News - November 2024 RSS Feed

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men”. Jesus always calls his disciples – each one of us. With some, this calling is very explicit. Most monks and nuns have a story about their calling, that moment in their lives when everything changed forever. For some, it was a very contemplative, silent, crystal-clear moment when we know that God exists and our life makes sense in Him. For others, this calling came as a turmoil, an upheaval, when everything turned upside down for a long time, and when the dust subsided – we were changed. And for many, maybe for most, this calling seems silent, never coming.

According to the Roman Breviary this feast commemorates the dedication of the Church of St. Mary built in Jerusalem near the site of the temple. With Christians of the East, the Latin Church also recalls on this day the tradition according to which Mary, as a small child, was presented to the Lord by her parents in the Temple.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”. As the liturgical year draws to a close, the liturgy invites us to reflect on the things that pass away and the things that remain in our lives. It is not exactly a pleasant topic: reflecting on the end of everything. On the end of the things we love, the people we love, and ultimately on our own end.

The words of God through the prophet Isaiah most fittingly describe the saints - canonized or not - of the huge Benedictine Family, centuries old. Our own brothers beginning with Brother Denis and recently ending with Brother Walter are crowned, clothed with a robe of salvation, wrapped in a mantle of justice, embraced in the eternal love of God. They knew that God’s hand was upon them so they sought, they found, they lived Benedicine life and now repose in that love forever, never ending and always new. These monks and nuns are the bridegrooms, the brides in Jesus, the Bridegroom whom they see face to face.

“Rejoice with me because I have found”. This is the refrain which comes time and again in the 15 th chapter of St Luke’s Gospel, in its three parables. It is a chapter that talks of losses and love. In fact, in the first parable, that of the lost sheep, the shepherd lost one sheep out of 100 (i.e., just 1% of his sheep). Even so, he leaves all the other sheep behind, out of love, and goes after the lost one. And when he finds it, he brings it back on his shoulders, full of joy.

This morning, Br. Luke (Bruno) Perillo, began his novitiate after a one year postulancy. Originally from Chicago, Br. Luke studied painting for four years at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He worked for some years as a professional artist (mostly portrait and landscape) before coming to Genesee. At a small reception this afternoon in the novitiate some of his paintings were on display for the brothers to view.

In the reading from the Book of Revelation St. John presents a picture, a glance into heaven; the great multitude, 144,000 (12x12x1000) - the Scriptural way of stating a number beyond any count. This multitude stands before the Lamb and cries out, “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne and from the Lamb!”