Readings: Jeremiah 3:14-17; Matthew 13:18-23 I will appoint you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you wisely and prudently… Jeremiah But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold… Matthew Both readings this […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the 16th Sunday of the Year
Professional burnout is something that we have grown more sensitive to, not only in the secular world but also within the church and within monasticism. Spending oneself in loving and self-giving service to others can be life-giving, but when imprudently done can also drain us and leave us empty, listless, and unable to function. And […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the 15th Sunday, Year B
Readings: Amos 7:12-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13 By most any standard, Jesus is sending out the Twelve to preach repentance with scant resources. That’s quite a challenge. Have you noticed that this is only Chapter Six of Mark’s Gospel, which has sixteen chapters in all. Yes, we’re beyond the beginning, but we’re not even half […]
Reflection on Thursday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Hosea 11:1-4, 8c-9; Matthew 10:7-15 Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. I think monks and nuns can often labor under a burden of positive projection. Not from their own communities, of course, but from the neighbors and guests whom we serve–or just brush up against. We can be seen […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the Feast of Saint Benedict
Every now and again, either in our choir books or one of the mass sheets, the quality of the printing is less than perfect. This is partly because the page in question is sometimes a copy of a copy of a copy! And with each process of copying the quality slowly deteriorates until there is […]
Reflection on the 14th Monday, Year Two
Readings: Hosea 2:1b, 17c-18, 21-22; Matthew 9:18-26 A couple of Sundays ago, we heard St. Mark’s version of this episode. Today, St. Matthew concentrates the story (only 8 verses as opposed to Mark’s 22) but deflates the drama: the girl is already dead before the story begins. In either version, the faith of the father […]
The Solemnity of St. Benedict, Wednesday, 11 July
The community will be celebrated at 10:00 AM rather than after Lauds (7:00 AM) because it is a major Solemnity and we observe the Sunday Schedule for a non-work day. Abbot Joseph will preside and preach at the Mass and Vespers (5:30 PM) will be followed by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Reflection on the Mass Readings of Monday of the Thirteenth Week
Readings: Amos 2:6-10, 13-16; Matthew 8:18-22 I find in interesting that I’ve never heard an American fundamentalist quote todays Gospel: that the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head. It’s as inconvenient to a suburban Christian life-style as what Jesus says about divorce. I could say much the same about Amos’ condemnation of […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday, Year B
Readings: Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mark 5:21-43 Little Lamb, arise. This is what Jesus’ words, the Aramaic, Talitha koum, literally mean–a beautiful, gentle expression. Another beautiful quote, much less obvious, is Jesus question, Who has touched my clothes? How is that beautiful? It is addressed to a woman whose malady, the […]
Reflection for the Gospel of Wednesday of the Twelfth Week, Year Two
Readings: 2 Kings 22:8-13, 23:3-5; Matthew 7:15-20 By their fruits you will know them. We continue to hear Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount and today’s warning about false prophets adds a nuance to the warning from a couple of days ago about our judging. That was not an invitation to passivity or […]