Good beginnings don’t always translate into positive and successful endings. Saul, who seemed at his anointing to be such a promising future king, ended his days in ignominy—taking his own life rather than be killed by his enemies on Mount Gilboa. In contrast, Matthew begins his Christian discipleship with the disadvantage of being a despised […]

After a good washing, our monastic robes can appear dazzlingly white and contrast dramatically with our black scapulars. However, on more than one occasion when I have been out in the snow, I have not failed to notice that our otherwise white robes appear to be a definite off-white, cream, color in comparison with the […]

Although the genealogy of Jesus, we have just heard, is more representative and symbolic than literal, it nevertheless reminds us that God is perfectly aware of each one of our genealogies. As such he is familiar with every single influence (transmitted through our forebears), that made us the persons we were at our birth—genetically, physically, […]

Whatever pleasures are associated with drunkenness and carousing, these ignoble pursuits are not infrequently indulged in the effort to escape the present moment. The vigilance enjoined upon us by Christ can thus be thought of as being attentive to the present moment—even when it bears with it thoughts, feelings, and demands that are aversive and […]

Last evening many celebrated Halloween by dressing up in costumes that allowed them to temporarily assume different identities—some of these were intended to be scary, others just plain funny or ridiculous. A Masquerade Ball offers similar opportunities for concealing one’s identity and, as it were, stepping out from what some experience as the burden of […]

True familiarity with Christ inevitably transforms us into his likeness. Thus, to say that we know Christ without reflecting his likeness (even if not yet perfectly) is a contradiction in terms. Worship, prayer, and a life lived in conscious awareness of his presence are the usual contexts for this transformation. Nevertheless, it is quite possible […]

Abiding inner peace is an apparently elusive state and, typically, whatever peace does momentarily settle in our unsettled hearts is all too easily disturbed by people and circumstances outside ourselves. Accordingly, when in a state of inner peace, we encounter someone who is aggressive, angry, or irritated, our peace which was perhaps radiating from us, […]

Childhood fantasies and dreams of spiritual heroism often give way—in later life—to reality, disappointment, disillusionment, and spiritual stagnation. The life of Teresa, who as a child ran away from home in her quest for martyrdom among the Moors, followed this trajectory. After entering the Monastery of the Incarnation, she found herself gradually settling into a […]

The citizens of Capernaum’s prideful quest for exaltation will result (according to Jesus in today’s gospel), with their ignominious descent into the netherworld. That is somewhere near where the Babylonian exiles found themselves, burdened with what the text describes as their being flushed with shame—this shame reflecting, perhaps, their now wounded pridefulness. The “Little Way” […]

In situations requiring difficult decisions, we sometimes ask ourselves: What would Jesus do? In our daily conversations it might be equally helpful to ask: What would Jesus say? Or, expressed differently, would I be saying the same thing (I am saying now) if Jesus were literally/physically present? Well, the fact is that Jesus is always […]