I was on a retreat this week with the monks of Saint Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. They’re cloistered Trappists who gather in the monastery chapel every day at 3:30 and 6AM, with Mass at 6:40, then again at 2, 5:40, and 7:40PM. Together with some other priests and laymen, I entered into the rhythm of their communal life, taking meals separately, but joining them for prayer.

The disorder of our times is seen in how readily we allow our technological offspring to take over our lives; they become like children who control their parents. Intoxicated by our capacity for invention, we are seduced into subservience by our own designs, which alienate us from our humanity by training us to think that the person is merely an instrument of utility.

There were many men named “Jesus” at the time of Christ. The name was common. It means “Yahweh saves,” and even today we know men named “Joshua,” the Old Testament name that would be shortened to Yēshua, or “Jesus.”

I’ll be away for the month of July, but you’re all in for a treat. Archbishop Felix Machado is coming with an exceptional reputation preceding him.

The early Church understood that the Risen Christ was truly present in their midst - in the life they lived together and in the celebration of the Eucharist. In other words, they realized that their new communion with Jesus was a holy communion.

Life will always be full of problems - even for the Christian. As our Lord said, “In this world, you will have trouble.” It’s the opposite of what we hear in commencement speeches about changing the world. Christ says instead, “I send you out as sheep among wolves.” But it’s also true that hearts touched by grace can change. “Take courage,” Jesus said, “for I have overcome the world, and I will be with you always, even to the end of time.”

The Descent of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of a promise that Christ made to His disciples. Isn’t that an amazing thought: that God would promise something to us! What have we ever done to deserve anything from Him? And yet, it pleases Him to bestow gifts on us.

All of our experiences of true joy have something in common: we are perceiving something being given to us. This is different than the pleasure or satisfaction we feel when we “get our way” or “have everything we want.” Rather, joy is given to us by God. It can’t be engineered or wrestled to the ground; joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.