From the Greenhouse
We share some photographs of the current crop of orchids cultivated by Brother Adam in the Abbey greenhouse. In these bleak winter days the cloisters are filled with their beauty.
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Saint Bonaventure—Quotes
"Although you feel tepid, approach with confidence, for the greater your infirmity the more you stand in need of a physician." "The best perfection of a religious man is to do common things in a perfect manner. A constant fidelity in small things is a great and heroic virtue." "Chastity without charity is a lamp without oil." “If you learn everything, except Christ, you learn nothing. If you learn nothing, except Christ, you learn everything.” “When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard, more than the proceedings from the mouth.”
Saint André Bessette
He was born Alfred Bessette in Saint-Grégoire d’Iberville, Quebec, Canada, and was the eighth of twelve children. His father was crushed by a falling tree and died when Alfred was only three. His mother died three years later of tuberculosis, leaving him and his siblings orphans. From birth, Alfred was a sickly child and remained so throughout his life. Most people thought he would die at a young age, but he lived until he was ninety-one! Alfred had a distinct smile. It was serious, warm, welcoming, pleasant, and calming. He was a hard worker, but his poor health made it difficult for him to maintain a steady job. At the age of twenty-five, Alfred sought spiritual direction from his pastor, who encouraged him to present himself to the Congregation of the Holy Cross in Montreal for acceptance into religious life. The pastor sent along a letter to the superior, which said in part, “I am sending you a saint.” The problem was that Alfred could hardly read, and the order was a teaching orde...
True and False
Nothing should be held true merely because it is eloquently expressed, nor false because it sounds harsh upon the lips. And a thing is not true because rudely uttered, nor is it false because its utterance is splendid. I have learned from you that wisdom is like wholesome food and folly like unwholesome food: they can be set forth in language ornate or plain, just as both kinds of food can be served on rich dishes or on peasant ware. SAINT AUGUSTINE Confessions