⚓RIP Veronica Mary Rolf - Julian scholar and author One of our monks went on her website to download some materials, and got a message from her daughter saying she had died last week. Her works have helped many, and she will be missed. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)

⚓monastic wisdom? All of life has ups and downs (some lasting a long time.) The cycle keeps repeating, but it does not have to dictate what we do or how we act. Accept the joys and sorrows as gifts and let them help us grow, but don't allow them to control us. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey

Eventually he arrived with a basket thrown over his back, which was leaking out sand. When asked why he carried the basket, Saint Moses stated, “I carry behind me my manifold sins where I cannot see them, & I come to judge my brother?” On hearing this, the other monks also forgave the guilty brother

⚓Just wondering if anyone else was deeply impressed with today's episode of STRANGE NEW WORLDS - about holding the world in our hearts but also always being ready to let go of everything. Live Long and Prosper, and don't forget to "HIT IT!" on occasion and when needed.

⚓Please keep our postulants in your prayers, that they may find the deep joy of monastic life, and that the novicemaster (me) does not impede them in their 5 1/2 year journey to life vows. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)

⚓ The Order of Jesus Christ Reconciler gathering for their annual chapter meeting here at St. Gregory's Abbey. OJCR seeks to minister to outcasts and love those whom Jesus loves. St. Gregory's Abbey is honored to host them on a regular basis and be their friends.

⚓monastic wisdom? Our emotions should be a tool helping us to perceive reality, rather than skewing our perception of reality or even substituting for it. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)

⚓St. Augustine's Church in Gary, Indiana recently had an historical marker installed, mentioning us. We are honored to be a part of this congregation's story. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)

⚓ more from my favorite current monastic author (Michael Casey OCSO - THE LONGEST PSALM): "Fidelity is dynamic or it is nothing. It involves responding consistently to ever-changing circumstances. If the world around us is changing, fidelity means changing with it in order to remain the same."

⚓ From my favorite current monastic writer (Michael Casey - THE LONGEST PSALM): "When we are honest about our difficulties and bring them before the LORD and open our hearts and lives to God's word, the difficulties (plural) do not disappear, bur the difficulty (singular) is often reduced."

Good for IndyCar. Shame on you DHS. Good luck to all at Portland International Raceway this weekend. Can anyone beat Palou? (not a hater, just want some variety) www.newser.com/story/373121...

⚓ Don't besmirch my favorite sport by associating it with cruelty. The Speedway stands for Truth, Justice, and Really Fast Cars. racer.com/2025/08/05/i...

⚓ I used this quote from Barbara Brown Taylor in my sermon this morning, but can't remember the book it was in. “He did not come to put us to shame with his divinity. He came to call us unto the fullness of our humanity, which was good enough for him.” - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)

⚓ monastic wisdom? Liking or disliking something does not make it good or bad. Integrity and legitimacy come solely from God. This is one of the many aspects of the monastic ideal of 'apatheia.' - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)

⚓ monastic wisdom? If every relationship and job you have goes bad; check to see if the problem is you. If it is, be grateful; you can work on yourself, but not on others. -Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)

⚓ On the Feast of Mary Magdalene (July 22), I think of her at the empty tomb, grieving because she can not find the body of Jesus. Naturally, this song comes to mind: www.youtube.com/watch?v=swBD... - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)

⚓ My monastery's Confraternity (associates) has its own Facebook Group, book discussions, and ZOOM meetings (all voluntary.) If anyone is interested and think joining might help you, check out this info on our website www.saintgregorysthreerivers.org/about/confra...

⚓ Please keep this year's participants in our Vocation Program in your prayers. One has been admitted as a postulant and will join the community August 1. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)

⚓ 4:00am in the monastery church - one of the readings is about Paul's vision of unclean animals, and my brain fills with this (not a bad thing): www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNlf...

monastic wisdom? Corporate monastic prayer is never about us; our emotions and whims do not matter. It's all about opening up and letting the Holy Spirit pray through us. We are simply channels of the Holy Spirit (private prayer is a different matter.) - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) ⚓

Please keep in your prayers the participants in our annual Summer Vocation Program starting today (July 1). Whether or not they eventually follow a monastic vocation, may they all find a fulfilling, joyful life. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) ⚓

The recent feast of John the Baptist reinforces my idea that the entire narrative thread of the Bible could be titled: "A Series of Unusual Pregnancies and Births." The underlying meaning of the narrative would be: "Trust God Alone and Be Good to People." - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) ⚓

About a year ago, our monastery was featured on the NPR program "A Way With Words." Here is a link to the episode if you are interested - our segment begins a little bit after the halfway mark. Thank you Grant and Martha! waywordradio.org/sleeve-island/ - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) ⚓

