Holy Cross Day – Br. Todd Blackham

Isaiah 45:21-25
Philippians 2:5-11
or Galatians 6:14-18
John 12:31-36a
Psalm 98 or 98:1-4

I was a teenager when I found it.  A simple silver cross only about an inch and half tall.  Plain, unadorned, simple slightly rounded arms smooth and finely wrought.  I found it in a little silver shop in an old mining town in Colorado.  I wore it for years, first on a little box chain, then re-strung a few times, leather cords, braided hemp, wooden beads, but always that simple silver cross around my neck.  It was, beyond language, a token of great importance for me.  Something that I couldn’t articulate at the time, an attraction, a reminder, an anchor.  This constant companion that would make itself known to me on a cool day when I might slip it under my shirt and I feel the cold metal pressed against my breastbone.  Or in a daydream I’d find myself toying with it with my fingers, sometimes compelled to bring it to my lips for a kiss.  It was precious to me.

And one day, after returning home from travel I noticed it wasn’t around my neck anymore.  It wasn’t in my pockets or my suitcase either.  It was gone.  I had lost it.  And, truthfully, I was heartbroken.  For months I checked other coat pockets, inside shoes, anywhere it might have ended up but I never saw it again.  Now, it’s not that it was such a costly item that I missed it; nor was I somehow superstitiously clinging to it for luck.  It was simply because of the joy and delight I had found in it, all the things that I couldn’t speak it spoke to my heart in close proximity.  Ineffable strength and peace.  That’s perhaps one of the first times I found the power of the cross. Read More

Antony & Adoration – Br. Luke Ditewig

Br. Luke Ditewig

Today we remember Antony of Egypt, the founder of Christian monasticism, who moved out into the desert alone to pray. When Antony emerged from the desert and learned of a great persecution of the church, he returned to the city and cared for those in trouble. Later he returned to the desert but many people came out to see him and hear his wisdom. Judges repeatedly called Antony down to the city to advise them in their rulings.

Solitude for prayer, for focusing on relationship with God, is key to our life and what we offer on retreat. Monasticism like ours is life shared together, a company of friends who prioritize friendship with Christ. Read More