Bethlehem Abbey

17th June – Blessed Marie-Joseph Cassant ocso

In keeping the memory of this Cistercian blessed, we open ourselves to the mystery of God’s work and call in the midst of the obscure, the simple and the ordinary. Blessed Joseph Cassant was born on 6th March, 1878, in Casseneuil in France, and died as a Cistercian – Trappist monk and priest…

Friday 11th June – Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Traditionally we consecrate our families to the protection of the Sacred Heart of Jesus today. Why not, wherever you are, and particularly if you are with your family, do so: Sacred Heart of Jesus, you revealed to Blessed Margaret Mary your desire to reign over Christian families. Behold us, therefore, assembled here today to proclaimContinue reading “Friday 11th June – Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus”

St Justin the Martyr, 1st June

With the feast of St Justin the Martyr we are taken right to the dynamic first years of the Church’s growth in the Roman Empire. Justin was born in Samaria around 114AD, and was martyred some time around 165AD, during the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius. What makes his life and witness truly outstanding is the fact that his writings – those which have survived – are among the earliest apologetic writings which have come down to us.

Pentecost – The Spirit Speaks to the Church

As we reflect on Pentecost Day just passed, when the Church bursts into life through the lives and witness of the apostles and first disciples, and they and the Holy Spirit together proclaim Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, we invite you to consider thoughts from that sometimes perplexing but always essential writing, the last book of the New Testament and of Sacred Scripture, the Book of Revelation.

Mark 9:14-29 – At the Bottom of the Mountain

From the ecstatic peace of the mountain we descend, with Christ and the three disciples, into the usual melée which is the backdrop to life on the ground. For all of us it can be so appealing to want to remain in the thickness of the cloud, removed, as it were, from one reality to be able to experience real reality in the undiluted presence of God.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 2021 WORLD DAY OF VOCATIONS

25 April 2021 Saint Joseph: The Dream of Vocation Dear brothers and sisters, 8 December last, the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, marked the beginning of a special year devoted to him (cf. Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary, 8 December 2020). For my part, IContinue reading “MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 2021 WORLD DAY OF VOCATIONS”

Vocation Sunday – 25th April 2021

On this Vocation Sunday (often also called Good Shepherd Sunday, because of today’s Gospel reading at Mass – John 10:11-18) we want to ask a very simple question: Are you living your vocation?

Mark 9:2-13 – Transfiguration

In this moment of unparalleled encounter we too, like Elijah and Moses, are invited to be friends with God, speaking with him face to face.

The Mysteries of Holy Week and the Event of the Pasch of Christ

Celebrating the Pasch of Christ – we allow Blessed Guerric of Igny to feed us as we consider Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection, and find our own place in this drama event of our redemption and salvation.

21st March – The Transitus of St Benedict

Had we not been observing today the 5th Sunday of Lent we would probably have been celebrating the feast known as the Transitus of St Benedict. We might loosely translate this as the day of his death, but perhaps more precisely we should note that it is his true dies natalis – his birth day!Continue reading “21st March – The Transitus of St Benedict”