The Spirit inspired the Scriptures; therefore, it is present and speaks through them. If it breathes in, it also breathes out.
The Scriptures breathe life by the inspiration of the Sprit; that is why they are the breath of the Christian monk.
All of this living book converges on Christ. The Divine Scriptures are one book only: Christ. He is the concise, living and efficacious Word.
All Scripture points to the mystery of Christ: prefigured in the Old Testament and present in the New, internalized by each Christian and consummated in glory.
Because God is infinite, his Word is also Infinite; Scripture enshrines infinite mysteries, its meaning is unfathomable.
The literal meaning of the text is always the point of departure; the letter reveals the deeds and presents the persons; history is the foundation.
The Gospel is the mouth of Christ, ever ready to offer to us the kiss of eternity.
The Gospel is the body and blood of Christ, to pray and live it is to eat and drink it.
The Gospel is the power of God because it shows us the way and gives us the strength to follow it.
The Church is the only sounding board of the Word of God. Because she is the Body of Christ, she herself is also the Word. Scripture gives us life in the Spirit, when received in the framework of tradition and magisterium.
The cenobite understands the profound meaning of the Word only when living in communion and concord with his brothers.
The humus of humility is the good soil in which the Word produces abundant fruit.
Only in recollection can one receive; only in silence is heard the beating of the heart of God.
When we are "nailed" to the Book through our perseverance and diligence in the practice of Lectio Divina, then we will comprehend the folly of the good God.
"Here I am, may God write in me what he wills", Mary said. When the heart is a letter written by God, all of God's letters resound in the heart.
He who lives the Good News offers the world reasons to live and die.
More Teachings of Modern Cistercians...
Silence, St. Rafael Arnaz Baron
Sentences on Lectio Divina, Dom Bernardo Olivera, O.C.S.O. (Former Abbot General)
Trust in God, a Homily of Fr. Matthew Kelty
The Chosen, a Chapter Talk given by Sr. Martha Juskewycz at Mississippi Abbey.
Elements of Cistercian Formation, a Chapter Talk given by Abbot Brendan Freeman on September 5, 2004, at New Melleray Abbey at which participants of the Vocation Discernment Weekend Retreat were present.
Wild Geese, "Followship," the End of Time, a Homily of Fr. Matthew Kelty, for the 3rd Sunday of the Year (B) Nov. 17, 1985 (Mk 1:14-20)
The Place of Mary in Cistercian Life, Sr. Agnes Day of Mount Saint Mary's Abbey, Wrentham Massachusetts
Mary as Model of the Monk, Thomas Merton
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