LOVE - PRAY - HOPE

“Don’t wait for a big plan. Start with a small practice, and the ripples of grace will have a power that can do infinitely more than you can ask or imagine.”

Br. Curtis Almquist reflects on how we can put into practice Jesus’ instruction to “Love your enemies” and our Baptismal promise to “respect the dignity of every human being.”

“She turned to God, and told God all that was on her heart. As she spoke, she started to weep, as she said in a hushed voice, that was the first time she had told God anything really important.”

Br. James Koester shares a memory that enriches his reading of Mark’s Gospel as he highlight one of its unremarkable lines, which nevertheless has much to teach us.

“When did things begin to change? When did it happen that Jesus’ message and mission – not just to Jews but to the whole world – begin to enlarge? With the magi. With the visitation of the wizards at Bethlehem. Jesus, of course, was an infant. Mary and Joseph took it all in. Something very significant happened in their encounter with the magi from foreign lands, and they were forever changed.”

On the Feast of the Epiphany, Br. Curtis Almquist looks to the Magi and marvels at God’s ongoing revelation.

“Does this story of Nathanael inspire you to use prayer and meditation as a way to know Jesus?”

As we move from the season of Christmas to Ordinary Time, also known as “Missionary Season,” Br. David Allen finds many expressions of mission in following Jesus.

“Even though the world may be chilled and anxious, a prophet’s strange words herald the darkness’s retreat: ‘Here is the Lamb of God. I myself did not know him; but I came that he might be revealed.’ A light shines in the far country of our heart, in a region we may have long ago decided was barren, lost, or dead—lost forever to our long exile.”

Br. Sean Glenn reflects on the words of John the Baptist and how, even amid the darkness of our unknowing, God prepares our salvation.