Author Archives: monks4christ

Saint Mary Magdalene

On the Feast Day of St Mary Magdalene

When Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: The disciples went back home, and it adds: but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb.

We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Jesus; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tells us: Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.

When our desires are not satisfied, they grow stronger, and becoming stronger they take hold of their object. Holy desires likewise grow with anticipation. As David says: My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?

Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? She is asked why she is sorrowing so that her desire might be strengthened; for when she mentions whom she is seeking, her love is kindled all the more ardently.

from a Homily of Gregory the Great

Fr Boniface at the Eucharistic Congress

Our Sunday Visitor

Benedictine Father Boniface Hicks, a monk of St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, was holding the Eucharist in a golden monstrance that shimmered as the spotlights tracked its progress through the crowded floor.

After processing down the stadium’s central aisle, and then placing the monstrance on the altar, the priest knelt before the Eucharist. “Jesus, we come before you, that you might heal our hearts, that you might meet us right where we are,” he prayed.

“Each of us have places in our hearts and in our histories that have been hurting for a long time,” said Father Boniface. “There is a sacred place in each of us where we can be alone with you, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The most powerful healing can begin by bringing those places into relationship with the one who loves us infinitely: you, Jesus.”

Father Boniface, an experienced retreat-master, led attendees through a series of prayers of repentance and renunciation, with the congregation repeating phrases of love for Jesus, and asking for his healing of each one’s sin, hurt and brokenness.

After those prayers, the monstrance was lifted from its stand on the altar, and Father Boniface wrapped his golden vestment around its base. As he slowly processed through the stadium’s main floor, people bowed and crossed themselves as Jesus in the Eucharist passed in their midst. Some wept, others reached their arms towards the Eucharist and parents held babies in their arms or helped their young ones kneel quietly with their eyes fixed on the Blessed Sacrament.

“Jesus, I trust in you,” the musicians sang.

When Father Boniface returned to the altar, he led Benediction, ending with the final prayer: “May the heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.”

The revival evening also featured moving testimonies of healing, including that of Paula Umana, a former tennis player who was ranked first in Central America and later became quadriplegic after the birth of her fifth child due to a nervous system disorder.

from Our Sunday Visitor . OSV WEB

the Family strong and true

There are two ways to get enough.
One is to continue to accumulate more and more.
The other is to desire less and less.

The true soldier fights not because
he hates what is in front of him
but because he loves what is behind him.

Literature is a luxury
fiction is a necessity.

There is the great lesson of ‘Beauty and the Beast
that a thing must be loved before it is lovable.

G K Chesterton

When you pray Miracles happen

Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God’s heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips, but with your heart. In fact on certain occasions you should only speak to Him with your heart.

– Padre Pio

This Beloved of ours is merciful and good. Besides, he so deeply longs for our love that he keeps calling us to come closer … For now, his voice reaches us through words spoken by good people, through listening to spiritual talks, and reading sacred literature. God calls to us in countless little ways all the time. Through illnesses and suffering and through sorrow he calls to us. Through a truth glimpsed fleetingly in a state of prayer he calls to us. No matter how halfhearted such insights may be, God rejoices whenever we learn what he is trying to teach us.

– St Teresa of Avila

Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts … I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.

– Mother Teresa

our Lady of Mount Carmel

Thy Kingdom Come

Eternal Wisdom ! Between you and your Father this was quite sufficient. This is how you made your request of him in the garden of Gethsemane. You showed him what you wished for and what you feared, but left it all in his hands. But you know us, my Lord, and you know that we have not given ourselves up to the will of your Father as completely as you did.

Now the good Jesus bids us say these words, in which we pray that the Kingdom may come in us: Hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come. See how great our Master’s wisdom is!

Now, then. The greatest joy in the kingdom of heaven (the greatest among many) seems to me to be that we will no longer be tied up with earthly concerns but will have rest and glory within us – rejoicing that gives joy to everyone, peace that lasts for ever – satisfaction in ourselves, a satisfaction that comes from seeing how everyone is praising the Lord and blessing and hallowing his name.

St Teresa of Avila

Do not be Afraid. Never doubt, never tire. Do not be Afraid

I would like to invite each of you to listen careful to God’s voice in your heart. Listen to his voice. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Open your hearts. Open up your hearts to Christ. The deepest joy there is in life is the joy that comes from God and is found in Jesus Christ the son of God. Jesus is the hope of yours. He is my hope. He is the hope of the world.

Have no fear. The outcome of the battle for Life is already decided, even though the struggle goes on.

You young people now know that Life is more powerful than the forces of death; they know that the Truth is more powerful than darkness; that Love is stronger than death.

Never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire. Do not be Afraid

Pope St John Paul II