In the past few weeks, Abbot Robert had another CT Scan on his bones and a Brian Scan. The results are encouraging: there are no signs of cancer or blood clots in his lungs and no cancer has spread to his bones or brain. There are side effects from the medication, primarily swelling of his […]
Lay Cistercian Visitation, Saturday, 20 June, 2015
This past Saturday, Fr. Robert conducted the annual Visitation of our Lay Cistercians. He reports, “I enjoyed meeting with each of the Lay Cistercians and am able to affirm how much they have matured spiritually in their own vocation. They are becoming more solid in their calling from God. Maryle Ashley was chosen to continue […]
“Laudato Si”: Pope Francis’ Encyclical
I’m tempted to quote, clown that I am, Monty Python’s “Now for something totally different”. But this isn’t the time or topic for clowning! I simply want to note that posts about the vocation crisis are not concluded but need to defer to a series on the Encyclical “Laudato Si”. Cultural Context of the Intended […]
Twelfth Sunday, Year B, 21 June, 2015 (and the following week)
Readings: Job 38:1, 8-11; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Abbot Robert Barnes presiding and preaching. Fr. Robert will leave Sunday afternoon for Our Lady of the Angels, the monastery of our sisters at Crozet, Virginia. Between 21 June and 1 July, Abbot Robert will substitute as the […]
July availability in the Retreat House
There is still very good availability on all weekdays and weekends in July. Even on those muggy or stormy summer days, our guests are refreshed by the awesome views down the valley or the dramatic storms that provide an ever-changing spectacle–viewed from the comfort of an air conditioned retreat house. The Abbey’s services, filled by […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the Eleventh Sunday, Year B, 14 June, 2015
Readings: Ezekiel 17:22-24; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34 Today’s First Reading, as well as the Gospel, directs our imagination to the image of a sheltering tree. Centuries of interpretation nudge us to think immediately of the Church. I’m not denying that application but such a correlation could be as lifeless as it is unquestioning. When […]
The Eleventh Sunday, Year B, 14 June, 2015
Readings: Ezekiel 17:22-14; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. James presiding and preaching.
Fr. Joseph’s Homily for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart
Readings: Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9; Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19; John 19:31-37 The dictionary defines “sacrilege” as the profanation of the sacred. And thus for the Christian there is a sense in which all sin can be said to be a form of sacrilege in which the sacred temple that each one of us is, is defiled […]
The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 12 June, 2015
This is an overdue post but one still worth publishing. The community Mass was celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. Joseph Wittstock presiding and preaching. The Mass concluded with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. Following Midday Prayer, the community retired to the refectory for a festive dinner. Yesterday had been the Memorial of St. […]
The Vocation Crisis: Where Is Hope In All This? Part Four
I haven’t been trying to build up tension before posting this fourth part of this consideration on the current vocation crisis in consecrated life. The delay could have been a pedagogical tool to let the data sink in and to let readers, monastic and non-monastic alike, assess their situations and realize that there are similar […]