Beatifications in Algeria on Dec 8th including the Monks of Tibhirine

Background to the 19 martyrs here - Algeria prepares for beatification of 19 martyrs

Algerian martyrs bear witness to dialogue, peace, pope says 

Pope: martyrs of Algeria sign of brotherhood for the world

The beatification of the Algerian martyrs : “the Church wishes to continue to work for dialogue, harmony and friendship 

Catholic Monks, Nuns and Others Killed in Algeria’s Civil War Are Beatified

Algeria beatifications are first in a Muslim nation 

Bishop of Algiers: Martyrs’ beatification can unite Christians, Muslims 

Murdered French monks beatified in Algeria 

At beatification of Algerian martyrs in Muslim land, the Church won’t be manipulated

Beatification for the martyrs of Algeria?

On the night of 26-27 March 1996, seven monks from the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria, belonging to the Trappist Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (O.C.S.O.), were kidnapped in the Algerian Civil War. They were held for two months, and were found dead on 21 May 1996. The circumstances of their kidnapping and death remain controversial.

Now, it appears that a bishop, seven Trappist monks and 11 other religious men and women killed by extremists in Algeria in the 1990s will soon be recognized as martyrs, the postulator for their causes said.

The decree for their beatification should be published sometime in January, Trappist Father Thomas Georgeon said on January 1 in an interview with Mondo e Missione (World and Mission), a monthly magazine and website run by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.

Catholic Herald - Monks killed in Algeria to be recognised as martyrs
Crux - Postulator: Religious killed in Algeria will be recognized as martyrs
Alteliea - Monks of Tibhirine, depicted in ‘Of Gods and Men’, to be beatified

Archive links:

SS102fm - Of Gods and Men - A Martyrs testament
Vatican Radio - 20 years later: legacy of 7 murdered Trappists in Algeria is to build authentic community

New abbot at Mount Melleray

The Irish Catholic - 

Bishop Fintan Monahan, Bishop William Lee , Bishop Phonsie Cullinan, Dom Andre Barbour, Bishop Kieran O’Reilly and Bishop Willie Walsh with Mount Melleray’s Abbot Richard Purcell (centre) ahead of a Mass to invoke God’s blessing on the new abbot and his ministry. 

Photo: Oisin McHugh/ True Media

Back in August the Cistercian community of Mount Melleray elected Dom Richard Purcell OCSO as their new abbot.

On Saturday 4th November,  Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan celebrated the ‘Mass to Invoke God’s Blessing on the New Abbot and his Abbatial Ministry’ at Mountmelleray Abbey. 

Every blessing and best wish to the new abbot and the community! 

More photos HERE.

Remembering the Monks of Tiberine 20 years later

On this weekend when we have such horrors inflicted by terrorists supposedly acting in the name of Islam we remember the Trappist monks of Tiberine in Algeria. Twenty years ago the monks were kidnapped by a terrorist organization called the Armed Islamic Group and beheaded after being held for 2 months. Only their heads were found

Vatican Radio - Interview with Dom Eamon Fitzgerald, Abbot General of the Trappists (former abbot of Mount Mellerary) - 20 years later: legacy of 7 murdered Trappists in Algeria is to build authentic community 

Previous posts on SS102fm here

21st July 2013 - A chat with the Cistercian nuns of St Mary's Abbey, Glencairn Co Waterford - Part 1 of 2

On this weeks programme, we have part one of a two part special programme on the Cistercian nuns of St Mary's Abbey, Glencairn Co Waterford. Lorraine has a discussion about the Cistercian life and what it means to be an enclosed nun in Ireland today with Sr Sarah Branigan (Vocation Directoress) and Sr Michelle Slattery (Novice Mistress).

You can listen to the podcast of the programme HERE.

The Abbey's website is HERE and Facebook page HERE.


UPDATE: Part 2 was broadcast on 20 October 2013.

St Mary's Abbey - Glencairn

The Cistercian Community of St Mary's Abbey Glencairn

St Mary’s Abbey, Glencairn is the only Cistercian monastery for women in Ireland.  The monastery is located in the Blackwater Valley, about 3 miles upstream from Lismore, County Waterford.

"At the heart of the monastic life is the search for God; here at Glencairn, we seek God and follow Christ in a life of prayer and community, solitude and simplicity, work and hospitality. We follow the Rule of St Benedict, an ancient source of monastic wisdom that continues to guide many people in search of an authentic spiritual path in today’s world."

As the sisters outline the Cistercian Order arose as a reform movement within the Benedictine tradition in the 12th century who were seeking for a simpler way of life - a return to the deserts of the world to seek a space for God. 

The first Cistercian monastery was established in Citeaux, France in 1098 by Saints Robert, Alberic and Stephen and Sr Sarah tells us of the history of the early foundations. Early in the Cistercian tradition, women sought the Cistercian way of life and the first Cistercian monastery for women was in Tart, France, a daughter house of Citeaux, founded by St Stephen in 1125. St Malachy brought the Cistercians to Ireland in 1142, to Mellifont, County Louth. St Mary’s Abbey, Glencairn is the first Cistercian monastery for women in Ireland since the Reformation, founded in 1932 by Holy Cross Abbey, Stapehill, England. Today, there are 37 Cistercian nuns in the community of St Mary’s Abbey, Glencairn.

The life of the Cistercians is under pinned by a number of foundations including

• a zeal for the Opus Dei (the Work of God) which is the Liturgy of the Hours (a.k.a. the Divine Office) which is one of the focus' of St Benedict
• the ethos of simplicity which defined Citeax with its emphasis on poverty, simplicity in liturgy, manual work and a guarded interaction with the secular world so as not to displace the main focus of their lives as being a constant search for God.
• St Bernard and other writers of the Cistercian tradition have emphasised experiential quality of monastic life; effective spirituality stressing relationship with Christ; stressing fraternal communion and also a strong Marian devotion with the order and each abbey of the order under the patronage of Mary.

Sr Michelle takes us through the life of a novice as women discern whether they are called to the life of a cistercian nun with the community in Glencairn including what daily life is like, the study and prayer life undertaken. Sr Sarah then continues to share with is the meaning of the monastic vows stability, obedience and conversion of life as well as the day to day life at the abbey.

From the Abbey's website:

What is Cistercian Spirituality?

“Cistercian nuns seek God and follow Christ under a rule and an abbess in a stable community which is a school of mutual love”. These words, from the Constitutions of our Order, point to some key elements in our spirituality.

Cistercian: “Cistercian” comes from the word Cîteaux, in Latin Cistercium, which means “marshy place” or “swampy place”. Cîteaux, in France, is where the Cistercian movement began in 1098, as a reform within the Benedictine monastic tradition.

Nuns and monks: there are both men and women Cistercians. We live in single-sex communities, but the two branches form one Order. There are Cistercian communities on all five continents: they follow the same lifestyle, adapted to local situations.

Seek God: the heart of monastic life is seeking God. From earliest times, some Christians have felt called to go apart to lead a life more intensely focused on God. They separated themselves from the distractions of regular society, and went away to a remote or isolated place more conducive to prayer and consciousness of God. There they devoted themselves to seeking God and union with God. The first people to practise this kind of lifestyle went literally into the desert, in Egypt. We follow in their footsteps, and so do not engage in any outside apostolate. The purpose of a Cistercian is to seek God.

Follow Christ: Cistercian life is a way of living the Gospel. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is fundamental in each sister’s heart. Christ is our model: we strive to be conformed to him in his obedience, humility, patience and poverty. He is our King, whom we try to serve. And he is our Beloved: we seek intimate union with him in prayer.

Under a Rule…: this means the Rule of St Benedict, as interpreted by Cistercian tradition and contemporary understanding. There are three key elements in the monastic day according to this Rule:

(1) Liturgy: Seven times a day we meet in the church to celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours, consisting of psalms, Scripture readings, and prayers. By this we offer praise to God, we ourselves are sanctified, and we intercede for all people. We celebrate the Eucharist daily; it is the source of our communion with Jesus Christ and with one another.

(2) Lectio divina: quiet, meditative reading of the Word of God in Scripture, which leads to contemplative prayer and shapes us to live by the Gospel.

(3) Work: Through our work we support ourselves, and have something to share with the poor. In Glencairn we produce eucharist bread and greeting cards for sale, and we have a farm which is now mostly dedicated to tillage (barley) with some cattle. Other work includes care of the sick and guests, the upkeep of the monastery, administration and formation work, gardening, and many other tasks.
Living “under a Rule” means that our life is disciplined. The purpose of this discipline is to make us free: free from selfishness and unhealthy desires, free from things that do not help us on our journey to God; free to have hearts open to give and receive genuine love.

…and an abbess: the abbess is a central figure in the monastery. She is believed to act as Christ’s representative, and so ministers to the whole community with pastoral care, teaching the sisters by word and example, and encouraging them in their monastic vocation.

Community: Cistercians maintain a balance between solitude on the one hand, and community living on the other. Solitude and silence provide us with a climate for prayer and encounter with God. Community relationships are the place where love is put into action. Unity of spirit, sharing of goods, and bearing one another’s burdens are hallmarks of a Spirit-filled community.

Stability: we make a vow of stability, which means that we commit ourselves to live always in this particular community, and will not normally move to another one. Stability is the “for better, for worse” of monastic life. Our other vows are fidelity to monastic life, and obedience.

School of love: St Benedict called the monastery a “school of the Lord’s service.” The early Cistercians called it a “school of love”. On our spiritual journey we are always pupils. Learning to love with the heart and mind of Christ is an ongoing task, which will occupy us all the days of our life.

********

Some external Youtube videos on Glencairn.



An investigation by U.S. television producer Phil O'Connor into the decline of the Irish Church brought him, together with the Religion and Ethics team and camera crew to Ireland in late May of this year where they made a further television feature on contemporary monastic life as lived here at St Mary's Abbey.

Originally broadcast in the U.S. Sunday a.m. 24 July 2011 on PBS television on Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.

An audio slideshow by Irish Times photographer Bryan O'Brien featuring images of Theresa Kottayail from Kerala, India as she took her first vows as a junior professed sister in the enclosed Cistercian community of nuns at St Mary's Abbey, Glencairn, Lismore, Co.Waterford, Ireland in December 2011. She took the name Sr Robert and was the first sister from India to complete her novitiate in the rural Irish Abbey.

Cistercian Communities in Ireland

As today is the feast of St Bernard of Clairvaux, we list below the Irish communities of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (aka Trappists).

Cistercian nuns of Glencairn

Cistercian monks have communities at:

Mount St Joseph's Abbey Roscrea Co Tipperary

Mellifont Abbey Collon Co Louth

Bolton Abbey, Moone Co Kildare

Our Lady of Bethleham Abbey, Portglenone, Ballymena, Co. Antrim

Mount Melleray Abbey, Co Waterford












Dom Eamon Fitzgerald ocso

Of course on Sacred Space 102fm we always look for the Irish connection, and the current head of the worldwide Cistercian community is Dom Eamon Fitzgerald, formerly the Abbot of Mount Melleray Abbey, who was elected Abbot General of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, commonly known as Trappist monks in September 2008.

Some web browsing........

A few bits and pieces from around the web for your to browse through..........

“Break your mirrors!  Yes, indeed — shatter the glass.  In our society that is so self-absorbed, begin to look less at yourself and more at each other. Learn more about the face of your neighbor, and less about your own. I suggest this: when you get to be 30, 40, 50, or even 70 years old, you’ll get more happiness and contentment out of counting your friends than counting your dollars.  You’ll get more satisfaction from having improved your neighborhood, your town, your state, your country and your fellow human beings than you’ll ever get from your muscles, your figure, your automobile, your house, or your credit ratings. You’ll get more from being a peacemaker than a warrior. I’ve been both, so I speak from experience.  Break the mirrors! Be peacemakers of the community, and you and your family will be happy.”  -- A quote from Sargent Shriver - American peace builder, political leader and activist. He was the first leader of the Peace Corps under President John F. Kennedy. The husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was also a beloved father.

• A Reflection on the Beatitudes - - To be Blessed: An Attitude
• Rediscovering the meaning of sacramentals, for those that are married, did you ever consider that your wedding bank is one? And for those who can't remember what a sacramental is as opposed to a Sacrament!
• A reminder that when we look at refugees and migrants that we Christians have to be very careful in our care and repect for them, after all, our Messiah was a refugee too!
• A permenant Deacon ministers where he didn't expect to be and reminds us of the importance of chaplains in a culture of cutbacks in our public health services!
• Ever wonder what the impact is when one partner converts?
• The need for contemplation and action in our every day lives. Another reflection on how a daily life can be interrupted by God
• Have we become too protective of our children and not allowed them to play and act as children? Are parents too anxious?
• We all have doubts about faith, Jennifer over at Conversion Diary reminds us that we should Explore your doubts but do so in peace.

Ethiopian Christ icon found 500 years on

Pondering the idea of praying through time

The New York Times had an interesting piece on How meditation can change the brain

I would safely say that the editors had a serious case of tongue in cheek when they were looking at this story - Vatican has the highest rate of misdemeanor crime

The Pope's strong message for World Communications Day was summed up by America magazine as "Pope says join Facebook, but love is offline"

The Irish Times religious affairs correspondant Patsy McGarry reminds us all that "Churches have duty to give hope"

Further insights to a modern saint - Dorothy Day's letters show heartache, faith

Elizabeth Scalia reminds us that qualifications do not define a person and their worth.

As we count down the days to the beginning of the Lenten season, a short piece about the Compelling Spiritual Discipline of Ascetisism

A moving Carmelite tribute to a Bishop's final benediction

Would be interested to hear what people think of this new version of the Gloria. It is a new musical arrangement to the prayer using the new translation which we will be using in the English speaking churches around the world from Advent 2011 so the words are a little different to what we use at the minute. The new setting is written by Jeff Ostrowski.

Continuing another story from the Trappist monks killed in Algeria, one of the survivors speaks about how he continues to pray for for the conversion of his attackers.

Irelands only Benedictine Abbot reflects on how during the Celtic Tiger, it was a really crazy fantasyland we were in

UPDATED Of Gods and Men - A Martyrs testament

The Community at Tibhirine

On the night of 26-27 March 1996, seven monks from the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria, belonging to the Trappist Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (O.C.S.O.), were kidnapped in the Algerian Civil War. They were held for two months, and were found dead on 21 May 1996. The circumstances of their kidnapping and death remain controversial.

At about 1:15 AM on 27 March 1996, about twenty armed men came to the monastery of Tibhirine and kidnapped seven monks. Two others, in separate rooms, escaped the kidnappers' notice. After the kidnappers left, the remaining monks attempted to contact the police, but found that the phone lines had been cut. Because of the curfew in force, they had to wait until morning to drive to the police station in Medea. On 18 April, the Armed Islamic Group's communique no. 43 demanded the release of Abdelhak Layada as the price of the monks' lives. On 30 April, a tape with the voices of the kidnapped monks, recorded on 20 April, was delivered to the French Embassy. On 23 May, the Armed Islamic Group's communique no. 44 reported that the Armed Islamic Group had killed the monks on 21 May. The Algerian government announced that their heads had been discovered on May 31; their bodies' whereabouts are unknown. Their funeral Mass was celebrated in the Catholic Cathedral of Algiers on Sunday, June 2. They were buried in the cemetery of their monastery at Tibhirine on June 4, 1996.

