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There are 188 guestbook entries in 19 pages and you are on page number 6

Comments by Ed Hoffmann on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 21:51	IP Logged
What is the maximum age permitted to begin formation? Is this variable depending on evaluation of the candidate? Our general norm is 45, but exceptions are made when there are compelling reasons. Here are a few reasons why a person over 45 might be accepted. Someone who is already a religious, who has professed the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, and now desires to become a monk already is living three of our five vows. He would be acceptable. A person who is in good health and always wanted to be a monk but was prevented by an obligation to care for parents or a family member, and is now free to pursue the monastic vocation would be acceptable. Someone who is only a few years older than 45, and who is willing and able to take up the way of obedience to follow Christ who came not to do his own will but the will of his Father, and who wants a life wholly oriented to a prayer would also be acceptable. The upper age limit of 45 is generally reliable. But many are under 45 who cannot be received as candidates because of health, debts, or other obligations. While it is more difficult to be formed in the monastic way of life at an older age because of past habits and the freedom to do as one desires, there have been exceptional candidates over 45 who adapted well to this life and persevered.
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Comments by Jay on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 19:49	IP Logged
I've been considering the monastic life and have been in prayerful reflection of this vocation. My question is, I've seen many communities require no debt prior to entry, I assume this is monetary, how is this possible for someone with college loans? Thank you. Church law does not allow anyone to be admitted to the novitiate who has debts and cannot repay them. Some communities, like New Melleray, have benefactors who want to encourage vocations by helping candidates with their debts. During the time of formation the community pays the interest due on the debt until the new member makes final profession of vows. Then the debt is paid from the fund benefactors have provided for that purpose. If the candidate leaves before solemn vows, he takes the debt with him, but doesn't have to repay the amount of interest by the Abbey. This protects the freedom of the candidate and the community from any sense of obligation arising from assistance with the debt. In some cases, there are associations willing to help candidates with their debts.
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Comments by Marsha Kuntz on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 08:17	IP Logged
Some of the monks are Brothers and others Fathers. Are the titles due to educational backgrounds? The title of "Father" is given to to a monk who is ordained to the priesthood. In chapter 63 of the Rule of St. Benedict, seniors are to call their juniors Brothers, and the juniors call their seniors Fathers, by which is conveyed the reverence due to a father. But in practice, only a monk who is a priest is called Father. In another sense, all of us are brothers, and some of us are fathers.
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Comments by Jason on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 07:35	IP Logged
If one is currently not Catholic, and planning to become Catholic next year, how long after he becomes Catholic till he can be considered ready to join the community? Generally, someone who is received into the Catholic Church will practice the Catholic faith for one to two years before being accepted into a monastic community.
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Comments by Kyle on Friday, January 11, 2008 at 22:19	IP Logged
Do Trappist monks take on a new name when they become part of the order? When a new member begins the novitiate and receives the monastic habit, he may take a new name or continue using his baptismal name.
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Comments by Emily Ostergard-Beal on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 13:19	IP Logged
Can you please tell me the significance to the number of times the bells ring before and after the Liturgy of the Hours? Thank you so much, Emily Five minutes before each celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours a chime is rung to gather the monks together in church for common prayer. A large bell is rung to announce the beginning of *Vigils* (3:30 AM), Lauds (6:30 AM), and *Vespers* (5:30 PM). A small bell is rung to announce the beginning of the shorter times of prayer together: Terce (9:15 AM), Sext (11:45 AM), *None* (1:45 PM), and Compline (7:30 PM). At the end of Vigils, Sext, and Compline (morning, noon and evening) bells are rung for the Angelus, a devotional prayer in gratitude for the Incarnation of the Son of God as Jesus Christ, our Savior. The bell is rung three times at each versicle of the prayer, and nine times at the concluding collect. This is the prayer: V. The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. Hail Mary . . . V. And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. Hail Mary . . . Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen. We are approaching the feast of Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Jesus with much joy and thanksgiving. The Angelus is a prayer that continues this celebration throughout the entire year three times each day, reminding us of this great gift, God becoming man for our salvation. And so we keep the wonder of this grace before our hearts all year long, three times a day, to thank God for sending his Son to save us sinners, and to ask that we will be faithful so that some day we may enter into the glory of Christ in the kingdom of heaven.
