Dedication of the Stations Trail
Palm Sunday, March 24, Abbot Peter blessed the newly renovated Stations of the Cross Trail. In his remarks before the blessing, Fr. Paul compared the path walked by Christ in Jerusalem to that walked by the founders of our Abbey and invited us all to join our lives to the redemptive path of Jesus.
Holy Week Liturgies
Palm Sunday, March 24th, 9:00am. Followed by Dedication of Stations of the Cross Trail.
Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, March 28th, 5:30 PM
Good Friday Veneration of the Cross, March 29th, 5:30 PM
Easter Vigil Mass, March 30th, 11:00 PM
Easter Sunday Mass, March 31st, 9:00 AM
Christmas Masses
Mass for the 4th Sunday of Advent will be Sunday, December 24th, at 9:00am.
Christmas Eve Mass will be Sunday, December 24th, at midnight. It is preceded by the Office of Readings at 11:30pm.
Christmas Day Mass will be Monday, December 25th, at 9:00am.
Art Exhibit at Cistercian
All are welcome to an exhibit featuring works by Fr. Raphael, Fr. Lawrence, & Fr. Ignatius at the Abbey Guesthouse, 3500 Cistercian Road.
Friday, Dec. 1, 1:00-5:00pm
Saturday, Dec. 2, 1:00-5:00pm
Sunday, Dec. 3, 10am-12pm, 1:00-4:00pm
All Souls Day
In the month of November, the faithful are reminded in a special way to pray for the dead. The bonds of charity do not end when passing from this life to the next, and just as the blessed in heaven delight in praying for those of us still on earth, so we should delight in praying for those undergoing their final purification in purgatory. Prayer for the dead has a particular place in the Cistercian Order, and an All Souls Day Mass will be offered on November 2nd at 7:30pm.
The program has been printed, but names may be submitted via the link on the homepage to be included in the intentions for the All Souls Day Mass (submissions end November 2nd).
Course for Cistercian Superiors
September 21-26, Abbot Peter joined Cistercian abbots and abbesses from around the world, at the Cistercian General House in Rome for ongoing formation. In addition to sharing prayer and meals, superiors heard and discussed presentations by Br. John Mark Falkenhain OSB of St. Meinrad’s Archabbey and Professor Marianne Schlosser of the University of Vienna. Both Br. John Mark and Professor Schlosser presented on the topic of Obedience and Authority, Br. John Mark from a more psychological perspective and Dr. Schlosser from the perspective of the Catholic tradition. Sunday the superiors took an all-day pilgrimage, an outing to Subiaco, where St. Benedict lived as a hermit before establishing his monastic communities.
Both Br. John Mark and Professor Schlosser emphasized the need for superiors to be deeply obedient themselves before asking obedience of others, the need to remember that all true authority is based on virtue, and that the exercise of obedience should lead us to conversion.
Two new novices
Wonderful news to share… Please welcome two new novices to the Abbey: Br. Kolbe and Br. Nathaniel!
During First Vespers for the Solemnity of St. Bernard our two postulants received their new names and monastic “habits” (the clothing they wear as monks).
The ceremony is an “in house” one, but we invited some special guests: the two Hungarian exchange students from our Cistercian schools in Hungary and some of their hosts in our senior class at the prep school.
May God bless these new brothers in their discernment. May they always follow his will and remain united to Jesus. And may we in the Abbey support them as God desires, and grow in our own vocations, so that, preferring nothing whatsoever to Christ, he may bring us all to everlasting life.
Restoration of St. Bernard Statue
We are very grateful to Michael van Enter and his team from van Enter Studio for doing such a wonderful job restoring our statue of St. Bernard, which was originally created by a monk over fifty years ago. Thank you! It is a beautiful piece of artwork, and visitors can once again see the saint holding the Cross in adoration.
Nuns from Boulaur
Mère Emmanuelle and Souer Diane, from the Cistercian Abbey Our Lady of Boulaur in France, enjoy the Texas hospitality. The nuns visited Our Lady of Dallas for a week to develop the relationship between the two monasteries and to speak at the Abbot’s Circle Dinner on April 26, 2023. During their stay they toured Fort Worth and Dallas, and shared much about the history of their monastery, its renewal and exciting life today, as well as about one of their saintly inspirations, Servant of God Claire de Castelbajac.
Easter Vigil 2023
