Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, Every four years it is my duty and joy to return to France in order to participate in the General Chapter of our Benedictine Congregation of Solesmes. The beauty of the Abbey of Saint … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, The clerical sexual abuse crisis that has now reached alarming proportions is like the many-headed Hydra that Hercules had to kill as one of his Twelve Labors—worse still, like the Beast of the Apocalypse … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, Many in our day seek ways of living closer to the land. At Clear Creek we are fortunate to have abundant natural resources in the rugged woodlands God has provided for us. Here follows … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, For his part, Saint Paul argued that talk about certain subjects should simply be eliminated from the conversation of Christians: “Let it not so much as be named among you, as becometh saints” (Eph. … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, Contemplating the calendar invites us to look beyond the present moment, whether to the past or to the future. Together with this calendar I am sending you, I offer a few reflections on the … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, While news from the nation’s capital and around America—truly a nation divided— continues to be unsettling; as scandals and rumors of corruption within the Catholic Church unleash their confusion upon us week-by-week, we instinctively … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, The Catholic faithful thought they had seen it all. We hoped the worst of the clerical abuse scandals were behind us. But the perfect storm was yet to be unleashed. As I write this … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, Following the resounding—the deafening—defeat of the pro-life cause in Ireland on May 25th by a referendum that repealed the eighth amendment of Ireland’s constitution protecting the unborn, someone asked me, “What now?” Despite the … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, There was a time when life was ordered, not by the ringtone of your so-called smart phone, but according to the melodious and mysterious voice of the church bell. This is undoubtedly still the … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, While I write this letter America is struggling—once again—to come to grips with the unspeakable horror of a mass shooting, perpetrated this time on Ash Wednesday, which was also St. Valentine’s Day this year. … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, In a remark delivered at a meeting of monastic superiors a few years ago, an abbot argued that the Church should stop cultivating beauty and instead promote ugliness. This ironic statement (uttered no doubt … Read More
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey, As angry voices fuel the endless debates of partisan politics and simple souls find themselves ever more confused amid the struggles of a society having lost its human and divine bearings, we aspire as … Read More