ST JOSEPH'S ABBEY, SPENCER MA

Brother Robert, Father Kizito and Brother Jonah facing East toward the sanctuary of the Abbey church during the celebration of the morning Eucharist. ...a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us. from the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

We have in our possession a much better paradise than that of our first parents, and that paradise is Christ our Lord. A text from Saint Bernard with a photograph by Brother Daniel.

On Sunday, 5 December 2010 three postulants began their two year novitiate. The community gathered in prayer in the Abbey Chapterhouse as they were clothed in the novice's habit by our Abbot Fr. Damian. Fr. Luke our Novicemaster poses in the Abbey garth after the ceremony with our new novices: Br. John Kim of Korea, Fr. Paulinus O'Brien of the Diocese of Worcester and Br. Timothy Mulvey from Hyde Park. May God grant them the grace of perseverance

As we reflect on the year that it is past, we remember with gratitude the Solemn Profession of our Br. Jonah Pociadlo in October. It was a day of great joy and celebration for the entire community as well as for Br. Jonah's family and many friends. The following prayer of St. Simeon the New Theologian which Br. Jonah included in the Mass program gives us a sense of his response. What is this awesome mystery that is taking place within me? I can find no words to express it; my poor hand is unable to capture it, in describing the praise and glory that belong to the One who is above all praise and who transcends every word. My intellect sees what has happened but cannot explain it.