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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]