ST JOSEPH'S ABBEY, SPENCER MA

During last Sunday's Chapter Brother Matthias received the novice's habit.  An accomplished artist,  Matthias comes to us from Pittsburgh after working for several years as a professional chef and caterer. We rejoice to have Matthias our brother in community.  O God, in that unutterable kindness by which you dispose all things sweetly and wisely, you gave us clothing, so that a triple benefit might be ours: we are covered with dignity, kept warm and protected in body and soul. Father, pour forth the blessing of your Holy Spirit upon us this morning and upon these clothes which your son here before us has asked to receive, so that he may serve you faithfully in the Cistercian way of life. Photographs by Father Emmanuel.

After spending the night in prayer on a mountain top, Jesus calls his disciples  to himself    and chooses Twelve, whom he names Apostles.  Jesus calls us to himself, chooses each of us us for our own mission. Like the Twelve, we are meant to do our part to make God's kingdom a reality, so that the Lord Jesus and his way of loving and acting may inform our thoughts and actions moment by moment.  Photographs by Brother Brian.

A large, probably admiring crowd is traveling with Jesus this morning, happy and proud to be in the entourage of the wonder worker who has captivated their imaginations and their hearts. But soon the euphoria is interrupted by an annoying blind beggar, crying out. Many in the crowd tell him to quiet down; he’s disrupting things, really ruining the mood. But the guy refuses to be silenced, and he shouts out all the more insistently, begging for Jesus, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Praised be to God, Bartimaeus knows what he wants. He may be blind, but he has clear insight- in his plea he calls Jesus Son of David, recognizing Jesus’ royal lineage as well as his reputation as healer. *  Actually this passage often strikes us as one of the more humorous ones in all the Gospels, for at this point Jesus calls for him and asks the blind man, who probably has stumbled toward him, hands feeling the air, “What do you want me to do for you?” At this point in his ministry Jesus has...

by Brother Brian.

We know that the closer we get to Jesus, the more clearly we see who we are. Always with the realization of God’s nearness there is neither boasting nor complacency but awe and reverence and very often bitter self-knowledge. We see more clearly who we are. And so the response of a grateful, awe-filled heart is often, quite appropriately- I am not worthy. Noticing the blessing, the undeserved abundance, we see clearly who the recipient is. It is any of us, who may be blest by God's gracious presence not because of what we may have accomplished but because of who God is- all love. It’s never been about worth, but always about love, and the sweet condescension of his mercy, the tenderness we never really deserve. Photo by Brother Brian.

In the verses just before this morning’s Gospel, Jesus has tried to explain to the apostles what is going to happen to him.“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles  who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.” It is sobering and painful to hear; and they are amazed and afraid. But it’s clear that they really don’t understand yet, they don’t realize who it is they’re following. And so this morning James and John ask to sit beside Jesus one on his right and the other at his left when he is throned in glory. Tragically the only enthronement Jesus is going to receive will be on a cross of agony and humiliation with a thief on his left and his right. That’s why it’s always so embarrassing to hear those two naive, very ambitious apostles say a bit too ...

Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing; God only is changeless. Patience gains all things. Who has God wants nothing. God alone suffices. We are always heartened by these words of Saint Teresa of Avila.  As autumn days grow cooler with  first frosts at night, we notice that  some flowers continue to bloom.  Patience gains everything.          Brother Brian's Photos of Brother Gabriel's garden.

It is important that Christ specifies that the very things given up will be replaced in this present age a hundred times by the very things sacrificed initially. The list given by Mark is not some bonanza of good things. Each category represents some crucial element in human life: mothers, brothers and sisters, a house, lands. What is important is that each comes back- as a gift- in the context of that community of believers where each member cares for the other and is in turn cared for by all. Wondrous to tell, this constituted the gradual but true beginning of the Kingdom of God on earth- already in those days of Christ's presence on earth.  The history of the Church is the continuation of this gradual building up  of the Body of Christ. Our own vocation occupies a special place in this history, for our lives unfold in a community to which we are committed for life and whose members in a sense belong to one another in a relationship of mutual dedication. Photograp...

Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, save that of knowing that I do your will. We came upon this prayer by Saint Ignatius and wondered, certainly as a Jesuit the generous heart of Pope Francis was formed, informed by the sentiments that Saint Ignatius begs for himself and his Society in this prayer. And clearly it is not a prayer for Jesuits only, but one we can all recite with devotion. Photograph of Abbey woodlands.

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” The Greek word for "observe" is  phulassontes   meaning to "keep eye an eye on"as when the shepherds of Bethlehem were "keeping" their flocks with unwavering vigilance. Jesus is saying that when we keep his words, guard them, treasure them, we are like his mother. Like Mary we want to watch over the Word with love and a tender, open heart; to attend to the Word and his desires for us. Madonna and Child by Eric Gill.

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.” Imagine being taught to pray by Jesus himself. Perhaps it was early one morning, a disciple sneaks away and comes upon the Lord off on his own. Perhaps intrigued once again by Jesus' relationship with his Abba, this disciple wants what Jesus enjoys. His request is one which we want to utter all day long- "Lord, teach us to pray. How can we even begin to pray if you do not pray within us." Photograph by Brother Anthony Khan.

Three fine men joined us for the autumn Monastic Experience Weekend. With sincerity and open hearts they come like others before them seeking God's will, seeking to discover the deepest desire and longing in their own hearts. And so w e were reminded of Pope Francis' words in a recent address. He says in part: To offer one’s life is possible only if we are able to leave ourselves behind. Belief means transcending ourselves, leaving behind our comfort and the inflexibility of our ego in order to center our life in Jesus Christ. This “going forward” is not to be viewed as a sign of contempt for one’s life, one’s feelings, one’s own humanity. On the contrary, those who set out to follow Christ find life in abundance by putting themselves completely at the service of God and his kingdom. Jesus says: “Everyone who has left home or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life” Mt   ...

Today as we celebrate Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, we recall Thomas Merton’s love for this saint called “The Little Flower.” Merton even speaks at one point of wanting “to be her monk.” Merton’s writings continue to speak a truth and a vision that is dear to us. And so we were pleased that Pope Francis mentioned Thomas Merton in his address to the US Congress last week. A century ago, at the beginning of the Great War, which Pope Benedict XV termed a “pointless slaughter”, another notable American was born: the Cistercian monk Thomas Merton. He remains a source of spiritual inspiration and a guide for many people. In his autobiography he wrote: “I came into the world. Free by nature, in the image of God, I was nevertheless the prisoner of my own violence and my own selfishness, in the image of the world into which I was born. That world was the picture of Hell, full of men like myself, loving God, and yet hating him; born to love him, living instead in fear of hopeless self-c...