The Monastery Thread

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OraLabora said:
We had lunch in the refectory and were blessed by the abbot. This was a historic event, it was the first time that women were allowed to share the main meal with the monks in the refectory. At the first visit in 2005, oblates ate in the refectory but without the community; we were served box lunches. Here’s a picture from 2009 showing the abbot’s table:

[]http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w312/OraLabora/Italy 2009/DSCN0468.jpg](http://s179.photobucket.com/user/OraLabora/media/Italy 2009/DSCN0468.jpg.html)
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Do you know anything about the painting? Name, artist, etc?

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
Did they allow conversation/talking in the refectory?

-Tim-
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Normally no but this was a special occasion (World Oblate Congress), so the rules were relaxed and even the abbot came around to all the tables to greet us.
 
OraLabora said:
Normally no but this was a special occasion (World Oblate Congress), so the rules were relaxed and even the abbot came around to all the tables to greet us.
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Monks are not shy about breaking the rules when charity demands. I wish the rest of Catholicism would catch up.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
Monks are not shy about breaking the rules when charity demands. I wish the rest of Catholicism would catch up.

-Tim-
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It occurs to me that monks also have an effective system of accountability, such as Chapter 23 of the Holy Rule, that most of us outside the cloister lack, and would likely not voluntarily submit ourselves to anyway.
 
TimothyH said:
Monks are not shy about breaking the rules when charity demands. I wish the rest of Catholicism would catch up.
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Sort of reminds me of the joke about this one Trappist monk, who every seven years was permitted to speak a sentence. The first time around he said “Praise be to Jesus Christ, but the food could be better around here.” The next time he said, “Praise be to Jesus Christ, but the beds could be a little firmer.” Then seven years later he quit the order and his abbot told him, “Good because all you’ve done is complain and complain.” 😉
 
OraLabora said:
Thanks yes they are very interesting and I have been intrigued since seeing the film “Into Great Silence”. I roughly modelled my small home oratory on the oratories in a Carthusian’s cell:

I’d like to take the opportunity to invite others to post information/pictures/trivia/history about other monastic orders besides the usual Benedictines, and Cistercians. It’s the “Monastery Thread”, not the “Benedictine Monastery Thread” though I have my bias as a result of my affiliation as oblate!
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I do not have any pictures to share but I did visit on a vocation retreat the Carthusian monastery of the Transfiguration in Vermont when I was about 21. Around this time in my life, I was interested in a monastic religious vocation and I visited a number of monasteries and looked into a number of religious orders ancient and new. At this time in my life, I felt attracted to a “strict” observance of monasticism or a strict observance of a mixed kind of vocation such as the Discalced Carmelites. I don’t know if anybody has heard of it, but I also visited the Hermitage of Christ in the Mountains, in Nevada which was started by a trappist monk, Fr. Leo, who wanted to go back to a more strict monastic observance than what he thought the trappists were practicing since some changes they made after Vatican II. This hermitage is no longer a religious house. Fr Leo has sinced past away and the hermitage was sold and is now some kind of house for hunters. There was one monk there when i visited who had been there for about 20 years if I remember correctly. Where he is now I do not know. This hermitage was located about 100 miles from the closest town, it was way out in the wilderness. Though the hermitage was not like an established religious order, the bishop of the area had given Fr. Leo the approval to found it. Besides Fr. Leo, there were only two other monks there when I visited. They certainly lived a “strict” monastic life. Fr. Leo was also appointed the pastor by the bishop of the area for the nearest parish, about a 100 miles away, so he was only at the hermitage during the week. He had to leave for the weekends to perform his duties at the parish. I think I visited this hermitage for a week or two.

I live in the San Francisco bay area, so I also visited the trappist monastery in Vina CA, about a four or so hours drive. I was not duly impressed by it at this time. The Camaldolese monks monastery in Big Sur, CA, I never went to visit though I knew about it. For some reason or other, I did not feel attracted to it.

The visit I made to the Carthusian monastery in Vermont was an awesome experience. For me at this time in my life, my experience here and the cloistered monastic/hermitic life the Carthusians live made me think ‘Yes, now this is monasticism’ as I understood it to be from reading books on it and the lives of the saints. (I’m not implying other monastic religious orders such as the benedictines or trappists don’t practise real monasticism, not in the least, but just saying that my experience here was different.). I remember reading somewhere that the Carthusians are called the Order of Iron. There was nothing but God and the search for Him at this monastery. It was like being in a different world than the one we are used too ‘outside the monastery.’ I was a little nervous or even fearful when I went there. I think the vocation master picked this up from me somewhat and I remember one of the first things he said to me was “there is nothing to fear for there is only the love of God here.” All the monks rise about midnight everyday and go to the chapel to chant the office of readings. They still chant the psalms in latin, at least they did when I was there. After this, they go back to bed, rise about 6 am and go to the chapel for morning prayer and mass. They meet again in the chapel for evening prayer. If they need to talk to one another, the first thing they say is “praise be Jesus Christ.” These are the words the vocation master greeted me with.

