Thus one festival prepares us for the next
From a Letter of Saint John of Avila, Doctor the Church, to a Lady, On the Feasts of Pentecost and Corpus Christi Let us now...
The much- longed-for virgin
You have heard that you are to conceive and bring forth a Son, and that it will not be through the power of man, but...
Let us do only what we can
For the feast of Saint John Eudes: It is never detrimental to the spiritual progress of a Community when one does not do what God...
Saint Chrysostom on Saint Paul
For the Commemoration of Saint Paul, here is an extract from a magnificent sermon of Saint John Chrysostom. The icon depicts Saint John Chrysostom writing...
The quiet harbour of the port
From the Letter of saint Bruno to his friend Raoul-le-Verd I am living in the wilderness of Calabria far removed from habitation. There are some...
Saint Anselm of Aosta (c. 1033 —1109)
Today is the feast of Saint Anselm, abbot of Bec, and archbishop of Canterbury, whose writings, we read at Matins, ‘seem to be drawn from...
And his dwelling-place will be peace
This is the magnificent Christ of the Duomo of Cefalù in Sicily. It was artist Adé de Béthune who introduced me to the Christ of...
To seek what is human, to give what is divine
The physician who does not suffer infirmities, knows not how to cure infirmities. This was the lesson before the Holy Gospel at Matins this morning....
Desire for God, unutterable love
Yesterday morning at Matins, we had this magnificent text of the Golden–Mouthed Doctor: From the Book on Prayer by St John Chrysostom, Bishop & Doctor...
How to Be Both Hot and Holy in Old Age
In his commentary on old King Solomon’s need to sleep with a maiden hot enough to keep him warm and holy enough not to arouse...
Betake thyself to the Church
This morning at Matins, in his homily on Luke 5, Saint Ambrose said: An Example for Our Imitation It was no chance occurence, this healing...
Frank Duff, Holy Layman
Heroic Fidelity to the Divine Office Shortly before his death on 7 November 1980, layman Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary, addressed a...
Dulcis Iesu Memoria
Painting of the Child Jesus with a crown of flowers by Carlo Dolci (1616-1686) Over forty years ago, when I was taking my first steps...
After Our Sin, He Ceases Not to Call Us
Experience of the Sins of the Flesh Those who have had experience of the sins of the flesh are to be admonished to observe vigilantly...
All things, even sin
“Job says that “the life of man upon earth is a warfare and his days are like the days of a hireling.” But upon His...
A Light As It Were of Serenity
From The Confessions of Saint Augustine: Take Up and Read So was I speaking and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when,...
To Be Led By the Hand of God
“Whatever did not fit in with my plan did lie within the plan of God. I have an ever deeper and firmer belief that nothing...
Men Who Are Able to Help the Sick in Mind
How I love to read the homilies of Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, at the Office of Matins, in the silent hours before daybreak. Today,...
Multiply Upon Us Thy Mercy
Illumination and Healing On this Sunday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Third Sunday after Pentecost, the liturgy is of an...
Sitit sitiri: He thirsts that we should thirst for Him
Progress Report Our little community life, marked by the rhythm of the Hours, by Eucharistic adoration, work, and welcoming guests, is already that of the...