ST JOSEPH'S ABBEY, SPENCER MA

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart,  O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.   Zephaniah 3 What might it be like to live and act as if God were rejoicing over us with gladness and constantly renewing us in his love?  With Mary most pure we can shout for joy for Jesus her Son in his self-emptying love  is forgiving us over and over again. Such is God's judgment- God sees exactly what we do, what we deserve, and out of love chooses to remov...

O Sacred Banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of his Passion is recalled, the soul is filled with grace, and the pledge of future glory is given us. The novelist  Andre Dubus once wrote a sort of apologia explaining why he received the Eucharist regularly, despite the lack of understanding among his more intellectual friends. He wrote:  “This morning I received the sacrament I still believe in: at seven-fifteen the priest elevated the host, then the chalice, and spoke the words of the ritual, and the bread became flesh, the wine became blood, and minutes later I placed on my tongue the taste of forgiveness and of love that affirmed, perhaps celebrated, my being alive, my being mortal. This has nothing to do with immortality, with eternity; I love the earth too much to contemplate a life apart from it, although I believe in that life. No, this has to do with mortality, the touch of flesh, and my belief in the sacrament of the Eucharist is simple: without tou...

As we celebrate today the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus, Abbot Damian began this morning's Mass with the following thoughts: "On the eve of his Passion, the Lord Jesus took the bread in his hands and said, 'Take this, this is my body.' He then took the chalice and said, 'This is my blood.' The entire history of God's relationship with humanity is summed up in these words. These are not only the words of Jesus, they are an event in the history of the world and in each of our lives. This event is Mercy Incarnate. May we never hesitate to acknowledge our real need for this Mercy." Lord Jesus, you give us your very self in the Holy Eucharist as the Bread of Heaven, containing in itself all sweetness and every blessing. May we grow more and more confident in your passionate desire to fill us with yourself.

All things rising, all things sizing Mary sees, sympathising With that world of good, Nature's motherhood. Their magnifying of each its kind With delight calls to mind How she did in her stored Magnify the Lord Well but there was more than this: Spring's universal bliss Much, had much to say To offering Mary May. The beauty, energy and exuberance of springtime remind  the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins and each of us of Our Lady’s joy as she carried Our Lord in her womb. This ecstasy all through mothering earth Tells Mary her mirth till Christ's birth To remember and exultation In God who was her salvation. Detail of drawing by Leonardo and some photographs by Brother Brian.  Excerpts from May Magnificat by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Humiliation is the only way to humility, just as patience is the only way to peace, and reading to knowledge. If you want the virtue of humility you must not shun humiliations... We were struck again by these words of Saint Bernard. The word "humility" is derived from the Latin  humilis  meaning lowly, literally "on the ground," from the word  humus  meaning earth.  Here we learn that becoming humble is not some personal project of self-mastery; it is rather owning my own weakness, sinfulness and my lowliness; and learning to look up at Jesus from down there in that low place and ask him for his mercy. In the monastery we often refer to this as bitter self-knowledge.  We realize that the monastic life is not about our achievement but about our readiness to make our weakness available to the mercy of God. Perhaps this is our most important work- to realize that we are in desperate need of this mercy.  It’s never been about...

We still use some of the ancient Trappist sign language. The sign for God is the thumbs of both hands touching each other with the index fingers touching and pointing upward- forming a triangle for the Blessed Trinity.  The sign for bread is the same joining of the thumbs and fingers making this triangular shape but pointing outward and parallel to a table top- the shape of a wedge of fresh bread. We monks delight to notice the similarity. God is our Life, our true Bread, our Nourishment on the way. Section of glass from chapel windows in Abbey infirmary, photographed by Brother Daniel.

May is Mary’s month. And as we gazed at the full moon on this chilly May morning after Vigils, we recalled that the moon is a symbol of the Virgin Mary. Just as the moon receives its light from the sun, so Mary as God-bearer receives and bears and radiates the True Light who is Christ Jesus our Lord, the Sun of Justice.     The moon above the Abbey church.