In reflecting on today’s gospel, Saint Angela of Foligno, commented: See how Christ gave Himself as an example. Jesus told us to look at Him with the eyes of our souls. God said: “Learn from me. I am gentle. My soul is humble. You’ll find rest for your hearts here.” Pay attention to what Christ […]

The choices of every moment and the actions of every day, are gradually forming the attitude and state of mind with which we will face death. King Antiochus ends his life in misery and regret for all the evils he set in motion and this stands in sharp contrast to someone like the saintly Simeon […]

The Good Shepherd who goes in search of the stray sheep while leaving the other ninety-nine in the desert is a good image for ourselves in seeking out and reclaiming aspects of our true identity lost or severely impaired by enslavement to sin. This is a difficult and painful process and we would prefer to […]

As we know, it is not only the Pharisees who are filled with plunder and evil; each one of us has to make this same painful discovery in the progress of our self-knowledge. Saint Teresa was no exception and her inward scrutiny of her heart and soul was especially thorough and unsparing. However, in the […]

Viewing a Wrentham documentary in the novitiate the other day, we heard Mother Maureen affirm that Cistercian life is one hundred percent community and one hundred percent solitude. This seemingly contradictory statement finds an echo in today’s gospel where we read of Jesus praying in solitude and the disciples were with him. Now, if we […]

As Christians striving to imitate the self-giving and self-sacrificing love of Christ, we forget that receiving help and allowing others to serve us is integral to being Christ’s disciples. Although Jesus insisted that he had come to serve and not to be served, there were occasions when he did allow others to minister to and […]

The old adage, actions speak louder than words lies at the heart of striving to set a good example for others to follow. However, good example will only be followed by those possessing a humble and sincere desire for the good. Those who have little or no love for what is good and virtuous will […]

The call of Judas highlights the great mystery of grace and its complex interaction with human free will. Judas was called to be an apostle and not a traitor—despite some claims to the contrary. But instead of ensuring a deeper union with Christ, it resulted in his treacherous betrayal. Might he perhaps have been spared […]

The “new wine” of the Cistercian Reform was wisely placed in the new wineskin of Cîteaux—the so-called “New Monastery.” However, eventually this new wineskin itself became old and subsequent reforms were needed to create new wineskins for new generations of monks and nuns fired by that same early spirit and vision. In our own lives, […]

As long as heaven consists of an infinite array of gifts, pleasures, and good things, then the entrance into heaven of someone who has a deathbed conversion will seem manifestly unjust to us who have labored long and hard on our Christian pilgrimage. However, if heaven is not about things but about God and entering […]