Posts by editor
A Life Shaped by Silence
Every once in a while I am jolted into the reality that I am becoming my father. I do or say something, and in a flash, I see my father doing or saying the same thing. I noticed this is true of my brothers, Charlie and Chris as well. One day when I was visiting…
Read MoreTo Live for Christ
Brothers, tomorrow something wonderful, daring and brave will happen here in this Chapel, as our brother Jim makes his profession of life vows as a member of our community. As should be the case it will be an occasion of great joy, as Jim, surrounded by us his brothers, and friends from near and far,…
Read MoreLife Together
I am often struck, Brothers, by how curious our life together must appear to those who, for whatever reason, come for a time; either for a week, or a weekend, or even just a few hours, or even just wander in off the street into the middle of a liturgy. It must seem very strange…
Read MoreA Life Offered
Something profound is happening around us. While the Presidential Election last November is a piece of it, it’s not the whole piece, and while it might be the cause, it’s not the whole cause. I am not a political analyst, so I am not the one to try to explain what did and did not…
Read MoreBe Drunk with Love
I don’t know, Brothers, if you were in the pantry that night a few weeks ago when David began to tease me. There was an inquirer with us, and while the three of us were drying the dishes, David asked: So, has James asked you his question yet? Suddenly, all the other conversation in the…
Read MoreCalled by God
It’s not every day you turn 150 years old, but when you do, it’s an occasion for rejoicing. It’s also an occasion to return to first principles and ponder what was true then and how it remains true today. This week’s Feast of St. John the Evangelist, which we kept on Wednesday, was the 150th…
Read MoreWisdom Distilled From the Daily, by Sr. Joan Chittister
This contemporary commentary on the Rule of Saint Benedict offers wise and enduring spiritual guidelines for everyday living –– as relevant today as when The Rule was originally conceived by St. Benedict in fifth century Rome.
Read MoreThoughts Matter, by Sr. Mary Margaret Funk
Thoughts Matter takes up the teaching of influential fouth-century monk, John Cassian, who is largely credited with bringing the practices of Christian monasticism to the West. Cassian taught that real intimacy with God in prayer demands renouncing one’s former way of life, the thoughts belonging to that former way of life, and one’s very idea…
Read MoreThe Sacrament of the Present Moment by Jean-Pierre De Caussade, SJ
The Sacrament of the Present Moment is the three hundred-year-old classic of spiritual guidance and enlightenment by Jean-Pierre de Caussade, a member of the Society of Jesus. In this wise, hopeful, and powerfully stirring masterwork of Christian thought and daily practice, de Caussade encourages a selfless abandonment to God as a means of achieving grace…
Read MoreSayings of the Desert Fathers
The Desert Fathers were the first Christian monks, living in solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. In contrast to the formalized and official theology of the Church, they were ordinary Christians who chose to renounce the world and live lives of celibacy, fasting, vigil, prayer, and poverty in direct and simple response…
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