarians. We hope you find their writings to be spiritually uplifting and educational.
Dear friends in Christ,
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.” With these words from Psalm 133:1, I share with you that we are together as brothers at Simon Brute College seminary. We were filled with joy to welcome our students on August 12, 2020. We are 33 in total enrollment, with 10 new students. All 33 students are contributed by eight diocese here in the Midwest.
Indeed we gather differently than last year with many COVID-19 protocols in place. With a combination of mask wearing and social distance as well as limiting interactions and or visitors to our building we are all healthy and safe. We are grateful to have these seminarians back with us and to have there joyful noise fill our building.
It is our goal to have our students here till November 24 when they will go home for Thanksgiving break and finish classes online. If our academic partner, Marian University, decides to go online before this date it would be our goal to keep the students here at the seminary as a quarantined community because we believe formation is so very important.
Thank you for your support of these seminarians and your support of the important work of formation for the priesthood. Please pray for us as we will pray for you.
Fr. Joe
The Need for Community Amidst a Pandemic
Returning to Bruté for my senior year, I am already wishing I had more time. Bruté is an unbelievably special place. My decision to come to Bruté has been life-changing and the best decision of my life. This is in large part thanks to my brother seminarians throughout the years. I really cannot imagine a better place to grow into the man that God is calling me to be than at Bruté.
Going into my fourth year at Bruté, I have seen a lot of things change. Countless seminarians come and go, the seminary be renovated, and the priests on staff change, but the one thing that has been ever constant throughout my years at Bruté, it is the community of seminarian brothers.
Of course, you cannot have the seminary without the seminarians. Ask any of the priests on staff about the eerie quiet of the seminary during the summer. Whether it’s laughter, sports, or serious conversation, the seminarians are constantly together – growing together, praying together, doing everything together.
The community within the seminary is of the upmost importance. I have found the immeasurable value of my community of brothers. Whether it’s a word of encouragement, challenge, or consolation, my brothers reveal Christ to me, and the truth about myself. It is beautiful to see how I can learn about myself and about Christ through learning and living with my brothers.
I am consistently reminded of Psalm 133, “How good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” This is so true about Bruté. We are in it together - every struggle, every joy, every moment that makes you want to tear your hair out - we’re in it together.
This value of community was never clearer than during the end of the past spring semester which was cut by COVID-19. Both the in-person classes and the seminary formation year were abruptly ended, and the seminary was suspended. Seminarians went back to their respective dioceses to finish their classes online. During this time, the community had a major obstacle placed in front of it: distance.
One seminarian, noticing this glaring need for community, helped to organize “virtual” community activities. We would all get on some video platform once a week and catch-up, play a game, and built community. Although we were physically distant, we were not spiritually distant. This was very helpful for me as the semester wore on and final due dates approached, not to mention the on-going global pandemic. These times are especially stressful, and the community helps at those times with words of understanding, love, and support.
During these times of uncertainty and fear, hope and joy spring eternal because we are not in this alone. My brothers and I are as one. We will handle this current struggle as we have countless ones before – by coming together in prayer, joy, and peace. All because, “How good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”
Nick Monnin is a Bruté seminarian studying for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and a member of the Class of 2021.
For more information
- To inquire about seminarian admissions or to arrange a tour of Brute Seminary, contact Sr. Sharon Kuhn, OSB, administrative coordinator, at skuhn@archindy.org or call 317-924-4100.
- If you wish to contact Brute Seminary Rector Fr. Joe Moriarty, you can reach him at jmoriarty@archindy.org or call 317-924-4100.
- To inquire about donating to Brute Seminary, please contact Kimberly Pohovey at kpohovey@archindy.org or call 317-236-1568.