• Contact
• Mission of quies.org
• Discernment
• Spirituality
• Carthusian horarium
• Rule for hermits (Julian of Norwich)
• Small groups meetings and video conferencing
• SBPCLC regular small group contacts
• Quies
• Cell
• Solitude
  
• IFSB daily observances guidelines
• Selignac Centers Life Cartusienne | source text | tentative adapted retranslation|
• Quies tabula
  

• We are here in an early stage process of personal and collegial discernment of customs, while experiencing varied and evolving life obligations and challenges.
• Each of us adapts, and shares, a robust sum of practices from the following suggestions, an evolving "personal recipe", experienced in view of achieving actual permanent personal balance towards Quies.
• What is very good for one could be inapplicable for another. What is good now could be changed under different circumstances.
  
• The exterior and interior challenges, in the open world, with the help of grace and appropriate customs, develop providentially the necessary poverty of spirit and humility, to become guided by an ever purified intent to adhere to God's loving designs, and to the peace following; through our developing conscience, communion and participation in God's love, for all of us. - "Therefore, be attentive; when you want something, never do it on your own, but pray to Me that my Will may do it in you. In fact, that same thing, if you do it yourself, sounds bad, gives of human; but if my Will does it, it sounds good, it harmonizes with Heaven, it is sustained by a divine grace and power, it is the Creator that operates in the creature, its fragrance is divine; and rising everywhere, it embraces everyone with one single embrace, in such a way that all feel the good of the operating of the Creator in the creature."  source | Fiat | Spiritual virginity | Redemption | Mary | Holy Spirit | Balance
  
• The Carthusian way

Carthusian Statutes

• CLC officials will provide, at the disposal of their members, a few essential elements to help in the development of this prayer (texts, life of St. Bruno, order history, excerpts of the Statutes of the Order) Gd2.
  
• Individual customs and eventual Lay Contemplative statutes, should be naturally strongly resourced from the Statutes of the Carthusian Order itself. 
• The Statutes of the Carthusian Order are "statutes" and not a "rule", more of a blueprint for a way of living a contemplative life, and much of it could  be surely adapted to fit our lay life "in the open world." They should be used as our strong reference basis, of the Carthusian Order, for our adapting, experiencing of our individual lay horarium, and our eventual collective Lay Contemplative statutes.
  
• The Carthusian Statutes
• The Carthusian Liturgy

• Begin by the page How to get started.
  
• Spirituality is something to be experienced, it cannot be explained.
  
• The Quies 5 step commitment to following the 11 guidelines is the door to access the spirituality, beginning with living step 1, then … the other steps one by one founded on the deepening of the practice of its previous steps. There will be progressively developed a community structure for fraternal exchanges, and there are often many informal exchanges being done daily. But the life of the Charism of Saint Bruno remains a personal solitary endeavor – although collegially shared, managed, and developed. It is projected to be a Lay Faithful Association, and is a beautiful and simple spirituality to propose progressively through the example of living it, its simplicity and its balance; to any parishioner, to any friend, to all.
  
• As an early inspiration for the preparation of our members, it is recommended that one make customarily Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort's Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary with a 33-day period of spiritual preparation. (You might want to refer also to the Treatise of The True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort ).
• Some of the challenges could consist of, for example: human balance in ecclesial discernment; solitude in community; sobriety in duty of state; develop continual prayer of the heart in the open world; wholly abandoning our human wills to follow God's Will; ecumenism of the heart; having the patience to understand, to truly love; prayerful collegial participatory governing; walk together perseveringly and supportively the path of Quies; live Quies in the open world; understanding that Mary is Christ's mother, and is our mother, to obtain for us all graces; listen to follow peace; follow peace to serve; serve as did Christ, serve in Christ; follow the Quies SBPCLC 5 steps.
  
• The Carthusians consecrate their lives entirely to prayer and seeking God in the secret of their hearts. | Flee distraction; search only God¹
• Be careful to follow the discrete creative immanent renewed calls of divine peace, in an internal (discerning) spirit of prayer.
  
• The objective is to adjust practices favoring our continual union of heart and will, in God. 
• In doubt, do at the moment, within our duty of state, what is best conducive to a spirit of peace, quies, prayer or union with God, as that is the vocation of the SBPCLC.
• A spirit of healthy balance between: sleep, food, physical work, study, silent prayer, community, solitude, and the duties of state.
• Prefer God always, fleeing distraction, within duty of state.
  
