Exhortation At Clothing Ceremony
Beloved Sons, Tomas, Alec, David and Graham, Today we honour the Presentation of the Immaculate Virgin Mary in the Temple of Jerusalem. On such an auspicious day, you come to present yourselves to serve in the house of the Lord which is a Benedictine Monastery. To such men as yourselves our holy Father St Benedict […]
Of Mustard Seed And Leaven
A mustard seed is very small, and yet, when it grows it turns into a large plant resembling a small tree. The Lord uses this imagery, which would have been very familiar to his listeners, to get across a very important point: God, and all that comes from God in our faith, enters discreetly into […]
God Is Not Mocked
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Living in the Spirit signifies living of the life of grace which Christ Our Lord has merited for us and which we receive through the Church and the Sacraments. Walking in the Spirit signifies living up to and putting into practice the far-reaching demands of […]
Touching The Hem
Today’s Gospel presents a moving scene: a woman who had been suffering with an internal hemorrhage for 12 years, makes her way through the crowd, approaches the Lord from behind, and manages somehow, in spite of the crowd pressing in on every side, to touch the hem of His garment. She was thinking: “If I […]
The Day Of Jesus Christ
Twice in today’s epistle mention is made of the “day of Christ Jesus”. What is this “day”? In the light of the Church’s teaching on the social Kingship of Christ, that is, that He is King of the entire created order and of each person taken individually and of societies as a whole (teaching which, […]
Reflections On A Pilgrimage
I was blessed to take part last weekend in the Christus Rex pilgrimage for the first time. It was a time of grace, and I am thankful to the organisers. More than once, I found myself thinking of those who began this 27 years ago. It even came to me that perhaps our monastic foundation […]
Redeeming The Time
In today’s epistle we find this somewhat strange expression from the hand of St Paul: “See how you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph 5:15). That the days are evil is no secret; just about every day bad news reaches our ears, even tucked […]
It’s All About A Wedding
Why does God like weddings? Why does Holy Scripture begin with the wedding of Adam and Eve? Why does it end with the wedding feast of the Lamb in the Apocalypse? Why does Our Lord’s first miracle take place at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee? All these questions are relevant if we want […]
Those Who Are For Us Are Stronger Than Those Who Are Against Us
This month of October brings back memories of decisive victories of the Christian people over those who would wipe her out from the face of the earth. It also gives us the most powerful weapon we can use, namely, the Holy Rosary of Our Lady. Again and again, Mary has given victory over evil using […]