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Top hats?

16/2/2025

This photo from 1899 shows Cistercian priests from Lilienfeld Abbey at the opening ceremonies for municipal water works in their village. Notice that the laymen at center-left have very high top hats (also the first layman on the right). Most of the Cistercians are wearing hats that are not quite as high. Proper top hats don't seem to be standard for the clerics. Many of the monks are wearing medals on their chests, signs of civic or ecclesial awards and honors.

Kids as monks and nuns

12/2/2025

It is carnival time, and not a year goes by without someone dressing as a monk or nun or bishop on Mardi Gras. The result is usually not particularly edifying. When kids do it, however, the result is endearing and often reflects more respect for the religious state. Above, we have a Trinitarian missionary on the left and a lovely "Little Thérèse" of Lisieux on the right, even carrying her flowers. Her rosary almost reaches to the ground!
Such juvenile practices are not to be underestimated in their cultural influence. Many saints "played" saying mass as children (Peter Canisius), and missionary magazines for kids would often show children in the religious roles that they aspired to. Robert A. Orsi published about this in 2004: "Children [in the USA] were encouraged to play mass at home using (if they could afford it) make-believe mass kits sold by Catholic retailers or else household objects (if they could not.) Candy Necco wafers were popular Communion hosts among children all over the country." (94)

The Agnus Dei, Cistercian art form

30/1/2025

This side shows Mary; the other shows the Lamb of God

The Agnus Dei is not only a part of the mass often chanted, it is also a term for the small wax medallions which portray, on one side, the Easter lamb. The other side shows a given saint.
They had a special significance for the Cistercians of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, a famous abbey in Rome, because they had been given the privilege of preparing the wax molds in a delicate and intricate process. The wax was infused with holy oil. The week after Easter, the pope would bless the Agnus Dei medallions, but not every year, only in the first and seventh years of his pontificate. They were then distributed to the faithful. A similar practice (distributing pieces of the Easter candle) was also known in the first centuries of Christendom.
Here is a video of the pope surrounded by Cistercians in 1959.

The Cistercian dimension begins in 1599, so reports Chiaravalle's homepage, when the "Foglianti" Cistercians in San Bernardo alle Terme in Rome obtained from Pope Clement VIII "an exclusive and perpetual commission" to produce the Agnus Dei. The Feuillants were disbanded in 1802 and aggregated with the Cistercian Congregation of St. Bernard in Italy, and the privilege passed to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.

"Hätte ich von dieser Pein gewusst..."

22/1/2025

Dank an Berthold Kress für die Lyrik

O schwere Gottes Hand, wie bist allhie zu Land so schmerzlich zu gedulden: Ach wie muß man so theur, in disem strengen Feuer, bezahlen alle Schulden. Hätt ich mir die Pein zuvorgebildet ein, die man allhie muß leiden; so hätt ich also sehr gewißlich nimmermehr getracht nach schnöden Freuden.
Lebhafte Vorstellungen vom Fegefeuer, wie die oben zitierten Zeilen aus einem Augsburger Lied ca. 1690, sind von tiefster kulturprägender Bedeutung für das europäische Abendland vom Mittelalter bis in das 20. Jh. Klöster wurden zu einem großen Teil von Spenden finanziert, die bezahlt wurden, um die Pein der Seelen im Fegefuer zu lindern bzw. zu beenden. Das Mittel dazu war fürbittendes Gebet, vor allem in der Hl. Messe.
Der obige Textausschnitt ist deswegen eine wertvolle Quelle, weil die Augsburger Lyrik zeitgenössische Vorstellugen vom Purgatorium liefert und uns ein zuverlässiges Bild von jenen Gefühlen machen lässt, die in der Betrachtungswelt der Geldgeber herrschten. Das Lied hilft, die seelsiche Motivation hinter den Seelgerätsstiftungen, die wir heute etwas nüchterner Messintentionen nennen, besser zu verstehen.

Luke Anderson, O.Cist. (1927-2025)

9/1/2025

Fr. Luke was the last monk of St. Mary's Monastery in New Ringgold, Pennsylvania (Diocese of Allentown). Google reviews claim that the "beautiful old monastery" has long been up for sale: "It has 17 bedrooms and a beautiful chapel on 12 1/2 acres." Fr. Luke was Prior and co-founder of St. Mary's, where four formerly Trappist monks had started anew around 1975. They had had differences of opinion about observance and liturgy at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. Anderson had made his solemn profession in Spencer in 1953 and was ordained to the priesthood the year thereafter.
The community at St. Mary's transferred to the Common Observance and attained the status of a priory of the Cistercian Order. They earned their livelihood first by making computer punch cards (long before the PC!). Later, they became tailors, making pants. Over the years, more than a dozen novices had entered St. Mary's, but none stayed.
Fr. Luke passed away on 4 January 2025 at the age of 97, the last of the four founding confreres. Alfred Schlert, Bishop of Allentown, officiated at the requiem.
Anderson wrote a thesis at the Angelicum titled The concept of truth in the philosophy of William James (1965). He also had a master's degree from Princeton University. He served on the editorial board of the Cistercian Fathers Series from ca. 1970 and was also an editor of what was supposed to be the English translation of Bernard's collected works (a joint initiative of Cistercian Publications and Consortium Press in the early 1970s). He contributed "The Rhetorical Epistemology in Saint Bernard's Super Cantica" to the acclaimed collection titled Bernardus Magister in 1992. In 2005, he published The Image and Likeness of God in Bernard of Clairvaux's Free Choice and Grace, which he dedicated to St. Teresa of Calcutta, with whom he had worked on several occasions, holding workshops and giving retreats for the Missionaries of Charity. His retreats and conferences were especially popular; he was a regular retreat master at numerous monasteries and held countless university lectures.

