“There is a real danger that we miss the essential.  What do we want to live and what do we actually live?”  These words are from the Abbot General’s conference on the theme of ‘increasing fragility’ given at our recent General Chapter (9/14/2014).  It seems to me that in the ordinariness of each day it is easy for us to ‘miss the essential’, the essence of the monastic path, which is based on the gospel.  To reflect, then, on what we desire to live paralleled with an honest

Do we give enough attention to the silence…the silence that hovers around our hearts…the silence that goes deep, deeper than words…the silence that is the silence of God?  Silence speaks, does it not?  The silence of God is the Word of God.
Today’s first reading at Mass is from the first book of Kings and it is one that I love. Elijah is at Horeb, the mountain of God.  He is in a cave, a shelter…then, the Lord God tells him to go and “stand on the mountain of the Lord for the Lord will be

Two apostles, two disciples: vulnerable like us, doubting like us, falling off the path like us…and still living their discipleship to the end.   What do they have to say to us, we followers of the gospel?  Jesus was at the center of their lives…they finally got it but they each had their own journey, which

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You have faith in God; have faith in me, also.  I go to prepare a place for you…for where I am you will be also…and you know the way’.  Thomas then expresses what I think we would ask if we were in his shoes: ‘we don’t know where you are going, how can we know the way’?  Jesus answers ‘I am the way, the truth and the lif

The Ignatian Center of Santa Clara University, as part of the mission of the Jesuit Higher Education, sponsors Immersion experiences for students to places with special needs.  Santa Clara's website explains the purpose of Immersions:
 “These mutually enriching programs provide students with the opportunity to experience different cultures and diverse socioeconomic environments and to witness firsthand the challenges faced by marginalized communities.”
Usually places such as the inner