Please remember in your prayers the repose of the soul of Fr. Edward McCorkell. Fr. Edward had been a resident at Carroll Manor, a nursing home connected to Providence Hospital, Washington DC, for about the past three years.  Abbot Robert had received a phone call from Fr. Andrew on Sunday evening that Fr. Edward was failing […]

You may resume placing your Guest House reservations during regular work hours beginning Monday, 2 July. You can contact Carol Hensley to plan a retreat at Holy Cross Abbey by phoning her at 540-955-4383 or emailing her at: information@hcava.org There are plenty of openings for July and August, so reserve your retreat now while the […]

The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM; Fr, James Orthmann will preside and Fr. John Denburger, Abbot Emeritus of Genesee Abbey, will preach. This Sunday being the First Sunday of the Month, Eucharistic Adoration will begin at 4:00 PM and continue through Vespers (5:30 PM). Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament will conclude Vespers. […]

One very important way to support monastic vocations–or any religious vocation–is to support the Vocation Director. The best way to do that is to pray for the Vocation Director. It’s a a demanding and often discouraging job; much of it may be spent confronted by people’s delusions and that demands that the Vocation Director has […]

The Constitutions of Holy Cross Abbey’s Lay Cistercian Group is now available on this website. Just go to the page entitled Lay Members and scroll down for the entire text.

The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM; Abbot Robert Barnes with preside and preach. This Sunday, the usual Sunday cycle is replaced by the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Clearly, this is an unusually important celebration. Only three nativities are celebrated in the Roman Rite: that of Christ himself on 25 Decemeber; that […]

Due to your interest, the Retreat reservations are now full for the month of June. However there are still great opportunities available for July and August and into the month of September when the summer weather enjoys its final fling. However, the reservation office will be closed Friday, 22 June until Monday 1 July. Please make […]

Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain remains an inspiring, and for many readers, an iconic account of the monastic vocation. For many people, a purely entertaining film like The Sound of Music, with an only tangential connection to monasticism, defines expectations of the cloistered life. Although most readers of this blog will chuckle at the […]

It’s been a while since Ailred appeared on these posts and the last installment considered his historical writings. Those writings dated to the beginning of the reign of King Henry II (1154-1189). Ailred spent his years as Abbot preaching to his community, at other monasteries or even–more the exception than the rule–in cathedrals on special occasions. […]

The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM; Fr. Vincent Collins will preside and preach