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"

Gift

Your own life is a Christmas gift from God to the world. There’s a lot of bad news in our world. Hear the news as a clarion call for what we are to be about as followers of Jesus Christ: to bear the beams of God’s love and light and life, especially to those who…

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Palm Sunday: Vulnerability

What is it that makes you vulnerable? In our lifetimes, we don’t lose our spiritual vulnerability. We wouldn’t want to lose it. How we come to know God, how God breaks through to us, is probably through something that is broken in our lives. – Br. Curtis Almquist Society of Saint John the Evangelist To…

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Fear

Fear is not a sign of the absence of God. In our fear we rather find the bidding presence of God. Our fear most often arises out of something that is bigger than we are, and we find that in and of ourselves, there isn’t enough – not enough energy, or patience, or hope, or…

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Selection of Br. Curtis' writing

Visiting Jesus in Prison

“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.

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Being an Answer to Jesus’ Prayer

“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 Need More Than Spirituality: Practicing the Presence of God

“We have been given the gift of life, all of which we are invited to practice in God’s presence.”

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