Readings: Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40 St. Luke’s Gospel describes no Magi to whom the infant Christ is manifested but he does narrate today’s Presentation of that Infant in the Temple. Everyone in this scene is Jewish and through them this appearance announces Christ to the world. Cognizant of the Jewish Prophets, especially Isaiah, […]
A Word From The Cistercian Fathers For February
When a man comes to himself, be it because he turns to sense-knowledge, to desire or to reason, (yes, even though he should make such progress that he strips off all likeness to brute beasts and clothes himself in man’s true nature) he neither escapes the night nor enters completely into the daylight. My soul is […]
Humility in the Rule of St. Benedict, continued
Our Lord, by his human incarnation and his divine resurrection, has totally transformed our relationship to himself and to our heavenly Father. Even the fear of God, which had been the focus of past posts, has a richer, more profound meaning for us in the life and words of Jesus. A loving fear of God […]
Feast of the Presentation, 2 February, 2014
The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. James Orthmann presiding and preaching. It is the first Sunday of the month and the monthly Eucharistic Adoration will begin at 4:00 PM and conclude with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament after Vespers (5:30 PM).
Facts About Conservation Easement
It is with some exaggeration that someone remarked recently that Winkie McKay Smith had introduced conservation easement to Clarke County. However that’s an understandable exaggeration given the energy and commitment that Winkie has brought to the issue and the years of service she has committed to the Clarke County Easement Authority. As was mentioned in […]
Abbot Robert’s Homily for the Feast of the Founders of Citeaux
Readings: Genesis 12: 1-4; Acts 4: 32-35; Mark 10:17-30 Fifty Years ago, during Vatican II, we religious were mandated to return to the spirit of our founders. Our Cistercian Order had begun as a reform of Benedictine monasticism at the end of the Eleventh Century. Our Twentieth Century return to the spirit of our Founders […]
Solemnity of the Founders of Citeaux
The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Abbot Robert Barnes presiding and preaching. As one of the venerable Orders in the Church, Cistercians have the privilege of their own liturgical Ordo, with variations on the Church’s liturgical calendar, sanctioned by ancient usage. 26 January is, for us, the Solemnity of the Founders of Citeaux […]
Homily for the Second Sunday, Year A, 19 January, 2014
Readings: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; I Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34 When I listen to what John’s Gospel has to say about John the Baptist, I start to ask questions. The Fourth Gospel has much to say about the Baptist but in a way different from the other three Gospels. Have you noticed that in today’s Gospel […]
Winter is a Perfect Time to Visit
I wish all our friends and those that have never been here could see Holy Cross Abbey right now. The snow covers the ground and trees and the glory of God is present in nature. Winter is a perfect time to retreat here at the Abbey. The Retreat House has beautiful single rooms with bath […]
The Octave of Prayer For Church Unity, 18-25 January
Yesterday the Church began its week of prayer for Christian or Church Unity. It occurs annually and has, in one form or another, been observed since 1908. It is a response to an initiative by Pope Leo XIII at the end of the nineteenth century. Vatican Council II placed the longing for full unity between […]