Holy Mass at the Abbey on Christmas Eve (Dec 24) will be at 8.30 p.m. Holy Mass on Christmas Day, will be at 10.00 a.m. The Monks will be following the usual Sunday Schedule. Holy Mass at the Abbey on New Year’s Day (Jan 1) will be at 10.00 a.m. The Monks will be following […]
Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
Flexibility, the ability to change, and an authentic spirit of detachment are all essential elements in effective and reliable discernment of God’s will. For, it is when we are rigid, anxious about change, and inordinately attached that discernment becomes virtually impossible. According to today’s gospel Saint Joseph seems to have possessed flexibility, the ability to […]
Fr. James’ Reflection for December 19
Thursday, 19 DEC, 2024: Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a; Lk 1:5-25 Remember this Gospel tomorrow when we hear about the Annunciation to Mary. Both Gospels share a similar structure but, what distinguishes Zachariah from Mary? Is my righteousness, like Zechariah’s, a substitute for trust in God? Has it degenerated into an attempt to control reality and contain […]
Additional Gift Shop Hours
In addition to the usual hours, the Gift Shop will also be open on the following Wednesday afternoons from 2.15 until 4.15 Wednesday, December 4 Wednesday, December 11 Wednesday, December 18 Those hoping to purchase Fruitcakes from our Gift Shop need to know that we are ALL SOLD OUT AS OF Sunday, December 15th. However, […]
FRUITCAKES SOLD OUT
Those hoping to purchase Fruitcakes from our Gift Shop need to know that we are ALL SOLD OUT AS OF Sunday, December 15th. However, at time of writing, cakes can still be purchased online at monasteryfruitcake.org
The Immaculate Conception
In the passion account of Saint Luke, we are told that in the course of his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, an angel was sent to strengthen and comfort Jesus as his undependable friends lay asleep a stone’s throw away. There is no record of any similar heavenly consolation during the actual crucifixion as […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent
Second Sunday of Advent, Year C, 8 December, 2024: Baruch 5:1-9; Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11; Luke 1:1-6 Every Second Sunday of Advent we recall John the Baptist—and isn’t that appropriate? During Advent don’t we look forward to the Second Coming of the Lord as we look back to his First Coming? Being in neither one nor […]
THANKSGIVING DAY
Please be aware that Holy Mass will be celebrated at 10.00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day and that the Gift Shop will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Fr. James’ Homily for Christ the King
24 November, 2024, Christ the King: Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18:33b-37 What do we mean when we call Christ a King? In a nation born of revolt against a parliamentary monarchy, and with a representative democracy shaped by majority vote, how do we understand kingship? What can it possibly mean to us? Standing before […]
Memorial of Saint Cecilia
Just as Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, so we have to enter into the depths of our hearts (through ever-deepening self-knowledge) so that we can drive out from our hearts all that still desecrates this temple of the Holy Spirit. A central means for doing […]