Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, seems the obvious blessed state of those rare perfected souls whose entire being loves God and radiates his presence. And yet, even in our imperfect state we too are called—even now—to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This demands deep […]
Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Lent
It would seem that it was by quickly forgetting the great debt he had been forgiven, that the wicked servant (in today’s gospel) had no qualms about refusing a similar mercy to his fellow servant. Yet, perhaps it wasn’t forgetfulness at all, but remembering too well! For, by using the very words he had used, […]
Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Lent
Thanksgiving every November is a time, not only to acknowledge so much we have to be grateful for, but also to remind ourselves of how ungrateful we have been. We can realize our ingratitude more clearly on those occasions when we are not thanked for our kindness and generosity towards others. Still more difficult to […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent
In our monastic tradition, one of the marks of perfected love is to love all people equally. Thus, Saint Benedict warns the abbot against any form of favoritism—at least that based on more superficial and worldly criteria. God too, is sometimes described as not showing partiality, with Deuteronomy declaring that the Lord of lords, the […]
A Word from our Cistercian Fathers
Truly, Lord, you are become our refuge; I have fled to you, teach me your will and make me do it. You have had compassion on the people that followed you into the wilderness. You have had pity and have provided food, lest they faint by the way. I have begun to follow you, my […]
Friday of the 1st Week of Lent
The conditions that God enunciates for the wicked person to live (and not die) seem rather exacting: turn away from the sins committed, keep all God’s statutes, and do what is right and just. And whereas this is a demanding requirement, it’s important that we not miss the point. The promise of “living” when these […]
Tuesday of the 1st Week of Lent
The ascetic practices enjoined upon us during this Lenten season can suggest that God takes pleasure in the discomfort and deprivation we experience thereby. Conversely, it could be thought that God resents our experiencing pleasure and freedom from suffering. This may, in turn, have us hesitant to pray for relief from suffering unless it is […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the First Sunday of Lent
First Sunday of Lent, Year B: Genesis 9:8-15; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15 At the Jordan Jesus divested himself of everything to enter the river. He assumed a kinship with sinful humanity but rose from the waters to God’s voice calling him his beloved Son, in whom he is well pleased. That is […]
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Although Christ calls us out of sin, he initially meets us where we are—within our sinful state and not outside it. But as we hear in today’s gospel, this brought him into conflict with the Scribes and the Pharisees who condemned his eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. Misguided humility and a fundamental […]
Ash Wednesday
Like the well-intentioned resolutions we make at the beginning of each year, Lenten resolutions can sometimes be abandoned long before Easter—this is especially true of the more interior ones, like those Saint Bernard labels the fasting of the eyes, ears, and tongue. Still, establishing some special Lenten practice (or resolution) is not without spiritual benefit, […]