No Greater Love

One of the great blessings of Lent in the monastic life is that it calls the monk to take a good hard look at himself and ask, "Am I truly doing all that I can for Jesus Christ and His holy Church?, am I striving to lay down my life for others?, am I trying to be the best monk I can be?" As Holy Week quickly approaches I ask you to take time in your own life to ponder and pray over the questions that really matter. Ask Jesus to show you the ways He is calling you to lay down your life for others. Holy Week teaches us to focus on the Holy cross and be willing to surrender our wills to the will of the Father. Monks prostrating themselves as they give themselves totally to Jesus Christ at Solemn Profession.

Br. (soon to be Father) Michael, Fr. Fred, Fr. Shawn Matthew, and Fr. Boniface.

Something to ponder

FROM The New Interpreter's Bible

"A Jewish story tells of the good fortune of a hardworking farmer. The Lord appeared to this farmer and granted him three wishes, but with the condition that whatever the Lord did for the farmer would be given double to his neighbor. The farmer, scarcely believing his good fortune, wished for a hundred cattle. Immediately he received a hundred cattle, and his neighbor had two hundred. So he wished for a hundred acres of land, and again he was filled with joy until he saw that his neighbor had two hundred acres of land. Rather than celebrating God s goodness, the farmer could not escape feeling envious and slighted because his neighbor had received more than he. Finally, he stated his third wish: that God would strike him blind in one eye.

And God wept."

For more reflections see our Archabbey websites daily homilies by clicking here

5 Novices!!!

 
St. Vincent Novices (Br. Maximilian, Br. Jeremiah, Br. Gabriel Myriam, and Br. Michael) pose with Franciscan Friar Br. Josemaria DeJesus, CFR of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Br. Josemaria is a good friend of the brothers and just made his first vows on March 3, 2008. Please keep all these young men in your prayers.

What do Monks do?

 
One of the questions we get asked is, "What do monks do?" The simple answer is that we pray and we work. This means that our day begins with prayer, we pray throughout the day, and our day ends with prayer. Through our prayer life we are able to serve the people of God in a variety of ways but our service is nothing without the power of surrender to God our Father in our prayer. Recently, (you may have seen this in our blog) Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B. and Father Shawn Matthew Anderson, O.S.B. welcomed The Kings Men to St. Vincent College to speak with our students and to protest a local pornography store located close to our Campus. One of our students, Gabe Jakubisin, wrote about this experience in his St. Vincent College Blog. I invite you to read this devout young man's experience of standing up for the most vulnerable of our society. Click Here.

Lenten Reflection

 
For monks it is important to keep the Passion of our Lord ever before our eyes and to meditate on the suffering He endured to redeem us from our sins. Our Novice Brothers wanted to provide all you men discerning a vocation an opportunity to pray with them during this most Holy time of Lent.

Click here to pray the Stations of the Cross with the Brothers, Great job guys!