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Comments by R. Smith on Thursday, December 6, 2007 at 19:22	IP Logged
Dear Priests and Brothers, May I most humbly ask you an important question? How does one prepare for a happy and holy death? I thank you in advance. In Christ, R. Smith Here are seven ways to prepare for a happy and holy death. 1. Do good and avoid evil. A holy life is a sure way to prepare for a holy death. The psalmist exclaims, "O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful" (Psalm 116:15). 2. Daily ask St. Joseph for the grace of a holy and happy death. St. Joseph is the patron saint of a happy death. Don't be bashful. Ask especially for the grace to go straight to heaven, for that would be the happiest of deaths. 3. Pray daily for perseverance in grace. The Lord has asked us to "pray that you will have the strength to escape all that is to come and to stand before the Son of Man when he appears" (Lk 21:36). Every "Hail Mary" in the rosary is a prayer for perseverance: "...Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen." 4. Frequent confession. St. John the Apostle writes, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9). 5. Desire and ask for the Anointing of the Sick when ill. St. Thomas Aquinas, answering a question about the effect of this sacrament, writes, "...its effect is the remission of sins ... if it finds any sin, either mortal or venial, it removes it..." (Summa Theol. Suppl. Q. 30, Art 1). St James writes, "The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven" (James 5:15). 6. Receive the Eucharist daily, and especially Holy Viaticum when near death. The Church teaches that "The Christian faithful who are in danger of death from any cause are to be nourished by holy communion in the form of Viaticum" (Code of Canon Law 921). Viaticum means "provision for a journey." It is the Eucharist received in preparation for death, so that the Lord will be with the dying person in his or her final journey from this life to the next. 7. Desire to receive the Apostolic Blessing at the moment of death. This grace removes all punishments that may yet be owed for having sinned. It is normally given at the conclusion of the Anointing of the Sick as follows: "Through the holy mysteries of our redemption, may almighty God release you from all punishments in this life and in the life to come. May he open to you the gates of paradise and welcome you to everlasting joy" (Rite of Anointing, Apostolic Pardon). If a priest is not available to administer the Anointing of the Sick and the Apostolic Blessing, the graces of the sacrament can be received as a sacrament of desire, and the Apostolic Blessing can be received by the same desire "for those who are properly disposed and have been in the habit of reciting some prayers during their lifetime" (Apostolic Constitution, The Doctrine of Indulgences, Norm 18; In Articulo Mortis # 28).
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Comments by Jessica on Friday, November 16, 2007 at 05:10	IP Logged
Dear Monks, Does it take time to become a Monk? How long? Do you expect to have more monks over time. Thank you for listening. Jessica The formal period of formation in monastic life includes a six month postulancy, two years as a novice, and three to nine years in temporary vows. So, from about six years to eleven years. Another way of looking at it is this: the monastery is a school of the Lord's service. Members are always learning what it means to be a good monk. We really only graduate at the last moment of life, when we breathe our last and skip off to heaven! We are receiving more vocations. Right now we have three novices, three postulants, and one obsedrver.
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Comments by Joseph on Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at 18:41	IP Logged
I'm curious, do monks ever get to leave the monastery to visit family? Or would the family have to come to the monastery? Thanks and God bless! Generally, family and friends come to the monastery for visits. A monk may return to be with his family when there is a serious illness or death of a family member, and when a close relative is no longer able to travel to the monastery because of old age or illness.
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Comments by Dennis on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at 18:48	IP Logged
How common is it that the demands and schedule of your daily routine becomes monotonmous, physically draining, or emotionally taxing? The Trappist way of life with daily celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, and a Rule of life with set times for rising and sleeping, eating and working, reading and praying, is not difficult for a person with a low need for change who is called to a contemplative vocation. For others who have a high need for change the daily repetition is emotionally taxing and physically draining, and they do better in another way of life.
United States

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