Tag Archive for 'monks'

Kontakion of the Departed – All Souls

Published on November 2, 2009 in liturgy. 2 Comments Tags: chant, contakion, monks, movie, orthodox, saints.

Images of the grave in darkness are contrasted with the eternal light of Christ and underscored with the ancient Kiev chant, the Kontakion of the Departed, and the chimes and chant of the Orthodox monks in Ukraine.

Give rest, O Christ, to thy servant with thy saints:
where sorrow and pain are no more;
neither sighing but life everlasting.
Thou only art immortal, the creator and maker of man:
and we are mortal formed from the dust of the earth,
and unto earth shall we return:
for so thou didst ordain,
when thou created me saying:
“Dust thou art und unto dust shalt thou return.”
All we go down to the dust;
and weeping o’er the grave we make our song:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

hair spirituality

Published on September 19, 2009 in liturgy and spirituality. 1 Comment Tags: bible, Jesus, monastery, monks, spirituality.

Sixty-six teenage lads at Christ’s College, on their own initiative, sought sponsorship and had their head shaved and raised more than $14,000 for the Cancer Society. These are notes preparing for an address to the school about this.

There’s been remarks about how losing your hair means you look more similar to each other – lose some of your individuality. There’s been a mention that having shaved your hair you carry yourself with a stronger assurance. Or maybe it is that those less self-assured were less likely to offer themselves for this. The regular response to my talking with those of you who have had your head shaved is how sensitive it is; how cold it quickly feels. Some of you are wearing a beanie to bed.

There’s a lot to reflect on about hair. If you are later on looking for a doctorate topic – you could easily do one on hair and on the spirituality of hair. Our attitudes to hair, hair length, hair colour, going grey, long hair, going bald, dyeing hair. What is it like belonging to a school which restricts your hair length and style? Why do grown men shave off their facial hair? Presumably evolutionary psychologists should argue facial hair is attractive to women. When men shave are they making themselves look like pre-pubescent males or more feminine – why would they do that? Is male shaving going against nature? Is it going against what God intends?

In the 1960s there was the musical Hair – prior to the 60s men had short hair, women had long hair – now all that demarcation was mixed up. Gender roles were mixed up from that time also. Why is short hair still part of the military?

What about the religious significance of hair. I was in a Buddhist monastery for some days – learning from them – but left before I had to get my head shaven. Buddhist monks shave their heads. Their close relatives, Hindu sadhus, grow their hair long. Rastafarians have dreadlocks, Chassidic and other Jews do not cut their sideboards (uncut sideburns are called payot) and discourage shaving their beards. Sikhs never cut their hair. Christian women traditionally covered their head in worship and men kept heads uncovered.

The Bible has a great deal to say about hair. Samson’s strength was in his hair and he wasn’t to cut it. He lost his strength when his hair was cut. A Nazarite did not cut hair (Numbers 6:1-21). Jesus is generally imaged with long hair and a beard. But Paul calls long hair on a man degrading, and says it is disgraceful for a woman to cut her hair. Women are forbidden to braid or plat their hair.

Jesus reminds us we cannot change by willpower one hair on our head to turn it from white to black or vise versa. He reminds us that the God who names each of the trillions of stars in our universe has also numbered every hair upon your head. God knows each and every hair on your head.

monastic futures?

Published on January 19, 2009 in liturgy and spirituality. Closed Tags: Anglican, catholic, cistercian, monastery, monks.

Various newspapers have run slightly different variants of monastic statistics in the UK. There are a variety of creative responses. The Cistercian monastery with which I am associated has established a resident lay community alongside the monastic community. The article even featured in New Zealand:

A chance to stay before you pray

Gareth Rubin

It may be the ultimate relaxation break: beautiful medieval buildings, smiling hosts and a spot of gentle gardening to pass the time. But the 5am prayers could be a nasty jolt.

Monasteries and convents are advertising “try being a monk/nun” weekends as a way of encouraging men and women into religious orders.

The number of monks and nuns is falling so quickly that within a generation there could be none left. In 2000, there were about 710 nuns and 230 monks in Anglican religious orders in Britain and Ireland. Eight years later, numbers are down to 470 nuns and 135 monks.

