A gentleman wrote recently about his visit to Our Lady of Calvary Abbey, a Trappist/Cistercian monastery in Rogersville, New Brunswick, that he called  “a spiritually powerful place with lovely property and facilities.” Prayer, liturgical and personal, manual work, and spiritual reading (lectio divina) are the characteristic activities of their daily life at Calvary abbey from  their beginnings 1902 till the present.

There are two trappist monasteries at Rogersville in the heart of New Brunswick, Canada – one of monks and one of nuns. It is a place dedicated to prayer, and the lifestyle of the monks and nuns is entirely orientated towards the search for God and union with Him in continuous prayer.

In a world given over to the frenetic pursuit of diversions and distractions, evasions and pretension, the Cistercian monastery tries to be an oasis of truth. Here, the soul, longing to live,  learns patiently through a whole lifetime, the secret way of the heart. The monks try to follow a trusty guide in the Rule of Saint Benedict.

They are also a monastery that has maintained the tradition of farming.  While their dairy closed a few years ago, they still raise poultry. Here is an interesting write-up from their website:

Farming is by no means the easiest or most economically viable way of making a living nowadays.  But the local community in the Rogersville rural area still tries and the monks are happy to be part of this community.   Mankind will always need farmers because farmers produce food.  We believe that the smaller farmer will soon come back into his own as consumers become more insistent on knowing where their food comes from and grow more interested in locally produced foods.  The new sensitivity to the environment will also favour the smaller farmer over the giant mass-producer.  So we believe that any farmer who can manage to hang on in there may see his fortunes turn around.   The monastery was founded with a specific view to monks who would engage in agriculture.  There is certainly something to be said for those who are trying to live a life of prayer focused on God the Creator being in touch with the land and with animals.  Few monasteries remain that are still farming.   Our Lady of Calvary remains committed to this style of life and tries to husband its forestland and make its modest contribution to the local agricultural scene.

Guests are welcome to come on retreat. And guided tours can be arranged as well.