1 From a letter by our Father Saint Bruno to Radulphus To my esteemed friend Radulphus, dean of the cathedral Chapter at Rheims, I, Bruno, send my greetings, as all my heartfelt affection toward you bids me. I assure you, first of all, that my health is good, thinking that the news will not be unwelcome to you. I wish that I could say the same for my soul. The external situation is as satisfactory as could be desired, but I stand as a beggar before the mercy of God, praying that he will heal all the infirmities of my soul and fulfil all my desires with his bounty. I am living in the wilderness of Calabria far removed from habitation. There are some brethren with me, some of whom are very well educated and they are keeping assiduous watch for their Lord, so as to open to him at once when he knocks. I could never even begin to tell you how charming and pleasant it is. The temperatures are mild, the air is healthful; a broad plain, delightful to behold, stretches between the mountains …More
Nació el 13 de febrero de 1943 en Bovril, Entre Ríos (Argentina). Era la tercera de once hermanos. Vivió su infancia y adolescencia en su pueblo natal. Siendo adolescente conoció a los Cooperadores Parroquiales de Cristo Rey (CPCR), congregación religiosa fundada en Barcelona, España, por el sacerdote jesuita Francisco de Paula Vallet (1883-1947). Esta congregación, que cuenta con una rama masculina (Cooperadores) y una femenina (Cooperatrices), se dedica a la prédica de Ejercicios Espirituales según el método de San Ignacio de Loyola. Hizo los Ejercicios Espirituales con ellos y allí vio más claro el llamado a consagrarse a Dios, llamado que ya sentía desde niña. El 1ro de octubre de 1959, con 16 años, deja a sus padres y hermanos para consagrarse a Dios. Se traslada a Salto, Uruguay, y comienza el noviciado en la Congregación de las Hermanas Cooperatrices. Todo su tiempo de formación y la mayor parte de su vida religiosa lo pasó en Salto. Amó entrañablemente a la Diócesis y …More
Arquitectura de la Cartuja de Londres (libro) Entre los edificios históricos de Londres, pocos guardan una historia tan singular como la antigua Cartuja de la Salutación de la Madre de Dios. Este libro se adentra en la evolución arquitectónica del monasterio. Entre sus claustros y celdas vivieron aquellos cartujos ingleses que serían reconocidos como mártires. Y aunque su martirio se consumara en otros lugares, aquí se prepararon para entregar sus vidas por aquello que creían justo.
El padre Juan Bautista Castro, su director espiritual durante años, quien era a la sazón Arzobispo de Caracas y Primado de Venezuela envió una carta de recomendación con fecha 6 de octubre de 1907 en la que solicitaba al Prior de la orden de San Bruno en La Cartuja de Farneta cercana al pueblito de Lucca, Italia, el ingreso de José Gregorio en dicho claustro. José Gregorio por su parte envió también una carta al Prior. El 16 de julio de 1908 llegó José Gregorio finalmente a la Cartuja de Farneta. Los preliminares de su ingreso consistieron en un nuevo examen de su vocación que habría de durar varios días. En estos días se instruía al aspirante a novicio sobre los pormenores de su vida futura y de todos los detalles de la orden en la que iba a ingresar, al mismo tiempo que se comprobaba si su vocación era puramente religiosa o si simplemente se trataba de reacción pasajera ante circunstancias adversas de la vida de este mundo. Una vez probada su vocación, Fray Etienne le lavó …More
On the occasion of the end of the month of the Bible (and St. Jerome’s memorial) we would like to share with you a comparative chart of the Four Gospels. We believe that it will be very useful for the moments of Lectio Divina, that way of meditating with the Scriptures that is so characteristic of the Carthusian life.
