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 – 31stContinue reading “The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Old and New Unite”
Tag Archives: 71-80
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 faith is justified by grace restoring our pure relationship with God. This encounter with the Word encourages spiritual growth and refines our faith.
Faith and Lectio Divina
What is it to speak about a faith context for lectio divina? In the first place, what is lectio divina? This reverenced way of prayer in the Church centres us on the encounter with Jesus Christ in the word of Sacred Scripture. Lectio divina – literally, sacred or divine reading – is the prayerful, slowContinue reading “Faith and Lectio Divina”
Pope St Paul VI’s Prayer for Vocation (1964)
Pope St Paul VI’s prayer for vocation written for the first day of prayer for vocations in 1964.
The Solemnity of the Holy Founders of the Cistercian Order: Special Day of Prayer for Vocations to the Cistercian Life
As we celebrate the solemnity of our Holy Founders, Robert, Alberic and Stephen, we invite you to join us on this special day of prayer for Cistercian vocations. What not take a moment to mention the name of our Abbey to God; if passing a Church, drop in, pray before the Blessed Sacrament, and light a candle; offer a decade of the Rosary, asking Mary, Queen of our Order, to intercede for us, and move hearts to heed her Son’s invitation into Cistercian monastic life.
20th September – The Korean Martyrs
Today, 20th September, the Church celebrates the feast of the Korean martyrs, St Andrew Kim Taegon and his companions. Apart from the terrible accounts of the persecution which the early Korean believers had to undergo as Christianity established itself in the Korean peninsula, and their subsequent torture and executions, one thing above all must always be remembered and discussed when we call to mind these Korean faith witnesses: the Church in Korea began not with evangelisation carried out by indigenous or foreign missionaries bringing and sowing the seed of the Word of God and the sacramental life of the Church, but by the thirst and supernatural desire of the Korean lay men and women who allowed a holy curiosity to draw them toward the faith.
Solemnity of Our Father St Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (20th August)
Just a few years after Robert of Molesmes left the Black Monks and journeyed a short distance to found a New Monastery, with a few monastic companions, at a marshy place outside Dijon called Cîteaux, thus giving his new monastic enterprise their name – Cistercians – it seemed as if the venture would fail. TheContinue reading “Solemnity of Our Father St Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (20th August)“
The Solemnity of the Assumption, 15th August
Mary, the Mother of God, has always occupied a very particular place in Cistercian hearts and prayer. All of our houses are placed under her patronage and care, and in a special way, on the Solemnity of the Assumption each year, every community of the Order, throughout the world, marks the feast by making anContinue reading “The Solemnity of the Assumption, 15th August“
The Solemnity of St Benedict, Abbot – 11th July
Sometimes, trying to find something new to say about a figure who has had vast and, it’s reasonable to say, as yet entirely unquantified influence on society and Church can simply be pointless. And that is by no means to say that all conversation about one such has been exhausted. St Benedict of Nursia perhapsContinue reading “The Solemnity of St Benedict, Abbot – 11th July”
More on St Rafael Arnaiz Baron, Cistercian Oblate – 27th April
Today we keep the memory of a Cistercian saint of the 20th century, St Rafael (1911 – 1938). A gifted young man, who studied architecture and showed himself a talented and perceptive artist, he was captivated by the Cistercian monastic life and entered the Spanish monastery of San Isidro. However, he soon became ill withContinue reading “More on St Rafael Arnaiz Baron, Cistercian Oblate – 27th April”
Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey, Portglenone 