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Welcome to

Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey, Portglenone

– A monastery of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance –

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Who Are We?

The monks of Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey belong to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, which has its origins in the monastic tradition of evangelical life that found expression in the Rule for Monasteries of St Benedict of Nursia.  When the Order was founded in 1098, at Cîteaux, near Dijon in France, the founders gave this tradition particular form, and the monasteries of the Strict Observance have always strongly defended certain of its principals.

Our Order is a monastic institute wholly ordered to contemplation.  The monks dedicate themselves to the worship of God in a hidden life within the monastery, leading a way of life which is characterised by silence and solitude, assiduous prayer, and joyful penitence.

You can find out more about our order, the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (sometimes called Trappists) by visiting the Order’s website.

Called to Be a Monk?  A Monastic Come and See Day

Sunday 23rd June 2024  Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey 10am – 5pm

Very often, even if we feel sure that we have some calling or vocation to priestly or religious life, we don’t take that first step by ourselves – we often need someone else to invite us.  We monks at the Cistercian monastery of Our Lady of Bethlehem, in Portglenone, County Antrim, want to invite men between the ages of 20 and 50 to join us for a day at the Abbey, when we will ask that question which may have been tugging at your thought for some time now – do you think you might be called, and want to become, a Cistercian monk?

The day will have a very simple format.  After the Community Eucharist at 9am, we will give a short talk about our life, with the opportunity for questions and discussion.  A light lunch will be followed by a quiet time for a walk or chat with others who have come.  At 3pm you will be taken on a tour of the monastery, a time to allow for more reflection, sharing, and questions.  The day will finish at around 5pm, but some may wish to stay for Vespers and Benediction at 6pm.

This is a day which will seek to provide contact, reflection, immersion and beginning.  Perhaps it’s the question that you have been waiting for someone else to ask you: how does life as a Cistercian monk appeal to you?

To indicate that you would like to attend this introductory day, please email Dom Aelred Magee ocso on frmagee@yahoo.co.uk, or ring 028 25821211, to leave your name and contact details.

Blog

The contents of these reflections offer teachings on fundamental aspects of Cistercian monastic life and try to provide a means for you to make these teachings part of your life.  The articles present pathways which allow for further reflection on your part – ultimately, with each reflection, the invitation is made to seek God deeply in your own life. Perhaps this will happen by a more attentive praying of Sacred Scripture; or by the practice of spiritual tools; or by a considered living into greater silence, or solitude, or stillness; or through some of the many other tools which monastic contemplative life has developed over the centuries.

Latest blog post…

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  The Blessed Virgin at the Foot of the Cross
  Engaging with, surrendering to, and understanding, if we can, the mystery of suffering in our lives, and in the lives of others, has always provided a challenge, and even a challenge too far, for the compassionate human being.  Perhaps it is the experience which most speaks to us about our frail humanity, in all its myriad dimensions, from the sheer and immediately physical to the often and tragically hidden aspects of our interior life…

Vocations

To recognise a vocation is to welcome a specific way of life which is a fundamental expression of who I am and how I am called to live.  In Christian terms we rejoice to know that God has a plan for each of us – the living out of our vocation is the discovery of that plan, personal to each of us and offered to each of us by the God who has created us.  In a way, when we accept our vocation and begin to live it out we make sense of who we are and see how God has called us to work in his kingdom now, and for its fulfillment, in eternity.

To discover that I am called to be a Cistercian monastic is to discover a deep calling to live Gospel discipleship in a special school of love.

Prayer Requests and Intercession

One of the characteristics of a Cistercian’s life is to live constantly with one’s face turned toward the Father in prayer.  In this we try to imitate Christ closely, whose entire life was a prayer of sacrifice in obedience to the will of the Father.  In the practice of this awareness of God present to us we become intercessors, carrying the prayers and needs of others to the Father, through Christ, and with Mary’s help.  We are grateful for this aspect of our life – to be able to pray for those who ask it of us.

We invite you to send us your prayer requests, which we remember in the midst of our community prayer and in our prayer alone. We place your intentions in God’s Mother’s hands, since she never ceases to accompany us as we approach her Son.