Te Deum in Advent
You are the One Who Is. You are coming to be among us, to pitch your tent within our encampment. You are Emmanuel. You come to us in the bred…
Advent’s comfort, awakeness and currry
One of the things about Advent that interests me is the way in which it interweaves comfortable relief and startling, uncomfortable alertness. That God would take human form and, for…
the light shines in the darkness
As we make the Advent race past mile marker "Gaudate Sunday" (the third week) we move into the winds of the pre-Christmas rush of our society. The media, on behalf…
this side of the door
Waiting on the other side of a door requires patience. Patience is a difficult gift to nurture in our society. We tend to want things and get things quickly. We…
high windows and doors
Advent can be overwhelming, not so much as a religious season but as a season of the year within our culture. It can feel like a trap of schedules, financial…
a hole in the wall
From time to time, life will look like this. It will feel like one is boxed in, stuck, looking out at freedoms or simply open spaces which we do not…
stillness in chaos
One of the things about doorways is that they lead from one thing to another. They are liminal spaces - a place between one place and another. Doorways, hallways, passageways,…
gifts, longings and attachments in Advent
This window panel from the cathedral nave is of the visit to the Christ child with gifts. It reminds me of that particular discipline of Advent in which we wait…
Friendship: doors within doors
Advent is a season in which locked doorways open. Advent is also a season in which we see the light seeping in from beneath, around and above the doorways of…
The Middle Advent
The best time at the monastery was on Tuesday nights when the Harvard community were welcomed into the monastery for a taste of our life, our bread, our wine and…