65 and 60 years for Fr. Kenneth Reichert OSB

Did you know that He has collected all of your tears, rejoiced in all of your triumphs, held you close in all of your struggles, and forgiven all of your sins?”

Father Daniel Merz, to Father Kenneth Reichert OSB

When Benedictine Father Kenneth Reichert entered formation at Conception Abbey, his monastic profession and priestly ordination seemed like an eternity away.

Those milestones are now 65 and 60 years in the past, but both continue to define Fr. Reichert’s walk with the Lord.

“I have tried to be a faithful monk and priest during all these years,” he stated during his recent jubilee celebration, “and I thank God for giving me this vocation and life.”

Friends, extended family, fellow priests and monks and Bishop W. Shawn McKnight gathered in St. Boniface Church in Brunswick June 16 to celebrate Fr. Reichert’s 60th priestly anniversary and the 65th anniversary of his religious profession in the Order of St. Benedict.

They celebrated Mass in the place where he had been baptized and confirmed, received his First Holy Communion, served at the altar and offered his First Solemn Mass.

It was the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity.

Longtime friend Father Daniel Merz, who learned from Fr. Reichert as a seminarian and later ministered with him on the Conception Seminary College faculty, preached the homily.

“Sixty years is not just about sticking around,” Fr. Merz asserted. “It’s about endurance, it’s about character and it’s about hope.”

A priest is a mediator, a bridge leading others to encounter Christ.

“As long as I’ve known him, Fr. Kenneth has always been a man of friendships and relationships,” Fr. Merz stated in his homily. “And of course, the greatest friendship he’s cultivated is with Christ Himself.”

He noted that throughout his 65 years of monastic life and 60 years of Priesthood, one of Fr. Kenneth’s primary aims has been the pursuit of wisdom.

Likewise, “as a preacher of the Word for 60 years, Fr. Kenneth has boasted of our hope to experience God’s glory,” he stated.

“Through God’s grace”

One of five sons born to Joe and Alice Reichert, who are both deceased, Fr. Reichert grew up in a devoutly observant family where prayer and Sunday Mass were taken very seriously.

“God gave me life in a good Catholic home,” he recalled. “I was taught my prayers at an early age and made to pray them before I went to bed.”

He said the Franciscan sisters at old St. Boniface School in Brunswick weren’t just great teachers, they were exceptional vocation directors, encouraging young people to ask God to reveal what He wanted them to be.

“They taught us how to be good Catholics and followers of Christ,” he recalled.

Early impressions of the Priesthood came from Father John Groetsch and then Father Edwin Sturm, who were pastors in Brunswick.

Fr. Sturm frequently visited the Reicherts’ home and played ball with the boys in the nearby cow pasture.

Then there were the Benedictine priests from Conception, who occasionally traveled to the Brunswick church for Mass.

They wore the hooded robes of their habit under their priestly vestments.

“As a little kid, I thought, ‘I want to be one of those guys,’” Fr. Reichert recalled.

Fellow parishioners also helped him discover his priestly calling.

“You helped make me who I am,” he told them.

“It has happened first and foremost through God’s grace, and secondly through the people I grew up with and the people I have been associated with for all these years,” he said.

“Remain faithful”

Fr. Reichert’s parents supported his decision to pursue the Priesthood and monastic life. His mother congratulated him but cautioned, “If you want to be a priest, you must remain faithful to it throughout your life.”

He entered the high school seminary at Conception Abbey in northwestern Missouri at age 15.

The longer Fr. Reichert was there, the more convinced he became that he wanted to stay.

“I think what attracted me the most to Benedictine life as I grew in it was the community aspect — living and working and praying in community with other people,” he said.

Living together under the Rule of St. Benedict, the monks maintain a daily cycle of prayer and work, welcome guests, educate future priests and share the Gospel.

One of the monks there with him was Benedictine Father Basil Odermatt, who had baptized him back in Brunswick.

After completing two years of college, Fr. Reichert entered the Benedictine community as a novice.

He professed temporary vows on Sept. 8, 1954, followed by solemn perpetual vows in 1957.

At that time, he had to state whether he wanted to continue his studies to become a priest.

“I wanted that very much,” he said. “I had planned on Priesthood from the time I entered.”

He spent his fourth year of theology at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, where all the lessons were in Latin.

On May 16, 1959, in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception at Conception Abbey, Bishop (later Cardinal) John J. Cody of Kansas City-St. Joseph ordained Fr. Reichert and four other monks — three from the Jefferson City diocese — to the Holy Priesthood.

Helped form priests

Fr. Reichert, 86, has spent most of his priestly life ministering in or near Conception.

His only parish assignment came in 1970-72, when he was pastor of a Native American mission on the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota.

He then worked for four decades at Conception Seminary College, including about 15 years as spiritual director.

He also was master of ceremonies for liturgical events at the abbey for 40 years.

He served as the abbey’s prior, who is second in command to the abbot, from 1993-2007.

He has filled-in many times for priests at parishes within driving distance, including Brunswick, Macon, Marceline and Boonville.

Since 2013, he has been ministering as chaplain of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters and residents of St. Joseph Rehabilitation and Care Center, both in Norfolk, Nebraska.

With the help of Almighty God

Fr. Reichert noted that a lifetime commitment involves God’s grace and a sincere desire to work through problems.

“None of us goes through life without problems,” he said. “And the tendency seems to be, if you have a problem, the first thing is to run away from the problem. But the problem usually follows us wherever we go.”

He often reflects on his favorite Scripture passage, John 15, which begins, “I am the vine, and My Father is the vine grower.”

The part that strikes him the most is Jesus’ phrase “Without Me, you can do nothing.”

“When I get into trouble, it’s usually because I think I have to do it all myself,” the priest said.

Fr. Reichert relies every day on God’s grace and the prayerful intercession of his favorite saints, the Blessed Mother and her husband St. Joseph.

He asks for prayers that he’ll be able to continue to do whatever God wants him to do.

He encourages people considering a priestly or religious vocation to talk to their pastor and become active volunteers in their parishes.

He emphasized that for people who are called to them, the Priesthood and religious life are paths to abundant happiness and joy.

“That has certainly been true for me,” he said.

“We take delight”

“Fr. Kenneth,” Fr. Merz asked his friend at the jubilee celebration, “did you know that Christ, the Wisdom of God, takes delight in you, His humble and long-serving priest?

“Did you know that He has collected all of your tears, rejoiced in all of your triumphs, held you close in all of your struggles, and forgiven all of your sins?

“On this anniversary of your Priesthood, the great High Priest sanctifies for you your endurance, character and hope of these 60 years.

“Today, we all take delight in your Priesthood!”