Back in the eleventh century, St. Stephen Harding coined a phrase that has become an apt description of Cistercians: “lovers of the rule and of the place.” By “the rule,” he was referring to the rule of St. Benedict. At Mt. St. Mary’s Abbey, we the spiritual daughters of St. Stephen, read the rule of St. Benedict each day. By such a repetition, we seek to penetrate the depths of its meaning, and we do find such a reading fruitful, one revealing “hidden manna” which nourishes us.

Interestingly, the Benedictine Rule was not always the rule for monks and nuns. In the early Christian centuries, there were many: the Rule of St. Basil, the Rule of St. Pachomius, the Rule of St. Columban, and the Rule of St. Augustine (to name a few). Later, Charlesmagne, the Holy Roman Emperor, decided that he wanted one religious rule in his vast domain, which all monks and nuns living therein would be bound to follow—and after much study his councilors recommended that of St. Benedict. The Cistercian Order was founded three centuries after this, when a number of monks leading the Benedictine life, including Stephen Harding, found their life tepid and wanted to return to a living of the Benedictine Rule which was more zealous: both more literal and more spiritual. And so they set out to do just that. We are the modern inheritors of the that tradition.

Cistercians commit themselves to living the Benedictine Rule in one place: the monastery in which they make profession. We have committed ourselves to living at Mt. St. Mary’s Abbey, persevering until death. Yes, on the one hand, we better love this place; and, on the other, we do. Ours is a world of rapid change, and it is unusual to think of any global citizen contentedly doing the same thing, day in and day out, for the rest of their lives. But that pretty much describes our life, and we are acutely aware of how counter-cultural it is. Yes, our rootedness is voluntary, and we see it as a blessing because, despite its occasional frustrations, it allows us to go deeper into the meaning of our lives, and our prayer. And the blessing of that is worth the frustration. Incidentally, we consciously offer our life with and for all those who are tied down by their circumstances.