“God is no ordinary gardener. God is reckless with generosity, sowing love everywhere, including in the face of rejection. My guess is you, too, have loved like this.” Br. Luke Ditewig calls us to remember love, given and received, with reckless generosity.

“God is always more. God’s revelation is ongoing and continues into the future. We must keep our minds open to God’s ongoing revelation. There is always more.” Br. Curtis Almquist invites you to follow the example of Thomas Aquinas and put your head into your heart.

“Jesus offers us a path back to interior freedom. This path, though, is counterintuitive in its simplicity, especially in our culture of extreme busyness, productivity, and the need to always be doing something. The way of Jesus, it turns out, is mostly about doing nothing.” Br. Nicholas Bartoli invites us to discover the freedom that Jesus offers, when we become in the world, but not of it.

“What did Jesus see as so special in Peter and Judas? Were they charismatic? Were they eloquent? Were they passionate or articulate or extremely bright? Were they, like Jesus, riled by hypo­crisy and injustice? Did they have a whimsical sense of humor, a hearty appetite, nerves of steel, the wis­dom of a serpent, the innocence of a dove, a love for children, a certain way with the erudite or with the poor? They must have been impressive, both of them.” Br. Curtis Almquist peers into the unlikely pairing of Judas and Peter for a lesson in waiting on God's grace.

Mark 1:40-45 There are many words in Scripture that, as it were, set my teeth on edge. True, some words or concepts in the pages of scripture are supposed to make us uncomfortable, meant to make us squirm in our seat, posed to turn us from our self-regard. Yet there is one word, which never ceases to…

“In a world that is unpredictable, unsafe, and seems filled with evil looking to exploit and harm the most vulnerable, we could wonder where in the world is Jesus in all this? We know there is suffering, malice, hate, greed, fear, and evil lurking about. Many of us are following the proverbial star of Bethlehem, searching for Jesus frantically.” Br. Jim Woodrum steps into the story and suggests two rich ways to pray with the scriptural lesson of Mary and Joesph finding Jesus' teaching in the Temple.

“I love these oddities of the church calendar because of their signature “fuzziness,” as if we were removing one pair of spiritual glasses for another. Like thick plumes of fragrant incense that obscure our vision and sting our eyes, these hinge periods remind us that so much of God’s work in us and God’s promises for us are outside our control and beyond our wildest imaginings.” Br. Sean Glenn celebrates the meaningful possibility of the "hinges" in the liturgical calendar – and our own lives.

“Perhaps, by practicing silence and stillness, and fostering our awareness of Christ’s Light, we can welcome the grace of Christmas to each moment. And the Peace and Joy we find as both our source and our salvation will truly be the greatest gift of Love we can offer those around us.” Br. Nicholas Bartoli invites us to find inspiration in the example of Saint Seraphim of Sarov

John 1:1-18 In this Gospel lesson appointed for today, there is a recurring word: light. In the opening verses of the Gospel according to John, we are reminded – seven times – that God is light, “the true light that enlightens everyone.” Light is a recurring theme during Christmastide, not just in the scriptures, but…

John 1:1-14 What does true darkness look like?  You might think this a peculiar way to begin a sermon for Christmas Day, but I think it is a valid question.  From the Autumnal equinox we begin a journey into deep darkness as our days grow shorter and our nights grow longer.  Many of us dread the end of…