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St. Benedict 2022

2022-08-27T16:00:06-05:00July 11th, 2022|Homilies of Father Abbot|

Ecce nos reliquimus omnia, et secuti sumus te…Behold, we have left all things and have followed Thee; what therefore shall we have? (Matthew 19:27)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very dear Sons,

It is striking how, in today’s reading from the Gospel, the emphasis is all on the idea of leaving behind the world. Saint Peter seems quite happy about the fact that he and the other apostles had abandoned all their possessions–even their families–in order to follow the Lord. Christ Himself, far from disapproving of such an attitude, confirms it and blesses it saying in solemn fashion:

Amen I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of His Glory, you also shall sit on […]

Days and Nights

2022-11-29T15:52:54-06:00June 29th, 2022|Letters to the Friends|

Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey,

Ours is a life that hardly varies day-by-day in its tranquil rhythm of Ora et Labora, composed of liturgical or private prayer punctuated by work of various sorts. Seven times a day and once during the night we meet to offer praise to God in our monastic church; morning and afternoon we go out to accomplish the necessary tasks that allow us to live largely from the labor of our own hands.

God in His infinite wisdom does send our way, nevertheless, those providential exceptions, the special events, that allow the good of monastic life to radiate outward into the Church and the world for the benefit of many outside the monastery walls. I thought that you might appreciate learning of some of these events that have […]

Pentecost 2022

2022-06-11T15:16:57-05:00June 5th, 2022|Homilies of Father Abbot|

All these were persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very Dear Sons,

It has not escaped the notice of Christians down through the ages that after the Ascension, when the Apostles returned to the Upper Room in Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Ghost, the holy women that had followed the Lord during His public ministry were also present, and among them the Blessed and Ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

Saint Peter is the uncontested leader of the Apostles and followers of Christ, and yet, in many icons and other artistic representations of the scene of the Pentecost, it is the figure of Mary that holds the center position. Thus, she […]

Ascension 2022

2022-05-28T15:20:19-05:00May 26th, 2022|Homilies of Father Abbot|

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very dear Sons,

When Our Lord “lost foot,” so to speak, on the hill overlooking Jerusalem, disappearing upwards into the clouds of Heaven, He took a great deal more than His sacred and resurrected Body: He ascended with our own humanity in some sense, being Himself a summary and exemplar of the human nature, now restored and perfected beyond anything men of former ages ever dreamt of. He took us—or at any rate what is the best of us—with Him in hope. He did not drag our sins along to the place above, but whatever was found to be noble, pure, genuine, beneficial—whatever is holy in the history of mankind—this He carried to Paradise.

Inversely, here below, since the moment of the Ascension, the world has never been quite […]

The Latin Mass and the Problem of Poverty

2022-07-30T17:09:42-05:00May 13th, 2022|Letters to the Friends|

As we continue to bask in the warmth and after-glow of the Resurrection of the Lord, many reflections nourish our contemplation, while we meditate upon the scenes of the Gospel relating the meetings of the Risen Lord with His disciples. One page in particular reminds me of many of our friends involved with the Traditional Latin Mass, as they walk along the path of their lives like the pilgrims of Emmaus after the tragedy of Good Friday. Contemplating the new restrictions on the older liturgical usage they seem to say: “We hoped that it was this older rite that should have helped restore the life of the Church: and now besides all this, today is the third day…” (See Luke 24:21ff) […]

Easter 2022

2022-04-30T16:07:15-05:00April 17th, 2022|Homilies of Father Abbot|

At that time: Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of James and Salome…entering into the sepulcher saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed with a white robe…who saith to them: Be not afraid; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he is risen, he is not here…

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very dear sons,

Ever since a certain Easter morning, when the unthinkable, the unspeakable, the unimaginable victory of life over death and of light over darkness occurred, Christians have looked to the place from which the Risen Christ escaped in radiant glory, as a symbol and proof of the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Although we all too often forget the lesson of God’s wisdom and power, falling back on human remedies for our woes; […]

Maundy Thursday 2022

2022-04-30T16:13:43-05:00April 14th, 2022|Homilies of Father Abbot|

“Before the festival day of the Pasch, Jesus knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father; having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end.” (Jn 13)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very dear sons,

On the occasion of this solemn Mass of Holy Thursday, of Maundy Thursday, as the traditional expression has it, we meditate both on the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist and on Christ’s own commandment, that is to say, on the great business of fraternal charity. It would be impossible ever to say too much or even enough about these two facets of the Christian life.

There is another topic, directly related to both themes of this Mass, that we have […]

Learn Gregorian Chant – Laus in Ecclesia Level One & Two Courses

2022-04-06T13:53:57-05:00April 6th, 2022|News|

Clear Creek Abbey will host two classes in Gregorian chant:

Laus In Ecclesia, level 1, taking the complete beginner or amateur in Gregorian chant to the level of being able to sing the chant with a certain competence

Laus in Ecclesia, level 2, building on the first degree, sharpening skills in reading notation, and rhythm, with an emphasis on the singing of the Divine Office in Gregorian chant.

The classes will be held from July 12th until the 17th, 2022. Find out more about and register at clearcreekmonks.org/learnChant .

Annunciation 2022

2022-03-26T15:17:53-05:00March 25th, 2022|Homilies of Father Abbot|

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very dear sons,

From all eternity God spoke His Word. From the first day of creation, from the beginning of time, God pronounced many words; God announced to angels and men what men and angels needed to know. Even before there were angels or men, God spoke to Himself, saying “Let there be light, let there be a firmament, fiat lux” (Gen. 1: 3,6). And the announcements and pronouncements continued down through the centuries. Many were God’s winged messengers bearing Divine tidings to earth; many were His prophets, who walked upon its face, spreading knowledge of the Word of God throughout the world below. But the greatest of these pronouncements, the greatest of annunciations was the one made in the fullness of time to the Blessed Virgin Mary, […]

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