• Communial charismatic participation to the SBPCLC IFSB SBLC, discretely sharing the responsibilities and workload together: organization, progression, development and well-being of the community; study groups, technical help, meetings, translations, research, documentation, redaction, proof reading, reports, accounting, legal research, visitations, direction and sacred listening, moderators, board membership; participation to the forums, to small groups meetings and video conferencing and  SBPCLC regular small group contacts.
• Silence (for prayer, mediation, lectio divina) in a place of solitude if possible.
• Quies: The preference for the ambiance of solitude, the absence of any disturbing noise and of worldly desires and images, the quiet and calm attention of the mind to God, within our duty of state, helped by prayer and leisurely reading, flow into that "quies" or "rest" of the soul in God. A simple and joyful state of rest, full of God, that leads to feel, in some way, the beauty of eternal life, in all.
• Customs: Just as was at the beginning of the Order, the Carthusians have continued to adjust their observances by customs, admitting nothing that was first proven and sanctioned by experience. The various adaptations have also focused most often on very accessory details. Carthusian life, completely remote from the outside world, stands above contingencies and, broadly, remains the same.
• Simplicity: The most characteristic feature of the spiritual physiognomy of Saint Bruno is simplicity, understood in the sense of unity, and lack of complication in the soul, loving only God. To an acute degree, Saint Bruno felt the nostalgia of the divine; he has traveled in this world, relieved of all that clutters, going straight to the point, his only desire fixed on God. The simplicity of his spiritual sight, the unity of his life, his complete detachment, his contempt of all earthly things, inspired Bruno's funeral roller enrollment no.126 from the Monastery of St. Vaast d'Arras: "Sic Pater, o Bruno, capis Unum captus ab Uno " which could be translated: "Taken by the One, o Father Bruno, now you are holding the One". And the monk Gaubert of Saint Quentin in Beauvais, said of Bruno that : "he was the only man of his time who had renounced the world" (Title 81).
• Prayer of the heart
  
• Short prayers
• Non-Christian meditation
  

Customarily

• Recite an Ave Maria: to be recited kneeling each time upon entering back to our "cell" [apartment/office/oratory] from the outside "world" so to speak, at a designated special place at the entry, where an icon or statue of Mary is installed, has been blessed (by a priest) eventually, and is venerated as the Mother of our cell/soul Life of Christification. The Carthusians customarily recite a silent, solitary, Ave Maria, kneeling, in a room named the "Ave Maria", before entering their cubiculum; uniting and consecrating all their activities and time to Mary; or pray there together with their host before engaging in any conversation, or entering anothers cubiculum, when they are visiting. "Whenever we enter the cell from the cloister, we kneel and say an Ave Maria before the statue of Our Lady in the Ave Maria.  After saying it, we stand make the sign of the Cross and a slight bow" First Initiation into the Carthusian Life pg 104
• Know that the carthusian customary salutation is: "Praised be Jesus Christ!"  response "Now and forever".
• The carthusian Sign of the Cross: in making the Sign of the Cross, whether upon oneself or things, the thumb and the first two fingers are fully extended, and the remaining two fingers are bent upon the palm of the hand. The Sign of the Cross of the Carthusians, is made reverently, slowly, with majesty; their gesture describing a uniquely large cross, from forehead, to waist, with their hands brushing the outside of each shoulder, left to right shoulder. It is important to make it well.
  
• Food (discretionary): meatless² when possible³, fish, eggs, dairy, vegetables. 
• We should practice mortification of the flesh not merely out of obedience to the Statutes, but primarily to be freed from the tendencies of our lower nature and enabled to follow the Lord more readily and cheerfully. Carthusian Statutes  Chapter 7 no 3 
• In accordance with the practice introduced by our first Fathers and ever since observed with remarkable zeal, we exclude all eating and taking of meat from our way of life. Carthusian Statutes Chapter 7 no 5

• Eucharist and communion, according to ones particular schedules.
  
• Arrive some time (for example 30 minutes) before Mass to adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
  
• Balance
  
• Study, lectio divina, spiritual reading.
  
• Physical cardio activities, manual work (gardening, walking, biking, climbing stairs, physically demanding services). - The Carthusians spend 45 minutes morning and afternoon in exerting physical activity cutting wood or gardening.
• Integrated study guide for the Mystery of Work (source )
• Silent prayer - The monks at CT customarily pray silent prayer from 4PM to 5PM. We could join, whenever possible, together at that time through our own personal silent prayer.
• Short prayers
  
• Other discretionary³ forms of prayer
  
• Liturgy of the hours - See also: Getting started FAQ
  
• Note: Carthusian Offices said in cell are recited out loud, at least physically pronounced distinctly if whispered; they are not simply read mentally.
  
