The March Monastic Immersion Weekend only has a few spots left…if you are interested send in your $100 deposit asap… The group already registered is a varied and very fun group of people. And we have some new instructors from the monastic community to join our existing faculty that you are just going to love hearing […]
A Word from the Cistercian Fathers for January
You have heard, my soul, what you should be. Go apart for a while from your concerns and leave aside for a space the tumult of your thoughts. Enter into the inner chamber of your mind and exclude everything except God and what will help you in seeking him; and when you have found him, […]
Solemnity of the Epiphany, 5 January, 2014
The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Abbot Robert Barnes presiding and preaching. It is the First Sunday of the month and Eucharistic Adoration will begin at 4:00 PM and continue through Vespers (5:30 PM), concluded with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Homily for the Solemnity of Mary, 1 January, 2014
Readings: Numbers 6:17-22; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21 I don’t think it’s unusual for people of our age to have grown up with some fantastic associations with Mary and devotion to her. There were schedules of Marian prayers believed to insure a death accompanied by a priest and the final sacraments, as there were titles and […]
Humility According to the Rule of St. Benedict (3)
I have been considering humility in the Rule of St. Benedict and have been locating it in the Holy Scriptures. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family whom we find described in Scripture. But the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus exist in their own right and as multi-dimensional human beings, exhibiting […]
The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Wednesday, 1 January, 2014
The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. James presiding and preaching. It is a non-work day and the community follows the Sunday schedule; Benediction of the Most Blessed sacrament will follow Vespers (5:30 PM).
Monastic Immersion Weekends
Both weekends (March 28-30 for men and women, September 11-14 for men only) have openings and those interested are encouraged to send in a deposit or email the intent to attend, asap. The fees for both weekends have been changed to $175 (March), $250 (September; starts Thursday) suggested contribution making them very affordable retreats at the […]
Updating Posts
It had been my custom–inconsistent at times–to update the Word from the Abbot and Featured Post on Sundays. However, I’ve been cooking every other Sunday this month and a Sunday meal in the monastery, as in any family, is a special meal. The extra preparation is complicated by leaving the kitchen at 11:00 AM to […]
Feast of the Holy Family, 29 December, 2013
The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. Vincent Collins presiding and preaching.
Homily from the Christmas Day Mass
Readings: Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-5, 9-14 If it is something of a cliche to characterize Christmas as joyful, cliches exist for good reasons! It may also be commonplace to distinguish joy from happiness; that, too, is valid, though there’s no reason why joy can’t spill over into happiness. I pray that is our […]