Sermon for the Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost – Farewell to Volmoed

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In September 2019, a community of three monks from the Order of the Holy Cross arrived at a place of considerable beauty and warm welcome and gracious hospitality called Volmoed, near Hermanus. They established a prayerful presence and welcomed new vocations to their way of life. In November 2025, a community of five Holy Cross monks will be leaving Volmoed to establish a new home for themselves in Harkerville, near Plettenberg Bay.

In between the arrival and the departure of the monks, quite a lot has happened, much of it joyful, some of it challenging. A number of people seem to have come to appreciate the presence of the monks at Volmoed, and to be disappointed that they are leaving. The monks themselves are moving on with mixed emotions, very aware of what and who will be left behind, grateful for all they have received and for the relationships they have formed, while anticipating what they are moving towards with hope.

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Sermon for the Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost – Farewell to Volmoed Read More »

Sermon for the Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost by Br Mpumelelo

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Let us pray: Show us Your ways, O LORD; teach us Your paths. Lead us in Your truth and teach us, for You are the GOD of our salvation; on You we wait all the day. Amen.

WE ARE CHILDREN OF THE RESURRECTION.

JESUS’ teachings led to conflict between Him and Israel’s religious leaders. If you start reading this Gospel from verse one, you will see that JESUS showed how they weren’t leading GOD’s people well or wisely. This made the leaders angry. They looked for ways to have Him killed. They tried to trap Him into saying something against the Roman government. But His answers were so wise that they couldn’t have Him arrested. Then the leaders tried to trap him also into saying something against the Law of Moses.

The Sadducees were the group of Jewish religious leaders with the most authority in Jerusalem. They were in charge of the Temple and worked closely with the Roman rulers. They didn’t believe in angels or that GOD raised people from the dead. They didn’t believe that JESUS was the MESSIAH GOD had promised to send. Most Sadducees opposed JESUS and his teachings. So at this point they asked a difficult question about when people rise from the dead, even though they didn’t believe in the Resurrection, but just to trap JESUS! So they tell a story about seven brothers marrying the same woman in succession, and JESUS clarifying that, in the Resurrection, there is no marriage because people are like angels and can no longer die. Which means people who believe and trust GOD will have a new kind of life. It will be completely different from this world.

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Sermon for the Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost by Br MpumeleloRead More »

Sermon for the Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost by Br Mpumelelo Read More »

October 2025 News

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There have continued to be delays in the legal process of transferring the property in Harkerville outside Plettenberg Bay that we are in the process of acquiring. A positive aspect of this is that it has given those whose lives are closely linked with ours more time to adjust to the impending reality of our departure from Volmoed. It has also provided more opportunity for us to engage with Volmoed leadership concerning practical aspects of our ongoing relationship with Volmoed.

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October 2025 News Read More »

Sunday 2 November 2025 – Pentecost XXI – Sermon by Br Josias

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In the name of God, the Creator, the Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen!

Does the work of a person define their humanity? Can a person be moral without being religious? To what extent should we love those who do us wrong?

For every ‘bad’ person that exists, there is an element of goodness in them; even though it is difficult at times to access that goodness. Indeed, it is difficult to see the God in the other, when our hearts and minds are polluted with what they have done or the company that they keep. As Mark Anthony in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar said: “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.”[1] Sometimes people do bad things to us or associate with bad people, such that even when they do good we do not recognise it.

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Sunday 2 November 2025 – Pentecost XXI – Sermon by Br Josias Read More »

Reflection for Sunday 26 October 2025 – Pentecost XX – by Br Aelred

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May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.

As Benedictine monks, our holy father St. Benedict instructs us through his holy Rule to strive and show forth the twelve stages of Humility, for through it we can fully receive and share the love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

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Reflection for Sunday 26 October 2025 – Pentecost XX – by Br Aelred Read More »

Pentecost XIX – 19 October 2025 – Sermon by Br Daniel

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Among the things that I’m currently reading is the latest novel by my favourite conspiracy theorist. The main focus seems to be on noetic science, and the ways in which it can be used and abused by those in power.

I confess I do not know much about this science, and there is so much information available online that it is quite bewildering. However, I was able to find a concise definition of noetic science: ‘Noetic (from the Greek word meaning “mental”) science is a branch of metaphysical philosophy concerned with the study of mind as well as intellect. Noetic science investigates the role of consciousness in shaping personal experiences and perceptions of reality.’

So, I understand that it is a deeper investigation of how our thoughts shape our world. As Christians, it would thus guide me as to how our faith would inform our thoughts and our understanding of God and thus our experiences of God in this world and in our lives.

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Pentecost XIX – 19 October 2025 – Sermon by Br Daniel Read More »

Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

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The disease identified as leprosy in the Bible was a terrible affliction. In addition to whatever physical suffering it caused directly, the indirect effects of the need to control the spread of this contagious disease amongst the population were considerable. The book of Leviticus prescribes that lepers must isolate themselves from their community, who were not allowed to worship nor socialize with them. They were even required to warn others loudly not to come near them. Only examination by a priest to verify that they no longer had the disease could ritually remove the lepers’ uncleanness and allow them to reintegrate with their community.

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Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Read More »

September 2025 News

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The transfer papers for the property in Harkerville outside Plettenberg Bay that we are in the process of acquiring were signed at the beginning of September. The transfer is all but ready to be lodged at the deeds office in Cape Town, with provision having been made for a process of regularization of the property with the local Bitou Municipality after the transfer. Attention is being given to what happens after the Brothers leave Volmoed, in terms of such aspects as the future use of the Priory buildings, the form of a Sunday morning worship service, and even the continued ringing of the Angelus bell at midday, to call all of Volmoed to a time of prayer.

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September 2025 News Read More »

Reflection for Sunday 21 September 2025 – Pentecost XV – by Br Aelred

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O Lord, make us beacons of hope and peace. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.

This is such a beautiful time of the year, as we reflect on creation. All the beauty around us that we can smell, taste, hear and see. A time when we reflect and meditate on how we as created beings are interwoven and interconnected with one another.

As we continue on these reflections and meditations, we meet Jesus this morning, giving a teaching, which is quite a difficult one when you first read it. In my opinion, the key to understanding it lies in the 13th verse:

“No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.“

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Reflection for Sunday 21 September 2025 – Pentecost XV – by Br Aelred Read More »

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross – 14 September 2025 – Sermon by Br Daniel

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There is a story of a woman who went to a jewellery store to buy a cross. After perusing the crosses presented to her, the jeweller said he had some more crosses in the back, with a little man on them!

Bishop Robert Barron offers this reflection on this scenario:  “We are so accustomed to seeing religious images of Jesus on the cross that much of the horror and humiliation of crucifixion is lost on us.  But, for a person of the first century, operating within the confines of the Roman Empire, crucifixion was about the worst thing he or she could imagine.  What was involved in that form of capital punishment was just too vividly present in the popular imagination.”

Salvador Dali, a genius of obscure art and brilliant talent, painted a painting called Christ of St John of the Cross. I think it is an astonishing painting. It shows Jesus on the Cross, but from above. Someone once pointed out that that was the point from which God surveyed the suffering of his Son. I find that very poignant, sad and wonderful.

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The Exaltation of the Holy Cross – 14 September 2025 – Sermon by Br Daniel Read More »

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