Chapter Talks

talks from Fr. Prior to the Community

Transitus of St. Benedict

Today we mark the Transitus of St. Benedict — the passing of a man whose quiet fidelity reshaped the spiritual life of the Church.

St. Benedict did not seek to change the world through spectacle, but through order, prayer, and stability. In an age of turmoil, he taught that holiness is forged in the ordinary: in community, in discipline, in listening — “with the ear of the heart.”

His passing is remembered not as an end, but as a completion — a life fully given, returning to God in peace. For us, his witness remains a steady invitation: to root ourselves more deeply in prayer, to live with intention, and to seek God in the rhythm of daily life.

May we carry forward his spirit of humility and perseverance.

Beginning the Triduum

Tonight, we are invited into one of the most intimate moments of the Gospel: the garden, the stillness, and the quiet anguish of Christ at prayer. After the supper, after the breaking of bread and the sharing of the cup, Jesus goes out into the garden. And there, he asks a very simple thing of his disciples: “Stay here, and watch with me.”

It is not a complicated request. He does not ask them to understand everything, or to act, or to fix anything. He asks them simply to remain. And yet, as we know, they struggle even with that.

For us, as a Community shaped by the Eucharist, this moment is very close to our own life.The Eucharist does not end at the altar. It leads us into the garden. Having received Christ in the sacrament, we are invited to remain with him, not in activity, but in presence. The watch of

Maundy Thursday is not something extra; it is a continuation of the Eucharist itself. Tonight, we are not asked to do anything impressive. We are asked to keep watch. This speaks deeply to our vocation as the Community of Nazareth.

Our life is not built on visibility or achievement. It is built on faithfulness in the hidden places. The garden is one of those places, a place where nothing appears to happen, and yet everything is being offered. To remain with Christ in the garden is to share, in a small way, in his obedience, his willingness to remain present before the Father, even in uncertainty, even in sorrow.

An hour can feel long. Silence can feel uncomfortable. We may become distracted, restless, or tired. But that is not failure. That is part of the offering. The question is not whether we pray well, but whether we remain.

So tonight, as we keep watch, we do something very simple and very important: We stay. We watch. We remain with Christ. And in doing so, we live the heart of our vocation: a life rooted in the Eucharist, sustained by prayer, and faithful in the hidden places.

Let us go, then, not to achieve anything, but simply to be present. To watch with him. And to remain.