Going against the current of fear
Befriending fear Retreat
February 24-26 (Weekend)
(Br. Mark)
18 Then Jesus said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall compare it. 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches. Luke 13: 19-20
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There is always a beginning, a seed, planted in our deepest selves, often against our will. Jesus talks about the Kin
The give and take during retreats
(you only get what you put in)
Watching the dynamic process that happens when a group comes for retreats is fascinating. The size of these groups can go from 4 participants to 45. No matter the size, when people come together to listen, learn as well as to participate, there is often a deep bonding that happens. Strangers become friends, small groups will meet in our two parlors set aside for that very purpose and soon the other people are no longer
The truly wretched
(The hammer and grace of God)
“Wretched are those who are vindictive and spiteful.”—Pope Frances
Vindictiveness and spitefulness are not something reserved for the few. In my own life I find myself having to deal with these states of being which is a foretaste of hell, I believe. I can always have a ‘good’ and ‘just’ cause for my seeking to get back at others. It can be a very difficult inner struggle to understand that part of the Our
Pray with the heart
“Therefore, my children, pray, pray, pray, with the heart, pray with love,
pray with good works. Pray so that the world will change, that the world will be saved. With love live the words of my Son. Do not judge, instead love one another so that my heart will triumph. Thank you”. Our Lady of Medjugorje 2 March 201
To pray from the heart is to live out the priesthood we Christians belong to as stated in the ‘1st Letter of Peter’. When Jesus told us not
We have to give ourselves to something
It is easy to forget that our lives are important and our
choices and the path we choose invested with deep meaning.
One thing I find intriguing is the way people deal with life. By people, I am putting myself in that group. We all know that life is a tough journey, no matter who you are, or how rich or poor you are, or how intelligent you are. Rich people suffer as well as poor. You can’t get away from it. We also as a species seem to
After I posted about how people react or overreact to Pope Francis, this morning I begin to see how my own brand of 'bickering' only adds to the problem, solving nothing. I have no idea how this impasse can be bridged, but I continue to seek my own healing and mercy for my own role in the on- going 'bickering' that seems to be going on in all levels of society.
continue: http://www.thechristianreview.com/my-bickering-spirit-is-healed-by-a-breaking-heart/
Pope Francis
(A defense)
I recently read an article from OnePeterFive titled: “Four Years Later: Reflections on an Unprecedented Pontificate.” When I first starting reading the article I found myself rolling my eyes a bit, and I guess they may still be rolling. It started off with this quote:: “On March 13, 2013, I sat in my office and watched my screen as a new pope — a man whom I had never seen before that moment — walked out onto the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. I had never heard
Mary and the Holy Trinity
(Salve Window in our Monastic Church)
Our Salve-Window shows how the Holy Trinity is involved in Mary’s greatness. This brings to light the Trinity’s love, and the freely given grace, as well as her special place in our Christian Faith. It also shows as well the Trinitarian desire for the destiny of all men and women. Mary shows us what we are all called to…..oneness with the Holy Trinity.
The Father pointing, saying this is my Beloved Son, listen to Him. The
To know all is to forgive all
If our hearts condemn us, we know that God
is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.—1 John 3:20
The proverb “To know all is to forgive all” is something that I have pondered over for many years. From experience, even on some minor happenings in my life, I have found that if angry, once I know more about the situation the less I am bothered by it. We do it all the time I would suppose. For instance, if we know that someone is suffering from s
Lettuce in my teeth and Nuggets of gold
Gail, is a good friend, who is on a journey that we are all on. She is just more aware of it than most I believe. We were talking when she was here this week about something that she wrote. She is a very good writer, insightful and in reality has a positive attitude towards life, though, like most of us on our inner journey, she may trip over a nugget of gold that may seem otherwise.
I won’t quote her because I believe it is very personal,
We are called to endurance and faith “I passed the time on earth, rejoiced, suffered and patiently endured pains, until my Son, in all His glory, removed them.”
(March 18, 2017 Special Message from Our Lady to Mirjana
All we have is today, and all we need do is to get through it, as we have every day of our lives. Things can fall apart, the center will not hold, and it can seem like hell on earth on some days. The Blessed Mother is letting us know that she like us went through such
I believe we are in a time of ‘Free Fall”.
