This is probably my final post on the Encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home. I do realize that I may have worn our my welcome a few posts back. And then, with Pope Francis long ago arrived at and departed from these shores, I must seem to be beating a dead horse.  Worse still, […]

I thought it might be worth while, especially after Pope Francis’ visit to the United States, to quote in full the two prayers that conclude the encyclical, Laudato Si’. The Holy Father is a plain-spoken man who does not express himself in the abstractions of “ecclesialese”. His two prayers are more comprehensible than a number […]

The final Chapter of Pope Francis’ Encyclical is entitled Ecological Education and Spirituality. After reviewing the enormity of the challenges facing us, the serious damage we have done–continue to do–that is, after acknowledging how destructive we can be, Pope Francis reminds us that as human beings we also have an incredible capacity for change, for good, […]

We’ve noticed over the past decades that everyone wants a reservation at the Retreat House during October. And we never wonder why: the weather is ideal, the humidity is low, the frost has come and pollen and gnats have disappeared…And perhaps the changing foliage has something to do with it too. Even rainy days feel cozy and […]

  Ten men will spend two full days with the monastic community starting today.  This Monastic Immersion Weekend, our seventh since beginning a few years ago, will welcome our 100th participant since the program began. Above are just two items participants receive-one for fun (the hat, obviously) and one serious, the Abbey Crucifix which is […]

In his introduction to his Encyclical, Pope Francis mentions that certain themes will reappear in the various chapters, each time viewing them from a different perspective or context. I hope it strikes even a casual reader how frequently he quotes teaching on caring for the environment from the various national conferences of bishops. Apart from […]

This post continues a guide to reading the encyclical, picking up at Chapter Three. Chapter Three: The Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis. In a challenging Encyclical, this may be a big hurdle for many Americans. If you follow the European press on this topic, you’ll find the explanation to European readers again and again, “…in the […]

Because there have been five cancellations for the MIW and for the first time we don’t have a waiting list, the brothers have agreed to open the September 11-13, 2015 MIW to women also to participate.. Usually we have a men/women MIW in the Spring and a men’s in September.  But with so many open […]

This post will not be conceptual, as have been the previous posts on Pope Francis’ Encyclical, but more organizational. In what sense.? Given that the conventional printed format, the text runs some 177 pages. The average reader may find it daunting to read it straight through. It could help to focus on what interests you the […]

We actually call each Monastic Immersion Weekend group a ‘class’ since we only have two MIWs a year.  We also say, after you attend that you have been ‘crossed’ because you receive a new Holy Cross Abbey crucifix from the Abbot your first night here in a fairly moving ceremony at the high altar in […]