“We are products of the Enlightenment, so-called, a culture not schooled in the discernment of good and evil. And yet, you can hardly turn a page of the Bible without encountering the battleground of spiritual forces.” Br. Curtis Almquist reminds us that, today more than ever, we are being fought over between the forces of good and evil.

“Allowing ourselves to be loved by God, as Jesus did, also requires some degree of just sitting there, as Mary of Bethany did in Jesus’ presence. But consenting to this transformation at the core of our being is anything but passive: it is our single greatest challenge. To the world, that process looks like nothing. But to Jesus, it is the one thing necessary.” Br. Keith Nelson revisits the familiar story of Martha & Mary to discover the one thing Jesus asks of all of us: the single-hearted, undivided commitment of discipleship.

“Saint Francis’ teaching is about our sharing an intimate relationship with all sentient beings and beyond, and not just other people. Every living being, every element of creation, is a “creature” of God, all of us given a share of God’s magnificent panoply of life.”

Br. Curtis Almquist invites us to take from Saint Francis the inspiration to be in a reverenced relationship with God's gift of life both within us and around us.

“The Climate Emergency we are facing today is a human problem, the result of our plundering the earth for its treasures at the cost of life’s delicate balance.  Much of it is the result of human greed. Our greed is destroying the planet, polluting our air and our waterways and oceans, eliminating whole species of animals from the earth, and threatening our very existence.  If we continue in this way, we will, before long, render the planet uninhabitable.  The Climate Emergency has been caused by human beings, and only human beings have the power to reverse it.” Br. David Vryhof cautions that money is not the problem; greed is; and that true richness comes when we learn to enjoy God’s world, and live with contentment.

“As Christians, we are as susceptible as anyone else to extreme consumerism: each of us can all too easily get caught up in a whirlwind of needless buying and spending. I am also sure that the most important way that we can begin to heal our planet is to allow God, daily, to heal our hearts; to mend our divided hearts.  Pope Francis, in his beautiful encyclical, Laudato Si’ writes, “The emptier a person’s heart is, the more he or she needs to buy, own and consume.” So, fill your heart every morning with God! ” Br. Geoffrey Tristram shares three contemplative practices that can help us to experience contentment, free us from the desire for more, and help us to love and appreciate what we already have.

“Listen. What is the message from creation that surrounds us? What is God saying through the soil, sprouts, springs, and sparrows? What is God saying through poor and neglected places and peoples? We are invited to listen.” As we enter the Season of Creation, Br. Luke Ditewig urges us to listen to the voice of creation, and to pray outside.

“Our life’s invitation is to learn to “be silence” so we have space to receive the work and words of God. It is a good thing to cultivate stillness and silence within ourselves.” Br. Curtis Almquist finds hope in a line from the Psalms, reminding us that our emptiness is actually openness to God.

“How might God be calling you today to be courageous in speaking the truth when you recognize injustice, when you see through the lies and deceptions of the powerful, when you perceive their hypocrisy and deceit? How might God be calling you to speak up when you recognize racism, misogyny, xenophobia or other forms of discrimination? Silence empowers the oppressors.  Be bold.  Speak truth.  And never give up.” Br. David Vryhof looks to the witness of John the Baptizer for the courage to speak truth to power, whatever the consequences.

“God meets us in our human condition where we are most in need. The New Testament verb for this is “save”: Jesus “saves” us, and that Greek word has the urgency of being “saved” by a lifeguard when someone would otherwise drown. Jesus saves us.” On the feast of Irenaeus, the great theologian of the Incarnation, Br. Curtis Almquist marvels at how God is united to us in our full – and flawed – humanity.

Luke 9:51-62 “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”[i] This is the line that Jesus gives to a would-be follower. I think this is interesting, because there are three would-be followers in this story today. The next two seem reluctant, and…