Corpus Christi Mass. Chislehurst, Kent. Thursday, 4 June 2015. 0900 hrs.

              

ST MARY’S CATHOLIC CHURCH,

28, CROWN LANE,

CHISLEHURST, KENT BR7 5PL.

Traditional Latin Mass on

The Feast of Corpus Christi,

Thursday, 4 June 2015.

0900 hrs.

Saint Mary's Church

28 Crown Lane,

Chislehurst,

Kent BR7 5PL.

E-Mail: frcbriggs@stmarysrc.org

Telephone: 020 8467 3215.

Website: www.stmarysrc.org

Traditional Latin Masses are Celebrated at the following times:

1100 hrs. First Sunday of the Month.

1100 hrs. Third Sunday of the Month.

1930hrs. Friday.

0900 hrs. Feast Days.

In addition, there will be a
MISSA CANTATA
on Sunday, 13 June 2015,
1100 hrs.

This will be a
First Holy Communion Mass.

There will be a visiting
Latin Mass Society (LMS) Choir
singing The Mass.

Corpus Christi Mass. Headcorn, Kent. Thursday, 4 June 2015. 1200 hrs.

              

HEADCORN, KENT.

CHURCH OF SAINT THOMAS OF CANTERBURY.

Traditional Latin Mass on

The Feast of Corpus Christi,

Thursday, 4 June 2015.

1200 hrs.

Saint Thomas of Canterbury Church,

Headcorn, Kent.

Photo © Copyright David Anstiss

and licensed for reuse

under this Creative Commons Licence.

Traditional Latin Masses are Celebrated at the

Church of Saint Thomas of Canterbury,

Becket Court, 15, Station Road,

Headcorn, Kent TN27 9SB,

(very near to Headcorn Railway Station)

at 1200 hrs,

on the FOURTH SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH

and on Feast Days.

Corpus Christi Mass. Thursday, 4 June 2015.

Illustration: OFFERIMUS TIBI DOMINE

Feast of Corpus Christi.

Thursday, 4 June 2015.

Sung Mass in The Traditional Form at 7 p.m.

Followed by celebratory refreshments

at Saint Catherine Labouré Church,

Stanifield Lane,

Farington,

Leyland,

Lancashire PR25 4QG.

Jesus Is Here. Body, Blood, Soul, And Divinity.

Image: FACEBOOK: ADOREMUS IN AETERNUM

Saint Anastasia.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Saint Anastasia Cathedral, Verona, Italy.

Français: Cathédrale Saint Anastase, Vérone, Italie.

Date: 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: © 2004 David Monniaux.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Anastasia is a Christian Saint and Martyr, who died at Sirmium in the Roman Province of Pannonia Secunda (modern-day Serbia). In The Orthodox Church, she is Venerated as Saint Anastasia the Pharmakolytria, i.e. "Deliverer from Potions" (Ἁγία Ἀναστασία ἡ Φαρμακολύτρια).

Concerning Anastasia, little is reliably known, save that she died in The Persecutions of Diocletian. Most stories about her date from several Centuries after her death and make her, variously, a Roman, or Sirmian, native, and a Roman citizen of Patrician rank. One legend makes her the daughter of a certain Praetextus and the pupil of Saint Chrysogonus. Catholic Tradition states that her mother was Saint Fausta of Sirmium.

Anastasia has long been Venerated as a healer and exorcist. Her Relics lie in the Cathedral of Saint Anastasia, in Zadar,Croatia.

She is one of seven women, who, along with The Blessed Virgin Mary, are Commemorated by name in The Canon of the Mass.

English: Modern Orthodox Christian icon of Saint Anastasia the Great-Martyr.

Русский: Святая Анастасия (Анастасия Узорешительница, Анастасия Младшая) —

Святая, христианская великомученица IV века (икона).

Source: http://www.svetigora.com/node/892

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Martyr enjoys the distinction, unique in The Roman Liturgy, of having a special Commemoration in The Second Mass on Christmas Day. The Day's Mass was originally Celebrated, not in honour of The Birth of Christ, but, rather, in Commemoration of this Martyr, and, towards the end of the 5th-Century A.D., her name was also inserted in The Roman Canon.