It is no better for Roman Catholic orders. The Vatican revealed last year that numbers worldwide fell 10 per cent in 2005-06 alone.

The Society of the Precious Blood, a contemplative Anglican community in Burnham Abbey, southern England, which dates from 1266, has not had a novice for 10 years.

The Conference of Religious in England and Wales represents around 80 per cent of Catholic communities, some 4930 nuns and 1320 monks. In 2007, just 13 men and 16 women became novices. The average for the previous 10 years was one man and 20 women a year. Numbers have been declining steadily for at least 20 years and the average age of entrants is much higher, with most joining in their 40s or 50s.

Many communities have begun to run residential taster weekends, often advertised in Christian newspapers. At the weekend, four men were trying out monastic life with the eight Redemptorist brothers of Bishop Eton Monastery, a Catholic foundation in Liverpool, northwest England.

Father Kieran Brady, of the order of the Redemptorists, said: “Like any organisation, we have to recruit. And this gives people a chance to experience our way of life and think about joining us.”

Downside Abbey, near Bath, also runs taster weekends. The abbot, the Rt Rev Dom Aidan Bellenger, said: “From the point of view of people joining the monastery, we have seen an increase, with four novices in the past 18 months. Of course, they can go as quickly as they come – that is the problem with these methods: getting them to stay.” He said that, with an average age over 60, the main issue for the monastery was the brothers’ unfortunate propensity to “fall off the perch pretty rapidly”.

Father Luke Jolly, a monk at Worth Abbey in Crawley, near London, leads the Compass Project, a weekend residential course for would-be Catholic novices. “The idea behind this is that, while God is still calling people to become members of religious communities, it is becoming a little more difficult for them to hear and more difficult for them to respond.”

The course, aimed at people aged 20 to 35, is run on behalf of 40 communities. “Younger people probably don’t know anyone else in this kind of life. In years gone by, they would have had uncles or brothers who had gone into these communities, but that is less and less the case these days.”

If all else fails, there is one more option open to convents: importing nuns. Some Irish nunneries have been propping up their numbers with Polish women.

The New Zealand Herald source

The Guardian – the Observer – a variation of the story

An Infinity of Little Hours – book review

Published on November 27, 2008 in liturgy, liturgy of the hours and spirituality. Closed Tags: book review, carthusians, monastery, monks, nancy maguire.

An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World’s Most Austere Monastic Order (Hardcover)
by Nancy Maguire (Author) 288 pages
Publisher: PublicAffairs (March 6, 2006)

Nancy Klein Maguire has written a book I could not put down.
This is the story of five men who entered Parkminster at the start of the 60s. I kept track of their names – and the changed names within the monastery, and significant details, on a small bookmark.

In the 60s, only one monk is described as having electricity in his cell. There is no power in the church. The monks, surprisingly, write their scripture, quotes, notes, and reflections on scraps of paper, backs of envelopes, and magazines.

The story begins, Chapter 1, with a Trappist novice ringing the bell rope of the Gatehouse. He is described as wearing “the white and black habit of a Trappist novice”. Trappist novices wear white – no black. It made me wonder for some time about the accuracy of what was to follow. But from then on we are presented with a carefully documented and at times, I found, deeply moving account of five men journeying to the eleventh century in order to journey to God. It is the result of years of emailing, interviewing, and research. Only in one phrase can you work out which of the five she is married to. [The only other possible error I noticed was St Bernard is quoted p103 - I recognise the quote from Eckhart - did St Bernard also say this?]

There is much in the book that is familiar, for those of us who have been interested in Carthusians. For those new – this might now be the best place to start. There were new things I did not know: four candlesticks by the altar (p57). I had never heard of Antiquior. There was mention of a stage when Vermont only had 1 monk (p15)

Warnings:

Don’t read this book if you want your Carthusians plaster-cast “saints”. Here they are “warts & all”: fights over chanting, petty misunderstandings, breakdowns, “Dom Columba” stating Dom Leo “is no monk”… Don’t read this book if you want to think of the present Carthusians as never reformed. I did not know that the broken sleep & Night Office so central to Carthusian charism and life is only of fifteenth century origin, not from their foundation.

