"If you are looking

for an oasis,

a place where you can quench your thirst

and steady your life,

St. Benedict’s Monastery

in Snowmass, Colorado

is that place."

—Fr. Ron Rolheiser,

OMI | President

Oblate School of Theology

MONASTIC DISCERNMENT PROGRAM ON HOLD

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BECAUSE OF DIMINISHED NUMBERS, and increased responsibilities for those remaining in the community, pending the outcome of further prayer and reflection, it has been reluctantly concluded that candidates for participation in the monastic discernment and oblate programs at St. Benedict's Monastery temporarily cannot be accepted. Please consult Trappists.org for opportunities offered by other Cistercian monasteries in the North American region. ✜

Thomas Merton's Snowmass

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IN 1964, the superior of St. Benedict’s Monastery, Joachim Viens, invited Fr. Thomas Merton of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky to create an information booklet for those interested in the monastic life. As Merton himself briefly described it, Come to the Mountain was “a meditation on monasticism in its twentieth century context,” composed of five brief chapters focused on its essential qualities and observances.

After more than half a century, Merton’s characteristically clear and concise description of monastic life speaks of the ideals, values and principles which it continues to offer today.  “The monk is not so different after all,” Merton writes, “and has a very definite role to play in the modern world.”

Photographers Ferenc Berko and David Hiser provided the illustrations which accompany the text, and preserve a visible record of life at St. Benedict’s Monastery. Although all of the monks who appear at work and prayer have since passed on into the kingdom of god whom they loved and served at St. Benedict’s Monastery, their legacy continues to motivate and inspire those who follow them today. Read more. ✜