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.
Saint James of Jerusalem – Br. Curtis Almquist
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Matthew 13:54-58 We remember today a follower of Christ, a certain James of Jerusalem, but our memory fails us. We are not completely sure who this James is. In the Gospel according to Matthew, we hear that James is called Jesus’ brother. The same is true in Saint Paul’s Letter to the…
Read MoreJacob's Wrestling with God – Br. Curtis Almquist
Pentecost XIX Genesis 32:22-32 The same night [Jacob] got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until…
Read MoreLord
A sermon preached at St John’s Cathedral, Jacksonville FL based on II Timothy 1:1-14 and Luke 17:5-10 My Brother and I would like to express our thanks for your invitation to us to be with you this weekend, and for the warm and gracious welcome we have received. We’re delighted to be here. Every year…
Read MoreHealing Service for Members of the Armed Services and Their Loved Ones – Br. Curtis Almquist
Isaiah 61:1-3 This lesson comes from the writings of the Prophet Isaiah, and Jesus was very familiar with this passage. We know this because one day Jesus went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He was handed a scroll of the scriptures – it was actually this Isaiah passage which…
Read MoreFour Aces – Br. Mark Brown
Zech. 8:20-23; Psalm 87; Luke 9:51-56 This evening we’ve been dealt four aces. The reading from the Hebrew Scriptures is about Jerusalem. The Psalm we heard is about Jerusalem. The Gospel is about Jerusalem. And next week I’m going to Jerusalem. So it looks like we are to reflect on the Gospel through the lens…
Read MoreAngels Dance, Angels Cry – Br. Mark Brown
Feast of St. Michael and All Angels In my own reflections on life I am increasingly struck by the fact that there is something and not nothing. And that what is is so magnificent. Today we celebrate the feast of St. Michael and All Angels. Which, among other things, serves to remind us that there…
Read MorePearl of Great Price – Br. Curtis Almquist
Matthew 13:45-52 ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when…
Read MoreStewards of God's Gifts – Br. David Vryhof
A sermon based on Luke 16:1-13 It was a time in which “money was becoming more than simply a social convention, a medium of economic exchange. People were beginning to pursue money as a primary goal; and the amount of money one acquired determined one’s status in the community.”i So author Donald Spoto describes the…
Read MoreCatholic Stew – Br. Mark Brown
Edward Bouverie Pusey 1 Peter 2:19-23/Psalm 106:1-5/Matthew 13:44-52 “…the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the…
Read MoreKnowing Our Place – Br. Curtis Almquist
Pentecost XII Luke 14:1, 7-14 There’s more going on in this story Jesus tells than meets the eye. Jesus’ most obvious point is about distinctions between people, the invidious, sometimes tempting desire to distinguish ourselves from others to make ourselves look better, more important, higher than we might otherwise appear. I’ll come back to that. …
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