Christmas
Blizzard of 2009
Doesn't Dim Celebration for Monastic Community
This year's Christmas celebration by the monks of Mount
Michael was unusually quiet and peaceful due to the raging blizzard
that struck the Great Plains on Christmas eve. For the 8pm vigil the
usual assortment of guest musicians and singers were absent and only
thirty brave guests struggled through in their four-wheel drive vehicles.
By Christmas morning the road was blown shut leaving the monks to celebrate Christmas Mass on their own. In reality this all led to a very relaxed and peaceful celebration of the feast for the monks. Abbot Raphael was the only monk that was absent as he was on an assignment in Battle Creek, Nebraska. Fr. John shifted his efforts from orchestrating Christmas services to snow removal. Sophomore dean Matt Leuttel who inadvertently got snowed in ended up celebrating Christmas dinner with the monks instead of his relatives as he had planned.
All in all it was a very beautiful, quiet and joy filled Christmas.