Br. Edmund Maria, F.SS.R. – Seton Alumni at Holy Apostles

Fifteen years ago I began my junior year at Seton Home Study School, resolving to manage my time better than the year before. Living on a 36-acre farm just outside Kansas City, I was the eldest of six children of the DeMoss family and a full-time Seton student from kindergarten onward (I still find myself humming catechism songs from Seton’s cassette for Kindergarten Religion.)

As I began my junior year, little did I realize that fifteen years later I would be a professed monk of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, a missionary-monastic Congregation in the spirit of St. Alphonsus de Liguori and St. Columba of Iona. Nor did I realize that I would be living on a monastic island off the north coast of Scotland and beginning my second year of philosophy with Holy Apostles College and Seminary.

Holy Apostles has provided the Congregation with an excellent opportunity to provide in-house seminary studies, enabling me and my confreres to prepare for priestly ordination while continuing to live the monastic horarium.

Introduction to Philosophy

In my final year of studies with Seton, I was first exposed to philosophy by a very short but informative first chapter of Anne Carroll’s book Following Christ in the World, introducing me to Parmenides, Heraclitus, Aristotle, being and change, substance, and accident. I found it fascinating, and I have found philosophy fascinating ever since.

Now at Holy Apostles, I am really enjoying wrestling with the challenging philosophical questions that come up in courses such as Ethics, Philosophy of Nature, and Metaphysics. I greatly appreciate Holy Apostles’ emphasis on the teachings of Aristotle and St. Thomas while also raising awareness of modern philosophy and issues with it. Thanks to Seton’s rigorous writing and English grammar courses, writing discussion posts and papers at Holy Apostles has been a breeze, enabling me to focus on seminary studies.

The flexibility of studying with Holy Apostles has allowed me to continue participating in the common prayers of the monastery. I have begun gaining experience in the apostolate by broadcasting notices and devotions on the Transalpine Redemptorists live stream mission on YouTube. I also enjoy taking an active part in the manual labor of the monastery – maintenance, farming, repairing machinery, cooking…you name it!

In the family photo are my parents, my five younger siblings, three of their spouses, and my five nieces and nephews. All of my siblings were also homeschooled using the Seton program. I received my clerical tonsure at the hands of His Excellency Bishop Robert Finn on September 24, 2021.

Devotedly,
Br. Edmund Maria, F.SS.R.
Seton Home Study School graduate – Class of 2009