It is hard to rejoice with a broken heart. Perhaps the gripping images coming out of Ukraine have seared your soul to its core. Perhaps the continued disintegration of social, political, and environmental stability has created an emotional earthquake in the ground of your being. Perhaps an unexpected loss of…
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Having just completed five weeks of Lent, we find ourselves now in the middle of Holy Week. If we feel that we have not quite accomplished our Lenten resolutions or experienced our intended prayerful Lenten journey, it is the Holy Week liturgy that will wake us up to what Lent…
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The Celtic Saint Aidan (died A.D. 651), whose name I took when I became a Novice, plays a significant role in my vocation story. Even now, the example of his life inspires me. It sets a “high bar” for which to stretch, as does The Rule of St. Benedict. Both…
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As I write, we are approaching the feast of the Annunciation, one of my favorite feasts. But by the time this blog is posted, this feast will be in the rear-view mirror. However, I would like to share the special and deep resonance this feast has for me. We are…
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I started gazing at an early age. Terrified of the dark, my dad held my hand and guided me out to the backyard. Swaying back and forth on the swing, he taught me names of the constellations like Little Dipper, Big Dipper, and Orion. I found Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and…
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As we journey through Lent, the daily and Sunday scriptural readings remind us of a Jesus who experienced rejection, opposition, and suffering. All of us encounter, at some time in our lives, suffering whether it be physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual. When suffering is the type that is prolonged or…
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It is a tradition in our monastic community to read Ch 49 of the Rule of St. Benedict, “The Observance of Lent,” on the evening of Ash Wednesday followed by an exhortation by the Prioress. The chapter begins: “The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent” (v.1)….
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Several months ago, in R.C.I.A. we talked about the Paschal Mystery, which is one of the central concepts of our Catholic faith. The Paschal Mystery consists of the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ – it is the work that God the Father sent His Son to accomplish on…
Read More“Once upon a time, the story goes, a preacher ran through the streets shouting, ‘We must put God in our lives. We must put God in our lives.’ And hearing him, an old monastic rose up in the city plaza to say, ‘No sir, you are wrong. You see, God…
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Among the “Tools for Good Works” in RB 4, St. Benedict writes: “Do not aspire to be called holy before you really are, but first be holy that you may more truly be called so” (v.62). Nearly every time I hear these words read aloud or quietly read them to…
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