Readings: Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18 Although Midnight Mass can pose problems for parents with young children, as sleep patterns are disturbed by staying up late, or waking up in the middle of the night, from a liturgical point of view it might be worth the effort–at least as far as the scripture readings […]
The Feast of the Holy Family, 27 December, 2015
Readings: 1 Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 2:41-52 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. James presiding and preaching.
Fr. Robert’s Homily for the Christmas Mass at Night
Readings: Isaiah 9:1-7; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14 Christ mas is a very emotional time for people. We are, by our human make-up, emotional persons and our feelings stand out at Christmas as at no other time of the year. Does anyone behave at the feast of the Lord’s resurrection the way we do at Christmas? […]
Thomas Merton and the Monk as a Marginal Person, Part 6
You may recall that the 100th anniversary of Thomas Merton’s birth was commemorated at Holy Cross Abbey on Sunday, 15 November of this year. It had only been on 13th November that the terrorist action in Paris had occurred. One of the participant’s shared the experience of her grandson asking how something like that could […]
Fourth Sunday of Advent, 20 December, 2015
Readings: Micah 5:1-4; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-44 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. Joseph Wittstock presiding and preaching
Available Rooms at the Retreat House this Weekend
There are still four openings available at the Retreat House for this weekend, Friday, 18 December through Sunday, 20 December. It’s a fine time to get away from the nonsense of the year’s end commercialism and refocus yourself spiritually. To make a reservation you may telephone Carol Hensley at 540-955-4383 or email her at information@hcava.org
Merton: The Monk as a Marginal Person, Part Five
It’s time to conclude these musings and, as I mentioned at the end of the last post, this entry will address three questions. The questions were posed by three participants at the Merton celebration and, I hope, will be relevant to our readers. Of course, I have to take responsibility for the responses. Thomas Merton […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent
Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18 The entrance antiphon, the first two readings, the responsorial psalm all exhort us to rejoice. But in today’s Gospel, the words “rejoice” or “joy” don’t even appear. Instead we find John the Baptist responding to the crowd’s questions with demanding replies. We are only told that these people […]
CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE
The Night Mass, Christmas Eve, Thursday, 24 December, 2015/ 8:00 PM: Christmas Carols sung by Madeline MacNeil accompanying herself on the hammered dulcimer Christmas Eve, Thursday, 24 December, 2015/8:30 PM Christmas Night Mass integrated with Vigils, Abbot Robert presiding and preaching The Day Mass, Christmas Day, Friday, 25 December, 2015 11:00 AM: The Christmas […]
Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday), 13 December, 2015
Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. James presiding and preaching.