Readings: 2 Kings 17:5-8,13-15a, 18; Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus said to his disciples, “Stop judging so you will not be judged.” This is the teaching of Jesus that we all wrestle with, that none of us can master. I often celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation in any given week and whether it’s penitents coming to me, […]

In the world of cartoons things like vacuum cleaners are credited with a life of their own and endowed with the ability to choose their actions. Now apart from the fact that vacuum cleaners don’t have brains—even though some may be programmable—they are totally dependent on being connected to an electrical outlet capable of delivering […]

Readings: Genesis 3:9-15; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35 The scribes in today’s Gospel seem to view the demonic as an exterior force of quantifiable power that could be enlisted like a military reserve. Perhaps their notion of God is equally externalized–and equally threatening. Yet God dwells in each of us and is the foundation of […]

Some of my childhood memories include returning from a funeral or wedding that took place in a non-Catholic Church and hearing my parents comment on how empty the church felt because of the absence of the Blessed Sacrament. The great feast we celebrate today confirms that this feeling is more than just imagination and that […]

Readings: Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9; Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19; John 19:31-37 The community Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM, Fr. Vincent presiding and preaching. It is a non-work day for the monastic community, so we follow the Sunday schedule with Midday Prayer at 12:20 PM (rather than at 2:00 PM). Because Benediction concludes the 10:00 […]

Readings: Exodus 24:3-8; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 The Community Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM, Abbot Joseph Wittstock presiding and preaching. Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament begins immediately after Communion. Members of the community will keep watch in the church in 30 minute periods from Mass though Vespers (5:30 PM). Vespers will […]

Readings: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20 Since Advent we’ve been celebrating events from the life of Christ. This Sunday, it’s as if we’re looking beyond that personal history to the background of eternity against which those scenes are played out. It might be better to describe what we celebrate today as the foundation […]

Not too many miles from here, the Wright Brothers realized a long-cherished dream—that of taking flight and, however briefly, severing the heavy gravitational forces binding us to the earth. Space travel and the desire to explore distant galaxies is a further expression of this fundamental human longing to transcend the limits of earthly existence. Spiritually, […]

Readings: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17 You’ve probably noticed that during the Easter Season we soon abandon the Gospels narrating Jesus’ Resurrection to return to his controversial ministry which, you could say, precipitated his death. This really isn’t explained by the limited number of resurrection accounts or that the Easter Season, […]

Faith, whether by word or sign, opens the eyes and ears of the heart. Those who believe are said to see and hear because faith is a light and a word. It is light, in accordance with what the Apostle says, God who told the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our […]