Every Cistercian monastery in the Order has as its patronage our Blessed Mother.  It is indeed appropriate that the image of motherhood is conjured up in the minds of monastic men and women when we think of the ties that bind each of our own monasteries to the monastery from which our founders came.  The Abbey of Gethsemani gave birth to New Clairvaux Abbey when the first group of pioneer monks were sent by train over to California in 1955.  One of our monks had the recent opportunity to be at our historic mother monastery which is the first Cistercian (Trappist)  monastery to be founded in the United States.  She's been around for 150 years and we are blessed to still have her around to inspire and spur us on in our own monastic living and witness to the ageless love of Christ.

Our abbot made a follow-up visit to our daughter-monastery in Nicaragua this past week.  On a previous blog post, we featured only 2 pictures of the exterior of Monasterio Nuestra Senora de la Paz (Our Lady of Peace Monastery) plus a jar of their delicious marmalade which the sisters produce and sell to distributors.  Here, we feature both the charming simplicity of their monastic buildings and the rustic beauty of the surrounding hills and volcanoes.  You might even catch a glimpse of those giant marching ants, hairy tarantulas, rainbow-colored geckos and loud croaking frogs that our abbot has learned to befriend over the years.  Then again, he may already have exterminated them all, at least the ones that tried to crawl into his suitcase.  But our sisters in Nicaragua continue to thrive and have improved the quality of their product.

_ In many Asian cultures where filial piety is held in high regard, the Lunar New Year is the most festive holiday when people flock back to their native provinces and homes to celebrate the occasion with family and friends.  At New Clairvaux where several brothers from Asia have left their home countries to become part of a monastic family, they prepared a festive meal for the community to ring in the new lunar year.  This year's menu included fried noodles with shrimps, eggrolls of all sizes, and spring rolls.
恭禧發財 Chúc Mừng Năm Mới  새해 복 많이 받으세요 Blessings to all in the New Year!

The Cistercian Order traces its origins to these three monks who were pioneers of a new monastery in Citeaux, France, and a way of life based on a particular interpretation of the Rule of Benedict.  They wished to follow the Rule that would allow monks in their monastery to be formed more closely to Saint Benedict's monastic spirituality.  Incidentally, a closer observation of the Rule did not prevent the early Cistercian monks from being innovative in agriculture and hydraulic engineering.  While it is true that our early founding Fathers wished for a simpler, unadorned lifestyle, they accepted donated lands and vineyards which allowed them to creatively experiment with farming techniques and redirect water sources that turned wastelands into flourishing fields.  They enlisted the help of conversi or lay brothers who lived within the confines of the monastery but whose main occupation was manual labor.  Together, Cistercian monks and lay brothers formed an indomitable force of Christian witness that within years of establishing the new monastery at Citeaux in 1098, and later, with the arrival of Saint Bernard and his companions in 1110, Cistercian monasteries began to branch out all across Europe and even as far as Asia.

_ Through a way of life built on the praise of God, the early Cistercians strove to create an oasis of inner silence and solitude where the monk and nun can truly live the heart of their monastic calling.  Today, monasteries of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, also known as Trappists, likewise are places where brothers and sisters strive to live with one heart and one mind centered on Christ.

The feast of the great Abba Anthony of Egypt falls on January 17th.  He was a great lover of the desert wilderness where he preferred to spend solitary moments with God.  But the further he withdrew into the desert, the more people were drawn to him.  And he attracted many disciples and counted bishops and even the emperor Constantine as his followers as well as common village folks who heard of this desert ascetic and venerable abba.  Perhaps, he is indeed best known for establishing monasteries, or rather, monasteries simply sprung up around him due to the great number of followers who heard of his renown.  And so, we look to this great saint and abba who left everything in order to heed the voice of Christ who said, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Matthew 19:21)._

    After welcoming Christ's birth in the darkest time of the year, it should not be surprising to find our sun taking its sweet time setting over the horizon.  At least for those of us in Northern California, we notice that the nights do not descend so quickly upon us.  On the way walking over to church for evening Vespers, we can catch a bit of the sun casting its bright, golden-orange hue over our orchards.  Perhaps just that angle of sunlight refracted by the shape of a building is enough to make us pause and become suddenly aware that a glorious thing just happened:  The earth rotated on its axis and moved along on its orbit as we stopped to ponder creation.  In those moments, time seems to stand still.  But they do not last long.  And so, we continue along our own paths moving along on our own orbits.  Meanwhile in these long winter months, we wait like the bare trees in our orchards for some bit of warmth to touch our souls and enliven in us with the strength to persevere.

    In the week before December 25th, there was a flurry of activity inside the cloister at New Clairvaux as the monks set up decorations in preparation for the celebration of Christ's birth.  For four weeks of Advent, we waited with only the light of our Advent wreath candles aglow reminding us of the flicker of hope that is to enter into our world when the Messiah is born. 
    In countries like Mexico with the tradition of Las Posadas and the Philippines with their tradition of Simbang Gabi  celebrated over the nine days before Christmas, the sense of anticipation grows as the time of the Lord's coming approaches.  In our tradition here at New Clairvaux and in many of our Cistercian monasteries around the world, we sing the "O Antiphons" during the seven days before Christmas.  Each "O Antiphon" expresses the urgency and longing for the Messiah to come soon.  They reach a crescendo when on the last day we plead in song, "O Emmanuel, come!"

On Christmas Eve, we assembled in our abbey church in darkness for our evening Vespers.  While silently waiting in the dark, our abbot spoke of the mystery of God's Incarnation and our readiness to receive the newborn Christ into our lives.  And whether we found ourselves ready or not, the time had indeed come.  After a few more moments of silent waiting, our head cantor began to sing the Christmas Proclamation announcing the year when God entered into our world to be born of the woman, Mary.

As the Christmas Proclamation was being sung by our head cantor, all our lights in our church flicked on and decorations were lit.  Glowing with the knowledge of the birth of Christ in our hearts, we readily entered into the singing of our Psalms for the 1st Vespers of Christmas.  Vespers was followed later that night by our Office of Vigils.  Vigils took us well into the night as the faithful gathered in our church to attend Midnight Mass.  We begun Mass with the solemn chanting of Psalm 2 in Latin:  "Dominus dixit ad me:  Filius meus es tu ego hodie genuite" ("The Lord said to me, 'You are my Son. Today, I have begotten you.'")  As the faithful returned to their homes after Mass (probably ready to tear open their presents under the Christmas tree), the monks of New Clairvaux were ready for bed.

The monks of New Clairvaux wish to greet our visitors on the web.  We pray God will send you blessings for a Christmas filled with the fullness of joy and peace that only the Lord can give.