Readings: 2 Samuel 5:1-3; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43 I’d often asked myself why we celebrate Christ as King in an era when we’ve either overthrown kings or reduced them to figure heads. But then we still tell children stories about kings, while our fantasy movies may depict kings in faraway places and times. They even show up […]

Readings: Sirach 50:20-24; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Abbot Joseph Wittstock presiding and preaching. It is a non-work day and we follow the Sunday schedule; Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament will follow Vespers (5:30 PM)

Readings: 2 Samuel 5:1-3; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. James presiding and preaching. Please make other plans for Sunday Mass; once our retreatants are seated, there is no practical room for other visitors and no flexibility for late comers. Communion is a traffic disaster. If anyone had […]

Readings: Malachi 3:19-20; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. Vincent Collins presiding and preaching. Last Sunday, fewer visitors assisted at the Sunday Mass in our cramped quarters and the celebration was more manageable. Under the circumstances, our mode of celebration is very much a work-in-progress, and […]

Readings: 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke 20:27-18 I’m sure we’ve all seen and enjoyed those cartoons depicting various scenes of heaven, with winged folks reclining on puffy clouds, strumming their harps or anxiously standing before Saint Peter at the so-called “pearly gates” seeking entry. Interestingly, some of the apocalyptic writings of the […]

Yesterday at the community Mass, Fr. Vincent offered a petition for Fr. Robert’s health as he enters a new phase of treatment. Fr. Robert has been suffering from double vision and balance problems. The latest C-scan shows that there are cancer cells in his brain and his oncologist recommended radiation as possible treatment. Fr. Robert has […]

Readings: 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke 20:27-38 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Abbot Joseph Wittstock presiding and preaching. We have a full Retreat House and all the guests will be assisting at Sunday Mass and they will just about fill the Chapter Room. Mass is open to the […]

Readings: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12a I grew up in a religious culture that often asked, “How does one become a saint?” The presupposition was that there was a procedure that could produce that effect. The question was abstract and generalized. I believe that the New Testament asks a very different question: […]

One who is loved has nothing to fear. Since I love, I cannot doubt that I am loved, anymore than I can doubt that I love. Nor can I fear to look on his face, since I have sensed his tenderness. In what have I known it? In this–not only has he sought me as […]

Readings: Wisdom 3:1-9; Romans 5:5-11; John 5:24-29 The community Mass is celebrated at 7:00 AM, Abbot Joseph Wittstock presiding. At 2:00 PM a special form of Midday Prayer is celebrated in the monastic cemetery, just east of the Abbey.