Monastic Experience Weekends for Young Women

February 11-14, 2016 
September 1-4, 2016

This is an opportunity to listen deeply for God's voice as you experience the richness of monastic life: silence, the beauty of nature, private and communal prayer, and meditation. Sisters will be available to guide discernment.

The schedule includes participation in the monastic hours of prayer, Eucharist, and meditation with the sisters in the monastic choir. There will be conferences on prayer and monastic spirituality as well as time for hikes in our old growth redwood forests as weather and time permit. Meals will be taken with the sisters and lodging is in the Guest House. Some time for manual labor may also be included.

Click here to download a schedule of the event

Find out about upcoming weekends - contact Sr. Suzanne, vocationdirector@redwoodsabbey.org

Following the Monastic Path at Redwoods Monastery

The following article appeared in the Santa Rosa Diocese publication North Coast Catholic

There is a walking trail on the monastery’s property that winds along the bank of the Mattole River – up and down gentle ravines and through running creeks.  The river bank is fortified by the roots of giant redwoods and the water is crystal clear.  Occasionally we see fish – large steelhead and baby salmon – along with eels, ducks and river otter.  Then the trail swerves away from the river and enters an ancient grove of redwoods.  Some giants have fallen and are decomposing on the mountainside while new redwoods grow from out of old stumps.  Everywhere there are signs of regeneration – rebirth – and renewal.  Hope.  The Easter Mystery reflected in the very earth we live on.

Over 50 years ago, a group of sisters from the Cistercian Monastery of Nazareth in Brecht Belgium, left their homeland, their families, and monastery to travel to an unknown and rugged wilderness in the Lost Coast area of Southern Humboldt County California.  Most did not speak English or have any experience of American culture.  They were cloistered contemplatives nuns who embarked on their pioneer journey the very day Vatican II began.   The spirit of the Council marked the foundation of Redwoods Monastery with an eagerness and energy to adapt the Cistercian charism to yet another culture and age, while always maintaining fidelity to our Benedictine Cistercian heritage.

Today hospitality to guests is an important ministry of our monastery.  We run a guesthouse open during the summer months for weekend and weeklong retreats.  In outreach to young people, Redwoods hosts an immersion experience for Santa Clara University students interested to learn more about our spirituality and life.  In addition to this, we offer a weekend especially geared for young women seeking vocational discernment and an introduction to contemplative prayer.  It is held in Summer every year.  Contact Sr Suzanne at vocationdirector@redwoodsabbbey.org for more information.

Our life is a pattern of prayer, study, meditation, and manual labor that is woven into the fabric of community, centered on Christ as our Lord and brother.  We meet Him daily in the Eucharist, in lectio divina, and the “everydayness” of our monastic vocation.  Whether it is working at honey, tending the vegetable garden, cleaning the guest house, or cooking dinner, we strive to do all with a mindfulness that “the divine presence is everywhere.” (Rule of St Benedict Chapter 19:1).

In order to earn our livelihood, we produce creamed honey in 7 flavors: Original, Almond, Anise, Cinnamon, Ginger, Lemon and Orange.  Jars and Gift Boxes are available on our website, www.redwoodsabbey.org , and in many local stores and co-ops.  Cards, icon prints and other handiworks made by the sisters are available in our monastery with some items featured online.

If you would like to find out more about our life or purchase Monastery Creamed Honey, please visit www.redwoodsabbey.org. 

2015 Monastic Experience Weekend at Redwoods Monastery

If you are interested in monastic life or want to deepen your life of prayer and you are a woman between the ages of 20 and 40, inquire about Redwoods Monastic Experience Weekend, May 28 -31, 2015.




Here's what others have said about their experience:

To be given the chance to step into the life here. For me it was really valuable to experience for myself how a life of prayer actually works… not just the Office and Mass… but work and living in the surroundings here are a part of the holistic life style.

The joyful openness everyone fosters here. I felt free to explore the forest, which I know gives me life, but also invited to interact with everyone because of the joy with which you life.

It was the common prayer - when prayers were offered, sung with beautiful voices, profoundness could be felt. I felt inspired as prayers were offered amidst beautiful nature reflected on the glass (in the church)

To join in the gardening as a group is something I did not expect, but it was fun, meaningful when we ate something that we grew.

Contact Sr Suzanne to sign up for the Monastic Experience Weekend.
Download flyer of event.

Pointing the Way

This Easter I ran across an article online that caught my attention. (you can read the whole article here) It was about Lasse Sprang Olsen, a stunt man and self acknowledged atheist, who because of his near brush with death, set on a course to learn how to truly pray.  This search brought him to the cross - literally.  On Good Friday, 2014, he was one of those who participated in the annual crucifixion event in the Philippines. God answered his deepest desire and become present to Olsen in a way that he could "talk" to God.

