The theme of Pope Francis’ message for Lent this year is ‘conversion’.  Right at the beginning of his ‘Lenten Message’ he states that the ‘paschal mystery is the basis of conversion.’  Indeed, the backdrop of our Lenten journey is the death and resurrection of Jesus.  This event states that ‘now is the time of grace, now is the day of our salvation’. This grace, available now, happens each time we turn from what is not life, and turn towards God….Conversion is a turning from and turning toward: this inner dynamic is a dying or a letting go for life, for God’s love to heal and transform.  An authentic conversion is an “inward transformation” (p.233).

What was the larger horizon that guided our founders’ decision to leave their monastery of Molesme to the wilderness of Citeaux?  It seems to me that if we can tease out what were the motivating factors in the discernment of our founders to leave Molesme, it will help us, as well, to be sure that we are faithful to this larger vision of what Cistercian – Benedictine life is to be about in its essence.

‘To walk as Jesus walked’ (1Jn 2:6) is to live the incarnate reality.  These holy days of Christmas and now Epiphany all emphasize God’s incarnate gift in Christ to and for us, and for our world.  The importance of these days is to imprint upon our memories (so that we will not forget) that God is always coming, always bidding to become a part of our lives, of our hearts, of our choices, of how we love.

Today (hodie) we stand in the ambience and reality of the ‘first Coming’, of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, this great gift of God’s beloved Son.  Today we celebrate this historical reality.  And this is not all: Today (hodie) we stand with open hearts of faith as we behold the ‘second Coming’, the birth of Christ personally to each one of us and to the expanded horizon of our Church and our world. Let us never forget this: God’s incarnation is on-going and it needs each one of us, alone and together, to embody God’s life that is always coming into our lives. 

‘Be patient’, ‘Make your hearts firm’, ‘Do not complain about one another, so that you may not be judged’…. ‘the prophets knew of hardship and patience’…These are exhortative words from the epistle for this Third Sunday of Advent…And added to them is the theme of ‘oice’ for the coming One is even closer now, our expectant hearts begin to feel the reality of God’s promise stirring in the silent depths within and without in the created world.