Armand-Jean de Rancé

Armand-Jean de Rancé (1626–1700), the reforming abbot of la Trappe, was a prolific writer in a verbose age. Until he was in his thirties, he enjoyed the life of a young man about town, but then, after experiencing a dramatic conversion, he left the world forever for the silence and austerity of la Trappe. To read all that he wrote when he governed the abbey would take a great deal of time, but in 1703, three years after Rancé’s death, Jacques Marsollier, archdeacon of Uzèz and one of Rancé’s biographers, published a slender volume of selected Pensées et Reflexions, “Thoughts and Reflections,” by Rancé, which presents the essential ideas of the abbot in a condensed form. There are 259 Pensées, ranging in length from a couple of lines to about thirty. They are best dipped into, not read consecutively, for some will have more impact than others depending on the reader, the time, and the place.

In this book, David N. Bell explores what Cistercian writers and preachers have said about Mary from the time of the founding fathers of the Order to Armand-Jean de Rancé, who introduced the Cistercian Strict Observance and who died in 1700. This work is divided into three parts. The first part presents some selective background material on Mary that is necessary for understanding where the Cistercian writers are coming from and the sources and ideas they are using. The next eight chapters, the second part of the book, examine the Marian ideas of Cistercian writers from Bernard of Clairvaux to a number of visionaries, both male and female, who take us to the very end of the thirteenth century. There is then a gap of more than three centuries—the reasons are given at the end of chapter 12—before we arrive at the birth of Armand-Jean de Rancé in 1626. The final chapters—part 3 of the book—summarize the life of Rancé, examine the place of Mary at La Trappe, and present annotated translations of Rancé’s five conferences for three Marian feasts: the Nativity of Mary, the Annunciation, and the Assumption.

De la saintet et des devoirs de la vie monastiqueby the Abb Armand-Jean de Ranc was originally published in Paris by Francois Muguet in 1683. In 1830 it was translated and titled On the Sanctity and the Duties of the Monastic State by Abbot Vincent Ryan, founding abbot of Mount Melleray in Capoquinn, Ireland and published in Dublin by Richard Grace. This derivative edition has been re-typeset, re-titled, edited, updated, heavily annotated, and its many citations both substantially corrected and expanded. Moreover, it has been supplied with a contemporary introduction, with 44 illustrations as well as an Image Index and an Index of Scriptural Citations. Although Abb de Ranc , the founder of the Trappists, originally wrote for his monks, many laity of 17th c. France gladly embraced much of his spirituality, and to wonderful effect. With asceticism re-appearing now as a corrective to our self-indulgence and softness, his wonderful book is a badly needed, albeit bracing corrective for the Christians of our time. If appropriated in our day, Back to Asceticism: The Trappist Option will likely accomplish spontaneously all that The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher envisioned, and far more. On the Sanctity and Duties of the Monastic State was the soul of Trappist spirituality until very recently, and the very implosion of the Trappists suggests that survival of the order depends on an about-face, a return to the wisdom of its founder. In fact, the same may be said mutatis mutandi of the entire Church, which is badly in need of this ascetic wisdom which de Ranc has distilled from Saint Benedict, Saint Bernard and the Desert Fathers, from Saint Basil, Saint John Climachus, and others. Volume I contains the following fifteen chapters: 1 The Obligations of Religious Life in General 2 The Institution of the Monastic State 3 Of the Origin of the Solitary Life 4 Of the Different Forms of Life Which Were Established among the Ancient Solitaries 5 Of the Essence and Perfection of the Cenobitical State 6 Of the Principal Means by Which Religious Persons May Attain to the Perfection of Their State 7 On the Love of God 8 Of Loving the Superiors and Having Confidence in Them 9 Of the Charity and Duty of Superiors 10 Of the Charity that the Brethren Should Have for One Another11 On Prayer 12 On Penance, On Humiliations 13 On the Meditation of Death 14 On the Judgments of God 15 On CompunctionVolume II contains the additional eight chapters: 16 On Retirement 17 On Silence 18 On Abstinence and Austere Food 19 On Manual Labor 20 On Night Watchings 21 On Poverty 22 On Patience under Sickness and Infirmities 23 On Mitigations In all, the two volumes comprise 700 pages of monastic wisdom compiled and commented on by the immensely learned Abb de Ranc in light of his own decades long experience as the re-founder, the very successful re-founder, of Our Lady of la Trappe monastery in France. That monastery under his rule was by all accounts a kind of Heaven on earth. If "By their fruits you will know them" is taken as our principle of discernment, the fact that his monastery is the mother of every Cistercian monastery of the Strict Observance in the world today, and that the order thrived under the influence of his spirituality, then the true worth of De la saintet et des devoirs de la vie monastique and its present day iteration, "Back to Asceticism: The Trappist Option is clearly seen. With this work Abb Armand-Jean de Ranc is striding into the moribund world of contemporary Catholicism and speaking once again with words of fire.

