As a woman, I am more aware of the women's communities but when I see a male order that, as far as I know, may not have been posted on PM, I do so for any male discerners thay may not have seen these monks and are interested. Here's one I came across - http://www.geneseeabbey.org/ .
The site says: "We are a community of some 33 contemplative monks living according to the Rule of St. Benedict and the Constitutions of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, more commonly known as Trappists. As such we strive to seek God and follow Christ under a rule and an abbot in a stable community that is a school of brotherly love."
They look like a nice community - but I just know what I see on the site!
And a video on the monks life at their Monk's Bread site - http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=83048
Their homemade bread preserves look yummy! Must buy some!
Full Version: Abbey Of The Genesee, Piffard, Ny - Trappists Monks
QUOTE(Laudem Gloriae @ Jul 25 2008, 07:00 PM) 
As a woman, I am more aware of the women's communities but when I see a male order that, as far as I know, may not have been posted on PM, I do so for any male discerners thay may not have seen these monks and are interested. Here's one I came across - http://www.geneseeabbey.org/ .
The site says: "We are a community of some 33 contemplative monks living according to the Rule of St. Benedict and the Constitutions of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, more commonly known as Trappists. As such we strive to seek God and follow Christ under a rule and an abbot in a stable community that is a school of brotherly love."
They look like a nice community - but I just know what I see on the site!
And a video on the monks life at their Monk's Bread site - http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=83048
Their homemade bread preserves look yummy! Must buy some!
The site says: "We are a community of some 33 contemplative monks living according to the Rule of St. Benedict and the Constitutions of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, more commonly known as Trappists. As such we strive to seek God and follow Christ under a rule and an abbot in a stable community that is a school of brotherly love."
They look like a nice community - but I just know what I see on the site!
And a video on the monks life at their Monk's Bread site - http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=83048
Their homemade bread preserves look yummy! Must buy some!
All of the Trappist monk communities in the US have fallen on hard times in terms of vocations, with the possible exception of the ones in Dubuque IA, Gethsemani, KY, and Conyers GA. They are at risk because they expanded in the 50's and 60's, have large monasteries to maintain and sometimes fairly large businesses, such as the Monk's Bread. The Trappistine nuns have done better. The nuns journal which I referred to in an earlier post from St Rita's in Sonoita AZ is Trappistine.
The Genesee Abbey updates their homilies and items about the monastery every 1-2 weeks; I have not read of a novice reception in some time.
According to the official Trappist website (worldwide), all of the American houses of monks and nuns have one or more candidates in formation as of 1 January, 2008 - except the nuns in Sonoita AZ: http://www.ocso.org/HTM/net/monwb-en.htm - click on "Statistics of Monks' Communities" or "Statistics of Nuns' Communities." The chart is a little difficult to read because it includes all the houses of monks (or nuns, on the other page) worldwide, and you have to know the "in-the-order" names of the houses, and the chart gets kind of long, and you have to understand the stages of formation (observer, postulant, novice, temporary vows - even within permanent vows, there are couple of classifications of monks).
Still, I applaud the order for making the information available. Those who want to join a large community can see which ones are large, and those looking for a smaller community can see where those are. It's also a good way for those of us who regularly pray for vocations to see which foundations need our most immediate attention.
Still, I applaud the order for making the information available. Those who want to join a large community can see which ones are large, and those looking for a smaller community can see where those are. It's also a good way for those of us who regularly pray for vocations to see which foundations need our most immediate attention.
These video's are wonderfully inspiring bring over a strong sense of the monastic life - the how and the why of it. They do look a lovely community - you will also get a sense of them in 'The Genesee Diary' by Henri Nouwen who stayed there for 6 months and wrote about the experience. I pray that many will see this video and be drawn to join them - I'd be tempted if I was a man!. pax
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