Although I would never recommend his path,  Olsen's story intrigues me because I feel that his journey mimics the monastic journey.  Granted the monastic journey takes a life time - not 14 minutes on the cross. (One could also argue that Olsen's experience of God was also the product of his life's journey.) But I believe that the result is the same: with God's grace, one is freed from the fear of death and can become a friend of God - an intimate like Moses and Olsen who talked to God face to face.  This is what the monastery as St. Benedict's School of Love can teach those who have faith and perseverance.

Olsen did not "believe" in the traditional sense of the word.  He was not even "churched." But even in his atheism, he had faith.  This is the true Faith that St Paul speaks of in Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Many people think they must be solid beliefs in God before they really start an effort to find God.  This is blatantly untrue and Olsen's story attests to this.  More important than any adherence to dogma is a heart openly seeking truth.  God who is Truth will answer that search.

I do not know how or why Olsen suddenly was absorbed into the love of God - but the experience happened.  And if it did so once - it can and will happen again.  His painful agony left him and only God remained.  He left his "old self" behind and put on Christ, the crucified.  He was transformed.

The monastery also offers a way to union with  God.  It does so through a life that is ordinary, laborious and obscure.(Constitution of the OCSO, chapter 3:5)  Through this life we seek the grace to leave behind the old self with its well worn ego and put on a new self that is made in God's very likeness.  We do this slowly; in community; and with prayerful attention to our manner of living and the movements of our hearts.  We seek a life in union with God so that we may offer the world a place of continual prayer.


If you are a young woman seeking to find out more about our life of prayer and our contemplative path to God, email vocationdirector@redwoodsabbey.org  and attend a Monastic Experience Weekend happening this year - May 28th - May 31, 2015 .

Monastic Experience Weekend - Summer 2013

This summer Redwoods Monastery hosted a weekend geared especially for young women (ages 18-40) who were interested in learning more about monasticism and contemplative prayer. 6 women attended – most in their early twenties. Some were interested in a religious vocation but most came just to experience a deeper level of prayer. This was the second year we hosted this event and we now hope to make it an annual event.

 Our guests followed our monastic schedule of prayer, spiritual reading, and manual labor. They got up and joined the sisters for meditation first thing in the morning. For some, this was a stretch. But all believed they benefitted from the experience. Coming from a busy world of work, school, and social life into the silence of the redwoods can be a dramatic transition. Cell phones don’t get reception here; there is no texting or wifi for internet connection. Without these distractions, we hoped there would be space for each participant to enter deeply into her heart and soul and listen for God’s voice. This is the intent of the weekend.

 For morning work, they helped Sr Ann Marie in the garden and constructed a frame for the pole beans. Working with the hands, being in touch with the earth and collectively creating in community is a foundational monastic practice. Community life is a very simple joy and one that may well be hidden in today’s competitive work and study environments.

 There were three conferences during the weekend. The first was of a very introductory nature, explaining our prayer practices and giving suggestions for morning meditation. In the second conference, we showed a DVD we recently filmed about our life at Redwoods. Sisters also shared their own vocation stories and impressions of monastic life. This conference is usually the most meaningful to the participants. They want to hear about our personal journey to the monastery and the commitment to God that keeps us here. One woman commented that though our life is restrictive, we seem happy, free, and emotionally balanced. She didn’t expect the joy she saw in us.

 The final conference was on the monastic practice of Lectio Divina. This is a very traditional practice where scripture is read very slowly and intentionally, listening for the voice of God in the reading. What is God telling me personally through this reading? How do I connect this scripture with my life? We read silently and then shared about the text. The conference gave the participants the opportunity not only to explore scripture, but also to open up new vistas and insights into their personal lives and experiences of God.

 The impact of the Monastic Experience was reciprocal. The Redwoods community was enriched by seeing young people really “get” our life. They entered into it with “beginner’s mind” and reflected back the treasures of monastic life that we sometimes take for granted.

 Of course no experience of Redwoods would be complete without walks in the woods, animal watching, and star gazing. And nature did not disappoint us. A doe gave birth under right outside the cloister windows and the mother deer proudly showed off her newborn twins to our guests.
                                              ............................................................

On the evaluation for the Monastic Experience Weekend, we asked the question, “What did you find most beneficial to you personally?” Here are some of their responses:

To be given the chance to step into the life here. For me it was really valuable to experience for myself how a life of prayer actually works… not just the Office and Mass… but work and living in the surroundings here are a part of the holistic life style.

The joyful openness everyone fosters here. I felt free to explore the forest, which I know gives me life, but also invited to interact with everyone because of the joy with which you life.

It was the common prayer - when prayers were offered, sung with beautiful voices, profoundness could be felt. I felt inspired as prayers were offered amidst beautiful nature reflected on the glass (in the church)

To join in the gardening as a group is something I did not expect, but it was fun, meaningful when we ate something that we grew.