Snow comes early to the Abbey

Community members were surprised to find gentle snow flurries falling when they emerged from the church after Vigils this morning. By the time Mass was over about 7 AM, the grass, trees and buildings were covered with a thin layer of snow. By late morning the sun had melted it away. Nevertheless, we've had our first taste of winter already in mid-October!

The shot above is of the verbinum outside the "cottage", which is the former farmhouse now used as a place to stay for our candidates.

Canonization of Br. Rafael Arnaiz Baron

Today is a special day for our community and Order because this morning in Rome the Church celebrated the canonization of our fellow Trappist Br. Rafael Arnaiz Baron. Br. Rafael was born April 9, 1911, in Burgos, Spain and died at the Cistercian monastery of San Isidoro de Duenas on April 26, 1938. A brief biography can be found at our Order's website, or watch a video on YouTube. For more information on Br. Rafael  there is the book God Alone: A Spiritual Biography of Blessed Rafael Arnaiz Baron (Monastic Wisdom Series).

Br. Robert takes care to keep kindled his fire of incense as the lazy smoke beatifies sunlight streaming through stained glass windows.

The world is the gift of God. We must know how to perceive the giver through the gift. More precisely, since the time of the incarnation, the Passion and Easter, we can see the earth as an immense memorial, the tomb/womb in which Christ was buried and to which he gave resurrected power through the power of his own resurrection ... The Word both hides and reveals himself in visible forms as much as in the words of Scripture.

- Olivier Clement

Brother Vincent Rogers ... The community's newly ordained deacon.

Eucharistic Adoration on the Feast of Corpus Christi

Our two juniors, Brothers Simeon and Jonah returned home last week from the annual Junior Seminar for the Order's simply professed monks and nuns of the North American region. This year's Seminar was held at St. Benedict's monastery in breathtaking Snowmass, Colorado. The community of Snowmass welcomed the twenty-five juniors wholeheartedly, giving generous witness to monastic hospitality at it's best. The themes of the presentations were: 1) The relationship between Lectio Divina and the Liturgy 2) The monk as "disciple", and 3) The Science of Love. Precious opportunities abounded for bonds to be made and friendships to be established between the juniors. A full schedule of classes, a wide range of extra-curricular activities (hiking, volleyball, mountain biking) and fabulous meals enjoyed together along with rich conversation, provided ample occasions for getting to know one another. The sharing of each person's unique vocational story, formation experiences, insights and struggles, were, for many, the heart and soul of the 2009 Seminar.