ST JOSEPH'S ABBEY, SPENCER MA

  Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit .  Luke 1 Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, the distance is about a four-day journey on foot. Mary is in haste out of joy and wonder. It is a joy and wonder that will issue in praise of the dawn of universal salvation. And when the child in Mary's womb comes near to the infant John in Elizabeth's womb, Elizabeth cries out in praise and prophecy, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Mary has set out and traveled in haste, all because love and joy have put a liveliness in her step.  This phrase that describes how Mary goes to visit Elizabeth is the very phrase used by Saint Benedict in chapter 43 of his Rule to describe how a monk on...

For God to be Trinity means that God explodes with delight from within.  Such delight requires mutuality of persons, for it is delight at knowing and being known, delight at belonging to Another, delight at the inability of having one’s own existence apart from that Other, delight in never for all eternity having been absent from the life of the beloved Other, delight that celebrates its freedom in a playful, unstoppable dance that has as stage the whole enraptured cosmos and that thrills in abiding with the blessed Two who are Persons other than Oneself.  This explosive, world-creating energy of delight wells up from the bosom of the Blessed Trinity.  What is good is “diffusive of itself”, says St. Thomas. God is too good, and therefore too “diffusive” of himself—too exuberant and squandering of his Being—to keep his secret delight to himself. The action of a divine self-outpouring is a central biblical category already at work from the first verses of Genesis: “In the b...

  Today we remember Saint Philip Neri, an ardent lover of the Lord and a man of great joy and cheerfulness.  Known for his playful wit, he once remarked, "A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one." We love the story of an overwrought Roman  fashionista  who once came to Saint Philip seeking counsel. She told him of scruples over her vanity -  she was fond of wearing the high-heeled shoes that were all the rage. Philip told her his only fear was that she might fall over.  Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once  said that “j oy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”  Joy is the fruit of real confidence in God's ineffable mercy .  This is our joy as monks - we see over and over again our fumbling and sinfulness and learn to rejoice because Christ's mercy is always available to us. Saint Philip Neri , Carlo Dolci, Italian, 1645 or 1646, oil on canvas, 17 1/4 × 14 1/4 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Used with permission...

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!  We chant these words each morning. It is our privilege to spend our day praying and working and doing all things that the Lord's name may be praised. The monastery is an expression of the mystery of the Church, where nothing is preferred to the praise of the Father's glory. Every effort is made to ensure that the common life in its entirety conforms to the Gospel, which is the supreme law. In this way, the community will not be lacking in any spiritual gift. The monks strive to remain in harmony with all the people of God and share their active desire for the unity of all Christians. By fidelity to their monastic way of life, which has its own hidden mode of apostolic fruitfulness, monks perform a service for God's people and the whole human race. Each community of the Order and all the monks are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother, and Symbol of the Church in the order of faith, lov...

  On this great feast of Pentecost, I feel sympathy for the devout Jews staying in Jerusalem, who witnessed the proclamation of the mighty works of God by the disciples. But like those bystanders, I am a little puzzled about what is going on? Are these people drunk? Are they religious fanatics? What is the source of their boldness? The simple answer is the Holy Spirit. But to recapture the experience of the Spirit by Our Lady and the disciples is difficult since we are so far removed from the event. But I think we can assume one thing: their experience was consistent with the experience of the People of God at other moments in salvation history. And to show that I will take two elements from the first reading.  The first element is wind. The Spirit blows where he wills, but always to manifest the mighty deeds of God. This was the experience of God’s people at the crossing of the Red Sea. The Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind and the Israelites passed through dry-...

Today we celebrate Blessed Franz Jägerstätter who refused to serve in the German Wehrmacht. He was convinced that as a devout Catholic he could not engage in active military service. His was one of the most prominent acts of resistance by an ordinary Austrian during World War II. In addition, Jägerstätter denounced Wehrmacht war crimes on the Eastern front, long before anyone publicly dared any critique of what became known as the Holocaust.   Franz Jägerstätter was imprisoned and beheaded by the Nazis on this day in 1943.  He is the patron saint of conscientious objectors. On a recent Sunday afternoon, we watched Terrence Malick's very moving film about Franz Jägerstätter. 

  Why is the world so messed up? I asked God, So much anger, violence, poverty, And everywhere I look I see fear and doubt and loneliness. Where in all this sadness, Is your light - Your grace- Your touch? Take your boots off, said God. Lines from "Soul Whispers" by Edwina Gateley. Image by Brother Brian.