ST JOSEPH'S ABBEY, SPENCER MA

Mary gives her whole body unreservedly to God’s desire to come near to us, God’s most mysterious desire to be small and insignificant. The truth of who God is for us requires a body, a heart under which he can rest, a supple heart that will throw things together and let them be. Her response to the angel’s invitation was, “Be it to me, let it be done in me. May God grow there under my heart; I will be God’s own serving girl.”  Mary is generously open to the seemingly mismatched ways of God, with an attentive curiosity. “How will this be? Why me, a poor, unmarried girl from a backwater? Why?” The Mother of God shows us how to read the "why" and translate it into a "why not." Why not me? Why not now? Why not God with me, with us, here and now, here with us in these most upside-down circumstances? Let us stay close to the Virgin who said, "Yes."  For there we will be near to her who accepted the fullness of light, she who received grace without fear. Let us...

In the early years of our community, the brethren used these wooden utensils in the refectory. Each monk had a set which they washed at their place in their water cup at the end of their meal. They are tiny embodiments, sacraments if you will, of the desire to live frugally and simply. As our Constitutions tells us, " Our lifestyle is to be plain and frugal. Everything should avoid excess so that its very simplicity can be instructive for all. This is to be clearly apparent in buildings and their furnishings, in food and clothing, and even in the celebration of the liturgy."  A recent photograph taken at the Abbey archives by Brother Brian.

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?  To what can I compare it?  It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.  When it was fully grown, it became a large bush  and  the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches . Luke 13 Jesus loves what is simple and seemingly insignificant. And he sees the great potential in what is small; he knows that little things done with love are transformative . And then the kingdom becomes reality, a place where the Father’s love and truth will be enacted. In his kingdom we join with one another, depending only on the Father’s kind regard, on our common need for forgiveness, our common need for him, and for one another, now more than ever. It is a time to be confident that the little we do matters - random acts of love and lovingkindness.

To the Jewish people, the law was fundamental. There are more than 600 commandments in the Old Testament, so people such as the Pharisees and Sadducees spent a great deal of time interpreting the laws. Trying to understand which of the laws bore greater importance and which lesser, this was done to educate and instruct people in the right way to live, with their neighbors and with God. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were on top of this process for quite a while, and then some rabble-rouser named Jesus came along and got things all stirred up.   The Pharisees and the Sadducees were losing ground in their battles, trying to outwit Jesus Christ. So, the Pharisees and the Sadducees did what any two rival gangs would do; they joined forces to defeat their common foe. One day, a Pharisadducee gang member stood up and asked Jesus which commandment is the greatest (remember there were more than 600). The Pharisadducees thought they could trick Jesus. Instead, Jesus quoted from th...

As today the Church celebrates Saint John Paul II, we remember his words: “Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ’s power to serve the human person and the whole of mankind. Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization, and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows 'what is in man'. He alone knows it." There may seem to be too many solid reasons to be afraid, especially now, but Jesus reminds us, and Saint John Paul II echoes the Lord's exhortation: "Do not fear, I am with you always."

The first two readings this morning from Isaiah and from First Thessalonians spoke to me, and I hope to all of you, of the love that God has for us.  The Gospel, to my mind, speaks not about taxes, but about our reciprocal love for the God of love.  The very remarkable passage we heard from Isaiah tells of Cyrus II the King of the Medes and Persians who is chosen by God to rescue God's chosen people, the Israelites, from their oppression and captivity in Babylon in the 6 th  century before Christ. The passage, although describing an event of grand geopolitical consequence, namely, the conquest of the Babylonian Empire by Cyrus II, yes, this passage describing Cyrus is filled with the vocabulary later used to describe Jesus Christ and all who acknowledge him as Lord.  Cyrus is called in Hebrew “Mashiah (Messiah),” in the Greek bible “Christos  (Christ),” and in our English bibles “My Anointed One,” whom God “calls by name” to his service of th...

O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in you, for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty, but I hope for all things from your goodness and bounty. Let your pure love imprint itself so deeply on my heart, that I shall never be able to forget or be separated from you.  Lines by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, 1647-1690

For our Jewish forebears Torah - the Law - was the way. Jesus tells us that he is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Jesus has come not to destroy the Law but to fulfill it. All that he is, all that he proclaims, all that he accomplishes in his dying and rising reveals the fullness of God's desire for our well-being and salvation. Indeed the whole Law has been set before us in Christ Jesus, our Lord; he whose Body is forever marked with the wounds of his passion. His wounded body is our sacred text wherein we read the truth of who we are - the truth of our wounds, whatever they are, as gateways to new life and hope in him. Photographs by Brother Brian.

All the earth prepares for the icy slumber of winter. Trees will lose their leaves in this most beautiful of ways.

