ST JOSEPH'S ABBEY, SPENCER MA

Their work for the winter season completed, these shovels wait to be stored away until next winter. Humble tools serve us all day long. Saint Benedict reminds the cellarer of the monastery and implicitly all of the monks to regard the tools and utensils of the monastery " as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar ." Sacredness is hiding in what is ordinary, if we are attentive.   Photograph by Brother Jonah.

Liturgy means "service;" it is first of all God's service of us in Word and in Sacrament. All that we do in the Liturgy, our prayer, thanksgiving, petition and contrition, is ultimately our response to God's initiative. All  during the Easter season our response is joy-filled gratitude, expressed in our chants and psalmody and prayers. As the Preface for Easter in the new Missal puts it, we are "overcome with Paschal joy.'' Indeed, the springtime landscape mirrors our joy and expands our hearts in gratitude.

During Eastertide our recitation of the Angelus at dawn, noon and before retiring is replaced by the recitation of the Regina Cœli: Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia. Has risen, as He said, alleluia. Pray for us to God, alleluia. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen . Spring has come early to our area of New England, and violets are blooming in profusion on the edges of sidewalks and hedges all around the monastery. The low-growing violet is a symbol of humility. And our Father, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, described the Virgin Mary as the "violet of humility." In paintings the violet was also used to de...

We are struck by the serenity and deep quiet of this fresco by Piero della Francesca. The atmosphere seems clear, crisp; and the landscape communicates the transformation that Jesus' rising has accomplished- to his left all is barren, at his right all the trees are in full leaf.  The guards doze oblivious, as a majestic young Christ steps confidently out of his marble sepulchre. His voluminous mantle is rosy pink- the color of dawn's first brightening, the color of spring blossoms, the color of healthy young flesh. His hair swept back, blood trickling from his wounded side, Jesus is depicted by Piero as an athletic, victorious warrior just back from his battle with all the powers of sin and death. His divinity and humanity are perfectly merged. Jesus carries a furling banderole of victory and pauses to gaze at us.  "It is really I; do not be afraid. Sin and death no longer have any power over you." ...

We share excerpts from Father Luke's recent homily. Father Luke currently serves as the Abbey's Director of Novices. In 1997 Blessed John Paul declared Saint Thérèse of Lisieux to be a Doctor of the Church.   She could be called the Doctor of Mercy. Thérèse lived at a time when fear of God, fear of Hell were major motives in religion. In her autobiography Thérèse emphasized the loving mercy of God in ways that were often very dramatic. She wrote, "I'm going to be doing only one thing. I shall begin to sing what I must sing eternally, the Mercies of the Lord. Most   of all I imitate the conduct of Magdalene; her astonishing or rather her loving audacity which charms the Heart of Jesus also attracts my own. Yes, I feel it; even though I had on my conscience all the sins that can be committed, I would go, my heart broken with sorrow, and throw myself into Jesus' arms, for I know how much He loves the prodigal child who returns to Him. I go to him with confide...

Today in the monastery we celebrate the memorial of Saint Benedict Joseph Labre. Many of the monks are fond of him and greatly admire his simplicity. Benedict Joseph attempted unsuccessfully to enter a number of monasteries. He never fit in, was judged unstable and was always sent on his way. He ended up as a wandering pilgrim, praying incessantly. Our missal entry for this morning's Mass listed him as Saint Benedict Joseph, Fool for Christ. As we celebrate his life and holiness this day, it seems it would be of little use use to us and give him no fitting honor, should we try to imitate his so-called foolishness. Benedict Joseph did not set out to be a fool. Like all who are truly poor, he simply had no choice. It would seem that deep within him two forces met and struggled- on the one hand his very real physical and psychological weaknesses and incapacities and on the other his very ardent desire to love Jesus with every fiber of his being. It was this love that grate...

A whole Sunday is set aside by the Church to celebrate the abundance and constant availability of Jesus' mercy. As we see Thomas put his hand into Jesus' open side, we pray with our Cistercian Father, Blessed William of Saint Thierry: Those unsearchable riches of your glory, Lord, were hidden in your secret place in heaven until the soldier's spear opened the side of your Son our Lord and Savior on the cross, and from it flowed the mysteries of our redemption. Now we may not only thrust our finger or our hand into his side like Thomas, but through that open door may enter whole, O Jesus, into your heart, the sure seat of your mercy, even into your holy soul that is filled with the fullness of God, full of grace and truth, full of our salvation and our consolation. Open, O Lord, the ark door of your side, that all your own who shall be saved may enter in, before this flood that overwhelms the earth. Open to us your body's side, that those who long to see the secrets...

