Mepkin Abbey– How fortunate we were this year to host the Junior Conference for the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance houses of the United States Region.

Those having professed simple vows from two of our women’s houses and four of our men’s houses in the United States were with us for two weeks – May 3 to 17 – to study with Father Joseph van House, OCist. from Our Lady of Dallas Abbey in Texas and Father Simeon Leiva, OCSO from Our Lady of Saint Joseph Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts.

Father Joseph’s seminar was on “Liturgy and Life”. Texts from Louis Bouyer, John Henry Newman, Joseph Ratzinger and Michael Lang (on Augustine) formed the starting points for five days of lecture, dialogue and synthesis in the mornings. In the afternoons the brothers and sisters met in small groups with questions for discussion provided by Father Joseph.

Fr. Joseph teaches at the University of Dallas. His research interests include John Henry Newman, Cistercian theology, theological ressourcement, and fundamental Christology. Currently he is working on a book entitled “A Reed after Trumpets: the Schools, the Cistercians, and Geoffrey of Auxerre’s Exposition of the Song of Songs”. As an experienced and accomplished teacher, he elicited comments from the group with ease and encouragement. His love for Cistercian life and his vocation permeated all his teaching and example during the days he was present.

Father Simeon, using a critical edition of St Augustine’s Confessions (translated into English), led his seminar in a close reading of texts from the first 10 books of the Confessions. The overall topic was “Augustine’s Confessions: A Guide for Monastic Living.” Enthusiasm for the Augustine’s text and the life we share as Cistercian monks and nuns animated all the morning sessions.

As during the first week, afternoon discussions further enriched the day’s learning. Ample opportunity was provided for the juniors to share about their own experiences at home. Each Wednesday evening in chapter our visitors shared about their communities and the richness of “seeing” themselves within the larger context of the Cistercian family.

Father Joe, the superior of Mepkin, arranged for the juniors to travel to Charleston and see the International African American Museum. This gave our juniors coming from diverse places as Massachusetts, Virginia, Georgia, Iowa and Kentucky a little sense of what is particular to the area where Mepkin has been a contemplative monastic presence for almost 75 years.

It was enriching for the monks of Mepkin, particularly our men in formation, to interact with the juniors and their presenters, helping us all to have a more expanded understanding of the Order and our relationship with those making a response to this wonderful call God has given us.

Please pray for these men and women as they continue their monastic formation towards making solemn lifetime vows.

For those interested in exploring joining our way of life, we invite you to visit our page Becoming a Trappist