Nevertheless, she is not a Roman Saint, for she suffered Martyrdom at Sirmium, and was not Venerated at Rome until almost the end of the 5th-Century A.D. It is true that a later legend, not earlier than the 6th-Century A.D., makes Anastasia a Roman, though, even in this legend, she did not suffer Martyrdom at Rome. The same legend connects her name with that of Saint Chrysogonus, likewise not a Roman Martyr, but put to death in Aquileia, though the San Crisogono Church in Rome is Dedicated to him.

English: The Anastasia Chapel of Benediktbeuern Abbey in Bavaria, Germany.

The Anastasia Chapel is a Baroque Chapel of Benediktbeuern Abbey.

It was built between 1751 and 1753 in honour of the Martyr, Anastasia the Patrician.

Deutsch: Die Anastasiakapelle des Klosters Benediktbeuern in Bayern, Deutschland.

Die Anastasiakapelle ist eine Barockkapelle des Klosters Benediktbeuern in Benediktbeuern,

die von 1751 bis 1753 zu Ehren der heiligen Märtyrerin Anastasia errichtet wurde, um deren Reliquien einen angemessen Ort zu schaffen.

Photo: 6 March 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Schlaier.

(Wikimedia Commons)

According to this "Passio", Anastasia was the daughter of Praetextatus, a Roman vir illustris, and had Chrysogonus for a teacher. Early in The Persecution of Diocletian, the Emperor summoned Chrysogonus to Aquileia, where he suffered Martyrdom. Anastasia, having gone from Aquileia to Sirmium to visit The Faithful of that place, was beheaded on the Island of Palmaria, 25 December, and her body interred in the house of Apollonia, which had been converted into a Basilica. The whole account is purely legendary, and rests on no historical foundations. All that is certain is that a Martyr, named Anastasia, gave her life for The Faith in Sirmium, and that her Memory was kept Sacred in that Church.

Great Martyr Anastasia,

The Deliverer from Potions

(Byzantine icon,

State Hermitage Museum,

Saint Petersburg, Russia).

English: Anastasia of Sirmium (icon)

Русский: Икона «Св. мц. Анастасия». Конец XIII века — первая половина XV века.

Дерево, темпера. Размер - 99 х 65,5 см. Иконография: «Св. мц. Анастасия»

Происхождение: Приобретена на территории Турецкой империи между 1898-1914 гг.

Руссским Археологическим институтом в Константинополе. С 1931 г. в Эрмитаже.

Местонахождение: Государственный ЭрмитажБиблиография: Византия, Балканы, Русь. Иконы конца XIII века - первой половины XV века: Каталог выставки к XVIII Международному конгрессу византинистов. Август-сентябрь 1991/ Государственная Третьяковская Галерея. М., 1991. Каталог № 94. С. 254.

Date: 15th-Century.

Source: http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Images/ii2384&104.htm

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The so-called Martyrologium Hieronymianum records her name on 25 December, not for Sirmium, alone, but also for Constantinople, a circumstance based on a separate story. According to Theodorus Lector, during the Patriarchate of Gennadius (458 A.D. - 471 A.D.), the body of the Martyr was transferred to Constantinople and interred in a Church which had hitherto been known as "Anastasis" (Greek: Anastasis, Resurrection); thenceforth, the Church took the name of Anastasia.

Similarly, the cultus of Saint Anastasia was introduced into Rome, from Sirmium, by means of an already existing Church. As this Church was already quite famous, it brought The Feast Day of the Saint into especial prominence. There existed in Rome from the 4th-Century A.D., at the Foot of The Palatine Hill and above The Circus Maximus, a Church which had been adorned by Pope Damasus (366 A.D. - 384 A.D.) with a large mosaic. It was known as "Titulus Anastasiae", and is mentioned as such in The Acts of The Roman Council of 499 A.D.

English: The Basilica of Saint Anastasia, The Palatine, Rome, Italy

(Basilica di Sant'Anastasia al Palatino, Rome, Italy).

