What Is a Lay Cistercian of Gethsemani?

I’m becoming a Lay Cistercian of Gethsemani (LCG). This time next week I’ll be on my way to the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky. It is a Trappist monastery that was founded in 1848. I’ve been going there on retreats since 1991. I’m now making a commitment to a new level of connection. This has raised lots of questions even among my Roman Catholic friends and especially among those who are Protestant. I’ve had plenty of people ask me what this means. It is not common terminology, so I’ll try to offer some clarity on that subject. There are not exactly a large number of Lay Cistercians; it is, in fact, a small group from what I can see. So I’m going to try to help everyone understand what I’m up to, and, more importantly, why. 

Gethsemani 

In 1848 a group of monks arrived on a cold and wet evening of a December day. The next morning they began singing the Daily Offices and have been doing so ever since. The monks are a community of men who pray the ‘Offices’ in the church. They gather for prayer seven times a day (Psalm 119:164) according to this schedule with slight differences for Sundays and feast days: 

3:15 — Vigils

5:45 — Lauds 

6:30 — Mass 

7:30 — Terce

12:00 — Sext 

2;15 — None 

5:30 — Vespers 

7:30 — Compline 

The services vary in length with those in the middle of the day called ‘The Little Hours.’ They sing hymns, chant Psalms, offer prayers, listen to Scripture and other spiritual writers, and worship together. These services are open to the public and many folks on retreat or locals will participate. Taken together these are called the ‘Opus Dei’ or ‘work of God.’ These services have been offered in Benedictine monasteries for centuries. 

There is also regular work. The Benedictine dictum is ‘ora et labora’ or ‘prayer and work.’ The monks have to support themselves. So prayer services are also mixed with various kinds of labor. At Gethsemani they make fudge and fruitcake which are sold to support the community. Gethsemani manages nearly 2,200 acres of farms and woodlands. When I first went there they were still making cheese—really good cheese! Times change and the community had to adjust. 

There are meals taken together—sometimes in silence but sometimes with an appointed reader who reads scripture while the monks dine. The reader position is rotated among the brother as are the cooking duties. Knowing that your turn in the kitchen is coming makes one appreciate the simple fare that is vegetarian except in cases of illness. Fasting is also part of the communal life together. 

The monks live under the Rule of Benedict, a manual for monks that was written 1,500 years ago. They also live under the direction of an Abbot who is elected from their own members. They pledge obedience to the Abbot and to the community. They forego private property and share goods in common. They strive to live together in harmony as a ‘school of love in Christ’s service.’ 

They are Trappists which means they have followed after the monastic reforms that took place in La Trappe, France. They are Cistercians which traces it’s lineage back to Citeaux, France. They maintain silence to a great degree speaking only when necessary for work. They are a contemplative order which means they do not have an ‘active apostolate’ like education or ministry to the poor or ill; they don’t have schools or hospitals. They are called to live a life of deep prayer and practice away from the world. 

Gethsemani’s most well-known monk is Thomas Merton (See my recent post Merton My Mentor). He wrote prolifically on a number of subjects. There is no real way to even begin a discussion of his body of work. Best to recommend that people read his autobiography: The Seven Storey Mountain, and then choose other titles as they appeal. 

Merton was my introduction to Gethsemani. And this was my introduction for you the reader. It is a monastery of ancient practices set in America. As someone has said, it is a place of paradox. 

Lay Cistercian

For a host of reasons I will never be a monk of Gethsemani. First, I’m not Roman Catholic. Second, I’m a married man with two children. Third, at this point I’m too old to be considered for entry. Fourth, I’ve got lots of other things already going on in life. The list doesn’t stop there, but you get the picture. Being a ‘professed monk’ is not happening. I have lots going on in the world that keeps me in it. 

So here is where the notion of Lay Cistercian arises. Others have also felt a call to the work and worship of Gethsemani; they, too, had obligations that kept them from becoming brothers; some of them are actually sisters and ineligible to become monks; others have been affected by the call to contemplation and the blessings of solitude and silence; they have longed for a deeper relationship with God and found some of that in the monastic practices of study, prayer, silence, work, and community. 

These folks have formed a community that is connected to Gethsemani while they are living out their lives in the world. They have studied monastic history and done prayer practices and tried to live out that calling as best as they can in their station of life. They see the value of the stability and regularity and balance of monastic life. They have undergone a period of preparation in which they have been mentored by others who are committed Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani. 

The monks have seen the value of having the kind of prayerful support such a community can offer. They appreciate the prayers of those who are not full members of the monastery. They sense the devotion of these who seek to live and love where they find themselves. Lay Cistercians make retreats and join in the work and worship at the Abbey when they are able. While the monks live in a cloister, the Lay Cistercians live in the world; but both monks and LCGs see the value of connection. Being a Lay Cistercian is a way to recognize the bond that one feels with monastery while living beyond the bounds of the cloistered life. 

My Commitment

So why would I choose to make such a commitment? What is it that I am gaining from this decision? 

Some of the answer arises from my recent retirement. I am a member of the Presbytery of East Tennessee, but I am not a member of a particular congregation. If you will, the ‘terms of service’ have changed in this role as retired clergy. Whereas I spent years leading and guiding and directing a particular congregation, now I find myself in new circumstances where I maintain some distance. I haven’t given up the relationships, but they have changed. The LCG gives me a community in addition to wherever I find myself preaching or teaching or worshipping on a given Sunday. Like many folks, I have more than one place/people of belonging. This commitment is part of that. 

I am someone who has always benefitted from a structure that affords me some variety and also called forth a sense of dedication. That is part of what I find in the new community of Lay Cistercians. I am connected with others who are familiar with the value of prayer and work. I am drawn into the devotion that I sense when I am in the community of Gethsemani. I call myself to practices of prayer and silence and study and work that somewhat mirrors the monks. In many ways my commitment now is simply a recognition of how I have spent many years of ministry. It is acknowledging  the place that Gethsemani has had in my life. It is a sense of being ‘home’ with others who share this contemplative spirituality. 

Honestly, this is a big decision—in fact, it has been decades in the making. As I saw retirement approaching I sensed this was the time to undertake this direction. I have gone through a period of ‘formation’ in which I have been mentored by another LCG; we have meet weekly for discussions about monastic practices and spirituality; we have read several books together; these talks have been rich and meaningful. I have also met monthly with an online community where we have shared prayers and insights and questions. The typical process of ‘formation’ is two years. It is not a snap decision. There is some gravity behind it all. 

That is not to say that I am getting ‘promoted,’ in any sense. This is not a grand achievement; I have not ‘graduated.’ Indeed, I am more mindful than ever that as Merton said, ‘we are all beginners.’ As I begin again each day I do so remembering that I am part of the body of Christ, including Gethsemani. I begin again from a people who are seeking to love God more fully and share that love with others. I begin again in the prayers of others. I begin again having taken a step on a path that has called me for a long time. 

I hope this answers some questions. If you have more, please let me know. Blessings. 

http://www.monks.org

http://www.laycisterciansofgethsemani.org