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Clear Creek Abbey hosts Empress Zita Symposium 2026

2026-04-08T17:54:21-05:00April 8th, 2026|News|

Servant of God Empress Zita Holy Mass & Symposium at 10am on May 9, 2026.

Holy Mass in honor of Servant of God Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, followed by presentations by

  • our Abbot, the Right Reverend Dom Philip Anderson,
  • Monsieur l’Abbé Jacques Olivier, FSSP,
  • HIRH Princess Maria-Anna Galitzine, and
  • HIRH Princess Xenia Galitzine de Matta.

Catered Meal served by The Clear Creek Guild a Chapter of the Catholic Land Movement.

Reserve a seat soon at their website EmpressZitaCause.com.

Read Father Abbot’s words about Empress Zita in his letter “Humble Nobility“.

Books about Empress Zita

Learn Gregorian Chant – Laus in Ecclesia Level One & Two & Three Courses 2026

2026-04-02T11:34:11-05:00April 2nd, 2026|News|

Clear Creek Abbey will host a week-long instruction in Gregorian chant at three different levels of instruction:

1) Laus in Ecclesia, level 1, for beginners: Gregorian initiation, covering the basics of Gregorian chant, that is, reading the neums, rhythm, modality, Latin pronunciation and verbal rhythm. This level targets the beginner or simply amateur in Gregorian. The student must know how to hold a tune.
Instructor: Kathy Reinheimer.

2) Laus in Ecclesia, level 2, for cantors: covering Gregorian Psalmody and the Divine Office, this level builds on and sharpens the skills learned in the first degree. Prequisites to join level 2: Level 1 or equivalent.
Instructor: Mark Donnelly.

3) Laus in Ecclesia, level 3, for directors of scholae: the concentration is on chironomy and the interpretation of bigger Gregorian pieces.
Instructor: Br. Mark Bachmann, OSB.

Opportunities to sing the chant: two Masses sung in Gregorian […]

Annunciation 2026

2026-03-28T11:33:33-05:00March 25th, 2026|Homilies of Father Abbot|

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My Very Dear Sons,

It seems that despite of—or perhaps because of—His Divine majesty and absolute transcendence over all created realities, in relationship precisely to that work of His we call Creation, God retains a sort of child-like attitude, which for lack of a better word we might call “playfulness”. “I was with Him,” says Divine Wisdom, “forming all things: and was delighted every day, playing before Him at all times; playing in the world: and my delights were to be with the children of men” (Prov. 8: 30-31). Despite the tragedy that marks, first the angelic world in Satan’s rebellion, and then this lower world, beginning with the sin of Adam and Eve, throughout the dramatic story we call the History, characterized by so many ups and downs, […]

St. Benedict Transitus 2026

2026-03-28T11:18:44-05:00March 21st, 2026|Homilies of Father Abbot|

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My Very Dear Sons,

As we have two feasts of Our Blessed Father Saint Benedict every year, there is no need today to multiply words and to produce a long homily. Saint Benedict was a man of few but extremely well chosen words. His silence speaks as eloquently as the words he wrote and uttered. We will do well to imitate on this feast that falls during Lent.

At Easter we will celebrate the passing of Our Lord, the Savior of the World, the Messiah, who passes out of the earthly phase of His existence. This will be Christ’s transitus or excessus (in Greek: exodus) as is said in the Gospel relative to His transfiguration.

And behold two men were talking with him. And they were […]

The Idea of a Village Revisited

2026-03-28T09:51:21-05:00February 13th, 2026|Letters to the Friends|

Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey,

As many of you are well aware, over the years a significant number of families have come to dwell in the rural area surrounding our abbey. It is not yet a village in the truest sense, but a true village is surely taking shape. Many and varied are the reasons that brought these people to live near us, but one main reason was to be a part of what is sometimes referred to as the back to the land movement. Many of these families are now raising cattle and poultry and planting orchards. On a central area of thirty acres a cemetery has been established, and plans for a church, a parish hall, and even a school have been discussed. More recently, a Catholic Land Movement Guild has been […]

Traditional Monastic Breviary is newly republished

2026-02-04T17:14:46-06:00February 4th, 2026|News|

For the first time since 1963, the traditional Breviarium Monasticum, containing the complete Divine Office for the entire year, is now available in a newly-reprinted, high-quality, two volume set.

Black flexible leather cover, 2 volumes, thin Bible paper, printed in red and black with gilt edges and 6 marker ribbons, 4.5 x 6.75 inches.

This Breviary contains all that is necessary to pray the complete Monastic Divine Office of Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline for each day of the liturgical year. This is a reprint of the 1963 Monastic Breviary in Latin only. This was the last edition published before the reforms of Vatican II.

Comparison Guide for the Monastic Office Books Latin only Chant notation Contains Day hours with propers […]

A Monastic Revival in America? An Interview with a Monk

2026-01-22T11:46:29-06:00January 22nd, 2026|Letters to the Friends, News, Videos|

Dear Friends,

Are we living through a renaissance in monastic life? And if so, what does that monastic revival mean for the rest of the Church?

Late last year, Fr. Ambrose Criste, O.Praem., of St. Michael’s Abbey sat down with our very own Fr. Patrick Carter, OSB, to explore these very questions. Their discussion is a compelling and timely one: they cover the history and legacy of the Benedictine monastic tradition, its striking relevance in contemporary society, and its indispensable role in renewing the Church and our society.

They also discuss the role that Our Lady of Clear Creek is playing at this pivotal moment in history—which makes you, our friends, part of this conversation, too!

I hope that you find this conversation as exciting and inspiring as I do. What we are doing here is historic work […]

Dom Guéranger on the Procession with Candles at Candlemas

2026-01-21T12:36:48-06:00January 21st, 2026|Dom Guéranger's Liturgical Year|

The Procession with Candles at Candlemas

by Dom Prosper Guéranger, founding Abbot of the Congregation of Solesmes, taken from his treatment of February 2: The Purification of the Blessed Virgin in Volume 3 of his Liturgical Year.

Filled with holy joy, radiant with the mystic light, excited, like the venerable Simeon, by the impulse of the Holy Spirit – the Church goes forth to meet her Emmanuel. It is this meeting which the Greek Church calls the Hypapante, under which name she also designates today’s Feast. The Church would imitate that wondrous Procession, which was formed in the Temple of Jerusalem the day of Mary’s Purification.

Let us listen to St. Bernard:

“On this day, the Virgin-Mother brings the Lord […]

New Book on the American Catholic Land Movement

2026-01-14T12:45:49-06:00January 14th, 2026|News|

This compelling collection of twelve essays, including one by Fr. Francis Bethel, a monk of Clear Creek, traces the forgotten yet vital history of Catholic agrarian life in America, from early missions and immigrant homesteads to modern efforts at family-based land stewardship. Together, these scholars reveal how faith, work, and land once formed a coherent Catholic way of life—and how they still can.

Softcover, 416 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches.

The American Catholic Land Movement: Past, Present, and Future

  • Presents a coherent narrative of the American Catholic land tradition through 12 scholarly essays
  • Explores the impact of key movements such as the Southern Agrarians, the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, and the Catholic Worker movement
  • Analyzes modern efforts—like local, family‑based economic initiatives and homesteading—as practical responses to social and […]
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