Brother Kyle receives the novice habit

Following First Vespers of the Feast of All Saints, our community gathered in the chapter room to pray with Brother Kyle as he received the novice habit.

Father Joe, our superior, recalled in his remarks how Brother Kyle, from Illinois near Chicago, had participated in our first Monastic Institute, had worked with a professional baseball team, was a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Chicago, but returned to us over seven years for several retreats and then applied to enter Mepkin.

The formula for reception of the habit entails the postulant answering the question: “What do you seek?” – and Kyle in a strong voice responded: “The mercy of God and of the brothers.”  And we all reflected with him on our need for God’s merciful love and our need for the support of the brothers that we might faithfully continue along the monastic path.

We hope you will join us in praying for Brother Kyle as he advances in the monastic journey.  May God who has called him to be with us in this school of love help each one of us to become whom we are being called to be as individuals and as a Cistercian community in this present time.