Living the Rule 
Stories and examples of how monastics and oblates live out the Rule in their daily lives.
The ‘Eternal Moment”
“Pray for all centuries, all peoples, all sinners” (16 January 1941–Para 3) He and I –Pauline Press In all religious traditions there is a sense of connection that deepens if what one professes is lived out from the heart. For Christians there can be a healthy sense of sin, in that it brings to mind… Read More ›
Ash Wednesday 2016
In order to be capable of mercy, therefore, we must first of all dispose ourselves to listen to the Word of God. This means rediscovering the value of silence in order to meditate on the Word that comes to us. In this way, it will be possible to contemplate God’s mercy and adopt it as… Read More ›
Called by our real name
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.—Rev 3:20 Jesus uses the image of him knocking on the door asking for entry. If we allow him to enter he wills supper… Read More ›
Good Man. Good Monk. Good Beer.
Father Longenecker talks to Brother Augustine Wilmeth about his life as a monk I first met Brother Augustine Wilmeth when he was one of the students where I served as chaplain. As a convert, he was intensely interested not only in his new Catholic faith but in the more traditional expressions of life and worship…. Read More ›
I Can Be Very Cranky
“Advance, advance… Let nothing hinder your trustful stepsforward; Trustful—of course—since I am there”. (He and I Pauline Press) I find that my responses towards events in my life can be very cranky. When things slip out of my control, and I am already in a ‘mood’, then my lack of trust in others as well as with… Read More ›
A prayer flowing from a place of deep humility and obedience
Yesterday (2/6/16) I had the honor of talking with those who are beginning their journey as ‘Lay Cistercians’ of our order. We talked about the ‘Rule of St. Benedict”, focusing on obedience and humility. I shared some of my own struggles with these topics in living out my own monastic life. There is never an… Read More ›
I am a sinner
I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.—Pope Francis Truth is humble, it embraces what is. In the year of mercy we are all called to embrace the truth. To admit that one is a sinner is not something… Read More ›
Conversation of the Merciful God With a Despairing Soul
Do not be absorbed in your misery – you are still too weak to speak of it – but, rather; gaze on My Heart filled with goodness, and be imbued with My sentiments. Strive for meekness and humility; be merciful to others, as I am to you; and, when you feel your strength failing, if… Read More ›
The Magic Word
It was supper time when I walked in to the main room. Philip was there, sitting, not eating, but crying; he goes through times like that. He just cries, mostly he smiles when crying, perhaps reliving some past episode, going back in time, perhaps decades, in any case he was not in distress, just smiling… Read More ›
We are made of fire
The inner life is like the weather. Or like the Atlantic Ocean. Weather changes for there are storms, rain, bright lightning and loud thunder and snow and hail. Then there is spring, sunshine, summer, grinding heat and fall and winter. Constant flux seems to be the only steady-state in our inner lives. Sometimes the waves… Read More ›