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Every day before and after school at St. Benedict Classical Academy, a group of middle school students gathers in the chapel at an appointed time, and of their own free will. They gather to pray in common the Divine Office, also known as the Liturgy of the Hours. Saint Benedict first devised the Divine Office to give his monks a structured routine of prayer throughout the day, meditating on Holy Scripture and interceding for the entire Church. The Divine Office consists principally of the Psalms, recited or sung chorally in two groups, one calling out with the Word of God and [...]

When my 8th-grade son, Michael, was younger and was small enough that I could kiss the top of his head, he collected sports cards.  On any given afternoon, Michael and a group of his neighborhood pals could be found with cards scattered across the carpet, negotiating trades as if it were the floor of the NY Stock Exchange.  The most sought-after card among this gaggle of boys was a jersey card - a card that contained a genuine piece of a professional player’s jersey.  One afternoon, Michael traded two valuable cards to obtain one jersey card.  That afternoon rolled into the [...]

I have recently been working my way through the Book of Job in the Old Testament. It brings one face-to-face with the fears of life’s potential; I immediately think of all the terrifying crises that could happen to anyone without warning. In a single day Job’s livelihood is stolen, his servants are either brutally attacked and killed by invaders or burned to death in a fire, and his children die all at once in the collapse of his eldest son’s house. Job then breaks out in painful, disfiguring sores, is rebuked and rejected by his wife, and he sits alone in [...]

Like so many of us, education has been one of the larger parts of my life throughout its entirety. Having been a teacher for the better part of two decades, I’ve been reflecting this Fall on what it means to spend one’s life in pursuit of it – though not only for oneself, in the sense of self-improvement; nor only for others, as I hope I have made possible for my students over the years; and not even necessarily solely within a community of like-minded learners that we human beings tend to seek out and in which we tend to thrive. [...]

Working with our youngest students in the Early Learning Program at St. Benedict Classical Academy, I am blessed to pray with them throughout the day and witness the great love they have for our Blessed Mother. Each morning begins in prayer, and we pause to pray together throughout the day. Our morning prayer includes an enthusiastic, “Good morning, God. Good Morning, Mama Mary!” followed by one Hail Mary. In the afternoon, we go to the chapel to pray the Angelus and sing “Immaculate Mary.” A beautiful picture of Our Lady holding the infant Jesus hangs above the prayer table in our [...]

Most days before the start of school, I love to stop in our humble chapel at St. Benedict Classical Academy to pray, usually asking God to show me how to be a better person and teacher each day. One day, as I prayed this, Saint Therese’s Little Way came to my mind. We are called to live each moment intentionally to bear fruit in eternity. Author of Abandonment to Divine Providence, Father Jacques-Phillipe, wrote, "If we have abandoned ourselves to God, there is only one rule for us: the duty of the present moment." There are many little moments in the [...]

“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 [...]