We recently found this reproduction of a page from a Renaissance gradual with an antiphon that we still chant during Eastertide- "I arose and am still with you. Alleluia." Many chant pieces are still sung in Latin during our Liturgy. And this year the opening chant of the Great Vigil of Easter was sung in Latin for the first time in many years. As we emerged from the library where our new fire was still blazing in the hearth, there were two bold signs posted by our liturgy coordinator- Lumen Christi. Deo Gratias - "The light of Christ. Thanks be to God."  And so we were reminded as we processed through the cloisters in the semidarkness what our response to the cantor this night was to be.  Through all darkness and always, always when we can barely find our way, may we glimpse the flickering light of the Easter candle, the Light of Christ, leading us forward. May we hear the cry,  Lumen Christi, and rememb...

Within the day to day routine of prayer and work, we monks are committed to ongoing attentiveness to Jesus' presence in our midst. But even here in the monastery of all places,  we may often fail to recognize him in the ordinariness of our day. Like the disciples on their way to Emmaus, when we reflect on a day's activities oftentimes our eyes are opened and we recognize that the Lord Jesus has indeed been accompanying us in all the details of our day, interested in us and our needs and joys from moment to moment, though we may have failed to recognize him. Photograph of monastery landscape by Brother Casimir.

Here we present excerpts from Father Abbot's homily for Easter:                        The tomb is empty. He is risen, and we rejoice. It is also important to realize that untroubled elation does not capture the whole of the original Easter experience. What happened on that first Easter morn? According to Mark, Mary Magdalen, Mary the mother of James and Salome went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. Upon arriving, they see the stone rolled away. A “young man” announces that Jesus has risen and instructs the women to tell Peter and the disciples that they will find Jesus in Galilee. The response of the women is crucial here. In the wake of the news that their friend and teacher has risen from death, what do they do? Mark tells us that “they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone fo...

The Lord is risen from the dead. We rejoice in hope, as we celebrate the great fifty days of Eastertide. During this holy season, we will chant over and over at the Offices and at Mass, "Alleluia,"  which means literally "Praise God!" In the chant repertoire there are myriad variations. Some alleluias convey a quiet joy, a sense of joyful repose after a long ordeal. Others are more exuberant; so many ways to express the almost inexpressible. With our Alleluias we give voice to our joy and thanksgiving for all that the Father has given us in Christ Jesus our Lord, now risen from the dead. Photographs of monastery landscape by Brother Casimir.

Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh... from an ancient homily for Holy Saturday In the stillness of Holy Saturday we await all that Christ's Resurrection will bring. Illustration by Eric Gill (British, 1882-1940). 

By mocking and striking Jesus, they are causing the destiny of the Suffering Servant to be literally fulfilled in him. Abasement and exaltation are mysteriously intertwined. As the one enduring the blows, he is the Son of Man, coming in the cloud of concealment from God and establishing the kingdom of the Son of Man, the kingdom of humanity that proceeds from God. Something new is beginning. All through history, people look upon the disfigured face of Jesus, and there they recognize the glory of God.       Pope Benedict XVI Detail of the crucifix that hangs above the altar in the Abbey church with corpus by Lambert Rucki (French, 1888-1967)

The brethren assemble in the Abbey Chapter House just prior to the celebration of the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper  for the Mandatum, the Footwashing Liturgy. Those designated prepare to wash their brothers' feet. Father Abbot washes and kisses the feet of Father Dominic,  our Prior. He is assisted by Father Vincent. The Liturgy continues as the monks chant, "A new commandment I give to you, that you should love one another, as I have loved you, says the Lord." Brothers Robert, Bernard and Jude wash their brothers' feet.

The time has come to go to Jerusalem. All the things the prophets have foretold      concerning the Son of Man, Shall now be accomplished I n his Palm Sunday homily Father Abbot compared all that the passion will entail  to a gathering storm, the "perfect storm" into which Jesus will travel in faith, in love for us and faithfulness to his Father. With Jesus our Lord we journey to Jerusalem in these days. There in his sufferings we will see and experience our own sufferings and the sufferings and burdens of so many of our sisters and brothers in need. May our own hearts be stretched opened in compassion, as the heart of Jesus was broken open by the soldier's lance. Photograph of stained glass in Chapter House doors. Holy Week Introit Antiphon.