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Trappistine Monastery Our Lady Star of Hope
Friday, April 12, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Trappistine Monastery
Our Lady Star of Hope
Estrada de D. Joao Paulino
Capela de Nossa Senhora da Penha
M a c a u SAR
Tel/FAX: (853) 2857 2801
Email: starofhopemacau@gmail.com
Mobile: (853) 62818840
嚴規熙篤會
希望之星聖母修院
澳門
西望洋山頂(主教山聖堂)
澳門
西望洋山頂(主教山聖堂)
The
Cistercian Way of Monastic Life
The unique
significance of the monastic vocation is the humble and persevering search of
God, incarnate in Christ Jesus, in the Holy Spirit.
This search finds
concrete and visible expression in the monastery, situated in a solitary place:
in a community gathered together by God that chooses to live according to the
Gospel, as expressed in the Rule of St. Benedict and the Cistercian Tradition.
The Monastery
becomes in such a manner a school of charity, where nothing is preferred to the
love of Christ. The Cistercian monks or nuns give themselves entirely to God,
who calls them to this way of life, living in obedience to the Abbess and to
their sisters. Conversion of heart requires them to take up every day the
asceticism of humility in order to experience the joy of growth in love.
Self-renunciation is expressed in the promise binding the sister for life to
the monastic way as practiced by her own community. As an image of the living Church,
the monastic community is a place of prayer and communion with the entire
people of God, serving them in a spirit of humility as hidden apostles of
Christ.
The absence of
outside pastoral or social works and separation from the world allow all the
members to dedicate their energies to the construction of a living Church in
miniature, where God dwells and shares his life with mankind.
Continual
prayer,
which is the fundamental charism of the monastic life, finds expression in the
following elements:
·
The
celebration of the Eucharist: this sacrament of
the redemptive grace of Christ, centre and summit of the Liturgy, unites the
nuns ever closer to God and to each other.
·
The praise of God: the singing of
the psalms raises to God in the name of the Church the petitions, desires,
sufferings, and song of thanksgiving of all mankind. The hours of the day and
vigils before sunrise, within the rhythm of the seasons of the Church’s year,
converge in the unique celebration of the Mystery of Christ.
·
An
atmosphere of silence fosters vigilance
of heart and helps each one to dwell in mindfulness of God, in communion with
all the sisters.
·
Lectio Divina: spiritual
reading, meditated personally and shared and verified in community dialogue,
aims to deepen knowledge and understanding of God's Word, the Mystery of Christ
and salvation history, in which each person is involved according to God's
plan.
·
Manual work, always highly
regarded in the Cistercian tradition, enables the community to earn its living
and expresses at the same time an authentic solidarity with all workers; it colors
the monastery's life-style of simplicity, poverty and hospitality. Work helps
each person to grow in the gift of self and to advance in a responsible
collaboration with her sisters.
·
The daily schedule: the entire
monastic day is arranged to involve the whole person in the sole service of the
will of God, in the very place which he himself has prepared for our joy and
salvation.
·
Reception of guests: the monastic
community is always open to welcome visitors who wish to join in their prayer
both in the liturgical celebrations as well as in the silence and solitude of
natural beauty. A guest house provides rooms for those who wish to make a
period of retreat. This is especially important in today’s world where people
can rarely find a place of quiet in order to listen to their own heart. The
community also offers the possibility of ·
personal
conversation with one of the sisters for spiritual guidance and group
discussion.
·
Center of Spirituality and Inter-religious
Encounter: The
monastic community welcomes guests of all religious views. It a place of spiritual search and encounter that fosters
the unity of all peoples in respect and dialogue, fostering peace and harmony,
in a setting of natural beauty where all can grow in appreciation of the
need to work together for the good of the planet.
A Cistercian monastery in Coloane would offer the
people of Macau , as well as international
guests, a place of peace and spiritual wellbeing where the power of prayer and
intercession for their families and neighborhoods would be felt. They would
benefit from the awareness that wherever they are, whatever they are doing, the
sisters are always praying for them and asking God’s blessing on all their
endeavors for good.
When we heard of
the untimely departure of the Carmelite nuns from Macau, we were even more
deeply committed to come in order to ensure the presence of a contemplative
community that the people of Macau have been deprived of since the Carmelites’
unfortunate decision to leave.
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