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August 2, 2012
August 2, 2012
Greetings from Norcia! Below is a recent homily from last Sunday and a recent blog entry about new ways to support the monastery.
Things have been very busy, as the monastic community prepares for the solemn vows of Br. Evagrius on Aug 11th and the Grand Opening of the Monastic Brewery on August 15th.
We want to apologize for some recent technical difficulties on our website. If you missed some of the homilies, here they are:
Things have been very busy, as the monastic community prepares for the solemn vows of Br. Evagrius on Aug 11th and the Grand Opening of the Monastic Brewery on August 15th.
We want to apologize for some recent technical difficulties on our website. If you missed some of the homilies, here they are:
"From Hireling to Son"
Fr. Basil Nixen, O.S.B.
July 22, 2012
Fr. Basil Nixen, O.S.B.
July 22, 2012
"The Three Step Plan to Salvation"
Fr. Thomas Bolin, O.S.B.
July 15, 2012
Fr. Thomas Bolin, O.S.B.
July 15, 2012
"Feast of St. Benedict"
Fr. Cassian Folsom, O.S.B.
July 11, 2012
Fr. Cassian Folsom, O.S.B.
July 11, 2012
"The Multiplication of Loaves"
Fr. Cassian Folsom, O.S.B.
July 8, 2012
Fr. Cassian Folsom, O.S.B.
July 8, 2012
Making Our Soul a House of Prayer
by Fr. Thomas Bolin, O.S.B.
Monastery of San Benedetto, Norcia, Italy
by Fr. Thomas Bolin, O.S.B.
Monastery of San Benedetto, Norcia, Italy
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus weeps at the thought of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. This event happened in the year 70 AD, but Jesus foretold it in advance. In a small coincidence, this year, in the Hebrew calendar, today is a fasting day, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, which in Hebrew is called Tisha B’Av. For Jews, this day commemorates both the first and the second destruction of the temple, that is, the destruction in the year 586 BC by the Babylonians and the second by the Romans, which was foretold by Christ, in the year 70 AD, because both times the destruction happened more or less on the ninth day of Av. According to Hebrew tradition, today one reads in particular the book of Lamentations. This book is a lament for the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and in this it is in conformity with today’s Gospel.
Moreover, there is a second way in which the book is in conformity with the Gospel, namely regarding the explanation of that which happened. Jesus says that Jerusalem, whose name means “city of peace”, did not know the things that make for peace (Lk 19:42), and attributes the disaster to the fact that the city didn’t know the time of your visitation (Lk 19:44). Particularly, the city did not accept Jesus, and in this way rejected his peace and so in a certain sense, even the very name of Jerusalem. At the same time and in several ways, the book of Lamentations blames the city herself for her destruction. For example, it says Her foes have become the head, her enemies prosper, because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions (Lam 1:5), and again, Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy (Lam 1:8).
What does all of this say for us? St. Paul says in the first reading, Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come (1 Cor 6:11). So, it must be of some spiritual significance to us. In this case, we can interpret Jerusalem as a figure of the soul. Thus the destruction of Jerusalem means the destruction of the soul which happens when we commit a mortal sin. So, we need to understand that this destruction is horrible: elsewhere when he is talking about the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus says, For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be (Mt 24:21). For example, Psalm 137 says, O daughter of Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall he be who requites you with what you have done to us! Happy shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! (Ps 137:8-9). And he says this because the Babylonians did this exact same thing with the Jewish babies during the first destruction of Jerusalem. And this is only one example of the terrible things which happened during those times. Therefore, we should say that the immediate invisible destruction of the soul in mortal sin is truly horrible, much worse than we can comprehend.
Hence, we must try with all our effort to avoid mortal sin completely! And if we fall, perchance, into mortal sin, we must repent and change our life as soon as possible. We shouldn’t wait six months to go to confession, nor even a month, but rather we should immediately go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to return to the grace of the Lord. As the book of Lamentations says, Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! (Lam 3:40).
However, we must not only avoid committing mortal sin, but also venial sins. The small sins open up the way to mortal sin and lead us to them. But it is difficult to completely avoid small sins; if we try to avoid one sin, we just might commit another sin instead. So, for example, if I try not to eat too much, perhaps I commit the sin of pride instead, thinking that I’m better than others who eat too much. So, how can we avoid venial sins? There is another lesson for us in today’s Gospel. In the last passage, Jesus is angry with the people because they bought and sold in the courtyard of the temple. Perhaps this isn’t a great sin, because buying and selling in itself is permissible. But Jesus is angry because he knows that as people abandon the use of the temple as a house of prayer and a place of God, God in turn will abandon the temple to destruction, just as we have said that venial sin leads to mortal sin.