Even when the Carthusian Order does not promote the beatification or canonization of any of its members, there are Carthusian blessed and saints. In most cases, these saints were bishops (such as Saint Anthelm) or martyrs (like the English Carthusian martyrs). In those cases, the dioceses they belonged to (and not the Carthusian Order) promoted their causes. In 2017, the cause of canonization of Salvador Montes de Oca was opened by the diocese of Valencia (Venezuela). If he is canonized, he will become the first Carthusian saint who was both a bishop and a martyr. He was born in Carora (State of Lara, Venezuela) on 21 October 1895. He was ordained a priest on 22 September 1922. In 1927 he was appointed as the second Bishop of Valencia by Pope Pius XI. The political situation of the time triggered the struggle of Bishop Montes de Oca in favor of Human Rights and the Doctrine of the Church. This led to his expulsion from Venezuela in 1929. He returned to the country in 1931. The …More
From a letter of Saint Bernard to Guigo, the Prior, and to the other monks of the Grande Chartreuse I received the letters of your Holiness with a delight equalled only by my longing eagerness for them. I have read them and mused upon them and they have fired my heart like so many sparks from the fire which the Lord came to spread over the earth. How great must have been the fire burning in your meditations to have sent out such sparks as these! Your burning and kindling greeting seemed to me, I confess, to have come, not from man, but from him who sent word to Jacob. It was no ordinary greeting such as one gives in passing on the road, or from habit; I could feel it came from the heart, a welcome and unexpected benison. May the Lord bless you for troubling to meet me, your child, with such a blessing in your letter to me that you have given me the courage to write back to you, after I had for so long wanted to, but not dared. For I was loath to harass your holy peace in the Lord, to …More
A few days ago we commemorated the anniversary of the foundation of the first Carthusian monastery, on June 24, 1084, in the Chartreuse Massif (France), on the initiative of St. Bruno and six companions. And today, June 29, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Saints Peter and Paul, martyred in Rome. Peter is remembered for being the first Pope, and that is why this day is also called «Pope’s Day». It does not seem to be a coincidence that the anniversary of the foundation of the Order and Pope’s day are so close in time. It seems rather a sign of the closeness that has existed between the See of Peter and the Order since its origins. In fact, out of obedience to Pope Urban II, in the year 1090, St. Bruno leaves the newly founded monastery in Chartreuse to become the Holy Father’s advisor in Rome. It did not seem that St. Bruno was able to adjust to the curial environment. In fact, a year after his arrival to Rome, in 1091, Urban II granted St. Bruno permission to retire and live a totally …More
Some saints have had a special relationship with the Carthusian Order. St. John of the Cross considered the possibility of becoming a Carthusian monk before St. Teresa convinced him to help her in the Carmelite reform. And before founding the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius of Loyola considered entering the Seville Charterhouse . As we celebrate today, 22nd June, the memorial of the English martyr St. Thomas More (1478-1535), we would like to focus on his relationship with the Carthusian Order. In 1499 Thomas More, then a brilliant young law student hardly come of age, went to live at the Carthusian monastery of London. In words of William Roper, his-son-in-law and first biographer, «he gave himself to devotion and prayer in the Charterhouse of London, religiously living there, without vow, for about four years». Did he occupy a monk’s cell? Probably not. Most likely he lived in the guesthouse, or somewhere near the monastery. It is hard to believe that he would have been allowed, …More
In 1535 King Henry VIII decided to break away from the Roman Catholic Church. He forced his English subjects to recognize in him the head of the Church in England. Many of them accepted. Others managed to flee the country in order to remain loyal to the Pope. Still others suffered martyrdom. This is the case of saints John, Robert, Augustine and their companions, martyrs whom we remember today. They are commemorated in the Order with the «rite of twelve readings». We offer below eight of these readings. In them, the Carthusian Father Maurice Chauncy, who managed to escape from England, recounts the martyrdom of his brothers in the Order. 1 In the beginning of the year 1535 it was settled by the King, and enacted by the celebrated Act of his Parliament, that all should renounce the authority and obedience they owed to our lord the Pope, or any other superior in other countries, and should acknowledge under an oath, the King himself as supreme head of the Church, in spiritual things as …More
Today the Church celebrates St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), a saint who has a special connection to the Carthusian Order. She wrote at least twelve letters to several Carthusian monks who received spiritual advice from her. One of these letters — written to a carthusian monk on the island of Gorgona — is included in the readings for today's Matins (readings 1 to 8). This is what we would like to share with you today. 1 Dearest and very loved son in Christ gentle Jesus, I Catherine, slave of the servants of Jesus Christ, am writing to you in his precious blood. I long to see you living in the house of self-knowledge, where you will learn every virtue. Without such knowledge you would be living in every sort of evil, irrationally. But you could say to me, “How can I get into this house, and how can I keep living there?” I will tell you. You know that without light there is nowhere to walk but in the dark, and the darkness will make us stumble. In such darkness you would not be able …More
Saint Hugh (1053 - 1132), the saint we are celebrating today, could be considered the co-founder of the first Charterhouse. Actually, he was the bishop who received Saint Bruno and his six companions into his diocese, and it was he who granted them the Charterhouse desert ("Chartreuse" in French) to live a monastic life there. Below are eight of the twelve readings from last night's Matins (or Office of Readings). It is part of a biography of Saint Hugh of Grenoble authored by Guigo, who was the fifth prior of Chartreuse. 1 Hugh had entered the monastery already fervent, and he returned all the more so, when the same pope who had consecrated him, Gregory VII, bade him return to his bishopric. He had increased more in virtue through one year’s pursuit of the monastic life than many do from the labours of a lifetime. From that time on, vigilant circumspection was his only cloister, whereby he regulated both his senses and the thoughts of his heart; rectitude was his abbot, from whose …More
The cross towers over the monastery: it is a warning. Everything here flourishes in the shadow of the cross and in it you come to take shelter. It is good to draw your attention to it at once. The world does not put a better face on it than in St. Paul’s time: foolishness to some, scandal to others (1 Cor 1:23). Even those who preach on thee cross do not do so without much timidity. Only in his light does the life of the Carthusian make sense. Christ warns you: «If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me» (Lk 9:23). You are weak and sensitive like every man, and that prospect is not altogether pleasant. The Cross would no longer be the Cross if it ceased to afflict. Only the spiritual part of your soul will be able to rejoice. Even for a generous soul, the only attraction of the cross is its relationship to Jesus. The Son of God became incarnate in order to suffer. His first conscious act at the very moment of his conception was to …More