Monasteries and monastic life are frequently associated with peace and calm. Accordingly, some are drawn to enter a monastery in the quest for inner peace and happiness. To their surprise and dismay, they discover that monastic life initially seems to rob them of the little peace they may have possessed. Then, misunderstanding what is really […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the Ascension
It is perhaps necessary to remind ourselves that the period between Christ’s resurrection and ascension that we have been celebrating these last six weeks was not some kind of transitional existence in which he was no longer in the world and yet not quite in heaven either—and thus the need for the Ascension. Instead, this […]
Thursday of the 6th Week of Easter
Jesus’ telling his disciples: A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me, is reminiscent of the Bride’s lament in the Song of Songs, as she longingly seeks her beloved who has escaped her grasp. As nuns and monks, we can closely identify […]
A Word from Our Cistercian Fathers
I believe that some of our brothers can still be found alive today who listened with me to our blessed father and teacher [St Bernard] praise the nobility of silence, one of her greatest gifts, in Mary, mother of God, and greatest of all women. In all the holy gospels we find her words a […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter
25 May, 2025, 6th Sunday of Easter, Year C: Acts15:1-2, 22-29; Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23; John 14:23-29 In only seven verses, today’s Gospel covers an immense territory, from fidelity to Jesus’s teaching, to intimacy with God, to the promise of the Holy Spirit AND the Spirit’s role in our understanding; to the peace that only Jesus […]
Saturday of the 4th Week of Easter
Certain spiritualities tend towards associating the so-called God of the Old Testament with God the Father—a God who often depicted as wrathful and punishing. And, in contrast, we have Christ as revealed in the gospels—one who is merciful and forgiving and who, as it were, stays the vengeful hand of God the Father. However, in […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter
4 May, 2025, Third Sunday of Easter, Year C: Acts 5:27-32. 40b-41; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19 I draw your attention to Jesus’ question to Peter: Do you love me? For several weeks we’ve celebrated a pageant of betrayal, misunderstanding, suffering, injustice, cruelty, fidelity of the few—and the unexpected miracle of resurrection. Isn’t it so easy […]
Feast of Saints James and Philip
It is unclear (at least to me) whether Philip’s show us the Father, and that will be enough for is, is just simple curiosity, or the affirmation of a profound truth. This truth is one that we struggle to truly believe and act on. So much of our spiritual efforts involve letting go of those […]
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Saturday of the Easter Octave
It is a totally transformed and emboldened Peter who courageously defies the members of the Sanhedrin and exclaims that it is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard. This “impossibility” of which Peter speaks can be understood in two ways. Firstly, in the sense in which Peter intended it. […]