There are two vocations within the Carthusian order, that of being a priest or brother. The priests basically stay in there hermitages all the time except for morning prayer and mass, evening prayer, and the office of readings which is chanted and recited in common in the chapel. They eat their meals alone in their hermitages. On Sundays, all the monks gather for a common recreation such as a walk in the woods and here they can chat with one another. I don’t remember if they eat dinner in common on Sundays; if they do it is in silence while one monk does some spiritual reading out loud.

The brothers take care of the monastery, cook the meals, and all such tasks that are required for moving about the monastery and not staying in the hermitages as the fathers or priests do. The brothers live in a one bedroom cell. The fathers have a two story hermitage with a little outside garden attached. Being that the fathers spend most of their lives in the hermitage, they naturally need a little more room than a one bedroom cell.

I was quite young when I went to the Carthusian monastery, about 21, (I don’t think they except vocations until a man is at least 24), so the vocation master put me in a brother’s cell and I lived the life of a brother while I was there. I was able to get out of the cell and help one of the brothers in the monastery garden during the day. I was there only a week. The vocation master asked me if I wanted to spend another week. I declined though now I wish I would have. I think at the time I felt I needed to get out of there :D, maybe it was too much for me, so different from the world. However, for those who are called to this vocation, it is certainly a beautiful life.
 
Richca said:
I do not have any pictures to share but I did visit on a vocation retreat the Carthusian monastery of the Transfiguration in Vermont when I was about 21. Around this time in my life, I was interested in a monastic religious vocation and I visited a number of monasteries and looked into a number of religious orders ancient and new. At this time in my life, I felt attracted to a “strict” observance of monasticism or a strict observance of a mixed kind of vocation such as the Discalced Carmelites. I don’t know if anybody has heard of it, but I also visited the Hermitage of Christ in the Mountains, in Nevada which was started by a trappist monk, Fr. Leo, who wanted to go back to a more strict monastic observance than what he thought the trappists were practicing since some changes they made after Vatican II. This hermitage is no longer a religious house. Fr Leo has sinced past away and the hermitage was sold and is now some kind of house for hunters. There was one monk there when i visited who had been there for about 20 years if I remember correctly. Where he is now I do not know. This hermitage was located about 100 miles from the closest town, it was way out in the wilderness. Though the hermitage was not like an established religious order, the bishop of the area had given Fr. Leo the approval to found it. Besides Fr. Leo, there were only two other monks there when I visited. They certainly lived a “strict” monastic life. Fr. Leo was also appointed the pastor by the bishop of the area for the nearest parish, about a 100 miles away, so he was only at the hermitage during the week. He had to leave for the weekends to perform his duties at the parish. I think I visited this hermitage for a week or two.

I live in the San Francisco bay area, so I also visited the trappist monastery in Vina CA, about a four or so hours drive. I was not duly impressed by it at this time. The Camaldolese monks monastery in Big Sur, CA, I never went to visit though I knew about it. For some reason or other, I did not feel attracted to it.

The visit I made to the Carthusian monastery in Vermont was an awesome experience. For me at this time in my life, my experience here and the cloistered monastic/hermitic life the Carthusians live made me think ‘Yes, now this is monasticism’ as I understood it to be from reading books on it and the lives of the saints. (I’m not implying other monastic religious orders such as the benedictines or trappists don’t practise real monasticism, not in the least, but just saying that my experience here was different.). I remember reading somewhere that the Carthusians are called the Order of Iron. There was nothing but God and the search for Him at this monastery. It was like being in a different world than the one we are used too ‘outside the monastery.’ I was a little nervous or even fearful when I went there. I think the vocation master picked this up from me somewhat and I remember one of the first things he said to me was “there is nothing to fear for there is only the love of God here.” All the monks rise about midnight everyday and go to the chapel to chant the office of readings. They still chant the psalms in latin, at least they did when I was there. After this, they go back to bed, rise about 6 am and go to the chapel for morning prayer and mass. They meet again in the chapel for evening prayer. If they need to talk to one another, the first thing they say is “praise be Jesus Christ.” These are the words the vocation master greeted me with.

There are two vocations within the Carthusian order, that of being a priest or brother. The priests basically stay in there hermitages all the time except for morning prayer and mass, evening prayer, and the office of readings which is chanted and recited in common in the chapel. They eat their meals alone in their hermitages. On Sundays, all the monks gather for a common recreation such as a walk in the woods and here they can chat with one another. I don’t remember if they eat dinner in common on Sundays; if they do it is in silence while one monk does some spiritual reading out loud.

The brothers take care of the monastery, cook the meals, and all such tasks that are required for moving about the monastery and not staying in the hermitages as the fathers or priests do. The brothers live in a one bedroom cell. The fathers have a two story hermitage with a little outside garden attached. Being that the fathers spend most of their lives in the hermitage, they naturally need a little more room than a one bedroom cell.

