Secret Harbour - Portus Secretioris: Amor Meus Crucifixus Est

20 March 2009

Amor Meus Crucifixus Est

In Amity, Oregon the monastic lifestyle is being lived out according to the Rule of Saint Augustine, a life of prayer and contemplation where silence prevails. They are the Brigittine monks, the Order of the Most Holy Savior. Theirs is the hidden life. As the monks daily give witness to Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind, they daily offer prayers for themselves and all of mankind, shedding light upon the whole human race.

The Monastic Horarium

The monks’ day looks like this:
4:45 am Rising
5:05 am Office of Readings, Lauds
6:00 am Solitude
7:45 am Mid-morning Prayer
8:00 am Conventual Mass
8:45 am Conference/Work
12:00 noon Mid-day Prayer
1:oo pm Solitude
3:00 pm Mid-afternoon Prayer
3:30 pm Work
6:00 Evening Prayer
6:30 pm Collation
7:00 pm Recreation
8:00 pm Rosary, Night Prayer

The entire Liturgy of the Hours is sung and the daily Mass is the vertex of their monastic day. Also included in their daily prayer life is the Rosary and lectio divina. Following an ancient Brigittine tradition, like burning incense, prayers continually ascend to the Throne of grace for the souls in purgatory and for the conversion of sinners.

The Contemplative Life

Benedict Williamson, O.Ss.S. writes: “The Order of the Most Holy Savior is contemplative. The monks and nuns are called to be, in a very special way, the lovers of Jesus, and so their life is one of solitude, the most essential characteristic of the contemplative. Lovers want solitude above all things, they want to be alone with their love, and so the contemplative wants to be alone with his Love, too. Contemplation is the soul's beholding, with the eyes of love, Jesus her lover. It is a life of solitude and prayer. Without solitude there is no contemplation.”

Taste and See that the Lord is Sweet

The community is self-supporting through the making of gourmet confections. Among the delicious treats includes:
Chocolate Fudge Royale with or without nuts
Chocolate Amaretto Fudge
Pecan Praline Fudge Royale

And from October 1 to March 31 they also manufacture truffles in a variety of flavors.

(Latin)
Credo firmiter in Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum: Patrem ingenitum, Filium unigenitum, Spiritum Sanctum ex utroque procedentem; et has tres Personas unum Deum.

Credo quod idem Dei Filius conceptus sit de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine. Credo quod Virgo castissima fuerat ante partum, virgo in partu, et post partum virgo in æternum permansit. Credo quod idem Dei Filius conceptus sit inter homines ut verus homo sine peccato. Credo quod idem Dei Filius invidiose captus est a Iudæis, injuriose tractatus, injuste ligatus, consputus, flagellatus, mortuus, sepultus. Descendit ad inferos, ut captivos suos inde liberaret. Descendit propter redemptio nem nostram, et resurrexit, ascendit ad cœlos, inde venturus judicare vivos et mortuos.

Credo Sacramenta quæ catholica credit et veneratur Ecclesia, et nominatim quod consecratur in altari verum Corpus esse, veram Carnem et verum Sanguinem Domini nostri Iesu Christi, quem et nos accipimus in remissionem peccatorum nostrorum, in spem salutis æternæ. Credo carnis resurrectionem, vitam æternam.

Confiteor et credo sanctam atque ineffabilem Trinitatem, Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum, unum Deum naturalem, unius substantiæ, unius naturæ, unius maiestatis atque virtutis. Et Patrem quidem non genitum, non creatum, sed ingenitum profitemur. Ipse Pater a nullo originem ducit, ex quo et Filius nativitatem, et Spiritus Sanctus processionem accepit. Fons ipse igitur et origo est totius Divinitatis. Ipse quoque Pater, essentia quidem ineffabilis, substantia sua Filium genuit ineffabiliter, nec tamen aliud quam quod ipse est genuit, Deus Deum, lux lucem. Ab Ipso ergo est omnis paternitas in cœlo et in terra. Amen.

(English)
I firmly believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: the Father unbegotten, the only begotten Son, the Holy Spirit proceeding from them both; and I believe that these three Persons are but one God.

I believe that the same Son of God was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. I believe that the Virgin was chaste before she bore her Child, that she remained a Virgin while she bore her Child, and continued a Virgin ever after. I believe that the same Son of God was conceived among men, a true Man with no sin. I believe the same Son of God was captured by the hatred of some of the Jews who did not believe, was bound unjustly, covered with spittle, and scourged. I believe that He died, was buried, and descended into hell to free those of His who were held there. He descended for our redemption, He rose again, He ascended into heaven, and from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe also in the sacraments that the Church believes and holds in reverence, and especially that what has been consecrated on the altar is the true Flesh and the true Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we receive for the forgiveness of our sins and in the hope of eternal salvation. I believe in the resurrection of the flesh and everlasting life.

I acknowledge and believe the holy and ineffable Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to be but only one God, of only one substance, of only one nature, of only one majesty and power. We profess that the Father was neither begotten nor created but that He has begotten. The Father takes His origin from no one; of Him the Son is born and the Holy Spirit proceeds. He is the Source and Origin of all Divinity. And the Father, ineffable by His very nature, from His own substance has begotten the Son ineffably; but He has begotten nothing except what He is Himself: God has begotten God, Light has begotten Light, and it is from Him that all Fatherhood in heaven and on earth proceeds. Amen.