Silence will unite you to God...In the beginning we have to force ourselves to be silent.  But then from our very silence is born something that draws us into deeper silence.  May God give you an experience of this ‘something’ that is born of silence.
                                                                                                       Isaac of Nineveh
                                                                                                       7th Century Syrian Monk


Many people express the desire to share in our monastic community life.  In response we have set up a program for men.  The purpose of the Monastic Life Retreat (MLR) is to share the values of Cistercian contemplative monastic life by permitting men to explore the faith dimension of their life in a monastic environment and to  discern their call in the Church aided by monastic tradition and practice.  




Elements of the Monastic Life Retreat:

• Open to all creeds.
• Main meal with the monks.
• Participation in the full divine office.
• Work in the mornings.
• Reading & study in the afternoons.
• Three weekly conferences: 
  • Prayer: Intimacy with/relating to God
  • The Spiritual path: anthropology/theology
  • The Monastic Story.
• Director meets weekly with each individual.

Details

• Application, references, interviews with director.
• Live in the guest house.
• Limit: Three maximum,
• two minimum
• Good health & medical coverage.
• Free of prescription drugs.
• Economically independent.
• Non-refundable registration of $25.
• No fee is charged, but applicant may make an offering to help cover the expenses of the program.
• No smoking indoors
• Laundry, linens, towels, all meals provided.
• Retreats are one month in duration.

Health

• The Cistercian regime of discipline is physically and psychologically taxing, but not beyond the capacity of normal health.  In addition to good physical health, a strong character and sound mental health are required for admission.

How to Apply

• Application questionnaires can be downloaded below or you can request one in the welcome center or by email:
  Program Director
  Abbey of New Clairvaux
  P.O. Box 80
  Vina, CA 96092-0080
  mlr@newclairvaux.org
  www.newclairvaux.org
  When your application has been evaluated you will be informed by mail of its approval and of the dates available for your retreat.