The book is written as an account of a lifestyle that in its view since Vatican II is no more:” Maguire has produced a vivid, gripping, and deeply touching picture of a world that is now lost.” (back cover)

Read this book if you appreciate real people living messy, complicated lives like yours & mine & trying to find God in this – in the book’s case with heroic focus. Read this book if you are more concerned with a small eternal solid core than ephemeral changes on the surface.

The book begins with a quote from Soren Kierkegaard:

“Of this there is no doubt, our age and Protestantism in general may need the monastery again, or wish it were there. The “monastery” is an essential dialectical element in Christianity. We therefore need it out there like a navigation buoy at sea in order to see where we are, even though I myself would not enter it. But if there really is true Christianity in every generation there must also be individuals who have this need.”

That quote was a gift to me from this book. The people in the book live it. And the book shows how we too can be part of the story.

Tarrawarra Abbey Retreat

Published on October 3, 2008 in liturgy, liturgy of the hours and spirituality. Closed Tags: cistercian abbey, eucharistic breads, monks, retreat, tarrawarra, trappist.

I have not been blogging here much as I have been away nine days on retreat at the Cistercian Abbey at Tarrawarra (near Melbourne, Australia). [I know - one day there was a post encouraging prayer for the United Nations meeting to discuss progress on the Millennium Development Goals - but I wrote that before the retreat and the magic of computing automatically put that on this site on the right date!] Be assured I prayed for all who visit this site, place links from your blogs and sites, mission and ministry on the internet,…

The following are photos from the Tarrawarra Abbey website. One of the brothers is working on a new website, and I will give the link as soon as it is up.
As well as running a beef farm, the monks support the community by Eucharistic Breads.

If you are interested in some of the photos I took you can find them at my Picasa album.

Tarrawarra Abbey

The Office in church

monks in choir

conclusion of compline

Chant: Music For The Soul

Published on September 19, 2008 in liturgy, liturgy of the hours and spirituality. Closed Tags: chant, cistercian, monastery, monasticism, monks, stift heiligenkreuz, trappist.

The CD Chant: Music For The Soul by the Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz (Holy Cross Abbey) is a surprising hit. It made the top of the charts in Europe. In Austria it reached double platinum, and in Germany gold. It appeared amongst the Top 10 hits from the USA to New Zealand.

The primary motivation of the 80 monks living in this monastery has been for “God’s words to reach the ears of ordinary people.” The abbey, founded in 1133 by St. Leopold III Margrave of Austria, is located about 15km from Vienna. The story of their entering a CD competition began with someone spotting one of the monk’s youtube video on their chanting and emailing the monastery about the competition. They entered the competition on the last day possible.

Experts in Gregorian chant may compare the style here with Solemes or even dislike Teutonic pronunciation of Latin. I have a reasonable collection of CDs with Gregorian chant – I found this particular CD a mellow, gentle introduction to this tradition. If you are looking for an introduction to this meditative musical prayer tradition I would look no further than this CD.

Holy Cross Day – Monastic Lent

Published on September 14, 2008 in liturgy. Closed Tags: baptism, church of the holy sepulchre, exaltation of the cross, monks, rule of st benedict, sign of the cross.

September 14 is Holy Cross Day, the Triumph of the Cross, the Exaltation of the Cross.

St Helena, having discovered the true cross of Jesus 14 September 326 (the “Invention of the Cross” sic. – 3 May) had a basilica in Jerusalem built over the spot. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was dedicated on 14 September 335.

The Rule of St Benedict 41:6 changes the eating habits of the monks – who should from now until Lent eat at None. This date, hence, has been taken as starting “monastic Lent”. We too might change our pace. In the Southern Hemisphere we can take on some of the Spring practices of our Northern Hemisphere siblings attached to Lent.

We can also reflect on the cross – how it marks us at baptism; how it is spiritual “brain gym” as we cross the centre line, beginning prayer by involving both hemispheres of our brain, to the final point of our journey when we are signed with the cross in death – fully joining Christ’s death.

We can reflect on how we make the sign of the cross sloppily; domesticate it in pretty jewellery; devalue it by cluttering every last liturgical object with yet another cross or crosses,…