Happiness in God

Dom Marie-Gérard Duboiswas born in Lille, France, in 1929 in a family of seven children. In 1947 he entered the Trappist Monastery of Mont-des-Cats, where he became master of novices and then prior. After a short stay as Superior ad Nutum at Cîteaux, Dubois was elected abbot of the Monastery of La Grande Trappe in Soligny, France. During his twenty-five years as abbot he presided over many commissions responsible for implementing the reforms of Vatican Council II in the Cistercian Order. Dom Dubois also presided for thirty years over the French-speaking Commission on Liturgy. He is the author of two books: Le Bonheur en Dieu (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1995) and La Joie en Dieu (Paris: Presses de la Renaissance, 2010). In 2011, Dom Dubois returned to the Lord. Georges A. Hoffmann is an attorney and a lay Cistercian at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, Georgia.Jean Truax has a PhD in medieval history; she is an independent scholar and author of Ralph d’Escures, William of Corbeil and Theobald of Bec: Heirs of Anselm and Ancestors of Becket, and Aelred the Peacemaker: The Public Life of a Cistercian Abbot.

• ContentsPreface    viiDom Guerric Reitz Séjotte, Abbot of La TrappeForeword   ixGeorges HoffmannA Note on Notes    xiJean TruaxChapter One: The Two Faces   1Chapter Two: Only Angels Have the Right to Fly   19Chapter Three: “Beware of the Trap”   33Chapter Four: The Gates of Silence   55Chapter Five: Learning How to Speak in the Cloister   91Chapter Six: Different Journeys, Same Call   113Chapter Seven: The Age of Reform   149Chapter Eight: They Were Lay Brothers   177Chapter Nine: Father Abbot of La Trappe   203Chapter Ten: The One Who Leaves   235Chapter Eleven: “So, I Am Studying Hebrew!”   251Chapter Twelve: New and Ancient Communities   279Chapter Thirteen: Nevertheless, There Is a World Out There!   305Chapter Fourteen: God’s Violin   331Chapter Fifteen: Beginnings without End   349Bibliography   375Index   383

"A deeply engaging and delightfully personalized glimpse into genuine monastic life and experience, including his own meaningful path to La Trappe. Much more than a memoir, Dubois's book whets our appetite to taste and see the conversatio morum of Trappist community, so personally and profoundly spread before us as though at table with the brothers. The English translation captures the narrative and insight of Dubois beautifully."F. Tyler Sergent, Associate Professor of History and General Studies. Berea College, Kentucky