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
Fast from hurting words … and say kind words, Fast from sadness … and be filled with gratitude, Fast from anger … and be filled with patience, Fast from pessimism … and be filled with hope, Fast from worries … and have trust in God, Fast from complaints … and contemplate simplicity, Fast from pressures … and be prayerful, Fast from […]
Chapter Talk – Fifth Sunday of Lent – March 26, 2023, cycle-A The Divine cry: ‘Lazarus, come out’ (Jn 11:1-45). The cry of God calling us all out of the tombs of death. Yes, we will all physically die someday. But here we are the so-called ‘living’ who in many ways live like we are […]
Chapter Talk – Fourth Sunday of Lent – March 19, 2023, cycle-A That we may see…That we may see as God’s sees…Do we ever pray for this? In personal situations, in situations of community life and beyond into the larger Church and world, do we pray with the whole of our heart to see as […]
Chapter Talk – Second Sunday of Lent – March 5, 2023, cycle-A Commenting on the Transfiguration, Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar indicates the reality of what it will mean for Peter and the other disciples to follow Jesus: “To truly hear and really be overshadowed will be their lot only after Easter” (Light of the […]
Chapter Talk – First Sunday of Lent – February 26, 2023, cycle-A “Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn” (Joel 2:13). What is the prophet Joel saying? Clearly it is a poetic metaphor: God does not desire to hurt us…this is about enlarging the heart…converting the heart, making the heart as wide and […]
Chapter Talk – Fourth Sunday of Lent – March 27, 2022, cycle-C There is no Christianity without love and forgiveness! There is no true Christian love that does not include mercy and forgiveness. In the gospel parable of the so called ‘Prodigal Son’, Jesus reveals the nature of God as unconditional love and compassion. And […]
Chapter Talk – First Sunday of Lent – March 6, 2022, cycle-C “Without communion there is no mission”…Communion communicates mission….“Communion is the substance of mission”. What are these words of Dom Mauro Giuseppe saying to us? Is not the core of our mission as monastics communion, communion of heart and mind with God and one […]
Today, Ash Wednesday, we begin our Lenten observance with the reception of ashes. In this photo above, Fr Simeon, from St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer Massachusetts, distributes ashes to the sisters. Fr. Simeon reminded us in today’s homily that Lent is about new birth. It mirrors the natural environment and our experience of Spring. Like […]
Chapter Talk – Fifth Sunday of Lent – March 21, 2021, cycle-B Listen to God speaking to the prophet Jeremiah: “This is the new covenant I will make: Deep within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts” (Jer 32: 31,33). What is a covenant? It is a relationship between God and […]
Chapter Talk – Fourth Sunday of Lent – March 14, 2021, cycle-B What is our image of God in terms of divine judgment? If we examine this question in the Hebrew Bible, we get multiple views and images. From a God who exacts retribution on its people who go against God’s law and ways. Then, […]
Chapter Talk – Third Sunday of Lent – March 7, 2021 – cycle-B As we reflect on the gospel account from John’s gospel of Jesus throwing out the money changers from the temple, let us ponder: what horizon is Jesus living from? How would you describe it? And then, what about the horizon of the […]
Chapter Talk – Second Sunday of Lent – February 28, 2021, cycle-B In today’s gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent what is moving to note is that this is the second and last time we hear God speaking directly and verbally to Jesus in the gospels. The first time is at Jesus’ baptism: “And […]
Chapter Talk – First Sunday of Lent – February 21, 2021, cycle-B “At all times the lifestyle of a monk ought to have a Lenten quality” (Benedict’s Rule, A Translation and Commentary, RB 49:1, Terrance Kardong, p.402). Now this sounds heavy, does it not? However, if we reflect more on chapter 49 of the Rule, […]
Chapter Talk – Holy Thursday – April 9, 2020 ‘Jesus fulfilled God’s will through his obedience to God’s covenant of love’: these words are the collect that have been sung at the office this week…In Jesus’ last days we witness like a bas relief image the love bond between Father and Son…this love bond was […]
Chapter Talk – Fifth Sunday of Lent – March 29, 2020 – cycle-A The gospel of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, is the last of the ‘signs’ in St. John’s gospel where Jesus reveals in his person the glory of God. The context for ‘believing’ in John’s gospel involves an encounter, an encounter with Christ. […]
Chapter Talk – Fourth Sunday of Lent – March 22, 2020, cycle-A “Seeing with the inner eye” – This pithy phrase is how the Jesuit scripture scholar, Fr. John Donahue, begins his commentary on this Sunday’s gospel reading. One way I think we can express the focus of monastic life is to become more Christ-like […]
Chapter Talk – First Sunday of Lent – March 1, 2020, cycle-A The theme of Pope Francis’ message for Lent this year is ‘conversion’. Right at the beginning of his ‘Lenten Message’ he states that the ‘paschal mystery is the basis of conversion.’ Indeed, the backdrop of our Lenten journey is the death and resurrection […]
Chapter Talk – Eighth Sunday of the Year – cycle-C – March 3, 2019 Next Sunday is Lent. This Sunday’s gospel could well be a good teaching to usher us into Lent. It reveals Jesus’ remarkable understanding of the human heart and soul. The gospel contains three pericopes and opens with: ‘Can a blind person guide a […]
An encounter with love – this is the theme I like to suggest for these days of Holy Week. Pope Francis right at the beginning of his apostolic exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel, invites us to an ‘encounter with Christ.’ He writes: “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed […]
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
