Readings Ezekiel 12:1-12; Matthew 18:21-19:1 I don’t think that the first debtor in today’s parable realizes that he’s been forgiven. My suspicion is that he only understands that his strategy was successful. Perhaps he’s the sort of individual who feels he shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of his choices. I say this because he […]

Saints are spiritual heroes we look up to and yet while they offer encouragement and inspiration they can also be intimidating in their radical commitment to Christ. And so we may find ourselves more inclined to admire rather than emulate them. This is because some of the saints seem to have been fearless, resolute, unwavering, […]

Readings: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 Peter 1:16-19; Mark 9:2-10 As the days become noticeably shorter, the sun rising and setting further to the south, we celebrate the feast of Christ’s Transfiguration, when the supra-essential light of his divinity transforms the limits of his humanity. This year we celebrate the feast with Saint Mark’s Gospel in […]

Readings: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15; Ephesians 4:17, 20-24; John 6:24-35 Had the Gospel passage ended last Sunday as we celebrated it in the liturgy, we would have had a very nice, if challenging, story about Jesus multiplying loaves and fishes for hungry people, eager to hear his word. Even if it ended as it continues today, it […]

Readings: Jeremiah 13:1-11; Matthew 13:31-35 Mid-May through Mid-August is bird nesting season in the Shenandoah Valley. After the Assumption, the nests are empty and abandoned. If you search them out you may be amazed, as I first had been, to find some just a foot or two off the ground built into the lightest of […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]