• Divine Office
• IBreviary Available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, Kindle Fire, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry, mobile version, widgets.
  
• Carthusian Liturgy
• Carthusian Diurnal Volume I  Little Hours of the Canonical Office  - Office of the Blessed Virgin  - Penitential Psalms and Litany of the Saints  - Office of the Dead, Grande Chartreuse, 1985
• Diurnal Cartusien [Fr]
• The Carthusian Conversi and Brothers offices: Our Fathers and Hail Mary's that could be said in place of the office at the particular hours.
• "The night Office is, in accordance with our ancient practice, fairly long, though never beyond the limits of discretion; in this way, the psalmody nourishes our interior devotion and enables us to give ourselves in addition, without fatigue or loss of interest, to secret prayer of the heart." Carthusian Statutes Chapter 3 no 7
• Quies tabula
  
• Rosary | Le Rosaire, quelques jalons historiques et spirituels | The Life of Christ Rosary (Also Known as the Carthusian Rosary) - Attributed to Saint Dominic of Prussia
• Angelus | 
• Carthusian Angelus First Initiation into the Carthusian Life Pg 82
• The Carthusian Angelus is recited four times in the day: at the end of the Night Office; in the morning after Prime; at Midday; and in the evening before Compline
• We say the Angelus wherever we are when the bell rings.  We say just three Hail Marys, taking the venia before each one. If no Office follows the Angelus, we then stand up and make the sign of the Cross".
  
• Eucharistic Adoration (The Eucharist as Presence and Sacrament)
  
• Eucharistic Adoration (Wikipedia)
• Devotion to Mary
• Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel (can be perpetually prayed)
  
• The Jesus prayer (wikipedia)
• The Creed: every late of the night, in cell at the end of the Office of Lauds of Our Blessed Virgin Mary, about around 2:30 AM is always recited by Carthusians a choice between three catholic creeds: The Athanasian Creed [QUICUNQUE VULT] | The Apostle's Creed | The Nicene Creed. This deep transforming contemplative prayer of our revealed Creed, like a constant heartbeat, is defining of the heart of the Carthusian souls in Trinitarian life, and of Saint Bruno's followers vocation of devoted presence like the Seraphim before the revealed God, in the Church for the world.

Weekly

• Confession (Regularly on Sunday could be convenient; for many parishes confession is scheduled on Saturday)
• Ex: Consuetudines 7.2 - Guigo I's instructions for Sundays: "above all silence all week until Sunday morning confessions".
• Spatiamentum (3-4 hour physical hike in mountains/woods) necessary to balance psychologically and physically, get away from stress, relax the tension as for an archers bow, Saint Bruno requires this to his spiritual sons and daughters. A beneficial retreat, for SBPCLC, while made in solitude. Of course this is to all be adapted according to our lay life.
• Spatiamentum in solitary summer trail    (large file 6MB) | Spatiamentum in solitary fall panorama top of mountain   (medium file 1.15MB) | Top of mountain November 29 2013 snow (large file 7.6MB) | Photo sun St Hilaire (1.1 Mb)
• Saint Hugh's Charterhouse spatiamentum
• Sunday and feasts; dedicate to sharing very special recreational time, with our family and close ones. The Carthusians share together in a recreation and more time spent in community (a community meal) on Sundays and Feast days.
  
• Fridays, remember and honor specially the sufferings and passion of Our Lord.
• Fasting
  
• One hour of Eucharistic adoration.
  

Bi/Tri weekly

• SBPCLC regular small group contacts, meeting or video conference
  

Monthly

• Board meeting video conference
  

Yearly

• Personal retreat
• Board in person meeting / retreat
  

Organizational

• Horarium calendar
• Computer and smartphone reminders
  
• Skype for meetings
• Google talk

Apostolate

• Solitude and community
  
• The Carthusian life, although it should be considered eremitical because of the prominence and greater dignity of its eremitic element, is composed of solitary life and common life. Although the Carthusians do not exercise any active apostolate outside the cloister walls, they do exercise an apostolate for the vocational retreatants and in the formation of novices and counseling of the carthusian monks and nuns. The SBPCLC life similarly, although it favors the prominence and greater dignity of its eremitic element, is composed of solitary life and common life.
• SBPCLC active apostolate
  
