Here I have put together a selection of homilies. The Word of God is ‘alive and active’ says the Letter to the Hebrews. That is not to say that it lives a hidden organic life we can trace through a microscope, as if it were a virus; but that it is inspired, a bearer of God’s eternal Spirit. Therefore it resounds to this day with quite as much force as when it was first spoken. It ever has something new to say. The preacher’s first task is to listen intently to this Word at once ancient and new, then to make his own, necessarily limited words its vehicles. I have not been able to provide translations of texts in other languages; but if you rummage around a little you will find a fair amount of material in English.
Alle kjenner vi folk som på denne måte vier seg enkle, kanskje utakknemlige oppgaver og ved helhjertethet oppnår, på egne og oppgavens vegne, lysende verdighet. Rollemodellene i evangeliet er ikke ledere, stjerner eller kjendiser, men bønder, håndtverkere og, ikke minst, gode mødre og fedre.
Continue reading Samfunnet Martin var del av, i det fjerde århundre, hadde mye til felles med vårt idag. Det var preget av folkevandring, usikkerhet, krig og kulturelle sammenbrudd.
Continue reading Tenker vi oss raskt gjennom Bibelen, finner vi at Guds venner preges av ledig og energisk bevegelse. Da englene gjestet Abraham, sprang hans som en guttunge for å gjøre alt rede, enda han nesten var hundre år gammel; da Elija, som i yngre år satt og furtet under en gyvelbusk, var kommet til veis ende, fòr han til himmels i et uvær; da Maria etter engelens budskap var blitt Ordets tabernakel, skyndte hun seg med en gang over fjellene for å bistå Elisabeth.
Continue reading Døden var ikke fra opphavet av, den er fremmed for vår egentlige menneskenatur, slik vi i blant opplever det spontant og vet det med maven. I dag minnes vi at vi er del av et dødsoverskridende fellesskap.
Continue reading Å være cistercienser, er å rotfestes i det reelle. Vår Orden har kjent lysende mystikere, bevares; dog synes meg normen snarere en utdyping av nattlig tro, en hvetekornserfaring.
Continue reading Å være kristen, er å bekjenne at man ikke er autonom; ja, at man slett ikke ønsker å bli det; ikke fordi man er feig, men fordi man gjennomskuer autonomien som noe illusorisk. For oss som kristne, er det å leve “på nåde” rett og slett en oppsummering av livet slik det faktisk er.
Continue reading En nous donnant comme première lecture pour cette veille de l’Assomption le récit de la montée de l’Arche à la ville de David, l’Écriture met devant nos yeux un magnifique symbole théologique. L’Arche de l’alliance, c’est la Bienheureuse Vierge Marie qui porta dans son sein le Dieu trois fois saint; l’Assomption signifie son entrée définitive dans la Jérusalem céleste parmi les cris d’exultation d’innombrables légions d’anges.
Continue reading La devise de Dominique était ‘Veritas’. Et c’est bien la vérité qu’il a ainsi, avant de la proclamer, incarnée.
Continue reading Dieu, notre Créateur et Père, n’hésite pas d’entamer une déconstruction radicale pour, ensuite, pouvoir rebâtir. Pour le dire autrement: le vieil homme doit mourir et céder la place à l’homme nouveau.
Continue reading Saint Pierre Chrysologue, ‘de la parole d’or’, le grand évêque de Ravenne que l’Église commémore aujourd’hui, dit magnifiquement dans un de ses sermons: Homo, quare tibi tam vilis es, qui tam pretiosus es Deo?
Continue reading Marie Madeleine est la preuve qu’aucun obstacle, aucune chose vécue ou subie, puisse nous séparer de l’amour vivifiant du Christ. Nous n’avons qu’à combattre la tendance perverse qui nous habite, le fruit du péché: la tendance à dire Non, à refuser la grâce, à préférer librement la mort à la vie.
Continue reading J’ai connu un vieux moine, un homme lumineux, dont la prière après 70 ans de vie monastique s’était distillée en deux phrases, ‘Saint Esprit mon ami, Saint Esprit mon amour!’ Il les répétait inlassablement, jour et nuit.
Continue reading L’évangile de ce jour, plein de détails pittoresques, de beaux vieillards et de tourterelles roucoulantes, suppose un arrière-fond mystérieux et par conséquence ténébreux, car le mystère appartient au pénombre, ayant besoin du lever du Soleil de Justice pour éclore et manifester la lumière cachée en lui.
Continue reading Un’occhiata data ai giornali basta per farcelo costatare: le tenebre che, nei giorni d’Isaia, ricoprissero la terra non sono svanite. La domanda si pone: come credere in una bontà salvificamente luminosa in un mondo rimasto buio?
Continue reading Les choix sur lesquels j’ai bâti mon existence, furent-ils des illusions?’ Qui d’entre nous, frères et soeurs, n’a jamais connu ce genre de questionnement angoissé, la nuit, peut-être, entre 3h e 4h, l’heure qu’Ingmar Bergman appelait l’heure du loup, quand l’agneau nous semble un allié dérisoire.
Continue reading To renew our society we need more than just re-budgeting and larger prisons. We need a new sense of purpose, a new unifying energy; we need men and women whose goodness of life makes us spontaneously want to be like them.
Continue reading Clare saw the world around her self-sufficient, preoccupied with wealth and stuff and status. And she said: Enough!
Continue reading The first recorded instance of public preaching in the Catholic Church was thought by onlookers to be a display of drunkenness. It is a point worth thinking about.
Continue reading We learn that from the outset of our faith, the Church has had to deal with infidelity; it has done so realistically, in faith, facing facts, sure that the Lord will provide. In our times, we have been reminded more than once that election to high ecclesiastical office is not in itself a guarantee of truthful living.
Continue reading Few spiritual tendencies are deadlier, more barren, more boring than the desire just to do better than someone else, be it the monastery across the valley or the brother or sister next to me in choir. Any reform movement, be it the micro-enterprise of reforming my own life, must exercise caution in this respect.
Continue reading The gloriousness of Christian existence was central to the thought of our father St Bernard, who spoke of it often, stressing all the while that it does not make for an easy life. For this glory, he once wrote, ‘is a secret glory, it lies hidden in tribulation’.
Continue reading Inch by inch, discourse that supposes the existence, the mere possibility, of truth is pushed out of the public arena: ‘What is truth?’ Give us instead Barabbas, a fine fellow made of the same stuff as ourselves!
Continue reading We live in times that are quick to anger, poor in steadfast love, that love to point the finger and accuse, whose mindset is litigious. God knows there is enough malfunction in the Church, in society; but what if, instead of declaring others’ guilt, we assumed a portion of its weight?
Continue reading Let us note this: the liturgy does not explain the massacre of Bethlehem: How could it? Quite simply, the Church ascertains that, yes, this awful thing did happen.
Continue reading