Gaudate Sunday 2024
December 17, 2024
Third Sunday of Advent —Gaudete Sunday We have come to Gaudete ( Rejoice ) Sunday, and the prophets Isaiah and Zephaniah in their writings call the Anawim, ( a people
Chapter Talk – Synodality in the Rule of Benedict – 8-21-2022 How does an ancient Rule, specifically the Rule of St. Benedict, offer a perspective and ways forward in implementing ‘synodality’ for the present and future renewal of monastic life and of the Church? This is the subject of a short essay by the Abbot […]
Berry time at the Redwoods is a team activity. It begins with thriving bushes loaded with luscious berries. This year we added a new feature to the garden; a wire cage that houses the blueberries and currants and protects the fruit from hungry birds and other veracious animals. Interns, guests, and sisters gathered the berries […]
Chapter Talk – 8th Sunday of the Year – February 27, 2022, cycle-C The first reading from Sirach for today’s liturgy says: “The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind” (24:6). Our speech, our words are revelatory. Do not our words […]
Evocation – All Saints – Solemn Profession of Sr. Gertrude Feick – November 1, 2021 Let us run to learn How to love and run; Let us run to Love. (WH Auden, A Christmas Oratorio) Dear Gertrude, You have been ‘running’, not running away but running towards. ‘Running’, a striking symbol for the monastic journey […]
Evocation – All Saints – Solemn Profession of Sr. Gertrude Feick – November 1, 2021 Let us run to learn How to love and run; Let us run to Love. (WH Auden, A Christmas Oratorio) Dear Gertrude, You have been ‘running’, not running away but running towards. ‘Running’, a striking symbol for the monastic journey […]
First came the raccoon. He quickly ran away perhaps when he heard the bear coming. Now the bear did not go in search of apples on the tree, but rather decided to lay down and take a snooze! He woke up a little later, wandered back over the fence. Then the raccoon seeing that the […]
Abbot Paul Mark and Fr Stephen arrived from New Clairvaux Abbey in Vina California, bringing gifts. They made the 5 hour trip hauling a squirrel, not the animal, but a machine. It will be used at Redwoods for building maintenance on those high hard to reach gutters as well as for pruning fruit trees. One […]
This Summer has been very full. We have accompanied our Sr Godelieve in her transitus to Eternal Life. We have opened a new Welcome Center for our Retreatants, Guests and Visitors We have been graced by the teaching, deep spirituality, and wisdom of two Dominicans, Fr. Michael Dodds, OP and Sr. Barbara Green, OP. Fr. […]
Chapter Talk – 18thSunday of the Year – August 4, 2019, cycle-C Revitalization: to impart new life or vigor…to restore to a fresh condition. What if this word became a sacred image for us as a community? No question: we worry about our future, the immediate future of our individual lives and the life of our […]
Birth is a miracle. Death is mystery. Our lives move between these two realities, realities that are immersed in God, that point to our spiritual journey through, with and in the Divine Life and Mystery. Dear Godelieve, I dare say that your focus was more on birth, the life birthing forth in a variety of ways…death […]
Third Sunday of Advent —Gaudete Sunday We have come to Gaudete ( Rejoice ) Sunday, and the prophets Isaiah and Zephaniah in their writings call the Anawim, ( a people
Monastery Lentils A popular Guest House recipe that is vegan, easy to make and packed with flavor. Recipe calls for dry herbs – but use fresh for extra flavor. Serve
A lot goes on in the world, but little changes in a monastery. The life is regular and is set by defined intervals of prayer, work, and study. We are
