Epiphany 2019

And behold, the star which [the wise men] had seen in the East went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. (Matt. 2:9) Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, My very Dear Sons, As with … Read More

Christmas 2018

And suddenly with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: Gloria in altissimis Deo, and on earth peace to men of good will. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, My very dear sons, In accordance … Read More

In Praise of Innocence

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

Immaculate Conception 2018

Trahe nos, Virgo Immaculata; Draw us, O Virgin Immaculate; we will run after thee to the fragrance of thy ointments. (Fifth Antiphon; cf. Cant. 1:3) Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, My Very Dear Sons, Beginning already in the earliest … Read More

From this Place

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

All Saints 2018

Post haec vidi turbam magnam…After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and … Read More

Anchored in the Stars

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

St Michael 2018

Benedicite Dominum, omnes Angeli…Bless the Lord, all ye his Angels : you that are mighty in strength, and execute his word, hearkening to the voice of his orders. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, My Very Dear Sons, It is … Read More

St. Michael’s sword

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

Assumption 2018

Assumpta est Maria in caelum…Mary has been taken up into heaven: the Angels rejoice; in hymns of praise they bless the Lord. (First Antiphon of Lauds) Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, My very dear sons, Sometimes we Christians are … Read More

St Benedict 2018

Sancte Pater Benedicte, intercede pro nobis. Holy Father Benedict, intercede for us. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, My Very Dear Sons, According to Dom Delatte, the third abbot of Saint-Pierre of Solesmes in France, “Experience shows that no earthly … Read More