Many have inquired about the MIW (see the drop down menu Take Part on this home page)… now there are only four more spots left for the one Monastic Immersion Weekend scheduled for this year (September 16-18). Remember this is for men AND women so if you are interested I would send email quickly (companions@virginiatrappists.org) or […]
St. Benedict for the Rest of Us has openings
The program to be conducted April 17th, starting at 3:30pm in the Retreat House Chapel has a handful of open spots if anyone is interested. St. Benedict for the Rest of Us, which will include a welcome from the Abbot, a talk on monastic principles that all can use in their spiritual life by a […]
Event Registration Reaching Capacity
If you are interested in attending either the Women’s Monastic Immersion Weekend April 8-10 or St. Benedict for the Rest of Us April 17 you will want to register quickly. Both programs are getting close to capacity. To do so: for the MIW send an inquiry to companions@virginiatrappists.org then a $100 deposit to my attention […]
St. Benedict for the Rest of Us and Women’s MIW
There’s still ‘room at the inn’ to register for St. Benedict for the Rest of Us on April 17th and the Women’s Monastic Immersion Weekend April 8-10 but it’s getting down to the wire. We have room for about 10-15 more for the April 17th program and six or seven for the Women’s retreat. If […]
Monks on retreat
The monastic community is on retreat this week meaning they have conferences all week and do not follow the usual work schedule. Even the gift shop is closed. Why do monks need a retreat, you might ask? Isn’t their whole life kind of a retreat? Truth is this is a common misconception about monastic life. […]
Monastic Immersion Weekend-Q+A
Since we posted our special event schedule we have received various questions about the Monastic Immersion Weekends. Here’s some answers to the most frequently asked questions: Are Monastic Immersion Weekends for men who want to be monks? Yes and no. These weekends are primarily for laypeople who want to experience monastic life but don’t intend to […]
St. Benedict for the Rest of Us
Many have inquired about attending St. Benedict for the Rest of Us which will be held at the Retreat House Chapel on April 17th. Their inquiries have ranged from ‘ how do I register’ (answer: by sending email to companions@virginiatrappists.org) to ‘can the Rule of St. Benedict really apply to me? Can I really use […]
Special Events and MIWs Scheduled for 2016
The community is pleased to announce the scheduling of special events and retreats for 2016. For information on any of these events or to register to attend, send email to companions@virginiatrappists.org or call 540-955-4604…this year we will have two Monastic Immersion Weekends, an event on monastic life for those not called as monks and nuns […]
2016 Abbey Calendars are In
Here’s a terrible, blurry photo of the cover of the new calendar for 2016. You can acquire a copy or copies (Christmas remember!) by sending a check for $15 for each calendar to the abbey with “calendar sales” on the envelope. We will rush them out to you as soon as we get them to […]
Merton Lecture at HCA
Fr. James Orthmann keynoted the Merton at 100 lecture Sunday November 15th. Well over 60 people came to the Retreat House Chapel for a talk called “Monk as Marginal Person.” Fr. James suggested that this simple reference, that Merton made in his last talk in Thailand, was less an indictment of monks for having left the […]