Čeština: Bazilika sv. Anastázie na Palatinu, Řím, Itálie.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Karelj.

(Wikimedia Commons)

There is some uncertainty as to the origin of this name; either the Church owes its Foundation to, and was named after, a Roman matron, Anastasia, as in the case of several other Titular Churches of Rome (Duchesne), or it was originally an "Anastasis" Church (Dedicated to The Resurrection of Christ), such as existed already at Ravenna and Constantinople; from the word "Anastasis" came, eventually, the name "Titulus Anastasiae" (Grisar). Whatever way this happened, the Church was an especially prominent one from the 4th- to the 6th-Century, being the only Titular Church in the Centre of ancient Rome, and surrounded by the monuments of the City's pagan past.

English: Saint Gregory and Saint Ambrose (top) and Saint Anastasia and Saint Lucy (bottom).

South Door, The Jerónimos Monastery (or Hieronymites Monastery),

(Mosteiro dos Jerónimos), Lisbon, Portugal.

Português: Santos Gregório e Ambrósio (acima) e Santas Anastácia e Luzia (abaixo).

Photo: 22 January 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: José Luiz.

Attribution: © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Interior of The Basilica of Saint Anastasia, The Palatine, Rome, Italy.

(Basilica di Sant'Anastasia al Palatino, Rome, Italy).

Čeština: Interiér Baziliky sv. Anastázie na Palatinu, Řím, Itálie.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Karelj.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Within its jurisdiction was The Palatine, where The Imperial Court was located. Since the Veneration of the Sirmium Martyr, Anastasia, received a new impetus in Constantinople during the second half of the 5th-Century A.D., we may easily infer that the intimate contemporary relations between Old and New Rome brought about an increase in Devotion to Saint Anastasia at the Foot of The Palatine.

In all events, the insertion of her name into The Roman Canon of The Mass towards the end of the 5th-Century, shows that she then occupied a unique position among The Saints publicly venerated at Rome. Thenceforth, the Church on The Palatine is known as "Titulus Sanctae Anastasiae", and the Martyr of Sirmium became The Titular Saint of the old 4th-Century Basilica.

Evidently, because of its position as Titular Church of the District including the Imperial Dwellings on The Palatine, this Church long maintained an eminent rank among the Churches of Rome; only two Churches preceded it in honour: Saint John Lateran, the Mother-Church of Rome; and Santa Maria Maggiore.

English: Saint Anastasia of Sirmium.

Русский: Святая Анастасия (Анастасия Узорешительница,

Анастасия Младшая) — Святая, христианская великомученица IV века.

Date: Liège, Belgium; Circa 1250-1300.

Source: http://saints.bestlatin.net/gallery/anastasia_dutchms.htm

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This ancient Sanctuary stands today quite isolated amid the ruins of Rome. The Commemoration of Saint Anastasia, in The Second Mass on Christmas Day, is the last remnant of the former prominence enjoyed by this Saint and her Church in the life of Christian Rome.

According to Tradition, Saint Donatus of Zadar brought Anastasia's Relics to Zadar from Constantinople, when he was there with the Venetian Duke Beato. They had been ordered by Charlemagne to negotiate the border between The Byzantine Empire and The Croatian territories that were under the dominion of Charlemagne's Frankish Empire.

Deutsch: Erzbischof Michael von Faulhaber als Bayerischer Feldpropst.

English: His Eminence Michael von Faulhaber (1869-1952).

Cardinal Archbishop of Munich and Freising

and Cardinal-Priest of the Basilica of Saint Anastasia, Rome, Italy.

Previously Bishop of Speyer (1911–1917).

Date: 1917.

Source: Frontbesuch in Rumänien.

Author: M. Buchberger.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Michael von Faulhaber (5 March 1869 – 12 June 1952) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal who was Archbishop of Munich for 35 years, from 1917 to his death in 1952. Faulhaber was a political opponent of the Nazi government and considered Nazi ideology incompatible with Christianity; but he also rejected The Weimar Republic as rooted in treason and opposed democratic government in general, favouring a Catholic Monarchy.

