Alone before God
(we all carry the monk archetype in our souls)
A man came to me and asked me why the monastery was so important to him. He went on to say that when he is here staying at our retreat house, he feels at peace and more centered. However when he leaves it seems to go away and his sense of alienation returns. So he continued and said; why do I come here, I am not even a real believer? What draws me?
I have had more than one person inquire about this over the years.
Alone
the soul alone knelt
true knowledge of self humbling
nothing to defend
its darkness exposed
stripped away its pretensions
inner light focused
seeking loves healing
calling out for some surcease
on its face falling
swallowed in darkness
its own self hell creating
clawing with self hate
memories painful
endless cycle repeating
holy name calling
mercy came swiftly
its joyful shout resounding
embracing the soul
the light surrounding
inner healing begi
Allowing
One of the biggest ‘why's' about life is the one on suffering, not only in our human world, but also in the world in general where all living things seem to suffer and die, often as food, just part of the food chain. Also as human beings, being the inward creatures that we are, there is also a host of psychological and emotional problems that often besets most of us during our lives. Then there is loneliness that can strike at anytime, a feeling of being outside looking in with no conn
Alleluia by Leonard Cohen a powerful prayer
The song alleluia by Leonard Cohen is very touching. Today, someone pointed out a video on you-tube for me to see, of a young man singing this song from the balcony of his apartment. He was singing to uplift the spirits of his neighbors. I was deeply touched by the act of kindness, but also the power of the song.
Probably for the first time in my life, when seeing something on the internet, or reading about it in the newspapers, I am finding
All who hope in God
Mary’s song of praise in the Magnificat “is the
canticle of the People of God on the journey,
and of all men and women who hope in God, in the power of his mercy.” Pope Francis
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Advent is a time of hope. For Jesus Christ is God’s mercy in the flesh and Mary in her joy over this deep mystery and actual reality praised God in her “Magnificat”
”My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because He has regarded the l
All we need to do is forget
Science makes us wise in how things work,
governments can bring some order into our lives,
but it is the human heart that makes changes,
neither governments nor science,
it is the soul of man that loves,
the spirit of man that sees God’s image
in all those around them that allows transformation.
How we touch others is important,
contempt leads to greater global suffering,
hatred leads too war,
all we need do is forget that each human being,
is the
All we have,
The progression of time cannot be stopped,
all we have is this moment with all its fullness,
nothing can be grasped, only let go of,
naked we stand before eternity
often forgetting that we are pilgrims,
on a journey,
all desolves each moment,
only the infinite, the eternal,
can fill the inner void.
All this fuss over the New Year
(Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever) Ps: 135:1
I know the New Year is an important time of the year. However, when I was in the Navy, even though like most young men I went out a lot, on New Year’s, I stayed in. Never understood all the intense celebration just because it was the eve of a New Year; of course, I am a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to all holidays as well as my birthday. Just ask those who work here a
All Souls day Lauds/Mass 2015
We had a beautiful Lauds/Mass this morning at 7 AM. After the Abbot gave his homily, he read off all the names of the people we knew who died this year. Some family members and many friends, as it is every year. As we prayed for those who have died recently; my mind went over the hundreds that I have known and many that I have loved. Family members and friends that I have lost over the years…as well as members of my community who I have known, some for decad
All Souls Day 2021
No one is barred from heaven. Whoever wants to enter heaven may do so because God is merciful. Our Lord will welcome us into glory with His arms wide open. The Almighty is pure, however, and if a person is conscious of the least trace of imperfection and at the same time understands that Purgatory is ordained to do away with such impediments, the soul enters this place of perfection gladly to accept so great a mercy of God. The worst suffering of these suffering souls is t
All Souls Day 2020
"The more one longs for a thing, the more painful does deprivation of it become. And because after this life, the desire for God, the Supreme Good, is intense in the souls of the just (because this impetus toward him is not hampered by the weight of the body, and that time of enjoyment of the Perfect Good would have come) had there been no obstacle; the soul suffers enormously from the delay."-Saint Thomas Aquinas, The Angelic Doctor
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There
All Souls day 2017
Today, Catholics remember not only their dead but all those who have passed on through that door we call death. In the Catholics faith, those who pass or not considered ‘dead’, but if a soul loves God, then they are our companions on the way. So this morning after our Community Mass we processed out to the cemetery to bless the graves. Since I have been here, there have been 55 deaths and I took care of many of them in their last days here on earth. So as the Abbot w
All Souls day 2015
All Souls day is when we remember our beloved dead. We also remember all who have died and pray for them. At times like this we can learn to pray for those we would normally not think about and in doing this we can learn that those who are different, even those we find repugnant to our sensibilities are our brothers and sister, all men and women loved by Christ Jesus. In the Body of Christ we are one, we bring others with us by our prayers and love... hatred and un-for
All Souls Day
O Lord in prayer we enter your time,
that moment in which all moments are contained,
so on All Souls day we do pray
for all who have entered into your ‘Eternal Now’,
let us bring all those we know,
for those who lived before
and will come after,
for in your eternal ‘Now’
all moments are one.
