Abbot's Archives
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May 21th: Meet Us In Chama!
This Friday afternoon, May 21st, a variety of our handmade products will be for sale at the Chama Valley Farmers Market, near the village of Chama, New Mexico. Our Brothers Andre and Isidore will be at the Market from 3:00 to 5:00 pm this Friday, with our soaps,...
April 20th: From Our Weaving Workshop
We still have 2 rugs left to present for purchase from the Monastery Workshop. Each rug is made with prayer and care by one of our monks. The wool, both warp and weft, is 100% Navajo-Churro and hand-dyed. The rugs for sale are one-of-a-kind and nearly identical in...
Thirty-second Sunday, Year B
Readings: First Book of Kings 17:10-16; Letter to the Hebrews 9:24-28; Gospel According to Saint Mark 12:38-44 In the Gospel passage for this Sunday’s Mass, Jesus gives a clear warning against the very human tendency of seeking our own glory. In other words, parading...
November 3rd: Getting Older
Though not ancient! Matty, our guard-donkey for our flock of sheep, will turn five years old later this month. She has been a faithful guardian of the sheep for almost half a decade and is hale and hearty as, well, a donkey. She's never had a cold, the 'flu, or...
October 29th: Endless Summer
Well, almost! We have not yet had a hard freeze in the Chama Canyon this autumn, which is unusual, with snow sometimes falling by this time of year. We are currently enjoying very pleasant weather, with daytime temperatures in the 70s and at night in the high 30s or...
Thirty-first Sunday In Ordinary Time
Scripture Readings: Book of Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Letter to the Hebrews 7: 23-28; Gospel According to Saint Mark 12:28-32 In the old covenant, before the coming of Christ as man, God gave to the people, through Moses, a great commandment: “You shall love the Lord, your...
Thirtieth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B
Readings: Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 31:7-9; Letter to the Hebrews 5:1-6; Gospel According to Saint Mark 10:46-52 In the first reading for Mass this Sunday, the Prophet Jeremiah, writing some six centuries before the birth of Christ, speaks of a return from exile, a...
Twenty-ninth Sunday In Ordinary Tome, Year B
Readings: Prophet Isaiah 53:10-11; Letter to the Hebrews 4:14-16; Gospel According to Saint Mark 35-45 The first reading for Mass today, from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, was written some six centuries before the birth of Christ. The prophesy announces the victory...
Twenty-eighth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B
Scripture: Book of Wisdom 7:7-11; Letter to the Hebrews 4:12-13; Gospel According to Saint Mark 10:17-31 In the Gospel passage this Sunday, an unnamed man meets Jesus and asks what he must do to possess everlasting life. Jesus replies with emphasis on the true meaning...
October 5th: Autumn Wonder
We are having a beautiful Autumn thus far. The "look" of the changing of leaves in today's photo, taken October 4th along the Rio Chama and Gallina Creek, is usually more typical of mid to late September. Apparently we are having record breaking temperatures these...
Twenty-seventh Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B
Scripture Readings: Book of Genesis 2:18-24; Letter to the Hebrews 2:9-11; Gospel According to Saint Mark 10:2-16 A sad reality of modern society is the high rate of divorce. We hear about it frequently and often it is even glamorized with fascination by how often...
Twenty-sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time
Scripture Readings: Book of Numbers 11:25-29; Letter of James 5:1-6; Gospel According to Saint Mark 9:38-48 In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus advocates a spirit of humility and gentleness in a concrete case of someone expelling demons in Jesus’ name. Though not an...
Twenty-fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B
Scripture Readings: Book of Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; Letter of Saint James 3:16-4:3; Gospel According to Saint Mark 9:30-37 A very human trait that often leads to problems is comparing oneself to others. We may wish to be more like others or maybe less like them. We may...
September 20th: Congress of Abbots Has Ended
Late morning on Thursday, September 19th, the Congress of Benedictine Abbots came to a close. Ten days of prayer and worship, listening, thinking, speaking, learning, voting, eating(!), as well as resting, were the order of the day by the two hundred twenty-five...
September 15th: New Benedictine Abbot Primate
On September 24th the assembled abbots in Rome elected Abbot Jeremias Schroder as the 11th Abbot Primate of the worldwide Benedictine Confederation. His term of office is eight years. Abbot Primate Jeremias is from the Abbey of Saint Ottilien in Germany. He is fluent...
September 20th: Two-Hundred Twenty Abbots
This week and next, two-hundred twenty Benedictine superiors, being abbots or Priors, are gathered in Rome for the Congress of Abbots, normally held every four years, and always in the Eternal City. The place of meeting is at the Abbey of Sant'Anselmo, the flagship of...
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Isaiah 50:4-9; James 2:14-18, Mark 8:27-35 A moment came in the public ministry of Jesus when he asked his disciples what others were saying about him, and who they thought he was. Jesus asked not because he did not know the answer, but to elicit a stance from his...
September 8th: A Thousand Years Young
Beginning Sunday, September 8th, the Abbey of Montserrat in Spain is celebrating one thousand years of existence. The jubilee year will include numerous events, though I'm not sure of what they all are. The multitudes of pilgrims who come here every day attest to the...
September 6th: Abbot President Ignasi Fossas
On the morning of Thursday, September 5th, Father Ignasi Fossas, OSB, a monk of Montserrat Abbey in Catalonia, was elected Abbot President of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation. His time of office will be eight years. The General Chapter of our Congregation, currently...
September 4th: Montserrat Morning
The General Chapter of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation continues at the Benedictine Abbey of Montserrat in Spain. Abbot Christian and seventy other abbots and delegates continue to work on revisions of the Constitutions of our Congregation, to better reflect...
September 3rd: Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat
Abbot Christian and seventy other Benedictine abbots and elected monk-delegates from around the world are currently assembled at the Abbey of Montserrat in Spain for the General Chapter of our Subiaco Cassinese Congregation. The General Chapter began on August 30th...
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Scripture readings: Isaiah 35:4-7; Letter of James 2:1-5; Gospel According to Saint Mark 7:31-37 In the Gospel today, Jesus cures a deaf man who also has a speech impediment. Freedom from bondage of various kinds is an important sign of the Messianic age which Jesus...