This Saturday, July 11th is the Solemnity of Saint Benedict—whose Holy Rule we strive to follow. Accordingly, Holy Mass will be at 10.00 a.m., and the Gift Shop will only open at around 11. a.m. this Saturday morning However, the Gift Shop will be open, as usual, on Saturday afternoon at the usual time.
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the 14th Sunday
Saint Thomas Aquinas’ dismissal of all his writings as “so much straw” after his final mystical experience gives us a glimpse into the joy Jesus expresses in today’s Gospel: “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed […]
Wednesday of the 13th Week: Saint Junipero Serra
Reassuring us of God’s constant care, Jesus insisted that not one sparrow falls to the ground without our Father’s knowledge. He then added those consoling words: Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. In today’s gospel, it would seem that the liberation of two demoniacs was worth more than an entire […]
Gift Shop: July 4th
Please note: The Gift Shop will be closed on Saturday, July 4, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country. However, it will be open on both Friday (July 3) and Sunday (July 5) afternoons at the usual times.
Friday of the 12th Week of the Year
Lord, if you wish you can make me clean. In that simple plea, the leper in today’s Gospel makes a twofold act of faith. First, he truly believes that Jesus has the power to heal him. Second, he trusts in Christ’s intrinsic goodness—his desire to relieve suffering and restore what is broken. There is also, […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the 11th Sunday of the Year
Understood in a certain light, Jesus’ call to pray to the Master of the Harvest to send out laborers seems to imply that, if we fail to pray, no laborers will be sent. Yet if God would send laborers regardless of our prayer, then Jesus’ insistence on praying to the Master of the Harvest appears […]
Wednesday of the 10th Week of the Year
Living, as we do, in an age of religious pluralism, the problem that occupied the prophet Elijah may seem irrelevant to many in our own time and culture. For some, it appears far more important that the people of Israel believed in a god than whether the God they worshipped was the Lord of Israel […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for Corpus Christi
Hunger is an aversive sensation that Saint Augustine likens to an illness, with food and drink serving as the medicines that temporarily treat this very human condition. Yet, as he observes, food does not cure hunger; it merely quiets its symptoms for a time. Inevitably, several hours after a satisfying meal, hunger returns and we […]
A Word of Monastic Wisdom
Bless me, most loving Jesus, bless me and have mercy on me in the loving-kindness of your most gracious heart. That my soul may choose to know nothing apart from you and that, disciplined by your grace and instructed by the anointing, I may progress well, passionately, and powerfully in the school of your love. Almighty […]
Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions
In urging Timothy to stir into flame the gift of God that you have, Saint Paul touches on the mysterious interplay between God’s grace and our response and cooperation with that grace. Grace is not like some medication that once taken unfailingly accomplishes its healing work without our even being aware of it or needing […]