Tarrawarra Abbey celebrates 70th anniversary of foundation

Nestled in the heart of the Yarra Valley, 60 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, Tarrawarra Abbey is home to a small community of Cistercian monks—popularly known as ‘Trappists’. The men belong to the worldwide Cistercian Order of Strict Observance, leading a monastic life centred on prayer and contemplation. Founded in 1954, Tarrawarra Abbey celebrated its 70th anniversary recently, with Archbishop of Melbourne Peter A Comensoli leading those gathered in a Mass of Thanksgiving.

Located on 400 hectares of rich agricultural land, Tarrawarra Abbey was founded on 1 November 1954 by Mount St Joseph Abbey in Roscrea, Ireland. The then Archbishop of Melbourne, Daniel Mannix, officially opened the new abbey on 19 December 1954, saying how proud and delighted he was to perform the blessing ceremony ‘and to turn the first sod for the new abbey, which is going to last for hundreds of years’.

Life at Tarrawarra Abbey is a contemporary version of the ancient tradition of Cistercian monasticism with an Australian accent,

Seventy years later, the monastic life of prayer and contemplation continues. The Cistercian monks follow the sixth-century Rule of St Benedict (480–547), and have been greatly influenced by Doctor of the Church St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153). They are committed to a disciplined life of silence, solitude and prayer, having taken the vows of stability, fidelity to monastic life and obedience. Contemplation, worship of God within the monastic tradition, under the Rule of St Benedict, is at the heart of their call. They write, ‘Life at Tarrawarra Abbey is a contemporary version of the ancient tradition of Cistercian monasticism with an Australian accent, designed to foster the experience of God and growth in prayerfulness and love.’

Speaking of this call to love during his homily at the Thanksgiving Mass, Archbishop Comensoli said to the gathered community, ‘Perhaps Bernard of Clairvaux, your father in the Cistercian way, might well have been thinking of the wise Scribe when he wrote: “There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is Curiosity. There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is Vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love.”

In celebrating 70 years of living a Cistercian life here, you are celebrating the living of the kind of commandment to love that is the poured-out kind.

‘The commandment of love is of the kind that desires to be poured out, not grasped. It is “crucifixional” love. And to find a resonance in Bernard’s way, it is in the affections of the heart by which the love that pours out—charity, agape—will be known and lived. May I be so bold as to suggest that in celebrating 70 years of living a Cistercian life here, you are celebrating the living of the kind of commandment to love that is the poured-out kind.’

At Tarrawarra Abbey, the monk’s spiritual life is shaped by the Liturgy of the Hours, celebrated at regular intervals throughout the day. St Benedict referred to this exercise of prayer as the ‘Work of God’, explaining that by his participation in the Divine Office, the monk shares in Christ’s prayer of intercession, praying not only for his own needs but for the welfare of the whole world.

Alongside liturgical and personal prayer, contemplation and sacred reading, there is study, the commitment to community living and practical work. From the very beginning, the monks at Tarrawarra Abbey have earned their living by farming and running a small guesthouse, which welcomes guests from near and far. They have long operated a working farm with sheep and dairy cattle, and later shifted to rearing beef cattle. They have been involved in land restoration projects, and on 1 January 2000, Tarrawarra Eucharistic Breads commenced operation.

The monks are also engaged in the various administrative tasks that are necessary for the efficient running of the community: forming and educating newcomers, caring for the sick and aging members of the community, cleaning, cooking and serving in the guesthouse.

In its simplicity and humility, in prayer and community, others have seen a way of living among you that is bound up in living in the kingdom of God ... Thanks be to God that you happy few are a witness of constancy in love to us seeking many.

According to their Constitution, ‘Work, especially manual work, has always enjoyed special esteem in the Cistercian tradition since it gives the monks the opportunity of sharing in the divine work of creation and restoration, and of following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ … It promotes health of mind and body and contributes greatly to the unity of the whole community.’

Speaking of their particular way of life, Archbishop Comensoli said, ‘Yours is a peculiar life, without a doubt! It is neither a common way of living, nor normal in its objects. Yet, in its simplicity and humility, in prayer and community, others have seen a way of living among you that is bound up in living in the kingdom of God.

‘“With all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength” might well be a good motto for Tarrawarra Abbey.

‘Thanks be to God that you happy few are a witness of constancy in love to us seeking many. Yours is a life of intercession, in the language of the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews. You seek to intercede for all who come to God through Christ, who poured out his life for us.

‘To give St Bernard the final say, “What we love we shall grow to resemble.” Thank you for the gift of humbly living the greatest of the Commandments.’

Guests and visitors are welcome to visit Tarrawarra Abbey to join the monks in the Liturgy of the Hours and Mass held in the abbey’s church. Visitors will notice that in the centre of the church, the nave, the monks assemble in monastic choir stalls. Each monk has his own place, determined by seniority. The community’s current abbot, Dom Steele Hartman, has a stall marked by the crosier or pastoral staff.

Other features include a large pipe organ donated by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, originally built by Hill, Norm & Beard Pty Ltd in 1936 for the sisters’ convent, and a holy water font in the middle of the choir designed by Randall Lindstrom and executed by Christopher John.

When the first Irish monks came out from Roscrea, they were real pioneers ... there was no going back. In a sense, they were on their own in a new world ... And yet they came anyway, putting all their trust in Providence.

On the wall looking back towards the centre of the church and sanctuary is a painting of Our Lady of Tarrawarra by Melbourne artist Penelope Long. When commissioning the piece, the community asked for ‘a mature-age Mary pondering the Word, keeping faith with her son and serving as a model for contemplatives. At the same time, she is looking towards the community and gesturing to us.’

The painting also serves to remind the community of its particular Australian setting. Speaking of the land upon which Tarrawarra Abbey sits, the monks acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation as the original inhabitants, writing:

No-one knows with any certainty what the Aboriginal name ‘Tarrawarra’ means. It has been suggested that it signifies land clothed in a ‘white cloak’, referring to the morning mist that often hangs low over the Yarra River. An alternative interpretation of the name is ‘slow-moving waters’. In either case, it is clear that it was the Yarra (Birrarung) River flowing through the heart of the valley that gave the area its special character.

Reflecting on the 70 years of monastic life in Tarrawarra, Abbot Dom Steele said, ‘When the first Irish monks came out from Roscrea, they were real pioneers. It took several months to get here; they were far from home, far from all their usual supports. They came on a one-way ticket; there was no going back. In a sense, they were on their own in a new world. They came to a place that was heavily burdened with debt—they could not even pay the interest on it, let alone begin to build themselves a monastery, a home, and they had to make a living.

‘And yet they came anyway, putting all their trust in Providence. In the same way, newcomers who answer the call to monastic life, especially those who come from overseas, still need to leave everything to come and join us; they, too, need to put all their trust in the Lord.’