Archives for April 2019

The smell of Easter lilies is in the air… a sure sign that the long-awaited Resurrection day has arrived! These iconic flowers adorn our church, our house and are even planted in our gardens for a mid-summer “Easter reprise”. The pure white color and trumpet-like shape are the means of the praise they give to God, just as we hope to do in our own Benedictine way.

And what is this Benedictine way of Paschal praise? To be sure, it is the way of the Church, the way of the Divine Liturgy which leads the faithful step-wise through the mysteries of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. On Holy Thursday we pray in the garden with Christ, on Good Friday we hang on the Cross with Christ, on Holy Saturday we remain hidden with Christ, and on Easter Sunday we rise from the dead with Christ. Each of these occasions is its own praise of God, as we strive to live in union with him.

Happy and Blessed Easter to you from all of us at St. Scholastica Priory! Alleluia!

The holiest week of the year has arrived, with all its solemnity and depth of meaning. This is the week on which our Christian purpose and salvation hinges, and we Benedictines express this best in what we do most: liturgical celebration! Of the many powerful hymns sung this week, here is one that captures beautifully the saving work of Christ on Good Friday.

Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle;
sing the ending of the fray.
Now above the cross, the trophy,
sound the loud triumphant lay:
tell how Christ, the world’s Redeemer,
as a victim won the day.

Tell how, when at length the fullness
of th’appointed time was come,
He, the Word, was born of woman,
left for us His Father’s home,
blazed the path of true obedience,
shone as light amidst the gloom.

Thus, with thirty years accomplished,
He went forth from Nazareth,
destined, dedicated, willing,
did His work, and met His death;
like a lamb He humbly yielded
on the cross His dying breath.

Faithful cross, true sign of triumph,
be for all the noblest tree;
none in foliage, none in blossom,
none in fruit your equal be;
symbol of the world’s redemption,
for the weight that hung on thee!

Unto God be praise and glory:
to the Father and the Son,
to th’eternal Spirit honor
now and evermore be done;
praise and glory in the highest,
while the timeless ages run.

Holy Week, and the Triduum in particular (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday), is arguably the most intense and meaningful week of the liturgical year. Each day holds a unique importance in the formation of Catholic theology, and it seems that within each Triduum, each of these days holds a special grace. Holy Thursday draws us more deeply into the mystery of the Eucharist, Good Friday draws us to the Cross, Holy Saturday draws us to the silence of Our Lady, and Resurrection draws us into an entirely new dimension of divine life, beyond the throes of death.

In our Benedictine monastery, we have a beautiful tradition of keeping watch on Holy Thursday night before the tabernacle, adorned with flowers and candles. It is a special time of solemnity and silence, as the agony of Our Lord in the garden is relived. Each year provides this sacred opportunity to enter into the suffering of Jesus, his mental and emotional anguish, and thereby his ineffable love.

Bl. John Henry Newman has an incredibly powerful meditation on this moment of Jesus’ life, as he enters into his hour of sacrifice. He writes: “There, then, in that most awful hour, knelt the Savior of the world, putting off the defenses of His divinity, dismissing His reluctant Angels, who in myriads were ready at his call, and opening His arms, baring His breast, sinless as He was, to the assault of the foe… His very memory is laden with every sin which has been committed since the fall…” (Discourses to Mixed Congregations, 16). Newman, as do so many of the writings of the saints, helps us to enter into the Garden with Christ, gives us courage to walk to Calvary with Christ, and sets us on the path toward the Resurrection—with Christ.