We believe passionately that God has given us a mission: to draw others to know and experience in their lives the love of God in Christ. Sharing this “Good News” is at the center of our call and our life. In our chapels and retreat houses, and our online teachings, we hope to offer a still point in the midst of the chaos of contemporary life. We hope that as you explore these pages, you’ll find “Good News” that will help you live authentically, responsive to God’s call of love.
God, grant him many years!
There will be a reception in honor of Brother David after the Eucharist on Sunday, 15 December. Please join us that day as we give thanks for Brother David.
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Tomorrow: Advent Compline
We warmly invite you to join us tomorrow, Thursday 12/12, for a special service of contemplative Compline.
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Chosen by God – Br. James Koester
“In looking at Mary we gaze not outwardly, or even upwardly, but inwardly to our own adoption as children of God because it is there that we find Mary’s true vocation, and ours as well, to be the adopted daughters and sons of God.”
On the feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Br. James Koester connects our vocation to that of the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven – Mary of Nazareth – who began, as we all do, as a simple child of God.
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Holy Waiting – Br. Sean Glenn
“ There is nothing wrong with the desire to give gifts to one another, per se. There is nothing wrong with warming the dark, frigid nights of a northern December with song, festivities, fellowship, and lights, per se. These are all good things, to be sure, and doubtless God can speak some word of life to us through it all. Nevertheless, the moment our culture attaches the name of Jesus Christ to this prolonged cultural season of excess, I have to wonder if we are really being adequately prepared for the significance of Christmas.”
Br. Sean Glenn invites us to experience the full-blooded, lean, and demanding season that is Advent.
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Advent Compline Underway
We are delighted by the successful launch of our contemplative Compline series last night. We hope you’ll mark your calendar to join us for two further special services of Compline, the Thursdays in Advent: December 12 and December 19.
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2019 Christmastide at the Monastery
We warmly invite you to join us throughout Christmastide! Full worship schedule for Christmas is now available.
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The Peaceable Kingdom – Br. James Koester
“ In a moment when things are bleak, when hope is lost, when the future is unbearable, when all that is left is a dead, lifeless stump, Isaiah reminds God’s people that God will act, that a shoot shall come out of the stock of Jesse. This, after all, is the way of God. Life does emerge from death. Hope does spring up, when all seems hopeless. God will act, and righteousness and justice will be restored.”
Br. James Koester unpacks Isaiah’s vision of the peaceable Kingdom, which is the hope of Advent.
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God’s Promise of Universal Peace – Br. David Vryhof
“We do not yet see the peace of God reigning among the nations of the world. We do not see that peace with justice that God has promised taking root in our own country, in our communities, or even in our churches. We may be tempted to complain and despair. But God calls us to live by God’s light, and not to dwell in the present darkness. God calls us to faith in this soaring promise of peace, and asks us to become peacemakers, wherever and however we can.”
Br. David Vryhof reckons with Isaiah’s vision of universal peace, which still beckons to us in our strife-torn world.
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Those Who Bring Good News – Br. Sean Glenn
“There is for each of us a moment of encounter that, whether all at once or over the course of many years, changes who we imagine ourselves to be and who we imagine God to be. And while there are surely many other kinds of encounter along the spiritual road, Andrew’s story reminds us that our encounters with God will generally come to us through secondary causes—that is, in the concrete, flesh-and-blood lives of Image-bearing humanity. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”
Br. Sean Glenn invites us to remember with thanksgiving all those human feet who have brought us good news.
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Divine Restoration – Br. Jim Woodrum
“We see Jesus reigning not from a throne in glory with majesty, but rather from a tree that has been cut and hewn into a device of torture meant for criminals. This is the good shepherd sent by God, the righteous Branch executing justice and righteousness in the land. This is Jesus, who Paul claims is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
On the feast of Christ the King, Br. Jim Woodrum marvels at the restoration our King brings, as we begin to see the divine image in ourselves.
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