ABBEY NEWS
Week of Feasts
This past week we’ve had the blessing of celebrating three solemnities: Last Sunday it was the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Friday that of The Sacred Heart of Jesus, yesterday The Nativity of John the Baptist. This week we look forward to that of Sts. Peter and Paul on Wednesday. Daily Mass will be at 6:30 as usual.
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On Wednesday Abbot Gerard and Fr. Stephen returned from the Regional Meeting in time for the office of None. In chapter this morning both Abbot Gerard and Fr. Stephen have us a brief report of the goings on at the meeting, much of which had to do with various questions concerning the Constitutions of the Order. Once again Abbot Gerard was elected one of the moderators for the next meeting.
Typical Backyard Summer Visitor
As often happens at these meetings one comes away with an unexpected duty, a new opportunity to serve the Order. And so it happened to Fr. Stephen who now finds himself Associate Editor of Cistercian Studies Quarterly. Having had no previous experience of the publication world the position will be an interesting challenge for him.
Cistercian Studies Quarterly, founded in 1966, is an international review of the Christian monastic and contemplative spiritual tradition. Issues often include studies of the early desert tradition, Cassian, the Rule of Saint Benedict, Gregory the Great, Bernard of Clairvaux, Ælred of Rievaulx, and other Cistercian men and women from the twelfth century to the present. CSQ also features a wide spectrum of contemporary essays and book reviews. Sample articles can be viewed in Current and Recent Issues. For further information visit the Cistercian Studies Quarterly web site.
Lectio Notebook
An essential element of spiritual formation is the prayerful and meditated reading of the word of God (lectio divina), a humble and loving listening of him who speaks. It is in fact by the light and with the strength of the word of God that one’s own vocation can be discovered and understood, loved and followed, and one’s mission carried out.
Familiarity with the word of God will make conversion easy, not only in the sense of detaching us from evil so as to adhere to the good, but also in the sense of nourishing our heart with the thoughts of God, so that the faith (as a response to the word) becomes our new basis for judging and evaluating persons and things, events and problems.
Saint Pope John Paul II
Vita Consecrata (94) March 25, 1996
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