This past Saturday, Fr. Robert conducted the annual Visitation of our Lay Cistercians. He reports, “I enjoyed meeting with each of the Lay Cistercians and am able to affirm how much they have matured spiritually in their own vocation. They are becoming more solid in their calling from God. Maryle Ashley was chosen to continue […]

The MIW for men scheduled for September 11-13 has a few spots still open.  If you have ever wanted to spend time in community praying, chanting and having conferences with the monks, this is the retreat for you…check out Take Part on the home page for more detailed information.  This retreat is a full immersion […]

Readings: Job 38:1, 8-11; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Abbot Robert Barnes presiding and preaching. Fr. Robert will leave Sunday afternoon for Our Lady of the Angels, the monastery of our sisters at Crozet, Virginia. Between 21 June and 1 July, Abbot Robert will substitute as the […]

There is still very good availability on all weekdays and weekends in July. Even on those muggy or stormy summer days, our guests are refreshed by the awesome views down the valley or the dramatic storms that provide an ever-changing spectacle–viewed from the comfort of an air conditioned retreat house. The Abbey’s services, filled by […]

Readings: Ezekiel 17:22-24; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34 Today’s First Reading, as well as the Gospel, directs our imagination to the image of a sheltering tree. Centuries of interpretation nudge us to think immediately of the Church. I’m not denying that application but such a correlation could be as lifeless as it is unquestioning. When […]

Readings: Ezekiel 17:22-14; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. James presiding and preaching.

Readings: Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9; Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19; John 19:31-37 The dictionary defines “sacrilege” as the profanation of the sacred. And thus for the Christian there is a sense in which all sin can be said to be a form of sacrilege in which the sacred temple that each one of us is, is defiled […]

This is an overdue post but one still worth publishing. The community Mass was celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. Joseph Wittstock presiding and preaching. The Mass concluded with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. Following Midday Prayer, the community retired to the refectory for a festive dinner. Yesterday had been the Memorial of St. […]

Readings: Exodus 24:3-8; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 Some ten-thousand years ago at the end of the last Ice Age, an accident of nature changed the course of human history. Two wild grasses cross-fertilized to form a hybrid, which in turn, crossed with another wild grass and so produced wheat. Unlike the wild grasses, the […]

This week Abbot Damian Carr, of St. Joseph’s Abbey, Spencer, Massachusetts, will come to Berryville to conduct the Regular Visitation of our community at Holy Cross Abbey. This periodic visit, stipulated by our Order’s constitutions, gives each monk the opportunity to speak to Abbot Damian and reflect upon the state of our life together. Dom Damian […]