"His De la Saintete is unquestionably one of the most important works of post-medieval Cistercian writing and occupies a major place in the history of spirituality" ‒David N. Bell medievalist, theologian, professor at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, author of Everyday Life at La Trappe Under Armand-Jean Ranc , Understanding Ranc , etc. Back to Asceticism: The Trappist Option, Vol. 1 is an updated translation of this work De la Saintet et des Devoirs de la Vie Monastique by the Abb Armand-Jean de Ranc was originally published in Paris in 1683. In 1830 it was translated and titled On the Sanctity and the Duties of the Monastic State by Abbot Vincent Ryan, founding abbot of Mount Melleray in Capoquin, Ireland. This derivative edition has been re-typeset, re-titled, edited, updated, heavily annotated, and its many citations both substantially corrected and expanded. Moreover , it has been supplied with a contemporary introduction, with 52 illustrations as well as an Image Index and an Index of Scriptural Citations. Although Abb de Ranc , the founder of the Trappists, originally wrote for his monks, many laity of 17th c. France enthusiastically adopted much of his spirituality, and to wonderful effect. With asceticism re-appearing now as a corrective to our self-indulgence and softness, his incisive book is a badly needed, bracing corrective for the Christians of our time. Back to Asceticism: The Trappist Option will likely accomplish spontaneously all that The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher envisioned, and far more. On the Sanctity and Duties of the Monastic State was the soul of Trappist spirituality until very recently, and the very implosion of the Trappists suggests that survival of the order depends on an about-face, a return to the wisdom of its founder. In fact, the entire Church is badly in need of the ascetic wisdom that de Ranc has distilled from Saint Benedict, Saint Bernard, Saint Basil, Saint John Climachus and other desert fathers. Volume I contains the following fifteen chapters: 1 The Obligations of Religious Life in General 2 The Institution of the Monastic State 3 Of the Origin of the Solitary Life 4 Of the Different Forms of Life Which Were Established among the Ancient Solitaries 5 Of the Essence and Perfection of the Cenobitical State 6 Of the Principal Means by Which Religious Persons May Attain to the Perfection of Their State 7 On the Love of God 8 Of Loving the Superiors and Having Confidence in Them 9 Of the Charity and Duty of Superiors 10 Of the Charity that the Brethren Should Have for One Another 11 On Prayer 12 On Penance, On Humiliations 13 On the Meditation of Death 14 On the Judgments of God 15 On Compunction Volume II contains the additional eight chapters: 16 On Retirement 17 On Silence 18 On Abstinence and Austere Food 19 On Manual Labor 20 On Night Watchings 21 On Poverty 22 On Patience under Sickness and Infirmities 23 On Mitigations Although Volume II has fewer chapters it is a slightly longer book. In all, the two volumes comprise 700 pages of monastic wisdom compiled and commented on by the immensely learned Abb de Ranc in light of his own decades long experience as the re-founder of Our Lady of la Trappe monastery in France. That monastery under his rule was by all accounts a kind of Heaven on earth. Back to Asceticism: the Trappist Option is an outstanding gift for any priest or religious, for anyone interested in the devout life, in monasticism, in discerning a vocation, in prayer or in getting to Heaven.

