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TWO-B THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA DECEMBER 21, 1957. Christmas In A Cistercian Monastery The following article has been read and approved for publication by the Superiors of Holy Cross Monastery, Berryville, l a. * * * This article is written in reply to a request that the cloister be thrown open, in a sense, to the general public, in order that the reader might get a glimpse of how Christmas is spent in a Cistercian Monastery. About 60 miles from Washington, near Berryville, Vir ginia, there resides a community of Cistercian Monks of the Strict Observance, popularly known as Trappists. Holy Cross Monastery proper is a group of cinder-block buildings with white roofs, clustered about the “Mansion,” as it is called, where guest parlors are open to the interested visitors. This “Man sion.” a sturdy stone building, was one “Wormley Hall”, built in 1770 by Ralphy Wormley, who had bought the surrounding es tate upon advice from his friend, George Washington, first Presi dent of the United States. The monks have about 1,000 acres of the former 10,000 acre Wormley Estate. Situated in the Shenandoah Valley, it is skirted on south and east by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenan doah River. While Holy Cross Monastery rarely sees a “white Christmas,” t h e surrounding countryside has a rugged beauty in late December, which is soft ened by green spots, still to be seen in the fields and pastures of the farm, and by the many ever greens that clothe the otherwise austere mountains. THE ADVENT LITURGY For the Cistercian monk Christ mas has its meaning, and value in the Mystery it celebrates -— the Mystery of the Incarnation. The LA J4, Christinas ■'Inti a m %w Ijear i'om at CianSSeaS BREAD AND CAKE The South’s Finest Since 1841 0 1 a 0 I 0 8 H B jj 8 8 % I 8 0 8 8 8 « 8 1 0 0 #5 $ II m m m « | n> riches and treasures, hidden in this Mystery, are revealed to the monk, as are all the Mysteries of Christ, through his participation in the Liturgy — the Prayer of the Church. Thus the monk’s spiritual preparation for Christ mas is above all the Advent Lit urgy, which tries to recapture and relive the ardent longings of the Saints of the Old Testament for the coming of Christ. Christ has come, and yet we know that His Kingdom of Love has not as yet been fully established in our hearts. “Thy Kingdom Come” ex presses the spirit of Advent. As the Advent season progres ses, the Prayer of the Church be comes more and more accentu ated by this thirst for Christ. The rather restrained words of the Lauds Antiphon of the third Sun day of Advent, “The Lord will come and will not delay,” give way to confidence, amounting to boldness, in the f e r v e n t cry: ! “Gome, Lord, and do not delay!” Then there are the stirring “O” Antiphons, sung at Vespers each day from December 17 to 23 in clusively. The melodies, to which these prayers are sung, were well chos en to inspire the. sentiments ex pressed in the words. We will limit ourselves to quoting one, that .sung on December 23: “O Emmanuel, our King and Law giver, expectation of the Nations, and their Savior: come to save us, O Lord our God!” And thus Christmas Eve arrives with the Church’s invitation at Vigils, “s' ¥ ¥ sung by the monks at 2:30 a. m.: “Lift up your heads: Behold your Redemption approaches!” , The entire community assem bles in the Chapter later that morning to hear the singing of the Solemn Announcement of the Feast of Christmas from the Martyrology, which runs . as fol lows: “In the forty-second year of Caesar Augustus, the sixty- fifth week according to the Pro phecy of Daniel, the one htin- dred and ninety-fourth. Olym piad, in Bethlehem of Juda, JESUS CHRIST. SON OF GOD, WAS BORN.” After this announcement the entire assembly prostrates full length on the floor, and in that posture says the “Our Father” and “Hail Mary,” after which “all rise at the signal of the Superior and sit down. The Martyrology is continued, the usual prayers and daily Chapter of the Holy Pdile of St. Benedict are sung, and then the Sermon for the Feast ,i§ de livered by one of the priests, ap pointed for the occasion. THE HUMAN ELEMENT While the monk strives to ,-be unworldly, he is still “ in the world,” and so brings to the im mediate preparation for Christ mas that human element, essen tial to ,a group of men living .to gether in a family spirit accord ing to the ideal of the Cistercian Order. Thus immediately after the the High Mass on Christmas Eve, which is sung at 8:00 a. m., most (Continued on Page 3-B) I Wherry C^hridtmad ■ I FROM | a I AUGUSTA'S ONLY BANK STRICTLY FOR SAVINGS I REALTY SAVINGS BANK 1 Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 827 BROAD ST. AUGUSTA, GA. (ks Seaton's greetings and our thanks to all our friends whose patronage u>e value so highly! We're all aglow with warm wishes for a holiday full of love, joy and good cheer! liliY BROTHERS BRICK & TILE CO. 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