Chancellor, St. Gregory's University

Assistant Professor in Theology

Pax Intrantibus! --

Peace to those who enter!

Welcome to my personal website. Please use the attached links to learn a little bit more about me.  This site is under construction, so please return to see if I have added anything new. This was last updated on December 9, 2008.

This fall I had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land led by Archbishop Eusebius Beltran of Oklahoma City.  The group of 37 pilgrims visited many sites in Israel and Jordan.  It is an incredibly moving experience to see the landscapes of the land of our Lord's birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection.  The memories of this wonderful pilgrimage will remain with me throughout my life.

On the heals of the pilgrimage I attended the quadrennial world Congress of Abbots in Rome.  The meeting is held at the Benedictine house of students and university in Rome to discuss issues that directly affect or involve the worldwide Benedictine Confederation.  About 250 abbots attended the meeting with about 50 other observers.  It was exciting to hear of the new monastic communities being founded in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.  The abbots also heard reports on the house of studies and university, noting the challenge of updating the facilities while at the same time developing increased scholarship funds for Benedictines whose communities would not be able to take advantage of an education in the Eternal City and alongside other Benedictines in the world.  A true highlight of the Congress was a special audience that the abbots had with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.  Pope Benedict gave an inspiring reflection on the role of our monastic communities in the modern age.

With the end of August came the opening of a new academic year at St. Gregory's University.  It is always an exciting time - a time of gathering once again the full campus community - staff, faculty and students.  It is at this time that we welcome new students and their families to our community.  It is a time for fresh beginnings.  I very much enjoyed participating in various aspects of our re-designed orientation program for new students and their parents.  In addition to welcoming the new students and addressing the parents, I also took part in the "round robin" of orientation seminars.  I offered a discussion on "The Mysteries of the Monastery."  A number of our new students attended the seminar and asked very good questions.  Along with this, Fr. Eugene, Fr. Charles Massoth, Fr. Martin, Br. Damian, Br. Dominic, Fr. Nicholas, Br. Benet and I assisted the orientation process by giving tours of the monastery.  Several of us were stationed at the monastery dining room.  We had all of the student groups sit down to enjoy a "hospitality break" of ice cream sundaes.  The students enjoyed those while I discussed aspects of our monastic spirituality and life.

As Chancellor I continue to be busy helping others to become more aware of the capital fund-raising campaign that we launched at St. Gregory's in 2007.  Dubbed "Going Forward - the Campaign for St. Gregory's University," the campaign seeks to meet the needs of our students through enhanced campus life, strengthened academic programs, endowments for scholarships and academic professorships, and support of the Benedictine way of life at St. Gregory's Abbey.  It is an exciting project, and I am confident that we will be able to meet our ambitious fund-raising goals.

Syllabi for Current Courses

Due to my extensive travel schedule during the first half of the fall semester, I am not teaching at present.

The last course I taught was in the theology division TH3463 - The Nature and Mission of the Church.  It is very good to be back in the classroom, working with students to explore important topics.

The syllabus for this course in ecclesiology can be reviewed through this link:  TH3463 - The Nature and Mission of the Church, Fall 2007

My abbatial coat of arms, or "herald," incorporates elements that reflect my own personal history and spirituality. 

On the dexter field (to the observer's left) we see elements that reflect the coat of arms for St. Gregory's Abbey.  In the upper half we see the Dove hovering over a Papal Tiara.  This represents St. Gregory the Great, patron of our monastery.  In the lower half we see a cross over three green hills with the Latin word PAX superimposed.  This represents St. Benedict's monastery of Monte Cassino, and the Benedictine motto of "Peace."

On the sinister field (to the observer's right) we see elements that represent my personal history and personality.  The upper left quadrant represents the martyrdom of my patron, the deacon St. Lawrence, who was "roasted" alive on a gird iron, shedding his blood for Christ as a result of his faithful witness to the Gospel.  The lower right quadrant calls to mind the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, my home diocese and the land of the "Red Earth" and the "Red Man."  The downward turned arrow represents a peaceful posture.  The blue in the lower left and upper right quadrants is reminiscent of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the humanity of God's Word Incarnate.  Finally, the Sacred Heart imposed over the gold cross is reminiscent of my own devotion to the Incarnation of God's Love in the Humanity of Jesus represented by the Sacred Heart, as well as the foundation of our monastic community as Sacred Heart Abbey.

The motto I have chosen is:  Gaudete in Domino Semper - Rejoice in the Lord Always!

Personal Information:

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