Mending the Soil
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey,
And [the man] said to the dresser of the vineyard: Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down therefore: why cumbereth it the ground? But he answering, said to him: Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it, and dung it (Lk. 13:7-8).
As our agricultural experts inform us and our farmers—after generations of experience—concur, the fertility of soil implies a kind of balance. The scientist will speak to us of the pH factor, 
a measure of the relative proportions of acidity and alkaline qualities, assuring us that soil apt for growing all sorts of useful plants […]
Epiphany 2023
And entering into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored him (Mt. 2).
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very Dear Sons,
On the feast of the Epiphany we remember three mysteries of the Faith, all having to do with Christ’s manifestation to the world: the visit of the Magi, the Baptism of the Lord, and the Wedding Feast of Cana where Jesus performed His first public miracle, turning the water into wine. Of these three mysteries it is the visit of the Magi, the first panel of this mystical triptych, which we contemplate in particular on this 6th day of January, the other two scenes being commemorated in days and weeks to come.
The Sovereign Pontiffs, including the current one, have been […]
Requiem Mass for Pope Benedict XVI
[The wise man] will give his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him, and he will pray in the sight of the most High. He will open his mouth in prayer, and will make supplication for his sins. For if it shall please the great Lord, he will fill him with the spirit of understanding: And he will pour forth the words of his wisdom as showers, and in his prayer, he will confess to the Lord. And he shall direct his counsel, and his knowledge, and in his secrets shall he meditate. (Eccli. 39:6-10)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My Very Dear Sons,
There is, perhaps, no power upon the earth that more forcefully pushes back the darkness and sadness of earthly mortality than the light of true wisdom, […]
Light of Christmas
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey,
There is much discussion in the Church these days about traveling down a “common road,” synodality. Whatever may be your view on this—and views differ—one thing is clear: the road that beckons to us in this particular season is the one leading to Bethlehem. There we will find Him who would one day announce that He is the road, the way. “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6). Furthermore, as we travel during Advent with the Holy Family toward the Little Town in Judea that is to be the birthplace of the Savior of mankind, the Child is already in our midst, as He rides in the womb of His Immaculate mother, perched with her upon the donkey led by Saint Joseph. What a […]
Christmas 2022
At that time, the shepherds said to one another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass…(Lk. 2)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very dear sons,
In order really to “see this Word” with the shepherds and to understand Christmas, we have to go way back, beyond the present age of the world, before any material universe known to modern science, even outside the frontiers of time itself. It all began with a great notion that God conceived of, His own concept or Word, the child of His thought, the Second Person of the Trinity. This Divine Word of God within Himself was so good that from it—and from the Father—a Divine Love proceeded. That love is the Holy Spirit or the “Holy […]
Immaculate Conception 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My Very Dear Sons,
What in God’s creation could be simpler and purer than the Immaculate Conception? What image might we choose to express this mystery by means of a comparison in order to evoke the utter whiteness of this unique grace accorded to the Virgin Mother of God? It would have to be something like the imagery of today’s liturgical texts, which speak of garments white as snow, of a face like the sun, of the lily, or of the dove… And yet the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, this utterly simple reality, has encountered over the centuries many vicissitudes. It was the object of intense debates before it was clearly defined by the Magisterium of the Church as being part of divinely revealed Truth.
Dom Prosper […]
All Saints 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very dear sons,
Today’s feast, by means of its liturgical texts, transports us into the courts of the heavenly Jerusalem, where all the Saints, those who have fought the good fight on earth, enjoy evermore the fruits of their victory over sin and death. They praise God and the Lamb, that is to say Our Lord, as He appears in the Apocalypse of Saint John, knowing their victories derive, in fact, from Christ’s own Passion, Death and Resurrection. “And I saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb standing as if slain…” (Apoc. 5:6). The Saints are truly this “cloud of witnesses” the Epistle to the Hebrews mentions (12:1), who encourage us […]
Monastic Melodies
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey,
Some of you are aware of the recent release on September 9th of our second recording: Rorate Cœli: Marian Sounds of Advent. There are multiple reasons behind this effort: to foster devotion to Our Lady who is the patron saint of our community; to contribute in some little way to the appreciation of Gregorian chant, which must have pride of place in liturgical celebrations; and, finally, to share our monastic life with a greater number of our fellow human beings, whether Catholic or not, through the medium of the official sacred song of the Church.
It may seem odd to be promoting in September this repertory 
centered on certain portions of the liturgy of Advent, but […]
In the Time of the Laughing Man
Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey,
Although it is somewhat “unorthodox” in its deeper orthodoxy, I thought you might appreciate the following meditation written by one of my monks at the abbey. Here goes…
Of the four elements which the ancient Greeks considered to make up the universe (earth, air, fire and water), all except earth are seen in Holy Scripture as signifying the Holy Spirit: blowing air and fire at Pentecost (Cf. Acts 2:2-3), and water in John 7:37-39. Christian art, in portraying the Holy Spirit, seems to prefer to draw upon a different Scriptural symbol, that is, the dove, as seen at the baptism of Our Lord, when the Holy Spirit comes down “as a dove” (Cf. Matthew 3:16, John 1:32).And the Most Holy Trinity is sometimes portrayed (and […]
