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Fr. Justin Sheehan, OCSO The Feast of the Chair of St Peter The title of today’s feast can sound a bit strange to the literal-minded: “the Chair of St Peter”. That is a hint that it’s not about a literal chair at all. The reference seems to be to the... read more →

Fr. Justin Sheehan, OCSO The 6th Thursday in Ordinary Time An important part of the Cistercian spirit is to be what our Fathers called pauperes cum paupere Christo, poor with the poor Christ. The reason for our voluntary poverty is given by St James in the first reading: “God chose... read more →

Fr. John Denburger, OCSO Our Lady of Lourdes (1 Kings 11: 29 - 32: 12: 19 Ps. 81; Mark 7: 31 - 37) On this day in 1858, Our Lady appeared at Massabielle outside the town of Lourdes to a young girl, Bernadette Soubirous; it was the first of eighteen... read more →

Fr. Justin Sheehan, OCSO The Memorial of Saint Scholastica Saint Scholastica was the twin sister of Saint Benedict. She was consecrated to God at a very early age but probably continued to live in her parents’ home. It is said that she was as devoted to Jesus as she was... read more →

Fr. Stephen Muller, OCSO The 5th Friday in Ordinary Time (Is 6:1-2a, 3-8, 1Cor 15:1-11, Lk 5:1-11) I know very little about sailing but I often think of the image of letting the Holy Spirit fill one’s sails. I think a lot of us can choose to leave our sail... read more →

Fr. Justin Sheehan The 4th Friday in Ordinary Time In the 1st book of Samuel, the Lord describes David as “a man after his own heart”. And in the first reading this morning, Ben Sira tells us what that means: “With his every deed David offered thanks to God. With... read more →

Fr. Jerome Machar, OCSO The 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Nehemiah 8: 2-4a, 5-6, 8-10, 1 Corinthians 12: 12-30, Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 The people of Israel had been in exile for 70 years. They were estranged from their faith roots and never taught the ways of the Law. The first... read more →

Fr. Jerome Machar, OCSO The 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time “For Zion’s sake I will not be silent. For Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet” (Is. 62:1). We have been inundated with bad news. There has been a fair amount of fake news. We have had plenty of politically... read more →

Fr. John Denburger, OCSO The Baptism of the Lord (Isaiah 42: 1 - 4, 6 - 7; Ps. 29; Acts 10: 34 - 38; Luke 3: 15 - 16, 21 - 22) In the synagogue in Nazareth Jesus had often heard this passage from Isaiah: “Here is my servant whom... read more →