Apparently, the custom was that special garments were handed out to guests upon entering a wedding feast, so that they would all blend in and not distract from the beauty of the married couple. The poor fellow who is chided for not wearing the proper attire then has refused to follow protocol. Our protocol as vagabond guests invited to the banquet in the kingdom is to accept in all humility the grace and mercy that will transform our sinfulness and misery. Jesus our Lord is all Mercy. When we clothe ourselves with Christ, we fit in, all of us saved sinners, remarkably beloved and clothed with divine mercy.  The Lord is always welcoming us sinful vagabonds in from the byways to his royal Feast, the Holy Eucharist. He wants his hall, his Church to be filled with guests with whom he can share his very Self.   Photograph by Father Emmanuel along with insights from his homily this morning.

He allows some of us to fall more severely and distressingly than before—at least that is how we see it. And then it seems to us, who are not always wise, that all we set our hands to is lost. But it is not so. We need to fall, and we need to see that we have done so. For, if we never fall we should not know how weak and pitiable we are in ourselves. Nor should we fully know the wonderful love of our Maker.  In Heaven we shall see truly and everlastingly that we have grievously sinned in this life; notwithstanding we shall see that this in no way diminished his love, nor made us less precious in his sight. The testing experience of falling will lead us to a deep and wonderful knowledge of the constancy of God’s love, which neither can nor will be broken because of sin. To understand this is of great profit. Father Emmanuel's photograph of Lac Marie in the Abbey woodlands. Lines from Julian of Norwich.

The Holy Spirit teaches the children of God how to pray.  The tradition of Christian prayer is one of the ways in which the tradition of faith takes shape and grows, especially through the contemplation and study of believers who treasure in their hearts the events and words of the economy of salvation, and through their profound grasp of the spiritual realities they experience. We remember with joy and gratitude our mothers and fathers, grandparents and scores of our older friends fingering their beads before and after Mass, in the car or sitting in their favorite chair. Clearly it was their way to deep prayer. The mysteries of the Holy Rosary - joyful, sorrowful, glorious and luminous - are the mysteries of our own lives. As we pray the Rosary we beg Our Lady to draw us closer to Him who is our Light and our only Hope. Because of Mary's singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the grea...

Visitors or newcomers often ask if monks get bored. I suppose I do - not bored by our rhythm of liturgy, work, and prayer, but bored by me. It is perhaps the most difficult part of our ascesis - to see clearly over and over again the sad, boring truth of who I am. The truth is - I bore myself constantly with my sinfulness and stubbornness. Having seen and understood that painful, neuralgic reality all too well, over and over again, the challenge is there and then to allow God in Christ in that very moment to gaze on me with love and exquisite tenderness. It seems utter madness to allow myself to be the object of Christ’s love and attention and mercy precisely in that moment. This is the wonderful trick of the monastic vocation - I thought I was coming to the monastery to gaze upon Christ, but it is Christ Jesus the Lord himself who wants to gaze upon me in my lowliness and poverty.  Photograph by Brother Brian. Reflection by one of the monks.

Shortly after I was elected abbot, I had an opportunity to speak at leisure with Br. Bernard. I asked him if he had any thoughts about priorities that a new abbot should be aware of. After some discussion, the topic turned in a direction you might expect – his experience as a lay brother at Spencer. I could sense we had entered into deep territory; he was speaking from his depths. So, stimulated in part by today’s gospel, I thought I’d share with you what I heard, how Br. Bernard followed his lay brother vocation as the way, the truth, and the life which Jesus had willed for him and given to him as a gift.             But first a slight diversion – today we heard a section of St. John’s gospel. You may be familiar with the description of John’s thought as a spiral, returning again and again to certain themes but always at a higher level. Well, I have to admit there were times when I’d finish speaking with Br. Bernard and feel that t...

Today’s Gospel points to the painful reality of jealousy and competitiveness in our lives. When finally the beloved son sent to the vineyard is put to death, we know that this poignant image points us to Jesus. He is God’s most precious Gift sent to us by the Father, Jesus our Lord, our Hope for mercy, freedom and redemption, who will be rejected, spat upon and crucified. Tragically, I often reject his invitations, as my selfishness competes with or ignores his voice. When will I be able to open my heart more and more readily to all that he offers?

As one commentator has pointed out rather convincingly, we are witnessing a worldwide movement toward antipluralism, an ideology that takes many shapes – nationalism, authoritarian populism, racial and religious separatism. He sees these movements as “reactions against diversity, fluidity and the interdependent nature of modern life.” Antipluralists he says, “yearn for a return to clear borders, settled truths.” There is a worldwide fear about what is not pure, what is other, different, integrated. And he witnesses to the reality that for a very long time in America, the network of relationships, connectedness and trust that everything else relies on has been failing.* In recent months with the pandemic and the mandate for distancing and isolation, and the growing racial tension that has been unmasked once again; we see clearly our real need for one another and our dependence on human connectivity and compassion. And most of all, best of all for us as Christians, we have been given a...

  If you are willing to bear in peace the trial of not being pleased with yourself, you will be offering the Lord Jesus a home in your heart. It is true you will suffer, for you will feel like a stranger in your own house. But do not fear, for the poorer you are, the more Christ will love you. We continue to be consoled by these words of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux; she reminds us that with Saint Paul we dare to rejoice in our weaknesses, for it is there that the Lord Jesus' power is made perfect. And we are sure to find Him waiting for us in this lowest place.