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.
Generosity is a Symptom of Courage – Br. James Koester
“There are a number of words that we might use to describe Isabella Stewart Gardner, whose birthday we are celebrating today. We might use the word audacious. We could describe her as scandalous or provocative. We might call her stubborn. We could call her eccentric. We could certainly call her rich. I am sure that she was called these, and many others besides. But there is one word which we might not normally associate with her. That word is courageous.”
On her birthday, Br. James Koester celebrates the Monastery’s historic benefactor, Isabella Stewart Gardner, giving thanks to God for endowing her so richly with courage and generosity.
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Learning to Fly Solo, but Not Alone – Br. David Vryhof
“It is always remarkable for me to see how God entrusts God’s mission in the world to us human beings, who are plagued by weaknesses and faults. It was not long ago that all of these disciples abandoned Jesus in his hour of great need, and yet their past infidelities and failures do not prevent them from being chosen and sent to proclaim his Good News and to carry on his ministry. What a great consolation for us, who are trying our best to fly but are not always graceful or effective.”
A pair of fledgling doves offers Br. David Vryhof insight into the experience of the disciples, testing their wings for the first time.
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Born Again – Br. Nicholas Bartoli
“For Nicodemus as for most us, the journey starts with a sincere desire to seek out the Light of Christ. Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, he was literally in the dark, and like a moth to a flame he was drawn to Christ. Jesus, discerning the desire in Nicodemus’ heart, knows it isn’t enough for him to assent intellectually to Jesus being of God. No, Nicodemus wants nothing less than to intimately know and participate in God’s Kingdom.”
Br. Nicholas Bartoli marvels at the spiritual experience of being born again, of the Spirit.
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In the Midst of Death, We Are in Life – Br. James Koester
“We are good at dying. This past year alone, we’ve had lots of practice. We know what to do in the face of death. We know what’s expected, even when gripped by shock and grief. In the midst of death. What shocks, alarms, terrifies, amazes, and makes us afraid and speechless is life, and especially the kind of life Jesus offers us in the resurrection.”
On Easter Sunday, Br. James Koester invites us to join the women at the tomb and to be shocked, overcome, and speechless – not at death – but at the unpredictable, Spirit-filled, risky life of Jesus’ resurrection.
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Gone Is Thy Shame! – Br. Jim Woodrum
“The gospel news of the cross is that God took on our human nature in the face of Jesus and endured the shame of the cross for our sake. It is in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead that God restored our nature, giving us the ability to stare shame in the face and eradicate it with a different language: the language of love. But, we do have to face the cross as Jesus did. We have to summon the courage with God’s help to face what we know to be true, that we are worthy of love and belonging, that we are enough.”
On Good Friday, Br. Jim Woodrum invites us to leave our shame at the foot of the cross.
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God’s Longing – Br. Todd Blackham
“Allow yourself to be scandalized again at what Jesus is doing as though he were approaching your own feet. What act of service would shock you? Can you imagine coming home to find your spiritual director scrubbing the tile in your bathroom? Or a favorite teacher doing your laundry. The choir director and the coach cleaning the baseboards in the kitchen. The head of your department vacuuming under the couch. A mentor making your bed.
Shocking, uncomfortable, even embarrassing. But this is Jesus, who being in the very form of God didn’t consider equality to God as something to be clung on to. He emptied himself taking on the form of a slave.”
On Maundy Thursday, Br. Todd Blackham urges us to experience the depths to which Jesus has gone – moving heaven and earth – out of God’s profound longing to be reunited with us.
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Love and betrayal – Br. Geoffrey Tristram
“For many, betrayal marks the end of a relationship, the end of love. But the wonder of the Cross, what brings us to our knees in awe, is that Jesus on the Cross, betrayed, abandoned, alone, is able to forgive. No betrayal, no amount of darkness in men’s hearts, can extinguish that love which is immortal. Love and betrayal. They exist side by side. But love conquers all.”
On Wednesday in Holy Week, Br. Geoffrey Tristram weighs betrayal and love in the final days of Jesus – and in our own lives.
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United with Christ in Suffering and Glory – Br. Jonathan Maury
“We continue at present separated in longing by disease and death, grief and loss, fear and uncertainty. Yet we join in hope with those who went out of the holy city of Jerusalem to greet the humble Savior. We raise our cries, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” Together we hail Jesus, the Victor over death and evil, present among us now.”
On this second Palm Sunday in pandemic time, Br. Jonathan Maury encourages us to join in Holy Week with hope, knowing that, whatever our present circumstances, we will be supported and strengthened by the grace of our re-birth in Holy Baptism.
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Lose your life to find it – Br. Geoffrey Tristram
“Holy Week offers this powerful invitation, day by day, to let go – to loosen our fearful grip on our attachments, our illusions about ourselves, to strip ourselves of all that keeps us from receiving the new life that the crucified and risen Lord longs to give us.”
As we step into the shadow of the cross with Holy Week, Br. Geoffrey Tristram reminds us that we must lose our life to find it.
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Who Are You? – Br. James Koester
“The choice is ours, but answer the question we must: who are you? Whatever our answer, will shape who and what we see in the week to come. Indeed, the answer will shape our lives, not just for next week, but for all eternity.”
Br. James urges us to answer the ultimate question, not only about Jesus, but about ourselves.
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