Lauds: 8:00 AM Christmas Day Mass: 10:00 AM Midday Prayer: 12:20 PM Vespers: 5:30 PM followed by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament Compline: 7:30 PM
Dom Joseph’s Homily for the Night Mass of Christmas, 8:30 PM, 24 December, 2017
Readings: Isaiah 9:1-7; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14 We have probably all had the experience of purchasing–or receiving–some sophisticated gadget or other and then needed to diligently consult the instruction manual in order to use it. However, for some devices or appliances an instruction manual is not sufficient and, instead, requires an actual expert to come […]
Christmas Masses
24 December: Fourth Sunday of Advent: 10:00 AM A Recital of Carols at 7:45-8:15 PM in the Mansion (Cool Spring House) by Madeline MacNeil; all are welcome to attend Christmas Night Mass: 8:30 PM 25 December: Christmas Day Mass: 10:00 AM
A Word From The Cistercian Fathers For Christmas
Above all else, we must seek faith, of which we read: purifying their hearts by faith. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Entrust yourself, therefore, to God. Commit yourself to him. Cast your thought on him and he shall sustain you so that you may say with confidence and faith […]
Dom Joseph’s Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, 17 December, 2017
Readings: Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28 The lives of the saints are a source of inspiration and encouragement to many Christians in their own struggles to grow in love of Christ. And for this reason we more easily identify with those saints who struggled as we do and are perhaps less […]
Closed For The Holidays: Reservations for the Retreat House
Carol Hensley’s Office will be closed for the Christmas Holidays from Wednesday, 20 December, and will not reopen until Thursday, 28 December. During those days you will not be able to contact Carol or make a reservation for the Retreat House. We would recommend waiting until 28 December to make any calls; although Carol has […]
Christmas Schedule at Holy Cross Abbey
Christmas Eve, Sunday, 24 December, 2017: 10:00 AM: Mass of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B 5:30 PM: First Vespers of the Nativity of the Lord (followed by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament) 7:45-8:15 PM: Recital of Christmas Carols by Madeline MacNeil in Cool Spring House (the Mansion) 8:30 PM: Vigils and Christmas […]
Fr. James Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year B, 10 December, 2017
Readings: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8 Faced with my favorite passage from Isaiah and the opening of Mark’s Gospel, which always moves me, I was wondering where to begin. There’s too much richness here. What jumped at me from both readings was the desert setting; would anyone else describe these passages as […]
Dom Joseph’s Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, 3 December, 2017
Readings: Isaiah 63:16-17, 64:1, 3-8; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37 If you’ve ever received a speeding fine, you will know that the reason you were caught was because the State Trooper had cleverly hidden his vehicle so that by the time you saw it, it was too late. This same sense of entrapping us in […]
Round fruitcakes nearly sold out, but plenty of loaf cakes
If you are coming to the Gift Shop specifically to get the traditional, larger, 2.25 lb round fruitcake, you might want to come sooner rather than later, as the Gift Shop expects to sell out of that size over the coming weekend. If the Gift Shop does sell out and you strongly prefer to have […]