A Monk's Chronicle
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A Monk's Chronicle is a blog by Fr. Eric Hollas, OSB. Fr. Eric Hollas is a monk and priest of Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville. Since 1980 he has been a member of the faculty of the School of Theology and Department of Theology at Saint John's University in Minnesota.
A Monk's Chronicle
3d ago
The Anonymous Christian Part of the business of Advent includes the introduction of the people who will be part of the story of Jesus as he walked among us. There’s Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and John the Baptist, Herod and Pontius Pilate and a host of others who are familiar to most Christians. If we ..read more
A Monk's Chronicle
1w ago
Advent: The Happiest Time of the Year? What could I say about Advent that a community of Benedictine sisters has not already heard? That was the challenge I faced on the First Sunday of Advent, and I knew what I had to do. I was not in a position to be original, nor could I ..read more
A Monk's Chronicle
2w ago
The Lord Calls Out to Us by Name I’m not sure when I first saw a photo of the Christ in Magesty in the tympanum of the abbey church at Vezelay in France. Otherwise known as Christ Pantocrator — Christ Ruler of All — such images greeted people as they entered most medieval churches. Such ..read more
A Monk's Chronicle
3w ago
There is no Time Like the Present In Mark 13 Jesus pauses in his teaching to reflect a bit on the end times. It’s a theme that the Book of Revelation will take up with far greater melodrama, but each text can stir up both fascination and apprehension. The specter of Armageddon and the return ..read more
A Monk's Chronicle
1M ago
Is Generosity its own Reward? Hospitality has been a prime virtue in middle-eastern culture for millennia. Stories of it abound in the Bible, and they range from the evening when Abraham and Sara entertained three angels to the day when Jesus grilled fish for his disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Still ..read more
A Monk's Chronicle
1M ago
Autumn: Nature’s Spiritual Reading We’ve just come off the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, and at Saint John’s Abbey we mark both with special rituals. All Saints is noted for the reliquaries of the saints, which we tote up from the chapel purpose-built to house them. For one day they adorn the sanctuary ..read more
A Monk's Chronicle
1M ago
Lectio Divina: Speak Lord A few weeks ago I delivered four conferences on lectio divina to a group of clergy, and for weeks ahead of time I stewed about what to say. Lectio has been a staple for Benedictines since Saint Benedict wrote his Rule. It’s easy to do, and virtually anyone can do it ..read more
A Monk's Chronicle
1M ago
For What Should We Ask of Jesus? An often neglected source of wisdom in the Christian tradition comes from the desert fathers and mothers of ancient Egypt and Syria. In the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries they served as prophetic figures, and they did so because they chose to live at the margins of society ..read more
A Monk's Chronicle
2M ago
In Jesus Christ We are One and Yet Individual In his biography of Saint Benedict Pope Gregory the Great noted in passing that a young Goth came to join Saint Benedict in his monastery. Other than that bare statement, Gregory said nothing more on the subject. Perhaps that was his point. The Goths had sacked ..read more
A Monk's Chronicle
2M ago
Character Counts By every measure Job led the perfect life. He had a fine family, large flocks of sheep and goats, fields of grain, and servants galore. Best of all, he revered God. But did Job’s reverence for God depend upon the wealth that he enjoyed? That was what the devil intended to find out ..read more