The Early Church Fathers, Sunday, October 21, 2012, St Cyril of Alexandria

"Christ said indicating (the bread and wine): 'This is My Body,' and "This is My Blood," in order that you might not judge what you see to be a mere figure. The offerings, by the hidden power of God Almighty, are changed into Christ's Body and Blood, and by receiving these we come to share in the life-giving and sanctifying efficacy of Christ." 

Monastic Tradition, June 21, 2012



The grave of Thomas Merton. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Only a true sense of monastic tradition can preserve sanity and peace in monasteries.” Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island

This is true because, with this sense of tradition, monks know what kind of life they are trying to live. This is no less true in relation to the Tradition of the Church; without it we do not know how to live as Christians; we would be continuously "reinventing the wheel," always rediscovering, or inventing out of whole cloth, the Christian life. All the while we'd risk getting further from the Truth, thereby losing our sanity.