Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
For the Order of Saint Benedict, today is the Feast of the Transitus of Saint Benedict, the anniversary of his death, in the year of our Lord 547. Of this event, his biographer Pope Saint Gregory the Great writes: The same year in which he departed this life, he told the day of his holy death to his monks, some […]
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Today is both the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul and the twelfth anniversary of the day I wed my beautiful bride. It is, as I have said before, a “moment when everything changed, celebrated on a day when everything changed”. It’s important to mark those changes. Francine and I have a funny tradition. When I proposed to her, […]
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Icon of Saint Benedict at Mount Athos For today’s Feast of Saint Benedict, I thought I’d share with you some of the short videos and documentaries I’ve found over the years that give an insight into the monastic life. Every monastery is different, of course, as you will see in these videos, but these monks have all responded to the […]
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Painting of the young John the Baptist, by Alessandro Rosi (1627–1697) This year, we go right from yesterday’s Solemnity of Corpus Christi to the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. Historically, that’s a bit backwards, but every liturgical year is a new adventure in the meshing of the Temporal and Sanctoral cycles. So what’s the deal with […]
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Today is both the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul and the eleventh anniversary of the day I wed my beautiful bride. It is, as I have said before, a “moment when everything changed, celebrated on a day when everything changed”. It’s important to mark those changes. Francine and I have a funny tradition. When I proposed to her, […]
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Father Dwight Longenecker has a great article up today about Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey. I’ve written several times about this growing and vital abbey, and Father Longenecker nails it: Now under the leadership of Abbot Philip Anderson that group of about a half dozen men have established a new monastery. Already they have fifty monks and the average […]
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Tomorrow is the feast of the Deacon martyr, Saint Lawrence. There are so many stories about him, that it’s hard to sum him up briefly. In the confused days after the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus, the administration of the Roman churches fell to the Deacon, Lawrence. He was captured by the Imperial authorities, but he bargained for his release. The […]
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Depending on your particular calendar, today or yesterday was the feast of Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), a great saint and Doctor of the Church who founded the Redemptorists and wrote on the spiritual life. I particularly enjoy his Way of the Cross and a short book (pamphlet, really) called How to Converse Continually and Familiarly with God. Yesterday I found […]
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Tomorrow being the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, today is Saint John’s Eve. Throughout much of Europe, the tradition on this day is to light bonfires. Here’s ours from a couple of years ago. Not much of a bonfire, strictly speaking, but we do live in the city after all! So what’s the deal with John […]
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On this day in 1431, one of the most truly remarkable women who ever lived was burned at the stake. She was 19 years old. She was known as Jehanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maiden), but today we name her Saint Joan of Arc. In 1429 at the tender age of 17, she led the French army to a string […]
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Today is the feast of the Deacon martyr, Saint Lawrence. There are so many stories about him, that it’s hard to sum him up briefly. In the confused days after the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus, the administration of the Roman churches fell to the Deacon, Lawrence. He was captured by the Imperial authorities, but he bargained for his release. The […]
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Pray and work! is the perennial exhortation of the Order of Saint Benedict. However, the motto of the Order, found at the end of chapter 57 of the Holy Rule is “Ut in Omnibus Glorificetur Deus”. In English, this is rendered as “That in all things God may be glorified”. The quotation is originally taken from 1 Peter 4:11, where, […]
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On this day in 1431, one of the most truly remarkable women who ever lived was burned at the stake. She was 19 years old. She was known as Jehanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maiden), but today we name her Saint Joan of Arc. In 1429 at the tender age of 17, she led the French army to a string […]
» Read more
This past weekend, I visited Mount Angel Abbey for retreat. I’d been once before, for an amazing liturgy conference they gave last year. This year, I went to accompany my new godson as he spent the weekend in a discernment retreat. The instant I arrived, I felt like my blood pressure dropped twenty points. During the weekend, I of course […]
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This article from Crux caught my eye. What better way to support the homeless Monks of Norcia than to buy their beer? Suds and solidarity: Buying Benedictine beer helps rebuild basilica ROME – The Latin-liturgy chanting, beer-brewing Benedictine monks of Norcia, Italy, the birthplace of St. Benedict, are living and praying in temporary structures after an earthquake in August damaged […]
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From the earthquake-ravaged Monastery of Norcia, we have news that the founding Prior, Rev. Cassian Folsom, O.S.B., has resigned. The earthquakes of the past several months have presented us with incredible challenges, which require vigorous, creative leadership. While I am in good health at the moment, I do not have the strength or energy necessary to meet these challenges. Therefore […]
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Over at my Camino blog, I’ve been posting a “Camino photo of the day” since early July. If you haven’t seen them, check them out! Today’s photo and short explanation may be more relevant here than usual. Today’s photo requires some backstory. One year ago today, I sent my application to the Archdiocese of Seattle to discern for the diaconate. […]
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