Tree cutters began to take down the large Stone Pines along the church walkway. The tree removal will make the walk from our guesthouse to the church safer.
 Father Paul Mark and Brother Rafael drove to Redwoods Monastery last weekend for the occasion of Sister Karen’s solemn profession. Sister Karen is from Bolivia. And her family joined the Redwoods sisters in the celebration of Sister Karen's monastic consecration as a Trappist-Cistercian monk. Brother Rafael was inspired to take photos of those amazing redwood trees growing on the monastery grounds. For more information on our Trappistine sisters of the Redwoods, please follow the link below: http://www.redwoodsabbey.org Finally, our grapes are ready to be picked! We began our grape harvest today in the early morning. A number of our guests happily volunteered to help fill our bins with the Albarino and Voigner varieties of grapes. With snazzy red clippers in hand, we attacked the grapevines to uncover those juicy, green jewels! Today as we celebrate the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother, Brother Peter Damien professed the vows of obedience, stability and fidelity to monastic life before God and the entire Church assembled at the abbey. Abbot Paul Mark received Brother Peter's vows and clothed him with the Cistercian cowl. Brother Peter’s solemn profession of vows marks the final stage of commitment to becoming a permanent member of the Abbey of New Clairvaux.  In a recent press release, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. announced its joint venture with the Abbey of New Clairvaux to begin production of Belgian-style abbey ales in the U.S. next year. The ales will go by the name of "Ovila" after the 12th century Cistercian monastery, Santa Maria de Ovila. The U.S. Region of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance has created a new website! God-seekers on the web may now browse through the site, send inquiries, and find contact information of the various houses of monks and nuns throughout the United States. Please, follow the link below. http://www.trappists.org After our Vespers and Compline service, the monastic community joined the crowd gathered under the shade of walnut trees along the St. James Vineyard Block. Aimee Sunseri, our winemaker, welcomed everyone to New Clairvaux and made some introductions. Then, Abbot Paul Mark led us through the ritual of harvest blessing. We gave thanks to God for the good year of harvest we’ve had and prayed that this year’s harvest may indeed be abundant so that we may continue to share the graces we receive with others. |
