Reflections

Reflection for the Third Sunday in Advent at St Benedict’s Monastery in Harkerville – by Br Mpumelelo

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The rose glow of the Gaudete Candle feels like a tiny sunrise in the middle of Advent’s darkness—a reminder that joy is already breaking through. It points back to that first Christmas, when the world was waiting in the night and a newborn baby lit up the sky. At the same time, the candle’s hopeful flame whispers forward to the Second Coming, when that same light will blaze fully and every shadow will be gone.

So, dear Brothers and Sisters in CHRIST, as we watch the candle flicker, we’re caught between two moments: the humble birth in a manger and the glorious return at the end of time. The rose light tells us that the joy of that first coming is already here, and it’s the same joy that will burst forth when CHRIST comes again. Let that gentle glow shape our waiting, turning anticipation into a quiet, confident celebration.

May the warmth of this candle’s glow stay with us, guiding our steps until that blessed day when we celebrate together in everlasting joy.

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Reflection for the Second Sunday in Advent at St Benedict’s Monastery in Harkerville – by Br Josias

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Today marks the second week of Advent. As we might well know, Advent is the period of waiting and preparing for both the celebration of Jesus’s birth at Christmas, acknowledgement of his perpetual presence as encountered in the Eucharist and anticipation of his return at the Second Coming. In this second week, a candle of Peace is lit. Traditionally, the second candle is called the Bethlehem Candle, and it symbolizes peace and preparation, reflecting Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and the peace that Christ’s birth brings.1

In his Rule, St. Benedict encourages his followers to “seek peace and pursue it.” 2 Before we strive for peace, we need to accept that there is conflict in our hearts, our lives, and in our world. Dealing with that conflict will bring all the necessary peace. So let us pursue peace. And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts, minds and souls in Christ Jesus.3 Amen!

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1 See https://www.mercyhome.org/blog/sunday-mass/advent-wreath/

2 RB: Prologue 17

3 Philippians 4:7

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Reflection for the First Sunday in Advent at St Benedict’s Monastery in Harkerville – by Br Aelred

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Dear Family in Christ.

We find ourselves, again, standing around the light of the first lit Advent candle.  This time, in our new monastery as we prepare to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

We are reminded anew that Christmas is not just about a baby being born, but it is about God Himself, the Creator entering His creation, and this is why it changes everything.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, He took on our humanity completely, fully and truly, and united it to His Divinity, in order that we might be fully restored from our wounded, broken and separated nature. With the incarnation, God entered our darkness to fill it with light, entered our weakness to fill it with strength and hope, and entered our death to give us life. Therefore, we prepare our hearts for the salvation event of Christmas, not a holiday or just a story: the Creator stepping into His creation. So, may this time of preparation through Advent be filled with Hope.

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Sermon for Nov 6 – A Special Occasion…

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(readings for Lent 1A) (It is not lent… but this sermon is for a particular occasion – so be patient…)

Some of us have spent the past few days here at Volmoed thinking about acedia, the “noonday demon,” or what is sometimes referred to as “the sin of sloth.” This morning we’ll continue that exploration a bit. So, I wanted to start today with the readings that normally bring us into Lent – the temptation of Christ in the desert. It may not be apparent yet, but I think there is a connection… 

…

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Sermon for Nov 6 – A Special Occasion… Read More »

Feast of James Otis Sargent Huntington

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Readings for the feast are here

Today the Church remembers James Otis Sargent Huntington. We think of him as founder of the Order of the Holy Cross. Typically, the Church remembers people on the anniversary of their death, or sometimes their birth. But this is neither the anniversary of his death nor his birth. Rather this is the anniversary of his life profession in the Order of the Holy Cross. Father Huntington is perhaps most remembered as a monastic, so this seems appropriate. But the truth is that the other dates were already claimed by other saints… 

Remembering the Founder of the Order of the Holy Cross seems like a straightforward thing… and yet it offers food for thought… 

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Feast of James Otis Sargent Huntington Read More »

Day of Pentecost – Conversation with a Benedictine monk

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I recently came across a 2016 podcast in the On Being series by Krista Tippett, in which she interviews Br. David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk at the Gut Aich Priory in St. Gilgen in Austria and a teacher and author on the subject of gratitude, who is the founder and senior advisor for A Network for Grateful Living. A Benedictine monk for over 60 years, Br. David was formed by 20th-century catastrophes. He calls joy “the happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens”. And his gratefulness is not an easy gratitude or thanksgiving — but a full-blooded, reality-based practice and choice.

Why do I share this at Pentecost? Because he defines “spirituality” from “spiritus” that means “life”, “breath”, “aliveness”. Spirituality is aliveness on all levels. It must start with our bodily aliveness. But of course, when we say “spirituality”, we also mean aliveness to interrelationships, aliveness to our confrontation with that great divine mystery with which we are confronted as human beings and which we can look away from or forget or be dead to. We come alive to it. When people are grateful, they come alive.

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Day of Pentecost – Conversation with a Benedictine monk Read More »

Palm Sunday 2021

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I share with you a reflection and a prayer for Palm Sunday. May you have a blessed Holy Week.

From an Oration by Andrew of Crete:

Let us go together to meet Christ on the Mount of Olives. Today he … comes of his own free will to make his journey to Jerusalem … and proceeds of his own free will towards his holy and blessed passion, to consummate the mystery of our salvation. He comes without pomp or ostentation. He will be meek and humble, and he will make his entry in simplicity.

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Let the Redeemed Pray the Psalms – A Reflection for the Fourth Sunday in Lent

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Scripture Readings for Today

Why do monastics spend so much time with the Psalms? I think the following reflection by Kerry Hasler-Brooks goes some way towards answering that question.

Two years ago, I heard Kathleen Norris read her poetry, and I immediately got a copy of her much-loved book Dakota: A Spiritual Geography and read it straight through.

I have since read the book three times and some portions many more, used it in a sermon, and discussed it with first-year college students in a class on reading, faith, and place. In the book, Norris tells of an abandoned faith resurrected in a small South Dakota town and in an ancient monastic liturgy that taught her to read, recite, hear, and know the Psalms deeply, beyond time, beyond herself.

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Let the Redeemed Pray the Psalms – A Reflection for the Fourth Sunday in Lent Read More »

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