Posted on 07/28/2008 9:02:55 AM PDT by Pyro7480
We recently had a chance to talk with Brother Simon Mary of the Cross, a monk at the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Clark, Wyoming. Fr. Daniel Mary of Jesus Crucified, the Prior of the monastery, offered us this rare occasion to speak with Br. Simon Mary, in the hope that the story of his vocation would help other young men in their discernment....
Br. Simon Mary: I was born in 1984. I grew up in Cambridge, a small rural town in New York on the Vermont border.
NOR: Only 24 years old -- you're still a young fellow!...
...At the end of my retreat, the question remained: "Where can I find a monastic, manly way of life in community with all the devotions of the Carmelites?"
NOR: Did you find that community?
Br. Simon Mary: Amazingly, I did. I was looking on the Internet one day and I googled "new Carmelite monks." An article from the Casper Star-Tribune came up that reported on a new, strictly cloistered monastic community in rural Wyoming. I stopped reading and said, "Wait! That's the life of St. Thérèse!"
NOR: That sounds like a shot out of the blue.
Br. Simon Mary: It sure was. It's funny to think that you can find your calling to a cloistered community on the Internet.... So I talked to my spiritual director... who suggested I write to the Father Prior.... In his letter, Father Prior explained to me quite clearly what life at the Carmel in Wyoming was like....
NOR: What was your reaction to that?
Br. Simon Mary: Well, the part about their habits and faithfulness to the Magisterium was everything that I sought. But I'd never been to a Traditional Mass before....
(Excerpt) Read more at newoxfordreview.org ...
Catholic ping!
Amen.
Has anybody tried any yet?
Nope, but I’ve been meaning to. Since I graduated from college 5+ years ago, I’ve been trying to avoid becoming a coffee addict, but this may be a good reason to become one! ;-)
It is an excellent interview.
Thanks for posting this.
I'm really a tea-drinker, but I like an after-dinner cup of coffee, and I love iced coffee on a hot day . . . . and I'd rather the monks got my money than Starbucks.
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