CONTEMPLATIVE END OF LIFE - TRAPPIST CASKETS
Published on Dec 27, 2012
"For Trappists, there is beauty in death because it is treated as a natural part of life. That is why Trappists do not try to hide what happens to the body at death or interfere with the natural process of returning it to the earth." - Trappist Caskets website.
Trappist Caskets are produced at the Catholic monastery of New Melleray Abbey in rural Iowa. There, the monks understand casket making as a "work of mercy." Their casket business allows them to be self-sufficient and practice responsible stewardship.
The monks are quoted on the their Trappist Caskets website: "Along with prayer and study, our casket ministry is an extension of our sacred work. We labor quietly with our hands in support of our life of simplicity....here, the life of prayer is imparted into our labor as we observe the call to "pray without ceasing."
The monk's lives are based on the Rule of St. Benedict which requires them to infuse all their activities with prayer and contemplation, whether they are working, eating or studying.