To avoid venial sin, though, we must make our very soul a house of prayer. First, to make our house of prayer, we must pray often, not just on Sundays at Holy Mass, but every day. And not just in the morning and at night, but often during the day, too. On the other hand, if we don’t pray, we end up thinking only about secular things, and this makes our souls a place for thieves. Secondly, even when we are not literally praying, we need to think of God as often as possible, because it is difficult to sin while thinking of God. In a similar way, the book of Sirach says, In all you do, remember the end of your life, and then you will never sin (Sir 7:36), because remember the end means “remember the final judgment of God”.
Today’s Gospel concludes with And he was teaching daily in the temple (Lk 19:47). When we think often of God, Jesus teaches us at the same time each day in the depths of our souls. Let’s use the occasion of today’s Gospel, and the memory of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, to begin to make our soul a house of prayer instead of a place for thieves. (The Monks Of Norcia: here)
Moreover, there is a second way in which the book is in conformity with the Gospel, namely regarding the explanation of that which happened. Jesus says that Jerusalem, whose name means “city of peace”, did not know the things that make for peace (Lk 19:42), and attributes the disaster to the fact that the city didn’t know the time of your visitation (Lk 19:44). Particularly, the city did not accept Jesus, and in this way rejected his peace and so in a certain sense, even the very name of Jerusalem. At the same time and in several ways, the book of Lamentations blames the city herself for her destruction. For example, it says Her foes have become the head, her enemies prosper, because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions (Lam 1:5), and again, Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy (Lam 1:8).
What does all of this say for us? St. Paul says in the first reading, Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come (1 Cor 6:11). So, it must be of some spiritual significance to us. In this case, we can interpret Jerusalem as a figure of the soul. Thus the destruction of Jerusalem means the destruction of the soul which happens when we commit a mortal sin. So, we need to understand that this destruction is horrible: elsewhere when he is talking about the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus says, For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be (Mt 24:21). For example, Psalm 137 says, O daughter of Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall he be who requites you with what you have done to us! Happy shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! (Ps 137:8-9). And he says this because the Babylonians did this exact same thing with the Jewish babies during the first destruction of Jerusalem. And this is only one example of the terrible things which happened during those times. Therefore, we should say that the immediate invisible destruction of the soul in mortal sin is truly horrible, much worse than we can comprehend.
Hence, we must try with all our effort to avoid mortal sin completely! And if we fall, perchance, into mortal sin, we must repent and change our life as soon as possible. We shouldn’t wait six months to go to confession, nor even a month, but rather we should immediately go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to return to the grace of the Lord. As the book of Lamentations says, Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! (Lam 3:40).
However, we must not only avoid committing mortal sin, but also venial sins. The small sins open up the way to mortal sin and lead us to them. But it is difficult to completely avoid small sins; if we try to avoid one sin, we just might commit another sin instead. So, for example, if I try not to eat too much, perhaps I commit the sin of pride instead, thinking that I’m better than others who eat too much. So, how can we avoid venial sins? There is another lesson for us in today’s Gospel. In the last passage, Jesus is angry with the people because they bought and sold in the courtyard of the temple. Perhaps this isn’t a great sin, because buying and selling in itself is permissible. But Jesus is angry because he knows that as people abandon the use of the temple as a house of prayer and a place of God, God in turn will abandon the temple to destruction, just as we have said that venial sin leads to mortal sin.
To avoid venial sin, though, we must make our very soul a house of prayer. First, to make our house of prayer, we must pray often, not just on Sundays at Holy Mass, but every day. And not just in the morning and at night, but often during the day, too. On the other hand, if we don’t pray, we end up thinking only about secular things, and this makes our souls a place for thieves. Secondly, even when we are not literally praying, we need to think of God as often as possible, because it is difficult to sin while thinking of God. In a similar way, the book of Sirach says, In all you do, remember the end of your life, and then you will never sin (Sir 7:36), because remember the end means “remember the final judgment of God”.
Today’s Gospel concludes with And he was teaching daily in the temple (Lk 19:47). When we think often of God, Jesus teaches us at the same time each day in the depths of our souls. Let’s use the occasion of today’s Gospel, and the memory of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, to begin to make our soul a house of prayer instead of a place for thieves. (The Monks Of Norcia: here)
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