Today, Holy Cross Day, is 20 years since I formally became an Associate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross Cistercian Monastery, Kopua. This is comparable to third orders for some Religious Orders – trying to live Cistercian spirituality as much as possible beyond the monastery.
Holy Cross Day 14 September 2022 Read More »
There is a new website about and for Cistercian Associates of Kopua Monastery, Aotearoa New Zealand: kopuacistercianassociates.nz
Kopua Cistercian Associates Website Read More »
Erik Varden is a current reminder of a contemplative monk living a very active ministry beyond monastery walls. Erik is a Cistercian monk, now a bishop.
How might we live a contemplative life beyond cloister walls.
Contemplative in Action Read More »
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”] [et_pb_row admin_label=”row”] [et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] In the recent Tablet cover story, A struggle with the silence of the monastery, Sam Hickford, a self-confessed “nature-loving hippie” described his conversion to Christianity. He visited Bakonybél Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Hungary, as a volunteer on a farming project. This introduction to the monastic life –
Praying Rather Than Proselytising Read More »
I am privileged to have made a retreat at New Camaldoli Hermitage – I went specially to the area to do so as part of a longer trip. And I am an Associate of New Zealand’s Cistercian monastery – Cistercian Associates try to live in a manner similar to Camaldolese oblates mentioned in this video.
New Camaldoli Hermitage Read More »
As part of my ongoing rebuilding older sections of this site, I have reposted some earlier pages in the spirit of Throwback Thursday. This is one of those. These are the versions of the Benedictus and Magnificat used by the Cistercians in New Zealand and Australia – and other people as well. Including me. Blessed
Benedictus and Magnificat Read More »
At a recent conference I participated in, there was an introduction to Centering Prayer and to the increasingly-popular practice of mindfulness. I have a passion for the contemplative tradition within Christianity and a concern when it seems to me that the ball of that tradition – which today should be accessible to all – is
Christian Contemplative Practice Read More »
