Fr. Thomas Gricoski, OSB

Monk-Senior

Title: Student
Born: September 11, 1980
Professed: August 6, 2006

Prior Work/Life Experience:
Raised in eastern Pennsylvania, I went to the University of Scranton to study
philosophy. One summer I lived as a guest at Mount Saviour Monastery in upstate New York for a month. Another summer I worked in the IT department of a phone company. Then I became a seminarian for the Diocese of Scranton, which sent me to study at the American College in Louvain, Belgium. During those two years I became more engrossed in philosophy, and earned the master's degree. In 2004 I lived in a parishto experience more closely what it would be like to be a diocesan priest. During that year I realized that God was calling me to seek Him in the monastery.

Education History:

• 2002, BA, Philosophy, University of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania
• 2004, MA, Philosophy, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
• 2010, MDiv, Saint Meinrad Seminary, St. Meinrad, Indiana.
• 2010-present, enrolled as doctoral student in philosophy at Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium

Work in the Monastery:
For four years my primary work in the monastery was completing the MDiv degree in our seminary in preparation for priesthood. During that time I also directed retreats,
met with Oblates at their Chapter Meetings throughout the local area, and helped to coordinate liturgical ceremonies in the monastery. My new assignment is to go back to school to earn a PhD in philosophy, and then return to teach in our seminary.

Other Interests:
Computers and technology, icon prayer and Eastern Christian spirituality, the ancient desert monks, pens and inks, somber movies and music.

What Attracted Me to Monastic Life:
The interior life of prayer that a monk can cultivate in the monastery, the communal life of brotherly support, and the monastic tradition of study and scholarship. After struggling to remain centered on Christ while working as a seminarian in active parish ministry, I realized that unless prayer comes first it won't come at all. The monastery is a place where I can pray, where God may speak in the silence and through my brothers, where guests and students walk away with a renewed sense of God's presence in their lives. I enjoy the fact that you can do your work deliberately without frantically rushing all the time, and, that by walking slowly around the Hill, you can meet Christ and take in everything God has to say in the moment. The monastery is rich in tradition, all the way back to the early Church, when Christ, the Incarnation, His Passion and Resurrection were so real and near that men and women fled the cities to seek and praise God constantly. The life of vows, a permanent commitment to Christ and his Church, like marriage vows, can keep you on the narrow way that leads to salvation.