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"
Surrender
What unites Peter and Paul is their weakness, what Paul calls “strength being made perfect in weakness.” In the end, both Peter and Paul were driven to practice what they preached. They could not save themselves. They needed, daily, to surrender to the intervention of Christ’s grace. -Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE Read More and Comment…
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Sometimes we need to be enshrouded by light; sometimes we need to be enwombed by darkness. Sometimes God keeps us in the dark from what we’re not yet ready to know. This is what the psalmist is asking God: “Hide us under the shadow of your wings.” -Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE Read More and Comment…
Read MoreSelection of Br. Curtis' writing
“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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“We have been given the gift of life, all of which we are invited to practice in God’s presence.”
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