The Novice Directors of our monasteries in the United States meet every other year. This year we met at Guadalupe Abbey in Lafayette, Oregon from 15 to 24 May. Guadalupe Abbey was the first foundation of Our Lady of the Valley, Valley Falls, Rhode Island and could be considered the elder sister of Holy Cross Abbey. […]

The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM. Abbot Robert Barnes will preside and Fr. James Orthmann will preach. The choir will chant the Veni Sancte Spiritus, the Gregorian Sequence preceding the Gospel. Benediction will be celebrated after Vespers (5:30 PM). Our Lay Cistercians are with us in the Guest House for their annual […]

The community Mass is celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. Vincent Collins presiding and preaching. The Sixth Sunday of Easter is also Mothers’ Day; all our mothers, living and dead, will be remembered at this Mass. The Office of Vespers is celebrated at 5:30 PM followed by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. All are invited […]

You may recall that this past 10 March students from Clarke County High School helped us with electronic recycling. This Saturday, 12 May, a larger group of juniors and seniors were here to help us clear more recyclables from the attic of the original dormitory and clear the gutters on the low eaves of some […]

In the year 1153, the disastrous Civil War in England ended and its causes resolved. Since 1135, with the death of King Henry I, the realm was split over the succession. Henry I, descendant of William the Conqueror, had foreseen the need for a peaceful transition and had all his barons swear to uphold his designated heir, […]

It’s probably clear from the responsorial psalms of the Mass that Christian faith and prayer brings a particular slant, a particular interpretation to the psalms. I always remind people that a Jewish perspective on the psalms will bring us closer to how Jesus prayed and quoted the psalms than if we just interpret the texts on face […]

The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM; Fr. James Orthmann will preside and preach This is the First Sunday of the Month and Monthly Eucharistic Adoration begins at 4:00 PM. Vespers is celebrated at 5:30 PM before the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction follows (Benediction begins at approximately 5:55 PM). All are invited to […]

Towards the end of the Mirror of Charity, Ailred touches upon the subject of friendship within the general contexts of attractions and what might draw the monk away from God. That said, he doesn’t reject the possibility of friendship in monastic life. He cautions that it can go either way–for good or ill–but tries to make a […]

In the novitiate Scripture Classes we’ve begun studying the psalms. Yes, we consider data like when they were composed, characteristics of ancient Hebrew poetry, the language and vocabulary of the psalms, the world-view of their authors and so forth. But the most important part of the classes is that each of us finds or re-discovers […]

Bakery Manager Ernie Polanskas is requesting styrofoam packing peanuts for shipping certain Monastery Bakery Products. Yes, we are well aware that styrofoam is anything but eco-friendly and finding suitable alternatives is on the agenda, but in the meanwhile, he’s putting out this request as one way of re-using packing peanuts rather than putting them into land-fill. […]