Twentieth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 15:21-28 It should be safe to say and not a heresy to conclude that Jesus was at least mildly bothered by the persistent Canaanite woman in the Gospel passage for this...August 13th: Franciscan Friends
Having just celebrated the feast of Saint Clare of Assisi, the close collaborator of Saint Francis of Assisi, on August 11th, we also called to mind the fact that we have many friends from the various branches of the Franciscan family, including Franciscan Friars of...Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Mass Readings: First Book of Kings 19:9,11-13; Romans 9:1-5; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 14:22-33 Both the first reading and the Gospel passage for this Sunday are “weather-related,” a common enough phrase today relating to events outside of one’s control and...August 6th: God’s Glory
Another glorious view of the Chama canyon is posted today, as the Church celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lord on the Mountaintop, traditionally identified with Mount Tabor in the Holy Land. In ages past a Benedictine monastery existed on Mount Tabor, but today...August 3rd: Healthy Hen
Believing that we have some of the healthiest hens on planet earth, there are some simple facts that we’re more than willing to share on the topic. Our forty-five hens, of a variety of sizes and colors, have a very large area of lush green grass in which to...Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Mass Readings: Isaiah 55:1-3; Romans 8:35,37-39; Matthew 14:13-21 The three readings for Mass this Sunday contain some of the most consoling words in all of the Bible. The first reading for the Prophet Isaiah, who was active about 550 years before the birth of Christ,...July 31st: Summer Saints
The Summer season is replete with liturgical feasts of many noteworthy saints, including Saints Aloysius Gonzaga, John the Baptist, Peter and Paul, Benedict, Bonaventure, Mary Magdalene, James the Greater, Joaquim and Anne, Martha, Mary and Lazurus, Ignatius of...July 28th: Rain Arriving
We are beginning to get much-needed rain, and are grateful to God for that. The rainfall also almost immediately reduces the daytime temperatures, these days in the high 80s. Hopefully into and throughout the month of August we will see more moisture, as the typical...July 25th: Towering Yucca
For the second Summer in a row, one of the two large yucca plants in front of our Monastery church is in full bloom. With a flowering head of some three feet tall, and about ten feet above the ground, the delicate white yucca blossoms are a beautiful sight. Yucca are...Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Readings: First Kings 3:5, 7-12; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans 8:28-30; Gospel of Saint Matthew 13:44-52 As we probably can all attest, our contemporary culture teaches us to seek the good life, at whatever the cost, literally. More often than not, today...July 23rd: Friendly Fledgling
We have named the bird in our photo today, “Robin,” who is still learning to fly, with our cloister garden as the testing ground. We have been praying for rain, as the usual monsoon season seems to be delayed. Fortunately, on the Feast of Saint Mary...Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Readings: Book of Wisdom 12:13.16-19; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans 8:26-27; Gospel of Saint Matthew 13:24-43 This Sunday we have more parables from Jesus about God’s good earth, dealing with weeds growing in the midst of wheat and a mustard seed planted in a...July 18th: Lilies in July
Just now we are enjoying an abundance of Easter lilies blooming in our cloister garden. Each Spring we plant the lilies we use to decorate the church during the Easter season. Typically, the plants die back then re-emerge in the Summer. True to form, that is happening...July 9th: Taking Flight
As presumably millions of people worldwide take to the skies for Summer holidays this month and next, in this quiet corner of Mother Earth, a little fledgling learns to fly, as illustrated into today’s photo. Every Spring and Summer robins nest and raise...July 8th: Summer Lilies
Each year at Easter we have a couple dozen potted Easter lilies decorating our church. Their fragrance and beauty add to the the joy and glory of the season of the Lord’s Resurrection as Spring returns. The Easter lilies in church last for weeks, being hardy...July 4th: Summer Cactus
True to form, Cholla cactus are blooming in the Chama Canyon wilderness. This magenta display always takes place on the first days of Summer, and normally between the Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist, on June 24th, and the Solemnity of Saint Benedict...Fourteenth Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Zechariah 9:9-10; Romans 8:9,11-13; Matthew 11:25-30 How can we possibly know the mind and heart of God? Undoubtedly the best way is to listen to our Lord Jesus Christ, whom we hear in the Gospel today thanking his Father in heaven for revealing to...Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Second Book of Kings 4:8-11, 14-16; Romans 6:3-4, 8-11; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 10:37-42 Hospitality—the art of receiving others well—is a strong focus of today’s Scripture Readings. In the first reading for Mass this Sunday, we hear...June 27th: Summer Solemnities
Each Summer we are invited by the Church to commemorate in a special way a goodly number of saints. On June 24th, just as Summer dawns, we celebrate the Nativity (birth) of Saint John the Baptist, “the last of the prophets,” as he is often called. That day...Summer Newsletter 2023
Vocations A talented UK-based band, called “Sadie and the Hotheads,” comprised of not so-young musicians, released the single, “Everybody’s Got a Song (To Sing)” in 2014. The song’s fairly simple tune and message is that everyone has a story, analogous to a song, to...June 14th: Peaceable Kingdom Continues
Matty the donkey, Gloria and the sheep, as well as our four dozen chickens, continue their tranquil lives in the midst of desert beauty. Matty, who turns four this November, guards the sheep against marauding predators. The sheep provide us with wool for weaving and...June 9th: Intrepid Hiker
With umbrella and walking stick in hands, our Prior Bonaventure is shown on his recent hike to the top of the cliffs above our monastery. This sort of hike is not for the faint of heart. It takes some hours to reach the crosses on the top of the cliffs, then a little...June 8th: All God’s Creatures
Our free range flock of chickens are often found roosting on the fence around their field, where they seem to be taking a “break” from their foraging in the course of the day. Perhaps it’s a small reminder to find moments in our day for a...Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, “Corpus Christi”
Scripture Readings: Book of Exodus 24:3-8; Letter to the Hebrews 9:11-15; Gospel According to Saint Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 On the night before giving His life on the cross, Jesus instituted the Eucharist, the gift of his Body and Blood, in the form of bread and wine, as...
"Let everyone that comes be received as Christ."
— The Rule of St. Benedict
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