Abbot Austin G. Murphy, OSB

10/25/2026

EAGER TO SEE AND DO
Homily for Fri of 29th wk in Ord time, at St. Benedict's Abbey

“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?” (Lk 12:57) Jesus asks this question after talking about signs of weather. He says: You see a cloud rising in the west, and you know it is going to rain. Maybe in Kansas Jesus would say, you see thick clouds and a green sky, and you know a tornado may be coming. Then, you know how to respond to that situation.

Maybe Jesus’ point is this. We read and respond to situations all the time. We have the motivation to do so and, so, we do it. But where is our motivation for doing what is good and pleasing to God? Where is our eagerness to read a situation in order to see how to act in a way pleasing to God? Are we eager to ask, “How can I please God in my present situation? How can I do what is pleasing to God today or tomorrow, given what I see in front of me?”

In his Letter to the Galatians, St. Paul says, “Do not grow weary of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up.” (Gal 6:9) Sometimes we grow weary and, in turn, we do not eagerly seek for ways to please God. I know that is true for me. But we have opportunities to do things that are good and pleasing to God. May we be eager to find those opportunities in the concrete situations we face. And may we eagerly carry them out.

10/20/2026

GREATEST POSSIBLE THING
Homily for Tues. of 29th wk. in Ord. time, at St. Benedict's Abbey

Something great is going to happen to us. Indeed, the greatest possible thing is going to happen to us. How great? Imagine the greatest thing you can, and this will be greater by far.

The great thing that will happen to us is that we will be brought into the kingdom of heaven. We will see God face to face and have the fullness of life. That is so great that we cannot fully grasp it. All the wonderful things we experience in this world are only hints of it.

Of course, there is a condition. We must believe in the Lord and follow His ways in sincerity of heart. We must serve the Lord through faith and good works. If we do so, we will be like the servants in the gospel who await their master’s return. And when He does return, we will be brought into the kingdom of heaven and have the fullness of life. This is the amazing promise God has made to you and to me.

It is worth remembering this promise, for we easily get caught up in minutia. Stuck on the small things, we lose sight of the big picture. Yet, we should remember that we are on the way to the fullness of life.

Or sometimes it is not small stuff, but big issues. We are struggling with real, significant problems. Still, it is helpful to remember the big picture. These difficulties do not have the last word. And God is with us to help us to get through these challenges.

The last word belongs to the fullness of life that has been promised to us. And the Lord Jesus is with us to help us reach the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, we should live in expectation. We should be like the servants who await their master’s return. If we do, then the greatest thing possible will happen to us, and it will remain with us forever.

10/13/2026

CLEANSING
Homily for Tues of 28 wk in Ord time, St. Benedict's Abbey

The story in today’s gospel invites us to think about what makes a person unclean—not unclean on the outside, but on the inside. That is, what makes a person spiritually unclean? What defiles the soul of a person?

The gospel starts with Jesus not doing the prescribed washing before a meal. But Jesus moves our attention from a washing of the body to the cleansing of the soul. At the end of the gospel, He says, “as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

This suggests that a sort of greediness defiles us on the inside. Jesus says that in order to be cleansed, we must give alms, that is, give to the poor. So, could it be that refusing to give as we should is what makes the soul unclean? It is an interesting thought that I think is worth entertaining.

There are various things we should give to others: alms to the poor, a listening ear to someone in trouble, work to an employer, respect to a neighbor, and—most of all—worship to God. But we do not always give these things that we owe. At times, a sort of greediness or stinginess gets in the way. We refuse to give.

So, perhaps it is this greediness, this refusal to give, that defiles our souls within. We owe things to the poor, to our neighbor, to society, to God, but we do not give them. If that is what defiles us, we can rest assured that Jesus offers us cleansing. He does so through His self-giving love on the Cross. In shedding His blood on the Cross, Jesus has given generously, way beyond what is owed. His generous, self-giving love washes us clean. And to remain clean, we must remain in His love, to keep living in it.

In the Eucharist, we are invited and given the graces to live in Jesus’ self-giving love. In the Mass, we have the opportunity to unite ourselves to Christ’s self-giving on the Cross, as it is re-presented to us on the altar. In this way, may we be cleansed and set free.

10/11/2026

TO KEEP CLIMBING
Homily for 28th Sun of Ord time, at St. Benedict's Abbey

In this homily I want to paint a picture of the Christian life, to offer a metaphor, one that has been used before, to be sure. It is that the Christian life is like climbing a mountain. At the top of the mountain is a feast, a joyful celebration with wonderful people, as well as with great food and drink. It is what the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah describes: “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.” (Is 25:6) So, you are climbing this mountain of the Lord, looking forward to the joyful celebration on the top.

