As I pondered the holy scripture in our service today, I was struck by the theme of faithfulness. Especially what Psalm 85 says: “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.” So beautiful. And in First Kings, Elijah found God in the sound of sheer silence, telling him that he had been very zealous for the Lord, but that the Israelites had forsaken their covenant, thrown down the altars and killed...

Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 by Brother Dennis The reading from Matthew makes clear that the reception of the Gospel message depends upon the soil. That is, the condition of the heart of the one who receives it. In this teaching, the seed and the sower are the same in each case, but the soil varies. There were many who did not respond favorably to his message, but the few who did produced remarkable fruit. This teaching is calling us to prepare the soil of our hearts so that we can allow God’s...

Saint Benedict, known as the Father of Western Monasticism and honored as the Patron of Europe, lived between 480 and 547 CE, born with his sister, St. Scholastica, into a Christian family in Nursia, Italy. Disillusioned by the immoral, corrupt life of Rome while at school there, he opted for an eremitical life at Subiaco. He went on to found his order, with monastic communities at Subiaco, Terracina and Montecassino. St. Benedict developed his Simple Rule for Beginners fifteen hundred years...