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"
Intermediary
Jesus is our intermediary. If there is a residue or bondage in our relationship with someone departed, we implore Jesus “to set the captive free,” whether the captive be ourselves or the departed. We take Jesus at his word, that he is the Savior of the world, always with us and with the departed, until…
Read MoreSparrow
Some days you may feel like a lonely sparrow in a great flock as you face your own suffering – piercing, or frightening, or endless. There may be for us all, sooner or later, a comforting reminder in the metaphor about the value even of sparrows: God knows and loves each of us by name…
Read MoreDuty
Where can we give our voice and muscle on behalf of some part of creation that suffers injustice, discrimination, abuse, or neglect? When I hear Jesus say, “as you have done to the least of these my brethren, you have done to me,” I am thinking about people… but more than just people: about the…
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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