Readings: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15; Ephesians 4:17, 20-24; John 6:24-35 Had the Gospel passage ended last Sunday as we celebrated it in the liturgy, we would have had a very nice, if challenging, story about Jesus multiplying loaves and fishes for hungry people, eager to hear his word. Even if it ended as it continues today, it […]
A Word from the Cistercian Fathers for August
O Blessed Virgin, regard with what prayers we could have conducted you–and followed you from afar–upon your assent to your Son. May we announce to the world, with the assent of your loving kindness, the grace you found with God, obtaining pardon for the guilty, healing for the sick, strength for the faint-hearted, consolation for […]
Friday of the 17th Week of the Year
Although the formal period of prophecy is said to have ended with John the Baptist, God’s claim to Jeremiah that he constantly sends his servants the prophets still holds true in our own time. Our problem is that we don’t recognize the voices of prophecy sounding in the course of every day calling us to […]
Reflection on the Gospel of the Seventeenth Thursday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Jeremiah 18:1-6; Matthew 13:47-53 “Do you understand these things?” They answered, “Yes.” Matthew’s point here is that unlike the crowds, Jesus’ disciples–that is, the true followers of Jesus–grasp the meaning of his parables. This may address a broader issue facing the early Church, rather than the Apostles before the Passion and Resurrection of the […]
Tuesday of the 17th Week of the Year
Jeremiah was clearly a humble man: After having repeatedly warned his fellow Israelites of their impending doom, he makes no effort to smugly remind them of this when disaster falls. On the contrary, he identifies himself completely with their sinfulness, intercedes on their behalf and, as we know, quietly suffers with them in the tragic […]
Reflection on the Gospel for the Seventeenth Monday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Jeremiah 13:1-11; Matthew 13:31-35 Mid-May through Mid-August is bird nesting season in the Shenandoah Valley. After the Assumption, the nests are empty and abandoned. If you search them out you may be amazed, as I first had been, to find some just a foot or two off the ground built into the lightest of […]
Saturday of the 16th Week of the Year
As Catholics our abundant use of symbols and material objects like water, oil, bread, wine, and incense can open us to superstitious beliefs and even magical thinking. This occurs when symbols lose their purpose to point beyond themselves to deeper realities and are somehow imbued with powers of their own. It’s not holy water itself […]
Renovation underway
The building to the east of the Cool Spring House is one we call the “Old Dorm.” Its name derives from its original use as the primary dormitory for the monks during the early decades of Holy Cross Abbey. With the construction of two other dormitories the “Old Dorm” has, in recent years, become little […]
Reflection on Mass Readings of the 16th Friday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Jeremiah 3:14-17; Matthew 13:18-23 I will appoint you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you wisely and prudently… Jeremiah But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold… Matthew Both readings this […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the 16th Sunday of the Year
Professional burnout is something that we have grown more sensitive to, not only in the secular world but also within the church and within monasticism. Spending oneself in loving and self-giving service to others can be life-giving, but when imprudently done can also drain us and leave us empty, listless, and unable to function. And […]