I was quite young when I went to the Carthusian monastery, about 21, (I don’t think they except vocations until a man is at least 24), so the vocation master put me in a brother’s cell and I lived the life of a brother while I was there. I was able to get out of the cell and help one of the brothers in the monastery garden during the day. I was there only a week. The vocation master asked me if I wanted to spend another week. I declined though now I wish I would have. I think at the time I felt I needed to get out of there :D, maybe it was too much for me, so different from the world. However, for those who are called to this vocation, it is certainly a beautiful life.
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Thanks so much for sharing your story!

Have you read the book “An Infinity of Little Hours” about 3 novices at Parkminster (a Carthusian monastery in England)?
 
ProVobis said:
For the record it used to be St. Procopius College but then became Illinois Benedictine (in order to get state funds) and now it’s Benedictine University.

I just found out recently that the monks are suing the trustees for “shared governance.”

insidehighered.com/news/2015/06/26/monks-sue-trustees-more-authority-benedictine-university
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Thanks for the update, and the joke. I guess even with the venerable Benedictines, change is inevitable.

Compared to the rest of North America and certainly Europe, the Benedictine roots of Southern California are relatively shallow (in keeping with our image, I suppose). Our two present abbeys which I previously mentioned here were founded in the 1950s. St. Andrew’s in Valyermo, the daughter house of the Belgian Abbey of St. Andre, was founded in 1955, and Prince of Peace in Oceanside, from St. Meinrad’s Archabbey in Indiana, was founded in 1958.

There was an earlier Los Angeles Benedictine foundation, however, dating back to the turn of the century. St. Benedict’s Monastery in Montebello, California, was founded in 1905. It was a daughter house of Sacred Heart Abbey in Oklahoma, which is now St. Gregory’s Abbey in Shawnee. The monks were sent here to serve the Basque community living in the hills of Montebello at that time, Sacred Heart itself having French roots.

forums.catholic-questions.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=21989&stc=1&d=1435503995

The monastery thrived for 40 years, and at one time boasted a House of Theological study for priestly formation. There were at most about a dozen priests and lay brothers living there, many going back and forth to the home abbey in Oklahoma. In the late 1940s, oil was discovered under the property and the changing demographics of the area made it financially advantageous for the Oklahoma monks to sell most of the Southern California property, however, St. Benedict Parish still remains in Montebello. It was staffed by the Benedictines until 1998, when the Augustinians took over.

forums.catholic-questions.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=21990&stc=1&d=1435504451

More can be read about old St. Benedict’s Monastery of Montebello here:

euskalkazeta.com/the-forgotten-basque-benedictines/
 
OraLabora said:
Thanks so much for sharing your story!

Have you read the book “An Infinity of Little Hours” about 3 novices at Parkminster (a Carthusian monastery in England)?
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Thanks oralabora. No, I have not read this book. I’m assuming its quite interesting?
 
Our pilgrimage will now come to an end in Rome. Rome, because the Benedictines are faithful to the Church and Holy Father, and Rome, because that is where the the Benedictine Order has the seat of its confederation and its abbot primate (currently Dom Notker Wolf, OSB).

His primatial abbey is Sant’Anselmo ‘all Aventino on the Aventine hill in Rome. This is one of the more recent Church structures in Rome, having been built in 1900. It is also the seat of the Pontificio Ateneo Sant Anselmo and the Pontifical Liturgical Institute (where versus populum celebration of the Mass was done experimentally in the 1940s… no, it’s not a Vatican II concept!); it the seat of Benedictine learning and many monks from around the world populate the cloister of Sant’Anselmo. I have visited 3 times and spent a week there in cloister, while at meetings for the International Oblates’ Congresses, including a private meeting with Dom Wolf.

Here are a few photos to conclude our tour:

Pope Benedict XVI (at the Sunday Angelus), in 2009:

i179.photobucket.com/albums/w312/OraLabora/Italy%202009/DSCN0389.jpg

Pope Francis in 2013:

i179.photobucket.com/albums/w312/OraLabora/IMG_6313_zpsusxmwffv.jpg

The Abbot Primate, Dom Notker Wolf

i179.photobucket.com/albums/w312/OraLabora/Italy%202009/DSCN0549.jpg

The cloister at Sant’Anselmo

i179.photobucket.com/albums/w312/OraLabora/IMG_6365_zpsvbfoxhbe.jpg

A last look at Rome before heading home:

i179.photobucket.com/albums/w312/OraLabora/DSC_1867_zpsxgdpjo5z.jpg

Bonus photo: a virtual Belgian Trappist beer to anyone who can identify it 🙂

(photo take in October 2010 just befor Lauds. Clue: it’s a Benedictine monastery)

i179.photobucket.com/albums/w312/OraLabora/Spain%20and%20France%202010/IMG_0686.jpg
 
Gorgeous pictures. Can’t thank you enough.
Thanks also to TimH for his initial thread.
Peace to you both,
Clare
 
We are waiting for a picture of Oblate Primate OraLabora himself!

Or at least his shadow, so that it might fall on us. 😃

-Tim-
 
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