Cistercian Retreat

[MarieClaire]

Hey Guys! I know that many people here like Carmelites, Dominicans or Franciscans (like I do :blush: ).
But now (after some things happened), I'm not sure anymore, if I'm really called to be a Franciscan/Poor Clare. So I've been looking for another religious communitys in my area - and found this wonderful cistercian abbey a few miles away.
Well, in three weeks, there is a retreat for young women in this abbey.
I registered and now really look forward to it!
But, now I have a few questions (it would be nice if you could help me! :blush: ) :
Does anyone of you know more about the cistercian charism?
I know some things, (like who was St. Bernard of Clairvaux) but not in detail.
Or do you know, in which ways there life is different to other contemplative orders?
Or is someone of you discerning with an cistercian order?
It would be very helpful! Thank you!! :nun1:

Edited June 5, 2012 by MarieClaire

[FutureCarmeliteClaire]

All I know is I love Cistercian liturgy and their habits... Maybe I should brush up on my knowledge of communities!

[maximillion]

If you want it austere, the Cistercians have it!
I
There are a few bits of vid on youtube.....

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln1uMWZqo8k[/media]

Maybe you already saw this one....is this the community near you?

Edited June 5, 2012 by maximillion

[maximillion]

Also this in Ireland:

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eWu4jQ9RoM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eWu4jQ9RoM[/url]

[MarieClaire]

[quote name='FutureCarmeliteClaire' timestamp='1338908587' post='2441179']
All I know is I love Cistercian liturgy and their habits... Maybe I should brush up on my knowledge of communities!
[/quote]

Same here!

[SuscipeMeDomine]

[quote name='maximillion' timestamp='1338910282' post='2441187']
My advice would be to get hold of the DVD 'Into Great Silence'.
[/quote]

Into Great Silence is about Carthusians, not Cistercians.

Since Cistercians follow the Rule of St. Benedict, reading the Rule might give you some sense of what they're about. See http://www.osb.org/rb/index.html

[MarieClaire]

[quote name='maximillion' timestamp='1338910282' post='2441187']
My advice would be to get hold of the DVD 'Into Great Silence'.
Not only is it a beautiful DVD but gives a faithful and authentic overview of Cistercian life - if you want it austere, the Cistercians have it!
It is a portrayal of Monks, but am sure the life is not so very different for the nuns.
There are a few bits of vid on youtube.....

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln1uMWZqo8k[/media]

Maybe you already saw this one....is this the community near you?
[/quote]

Thank you, maximillion!
I have bought and watched the DVD 2 months ago... and I loved it! But... I thought this film is about Carthusians...?
Aren't they different from Cistercians? I'm sorry if I mix something up!

I have seen the first vid on youtube already... it is beautiful! But I did'nt know the second vid you posted. It is great. Thank you!

Google Maps says, the community is 222 miles away - so yeah, it's okey.

Edited June 5, 2012 by MarieClaire

[maximillion]

All the USA Cistercian nuns have their origins in Glencairn as the original USA community was a foundation from there.
(Mount St Mary's)


[b] Cisterican Spirituality (from St Rita's [url="http://www.santaritaabbey.org/"]http://www.santaritaabbey.org/[/url])[/b]
[color=#333333][size=3][background=transparent]
[background=transparent]
[size=1][background=transparent]
Benedictines use a [url="http://www.santaritaabbey.org/content/cisterican-spirituality#"]form[/url] of shorthand to describe the logic of their spiritual life. It goes like this: liturgy, lectio, and labor.[/background][/size][size=1][background=transparent]
[b]Is it really that simple?[/b][/background][/size][size=1][background=transparent]
That may not be the best question to ask. Perhaps we could begin with, “Which is the most foundational of the three elements? Which should we be looking into first?”[/background][/size][size=1][background=transparent]
Let’s take a stab at it. Let’s begin with lectio and discover why, since we have to [url="http://www.santaritaabbey.org/content/cisterican-spirituality#"]start[/url]somewhere, this somewhere can be the easiest way to begin crafting the inner life.[/background][/size][size=1][background=transparent]
Follow the links to the left, and we’ll talk about it a bit. Then talk about the other “l’s” as well.[/background][/size][/background][/background][/size][/color][color=#333333][size=3][background=transparent]
[background=transparent]
[size=1][background=transparent]
Benedictines use a [url="http://www.santaritaabbey.org/content/cisterican-spirituality#"]form[/url] of shorthand to describe the logic of their spiritual life. It goes like this: liturgy, lectio, and labor.[/background][/size]
[size=1][background=transparent]
There is also[/background][/size][size=1][background=transparent]
[url="http://www.mississippiabbey.org/"]http://www.mississippiabbey.org/[/url][/background][/size]
[/background][/background][/size][/color]

[MarieClaire]

[quote name='SuscipeMeDomine' timestamp='1338911191' post='2441194']
Into Great Silence is about Carthusians, not Cistercians.

