Br. Geoffrey Tristram Job 1:1, 2:1-10 I was talking with a friend recently about the situation in the Middle East, and he said he felt so much darkness right now that he found it hard to know how to deal with it. I knew exactly what he meant. You may feel it too, overwhelmed by the images of violence, death and destruction. How do you pray, what wo…

Br. Curtis Almquist The Blessed Virgin Mary Luke 10: 17-24 Jesus expresses thanks: “What God has “hidden from the wise and intelligent [God] has revealed to infants.” To infants and, presumably by extension, to young children whose cognitive abilities are underdeveloped; and to those without formal education; and to the elderly whose mind is slippi…

Luke 10:1-18 We don’t always know where our motivation comes from. Sometimes we wake up in the morning ready to go. Other times we’re tired all day. Motivation is unpredictable. Jesus knew motivation. He knew how hungry people are for something energizing. He knew how much people want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, something mean…

Br. David Vryhof Isaiah 11:1-10 Luke 1: 26-38 Common of the Incarnation It has been the custom in monasteries such as ours to honor Mary, the Mother of our Lord, on the Saturdays in Ordinary Time between the seasons of Pentecost and Advent. Mary’s example – particularly the graciousness, generosity and humility with which she responds to God’s call…

Br. Luke Ditewig James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a Mark 9:30-37 What were you arguing about? Jesus asked. Perhaps best scout for new outreach and lodging sites. Expert at crowd control. Food and goods purveyor. Scripture knowledge. Who is Jesus’ favorite. The greatest disciple. Playful jostling can turn to comparing power and privilege, background, connection, …

Commemorating Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961) Br. Curtis Almquist Micah 6:6-8 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? … He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” We commemorate today Dag Hammarskjöld, the…

Br. Luke Ditewig Psalm 139 Today is our monthly requiem in which we remember the dead, the dying, and our mortality. Psalm 139 says: “Lord, you have searched me out and known me.” Jesus knows everything about us, both what we don’t mind sharing and what we try to hide. Jesus knows our sitting down and rising up, our thoughts, our ways. Jesus knows …

Br. David Vryhof Micah 5:2-5a Rom. 8:28-30 Matt. 1:18-25 As some of you know, I was raised in the Reformed tradition of the Church. Reformed churches are among those that emerged out of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Central to our particular denomination was a statement of faith written in 1563 called the Heidelberg Catechism. It …