New Skete Monasteries News

Reflections by Brother Luke      From time to time, Bill Cosby’s comedy routine about Noah’s Ark will come to mind, and it always brings a smile to my face. “Noah…Noah!” God’s voice booms out, followed by a sheepish reply from Noah. The image of gathering two of all the animals of creation onto a boat to save them from the impending flood resides not only in the worlds of Biblical story and mythology but also in folklore. As a story of salvation it can warm our hearts to imagine all the wonder of seeing so many different kinds of animals all parading up to the Ark and joining in a colorful display of the variety and beauty of God’s creation. On the other hand, if it is an example of a lived experience of managing all those animals in a small space on a boat during an horrific storm at sea, the romance of it all may fade away in the face of the logistical reality of feeding, housing, and cleaning up after all those glorious (and anxious) creatures.      Back in 2005, as we were preparin

By Brother David Asceticism: severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.(Google) Depending on your point of view, the word asceticism evokes either admiration or dread. For many, it is virtually synonymous with fanaticism—certainly with deprivation. It conjures thoughts of heroic feats leading to the heights of holiness through the expiation of sins; images of monks emaciated by fasting, eyes red-rimmed from lack of sleep keeping vigils: a sea of pain that we mere mortals dip our toe into during Lent with the fast, giving up perhaps chocolate or dessert or cigarettes, only to retreat quickly (and perhaps with some sense of guilt) to the shore of ease come the Pasch. And yet… And yet the word itself gives us a different picture and perhaps a truer insight into the nature, purpose, and reality of what asceticism really is. We take the word asceticism from the Greek askesis, which is formed from the verb askeo: to form by art, t

By Brother Stavros I received a present in the mail the same day I saw the new Irish film Calvary. Both made a serious impression.      Calvary is a story about passion: faith, love, disbelief, unbelief, pain and loss and ultimately sacrifice. The prominent Irish writer-director John M. McDonagh discovered, from all the media attention the film attracted (it packed theaters in the British Isles), that his title—once commonly understood in the Christian West as the site of Christ’s crucifixion—now needs a footnote; maybe it’s a metaphor for today’s Ireland, where the economic bubble has burst and the Catholic Faith has ebbed like the tide. While Ireland may no longer be a land of staunch religion, it remains one of stunning beauty and of vibrant theatrical talent.      The story unfolds in a village on the Donegal coast in the northwest of the island. It is a tale of struggle between and among its denizens for meaning and identity, dignity and hope, all with the undertow of a looming