Living Wisdom

Cristiana Piccardo was born in Genova, Italy, in 1925, and in 1958 entered a monastery of Trappistine Cistercian nuns not far to the north of Rome, at Vitorchiano. In 1964 Mother Cristiana became the abbess. She left Vitorchiano to be the superior of their Venezuelan foundation from 1991 to 2002 where she currently resides.

• CONTENTSPREFACE   ixDom David Foster, OSBEDITOR’S NOTE   xvIntroduction   xviiMonasticism and the World of Today   xviiiCistercian Perspectives on Being Human, on Life, and on Time and Space   xxiiiOur History   1Mother Pia and What Set Her Apart   3Mother Pia’s Heritage   8Learning from History 1: Cistercian Monasticism in the First Half of the Twentieth Century   16Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard (1858–1935)   18Dom Vital Lehodey (1857–1948)   19Dom Anselme Le Bail (1878–1956)   20Thomas Merton (1915–1968)   23Mother Pia Gullini (1892–1959)   25Conclusion  26Learning from History 2: Cistercian Monasticism in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century   28Reforms in Liturgy   30Reforms in Formation   31The Unification of the Community   33The Female Branch of the Order   34The Missionary Dimension of Cistercian Life   361969: A Salient Moment in Our History   38New Challenges   39The Culture of Psychoanalysis   39The Influence of Eastern Religious Traditions   41The Influence of Liberation Theology   45An Epoch-Making Document   45The Vision of the Church   49The Magisterium of the Church   53The Magisterium of Tradition   55The Magisterium of Authority 59The Magisterium of the Community   60The Path of Conversion   64The Teaching of the Rule   65The Teaching of Our Fathers   71Conversion and Affectivity   76On Teaching How to Love   81The Problem of Today   82The Teaching of the Magisterium   86The Teaching of the Cistercian Tradition   90A Pedagogy of Charity   94Stages of Affective Growth   97Affective Engagement   97Projection and Identification   97Childish Regression   98Forming People to Love in Truth   99Finding a Method, Staking Out a Path   101Monasticism and Mission   105The Doctrinal Basis   108Key Issues a Foundation Must Face   112Creating Unity among the Foundresses   113Praying the Divine Office in the Language of the Foundation   113Accepting the New Superior   114Shared Responsibility in Initial Decision Making   114Inculturation   115Transmitting a Tradition   115The Grace of Mission   117Foundations  120Our First Foundation: Valserena, Italy (1968)   125Our Second Foundation: Hinojo, Argentina (1973  ) 126Our Third Foundation: Quilvo, Chile (1981)   129Our Fourth Foundation: Humocaro, Venezuela (1982)   131Our Fifth Foundation: Gedono, Indonesia (1987)   133Our Sixth Foundation: Matútum, The Philippines (1995)   136Huambo: Valserena’s Foundation in Angola   138Summary   140The Path of Sonship   141The Theology of Sonship   142The Pedagogy of Sonship   144The Ascesis of Sonship   148Renouncing Self-Sufficiency   149The Option for Gentleness   149Openness of Heart   149The Positive Attitude of Humility   149Reconciliation and Pardon   150Being Ready, Swift, Joyful   150Sonship and the Church   151The Enemies of Sonship   153Aversion to the Place   153Aversion to Time   153Aversion to the Brethren   154Epilogue: On Prayer   155Conclusion   165Endnotes   169

“The author, Mother Cristiana, speaks to the reader in a simple conversational tone about the way a community guides today’s new members in the ways of true love and charity. She is forthright and practical about modern attitudes and how they must be addressed. . . . This book typifies what is happening to monastic life in this time of change and globalization, and also celebrates the universal wisdom of monasticism that can continue to give meaning to modern lives.”The American Monastic Newsletter