“What a contrast Jesus' values are to the ways of the powerful, who so often are consumed with protecting and promoting their own interests! By washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus does not diminish his authority.  He is still their “Lord and Teacher."  But he has come to show them a new way of exercising authority, a new way of being with others that is characterized by humility, compassion and loving service.” On Maundy Thursday, Br. David Vryhof marvels at the radical act we commemorate, and in which we are called to participate.

“There is an invitation to join Jesus in this Holy Week to return again to the great acts of salvation and the depths of God’s healing love.  It may not be pleasant or feel victorious to encounter anew the barriers within us and among us that keep us from God.  It may be hard to accept being loved at such a cost.  But as we come to know our need of salvation we will recognize how much we have been saved.” In the stark reversal of Palm Sunday, Br. Todd Blackham finds a promise that can redeem even the most challenging places we might unexpectedly find ourselves.

“Dear friends, what is your poverty? Where are you in touch most now with your fragility, your weakness, your need? As to the one born blind, Jesus comes here, particularly in these places, to meet you with power in mercy and compassion.” In Lent, Br. Luke Ditewig encourages us to admit the ways that we are blind, so that we can trust Jesus to meet us there and help us see.

“The story of the Samaritan woman is a story of longing for connection and reconnection, not only to the communities from which we come, but a connection to God who calls us from our past, into a future, God’s future, where we know ourselves to be born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” Br. James Koester dives deep into the story of the Samaritan woman, to find a reminder that we are invited to become God's children, no matter what.

“Who we are, what we are, however it is we’ve gotten to be where we are, God knows, God lures, God loves. Rather than calling this God’s “unconditional love,” I now think of this as God’s “conditional love.” Because life is inescapably full of conditions and circumstances, changes and chances, and God’s love for us is neither theoretical nor generic. God’s love for us is real and personal, woven into the fabric of our lives from the very beginning.” Br. Curtis Almquist marvels at God's love which is not "blind," but eyes wide open, to us, in all our unique and conditional particularity.

“How often do I move to autopilot the moment I hear the words Our Father? How often is my mind miles away, when I hear in the gospels the words, pray then in this way? How often do I ask myself if we have said the Lord Prayer yet, when we have just finished it and said Amen. How often is this prayer just empty words?” Br. James Koester marvels at the depths and the legacy of the words we have in the Lord's Prayer.

“Christianity is really all about mending. That’s what redemption means; mending something that is torn or broken. And that is what each one of us is called to do – to share with God in mending that which is broken. Mending our relationship with God, mending our relationship with one another, mending our relationship with our broken planet.” As Lent unfolds, Br. Geoffrey Tristram invites us to share with God in the great work of mending.

“We might do well to renew the wonder, awe, and even trembling fear that reminds us of the true magnitude of the Almighty’s nature.  Stay near to Jesus.  It’s easy to drift away to important work, slogans that inspire, or spiritual satiety.  We may need to return to Jesus, our lover and redeemer, not our employer.  We might need to expand our language when we’ve let catchy phrases limit our relatedness to the Person of Christ who cannot be easily tamed.  And we may need to rekindle our spiritual hunger in the light of God’s immensity.  Stay near to Jesus.” On the feast of the Transfiguration, Br. Todd Blackham invites us to stay near to Jesus – with awe, fear, and trust.

““What are you looking for?” It’s a profoundly simple question which has successive levels of depth. Plumb the depths. Let that question form your prayer to Jesus. He asks you, “What are you looking for?” And you respond.”

Br. Curtis Almquist probes two significant Gospel encounters and urges us to follow their model for how we might engage with Jesus: by being really present.

“The Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ, is really a collection of vignettes that inaugurate the incarnate life of God.  The visit of the Magi, the Baptism of our Lord, and his first miracle at the wedding at Cana, form a kind of triple feast.  And each one of them is a scene of the ordinary meeting the extraordinary. Of the natural touching the supernatural, of humanity meeting divinity.” Br. Todd Blackham celebrates our encounters with the supernatural life of God, breaking into our world.