Monastic Family of Bethlehem

Monastery of Our Lady of Beatitude, a visit

A week ago I spent a few hours with a friend, Melkite priest Father Romanus, at the Monastery of Our Lady of Beatitude in Livingston Manor, New York. Quiet and sanctity are felt immediately on the long drive up the road approaching the monastery. I had last been there in 2010 and I posted a piece here on Communio about my visit.

The purpose of our visit was three-fold: to spend time catching up; to introduce Father Romanus to the monastery and then to visit the gift shop. The latter point of our visit allowed us to purpose some beautiful religious items not easily found in other places.

This monastery is located in the Archdiocese of New York having been invited to settle there by the late John Joseph Cardinal O’Connor. The monastery of nuns is part of a larger group of monastics who form the Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno. According to 2007 statistics, worldwide there are approximately 650 monks and nuns in 33 monasteries of nuns and 4 monasteries of monks.

Today, is the anniversary of Monastic Family’s founding in 1950. Their history dates their foundation to when the Pope Pius XII defined as dogma, the mystery of Mary’s Assumption. Some of founders where present in Saint Peter’s Square.

As the monks and nuns speak of their vocation, we learn, as a total self-gift “to share the life of the Mother of God, present in the Trinity, in a life of adoration of the Father in Spirit and Truth.” Continual adoration of the Lord is their gift. Consequently, what was born first were the monastic nuns in 1951 living “the Project of the Virgin” in silence.

In the previous blog post I noted that these expression of monastic life does not fall into the usual way of thinking about a life of seclusion in the West. The Monastic Family of Bethlehem have a few defining characteristics: first, the biblical typology and the study of the Church Fathers and Mothers of this form of monastic life is striking, more so than what one may experience with the Benedictines or Cistercians –the use of sacred Scripture with this religious group, for me, is very profound; second, there is a distinct Eastern feel to the experience in that the Monastic Family has adopted an adapted 4th century interpretation of lauras found in the East in which they connect with what the German Saint Bruno did in the 11th century. A hermits life with some communal activities during the week aside from certain prayer periods like Lauds, Vespers and Mass.

As an outsider to Our Lady of Beatitude my perspective is that the life lived by these nuns is truly otherworldly: a sincere and serious commitment to silence, work, study, solitude, and prayer. We were present to sing Vespers —a unique experience—if you’ve never prayed according to an adapted Byzantine usage. The nuns made some very reasonable changes in what would be considered “normal” Byzantine Vespers in the way they sing the psalmody, make the intentions, the proclamation of the daily gospel and a few other things.

There are hermitages for personal retreats of the laity available.

Contact: 393 Our Lady of Lourdes Camp Road, Livingston Manor, NY 12758 USA

Tel: 845-439-4300

Saint John Houghton, Saint Robert Lawrence, and Saint Augustine Webster

Saint John Houghton (1487-1535), born in Essex, England, became a parish priest then found his vocation with the Carthusian Order, an order founded by Saint Bruno. In history the Carthusian vocation is given to few. In the North America, in fact, in Vermont, there is only Charterhouse for monks. There is no monastery for Carthusian nuns. We do, however, have a monastery of nuns aggregated to the Carthusian order called, The Monastic Family of Bethlehem and of the Assumption of the Virgin, Livingston Manor, New York. They are impressive nuns because of the complete faithfulness to the charism of being with God alone.

Father Houghton was elected Prior of the Beauvale Charterhouse, Northhampton, for a few months before moving to the London Charterhouse. In 1534, he was with Blessed Humphrey Middlemore (killed on 19 June 1535), for refusing to accept the Act of Succession, which recognized the legitimacy of the monarchial authority of Elizabeth I. Had Houghton and Middlemore signed the Act of Succession they would have been released. There were two Carthusian monks accepted the law “as far as the law of God allows” and were released.

Houghton was arrested again in 1535 but this time with Saint Robert Lawrence and Saint Augustine Webster finally for refusing to accept the Act of Supremacy. Lawrence was the Prior of the Beauvale Charterhouse and Webster was the Prior of the Axholme Charterhouse at the time of the arrests. The three were hanged, drawn, and quartered on this date in1535.

With the Church we pray:

Almighty and everlasting God, who kindled the flame of your love in the hearts of your holy martyrs Saint John Houghton, Saint Robert Lawrence, and Saint Augustine Webster: grant to us, your humble servants, a like faith and power of love, that we who rejoice in their triumph may profit by their examples.

Monastic Family of Bethlehem and of the Assumption of the Virgin, Livingston Manor, NY

Back in February I received two extraordinary gifts from Brother John Paul, CFR: a weekend spent in a hermitage used by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and Brother John Paul’s introduction to a groups of cloistered nuns who live not far away, The Monastic Family of Bethlehem, Livingston Manor, NY. I had for several years appreciated the artwork of the nuns and this was a prime opportunity to meet Bethlehem, as it were, and to experience the sacred Liturgy and to drink in, for a very short time, the beautiful monastic atmosphere.

