I, brother (name), in the presence of the abbot of this Cistercian monastery built in the honor of the ever blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God, and in the name of God and all his saints whose relics are kept here, do hereby promise steadfastness, conversion of life, and obedience, according to the rule of St. Benedict.
256. Monk’s Vow.
Migne, 66, col. 821.
I hereby renounce my parents, my brothers and relatives, my friends, my possessions and my property, and the vain and empty glory and pleasure of this world. I also renounce my own will, for the will of God. I accept all the hardships of the monastic life, and take the vows of purity, chastity, and poverty, in the hope of heaven; and I promise to remain a monk in this monastery all the days of my life.
257. The Written Profession of a Monk.
Migne, 66. col. 825.
It was my earnest desire to become a monk, but when I applied for admission to this monastery, I was told it would not be granted until I had been tried and proved. So I was at first received only as a guest; after remaining in that position for several days, I was accepted as a novice to serve a period of probation. During this period I was under the charge of one of the older monks. He first explained to me all the hardships and difficulties of the life of a monk, and after I had promised steadfastness in these conditions, he said: "If you ever draw back after giving your solemn promise to obey the rule, you are not fit for the kingdom of God. You will be driven from the doors of the monastery in the old garments in which you were first admitted; for as you put off the world and your worldly garments when you became a monk, so you shall be made to put them on again to be cast out, remaining thenceforth a slave of the world to the contempt of all the righteous." But I took courage, saying with David: "By the words of thy lips, I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer" [Ps. 17:4], for I knew that if I shared the sufferings of Christ I should also share his glorious resurrection. Comforting myself with these thoughts, I promised that I would keep all these commandments, as I hoped for eternal life. Having thus convinced the father of my determination, I was accepted as a novice and made to serve a novitiate of a year, during which time the rule was read to me three times, each time with the admonition: "This is the law under which you have expressed your desire to live; if you are able to obey it, enter; if not, depart a free man." My year of novitiate being completed and my mind fully made up after this long and careful deliberation, I now earnestly pray you with tears to receive me into your congregation. Therefore I promise, as I hope for salvation, with the aid of God to observe the rule in all things, and to obey the abbot and my superiors; I become a bondsman to the rule, that I may gain eternal liberty. From this day forth I will never leave the monastery nor withdraw my neck from the yoke of this service, which I have accepted freely and of my own will after a year of deliberation. I solemnly promise steadfastness (stabilitas loci), conversion of life, and perfect obedience. In witness thereof I have made this promise in writing, in the name of the saints whose relics are preserved here, and in the name of the abbot, and I now present it. This document, signed with my own hand, I now place upon the altar, whence it shall be taken and kept forever in the archives of the monastery.
258. The Ceremony of Receiving a Monk into the Monastery.
Migne, 66, cols. 829 ff.
After the novice has made his oral profession, the abbot puts on the robe in which mass is to be said. Then, after the offertory, the abbot examines the novice as follows: