Trappists to return to traditional liturgy and rule: an example for us

The Trappists abbey in Mariawald, Germany, it was announced, was to return to the liturgy and rule that was in force prior to the reforms of the liturgy and rule that came in the wake of Vatican II. There had been rumors for a few months that this might happen, and I didn't think much of the announcement when I read it yesterday.

However, on New Liturical Movement is posted the abbey's press release, and it is simply an incredibly honest statement concerning the state of the abbey, and the whole Church, as it has evolved due to the liturgical reforms. The whole press release can be read here, but the most striking words were these:

As the various postconciliar reforms have not yielded for the monastery the expected flowering in liturgy and in the life of the Convent, now the return to tradition links to the centuries-old tradition of the Order. Through the return to the ancient Gregorian liturgy and the stricter use of the monastic form of life, Dom Josef promises himself new spiritual impulses, also regarding new vocations for the abbey.

Worldwide, it can be felt that monastic communities, which cultivate the preconciliar Latin liturgy, can boast of significant numbers of vocations. Especially in France, on the background of a traditional interpretation of the rule of St Benedict and the Gregorian liturgy in Mass and Divine Office, there are flourishing abbeys...

...The Abbey assumes in this a pioneering role worldwide to renew the monastic life out of the spirit of tradition and to counteract the decline of monastic life, which especially some Trappist abbeys have had to experience in recent years.

This is a stunning statement, and it should strengthen our resolve to continue in our prayers and efforts to foster the Traditional Latin Mass and traditional Catholicism. As the Trappists of Mariawald struggle to reconstruct their liturgy and rule in the wake of the postconciliar devastation, so should we, the Catholic laity, struggle to reconstruct the prayer and piety of our Catholic homes.