The Fellowship of St. Columbanus

Genesis 3:9-15 Psalm 130 II Corinthians 4:13-5:1 St. Mark 3:20-35 This week's lections include some of my favorite texts of Scripture. Our first lesson deals with the Fall of Mankind, drawing special attention to the fact that after eating of the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve's eyes were opened and they clothed themselves, having realized that they were naked. God then asks pointedly, "Who told you that you were naked?" The Fall of Man Jordaens, 17th century This text has proven confusing throughout the history of biblical interpretation. Everyone from Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon in Guide for the Perplexed to C.S. Lewis in Peralandra has wrestled with it. Why is a wisdom which seems so worthy forbidden, and why is our first reaction after gaining it to clothe ourselves? David Cotter, OSB, solves the first problem, pointing out that "good and evil" is a pair like "old and young," or "high and low," a pair of opposites that we us...

" Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage." J.R.R. Tolkien It has been a hectic couple of weeks for the Fellowship, and, unfortunately, we missed posting on Corpus Christi and the Visitation in the scramble. So I will try to make up for our omission here. First, we had a successful and encouraging meeting with a couple who are starting a community in eastern Kentucky. Bishop Stowe put us in contact with them for support and advice, and they were very encouraging and helpful. The Angelus Jean-Francois Millet, 1859. We have also reached out to Movimiento Apostolico Manequehue, a community of Benedictine oblates who focus on education, based in Santiago, Chile. They have been extremely welcoming and encouraging and we ar...

It is the fundamental error of the modern hedonist to believe that man can abandon moral effort and throw off every repression and spiritual discipline and yet preserve all the achievements of culture. It is the lesson of history that the higher the achievement of a culture the greater is the moral effort and the stricter is the social discipline that it demands . Christopher Dawson, “ Christianity and Sex ”. It is undeniable that we are going through times of cultural decline, times when the public enactment of our culture and civilisation is beset by confusion, contradiction and conflict. This is nothing new – all civilisations go through periods of confusion, crippling self-doubt and weakness. What we call our civilisation and our culture are, in fact, nothing but the secularised continuation of what was once, at all levels of society, the purposeful pursuit of a common vision.   Certainly, there was dissent, confusion and contradiction, but these were relegated to the m...

By: Evan Underbrink Rublev's ikon of the three angels I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds fro...

Acts 2:1-11 Psalm 104 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13/Galatians 5:16-25 I am eight months pregnant. This is obviously not something very unique, as millions of millions of women through time have at one point been in the same position. But I've been struggling with the waiting, trying to find ways to keep my mind and body busy with things that seem mostly quite trivial to me, while swinging from moments of energy to long bouts of lethargy. But at mass yesterday I was convicted of my impatience and self-pity, and prayed that the Spirit would give me strength to follow his lead in the things that I am called to, to be a good steward of the skills that he's given me for the growth of the Kingdom. I didn't at that point realize that today was Pentecost, and how appropriate my prayer was. Pentecost Jean Restout (1732) In our first reading in Acts, the drama of the scene and the speed of the action hits you in the face. The Spirit comes down with the sound of a strong driv...

St. John 17:11-19 I recognize that most of our readers are in the United States, where most dioceses transfer the Feast of the Ascension to today. However, because the Fellowship is currently working out of Europe, and here in the UK, Ascension is still celebrated on Thursday, we are going to be following local law and custom. Adoration of the Holy Trinity Albrecht Durer Before I became a Catholic, as a young Anglican studying for a master's in Religion, I stumbled upon an excerpt from St. Augustine's Psalmus Contra Partem Donati , or Psalm against the Sect of the Donatists . Being a student of Old Testament, these lines struck me: Undoubtedly in days gone by there were holy men as Scripture tells, For God state that he left behind seven thousand men in safety, And there are many priests and kings who are righteous under the law, There you find so many of the prophets, and many of the people too. Tell me which of the righteous of that time claimed an altar for h...

Triptych of the Ascension Fra Angelico The Incarnate Lord is enthroned over all Creation today! Human scars have been hallowed in Heaven! The King whose coronation was with thorns now sits On High and judges all hearts, all nations, and all the reaches of the Cosmos! God made flesh reigns in the spiritual realm and judges righteously. Proclaim the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord! Let messengers go forth. Tell it to the furthest reaches of his dominion that our God reigns! "Enough! The Resurrection, A heart's-clarion! Away grief's gasping, joyless days, dejection. Across my foundering deck shone A beacon, an eternal beam. Flesh fade, and mortal trash Fall to the residuary worm; world's wildfire, leave but ash: In a flash, at a trumpet crash, I am all at once what Christ is, since He was what I am, and This Jack, joke, poor potsherd, patch, matchwood, immortal diamond, Is immortal diamond." - Gerard Manley Hopkins