ischmalzried

“Be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your pilgrim Church on earth...” So states the intercession after the Consecration at Mass. What does it mean that we are called a “pilgrim Church”? The word “pilgrim” may bring to mind several different images. First, you might think of the people with the funny hats who came to America on the Mayflower. But that is not the kind of pilgrim I mean. A pilgrim, broadly defined, is someone who is on a journey. They have a particular place they are heading towards, but have not reached it yet. In the Catholic sense [...]

Last Friday was our first school-wide Adoration and Confession of the new school year. Our students look forward to this day each month. At St. Benedict Classical Academy, it is important to foster both excitement for and love of the Eucharist, as our mission is to form students to be future saints. We look to the example of the saints, who cherished the Eucharist, and encourage our students to spend time in prayer throughout the day, especially during Eucharistic Adoration. Here are a few of my favorite quotes and stories about Saints and the Eucharist. Saint Theresa of Calcutta would spend [...]

Hospitality. Community. Stability. Prayer. Obedience. Humility. Conversation. Discipline. Love. Stewardship. These ten hallmarks of Benedictine spirituality have been shaping my life for the better part of fifteen years, from attending and working at a Benedictine college to now serving at St. Benedict Classical Academy. Each of these hallmarks draws our hearts toward the Divine and helps us “listen with the ear of our hearts” (Rule of Saint Benedict, 1). For the past few years, I have helped oversee the Benedictine Guild, a program for our oldest students to grow in skills beyond the academic classroom and to learn to listen with [...]

When you walk into the school lobby at 89 Union Street, you are greeted by a beautiful marble inlay. The inlay includes a compass showing the cardinal directions (and yes, they’re accurate!). This compass reminds us that St. Benedict Classical Academy is always to stay properly oriented toward its mission of...Christ, the true north. Around the compass, there is a Latin quote: Ergo Nihil Operi Dei Praeponatur. The quote is from the 43rd Chapter of The Rule of Saint Benedict. It translates to, “Nothing is to be preferred to the work of God.” When our architect, Nic Charbonneau, suggested this quote [...]

The celebration of Memorial Day always leads me to ponder the idea of rights. The Declaration of Independence states that we are “endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Our culture is preoccupied with the claiming of rights, even when it denies the Creator. I am a fan of the rights we enjoy in the United States, and I am proud of our historical role in defending the rights of Western Civilization. Throughout the history of the United States, we have defended our rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” through bloody conflict. We have aided others in [...]

"Wide-eyed and mystified, may we be just like a child, staring at the beauty of the King…may we never lose our wonder.” This line is from a song that a friend of mine would often sing as we prayed with Christ’s words in Matthew 18, where He is instructing us to become like little children. While I think Jesus says this to call us to a deep and simple humility, child-like trust, and dependence on God, I also think about how little children are especially close to Him because they live in the present, fully alive and fully themselves, just simply [...]

In 1917, the children of Fatima - ten, eight, and six years old - were called to sacrifice themselves for the reparation of sins and consecrate their hearts to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They were chosen to model this act of faith and consecration for generations to come, catching thousands of souls in their nets. Mother Mary asked the children to visit her on the thirteenth day of each month for six months and entrusted them to spread her message to the whole world. It is truly incredible that the messages of Our Lady of Fatima were given to three [...]

Coming out of the Carlo Acutis movie recently, I was reminded again of how essential silence is in deepening a life of prayer and relationship with the Lord. Carlo, the first millennial saint, lived in a world full of noise and distractions that make it hard to be present to ourselves, to others, and especially to God. Yet he made time for silence and prayer every day. We all need to practice silence and to allow space for the contemplation of the mysteries of God, so that, filled with awe and wonder, we can joyfully proclaim God’s love to the world. [...]

St. Catherine of Siena’s feast day is celebrated on April 29. St. Catherine was a strong advocate for the Catholic Church in fourteenth-century Italy. She constantly reminded Church leaders that their power was a responsibility given by God, not a tool for personal ambition. Her spirituality was rooted in the Eucharist and a deep love for Christ crucified. It is often difficult to live for Jesus in this world; it seems easier to create a “bubble” around yourself and those who share in your faith. Jesus called St. Catherine to step out of her “bubble” and re-enter the world as an [...]