Climbing this mountain is often enjoyable. The air is fresh and the views can be beautiful. And so the Christian life is often enjoyable. But climbing the mountain is not always easy. At times, the path is especially steep—you huff and puff as you walk up. At other times, the path has been blocked by fallen trees or rocks. You have to remove the barriers or you are forced to take a lengthy detour. Sometimes the path is overgrown. Then you have to cut through the overgrowth—the thorns and thistles. It is hard going and you get pretty scratched up in the process.

It is these difficult stretches that I want to focus on. How do you deal with them, so as to persevere through them? That is, when the going gets tough, how do you keep on going? I can think of two ways. Sometimes one way works, and sometimes the other way works.

The first way is the usual way, I think—it is to keep your eyes on the prize. You remain mindful of the heavenly banquet that awaits you. You think of how great the joy will be in heaven. You will then be with the angels and saints in the bright light of heaven. Indeed, you will be with God! The veil will have been removed, and you will see God as He is! So, you think what the psalm today says: “I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” That thought motivates you to put up with the trials and difficulties, and keep climbing.

Now, to keep your eyes on this amazing prize, prayer is especially important. Not perfunctory prayer, not just going through the motions. No, you spend time with the Lord, and you get to know Him. In this way, you learn to love Him more deeply. In other words, you taste and see that the Lord is good. And His goodness draws you—you want to possess it in full. So, you keep climbing the mountain.

But sometimes this way does not work. Why? I can think of two reasons. One reason is that you are going through a kind of darkness. You can’t see the prize through that darkness. It is like the mountaintop has been covered in a thick cloud, so that you lose sight of it. All you can see is the ground around you. You can hardly see that there is a mountain or that you are on it. So, you can’t fix your eyes on the prize and find motivation that way.

Here’s another reason why keeping your eyes on the prize does not always work. There is no darkness and you do see the mountaintop. But the thought that hits you is not how wonderful life on top of the mountain is. No, the thought that hits you is how far away the mountaintop is! You think, “I don’t know if I can make it to the top. It is so far away, and I am hurting.” You then worry, “I can’t make it, there is no way I will reach the mountaintop.”

Something similar can happen on bike rides. I like to go cycling and, while I am not very good at it, I have learned the following. At times you are climbing a hill and you are hurting. The top of the hill is still pretty far away. Your legs are burning and you’re sucking air—and you don’t know if you can make it. So, what you do is this: You stop looking at how far away you are from the top. Instead, you focus on your pedaling. You put your head down and make sure your feet keep moving, round and round. Keep the feet moving and eventually you will get to the top. It is similar when you are hurting on the climb up the mountain of the Lord. You think, “I am so far away from God, I will never get there.” But stop thinking about how far away you are. Instead, keep your feet moving, keep walking one step at a time. Eventually you will get there.

Yet, what does it mean to take a step in the spiritual life? Listen to the opening prayer that we just heard. We prayed that God’s grace “make us always determined to carry out good works.” The Latin literally says: “that we always be intent on good works.” Be intent on doing good works. To take a step is to do a good work. Each good work is like a step. So, focus on the good work in front of you, whether it be studying, going to bed on time, being patient with someone, helping someone, or spending some time in prayer. Just focus on the good work in front of you. Finish it to the best of your ability, and then move on to the next step. Eventually, you will get to the top of the hill and have a breather. You will get through the difficult stretch and keeping journeying up the mountain.

This also applies to when you are in darkness and you can’t see the top of the mountain. Take one step at a time, one after the other. That is, focus on the good work in front of you, and then do the next one after that.

A final thought: Remember that you are not doing this alone. As Scripture says, your brothers all over the world are suffering the same things. You have others on the journey with you—including here at Benedictine College. Support and encourage one another. And remember most of all that the Lord Jesus is with you. He is our good shepherd. He is at our side with His rod and staff to give us courage. Let us learn to lean on Him.

10/02/2026

RAINS AND ROCKS
Homily for Thurs of 26th wk in Ord time, at St. Benedict's Abbey

We’ve been getting a lot of rain recently—at times, pretty heavy rains. As we know, rain washes things away, such as soil and dirt. But of course, the rains do not wash away everything. They do not wash away things that are firm, such as stone and rock.

