The Holy Mystery of Christmas

    - is love enfolded in an infant.

   - a presence among us,

   - comes with a joy deep within.

As we celebrate the Birth of a Child

 Let us remember Love enfolded in a child

From Sr. Ann Hoffman

I participated in the AIM Council meeting November 28-29, 2023, in my role as Director of AIM USA.  The meeting was in Subiaco, Italy, where Benedictine monasticism began.

Please hold all the suffering people of Israel and Gaza in your prayers. There are six Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries in Israel. Pray for an end to the war.

We are pleased to present Mother Blandyna's presentation regarding the situation in Ukraine.

Today is the 75th anniversary of the uprising in Poland. Three Benedictine Sisters had to hide in the basement of a Church which they made into a safe-haven, a clinic for the wounded.  From the beginning they knew they were going to die. They made a promise: they would give their lives for the success of the uprising and freedom for Poland. The Nazis bombed the Church. The Sisters who made this sacrifice died at this time.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

MOTHER BLANDYNA MICHNIEWICZ, OSBap

Abbess, Monastery of Benedictine Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Warsaw, Poland will present a first-hand account of the tragedy of the war in Ukraine.

Today Benedictines around the globe celebrate the Feast of Saint Benedict.

Benedict had an extraordinary power to read and discern souls of others, and his Rule shows his rare insight into human nature. Benedict stressed the role of community as a school for holiness.

Throughout the centuries, Benedictine monasteries marked by a vision of peace, wholeness, and ecology have offered the witness of an alternative society governed by the Spirit of Christ.

By a nun of a Benedictine Abbey in Ukraine – Written on 27 April 2023

Today is a war... this we can mention instead of a calendar date.

O God, who on this day,

through your Only Begotten Son,

have conquered death

and unlocked for us the path to eternity,

grant, we pray, that we who keep the

solemnity of Christ's Resurrection,

may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit,

rise up in the light of life.

We ask this in the name of the Triune God.

Amen

Ever faithful, God,

We witness your love in the expression of Benedictine Life. As we celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Benedict, may we be ever-mindful of Benedictine influence in past ages. May the life and values of Benedict call us to seeking God more deeply in prayer and living mindfully hospitality, peace and justice in our world.

We ask this prayer in the name of Jesus and with the Spirit.

Amen.