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A Monastic community in the Anglican Episcopal tradition.
635 Episodes
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“Jesus knows what motivates us. He knows our hearts, our minds, and our stomachs. He knows what makes us tick. He knows this for each and every one of us, in our own peculiar way.” Br. Jack Crowley urges us to bring our hunger to God's table.
“Today is predicted to be an amazing day for you. For you to live your life fully, freely, meaningfully, joyfully – for you to have the time of your life – live your life in sync with the Creator of life, and that will make a world of difference.” Br. Curtis Almquist dives into the amazing invitation to pray our lives – all of it, the whole shebang – and offers practical suggestions for how we can work this life-changing practice into the flow of our day.
“If our daily experiences of loss and failure and frustration prepare us for the certainty of our deaths, our daily experiences of trust—and the hope and joy and love that accompany them—do so as well.” Br. Lain Wilson celebrates the trust that transforms even our ultimate death into a promise of life.
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Has the Risen Christ ever come to you when you were in a place of need? If so, how did he come? I’m moved by the resurrection accounts in the Fourth Gospel, in which Jesus returns to his broken-hearted disciples as the Risen One, meeting them just where they are.” Br. David Vryhof marvels at the tender, patient forgiveness of Jesus in the Resurrection narratives – the very same love that he extends to us as well.
“Mary, engulfed in sorrow and confronted with the profound emptiness of Jesus' tomb, didn't realize Jesus was right beside her until He spoke her name. Similarly, we all will endure our own versions of Good Friday—times marked by loss, departure, and profound loneliness. It is precisely in these moments that we should shift our focus to recognize Jesus' presence near us.” On Easter Sunday, Br. Jim Woodrum celebrates the manifestations of Paschal mystery all around us.
“The quiet, calm purpose of Jesus is sealed by the confidence of his final words: “It is finished.” It is finished with great suffering, and with great love. It is completed, whole, and offered up in glory. With him, at long last, we exhale and are drawn to our knees – not in defeat, but in awe. There is nothing more for us to do, but ask for the spirit of Jesus to aid us as we make a fresh return of such great love.”
Br. Keith Nelson marvels at the depths of meaning held in Jesus' final breath from the cross.
“Every year on Maundy Thursday, I ask myself why, why did Jesus do it? Why did he wash feet at his own Last Supper? Every year I come back to the same answer. Jesus knew what he was doing. He knew this was it. This was the Last Supper. This was going to be one of his last chances to teach us something.”
Br. Jack Crowley finds in Maundy Thursday a deep reminder that what we do here matters.
“Step forward into the observance of Holy Week. It’s more than an invitation; this is the stuff of our very lives, as individuals and as the Church. It will not look the same in every person or place. It’s not a neat and tidy category. But the phenomenon will grow and persevere, the offering will erupt forth, the trees will grow, in whichever heart they find purchase. And from there, Christ beckons, reigning from that very tree, as he always has been, and ever shall be.” As we hinge from Lent into Holy Week, Br. Lucas Hall encourages us to come as we are, knowing that Christ will meet us in our offering.
“Giving our life in love is not without suffering. Passion – Jesus’ passion and our passion – is both about love and suffering. ” In Holy Week, Br. Curtis Almquist contemplates the great mystery of life: how love and suffering coexist and inform each other.
“We may not limit the work of Christ to a particular people or organization, such as the Church, but instead must ask ourselves, “Who are the scattered people for whom Christ died in order that they, too, might be reconciled with God?” John does not limit the scope of God’s saving grace, and neither must we.” Br. David Vryhof prays that we will open our eyes to discern the height and breadth and depth of God's saving grace in our world.
“Even when all options are bad, God is here, with us, closer to us than our own selves, with us in our frustration and desperation and bitterness. God is here, with us, the source and object of all our desiring. God is here, with us, mighty to save, and salvation itself.” Br. Lain Wilson opens the scriptures to the words of Jeremiah and finds deep reminders of God's presence, God's proximity, to us in it all.
“A covenant is not the same as a contract. A contract is a transaction; a covenant is a relationship. A covenant presumes a transformative change can and will happen in all parties if we respect our common heritage and listen to one another. And for the world today, the stakes are so very high, don’t we know? Christians, Jews, and Muslims do not share the same faith; however we do share the same fate.” Br. Curtis Almquist turns our eyes toward the Holy Land and prays for peace.
“What are you expecting from God? Don’t cling too tight. Listen and look for surprises, invitations which will stretch you to something more. We need not be afraid. God is good and saving. Our actions speak loudly. Like Joseph, may we keep growing, keep living our yes.” Looking to the life of Joseph, Br. Luke Ditewig urges us to keep our ears open, ready for God to speak a life-changing word.
“Amid His suffering, Jesus fervently prays from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." He doesn’t wait for an apology before seeking God’s forgiveness for His persecutors. Aware of the breadth of God’s mercy, Jesus intercedes on behalf of those who show Him no mercy—those unaware of the mercy inherent in their being as God's children, blind to it and unable to embrace it.” Br. Jim Woodrum considers the scene of the Crucifixion as he ponders how wholeness can come from brokenness, even for us.
“Is God urging you further down the well-worn path of a calling confirmed years ago? Is God inviting you to step forth from a way of life you have largely outgrown into larger life? Is God beckoning you toward a sacred purpose you are only now discovering? If we are following Jesus, all paths lead toward a troubled soul. It is how we pray from the center of that trouble that opens the way for God to meet us and carry us through every death, into unbounded Life.” Br. Keith Nelson recalls those pivotal moments in his own calling which drew him beyond his own small self, toward the purpose for which God had made him.
“Our identities may harden into binaries—the us-versus-them that we so frequently find in the psalms, and in our world today. But the promise of our rich, complex individuality is that our identities are dynamic and responsive, and we can choose to lean into all that makes us unique, all that can put us into relationship with countless and unexpected others.” Br. Lain Wilson encourages us to stay complex in our identities, and maybe even to embrace the adventurous, less-well-known parts of our profile.
“Day by day, we are to draw closer to God, coming to know God (and to be known by God) more intimately. Gradually, we are becoming one with God, uniting ourselves with God by taking on God’s priorities, values and mission. How well do you know God, and how are you coming to know God better?” Br. David Vryhof considers what it means for us to know God.
“Of the many things we can learn from Moses, one of the most important is that being on speaking terms with God is a good practice. Being on speaking terms with God is a good practice because at some point things are going to get real. Things are going to get real and each of us, like Moses, will have an opportunity to stand in breach and have it out with God.” Br. Jack Crowley encourages us to be on good speaking terms with God, so that we can stand together in the breach when the moment comes to have it out.
“We put our trust in God alone. Our patterns won’t save us. Jesus does.” Br. Luke Ditewig reminds us that our bedrock is God.
“What does it mean for us as followers of Jesus to be taught by the guidance of the Holy Spirit? How might that guidance be felt and known in new ways during our journey through the season of Lent?” On the Feast of Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Br. Keith Nelson reflects on how we are pressured from within to become more, not because we need to become perfect, but because God wants more and more from us and for us.
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