In the first reading we heard that Job wants his words written in stone. He has been lamenting his hardships, his losses and suffering. He has been crying out to the Lord, “Where are you? I need your help! Deliver me!” Why does he want such words written in stone? Is it so that they can stand as an everlasting complaint? No, I do not think it is that. Rather, his words are cries to the Lord. And he wants his cries, his pleas to God to last. He does not want them to give way. He wants them to last until the Lord hears them and delivers him.

You see, Job believes that God will hear and answer eventually. He says, “I know that my vindicator lives… and that I shall see God.” So, he will not give up on pleading with the Lord. This is because he trusts in the Lord, that the Lord will eventually hear him. So, Job’s desire for his words to be written in stone is, I think, about perseverance in prayer. It is about trusting that the Lord is there, that He hears our prayers, and that He will eventually answer them and deliver us from our hardships. Isn’t this what the Lord Jesus Himself tells us to do? He tells us trust in the Lord, and to keep asking, keep pleading. Recall the parable of the widow who keeps pleading with the judge.

Today’s saint, Saint Therese, the Little Flower, is a great example of this. She had a great trust in the Lord, the firm trust of a child. She knew that God was there and loved her, that God heard her prayers and would answer her cries eventually in a way He knew best.

So, let your prayer to God be like a stone. Let it be firm and solid like a rock. Do not let the rains, the storms, of life wash away our prayers, our pleas. We can let the misfortunes and difficulties of life discourage us, even make us think that God is not there or that He does not care about us. But that is not true.

So, write your prayers in stone which is not washed away by the rains. The rains will eventually go away. And in time, we will stand in the bright light of God, and we will even see our Vindicator with our own eyes.

09/27/2026

HOW TO BE SELFLESS
Homily for 26th Sun in Ord time, at Maur Hill - Mount Academy

“Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory” (Phil 2:3), says St. Paul in second reading. “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory.” That’s easier said than done!

And I think St. Paul knows that. He knows that we have self-seeking tendencies, that we are given to vanity and to exaggerating about ourselves. Still, he calls us not to be this way. In fact, he says to go in the opposite direction. He says, “humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others” (Phil 2:3-4). He even holds up the example of Christ who emptied Himself, who gave Himself to save us sinners!

So, we are to let go of our vanity and selfishness. And instead, we are to serve others generously. That is not easy to do!

But here is the thing. The way to be selfless and self-giving is not to disparage yourself. Let me say it again: the way to be generous toward others is not to think you have little worth. Rather, the way to be generous is to know your worth. Let me say that again: the way to be generous and loving is to know your tremendous worth.

This is how Christianity works. God sends His only Son to save us—not to condemn us, but to save us. And that shows our amazing worth, our tremendous value in the eyes of God. St. Augustine, writing centuries ago, makes this point more than once. Among the chief reasons why God sent His Son, he says, was to show us how much God values us. You are valued by God—that is the gospel truth.

Or do we think that God is wrong, that He sees value within us but is mistaken? God is not wrong. The value that God sees within you is the dignity He put within you, the great dignity He gave you when He made you in His image. He made you for Himself, to share in His life. Each of us has tremendous worth.

And don’t we know that a basic rule of spirituality is: Don’t disagree with God. That’s a good rule isn’t it, “Don’t disagree with God”? So, if God sees the worth in you, then you should see it as well. God looks on you with love, He values you tremendously. Again, the fact that Jesus came to save us shows this. And He keeps coming to us in the Eucharist.

When we see this and accept it, we no longer t have to be selfish and self-seeking. We don’t have to find our worth by comparing ourselves with others or by putting others down. No, we are loved, we are valued. That frees us to love others in a selfless, generous way.

09/25/2026

I enjoyed being on the Dare to Love podcast, hosted by my friend, Fr. Adam MacDonald, SVD. We discussed how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours (aka Divine Office). I think it was a good conversation that offers information for those looking to learn more about these rich official prayers of the Church.

As we continue our series on "Ways to Pray," we introduce you to Ab...

09/25/2026

VANITY AND RIVERS
Homily for Thurs of 25th wk in Ord time, at St. Benedict's Abbey

The Book of Ecclesiastes says that this world is futile. All things in it are vanity. They achieve nothing. One poignant image is as follows: “All rivers go to the sea, yet never does the sea become full” (Eccl 1:7a). Rivers keep flowing into the ocean, just like the Mighty Missouri here. Every day these rivers pour massive amounts of water into the ocean. You would think the ocean would fill up and be able to take no more. But it doesn’t. “All rivers go to the sea, yet never does the sea become full” (Eccl 1:7a).