Since Cistercians follow the Rule of St. Benedict, reading the Rule might give you some sense of what they're about. See [url="http://www.osb.org/rb/index.html"]http://www.osb.org/rb/index.html[/url]
[/quote]

Oh sorry, I didn't realized you posted this "Carthusian / Cistercian"-thing before me! I'm sorry!
But, thank you for the link!

Edited June 5, 2012 by MarieClaire

[maximillion]

Yes, sorry, what a twit I am! There is a DVD...is it 'Of Gods and Men'.

Anyway, edited my other post........

I investigated Benedictine spirituality years ago when I was what you all now call discerning, including the Cistercians.

They have less contact with the outside world than most Benedictines, and some communities have some awe.some female thinkers on spirituality.......
Their Lectio is profound and I would say that you might need a certain academic turn of mind to get on well with it, but that's just my opinion.

[MarieClaire]

[quote name='maximillion' timestamp='1338911454' post='2441196']
All the USA Cistercian nuns have their origins in Glencairn as the original USA community was a foundation from there.
(Mount St Mary's)


[b] Cisterican Spirituality (from St Rita's [url="http://www.santaritaabbey.org/"]http://www.santaritaabbey.org/[/url])[/b]



[color=#333333][size=3][background=transparent][background=transparent][size=1][background=transparent]Benedictines use a [url="http://www.santaritaabbey.org/content/cisterican-spirituality#"]form[/url] of shorthand to describe the logic of their spiritual life. It goes like this: liturgy, lectio, and labor.[/background][/size]
[size=1][background=transparent][b]Is it really that simple?[/b][/background][/size]
[size=1][background=transparent]That may not be the best question to ask. Perhaps we could begin with, “Which is the most foundational of the three elements? Which should we be looking into first?”[/background][/size]
[size=1][background=transparent]Let’s take a stab at it. Let’s begin with lectio and discover why, since we have to [url="http://www.santaritaabbey.org/content/cisterican-spirituality#"]start[/url]somewhere, this somewhere can be the easiest way to begin crafting the inner life.[/background][/size]
[size=1][background=transparent]Follow the links to the left, and we’ll talk about it a bit. Then talk about the other “l’s” as well.[/background][/size][/background][/background][/size][/color]


[color=#333333][size=3][background=transparent][background=transparent][size=1][background=transparent]Benedictines use a [url="http://www.santaritaabbey.org/content/cisterican-spirituality#"]form[/url] of shorthand to describe the logic of their spiritual life. It goes like this: liturgy, lectio, and labor.[/background][/size]

[size=1][background=transparent]There is also[/background][/size]
[size=1][background=transparent][url="http://www.mississippiabbey.org/"]http://www.mississippiabbey.org/[/url][/background][/size][/background][/background][/size][/color]

[/quote]


How interesting! I'm living in Europe, but this is nice to know!
The quote is fascinating. Thanks!


[quote name='maximillion' timestamp='1338911799' post='2441199']
Yes, sorry, what a twit I am! There is a DVD...is it 'Of Gods and Men'.

Anyway, edited my other post........

I investigated Benedictine spirituality years ago when I was what you all now call discerning, including the Cistercians.

They have less contact with the outside world than most Benedictines, and some communities have some awe.some female thinkers on spirituality.......
Their Lectio is profound and I would say that you might need a certain academic turn of mind to get on well with it, but that's just my opinion.
[/quote]

You're not a twit, you just mixed up two beatiful films! Can happen to everyone.
'Of Gods and Men' is the next film, I'm going to watch. Do you have seen it?

Yes, and from what I know, the Cistercians have a greater focus on our Holy Mother than the Benedictines have. Is this true or did I mix something up?
Oh yeah, the female mystics - there are many holy cistercian nuns.

Edited because I can't typing.

Edited June 5, 2012 by MarieClaire

[krissylou]

I haven't discerned with them but my retreat spot of choice these days is a Cistercian/Trappistine abbey so I know a little.