“[W]e are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the “culture of death” and the “culture of life”. We find ourselves not only faced with but necessarily in the midst of this conflict: we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life.”—John Paul 11 Evangelium Vitae, 28
Agitation is When I believe all we can do is to pray, seek to ta
This is an essay written by my good friend and author Fr. James Behrens. He has been a member of our community
since 1994. Before that, he was a parish priest. He has a way of seeing deeply into ordinary life and bringing the reality
of God and grace into it. I have Fr. James permission to print this.
On Knowing and Loving Differently
“Variety is the spice of life.” It is a very well known rule
A Beggar Off I-75, Near the Cleveland Avenue Exit by Br. MD
He actually has a regal look about him, at least when first spotted, sitting on the side of the road. Long white beard, thin hair also uncut, in matching white shirt and shorts, soaked with sweat on some days. Looks almost like some sort of holy man one might see in India, along the roads there, begging while sitting in some sort of yoga position.
Cont http://www.thechristianreview.com/a-beggar-off-i-75-near-the-cleveland-avenu
The reality of His Presence
“For you I must be everything. Everything! You understand?
Your life is mine…Move out of yourself; I’m living in you.
Do you grasp what I mean? I take up all the room.”
(From the book “He and I”) Author: Gabrielle Bossis Pauline Press 6 Feb 41
God accommodates us when He speaks. Using language that we can understand, when speaking of the incomprehensible, the ineffable, so that we may at least to begin to comprehend the dep
The thin barrier between there and here
(Written 6/12/08)
One of our newest employees, Fiona is her name, has very recently suffered a great tragedy in her family. One of her brothers died recently from drowning. I can’t imagine how horrible it must be to receive that kind of news; it is not something one can prepare themselves for. She is a gentle soul, a good worker and is respected by everyone who has the privilege to work with her.
She is very intelligent and can ask some good
The noonday devil (Acedia) and the experience of nothingness
Chapter Talk 4/1/17
When ask to respond to the invitation to describe the ‘Cistercian charism’ specific to our Order as you desire to live it out in your community? My spontaneous response was this:
“I believe that Lectio Divina is at the heart of our charism. Without it, our lives can become too scattered and we can lose our focus. As well as enclosure, which is often hard to keep when living near a large city and dep
Life is about little things
I like to think about problems,
questions flow through my mind,
about suffering and joy
and life and death,
sometimes even my own ending
whenever that will come.
Still, it is really about little things
our lives that speed by so fast,
a cup of coffee in the morning,
or a drink of water when very thirsty,
meals with friends,
our families,
and walks alone under the moon,
or in the rain
and when no one is looking
running and splashing
The human heart as a fortress
Most feel the need to protect themselves,
from pain and sorrow,
as well as others who can be the causes
of so much discord in our lives.
Then there are ‘those other people’,
from different religions,
races and societies different from ours.
Also from those we know and even love
if their burdens to heavy to carry,
so we build up armor to keep them all away,
by making them less than ourselves,
hopeless, less than human in some cas
If you love me
(The Last discourse)
During the ‘Last Discourse’ in the Gospel of John, Jesus made this statement: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. In Christianity Jesus Christ is of course the central figure, he being the revelation of the Father and the sender of the Holy Spirit. To be a Christian is always rooted in growing in the love relationship with the Eternal, the Infinite One, revealed as love. So to use a Pauline phrase, “To put on Christ”, is about allowin
Speaking truth is not about control
Therefore, my children, do not be afraid to speak the truth. Do not be afraid to change yourself and the world by spreading love, by doing everything for my Son to be known and loved by loving others in Him. As a mother I am always with you. I am imploring my Son to help you for love to reign in your life - love that lives, love that draws, love which gives life. I am teaching you such love - pure love. It is up to you, my apostles, to recognize it, live
There is no soul which is not bound to pray
(Mercy Sunday)
There is no soul which is not bound to pray, for every single grace comes to the soul through prayer. ---Sr. Faustina’s Diary 146 A soul which is pure and beautiful must pray, or else it will lose its beauty; a soul which is striving after this purity must pray, or else it will never attain it; a soul which is newly converted must pray, or else it will fall again; a sinful soul, plunged in sins, must pray so that it might rise ag
Thoughts on a Divine Mercy Retreat
Jesus' attitude is striking: we do not hear the words of scorn, we do not hear words of condemnation, but only words of love, of mercy, which are an invitation to conversation. "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again." Ah! Brothers and Sisters, God's face is the face of a merciful father who is always patient. Have you thought about God's patience, the patience He has with each one of us? That is His mercy. He always has patience,