Faulhaber spoke out against some Nazi policies, but publicly recognised the Nazi government as legitimate, required Catholic Clergy to remain loyal to the Nazi government, and maintained bridges between Fascism and The Church.

He Ordained Joseph Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI) as a Priest in 1951, and, at his death, he was the last Cardinal appointed by Pope Benedict XV.

The Orthodox Church Venerates Saint Anastasia as a Great Martyr, usually referring to her as "Anastasia the Roman". She is often given the epithets, "Deliverer from Bonds" and "Deliverer from Potions", because her Intercessions are credited with the protection of The Faithful from poison and other harmful substances. Her Feast Day is celebrated on 22 December in The Eastern Orthodox Church Calendar. According to the Synaxarion, she was the daughter of Praepextatus (a pagan) and Fausta (a Christian).

In the 5th-Century, the Relics of Saint Anastasia were transferred to Constantinople, where a Church was built and Dedicated to her. Later, the head, and a hand, of the Great Martyr were transferred to the Monastery of Saint Anastasia, Deliverer from Potions, near Mount Athos.

The Monastery of Jerónimos, Lisbon, Portugal

(see photo of statuary depicting Saint Anastasia, above).

Photo: April 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Alvesgaspar.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Saint Anastasia.
Martyr.
Feast Day 25 December.

Second Mass at Dawn,
Christmas Day.

Station at Saint Anastasia's.

Indulgence 15 years and 15 Quarantines.

The Mass at Dawn was celebrated at Rome in the very old Church of Saint Anastasia, this Parish being the only one situated in the Centre of Rome in the Patrician Quarter. Its position at the Foot of The Palatine, where the Caesars resided, made Saint Anastasia's the Church of the great Court functionaries. For this reason, it was chosen as The Station for The Second Mass on Christmas Day.

Saint Anastasia was burnt alive at Sirmium (Mitrowitz, Yugoslavia), on 25 December, during The Diocletian Persecution at the beginning of the 4th-Century A.D. This Saint's name occurs in The Canon of The Mass (Second List).

The Cistercians. Part Three.

Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The Royal Alcobaça Monastery,

Founded in Portugal in 1153.

Created by: Portuguese_eyes.

Upload by: User:Rei-artur.

Foto: Flickr

This File: 25 February 2008.

User: Waugsberg.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In Yorkshire, Rievaulx Abbey was Founded from Clairvaux in 1131, on a small property "in a place of horror and dreary solitude". This land was donated by Walter Espec, with the support of Thurstan, Archbishop of York. By 1143, three hundred Monks had entered Rievaulx, including the famous Saint Ælred, who became known as the "Saint Bernard of England". From Rievaulx was Founded Melrose Abbey, the earliest Cistercian Monastery in Scotland. Located in Roxburghshire, it was built in 1136 by King David I of Scotland, and completed in less than ten years. Another important offshoot of Rievaulx was Revesby Abbey in Lincolnshire.

Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132 by Benedictine Monks from Saint Mary's Abbey, York, who desired a return to the austere Rule of Saint Benedict. After many struggles and great hardships, Saint Bernard agreed to send a Monk from Clairvaux to instruct them, and, in the end, they prospered exceedingly. Before 1152, Fountains had many offshoots, of which Newminster Abbey (1137) and Meaux Abbey (1151) are the most famous.

English: Rein Abbey, Austria.

The oldest surviving Cistercian Community in the World.

Great West Door of the Abbey Church.

Deutsch: Die Außenfassade der Stiftskirche von Rein.

Photo: 7 September 2012.

Source: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/korom/8097230781.

Author: Janos Korom Dr.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the Spring of 1140, Saint Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, visited Clairvaux, becoming a personal friend of Saint Bernard and an admirer of The Cistercian Rule. He left four of his companions to be trained as Cistercians, and returned to Ireland to introduce Cistercianism there. Saint Bernard viewed the Irish at this time as being in the "depth of barbarism":

. . . never had he found men so shameful in their morals, so wild in their rites, so impious in their Faith, so barbarous in their laws, so stubborn in discipline, so unclean in their life. They were Christians in name, in fact they were pagans.