They are a Benedictine reform. A lot of what sparked the Reform was the growing wealth and power of many Benedictine abbeys, which was a hugely important issue around year 1100 but isn't a factor now. (Do you know anyone looking for a life of wealth and power who therefore decides to enter a Benedictine abbey? Neither do I.) Staaretz (OSB) who used to post here before transferring to a stricter monastery would say that the differences between Cistercians and Benedictines are often less than the differences between various Benedictine communities or various Cistercian communities. (Things may be different on the women's side, as they have fewer communities.)

They follow the rule of Benedict and so place a high value on hospitality, and have constitutional enclosure, so if your idea of "what a contemplative nun is!" is the superstrict enclosure of the stricter Carmelite communities, this will take some adjusting. When I am visiting there, I can't go into their space but they can come into mine. And, for instance, when there is a guest in the chapel one of the nuns will typically come out of the choir to show the guest how the prayerbooks are organized. Also there are stacks of prayerbooks on the guest side of the chapel WITH BOOKMARKS IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES. They weren't put there by elves! And the first time I got there, I showed up immediately before Compline, so after Compline the guest sister was showing me around and getting me settled. Typically, Great Silence starts immediately after compline, but receiving a guest trumped that so she started her Great Silence about 20 minutes later. And it wasn't that she was being lax out of a misguided sense of "niceness" -- that's exactly what the Rule says she should do!

The Wisconsin nuns are Cistercians of Regular Observance (O.Cist.) I think they're the only O.Cist nuns in the US. There are more Cistercians of Strict Observance (OCSO), also called Trappists/Trappistines. The OCSOs seem to refer to themselves as "Cistercian" more often than "Trappist." (Unless when it comes to the candy/beer/fruitcake/caskets they sell. For marketing purposes they tend to use "Trappist.") If they're trying to confuse us, it's working! Glencairn is OCSO. They founded an abbey in Massachusetts, which itself sent out foundations to Iowa, Virginia, and Arizona. All seem to be having a steady stream of vocations. The Iowa community has sent out a foundation to Norway. I think there's another OCSO community (women's) in California that was founded from Europe separately.

Their spirituality seems to draw a lot from the Desert Fathers and Mothers.

[MarieClaire]

krissylou, thank you! What you wrote is very interesting and informative. I knew, that the Cistercians follow the rule of St. Benedikt, and because of that have a high value on hospitality. Some of the O.Cist. here have schools - so, they aren't such 'contemplative' as e.g. the Poor Clares.
In Europe, the Cistercians of Regular Observance and the Trappists emphasize on their differents. And there are a lot more O.Cist.s than OCSO!
But, thank you, I have learned much more!

I'm sorry if my question is stupid, but can someone tell me, what saints are very important to the Cistercians?

[krissylou]

Not at all stupid.

I was reading through this (in bits and pieces) the last time I was at Mount St. Mary's. It might be a good place to start.

[url="http://www.amazon.com/School-Love-The-Cistercian-Holiness/dp/0819218766/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1338928098&sr=8-24"]http://www.amazon.com/School-Love-The-Cistercian-Holiness/dp/0819218766/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1338928098&sr=8-24[/url]

[AnneLine]

It is a little dated (written in the 1950's I believe) but if you can find Three Religious Rebels by Fr. Mary Raymond, OCSO, it is a very readable biography of the three founders of the Cistercians.... and will give you a little better understanding about why the Cistercians are a little different from other Benedictines. The term 'Trappist' comes from a very strict house of Cistercians ("La Trappe")..... and then in the last part of the 19th Century all the various 'reforms' of the Cistercians combined into the "Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance". The original Cistercian order also still remains (O.Cist.). Fr. Raymond also wrote a good book about the foundations of the O.C.S.O.s at Gethsmemane... but I don't remember the name.... and a wonderful biography of Fr. Frederic Mary Dunne, the first American-born abbot of Gethsemane (the abbot when Thomas Merton entered there....) All of Fr. Raymond's stuff is good.

Another good book for the pre-Vatican II history of the Trappists/O.C.S.O. is Thomas Merton's Waters of Siloe (again, written pre-Vatican II, so some of the externals have changed even in the stricter monasteries...

I'm not sure what the differences are between the O.C.S.O. nuns and the O.Cist. nuns -- I know that the O.Cist. men run schools and parishes... but I don't think the O.Cist nuns in Wisconsin (for example) do that.

Anyone else know more?

Edited June 5, 2012 by AnneLine