There are occasions when, as monks, we look back nostalgically to earlier and seemingly holier and more ideal periods of monastic life in particular and the church in general. Saint Paul’s warning to the presbyters of Ephesus about savage wolves who will pervert the truth and who will come from among their own members […]
READINGS FOR FRIDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK OF EASTER
Unacknowledged and unresolved inner conflicts have a way of spilling over into our interpersonal relationships and damaging them. The unfortunate Sosthenes experienced this firsthand as he was cruelly used by the crowd to vent their anger and frustration at Gallio’s refusal to deal with their case against Paul. This clear example of what psychologists call […]
From the Abbot’s Lectio Notebook
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter (Mass readings): The destructive effect of envy and jealousy is well illustrated in our first reading—resulting not only in the expulsion of Paul and Barnabas, but also in the suppressing of the Good News. Few, if any of us, are completely free of envy and jealousy whereby we not […]