After Ailred became Abbot, his life was rather uneventful by our standards; but less so by the standards of his time because he had to travel annually to Citeaux for the General Chapter of Abbots and conduct visitations to Rievaulx’s various foundations. During his journeys, he might be asked on occasion to preach in a cathedral […]

The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM. The Principal Celebrant and Homilist is Fr. Vincent Collins. Vespers will be celebrated at 5:30 PM followed by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament (beginning at approximately 5:55 PM). All are welcome to attend.

Needless to say, Holy Cross Abbey is not the only Catholic Community concerned about sustainability. A future post will consider the papal awareness of  the ecological crisis and what needs to be done. Without going into details now, suffice it to say that Pope Benedict XVI is acutely aware of the impact of climate change and […]

The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM; Abbot Robert Barnes will preside and preach. Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament will follow Vespers. Vespers is celebrated at 5:30 PM; Benediction begins at approximately 5:50 PM.

In a post for April 3, I introduced the topic of water and the medieval Cistercian conservation of water systems. I also sketched out the connection between such practices to our spirituality. What St. James wrote of faith and works is not irrelevant: “I will prove to you that I have faith by showing you […]

Ailred (his name is also spelt “Aelred”, the actual, non-Latinized spelling was “Ethelred” ) was born around 1110 in Hexham, Northumbria, close to the Scottish border. His father was the priest Eliaf, a canon of the cathedral. Even at this late date, there were legally married priests; the Gregorian reform from the previous century, promoting the innovation of […]

The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM; Fr. James Orthmann will be the Principal Celebrant and Homilist. This Sunday brings to a close the Easter Octave and concludes the celebration of Easter Sunday which we began at the Easter Vigil last Saturday night. May the graces of this blessed season remain with us […]

Every week, almost every day, prayer requests are sent to this website. What happens to them? They are posted for the community’s awareness on our bulletin board with the other prayer requests we receive. How are they posted? As discretely as possible to communicate your intention and respect the privacy and identity of all involved. […]

The Church celebrates the Easter Octave this week. “Octave” is from the Latin word for “eight” and an Octave is an eight day celebration. Strictly speaking, we will be celebrating Easter Day from this Sunday through next Sunday, a way of acknowledging that the Resurrection, and our experience of the Resurrection in the sacraments is […]

Father Abbot and the monks at Holy Cross wish you all the joy and peace of the Resurrection as we celebrate the Easter Octave. You are in our prayers.