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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Easter Sunday Easter Vigil Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Resurrection Saints Scripture Triduum Uncategorized

Going out to meet Christ.

Photo by Jonathan Marchal on Unsplash

A post from the archives for Easter morning…
I love how the Easter vigil lays out the whole story of our salvation in word, action and sacrament. I find myself revisiting it over and over during Eastertide, allowing different aspects of it to enrich and nourish me. This morning I have these words from an Easter hymn by St John of Damascus running through my head:

“Let us rise in early morning
and instead of ointment bring
Hymns and praises to our Master
And his resurrection sing.”


This wisdom has been passed down through the centuries, from one generation of Christians to another, sometimes lost and forgotten, only to be rediscovered and valued anew.

It’s a call to sing the praises of the Risen Christ continually, whatever we are living through, whatever the prevailing view of our society. Nothing can separate us from his love, and nothing can undo the wonderful and mysterious reality of his resurrection.

However challenging or uncertain life is, he will be there inviting us to go out to meet him. Each year the challenges we face seem to become more daunting, leaving us more aware of our fragility. Yet however difficult our lives are, the risen Christ is there calling us.

The grieving Mary of Magdala found the courage to go out in the dark of the early morning to meet him. She discovered a joy she never expected or dreamt of. He invites us to follow her so we too can discover and rejoice in his presence, and to carry his love to our needy world.

As we begin to move through Eastertide where is the Risen Christ inviting you to go out and meet him?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Holy Saturday Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Scripture Triduum Uncategorized

Grief and hope

A Holy Saturday reel from the archives based on the Byzantine liturgy. I love that it’s full of hope and allows space for grieving…

Where do you need to find space for grieving and hoping this Holy Saturday?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Gospel Holy Saturday Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Prayer Scripture Triduum Uncategorized

Kindness in empty times.

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash

Some thoughts from the archives on Holy Saturday…

There is always an element of relief in arriving at Holy Saturday, if only because we’ve moved through the high drama of Good Friday to a quieter, more reflective space. People often talk of Holy Saturday as a “tomb day”, a time to sit with the emptiness that follows death, to allow the events of Good Friday to sink in. I recognise the yearning for that and its wisdom yet, it’s not an experience I recognise from monastic life.

In practice for many of us Holy Saturday is very much a hybrid day, we are aware of its emptiness, the mourning and the uncertainty. We also have to acknowledge that the Easter vigil is fast approaching and that Easter liturgies and treats do not plan themselves. So it is also a day of preparation and anticipation that can be very busy.

As we move through this hybrid day I’m reflecting on these words from the lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah from this morning’s Office of Readings:

“The favours of the Lord are not all past, nor his kindnesses exhausted; every morning they are renewed: great is his faithfulness. My portion is with the Lord says my soul, and so I will hope in him.”

Even in the midst of his lamentation Jeremiah is able to acknowledge the kindness and faithfulness of God, and to put his hope in that. His words speak to me of the hybrid reality of the day. It seems to me that Holy Saturday calls us to imitate God’s kindness to others as we get on with the many preparations for Easter, and to ourselves as we seek small moments of quiet during the day.

As we celebrate Holy Saturday where are you aware of the Lord renewing your capacity for kindness?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Good Friday Gospel Holy Week Scripture Triduum Uncategorized

A second chance.

Photo by Cdoncel on Unsplash

A post from the archives for Good Friday.

This week I’ve been listening to Amy Jill Levine’s courses on Holy Week and the Good Friday. One of the things she highlighted is how often Jesus offered people a second chance, Zacchaeus, all those tax collectors and sinners, the woman taken in adultery come to mind and there are many more.

It has an added significance as we revisit the passion, and see the second chance offered to those who denied and betrayed him, to those who sat on the side lines or runaway, or who only found the courage to come to him under the cover of darkness.

As we come to Good Friday, facing the stark reality of the Cross, it can feel like the time for second chances has run out. As we commemorate the crucified Christ it can seem as though we have reached the end of the story, and that our hopes are ending in death, disgrace, betrayal and failure. On Good Friday we begin Lauds by singing these verses from the Byzantine liturgy:

“Life-giving Lord, it is right to sing your praise, for your hands were stretched out on the Cross, and so you destroyed the power of death.”

We start Good Friday by acknowledging Christ as our “Life-giving Lord”, a powerful reminder that the Cross is not the end of the story, but a gateway to new life. The Cross is an essential part of our faith, we need to face it, acknowledging the suffering and death it represents. And, we need to accept the second chance it offers us with it’s promise of new life.

What second chance is Christ offering you this Good Friday?