Recent Homilies
Feast of the Epiphany
- January 8, 2011
- Abbot James
I’m going to begin this homily in a way that could well appear to be blatant name-dropping, but I do think this little anecdote will be to the point. About fifteen years ago I was part a small group of people who had been organizing a dialogue between Buddhists and Christians that was going to be held at the Abbey of Gethsemani....
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Birthday of the Lord (Midnight Mass)
- December 25, 2011
- Abbot James
I expect a lot of you, like me, receive many unsolicited emails, some of which can indeed be infected by viruses and others not especially worth reading even if they are not malicious. Happily, still others are very fine. A week ago I received a message from a friend that included a story that has apparently been making the rounds on the Internet for a couple years and that is worth repeating, even if some of you may have heard it before.... Continue reading →
Third Sunday of Advent
- December 11, 2011
- Fr. Boniface
[Jesus] came to Nazareth… and entering the synagogue…he stood up to do the reading. When the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed him…he found the passage where it was written: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, therefore he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted…to announce a year of favor from the Lord” (Luke 4:18,19)...
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Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
- December 8, 2011
- Abbot James
When we honor Mary each year on this day, the patronal feast of our entire country, we appropriately focus not simply on the doctrine of her having been conceived without Original Sin but, even more importantly, on our conviction that her entire life was sinless. It is also worth reflecting on what that might have looked like to those who knew Mary during her life on earth.... Continue reading →
Second Sunday of Advent
- December 4, 2011
- Fr. Christopher
“We have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind.” The poetic imagery of these words from the lament of the prophet Isaiah is particularly appropriate for us in the northern temperate zone as we make the transition from fall into winter. The glorious spectacle of the colors of deciduous trees signals the inevitable denuding of their branches.... Continue reading →
Solemnity of Christ the Universal King
- November 20, 2011
- Fr. Hilary
Today’s Gospel is open to different interpretations. I’m following the one, by John Meier, that sees Jesus announcing a general judgment for all humanity. The passage follows, in Chapter 25 of Matthew, the parable of the ten virgins, which was the gospel last Monday, and the parable of the talents... Continue reading →
Thirty Second Sunday of the Year
- November 6, 2011
- Fr. Joseph
When we're confronted with a story such as today's gospel parable, it is important to ask the right kind of questions--not the wrong kind. For example: back in novitiate days Fr. Andrew told of a Sister, who, in order to give a lesson on traffic safety to her class, told her pupils a fictitious story of a child who had received a little red sled for Christmas... Continue reading →
Monday of the Thirty First Week of the Year
- October 31, 2011
- Fr. Joseph
In the section of Romans we have been reading, i.e., chapters 9-11, St. Paul is dealing with the problem of Israel vis-a-vis Christianity. For him it is a problem both theologically and emotionally. Theologically because the Jews were the chosen people, the people to whom the promises had been made, going all the way back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob... Continue reading →