A Great Christmas Gift

Hint, Hint!!!!!

OK, I will admit that I will gladly welcome being on the receiving end of Our Lady of Spring Bank Cistercian Abbey's Benevolent Bakery's Holy Trio of Benevolent Holiday Cakes that you see pictured at the right. But that is not my main reason for mentioning them. It is to highlite the efforts of the Abbey to raise funds. & give you some good ideas for Christmas gifts as well.

OK, a little background 1st. Some time ago I discovered a blog written by 1 of the monks at the monastery, Br. Stephen, O.Cist (Sub Tuum). The more I looked, the more impressed I was by what I saw. 1 of the things that especially caught my eye was how they celebrated their liturgy. "We pray our offices and the Mass according to the Cistercian Rite as reformed following the Second Vatican Council. Mass is celebrated ad orientem and is said in Latin on Sundays, Feasts, and Solemnities. At all Masses, the musical texts are from the Cistercian Graduale and Kyriale. Many of our liturgical customs are grounded in the pre Tridentine form of the Cistercian Rite as revived at Hauterive, our Swiss motherhouse, more than 60 years ago."

Like all those who follow the Rule of St. Benedict, they have to be self-sufficient, raising the crops as well as funds to operate. In 2002 they were looking into for a new income project. Fr. Bernard, who was then the Abbey’s steward of temporal affairs, needed a new cartridge for his printer. "He was struck by how much a little black dust and a fewsquirts of ink cost. After doing a little research, he found that the markups in the business were “sinfully high”—often as much as 2000%."

Anyone with a printer has to have toner & ink. Of course, everyone wants to save money. And so LaserMonks.com was born. The business began to grow rapidly. But they sell much more. Maybe St. Benedict didn't specifically have this product in mind when he wrote his Rule over 900 years ago. But it is well in line with what he wrote in the Rule.

Another item they make is their Benevolent Biscuits line. They include a variety of dog treats. The money they raise from this line goes to Canine Companions for Independence.

They offer many other products including those from other monasteries. There are a lot of great gift ideas on their LaserMonks website. Benevolent Bakery is where you go to find the above mentioned Holy Trio. These cakes are especially made for holiday giving. The trio of cakes includes: Cistercian Brandy, St. Barbara's Cherry Kirsch, and St. Bernard's Bourbon Honey. You can also by the cakes individually. & they come in beautiful gift boxes (Boxing Day).

The world will be pushing its ideas for Christmas that have nothing to do with the real meaning of the day. here is an opportunity to find an alternative that not only provides some good gifts, it helps to build the Kingdom of God.