• Informal apostolate situations will regularly arise. In the open world a SBPCLC will be necessarily involved in various levels of exchanges with immediate family, neighbors, co-workers, clients, strangers, in a common life duty of state (apostolate) of service, or teaching. The values of the desert fathers Saint Bruno charism, remain a solid foundational reference for all spiritual development; and thus within our implicit prayerful contemplative continual sacred listening, of the signs of the times, and of all persons and situations, and in the providential occasional or organized explicit exchanges of life, there imposes itself the usefulness to participate discretely at Providence's pace, in witnessing lived and sometimes taught SBPCLC spirituality values, within social interaction and notably graced consoling of the afflictions of others.
• Some formal apostolate might be discerned as opportune for some SBPCLC. As an example, for the year of the Faith (2012-2013), a SBPCLC aspirant providentially began to be be involved in leading a faith discussion group of 25-45 persons, once a month, in a retirement home, with the permission and assistance/blessings of the priest, on the subject of Faith. The group grew in its interest for this subject, encouraged by the priest, and has been looking forward/requesting to further meetings after the end of the year of the Faith. Saint Bruno desert fathers spirituality implicitly informs the structure of the counseling of the informal exchanges and discussions by the SBPCLC aspirant, and the participants are introduced somewhat experientially in the carthusian charism. This project is consecrated to Mary Immaculate. For more information about the schedule or organization of this particular discussion group write to contact.
• Although a SBPCLC could thus eventually venture to witnessing, informally or formally, of Saint Bruno desert fathers spirituality; this can only be done rightly and discretely, only from, and while acquiring, a timely first hand personal experience through the SBPCLC Quies 5 steps, always remembering that:  “Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.” Albert Einstein. - One can discuss a task, but discussion will only give an intellectual understanding of it. We must experience the task first hand to "know" it; not spend ourselves avoiding experience, fleeing into speculative information; so we must go out there, and do it, apply the 5 steps, and gain priceless knowledge of Quies.  In Latin, ‘to know’ is cognoscere; the etymology of the word is ‘cum nascere’, which means ‘to be born with’. So, information would transmit communicable intellectual speculative theory; and practice transforms us, making us One through experience with otherwise humanly theoretically incommunicable knowledge: ‘cum nascere’, which means ‘to be born with’. The Quies 5 steps communicable information, based on the 11 guidelines, are a blueprint of a proposed "praxis", or path of rules to gain knowledge into specifically Saint Bruno's own ecclesial charism, of Christocentric contemplative desert fathers experience that he, and his spiritual sons and daughters, identify as the coveted goal of Quies.
• Small group meetings and videoconferencing are proposed by the Reverend Father in the 11 guidelines; this mode of exchange needs however to be courageously tried, encouraged and developed as it is less familiar and less technically user friendly, could we say, than group in person meetings.
• SBPCLC regular small group contacts
  
• Membership
• Spirituality
  

Helpful

• Earplugs/noise reduction ear muffs, for noisy apartments/neighborhoods.

Spiritual

• Spirit of obedience, in duty of state.
  
• Receive direction from, and pray for learned and holy counselor(s), spiritual director and/or confessor(s).
  
• The grace and counseling humbly received in the sacrament of confession, mysteriously provides from Christ, dosed appropriate help to travel the important steps in our spiritual journey.
• The Eucharist, prayer, examination of conscience, as well as suffering, purified by the Holy Spirit, to the humble of heart: reveal, strip, enlighten, free, unclutter progressively the path of interior peace, which is the Life of God.
  

• Membership
• The Quies SBPCLC 5 steps

Notes

1. Only God: God alone | God only | Soli Deo | Deus solus | to be only in God’s Will
   
2. Meatless: There have been some observed physiological advantages for interior contemplative life to a meatless diet; and there are probable health advantages, not excluding though prudent individual medical supervision.
3. When possible:  remains a suggestion and discretionary⁴.
   
4. Discretionary: Hesychasts who are living as hermits might have a very rare attendance at the Divine Liturgy (see the life of Saint Seraphim of Sarov | see also: Getting started FAQ) and might not recite the Divine Office except by means of the Jesus Prayer (attested practice on Mt Athos). In general, the Hesychast restricts his external activities for the sake of his Hesychastic practice. It is a question then for us, as Lay Faithful living in the open world, of discerning every time what is more appropriate for each, to "sit" interiorly and be One (monos) with God, at the present moment, within our duty of state.
5. Interior solitude (Quies): "It is a spiritual process through which memory, intellect and will progressively die to every interest and complacence for things. God begins, instead, to be felt as the only one who can satisfy the deep realms of the spirit. It is only when the Carthusian discovers, bathed in admiration, that only God satisfies him that he begins to really be a true contemplative. Feeling that only God can satisfy him produces such a feeling of interior freedom and joy that it is difficult to express it in words."