Please keep in your prayers the guests coming this summer for retreat at the monastery. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)⚓

monastic wisdom? Whenever we get upset, we should ask ourselves: "which is worse: the situation, or my drama/reaction to it?" - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

Happy Pentecost! May we be open to the Holy Spirit so that we can bring the peace, joy, and love of Jesus to all (including ourselves.) - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

monastic wisdom? Practice can never completely reach Theory. We are imperfect and finite. That does not mean that we abandon goals and ideals. It just means we maturely and honestly try every day to reach them, knowing full well that we will fail. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

monastic wisdom? Spiritual practices are means to an end: LOVE. If we forget that and treat them as ends in themselves, they devolve into neuroses (weird things done for no good reason.) I could be wrong. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

We often use Eucharistic Prayer C. It is OK, except for the fact that it does not mention opposable thumbs. What good is being blessed with "memory, reason, and skill" if you don't have opposable thumbs? - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

monastic wisdom? May we never see the fruit of our work and prayer. Not that there will be no fruit, just that we might not see it, so our motivation is solely love, and not results. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

The first reading at the Eucharist this morning about Peter's vision of the formerly unclean food brought this non-kosher song to mind. A blast from the past. www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4QS... - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

monastic wisdom? "Fake it till you make it." is not hypocrisy. It is the opposite: a willful decision to act lovingly rather than simply to follow one's selfish, reactive emotions. Actions are the important thing. Feelings, not so much. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

monastic wisdom? True love means loving all people, rather than simply loving the way some people sometimes make us feel. Not easy, just necessary. I am far from the goal, and thankful for the fact that God loves people when I don't. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

Today we celebrate the anniversary of the dedication of the church building here at the monastery. So, I have Grace Slick in my brain (more so than usually): "We built his temple.. we built this temple on Jesus Christ..." I deeply apologize. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

my take on Genesis 2:7 "God patiently and excitedly waited through two generations of stars, then formed us from their by-products, and kissed us into existence." too freaky? - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey ) #tec

monastic wisdom? Rules are important (they help us live well), but people are always more important than rules. It takes maturity and prayer to know when and how to correctly keep a rule, and when and how to correctly break a rule. I could be wrong. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

Just a reminder: If you are too tired, angry, or confused to pray, don't worry - we are doing it for you (it’s all part of that "Body of Christ" thing.) We start at 4:00am and continue at intervals throughout the day. St. Gregory's Abbey (a Benedictine monastery in the Episcopal Church) #tec

Representatives from the several retreat centers in our neighborhood meet regularly for mutual support. During Easter Week, the meeting was here at the abbey in St. Benedict's Guesthouse in the woods overlooking the lake. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

The Lord is Risen indeed, and pulls the entire universe up with Him. So let's not try to drag others back down; it's useless, sinful, and saps our time and energy. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

As we stress out about getting Holy Week and Easter "right", let us remember the words of Our Lord: "I have come that ye might have rubrics, and have them in abundance." We love all of you! - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

OK, another prayer that has helped me - This one does not work with the breathing rhythm, so I just repeat as needed - which is always. "no person, thing, or event must meet my agenda" This helps foster the monastic ideal of "apatheia" (good detachment.) - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

and another prayer that has helped me - inhale: "Rely on God alone," exhale: "and be good to people." When we rely on God alone, we CAN be good to all people, because we are not constantly fighting to get what we often mistakenly think is our due. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

another prayer that has helped me: inhale - "You are God," exhale - "and I am not." Not giving up working for the common good, but realizing how little we actually control (our own actions and reactions.) - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

This form of prayer has been really helpful to me: exhale - "It's never about me." inhale - "It's always about you." (in this case, "you" is God) - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

Students from the Lutheran Campus Ministry at University of Chicago on retreat at the monastery. We love Students! And Lutherans! St. Gregory's Abbey (Three Rivers, Michigan) #tec

monastic wisdom? Stability has nothing to do with Rigidity. In order to be stable, one must constantly be making minor adjustments (and occasionally, major adjustments.) Thanks to Fr. Michael Casey OCSO for that wisdom. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

To me, the text for Annunciation shows that Mary's "yes" (does she ever really say "yes"?) is not one of giving permission to God, but rather one of accepting a situation and living fully into it. I could be wrong. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

One of my favorite scripture verses is not from the Bible, but I think Jesus would approve anyway (see if you agree.) "Hatred is never solved by hatred, but by love alone is cured. This is the ancient and eternal law." Dhammapada verse 5 -Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

Monastic Wisdom? Community life is like a rock tumbler: everyone's rough edges bump against each other. It doesn't feel good at the time, but we eventually become smooth and polished. It only works if you admit your edges are as rough as everyone else's. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec

When this morning's Eucharist reading referenced Abram's call from Ur of the Chaldeans, the song "Mesopotamia" by the B52s came to mind. Pure Joy. - Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey) #tec www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq6I...