“Like Mary and Joseph, we live in a particularly dark world, filled with uncertainty, anxiety, fear and even resentment. Decisions made hundreds, if not thousands of miles away, have a direct and immediate impact on our lives. Suddenly, a decision made far away, throws our life into turmoil and chaos, and we find ourselves where we would never have imagined, less than 12 months ago. And into the darkness of our life comes a beam of light, as precise as a laser, piercing the darkness of the world, and illuminating the face of a tiny, helpless baby.” In a year none of us wanted or planned, Br. James Koester invites us to hear still the promise of Christmas.

“The symbiosis of imagination and faith is the fuel that is keeping my lamp lit in the darkness. Imagination and faith also are at the heart of the mystery we prepare to celebrate at Christmas. So I lift my lamp and walk a little further.” Br. Keith Nelson takes us one step closer to Christmas in the company of those two women who shared a vivid, tender, visionary Visitation.

“God’s will is done, even in the midst of the failings of human expectations. So we’re challenged: we should not become reliant on simply expecting the Christ we know. And we’re comforted: we should not become reliant on images of ourselves that degrade and dismiss.” Br. Lucas Hall discovers freedom in Matthew's genealogy of Christ.

Luke 7:19-23 Jesus heals. Jesus heals so often, so many, and so much, that it is easy to forget about. If you stick your finger in a random page in the Gospel, chances are your finger is close to healing. Our Gospel today features yet another situation where someone asks Jesus what he is all…

“I personally recognize these past months of pandemic as an experience of the wilderness such as they describe. Maybe you do too.  I know what it is like to have familiar landmarks taken away; to lose one’s moorings. One day merging into the next, and for how long?  It’s too much; how long can I keep on going? And yet, I too have seen new things. The Spirit I believe has opened my eyes in new ways.” Br. Geoffrey Tristram invites us, like the seers before us, to consider the gifts of our time in the wilderness.

“It is all too easy to turn away from the reality of the deep darkness and evil in this world. It is understandable that we desire our Christmas trees earlier and earlier each year; to rinse the bad taste of all that troubles us out of our mouths. But to do so, we fail to understand the significance of the redemption to which we have been called.” Br. Jim Woodrum urges us to peer into the darkness of our world this Advent, to awaken our compassion for others and our readiness for redemption.

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like: Sheep without a shepherd. Students without a teacher, Children without a parent, Eggs without a brooding mother, Warriors without a commander, Citizens without a leader, Treasure without a guardian,

Inheritance without an heir...” Br. Keith Nelson hymns all that we’d lost – then found in Jesus.

“So much has been taken away from us in these last nine months, and it happened in the blink of an eye. One Sunday we were here, gathered with our retreatants, neighbours, friends, and members of the congregation, as we celebrated the Eucharist together. The next Sunday all that was taken away from us, and we prayed behind locked doors. Had we had known what was about to happen, what might we have said that Sunday before the lockdown began?” Br. James Koester considers the urgency that characterizes Mark's Gospel and its expectation of Jesus' imminent return, in light of the urgency that the pandemic and lockdown has given to our lives.

“We do not have the power to reform other people’s behavior, but we do have the power to choose our attitude in responding to other people’s behavior. St. Paul knew having an attitude rooted in patience for other’s mistakes was essential for any Christian to survive and stay sane.” At the onset of Advent, Br. Jack Crowley considers the Christian virtue of patience, in our relationships with one another and in our life with God.

“The archetype of Kingship is written into our collective unconscious. We know its insidious shadows: the wreckage of abuse, tyranny, imperialism, military conquest, enslavement, systemic patriarchy, and misappropriation of power. Yet we know too its brilliant goodness and magnetism, its order, balance, and peace when people of genuine character embody its ideals and lead us to victory.” On the Feast of Christ the King, Br. Keith Nelson unfolds three life-giving responses to true power.