Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE
Br. Curtis Almquist was born and raised in western Illinois (along the Mississippi River) in the town of Moline. He studied at Wheaton College, Michigan State University, and Nashotah House Theological Seminary. Prior to coming to the Monastery, he worked in international development, then as a social worker. After seminary, he served as a priest in the Diocese of Chicago. Curtis arrived at SSJE in 1987 and was life-professed in 1992. He has served the community in many capacities, including as Superior. He currently serves as Facilities Brother. Curtis enjoys photography, historical fiction, studying Spanish, and has an interest in the intersection of psychology and spirituality. His favorite sport is swimming, which he attributes to his parents teaching him to swim when he was only two years old!
Learn more about Br. Curtis' Catch the Life journey to monastic life >
Selection of Br. Curtis' teachings from "Brother, Give Us a Word"
Dignity
Our baptismal pledge to “respect the dignity of every human being” means, at the very least, to listen to one another. Alongside our listening, we must also work for what we can do on behalf of the least, and the last, and the lowly – the anguished multitudes of our own country and our world…
Read MoreInfinitude
The galaxies remind us of the infinitude of God’s light, and life, and love which is beyond us, around us, and also within us. We ground that awareness in our own work of righteousness, for the love of God. Our life’s mission is to be agents of the majesty and mercy of God, who is…
Read MoreDifferences
It is unjust that some people don’t know that they belong: that their uniqueness because of their skin color, or cultural, or ethnic, or religious heritage, or education, or age, or abilities have been used against them to keep them out push them down. God’s intention is just the opposite. These differences are evidence of…
Read MoreSelection of Br. Curtis' writing
In this moving reflection, Br. Curtis Almquist suggests a few of the many reasons that being forced to wait can actually be a gift. We are all invited to discover the countercultural (and surprising) goodness of waiting.
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“Prisoners especially need an intervention of love.”
Accompany Br. Curtis Almquist on his personal journey into the heart of America’s prisons, and into the heartbreak that waits inside. “Prisons can be hell,” he admits, and yet entering into them brings nothing short of blessing for both prisoner and visitor.
Read More“Jesus here regards his disciples not as his servants, but as his friends. They are his peers. They share the same prayer. He doesn’t say, “My Father,” or “Your Father.” He says, “Our Father.””
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