Matthew 13:44-52 ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.’ Sr Sandra Schneiders spent twelve years writing a trilogy on Religious Life: Finding the Treasure, Selling All and Buying the Field. The titles …
Monthly Archives: July 2023
Preferring Nothing to Christ (2)
LISTEN ‘Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions,and attend to them with the ear of your heart.‘ St Benedict’s words are an invitation to intentional discipleship, an invitation to follow on a path that has been trodden for centuries. Listening with the ear of the heart is no small matter. It can challenge you …
Martha, Mary and Lazarus
Today the Church keeps the Memoria of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. It’s a day that holds special significance for Benedictines. There are two collects given for Mass in a supplementary book which is used for all things Benedictine. Heavenly Father,your Son was receivedas an honoured and welcomed guestin the home of Bethany,keep us close to …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (1)
LISTEN Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it and faithfully put it into practice. It’s pretty hard to beat the opening sentences of the Rule of St Benedict. Like an overture giving the …
St James
Matthew 20:20-28 ‘The mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other …
Preferring Nothing to Christ: 6 Weeks with St Benedict
I’ll be posting Wednesdays and Saturdays for the next 6 weeks. I have chosen 6 themes from the Rule of St Benedict: Listen, Seek, Gospel, Christ, Love and Together. (I had hoped to launch this on July 11th, but things got delayed a bit.) Starts Wed 26th July
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13:24-43 In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfil the prophecy: I will speak to you in parablesand expound things hidden since the foundation of the world. Today the Gospel offers us three parables, three stories that are …
St Mary Magdalene
John 20:1-2,11-18 I recently read an article about Pope Francis where the writer talked about the importance of understanding his style of leadership, way of speaking and particular vocabulary. What stands out for me when I think of Pope Francis is his stress on the culture of encounter. Pope Francis wants us to meet people …
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55:10-11Matthew 13:1-23 I spent yesterday at our Diocesan Assembly for my diocese of Northampton. Over three hundred and fifty people gathered as Pilgrims of Hope. We shared our love for the Church and our hopes and dreams for the future. We faced the difficult topics with courage and a willingness to really listen to …
Better Together
I’m posting twice today for the Feast of St Benedict. I was reading this morning and was reminded of one of my favourite monastic stories. It’s too good not share. Sr Aquinata Bockmann is a missionary Benedictine Sister and an expert in the Rule of St Benedict. She has told the story below many times …