What do the liturgy and words of your Solemn Vows consist of?
What do the liturgy and words of your Solemn Vows consist of?
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A Trappist pronounces his / her Solemn Vows in the context of mass. Following the reading of the gospel, the monk enters the sanctuary and prostrates, (lies face down on the floor), after which follows this dialogue between abbot, (“Dom Ambrose”), and monk, (“Felix Anniston):
A: What do you seek from God and from His holy church?
F: The blessing of God and fellowship in the Holy Spirit, with this monastic community.
A: Thanks be to God. Rise in the name of the Lord. (the monk stands). Christ has said: “Greater love than this no man has than to lay down his life for his friends.” Do you now with to make of your whole life a gift of love to God and to your brothers?”
F: Yes, Reverend Father, with the help of God and of the brothers.
A: Do you wish by obedience, stability, and conversion of life, to advance in the school of the Lord’s service until death?
F: Yes, Reverend Father, with the help of God and of the brothers.
A: For the sake of the kingdom of God, in imitation of Christ and his Virgin Mother Mary, do you wish to be free for God alone, in solitude and silence, in a life of continual prayer and joyful penitence?
F: Yes, Reverend Father, with the help of God and of the brothers.
A: May God who begun this work in you bring it to completion.
Brother Felix then pronounces his vows:
“I Brother Felix Anniston, promise my stability, my fidelity to monastic life and obedience until death in accordance with the Rule of Saint Benedict. I do this before god and all his saints, in the presence of Dom Ambrose, abbot of this monastery of Our Lady of the Assumption Abbey, of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, founded in honor of the Blessed and ever Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.”
There follows a Solemn Blessing by which Brother Felix consecrated to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.