ST JOSEPH'S ABBEY, SPENCER MA

Do you want to show honor to Christ’s Body? Do not neglect him when naked; do not neglect him perishing outside of cold and nakedness, while here you honor him with silken garments. For he that said, “This is my body,” and by his word confirmed the fact, also said, "I was hungry and you gave me no food"; and, "as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me” (Matt. 25:42, 45). For this indeed needs not coverings but a pure soul; but that requires much attention. Let us learn therefore to be strict in life, and to honor Christ as he himself desires. For to him who is honored, the honor that he desires is most pleasing, not the honor we consider best. Peter thought he was honoring Christ by forbidding him to wash his feet, but doing so was not an honor—just the contrary. Even so do you honor him with this honor, which he ordained: spending your wealth on poor people because God has no need at all of golden vessels but of golden souls. ST. JOHN CH...

Without courage we can never attain to true simplicity. Cowardice keeps us “double-minded”—hesitating between the world and God. In this hesitation, there is no true faith—faith remains an opinion. We are never certain, because we never quite give in to the authority of an invisible God. Hesitation is the death of Hope. We never let go of those visible supports which, we well know, must one day surely fail us. And this hesitation makes true prayer impossible—it never quite dares to ask for anything, or if it asks, it is so uncertain of being heard that in the very act of asking it surreptitiously seeks by human prudence, to construct a makeshift answer. What is the use of praying if at the very moment of prayer, we have so little confidence in God that we are busy planning our own kind of answer to our prayer? THOMAS MERTON Thoughts in Solitude

IMMOLATION AND TRANSFIGURATION A fter triumphing over the temptations of the Adversary last week, today the Lord Jesus takes us with him from the depths of a dark desert to the shining heights of Mount Tabor. Unlike the dreadful solitude of the desert, here on Tabor we experience a true fullness of communion. The text structures the narrative at three levels, and in three groups of three persons each. First, there's the triad of disciples—Peter, James and John—whom Jesus takes with him up the mountain. A second triad sums up the history of salvation: Moses (the Law), Elijah (the Prophets), and Jesus (the Fullness) converse peacefully with one another, in a profound accord that symbolizes the unity and harmony of all Revelation. But, in this ascending hierarchy, the summit will be the manifestation of the divine Triad: the Father , whose voice can be heard speaking only of the Son; the Son , the Mediator, who is integrated into both the divine and human orders; and the Holy Spirit ,...

Oftentimes it’s enough merely to meet one day a true man or woman of prayer for an irresistible desire to pray to emerge in oneself. There are many today, it seems, who carry this wound in their hearts, this obscure but insistent longing. Let us call it an attraction for prayer. It is an initial call of the Spirit in the heart of a believer that moves him to abandon himself to the mysterious current whose meaning and orientation are barely glimpsed. This attraction brings with it a certain facility for recollection, a spontaneous stripping-off of all that could distract from its activity, which takes place entirely in the interior depths. ANDRÉ LOUF In the School of Contemplation , Ch. 10, pg. 146

"Fasting makes sense if it really chips away at our security and, as a consequence, benefits someone else, if it helps us cultivate the style of the good Samaritan, who bent down to his brother in need and took care of him." POPE FRANCIS

“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” SAINT JOHN PAUL II 

Let us not be troubled when it befalls us to be plunged into darkness, especially if we are not responsible for it. You must realize that this darkness enshrouding you has been given you by God's providence for reasons known to him alone. Sometimes indeed our soul is engulfed by the waves and drowned. Whether we give ourselves to the reading of scripture or to prayer, whatever we do we are increasingly imprisoned in darkness… it is an hour filled with despair and fear. The soul is utterly deprived of hope in God and the consolation of faith. It is entirely filled with perplexity and anguish. But those who have been tested by the distress of such an hour know that in the end it is followed by a change. God never leaves the soul for a whole day in such a state, for then hope would be destroyed…rather he allows it to emerge very soon from the darkness. Blessed is he who endures such temptations… For, as the Fathers say, great will be the stability and the strength to which he will com...