Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey Blog
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We hope that the reflections given here can be a jumping off point for your own study and response, and how you find a way to incorporate the teachings into your daily living. And remember St Benedict’s advice: Every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God most earnestly to bring it to perfection (Rule of St Benedict, Prologue).
To complement the short articles offered here we will, from time to time, provide some titles for recommended reading: RECOMMENDED READING.
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- Afflictive Thoughts (10)
- Celebration of the Saints (18)
- Cistercian Writings (4)
- Divine Office (1)
- Feast Days (20)
- Lectio Divina (46)
- Mary Most Holy (9)
- Monastic Practices (10)
- Retreat Sunday (6)
- The Holy Rule of St Benedict (9)
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- Vocation (18)
The Irish News…
The Irish News: Solitude, not isolation – Cistercians share their ancient tradition amid coronavirus
An article by Fr Aelred Magee OCSO of Bethlehem Abbey, recently published by The Irish News as part of their regular ‘Faith Matters’ column. Click on the title above to read…
Recent posts…
Prayer as a School of Hope
We share with you a timely and insightful letter on prayer and hope from the Abbot General of our Order, Dom Bernardus Peeters ocso…
The Rich (Young?) Man – A Vocation Conversation with Jesus
One of the most frequently cited vocation model parables is the encounter which the Gospels give us between Jesus and a promising candidate. I say “promising candidate” because the man who runs up to Jesus and asks what might very well be…
The Blessed Virgin at the Foot of the Cross
Engaging with, surrendering to, and understanding, if we can, the mystery of suffering in our lives, and in the lives of others, has always provided a challenge, and even a challenge too far, for the compassionate human being. Perhaps it is the experience which most speaks to us about our frail humanity, in all its…
Holy Mary, Mother of God
Continuing our reflections on the collection of votive Masses dedicated to the example of Our Lady, we turn to her celebration as Mother of God. The Mass begins by reminding us that it is the Father’s will that his Son take flesh in Mary’s womb, and that Mary welcomes this mystery of our redemption. St…
The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Old and New Unite
In the entries which we will offer over the next while, we will begin to survey the rich texts composed for the votive Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this post we will give special attention to some of the splendid prayers for the Visitation. Although we already have the feast day – 31st…
Lectio Divina – Being fed by the Word!
Saint Jerome emphasizes the importance of engaging deeply with Sacred Scripture, which, for him, is the body of Christ. His thoughts prompt consideration of the prayer-art of lectio divina, the spiritual reading of scripture. As we approach lectio divina, we should remember St Paul’s statement about faith coming from what is heard, emphasizing that our…
Lectio Divina and God’s Self Revelation
Lectio divina is, in a sense, always theophany – it is always the divine self-revelation, which is of course what Christ is – who sees Christ, and we could say, hears him and tastes him, sees and hears and tastes the Father. This is why the events of the Burning Bush in Exodus 3 and…
Mary, Liturgy in Action
As we continue to explore Mary’s role in the prayer and worship of the People of God we are faced with an inevitable question – what is liturgy? What function does it have and how does it express the essential attitude of the People of God? Why, at the heart of all, must the Christian…
Lectio Divina – Space for the Prophetic
Sometimes we make the mistake of imagining that lectio divina should be the preserve or practice of some sort of esoteric and (ultimately false) mysticism. The mystic is, paradoxically, rooted in the concrete and material experience of his or her whole age; otherwise, they have no means of relating, in the first instance, to their…
Mary, Teacher in the Liturgy
“We fly to your protection, Holy Mother of God. Do not despise the petitions we offer you in our need, but deliver us from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin”. This short and easily memorised prayer – the Sub Tuum Praesidium, to give it its Latin title – is the earliest known prayer directed specifically…
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Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey, Portglenone 