A Lenten Meditation
Once upon a time a father gave his little son some chewing gum, and the son took it but said nothing. “What do you say when you are given something good?” asked the father. “I want more,” replied the child. That is an understandable enough reaction of a little...Teacher
Dear Friends in Christ, It has been many years since I have been a regular teacher in the formation program at our monastery, but as abbot I am doing it once again. In the past, I mostly taught classes to the postulants and novices on the Books of Psalms, the Rule of...Laudato si
While many parts of the United States are in the grips of inclement, or perhaps more accurately, horrible, weather, with record-breaking freezing temperatures, we in New Mexico are enjoying mild daytime temperatures, around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, or higher. This is...Mother Rose Teresa
On the Feast of the Epiphany this year, January 6th, a dear friend of our monastery died. She was a Carmelite nun who had been Prioress of her monastery in Santa Fe for almost fifty years. Her religious name was Mother Rose Teresa of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and...The Abbot’s Notebook: The Baptism of the Lord
Do you remember the day you were baptized? I certainly don’t remember mine. I was all of twenty-five days old when my Baptism took place, on January 4, 1953. It must have been a cold and quite possibly rainy day in Portland, Oregon, that Sunday when my parents,...Christmas Greetings
Dear Friends in Christ, Christmas greetings and prayers to you and your loved ones. I hope you are having a joyful celebration of the Birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We keep you in our prayers and ask God’s many blessings upon you. Remember, Christmas begins on...The Abbot’s Notebook: December 15, 2019
Dear Friends in Christ, This has been a busy week for me! I left Rome on Sunday, December 9th, to return to New Mexico and my Monastery of Christ in the Desert. After the First Sunday of Advent early morning Offices of Vigils and Lauds, followed by Holy Mass, taking...Abbot’s Notebook
“Our Monk in Rome” is now “Our Abbot in Abiquiu,” or something like that. There will no longer be new postings on the “Our Monk in Rome” page, but please proceed to the “Abbot’s Notebook” page for my news and views. At least to begin with, there might not be a weekly...The Abbot’s Notebook for December 12, 2018
The Abbot’s Notebook for December 12, 2018 My sisters and brothers in Christ, Blessings to you! This is the day of the election of the abbot here in our Monastery of Christ in the Desert. This Notebook goes out before that election happens. If you want to find out...Impressions of Rome: Humor in Habit
Just as every school probably has its share of “class clowns,” many monasteries have their share as well. Possibly the same goes for Curias or Generalates, such as ours in Rome. I would like to recount some stories of “humor in habit” in this week’s posting. In the...The Abbot’s Notebook for December 5, 2018
The Abbot’s Notebook for December 5, 2018 My sisters and brothers in Christ, Blessings to you! We have had a heavy snow this week and it came on the very day of the diaconal ordination of our Brother Bonaventure here at the Monastery, December 2nd. It did not stop...Impressions of Rome: Saint Mary Magdalene
Each time that I go to the Vatican, or its official title, “la Citta’ del Vaticano,” some twenty-five minutes on foot from where I live, I pass by the large church of Saint John the Baptist of the Florentines, or in Italian, “San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini.”...The Abbot’s Notebook for November 28, 2018
The Abbot’s Notebook for November 28, 2018 My sisters and brothers in Christ, Blessings to you! Now we are only two weeks away from the election of an abbot here in our community. Our Abbot President, Abbot Guillermo Arboleda Tamayo, has asked us to pray with these...Impressions of Rome: Circo Massimo
There is possibly a logical explanation, such as “historic preservation,” and let us hope that is the reason, but I confess my surprise that such a huge tract of land right in the historic center of Rome remains undeveloped. It is the size of at least a couple of...The Abbot’s Notebook for November 21, 2018
The Abbot’s Notebook for November 21, 2018 My sisters and brothers in Christ, Blessings to you! This past week we finished our annual retreat. Father John Murphy, S.J., conducted the retreat for us and it was, at least for me, a very wonderful retreat. Thanks be to...Impressions of Rome: Book Presentation
Dom Roberto Ferrari, a forty-something Italian monk who is completing his doctorate in spirituality, lives at our Curia Sant’Ambrogio here in Rome. Ferrari has published a number of books, and most recently, one on the relationship between State and Religion in Italy,...The Abbot’s Notebook for November 14, 2018
The Abbot’s Notebook for November 14, 2018 My sisters and brothers in Christ, Blessings to you! This past week I have received a bad cold and sore throat as a gift from others. I presided at the temporary vows of our Brother Emmanuel Dao Van Rinh, barely able to...Impressions of Italy: Medieval Memories
Though I am perfectly happy to have been born in the mid-twentieth century, 1952 to be precise, when many of the conveniences we now take for granted, such as cars, air conditioning, central heating, modern plumbing, reliable medicine, health care, the telephone,...The Abbot’s Notebook for November 7, 2018
The Abbot’s Notebook for November 7, 2018 My sisters and brothers in Christ, Blessings to you! I am sitting at my own desk in my own office once again. That will change pretty soon. Tomorrow I begin to move into a normal monk’s cell so that the rooms of the abbot...Impressions of Rome: City of Churches
As those who regularly read, “Our Monk in Rome,” already know, I have visited many churches in the Eternal City over the past two years. Have I been in hundreds of churches? Maybe not, but probably I have been to dozens. The city of Rome has some nine hundred Catholic...The Abbot’s Notebook for October 31, 2018
The Abbot’s Notebook for October 31, 2018 My sisters and brothers in Christ, Blessings to you! I am home once again at Christ in the Desert. Sometimes I remember how I used to be able to travel and never feel any tiredness at all. Those days are gone. I can still...Impressions of Italy: Sleep
Why do we sleep? Scientists tell us that it is a time for important brain processing, blood restoration and regaining strength. All the information we take in during the day is somehow organized, processed and stored during sleep time. Put another way, information is...The Abbot’s Notebook for October 24, 2018
The Abbot’s Notebook for October 24, 2018 My sisters and brothers in Christ, Blessings to you! I am writing to you from the State of Virginia this time. Prior Benedict and I are here looking at a property that might work for a monastic community. It has been a...Blessed Colomba Gabriel
A few blocks from our Curia Sant’Ambrogio in the “centro storico” (historic center) of Rome is a convent and guest house of the Benedictine Sisters of Charity. They are an active or apostolic Congregation of religious sisters who live in common, pray the Divine Office...
"Let everyone that comes be received as Christ."
— The Rule of St. Benedict
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