The surviving monks of Tibhirine left Algeria, and have set up a monastery near Midelt in Morocco with help from other Trappist monks.

All seven monks killed were of French nationality. They were: Dom Christian de Chergé, Brother Luc Dochier, Father Christophe Lebreton, Brother Michel Fleury, Father Bruno Lemarchand, Father Célestin Ringeard, and Brother Paul Favre-Miville.

Of Gods and Men is a 2010 French drama film directed by Xavier Beauvois, starring Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale. The original French title is Des hommes et des dieux, which means "Of Men and Gods". It centers around the monastery of Tibhirine, where the Trappist monks lived in harmony with the largely Muslim population of Algeria, until seven of them were beheaded in a still unclear incident in 1996. The screenplay focuses on the time leading up to their death.



In the months leading up to their deaths, Dom Christian de Chérge wrote a brief testament, a single sheet written on both sides which was opened on Pentecost Sunday 26th May 1996. It reads as follows:

Dom Chritian de Chérge

Facing a GOODBYE.

If it should happen one day—and it could be today— that I become a victim of the terrorism which now seems ready to engulf all the foreigners living in Algeria, I would like my community, my Church, my family, to remember that my life was GIVEN to God and to this country. I ask them to accept that the Sole Master of all life was not a stranger to this brutal departure. I ask them to pray for me— for how could I be found worthy of such an offering? I ask them to be able to link this death with the many other deaths which were just as violent, but forgotten through indifference and anonymity. My life has no more value than any other. Nor any less value.


In any case it has not the innocence of childhood. I have lived long enough to know that I am an accomplice in the evil which seems, alas, to prevail in the world, even in that which would strike me blindly.


I should like, when the time comes, to have the moment of lucidity which would allow me to beg forgiveness of God and of my fellow human beings, and at the same time to forgive with all my heart the one who would strike me down.


I could not desire such a death. It seems important to state this. I do not see, in fact, how I could rejoice if the people I love were to be accused indiscriminately of my murder. To owe it to an Algerian, whoever he may be, would be too high a price to pay for what will, perhaps, be called, the “grace of martyrdom,” especially if he says he is acting in fidelity to what he believes to be Islam. I am aware of the scorn which can be heaped on Algerians indiscriminately. I am also aware of the caricatures of Islam which a certain Islamism encourages. It is too easy to salve one’s conscience. By identifying this religious way with the fundamentalist ideologies of the extremists.


For me, Algeria and Islam are something different: they are a body and a soul. I have proclaimed this often enough, I believe, in the sure knowledge of what I have received from it, finding there so often that true strand of the Gospel, learnt at my mother’s knee, my very first Church, already in Algeria itself, in the respect of believing Muslims.


My death, clearly, will appear to justify those who hastily judged me naïve, or idealistic: “Let him tell us now what he thinks of it!” But these people must realize that my avid curiosity will then be satisfied. This is what I shall be able to do, if God wills — immerse my gaze in that of the Father, and contemplate with him his children of Islam just as he sees them, all shining with the glory of Christ, the fruit of His Passion, and filled with the Gift of the Spirit, whose secret joy will always be to establish communion and to refashion the likeness, playfully delighting in the differences.


For this life lost, totally mine and totally theirs, I thank God who seems to have willed it entirely for the sake of that joy in everything and in spite of everything. In this THANK YOU, which sums up my whole life to this moment, I certainly include you, friends of yesterday and today, and you, my friends of this place, along with my mother and father, my sisters and brothers and their families, the hundredfold granted as was promised!And also you, the friend of my final moment, who would not be aware of what you were doing. Yes, I also say this THANK YOU and this A-DIEU to you, in whom I see the face of God.

And may we find each other, happy good thieves, in Paradise, if it pleases God, the Father of us both.


AMEN. IN SHA ‘ALLAH.


Algiers, December 1, 1993 – Tibhirine, January 1, 1994.


UPDATE: Further information about the martyrs of Atlas can be found here.

UPDATE 2: The Irish Times review.