Celebrating this feast, which is effectively the first Sunday in Ordinary Time, we have an opportunity to celebrate, in a sense, our own baptism, not as a single celebration locked in a past moment of history, but as a dynamic reality shaping our Christian witness, vocation and action. It is as a good a chanceContinue reading “Feast of the Baptism of the Lord”
Category Archives: Feast Days
29th September – St Michael and All the Angels
Cistercian writers have been acutely aware of the presence of the angels since the Order first began to take shape after its foundation in 1098. And this should be no wonder – St Benedict places the role of angels, and their palpable presence at key moments, at the heart of his Holy Rule. A numberContinue reading “29th September – St Michael and All the Angels”
14th September – The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Hans Urs von Balthasar: The Cross is the midpoint of saving history, all the promises are realised in it, every aspect of the Law, with its quality as curse, is dashed to pieces on the Cross. The Cross is the centre of the world’s history, for it transcends the categories of ‘elect’ and ‘non-elect’ by reconciling all human beings in the crucified body which hangs there. It is the midpoint, too, of all creation and predestination, inasmuch as we were predestined, in Christ’s blood, to be the children of God before the foundation of the world. Paul himself simply intends to carry out the ministry of preaching, by way of service to the reconciliation of the world to God in the Cross of Jesus.
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”
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.
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.
Solemnity of the Holy Founders of the Cistercian Order, Sts Robert, Alberic and Stephen
Tuesday 26th January Solemnity of the Holy Founders of the Cistercian Order, Sts Robert, Alberic and Stephen Today, we celebrate the moment of our Cistercian birth and the men who, listening deeply to the Spirit within them, gave impetus to our monastic life. Today, all of us become Cistercians in some way by listening, forContinue reading “Solemnity of the Holy Founders of the Cistercian Order, Sts Robert, Alberic and Stephen”
Homily Notes for the Feast of the Holy Family 2020
In the early Church we encounter the idea of “mystery” frequently. The English term seems at first sight to be a translation of the Greek, or better, a transliteration, and has lost the richness ofits meaning in an ecclesial setting. When we hear the Church Fathers, from Cyril of Jerusalemthrough to Augustine, speaking of “mystery”Continue reading “Homily Notes for the Feast of the Holy Family 2020”
Pentecost – Spirit, Birth and Life
In keeping the feast of Pentecost we are caught up into the always-life giving presence of God’s Holy Spirit. Traditionally, we celebrate the birth of the Church on this day, as the Spirit fills the place where the apostles, Mary, the mother of God, and other disciples are gathered, and…
The Second Sunday in Paschaltide – The Divine Mercy
Although John Paul II instituted this feast, uniting it with the Sunday after Easter so as to make the immediate connection between the saving action of the Cross and Resurrection, the place of the revelation of God as Mercy is as old as Sacred Scripture. It is, after all, a name which God gives…
Bethlehem Abbey Cistercian Family 