As we monks know, Saint Benedict warns against obedience that is cringing or sluggish or half-hearted, or that is carried out with grumbling or any reaction of unwillingness. According to these criteria Jonah’s obedience was not pleasing to God. And yet, as we have been hearing these last few days, the Lord was able to […]

It is a rare soul that sets a hand to the plow and never looks to what was left behind. For some, this looking back results in their leaving the monastery and returning to the world. For others, it is less radical and can involve a gradual weakening of their resolve to follow Christ wholeheartedly. […]

As Cistercians we know—perhaps more so than most religious—what Paul describes as our toil and drudgery. Like Saint Paul our daily manual labors are an attempt to support ourselves and not be a burden on the generosity of others. And although this doesn’t mean that everything that we do by way of our daily work […]

Greatness and littleness, grammatically speaking, are opposites; however, in our Christian understanding greatness and littleness are, paradoxically, not only complementary, but actually inseparable. As such they parallel Saint Paul’s insistence that, for the true disciple, weakness is a prerequisite for strength, and “foolishness” a precondition for the full flowering of Wisdom. Confirming the Apostle’s teaching, […]

The saddening observation (in today’s gospel) that Jesus did not work many mighty deeds at Nazareth because of their lack of faith, highlights the close connection between faith and free will. For, as faith in God deepens, so does our freedom to trust God and open our hearts to receive his love. Conversely, weak or […]

More than one saint who didn’t die a martyr’s death strongly desired to do so. James and John, in today’s gospel, seem very eager to do so—even if only to secure a special place at Jesus’ right and left. And Jesus does seem to promise them both the grace of martyrdom with his assurance that […]

Enemies, and those we really don’t like, occur on a common spectrum—from the one who seeks to violently take my life, to the one whose entire being irritates and tries my patience and charity to the extreme. And whereas the former is, fortunately, rarely encountered, the latter is virtually inescapable at some juncture in our […]

Looking back is one of the preconditions for gratitude—gratitude to God and gratitude towards one another. However, looking back with a morbid regret and sense of shame that excludes forgiving oneself as well as accepting God’s forgiveness, traps us in the past and like Lot’s wife, looking back renders us powerless to move forward. Aware […]

God’s answer to Abram’s question: How am I to know that I shall possess this land, is anything but clear or precise. Instead, he falls into a deep trance and is enveloped by a deep and terrifying darkness that calls for a surrender in loving trust to the Lord who called and brought him from […]

Hate, malice, anger, and envy, all have the potential to bind people together in pursuit of a common cause. However, this unity is a false and fragile one that can easily fracture into violent factions which then turn on each other. Thus, the seething hate and malice that Paul aroused bound the Pharisees and Sadducees […]