When we drove up Mount Equinox we saw where the Carthusian Monks live. I was fascinated with these Monks and did some research on them...it was extremely interesting..here is what I dug up on them!
The Charterhouse of the Transfiguration is the only Carthusian monastery in North America. The monastery is nestled in a valley on Mount Equinox in Arlington, Vermont. You can see it from a pull off and when we stopped to take pictures, we could hear them singing!
The founder of the Carthusian Order, Saint Bruno, had studied and then taught at the University of Reims in Germany and his love and faith made him famous throughout Europe. In 1084 he decided to follow his calling and give up the secular world, through meditation and prayer he was led to Bishop Hughes in Grenoble France. Now...Bishop Hughes had recently had a dream where he saw seven stars hanging over a nearby uninhabited area known as the "Desert of Chartreuse", so when St. Bruno and his six companions arrived, Bishop Hughes believed them to be the men of this dreams and he led them to the place God had shown him! Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit they gradually developed a semi recluse form of monastic life, which became known as Carthusian. This name evolved from the Latin name of the mountain range, Carthusian, where this band of monks had settled.
The Carthusian Monks came to Vermont under the leadership of Father Thomas Verner Moore, he was an American monk at the Carthusian monastery in Miraflores, Spain. In 1950 he was called by God to bring the Carthusian to the United States! He took this very seriously and in the spring of 1950 he found a land donor in the form of Elizabeth Pierce, she was intending to join the Carmelite order and wanted to get rid of her property, a 550 acre farm in Whitingham, Vermont. This became know as Sky Ranch, but soon Sky Ranch started to have problems, first with generating electricity and then a state highway brought traffic to close to the monks, who's main goal was to remain as far removed from contact with the exterior world as possible.
Dr. Joseph Davidson and his wife had purchased some land on Mt Equinox in 1939, constructed Sky Line Drive, and built themselves a house. Dr Davidson had a talent for developing, he held over 28 patents, the best one being "Bakelite"! Bakelite was one of the first plastics made from synthetic components, Bakelite was used for its electrical non-conductivity and heat-resistant properties in electrical insulators, radio and telephone casings and such diverse products as kitchenware, jewelry, pipe stems, children's toys and firearms. Bakelite was designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark on November 9, 1993, by the American Chemical Society in recognition of its significance as the world's first synthetic plastic.
Dr Davidson had met the Monks earlier when the monks had sought his advice on utilizing a stream for their electricity, they had heard that Joseph had a talent for developing things! This became a match made in heaven, because soon the Davidson became interested in the monks and the lifestyle that they led and they donated 11 square miles of their land on Mt Equinox to the monks in 1960. This is where they still live today.
The Carthusian Monks lives, by today's standards, is a strict one. They eat only one meal a day, never any meat, they fast on bread and water each Friday, they wear scratchy hairshirts, they have very limited contact with the outside world, they sleep on straw mattresses and they pray...a lot! Their lives are dedicated to prayer and solitude. The only goal of the Carthusian way is contemplation, by the power of the Spirit, living as unceasingly as possible in the light of the love of God. The Carthusian way of life has evolved with vitality and integrity, yet its basic structure has retained its original form for over 900 years!
So fascinating!
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