We may observe Lent with acts of penance and self-mortification, but that’s not what we celebrate. We celebrate Jesus’ transformative path through a self-sacrifice which is the revelation of his glory; and we celebrate our passage over that same path on which we embarked through our baptism. Today we consider this Transfiguration as found in […]
Annunciation of the Incarnation of the Lord to Mary
Monday, 25 March, 2019 The community Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM, Fr. James presiding and preaching; it is a non-work day for the monks and we follow the Sunday Schedule.
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Just as the sun that rises on the bad and on the good would cease being the sun if it didn’t shine on the bad and the good, so God (whose very being is Love) would cease being God if he stopped loving. And so Jesus’ call to be perfect just as [our] heavenly Father […]
Ash Wednesday
Colloquially, we sometimes speak of “dying for a cup of coffee” or “dying for a vacation.” Teresa of Avila had a similar longing, but it wasn’t for coffee, but a consuming desire to see God. As a child she briefly ran away from home with her brother hoping to go to the land of the […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the 8th Sunday of the Year
Although a rotten tree may not be able to produce good fruit, we know that evil people can mimic goodness and kindness for their own selfish purposes. And so an apparent act of self-sacrificing kindness is undertaken in the service of ingratiating oneself with someone from whom one has something to gain. On the other […]
A Word from the Cistercian Fathers
But what good does it do to point out the dangers [of the devil] without pointing out also some consolation, some remedy that can be applied? The peril indeed is great, and grave is the struggle … Great, too, are the stakes, for we have frequent – no, continuous – fights against the tricks of […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the Seventh Sunday, Year C
Readings: 1 Samuel 26:7-9, 12-13, 22-23; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38 Today Jesus challenges each and every one of us to love our enemies. I have met people who believed they loved everyone but I’ve never met anyone who didn’t have difficulties loving his or her enemy. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be so. […]
Spending Holy Week at the Retreat House?
If you are planning to make a retreat during Holy Week, please contact us soon. We still have rooms available, but want to make sure you get your space. The dates are Wednesday, April 17 through Sunday, April 21, 2019. The telephone number is 540 955 4383 or e-mail at information@hcava.org. Thank you and we’ll […]
Saturday of the 5th Week of the Year
The sin of our first parents resulted in their expulsion from Eden and humanity’s tragic exile and alienation from God. It was to undo the disastrous effects of their disobedience that the Father sent his Son to redeem us. Today’s gospel gives a symbolic sign of this redemption. For in the feeding of the four […]
Wednesday of the 5th Week of the Year
In the light of our first reading we might ask: Which is the truer human freedom: Being able to do something you want to do, or (out of love) not doing something you would like to do? In our Christian tradition, true freedom is inseparable from love. Thus, just as true love is not possible […]