Mellifont Abbey was founded in County Louth in 1142. Thence were founded the affiliated Monasteries of Bective Abbey in County Meath (1147), Inislounaght Abbey in County Tipperary (1147–1148), Baltinglass in County Wicklow (1148), Monasteranenagh in County Limerick (1148), Kilbeggan in County Westmeath(1150) and Boyle Abbey in County Roscommon (1161). Saint Malachy's intensive pastoral activity was highly successful:

Barbarous laws disappeared, Roman laws were introduced: Everywhere Ecclesiastical customs were received and the contrary rejected . . . In short, all things were so changed that The Word of The Lord may be applied to this people: Which, before, was not My people, now is My people.

As in Wales, there was no significant Tradition of Benedictine Monasticism in Ireland on which to draw; although, in the Irish case, this represented an insecure foundation for Cistercian expansion. Irish Cistercianism would eventually become isolated from the disciplinary structures of The Order, leading to decline in the 13th-Century.

English: The "pure", unadorned style of Cistercian architecture at the 12th-Century

Royal Monastery of Santa María de Veruela, Spain.

Español: Veruela - Iglesia abacial de Santa María de Veruela - Vista desde el pie.

Photo: 6 October 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: ecelan.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Meanwhile, the Cistercian influence in The Church more than kept pace with this material expansion. Saint Bernard had established the unique position as mentor of Popes and Kings, and, in 1145, King Louis VII's brother, Henry of France, entered Clairvaux. That same year, Saint Bernard saw one of his Monks ascend The Papal Chair as Pope Eugene III. Eugene was an Italian of humble background, who had first been drawn to Monasticism at Clairvaux by the magnetism of Bernard. At the time of his Election, he was Abbot of Saints Vincenzo and Anastasio, outside Rome. When news of the Fall of Edessa reached him in Viterbo, he addressed The Papal Bull Quantum praedecessores to King Louis VII, with the result that a European Monarch took up a Crusade for the first time.

A great reinforcement to The Order was the merger of The Savigniac Houses with The Cistercians, at the insistence of Pope Eugene III. Thirteen English Abbeys, of which the most famous were Furness Abbey and Jervaulx Abbey, thus adopted The Cistercian Rule. In Dublin, the two Savigniac Houses of Erenagh and Saint Mary's became Cistercian. It was in the latter case that Mediaeval Dublin acquired a Cistercian Monastery in the very unusual suburban location of Oxmantown, with its own private harbour, called The Pill.

By 1152, there were fifty-four Cistercian Monasteries in England, some few of which had been Founded directly from The Continent. Overall, there were 333 Cistercian Abbeys in Europe – so many that a halt was put to this expansion. Nearly half of these Houses had been Founded, directly or indirectly, from Clairvaux, so great was Saint Bernard's influence and prestige. He has come almost to be regarded as the Founder of The Cistercians, who have often been called Bernardines. Saint Bernard died in 1153, one month after his pupil Pope Eugene III.

English: Cistercian architecture was applied, 

based on rational principles.

Deutsch: Aufriss des Langhauses der Zirsterzienser-Klosterkirche von Kloster Arnsburg.

Date: 1888.

Source: Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, aus: Dehio/v.Bezold: Die kirchliche

Baukunst des Abendlandes, Stuttgart, Atlas II, 1888, Tafel 199,4

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

From its solid base, The Cistercian Order spread all over Western Europe: Into Germany, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Croatia, Italy, Sicily, Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Spain and Portugal. One of the most important Libraries of The Cistercians was in Salem, Germany.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.

The Sign Of The Fish.

The Fish, or "Ichthys", in Greek, is one of the earliest Christian symbols.

It was first used secretly during a time of persecution.

Ichthys is an acrostic for Jesus.

Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour,

in Greek, is

Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter

and the first letter of each word spells

Ichthys, or Fish (ΙΧΘΥΣ).