For those we love we pray O Lord,
for those we just passed by,
and worked with,
for these who have died,
we also lift to you,
As well as the poor who die in so called obscurity,
All Souls day
Today, for Catholics we celebrate All Souls day. A day of remembrance and prayers for the deceased, both for those we love and knew in life, as well as for all those who wait on the Lord as they continue to grow and to be healed. The metaphor of fire is used as the tool of purification; fire is also used as a symbol of God’s love, as well as for the reality of the Holy Spirit. Love is about relationship. Love, any love that is real, purifies us all of our inner conflict
All Souls Day
O Lord in prayer we enter your time,
that moment in which all moments are contained,
so on All Souls day we do pray
for all who have entered into your ‘Eternal Now’,
let us bring all those we know,
for those who lived before
and will come after,
for in your eternal ‘Now’
all moments are one.
For those we love we pray O Lord,
for those we just passed by,
and worked with,
for these who have died,
we also lift to you,
As well as the poor who die in
All Souls Day
Lord on this day we remember your beloved children
who have left us and moved on to a greater reality,
where only truth reigns in your presence.
Your mercy is like a two-edged sword
cutting deep into the human soul
exposing all that needs healing,
for are you not the Divine Physician?
Love is a fire that burns away all that is false,
or at enmity with Infinite Love,
until only truth remains and total healing,
all sins forgiven, and self-inflicted wounds restored
All Saints Day 2020
“If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8:31): this is the source of the peace found in the saints. Such inner strength makes it possible for us, in our fast-paced, noisy and aggressive world, to give a witness of holiness through patience and constancy in doing good. It is a sign of the fidelity born of love, for those who put their faith in God (pístis) can also be faithful to others (pistós). They do not desert others in bad times; they accompany them i
All Saints day 2015
On Halloween we celebrate the vigil of “All Saints Day”, it is a time when Christian’s ponder deeply on the reality of the ‘Body of Christ’ and our connection with all who have gone before us. Catholics and by that I don’t just mean Roman Catholic, but all of the older branches of Christianity, have a tradition about the “Crowd of witnesses” talked about in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let u
All Saints Day
We swim in an ocean of love,
though thirst and dryness is often our state,
hidden deep are walls constructed by fear,
covered by anger or human anxiety over many things,
allowing our ‘times’ to dictate to us
what is considered ‘truth’.
Saints are soaked in this love,
they see in ways that understand,
how love is found in others abounding,
so they touch those around them and heal,
channels of the water of life,
often unknowing of their gift to others.
To see, to touch,
All Saints day
People tend to want to place their own inner connection to God on to others. It is others who are holy, or who got it all together, or get it, etc. Humility is the ability to accept aspects about ourselves without falling into self-contempt or despair. The road that we are all on tends to bring growth slowly and often when things are rough. In ‘easy’ times, or ‘happy’ periods of our life, there is no struggle (I like that very much), nor is there much questioning, we for
All Saints Day
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--
as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they
be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.—John 17:21
Today within Christendom all Saints day is celebrated. It is in reality a feast day for all. Christians, though many do not celebrate it. Jesus prayed that we may be one with him as he is with the Father. Those who are now with the Lord are truly one with the Trinity and have put on th
All Saints
The saints lived as we did,
days of joy and of sorrow,
faith sometimes fought for,
doubt reasoned with,
suffering and injustices endured,
and yes, many failures,
yet they endured and did not despair
slowly growing in their trust of Christ Jesus,
diving deeper into the Mind-Of-Christ,
until now they deeper in the kingdom
they are in union, one with,
Christ’s mind and intentions.
They are now fully human,
like Christ Jesus, for they now see him
as he really is, and tra
All of those I will meet today
This is my best day. I live to serve you, God. I will pray for all of
your children who will not get out of bed today because they died or
they are sick, or they are sad. Please help me to
be kind to and to love all of those who I meet today.
(From an essay by Gail Bardis)
To seek to live deeply ones faith gives a perspective that can make each day new because of being able to see below the surface. We can think we are alone. Yet Gail seeks
