Tag: Casey
Podcasts on the Prologue
A few weeks ago, Tarrawarra Abbey, Australia, launched a new podcast series on the Prologue of the Rule of St Benedict. It is a weekly reflection on the Prologue, and the speaker is Fr. Michael Casey OCSO. The podcast can be found at <www.cistercian.org.au/iMonk>. The audio can be downloaded from the above website, heard online,… Read More ›
Human Life is a Trial-and-Error Reality
Most of us would be a lot happier if we were to embrace the notion that himan life is necessarily a trial-and-error reality. The goal is eternal life. That is fixed. But the ways by which we attain that goal and the objectives we pursue en route are relatively flexible. We do not operate in… Read More ›
Let us finally arise
Now, therefore, let us finally arise. Scripture stirs us up saying, “Now is the hour to rise from sleep.” (RB Prologue) No call is resisted and resented so fully as the call to wake up. So we need not be surprised if we do not want to be stirred into action, especially when we do… Read More ›
Conversion and Humility
One of the early experiences on the way to conversion is the sense of being trapped in sinfulness. Half-desiring an escape but not perceiving any possible means of release. For the eye of the mind is unable to fix itself firmly on what it had so fleetingly glimpsed. It is subject to the constraint of… Read More ›
The Value of Submitting to Necessity
Any prolonged exercise of self-will injures our intrigrity, whether its purpose is the direct pursuit of pleasure or, more indirectly, the avoidance of pain. To the extent that our will is concerned principally with pleasing ourselves, we can anticipate trouble. On the other hand, learning to live with situations that cannot be changed is a… Read More ›
Reverence before God
What is reverence before God? It is the sobriety of spirit that stems from an experience of the otherness of God which makes us want to subdue self, remain silent, and to submit. We are overwhelmed by the greatness of God present and are reluctant to spoil the occasion by the intrusion of our own… Read More ›
We are the Church
The Church is a natural home for all who wish to pray, and the more faithful the Church is to its charter the more effective it will be as a school of prayer and contemplation. There is no better accompaniment to growth in prayerfulness than a strong sacramental life and the constant proclaiming and hearing… Read More ›
Creating an Accessible Church
The official Church is so massive that one easily feels alienated from it. It does not always seem like friendly space. Its teaching on faith and morals may seem distant and aloof, unrelated to anything that I experience. The Church does not always present as being emphatic about personal development or human relations. It sometimes… Read More ›
Benedictines: Lovers of the book
[For followers of St. Benedict]. . .Part of their vocation, it seems to me, is to be lovers of the book. Someone absorbed in reading is a beautiful sight, as many great paintings attest. Observing, we become aware of a certain stillness of the body and quietness of mind in the reader, a concentration of… Read More ›
A Life Built on Radical Untruth
Many people regard religion as something foreign or even hostile to human nature. As a result, religion becomes a matter of social conformity, duty, and guilt: it is life-denying. There seems little in it that leads to the joyous fulfillment of natural aspirations. Any sort of religious activity can easily be seen as in some… Read More ›