Readings: Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; John 15:26-27, 16:12-15 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. Joseph Wittstock presiding and preaching. Our Lay Cistercians are with us this weekend for their annual retreat and will reaffirm their vows on Saturday, 23 May, after Midday Prayer.
July and August: Available Rooms at the Retreat House
We still have good availability in the Retreat House through July and August, both weekdays (Monday through Friday) and Weekends (Friday through Sunday). If you’ve ever stopped and wondered why vacations can seem frantic and anything but relaxing, how about taking some vacation days for a retreat? It’s a great way to truly get away from everything, […]
A Visit to Our Lady of the Angels, Crozet, Virginia
Fr. Charles Cummings from Holy Trinity Abbey, Utah, has been serving as chaplain to our nuns at Our Lady of the Angels monastery in Crozet, Virginia. That’s a few miles outside of Charlottesville. During this past week, Fr. Charles went, as he has annually, to the Medieval Congress hosted by Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. He […]
Fr. Robert’s Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension
Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1: 17-23; Mark 16:15-20 Today, on Sunday, the Church in most of the United States celebrates the feast of the Lord’s ascension into heaven instead of last Thursday. The bishops in our country have chosen the ascension to be moved so all Catholics may participate in this important feast of our faith. […]
Sixth Sunday of Easter, 10 May, 2015
Readings: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; 1 John 4:7-10; John 17:11b-19 The community Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Fr. Vincent Collins presiding and preaching.
A Word from the Cistercian Fathers for May
In this life, Martha and Mary should never be separated. When the time comes when Jesus is no longer poor or hungry or thirsty or able to be tempted, then Mary alone–that is, our spiritual activity–will occupy the whole of the house–that is our soul. Saint Benedict saw this, or rather the Holy Spirit in […]
Abbot Robert’s Homily for Br. Edward McLean’s Funeral
Readings: Isaiah 25:6-9; Romans 8:14-23; John 14:1-6 It is fitting to mention as a preface for our readers, that Br. Edward’s family and friends appreciated the understated irony of Abbot Robert’s characterization of our deceased brother, who was an “original”. The delivery of this homily was punctuated by the congregation’s laughter. After the burial, Br. […]
Fr. Robert’s Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, 3 May, 2015
If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask for what you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified…Abide in me as I abide in you. This Sunday the Church continues to unfold the grace of the paschal mystery for us. A new image appears […]
Brother Edward and the beauty of going to God
I am always struck when the Abbot talks about how lucky one of the monks who has gone to God is to have done just that-gone to God. Father Robert always says this in his homily at the funeral of a monk. For Brother Edward he told me when I saw him in the hall […]
Men’s MIW Almost Full
If you have ever wanted to spend a full two days with the monks living their life, the Monastic Immersion Weekend is for you. For two full days you get to sit in choir, take conferences from the monks and follow the full schedule of the community. The Men’s retreat in September, is, however, almost full already… […]