Notes, Homilies, and News
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January 10th: Snow! Silence Made Visible
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts of the Apostles 10:34-38; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 3:13-17 The Christmas season comes to an end with the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord. We still have a glimpse of the season when we...
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 60:1-6; Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 2:1-12 The Solemnity of the Epiphany, literally the “manifestation” or “showing,” of the Lord Jesus Christ to the nations, is...
January 1st 2026
On January 1st we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, the beginning of a new civil year 2026 and the World Day of Peace. Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to all of good will! A Blessed and Happy New Year 2026! Hail Mary, full of grace, the...
December 31st: The Seventh Day of Christmas
January 1st: Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God
Scripture Readings: Book of Numbers 6:22-27; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 4:4-7; Gospel According to Saint Luke 2:16-21 The shepherds who “went in haste to Bethlehem,” as directed by the angel, can be understood as the whole human race seeking Jesus. The quick...
December 28th: Christmas Continues
Holy Family Sunday, Year A
Readings: Book of Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Colossians 3:12-21; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 In our Catholic Liturgical Calendar, the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas is always dedicated to the mystery of the Holy Family...
December 24th: Guesthouse & Day Visitors
The Monastery Guesthouse will be closed during the month of January 2026, for a time of solitude for the monks, with guests on retreat being received again beginning February 1, 2026. However, all of the available Guesthouse slots have been fully booked up to April...
December 18th: Advent Wreath
Advent is almost over, with Christmas just a week away, but throughout these past three weeks, since the First Sunday of Advent on November 30th, our refectory has been graced with the traditional Advent wreath with its three purple candles, for the first, second and...
Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 7:10-14; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans 1:1-7; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 1:18-25 It is still Adventide, with only a matter of days remaining before we celebrate the Nativity of the Lord on December 25th. We...
Third Sunday of Advent, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 35:1-6, 10; Letter of Saint James 5:7-10; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 11:2-11 We are now very close to celebrating the Solemnity of the Lord’s Nativity, Christmas Day, on December 25th. The Lord is very near and is...
Second Sunday of Advent, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 11:1-10; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans 15:4-9; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 3:1-12 A fundamental emphasis of the Season of Advent each year is to welcome Jesus, who came in time, who will come at the end of time,...
December 3rd: Red Sky At Night
We have been enjoying some beautiful sunsets these days, reminiscent of William Turner skyscapes. In this case, it's the Master Artist providing the celestial paint. Advent has begun and the present shortening of days reminds us of the soon-to-occur lengthening of...
First Sunday of Advent, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 11:1-10; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans 15:4-9; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 3:1-12 On this First Sunday of Advent, we can focus some on the fact that in order to recognize God’s gift of salvation, we need an...
Thanksgiving Day 2025
While Thanksgiving Day is a national, we could even say, secular, holiday, filled with parades and fancy meals, it is also a day for us Christians and Catholics to stop, look and listen with the ear of the heart to what our God is saying to us. First, we can say that...
November 23rd: Rain and Roses
We have now completed our annual monastic retreat, which began on November 16th and ended on November 22nd, under the guidance of Abbot Elijah of Subiaco Abbey in Arkansas. Abbot Elijah's ten conferences and daily homilies at Mass were encouraging, enlightening,...
Last Sunday of Ordinary Time: Solemnity of Christ the King, Year C
In the Liturgical Calendar of the Catholic Church, this Sunday we celebrate the last Sunday of Ordinary Time, dedicated to Christ the King. Next Sunday a new Liturgical Year begins with the First Sunday of Advent, leading up to Christmas and the celebrations...
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"Let everyone that comes be received as Christ."
— The Rule of St. Benedict
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