About Us
Lay Cistercians of South Florida
Our Past
Founded in 1998, the Lay Cistercians of South Florida are affiliated with the Trappist Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. The community began under the spiritual direction of Fr. Anthony Delisis, OCSO of Holy Spirit and Sr. Lillian Shank, OSCO, a Trappistine for 60 years, living in So. Florida as a hermitess with the permission of her monastery, Our Lady of the Mississippi in Dubuque, Iowa. Today, our monastic liaison with the Monastery is Br. Cassian Russell who entered monastic life after his years as a Lay Cistercian.
Our Present
We meet at Emmanuel Catholic Church in Delray Beach on the second Saturday of each month. Once a year our meeting is in conjunction with other Lay Cistercian communities in Florida. Our horarium after morning mass includes chanting Lauds together, followed by a morning sharing of a chapter of a community reading text relating to our Lay Cistercian lives, then Lectio Divina, and Sext, midday prayer. After lunch and community sharing, we break up into small groups for formation following an educational program from Holy Spirit Monastery helping us to incorporate Cistercian ways and values into our daily lives. In addition, each member makes an annual retreat to the Monastery as part of our formation program.
The Lay Cistercian Movement
The Lay Cistercian movement is international, approved and encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI lauded it in a letter written to the fifth meeting of the International Association of Lay Cistercians. The International Association has grown to consist of fifty communities around the world and is guided by a steering committee which represents its French, Spanish and English speaking communities. The association has as its liaison with the O.C.S.O, Dom Armand Veilleux who has formerly served as abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Click here to learn more about what is a Lay Cistercian.
Our Formation Program Includes:
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The Rule of St. Benedict
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Lectio Divina (Sacred Reading)
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Liturgy of the Hours
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Annual retreat to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit
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History of the Order
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Writings of the Cistercian Fathers and Mothers (as well as other notable Christian authors)
Read Our Full Statues and Guidelines
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If you feel that God is calling you to a life of contemplative prayer, and you would like to be instructed in the Cistercian monastic model, please feel free to contact us and attend a few of our meetings in the morning as a guest.