That resembles our lives. By our actions we are continually trying to fill ourselves up, to fill ourselves with the various goods we seek. And to a large extent we are successful in attaining various goods. But like the sea, we never become full. Despite all the things we keep acquiring, we are not satisfied. It is vanity, a chase after the wind.

Of course, as we read this lament we keep a qualifier in our minds. We say, “Yes, all things are vanity, UNLESS”—and this is the qualified—“UNLESS they are part of the search for God.” All is vanity if we are only seeking earthly goods and earthly happiness. BUT if by our actions we are seeking God, then it is not all in vain.

So, yes, we pursue various goods on earth. But we should not try to be satisfied in them, even as we enjoy them to some extent. Rather, the actions we do and the goods we seek should be ordered toward attaining God. All we do should aim at coming closer to God and eventually attaining Him in heaven. To go about life in that way is not in vain.

Of course, if we live in this way, we still experience frustrations and difficulties on earth. But we live with hope—a hope that does not disappoint. This is because, as St. Paul says, “the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5). The Holy Spirit guides our efforts and will bring us to our homeland, which is life in the Trinity.

So, yes, the rivers of this world never fill up the sea to overflowing. But Jesus compares the Holy Spirit to rivers of living water in us, living water that wells up and overflows in our souls, leading us to eternal life (Jn 7:38, also 4:14). The Holy Spirit is that river, mentioned in the psalm, whose streams gladden the city of God (Ps 46:4).

09/10/2026

INFLATED VS. CONSTRUCTIVE KNOWLEDGE
Homily for Thurs. of 23 wk. in Ord. time, at St. Benedict's Abbey

St. Thomas Aquinas notes that reason is in the will and the will is in reason. Reason and the will interpenetrate. So, when we know something by reason, we also want something with the will. You cannot separate knowing and wanting. They are distinct, but not separate. And in turn, they operate alongside each other and influence each other.

This means that the knowledge we have is shot through with a value system. It is a great good to have knowledge with the right value system. But it is possible to have knowledge with the wrong value system. And this, of course, is not good.

When St. Paul says, “Knowledge inflates with pride,” he is speaking of having knowledge with a wrong value system. It is the value system of pride. Here one exalts oneself and puts oneself at the center of things. When we try to use our knowledge to exalt ourselves over others, this displays pride. Yet, being puffed up with pride does not last. The balloon is eventually popped, and then cometh the fall.

How then do we know we have the right value system, so that our knowledge is helpful? It is by loving as Christ loves. We must love our neighbor as ourselves. And we must even—with the special help of God—love our enemies, as today’s gospel says. If we love this way, we have the right value system. It is the value system summarized by Christ in the two greatest commandments: To love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

With this value system, and the knowledge that goes with it, we are built on rock. The storms will come, but they do not knock us down. This is the love of which St. Paul says, “love builds up.” Indeed, this love builds a lasting city.

09/01/2026

FEAR, HOPE, AND THE POWER OF GOD
Homily for Mon in 22nd wk of Ord time, at St. Benedict's Abbey

Let’s do a thought-experiment. The first reading mentions “the power of God.” What does that bring to mind? Or what is your reaction to this? Let’s consider two possibilities. They are fear and hope. That is, when we think of God’s power, this can stir either fear or hope in us.

Fear would make sense. When we encounter something massive and awesome, it can startle and unsettle us. And surely, God’s power is massive and awesome—it is infinite! There is also the fact that we sin. Sinning puts us at odds with God’s will. We are then in conflict with God. And who do you think is going to win that conflict? God, of course, for His power is infinite. So, thinking of how we oppose God by sinning and of how His power is infinite—that can prompt fear.

But another possibility is for the power of God to elicit hope in us. Yes, at certain times, we side with sin. That is, we give in to doing the wrong thing. But more fundamentally and habitually, we do not side with sin. No, by the grace of God within us, we side with God, with His righteousness, goodness, and truth. We want what God wants; we want for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And since God’s power is infinite, what He wants will be accomplished. Ultimately, what God wants—and we also want—will be achieved. His righteousness, truth, wisdom, goodness, love—they will win out in the end. That brings hope.

These truths are presented to us in Christ crucified. Human sin and God’s righteousness came into conflict on the Cross. It can seem that sin won, since human sin persecuted and killed Christ. But it was trying to get Him not to do God’s will, to abandon God’s righteousness. It didn’t succeed, for the power of God at work in Jesus’ human nature kept Him faithful to the end.

But the power of God did not end there. It then raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him the fullness of life. This is our hope: that the power of God will keep us faithful to God through all trials and that it eventually will give us the fullness of life.