Lest We Betray Him With a Kiss
The Call to Holiness My monastic vocation, as it has developed and matured over the years, is intimately bound up with the lives of my...
Abba Joseph related that Abba Isaac said:
“I was sitting with Abba Poemen one day and I saw him in ecstasy and as I was on terms of great freedom of speech...
Father Zuhlsdorf gets it right
Painting by Simeon Solomon Father Zuhlsdorf has a brilliant essay on the humble and the sublime in the sacred liturgy. I am thinking about the...
Guardian of the Bread Come Down from Heaven
Quemadmodum Deus Blessed Pope Pius IX 8 December 1870 The Guardian of His Choicest Treasures As almighty God appointed Joseph, son of the patriarch Jacob,...
Saint Joseph
This remarkable painting of Saint Joseph, together with the Child Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the work of the Spanish painter, Aristides Artal....
Go Francis, rebuild my house
“In the Church of St. Damian where he was accustomed to pray, he heard three times a voice from Heaven saying: “Go Francis, rebuild my...
The House of My Father
Liturgy and Life of the Church My lectio liturgica, during this momentous time in the life of the Church, has been unusually compelling, and this,...
No Secrets Between Friends
Mass Pro Eligendo Pontifice Homily of His Eminence, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Dean of the College of Cardinals Vatican Basilica Monday 18 April 2005 Isaiah 61:1-3a....
FOR THE ELECTION OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF
Our monastery has prepared a Litany for the Election of the Roman Pontiff. We have begun praying it after Compline. You will find the link...
The Charge of Weakly Souls
When a Monk Needs Time Out At Chapter today we read the appointed passage from the Holy Rule. It was Chapter XXVII, on the care...
Into the Water with Naaman
Water We hear in today’s Lesson how Naaman the Syrian was cleansed of leprosy in the River Jordan. Naaman descended into the very water that...
Seeing Love in the Darkness
The ‘very beautiful’ of the sixth day–expressed by the creator–is always challenged in this world by evil, suffering, and corruption. It almost seems that evil...
Rosary Mysteries for the Sundays of Lent
Marialis Cultus The Rosary is a practice of piety which easily harmonizes with the liturgy. In fact, like the liturgy, it is of a community...
The Supreme Rule of the Council
Our Benedictine Pope In his address to the clergy of Rome last Thursday (14 February 2012), the Holy Father revealed something of his own profoundly...
Invenit eum in terra deserta
Christ Among the Wild Beasts by Moretto da Brescia (1498-1554) There are souls who, if they are to be seen by God and heard by...
The Face of the Church
Homily of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, Ash Wednesday, 13 February 2013 Venerable Brothers, Dear Brothers and Sisters! Around the Tomb of the Apostle Peter...
Vir Dei, Benedictus
Votive Mass of Saint Benedict We had the Votive Mass of Saint Benedict today, offering the Holy Sacrifice, in a special way, for our Holy...
A Face Sometimes Revealed and Sometimes Veiled
“The consecrated life is a pilgrimage of the spirit in quest of a Face that is sometimes revealed and sometimes veiled: Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram.”...
The Holy Face of Christ Recognized in the Sick
How vitally important it is to receive the messages of the Holy Father in hearts that are humble and open! The Holy Father teaches indefatigably,...
On behalf of all and for all
Monasteries: An Indispensable Part of Society For well over a thousand years, Christians have turned to monasteries seeking the solace that comes from knowing that...