Conferences ou instructions sur les epitres et evangiles des dimanches et principales festes de l'annee, et sur les vetures et professions religieuses, par le R. Dom. Armand-Jean Le Bouthillier de Rance], ancien abbe de la Trappe... Date de l'edition originale: 1698Ce livre est la reproduction fidele d'une oeuvre publiee avant 1920 et fait partie d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande editee par Hachette Livre, dans le cadre d'un partenariat avec la Bibliotheque nationale de France, offrant l'opportunite d'acceder a des ouvrages anciens et souvent rares issus des fonds patrimoniaux de la BnF. Les oeuvres faisant partie de cette collection ont ete numerisees par la BnF et sont presentes sur Gallica, sa bibliotheque numerique. En entreprenant de redonner vie a ces ouvrages au travers d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande, nous leur donnons la possibilite de rencontrer un public elargi et participons a la transmission de connaissances et de savoirs parfois difficilement accessibles. Nous avons cherche a concilier la reproduction fidele d'un livre ancien a partir de sa version numerisee avec le souci d'un confort de lecture optimal. Nous esperons que les ouvrages de cette nouvelle collection vous apporteront entiere satisfaction. Pour plus d'informations, rendez-vous sur www.hachettebnf.fr

Relation de la vie et de la mort de frere Palemon, religieux de l'abbaye de la Trappe, nomme dans le monde le Cte de SantenaDate de l'edition originale: 1695Ce livre est la reproduction fidele d'une oeuvre publiee avant 1920 et fait partie d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande editee par Hachette Livre, dans le cadre d'un partenariat avec la Bibliotheque nationale de France, offrant l'opportunite d'acceder a des ouvrages anciens et souvent rares issus des fonds patrimoniaux de la BnF. Les oeuvres faisant partie de cette collection ont ete numerisees par la BnF et sont presentes sur Gallica, sa bibliotheque numerique. En entreprenant de redonner vie a ces ouvrages au travers d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande, nous leur donnons la possibilite de rencontrer un public elargi et participons a la transmission de connaissances et de savoirs parfois difficilement accessibles. Nous avons cherche a concilier la reproduction fidele d'un livre ancien a partir de sa version numerisee avec le souci d'un confort de lecture optimal. Nous esperons que les ouvrages de cette nouvelle collection vous apporteront entiere satisfaction. Pour plus d'informations, rendez-vous sur www.hachettebnf.fr

Relations de la mort de quelques religieux de l'abbaye de la TrappeDate de l'edition originale: 1678"Comprend: Description de La Trappe"Ce livre est la reproduction fidele d'une oeuvre publiee avant 1920 et fait partie d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande editee par Hachette Livre, dans le cadre d'un partenariat avec la Bibliotheque nationale de France, offrant l'opportunite d'acceder a des ouvrages anciens et souvent rares issus des fonds patrimoniaux de la BnF. Les oeuvres faisant partie de cette collection ont ete numerisees par la BnF et sont presentes sur Gallica, sa bibliotheque numerique. En entreprenant de redonner vie a ces ouvrages au travers d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande, nous leur donnons la possibilite de rencontrer un public elargi et participons a la transmission de connaissances et de savoirs parfois difficilement accessibles. Nous avons cherche a concilier la reproduction fidele d'un livre ancien a partir de sa version numerisee avec le souci d'un confort de lecture optimal. Nous esperons que les ouvrages de cette nouvelle collection vous apporteront entiere satisfaction. Pour plus d'informations, rendez-vous sur www.hachettebnf.fr