It is said that the symbol was scratched onto walls to point the way to meetings.

If one person drew a simple curved line in the sand, a second could draw another arc

to complete the fish and confirm that they were followers of Jesus.

Early Christian inscription with the Greek letters "ΙΧΘΥΣ" carved into marble

in the ruins of the ancient Greek City of Ephesus, Turkey.

This was an early circular Ichthys symbol, created by combining the Greek letters.

Date: 27 September 2007.

Source: Rotated and cropped from Commons image Image:Ephesus Ichthys.jpg

Author: User:Mufunyo.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Sacred Heart Of Jesus.

Illustration: FACEBOOK: ADOREMUS IN AETERNUM.

For the Month of June, please say the following Prayer once each day in honour of Our Lord's Sacred Heart:

O dearest Jesus, Whose Most Amiable Heart excludes not even the greatest sinners if they turn to Thee, grant, we beseech Thee, to me and all penitent sinners, a heart like unto Thine;

That is, a humble heart that even in the midst of temporal honours, loves a hidden life, a life little esteemed by men;

A meek heart that bears with all and seeks to be revenged on no one;

A patient heart that is resigned in adversity and happy even in the midst of most trying circumstances;

A peaceful heart that is ever at peace with others and with itself;

A disinterested heart that is always content with what it has;

A heart that loves Prayer and Prays often and cheerfully;

A heart that only desires that God be known, honoured and loved by all His creatures;

That grieves for nothing except when God is offended;

Despises nothing but sin;

Wishes for nothing but the Glory of God and its neighbour's salvation;

A pure heart that in all things seeks God alone and desires to please Him;

A grateful heart that does not forget, but duly values, the benefits of God;

A strong heart that is daunted by no evil, but bears all adversity for the love of God;

A heart liberal to the poor and compassionate to the suffering Souls in Purgatory;

A well-ordered heart, whose joys and sorrows, desires and aversions,
Nay, whose every motion is regulated according to The Will of God.

~Prayer of Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer, C.S.S.R.

The Cistercians. Part Two.

Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The early French Cistercian Abbey of Pontigny.

Photo: 24 August 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: Welleschik.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cistercians initially regarded themselves as Regular Benedictines, albeit the "perfect", "Reformed" ones, but they soon came to distinguish themselves from the Monks of "Unreformed" Benedictine Communities" by wearing White Tunics, instead of Black. The White Tunic had been previously reserved for Hermits, who followed the "Angelic" life. Cistercian Abbeys also refused to admit children, allowing adults to choose their Religious Vocation for themselves – a practice later emulated by many of the older Benedictine Houses.

Stephen Harding also acquired farms for the Abbey, to ensure its survival and ethic, the first of which was Clos Vougeot. In terms of receiving grants of land, the Order would accept only undeveloped land (or, in some cases, they accepted developed land and relocated the Serfs elsewhere). They developed this land by their own labour, or by that of illiterate peasant Lay Brothers, known as conversi.

Stephen Harding handed over the West Wing of Cîteaux to a large group of Lay Brethren to cultivate the farms. These Lay Brothers were bound by Vows of Chastity and Obedience to their Abbot, but were otherwise permitted to follow a less demanding form of Cistercian life. Their incorporation into The Order represents a compassionate outreach to the illiterate peasantry, as well as a source of labour on "un-manorialised" Cistercian lands.

The ruins of Melrose Abbey,

Mother House of The Cistercians in Scotland.

Photo: 9 June 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: User:JeremyA.

© Jeremy Atherton, 2004.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The outlines of The Cistercian Reform were adumbrated by Alberic, but it received its final form in the Carta caritatis, which was the defining guide on how The Reform was to be lived. This document arranged the relations between the various Houses of The Cistercian Order, and exercised a great influence also upon the future course of Western Monasticism. From one point of view, it may be regarded as a compromise between the primitive Benedictine system, in which each Abbey was autonomous and isolated, and the complete centralisation of Cluny, where the Abbot of Cluny was the only true Superior in the entire Congregation.

