Since Saint John assures us that perfect love casts out fear, it is instructive that one of the first consequences of Eve and Adam’s disobedience is fear and the desire to hide from God. One presumes that prior to their disobedience, Eve and Adam did not fear God and lived in peaceful and trusting harmony […]
A Word from our Cistercian Fathers
The Father has different arrangements for each. For we did not choose him but he chose us and appointed places for us; and in the place of each one’s appointment there he is too. Thus one repentant woman was allotted a place at the feet of the Lord Jesus, another—if she really is another—found fulfillment for her […]
Saturday of the 5th Week
As Saint Paul reminded the Corinthians, if I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. We honor Saint Paul Miki and his companion martyrs not because they suffered so much in bearing witness to Christ, but that […]
Thursday of the 3rd Week
Psychological and spiritual growth are integral to the manifestation of otherwise hidden inner potential and our becoming all that God created us to be. Unfortunately, our still unredeemed condition and our failure to become the unique persons God created us to be is like the lighted lamp placed under a bushel basket—referred to in today’s […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the 3rd Sunday of the Year
24 January, 2021: Third Sunday, Year B: Jonah 3:1-5, 10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20 After John had been arrested, Mark tells us, then Jesus began to call his disciples. We’re only in the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel and already, Jesus, who was baptized by John, is on shaky ground. He doesn’t conceal […]
Friday of the 2nd Week
On this annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, the quote from Jeremiah (in our first reading) is especially relevant. For although legal protection of the unborn is crucial, it is only a stage in progress towards a true solution. Until, in the words of Jeremiah, God’s immutable law against the […]
Saturday after the Epiphany
Today’s gospel reports, rather matter-of-factly, that John the Baptist, upon hearing about his disciples leaving him to join Jesus, responds with the now famous statement: He must increase but I must decrease. Unfortunately, we don’t know if this was as effortless as it sounds, or whether it came at the conclusion of an inner struggle. […]
Fr. James’ Homily for Epiphany
Epiphany of the Lord, 3 January, 2021: Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a; Matthew 2:1-12 Isn’t it logical that the Magi begin their search for a newborn King of the Jews in the palace of Herod? But these men are not diplomats or politicians; in English we often refer to them as the Wise Men. They […]
A Word from Our Cistercian Fathers
“Arise, be enlightened, Jerusalem, for your Light has come.” This present day of lights has been enlightened for us and consecrated by the Light of Light. He has lain hidden and unknown, but today he has vouchsafed to reveal himself to the world for the enlightenment of all nations. For today he revealed himself to […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family
Holy Family, 27 December, 2020: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 2:22-40 The English painter, John Everett Millais exhibited a painting entitled Christ in the House of His Parents in 1850, the heyday of romanticism and the family ideal. The costumes and setting suggest an exotic location and a past time, but the figures […]