The communities of the Order spread all over the world are gathered into unity by a bond of charity. Through the union that results from this association they can help one another in coming to a more complete understanding and practice of their common patrimony and they can offer mutual encouragement and support in difficulties. -OCSO Constitutions 4.1
“A travel log? Wait, aren’t you cloistered nuns?”
Indeed we are, and indeed we are usually here, at the monastery. For while the meaning of our vow of stability is primarily spiritual, its tangible, “stay-within-the-monastic-enclosure” physical expression plays a crucial role in the fostering of true stability – stability in Christ.
That said, our Order has always prioritized the fostering of mutually supportive relationships amongst our monasteries. We recognize one another’s autonomy while embracing our need for each other’s encouragement and accountability. It’s a tradition in which we rejoice and upon which we depend! After all, as St. Benedict famously prays near the end of his Rule: “May Christ being them all together into everlasting life.” (RB 72)
So, sometimes, in order to visit our Cistercian sisters and brothers, we do get to travel! And it’s been an eventful few weeks for us, in that regard. Within the past month, our community has participated in three events hosted by the OCSO’s USA Region.
First, three of our simply professed sisters attended the annual “Junior Seminar”, where they shared in prayer, study, and fellowship with the other juniors of our Region and their hosts, our sisters of Mount St. Mary’s Abbey in Wrentham, Massachusetts. They returned home all filled up with love and gratitude!
Our Region’s simply professed nuns and monks, along with their much appreciated teachers, Sr. Grace Remington, OCSO, and Fr. Harry Hagan, OSB.
Then, two of our solemnly professed sisters attended a week of renewal with Br. Don Bisson, FMS, and their hosts, our brothers at Our Lady of Mepkin Abbey in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. They were so grateful for the opportunity to go and, indeed, they returned home renewed!
The Mepkin Community + Guests, both monastic and lay, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Finally, our abbess and two more of our sisters, one serving as delegate and the other as secretary, journeyed to Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Abbey in Conyers, Georgia, for the Regional Meeting of our superiors. They were happy to report that it was a prayerful, productive gathering. (There are some nice photos of the group, as well as the place, on our Order’s website: https://ocso.org/2025/06/18/usa-regional-meeting/ )
So, as we enter into the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ’s Body & Blood, we give thanks to Him who is the source and summit of our unity, Charity Incarnate, given to us to eat. O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, may all Creation know the gift of community, the joy of communion, the bond of charity!
