The Right Fruit
7th Sunday after Pentecost By their fruits you shall know them. This well-known verse deserves all our attention. It can easily be used to discredit persons or groups who do not, at least on the surface, seem to be producing good fruit, or at least not as much as others. If we understand it that […]
The Taker of Risks
Solemnity of St Benedict We owe so much to St Benedict. For obvious reasons. We are Benedictines. We strive to live by his Rule, to follow his teachings. We hope that when we reach the end of our earthly pilgrimage, we will be welcomed by him with open arms as true sons. When people think […]
Do We Get It?
6th Sunday after Pentecost Today’s Gospel presents us with the multiplication of loaves as recounted by St Mark. The crowds were so enthralled by the preaching of Our Blessed Lord that they had followed Him for three days in the desert. They had not taken time to prepare food, and so by now they were […]
If Only It Is Done
5th Sunday after Pentecost Today’s liturgy is entirely centred on the importance of fraternal charity and the necessity of forgiving each other’s offences. We all know the primordial place of charity in our faith. At the Last Supper, Our Blessed Lord made it clear that fraternal charity is the sign by which His disciples are […]
Duc In Altum
4th Sunday after Pentecost Anyone visiting St Peter’s Basilica in Rome cannot fail to be overwhelmed by the majesty of one of the most awesome edifices ever constructed. And in honour of whom? A poor, ignorant, feisty fisherman from Galilee. We shall soon honour the Holy Apostle Peter, along with St Paul, with liturgical solemnity, […]
With Unhurrying Chase
Third Sunday after Pentecost Today’s oration presents us with a summary of the faith and the spiritual life. The Latin prose of these ancient prayers is dense, concise, and no words are wasted. Because of this, in order to do justice to the oration in our language, it is sometimes helpful to take the translator’s […]
Discerning the Body
Corpus Christi In today’s Gospel, we see Our Blessed Lord sending His servants to invite to His banquet those for whom it was destined. One after the other, they reject the offer. One pretext is that he has bought a new farmhouse and has to go and see it; another that he has just purchased […]
The Great Love Affair
Trinity Sunday Last night at First Vespers, we sang this antiphon: We give Thee thanks, O God; we give Thee thanks, true and one Trinity, one and most high Deity, holy and one Unity. So much to say that gratitude and thanksgiving are one […]
Yes, We Are Drunk
Pentecost Sunday We have heard the story many times, and our familiarity with it risks preventing a deeper penetration into the mystery of this most sacred day of Pentecost. The Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit, promised by Our Lord, is poured out upon the Church gathered around Mary Immaculate and the […]