Monastics selling luxury products

26/12/2024

Anyone visiting a contemplative monastery in the last decades knows that they usually sell products that are in some way sweet or pious, or both. There is usually a selection of alcohol as well. Selling such goods is a way of raising funds, and even if the monastery does not have a proper gift shop (most do), there will certainly be something on sale at the porter's gate, even if it is as modest as a home-made rosary.
This approach to raising fund is a modern phenomenon, that's for sure, but just how modern is it and how has it been received? Christians convinced of the value of abstinence have long voiced criticism of the alcohol sales. Anti-monastic polemicists love to focus on this topic (Klueting 1990).
But how about the aesthetics, or let's just say advertising, of presenting monastic goods to a wide audience? Some monastics (see my honey post from Dec. 10, below) are clearly gifted and take this work seriously. In the following pictures, all taken from around 1910, we can see the modest beginnings of such visual work.

This one, above, is interesting because it shows a drawing of a Trappist monk with a sun hat at his feet. Notice that this Viennese newspaper ad includes "Palestinian Wine" and Cognac.

This Trappist liqueur is, interestingly, marketed in the feminine form: Trappistin. I don't think it was produced by Trappistines. The drink is somehow understood to be a feminine object. They also sell chocolate.

This Viennese shop, called St. Jerome's, specialized in medicine for digestive problems, constipation, gout, and even asthma. The shop carried products from many monasteries, a sales model often used in today's abbey shops.

Carthusian liqueur, by the way, is its own topic. The Green Chartreuse is famous, and was available "in better stores everywhere."

This shot shows the context in which some Cistercian or Trappist products were advertised: next to ads for Russian tea at Christmastime.

Contemporary Cistercian Art

10/12/2024

This label for a jar of honey draws attention to an area neglected in studies of Cistercian Aesthetics: How do and did Cistercians market their products? Since the 19th century, it has been a major topic in very many abbeys. They sell everything from liturgical garments to chocolate. Usually the product has some connection to the monastic life, not always.
This beautiful logo was designed by Fr. Raphael Schaner, O.Cist., of Our Lady of Dallas. It incoporates the classic Cistercian church facade with our famous grisailles tradition, connecting them with the honey comb. Then there is the fun play on words with abbey and bee. Well done!

Mount Melleray announces closure

26/11/2024

This abbey was founded by Irish monks who had assembled at the French abbey of Melleray in the early 19th century. It will close in January, 2025.
When, in 1833, a group of Irish monks returned from France and successfully founded Mount Melleray back in their native land, it was one step in the slow healing of traumas inflicted on the Church not only by the French Revolution but by anti-Catholic legislation in Ireland itself. Mount Melleray was the first monastery established in Ireland after the Catholic Emancipation. It is closing now because no one has joined in so long.
At least six foundations from Mt. Melleray were successful, with two of them attaining a certain prominence. The very first, New Melleray (pictured below), established itself in Iowa, USA.

Their successful casket company garnered praise during the Corona crisis when it offered simple caskets free of charge for those who were struggling to get by.
Another prominent foundation (see below) was Mt. Saint Bernard in England, where Blessed Cyprian Tansi entered and completed his holy life in 1964. A youthful abbot of that monastery has become the often-read, dynamic, and admired bishop of Trondheim, Eric Varden.

Monastic ruins

22/11/2024

This detail from Hubert Robert's Hermit in the Colosseum (1790) is a good example of the the genre: Architectural ruins are presented as the space for devotions, but only a select few understand their supernatural dimension. The monk (he could be a Cistercian wearing his cowl) is praying at an abandoned altar in the Colosseum, which is itself a paradoxical but compelling site, declared sacred by Benedict XIV in 1749. There Christians were persecutered, there saints were made.
The monk is framed by chattering women from the market stealing flowers on the left, and a cat who looks suspiciously like a rat on the upper right. The monk remains oblivious to them, it is his office to mourn. Notice that the flowers are below an image of the Virgin Mary.

Zur Geschichte der Zisterzienser-Familiare

4/11/2024

Dieses Faltblatt aus dem Jahr 1960, vom Mehrerauer Abt Heinrich Groner herausgegeben, setzt die Mitgliedschaft in der frommen Vereinigung "Passio-Catholica" dem Familiarenstand gleich. Das Mitglied verspricht und unterschreibt, sich als "Ganzopfer" mit allen Gebeten, Arbeiten, Mühen, Verzichten und Leiden mit den Herzen Jesu und Mariens zu vereinigen. Die vier seiten des Blattes folgen: