How long have
Christian monasteries been around ?
While Christian monasticism expanded
during the sixth century with St. Benedict of Nursia and
his Rule of Life (535 A.D.) it goes back far beyond that, to a time before
there were monasteries, even before the desert
fathers of the third century (225-250 A.D.).
Monasticism, as a recognizable and
named phenomenon in the church, has no official beginning, no official foundings. It emerged, in several places at once, as a
spontaneous development from the various forms of the ascetic life: the
tradition of ascetism, a renunciation of material possessions and comfort to
live for God alone which had taken shape in the church from the very beginning.
Another important strand in early
Christian asceticism strand in early Christian asceticism probably goes back to
the instructions which Jesus gave to the preachers he sent out to proclaim the
kingdom of God, taking no provisions for their journey as they went. - Mt
10:9-10, Lk 10:3-4.
(reference ) Also
see, Lk 4:1-2, Matt 4: 1-2, Mk 1:4 (John the Baptist), Mk 1:12 (Jesus 40 days
desert)
We also see the Essenes, a Jewish
monastic community that retreated to the wilderness of Judea. They shared
material possessions and occupied themselves with disciplined study, worship,
and work. They practiced ritual immersion and ate their meals communally. One
branch did not marry.
By the second and third centuries,
the Desert Fathers of Egypt had emerged as the leaders of this ascetical way of
life and prayer. Among the Fathers, St. Anthony the
Great is generally regarded as the first Christian monk; St. Athanasius wrote a
biography of him which eventually introduced him to and sparked enthusiasm for
monasticism in Europe. St. Anthony and the other first Christian monks lived as
hermits and exemplified the form of monasticism called eremitic. The first
formal Christian monastic communities both of men and of women were organized
by St. Pachomius, a peer of St. Anthony. Their form of monastic life is called
cenobitic. Pachomius instituted a formal way of life that included fasting,
periods of prayers and manual labor. (reference)
Trappists follow the Rule of St.
Benedict (535 A.D.), a continuation of the Desert Fathers of Egypt and part of
the larger Cistercian family which traces its origin to St. Robert (and later
St. Bernard) in 1098 A.D. They live in
simplicity, silence and separation from dominant
culture, they balance the practices of prayer, Lectio - reading and work.
In 1792, during the French Revolution,
La Trappe Abbey, like all other monasteries at the time, was confiscated by the
French government and the Trappists expelled. Augustin de Lestrange, a monk of
La Trappe at that time, led a number of monks to
establish a new monastery in the ruined and unroofed former Carthusian
charterhouse of Val-Sainte in the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland.
Between 1803 and 1819 Trappists made
efforts to settle in America, finally beginning a monastery in Tracadie, Nova Scotia before establishing monasteries in
Rhode Island, 1900, then moving to Spencer, Massachusetts in 1949/50.
The first Trappist monastery in the
U.S., Gethsemani Abbey, (Kentucky) was founded in
1848.
Monastic History video
4 minutes
Rancher Nuns Colorado -
video
St.
Josephs Trappist Abbey
Daily
Monastic Schedule
3:10
a.m. Rise
3:30 a.m. -
Vigils ( communal praying of the Psalms)
4:15 a.m.
Personal Prayer, Lectio, light Breakfast,
6 a.m. (6:40
a.m. Sundays) Lauds, Eucharist, Personal prayer & reading
8 a.m. The
Great (communal) Silence ends
9 a.m.
Morning work until Noon ie; Trappist Preserves,
infirmary, running retreats, teaching, property maintenance, Book Store, etc, ..
10 a.m.
Terce (mid-morning prayer in the workplace)
12:15 p.m.
Sext (midday prayer, lunch
1 p.m.
Dishes, rest or a walk
2 p.m.
None (mid-afternoon prayer) followed by afternoon work
4:30 p.m.
Time for prayer, reading, exercise
5:40 p.m.
Vespers (evening prayer) followed by a light supper, time for personal prayer, reading
7:40 p.m.
Compline (night prayer)
8 p.m.
Retire, the Great (communal) Silence Begins