#basilian

Brother Claudio, 27, picks an olive branch at Greek Abbey of Saint Nilus, which hosts Italy’s last 10 Basilian monks of the Greek Orthodox rite, in Grottaferrata, Italy, south of Rome. The Basilian monks built the monastery in 1004, 50 years before the Great Schism of 1054 which led to the separation of Eastern and Western Christianity. At that time, the monks chose to remain faithful to the pope of Rome instead of following the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople. To this day, however, the Basilians follow the Greek Orthodox liturgy. The monks adhere to the acetic regimen of prayer and work of the order founded by St Basil in 356 in present-day Turkey. Photo by Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

The delicate Italianate architecture and surroundings of the monastery, including an elegant Campanile, or bell tower, belie the Greek roots of their faith. A monk called St. Nilus founded the abbey more than one thousand years ago, in 1004, decades before the fateful Great Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity in 1054.

History Births on June 03

History Births on June 03

History Births on June 03

ANSWERED BY A CHILD Have you ever asked why God chose this way? Why was this story, the one we hear at Christmas every year, the plan that God chose to save the world? But in order to answer that question, perhaps we must ask ourselves what we need saving from? All of the sudden, God’s plan does not seem so crazy after all, for so many of our issues are resolved by the presence of a child. May this season of Christmas remind us about what is really important and may it be a holy and joyous time for each and everyone. (Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14)

A HOLY FAMILY TODAY Too often, I think we idealize Joseph and Mary as the ideal parents and Jesus as the ideal child – even if we know in our mind, they were not. We literally, put them on pedestals, which is good – but we need to understand why. Today we celebrate the feast of the holy family, which is not the same as the ideal or good family. But the bible does not tell us that Mary and Joseph were good parents – it simply never comments on the matter. Nor does the bible comment that Jesus was a well-behaved child. What the bible says is that they were holy. So what does that mean? (Sirach 3:2-6,12-14; Psalm 128; Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 2:41-52)

REFLECTING ON HER BELIEF Throughout all of the early chapters of Luke, which are the most detailed account we have of the early days of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, Mary is described over and over again as the one who ponders; keeps things in her heart; she is reflective, pensive, and silent. Like all Jews, Mary believed that the Messiah would come and redeem her people. Her conceptions of the Messiah would have been no different than any other Jew, but something was not right. This is no birth for a king. Nothing about this situation would have been congruent with her Jewish ideas. Her knowledge was not in line with her belief. Mary taught Jesus what she knows – just as any mother would; but Jesus would have taught Mary to ponder more about what she believes, rather than what she knows. (Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 67; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21)