We approach God and undertake a life of virtue for very mixed motives—some of which we are initially unaware of. Typically, it is in the disappointment of some of our expectations of God not being met that our deeper motivations come out of hiding. James and John’s desire to be at Christ’s right and left […]
Reflection for the 16th Monday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Micah 6:1-4, 6-8; Matthew 12:38-43 Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.” I suspect that […]
Friday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
Mercy (which God desires more than sacrifice) is not about turning a blind eye to sin and glossing over transgressions. Rather, it’s about the door to God’s heart never being closed to those who approach him in repentance and sorrow—no matter the gravity of the sin. And since this mercy is integral to God’s holiness—a […]
Reflection on Monday’s Gospel
Readings: Isaiah 1:10-17; Matthew 10:34-11:1 …Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth, I have come not to bring peace but the sword… When I hear today’s Gospel I’m reminded how far from true discipleship is the bourgeois gospel of respectability current during my childhood or the accommodating suburban gospel […]
Fr. James’ Homily for the 15th Sunday, Year B
Readings: Amos 7:12-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13 By most any standard, Jesus is sending out the Twelve to preach repentance with scant resources. That’s quite a challenge. Have you noticed that this is only Chapter Six of Mark’s Gospel, which has sixteen chapters in all. Yes, we’re beyond the beginning, but we’re not even half […]
Reflection on Thursday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Hosea 11:1-4, 8c-9; Matthew 10:7-15 Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. I think monks and nuns can often labor under a burden of positive projection. Not from their own communities, of course, but from the neighbors and guests whom we serve–or just brush up against. We can be seen […]
Abbot Joseph’s Homily for the Feast of Saint Benedict
Every now and again, either in our choir books or one of the mass sheets, the quality of the printing is less than perfect. This is partly because the page in question is sometimes a copy of a copy of a copy! And with each process of copying the quality slowly deteriorates until there is […]
Reflection on the 14th Monday, Year Two
Readings: Hosea 2:1b, 17c-18, 21-22; Matthew 9:18-26 A couple of Sundays ago, we heard St. Mark’s version of this episode. Today, St. Matthew concentrates the story (only 8 verses as opposed to Mark’s 22) but deflates the drama: the girl is already dead before the story begins. In either version, the faith of the father […]
Friday of the 13th Week of the Year
In these “dog-days” of summer, dehydration is something that we have to constantly guard against. Paradoxically, the more dehydrated we become the less capable our bodies are of absorbing life-sustaining fluids even when we do drink water. There is a similar spiritual dehydration that occurs when we fail to imbibe the life-giving waters of God’s […]
The Solemnity of St. Benedict, Wednesday, 11 July
The community will be celebrated at 10:00 AM rather than after Lauds (7:00 AM) because it is a major Solemnity and we observe the Sunday Schedule for a non-work day. Abbot Joseph will preside and preach at the Mass and Vespers (5:30 PM) will be followed by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.