Phil B.

I am a Roman Catholic convert. I try to attend Daily Mass and practice Adoration as well as praying the Liturgy of the Hours. I find these these daily practices helpful to my spiritual life, along with recitation of the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and daily reading from the Rule of Benedict.

I have a strong interest in Benedictine and Cistercian spirituality. I was an oblate of St Benedict for eight years through St John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. Currentrly, I am an Oblate of the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank near Sparta, Wisconsin.

I do consider myself a conservative in theology. I like to "think with the Church," as our Holy Father Benedict XVI has put it. I have two Masters' degrees (Master of Divinity, 1990, Luther Seminary, St Paul MN and Master of Arts in Religion, 1998, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN) as well as an undergraduate major in Ancient Greek (Baylor University, Waco Texas, 1979). However, all of that "book learning" amounts to nothing without the gift of grace which allows us to see God and understand who He is.

If you want to communicate by e mail my address is: eaganbanker@yahoo.com