We have spent these last six weeks of Lent in a spirit of repentance, sorrow, and lament for our many sins and failings. Indeed, these final days have focused especially on the great price that Christ lovingly paid for our sins and our salvation. Somewhat suddenly, then, on this holy night of the Lord’s rising, […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for Holy Thursday
The impassioned feelings and sometimes heated controversies surrounding the Novus Ordo and the Vetus Ordo of pre–Vatican II worship highlight the complex nature and sacred purpose of the Eucharist whose institution we celebrate this evening. The relatively simple and pared‑down Novus Ordo might even be considered elaborate when set beside the utter simplicity of that […]
Tuesday in Passiontide
The cry of Jesus on the cross—my God, my God, why have you forsaken me—seems to dispute Jesus’ claim (in today’s gospel) that the Father is always with him and has not left him alone. And while we can only speculate on the inner state of Jesus revealed by that heartfelt cry, it can serve […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent
22 March, 2026, Fifth Sunday of Lent, YR A: Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45 In John’s Gospel, Christ is life, but much more than biological life. For those who believe, Christ gives eternal life. In Christ, we begin to function at that level where faith is cultivated, where compassion is born, where our life […]
Holy Week Schedule
PALM SUNDAY: Holy Mass 10.00 a.m. HOLY THURSDAY: Mass of the Lord’s Supper 4.30 p.m. GOOD FRIDAY: Good Friday Service 4.30 p.m. HOLY SATURDAY: Easter Vigil 8.30 p.m. EASTER SUNDAY: Easter Day Mass 10.00 a.m. PLEASE NOTE: The Gift Shop will be CLOSED on the THURSDAY AND FRIDAY of Holy Week, but […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph
The distinct tasks of discerning, then knowing, and finally carrying out the will of God each present their own particular challenges. The Gospel describes Joseph as a righteous man, and so it seems unlikely that he would have resolved to divorce Mary quietly without first seeking, in prayer, to understand God’s will in the bewildering […]
Tuesday of the 4th Week of Lent
For a person who had been ill for thirty-eight years, the question: Do you want to be well, seems an odd, if not cruel question. Nevertheless, it is the same question that is repeatedly addressed to us, not necessarily because we are physically ill, but because of our spiritually-sick state. This repeated question is necessary […]
Thursday of the 3rd Week of Lent
As we know, it is a great deal easier to speak of virtue and spiritual ideals than to actually practice or achieve them. However, it signals a still greater rupture between ideals and practice when even talk of such ideals ceases. For, speaking of virtue and holiness—even though we may not live this out—suggests some […]
Saturday of the 2nd Week of Lent
Although the prophet Micah appeals to the Lord for a return to an earlier period of Israel’s history as in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, this desire is obviously something symbolic and is not a desire to literally return to some earlier period in Israel’s history of a period of […]
Thursday of the 2nd Week of Lent
Sin’s destructive power to divide, isolate, and alienate us from God, from ourselves, and from one another is vividly illustrated in the rich man who suffers in the flames of the netherworld—utterly alone, with not even a demon to torment him. Strikingly, he does not ask to be freed from the flames or to be […]