On the one hand, Citeaux maintained the independent organic life of the Houses; each Abbey had its own Abbot elected by its own Monks, its own Community belonging to itself and not to The Order in general, and its own property and finances administered without interference from outside.

On the other hand, all the Abbeys were subjected to The General Chapter, the Constitutional body which exercised vigilance over The Order. The Abbots met annually at The General Chapter in mid-September at Cîteaux. The Cistercian Constitutions attached particular importance to attendance at this meeting, which was compulsory, and absence without leave was severely punished. The Abbot of Cîteaux was the President of The Chapter. He had a predominant influence and the power of enforcing everywhere exact conformity to Cîteaux in all details of the exterior life observance, Chant, and customs. The principle was that Cîteaux should always be the model to which all the other Houses had to conform. In case of any divergence of view at The Chapter, the side taken by the Abbot of Cîteaux was always to prevail.

Cistercian Abbey,

Bélapátfalva, Hungary.

Date: 8 June 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Horvabe.

(Wikimedia Commons)

By 1111, the ranks had grown sufficiently at Cîteaux, and Stephen Harding sent a group of twelve Monks to start a "Daughter House", a new Community dedicated to the same ideals of The Strict Observance of Saint Benedict. It was built in Chalon-sur-Saône, La Ferté, France, on 13 May 1113.

That same year, a charismatic young Burgundian nobleman, named Bernard, arrived at Cîteaux with thirty-five of his relatives and friends to join the Monastery. A supremely eloquent, strong-willed mystic, Bernard was to become the most admired Churchman of his age. In 1115, Count Hugh of Champagne gave a tract of wild, afforested land, known as a refuge for robbers, forty miles East of Troyes, France, to The Order. Bernard led twelve other Monks to Found the Abbey of Clairvaux, and began clearing the ground and building a Church and dwelling. The Abbey soon attracted a strong flow of zealous young men. At this point, Cîteaux had four Daughter Houses (Pontigny, Morimond, La Ferté and Clairvaux). Other French Daughter Houses of Cîteaux would include Preuilly, La Cour-Dieu, Bouras, Cadouin and Fontenay.

With Saint Bernard's membership, The Cistercian Order began a notable epoch of international expansion; and, as his fame grew, The Cistercian Movement grew with it. In November 1128, with the aid of William Giffard, Bishop of Winchester, Waverley Abbey was founded in Surrey, England. Five Houses were Founded from Waverley Abbey before 1152, and some of these had themselves produced offshoots.

The now-ruined Mellifont Abbey,

the centre of Mediaeval Irish Cistercianism

and the "Mellifont Rebellion".

Photo: 3 May 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Brholden.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1129, Margrave Leopold the Strong of Styria called upon The Cistercians to develop his recently-acquired March, which bordered Austria on the South. He called upon the Monks from Ebrach Abbey, Bavaria, land just North of what is today the Provincial Capital of Graz. Here they Founded Rein Abbey. At the time, it was the thirty-eighth Cistercian Monastery Founded, but, due to the Dissolution of the previous thirty-seven Abbeys throughout the Centuries, today it is the oldest surviving Cistercian Community in the World.

The Norman Invasion of Wales opened The Church in Wales to fresh, invigorating streams of Continental Reform, as well as the new Monastic Orders. The Benedictine Houses were established in the Norman fringes and in the shadow of Norman Castles, and, because they were seen as instruments of conquest, they failed to make any real impression on the local Welsh population.

The Cistercians, in contrast, sought out solitude in the mountains and moorlands, and were highly successful. Thirteen Cistercian Monasteries, all in remote sites, were founded in Wales between 1131 and 1226. The first of these was Tintern Abbey, which was sited in a remote river valley, and depended largely on its agricultural and pastoral activities for survival. Other Abbeys, such as at Neath,Strata Florida, Conwy, and Valle Crucis, became among the most hallowed names in the history of Religion in Mediaeval Wales. Their austere discipline seemed to echo the ideals of the Celtic Saints, and the emphasis on pastoral farming fitted well with the Welsh stock-rearing economy.

PART THREE FOLLOWS.