The nuns in Livingston Manor, New York, call themselves officially, “The Monastic Family of Bethlehem and of the Assumption of the Virgin” founded on November 1, 1950, at Saint Peter’s Square in Rome when Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The inspiration of French pilgrims was described in this way:

That throughout the world there may exist religious communities devoted to silent adoration, striving to live in continual reference to what the Virgin Mary lives in heaven where she has been taken up with her soul and her body, into the glory of the Three Divine Persons, hidden for ever with Christ in God.

The monks and nuns of the Bethlehem communities, live the scriptural exhortation to seek the face of Christ by living in the school of Mary. From the Mary, the Mother of God, we learn not to set limits on our love of God and neighbor. This seeking of Christ’s face is discerned in the daily work of community living alone and together, in fraternal and liturgical love, and in the sacred Scriptures. In his letter approving the Monastic Family of Bethlehem, Eduardo Cardinal Martinez Somalo said: “The devote themselves to listening assiduously to the Word of God and to prayer of the heart in a life of solitude, silence liturgical and fraternal communion and humble manual work. In order to be faith to this vocation they receive the twofold monastic tradition of East and West. They are disciples of Saint Bruno, receiving his spiritual fatherhood and wisdom of life. With him they are trained in the school of “Divine Philosophy,” which is Jesus Himself, the eternal Wisdom of the Father. They keep a holy watch awaiting the return of their Lord. Their life, then, is entirely ordered to divine contemplation and the greatest possible love for the Divine Persons and for all human persons.” The point, therefore, is to be progressively likened unto Christ Himself.

Seeking that pearl of great price the monks and nuns of this order seek to live with all their heart the evangelical life, though hidden from the world. Life in the Bethlehem Family is life in an eremitical monastery, meaning each nun (or monk depending on the monastery) lives in a hermitage and the hermitages are connected by a cloister leading the to church, the sign of fraternal and liturgical communion. This vocation, from my one experience of being present at the monastery in New York, is lived intently as it is drawn from what Saint Luke observed in his Gospel “and Jesus withdrew to the mountains and prayed” (5:16). The Monasteries of Bethlehem take Saint Bruno’s Rule and his wisdom of life but they are not Carthusians but are affiliated to them in a bond of charity.

The first community of sisters began in 1951 and the monks’ community was founded in 1976, in the Massif of Chartreuse. In 2007, the Bethlehem Family consisted in 650 members from 33 monasteries through out the world.

Work is essential in this life. You quickly learn that the monastic life -or any other style of life for that matter–is not meant for those who want to rest and relax while supervising the work of others. Each nun or monk is expected to contribute to the shared life. For example, when a new monastery is founded the nuns and monks first build their oratory where the Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated and the Divine Office is sung. Daily bread is earned, not an entitlement that one sees in other orders. Similar to the average working class family in the world today, the monks and nuns work to sustain their life and glorify God. From something to be avoided or disdained, nuns and monks engage their entire being into the work assigned so that the love of God might be expressed, a sign of trust in the “God the creator of heaven and earth.” Here in New York, the Sisters of Bethlehem earn their living by working with their hands. Through their artwork, they seek to convey something of God’s beauty and truth. Their work itself is accomplished in prayer, praise to the Creator of all things and intercession for all those to whom these items are destined.

The Monastic Sisters arrived in Livingston Manor, New York, in May 1987. The monastery is about 2.5 to 3 hours north of New York City. In this monastery, they earn their living by making medallions, icons and chinaware. They also sell dolomite statues, crèches, crucifixes, and bas reliefs made in the monastery of Mougeres France.

My brothers keep a holy and persevering watch awaiting the return of their Master in order to open to Him at once when he knocks, said Saint Bruno.

As Saint Isaac of Nineve said, “When the Spirit makes his dwelling in someone, this person cannot stop praying, for the Spirit does not cease to pray within him.”

In the solitude of the cell, the monk and nun of Bethlehem has this schedule each day:

1 hour of the liturgical hours

45 min of lectio divina (Bible reading)

1.5 hours of personal prayer

1.5 hours of biblical and theological study

c. 2 hours for 2 daily meals and free time

4-5 hours of work

8 hours of sleep

In the church

1.5 hours for Matins and Lauds

1 hour for Mass

30 min of Eucharistic thanksgiving

45 min for Vespers

Monday is a day of complete solitude and on Sunday there is a meal together with a gathering for a chapter meeting and spiritual conversation.

The nuns can be contacted at:

Monastery of Our Lady in Beatitude

393 Our Lady of Lourdes Road

Livingston Manor, NY 12758 USA

tel: 845-439-4300

Monastère Sainte Marie Reine des Cœurs
3095, chemin Marie Reine des Cœurs
Chertsey, Québec, J0K 3K0 Canada

Monastère Notre Dame de Mongères
F-34720 Caux France

Tel: 33-04-67-98-4486

The motherhouse:
Monastère de l’Assomption Notre-Dame
Currière-en-Chartreuse
F-38380 Saint Laurent du Pont France

Monks tel: 33-04-76-1497
Nuns tel: 33-04-76-4055