From Season to Season

 " I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” —John 17:20-21 The divisions that exist within the Church today are a sad reality that most of us simply take for granted. Although we’re quick to identify ourselves as followers of Jesus, we’re equally as ready to qualify our commitment when we label ourselves as “Catholic,” “Orthodox,” and “Protestant.”   In his General Audience of August 27, 2014, Pope Francis spoke about this sad reality in a very direct way: If we look at the history of the Church, there are so many divisions among Christians. Even now we are divided. Also in history, we see Christians have made war among ourselves for theological differences… But, this is not Christian. We must also work for the unity of all Christians, to take the path of unity which is what Je...

When I made my first vows as a Benedictine monk in 2004, I was very excited about the prospect of receiving a new (religious) name. The custom of the community of which I was a member is that the soon-to-be professed monk submits three preferred names to the abbot. The abbot, as head of the community, would then either pick one of the three names or select one of his own choosing. I spent weeks researching names. The only real considerations were that it had to be the name of a saint or beati and that there couldn’t be anyone else in the community with that name. In a community of more than 100 members, options were limited pretty quickly. But, I know a lot of saints and wasn’t put off by the prospect of having a name that was a bit out of the ordinary.    And so, I settled on my three choices: Leander , Silas, and Nicholas . Although the community had had Leanders and Nicholases in the past, Silas would be a first. And, after a few days of waiting, Silas was ...

Several weeks ago, the pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Master in Los Angeles asked if I would preach at his church's Reformation Sunday service, offering a Catholic perspective on Reformation. Below is the text of the reflection I prepared for that community's celebration which included variations on texts from the Roman Missal (e.g. the Collect for the Mass of Christian Unity, the Renewal of Baptismal Promises) as well as chant settings of the Sanctus and Agnus Dei chanted in Latin.     Sixty-one years after Martin Luther nailed his famed “ Ninethy-Five Theses ” to the door of Wittenburg Cathedral on the Feast of Saint Wolfgang, the city’s patron, and the eve of All Saints’ Day, a man named Mark Roy was born in Sigmaringen, Germany. As a young man, Mark Roy earned degrees in philosophy, civil law, and canon (or Church) law. Mark Roy felt called to dedicate his life to the service of the Gospel and eventually began serving as a sort of itinerant preacher for the c...