Today’s The World Around Us will be presented in Slovenian, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Welcome to The World Around Us, lovely viewers. On today's show we will explore the Stična Monastery in Slovenia, a renowned monastery located in a valley near the cities of Ivančna Gorica and Šentvid. It is one of the most famous monasteries in Slovenia, with religious people all over the world gathering at this location every year because of its long history of spiritual tradition.

It is the only operating monastery of the Cistercian order in Slovenia. The Stična Monastery is such a well visited monastery that the monks who reside in it today give guided tours, set up workshops, and prayer groups for those who are interested.

The origins of The Stična monastery date back to year 1132, the time when Romanesque architecture prevailed all over Europe, which means that Stična monastery also traces its beginnings to the Romanesque period.

Besides the Romanesque style, Gothic art and architecture also blossomed in Stična, early Gothic to be precise.

The monastery church in Stična was built as a three-nave Romanesque basilica. It was finished in 1156 and was solemnly sanctified by Patriarch Peregrin of Oglej. The church was at first only the monks' church, it was only a monastic church.

In the late 17th or 18th century it was opened for other people. It has been reconstructed many times. Scriptures say that it has been renovated even in the Gothic style, but no Gothic elements were found. Today the church is covered in a corpulent Baroque cloak of roughcast, so it looks like baroque basilica at first sight. But actually it is a completely Romanesque basilica.

The appearance of the Stična Monastery is just as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside. There are many walls that are decoratively painted with religious scenes as well as decorative stucco work. Aside from the monastery's exquisite structure, its main feature is still worship and communication with the Heavenly Creator, which is reflected through the tradition of silence.

Silence plays a very important role in Cistercian life. At first our fathers included the principle of silence as a distincive penitent component of our monastic life. But silence is also the enriching component of our life, because it enables us mental concentration. Cistercians’ life is an interplay between work and prayer.

That kind of mental concentration is somehow accomplished during the prayer and then we keep silence all day till next prayer. But calm and silence help us preserve the achieved mental concentration during our work. Therefore the work each of us perform every day should also be done in silence.

The monks of Stična Monastery have always focused on their given tasks to such a degree that they become naturally skilled and accomplished. Some at Stična have become well known not just in the religious aspect, but also in the arts and medicine.

One member who was very well known was friar Simon Ašič from Brestanica Parish in Stajerska. He began studying herbal medicine as a young priest and expanded his hobby to enormous proportions. He wrote four books, three with advice on how to use herbal medicine for different illnesses. His fourth book is a manual on how to collect herbs, so that people could collect herbs themselves.

He lived a normal monastery life. In the morning when it was time to work, people were visiting him and telling about their troubles. He listened to them, advised them different tea mixtures and ointments and helped them in this way. All who came to see friar Simon said that he was a man with great heart, who knew how to listen to people and by just having him listen and share their troubles they were simply relieved when they were leaving.

At the end of his life, that business became so large, that we had to start a company, Sitik, which continues Abbot Simon Ašič work and produces tea according to his recipes, all kinds of ointments, huge amounts of apple vinegar, which was widely recommended by Abbot Simon, and other healing products.

One of the main concerns of our monks has always been care for our heritage; cultural, religious, and taking care of nature. When friar Simon was teaching people how to collect herbs he always told them: “Collect only as much as you need, so that you won't destroy all the nature or even make some flower extinct in a certain area.”

We will be right back with our presentation of the Stična Monastery, the most well known monastery in Slovenia. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Welcome back, joyful viewers. You are watching The World Around Us on Supreme Master Television, and our highlight today on the Slovenian Monastery, Stična.

Friar Gabriel Humek was a contemporary of our Friar Simon Ašič who was one year younger and who became a painter. When he was sent to help in Mogila, Poland, he began his studies of painting at Krakow University Art Academy. Later when he returned from Poland, he continued his studies in Zagreb and finally graduated in Ljubljana at a newly established Academy under Professor Gojmir Kojs.

He was the representative of so-called magic realism. He used to play a lot with colors, his characteristics were shadows and light. He was painting only in his free time, otherwise he had lived exemplary monk's life.

Although the tradition of working and contemplating in silence remains important, in today’s Stična Monastery, these practices have slightly adjusted for the modern world. To accommodate all those who also wish to connect with God here, the monks have opened up their arms and welcomed laypeople into this sacred space.

Today's life is of course different than it was 900 years ago. The monastery today is more opened. Visitors are coming here, so we often need to undo the silence to talk to people who are coming here. They come to see the place and ask many questions. That's why from time to time we interrupt the silence when we serve the people and use this as an example to explain the monastic way of living.

And by doing this we also somehow show our love to people visiting us and let them know that they are welcome in here. Stična Monastery has been graced by the presence of His Holiness the late Pope John Paul II. Special religious programs take place at the monastery, usually organized by the enthusiastic participants, the youths, themselves.

The largest attendance was at the time of the first visit of the Pope with more than 10,000 people. The program goes on the whole day, starting with the presentation of some spiritual virtues in the form of sketches and plays. Next is the address from our bishop. In the middle there is eucharistic holy mass, which is the height of the day.

After the mass they have a concert, they sing, dance. At around five o'clock in the evening they bid farewell and leave Stična. For a few years now this Youth Festival has been organized by the youth themselves. There is a group of people who meets one year in advance and organizes in detail the whole program and the gathering, here in Stična. This program is entirely their own work. In the monastery, we live according to the principle “pray and work.”

We are trying to unite the material and spiritual side of life. Thus we are revealing that human is not only a material being, but also a being expanding into the spiritual world – a spiritual being.

That is also our task. We monks must live according to Christian values and encourage people to protect the environment, to take care of our cultural heritage and to cultivate good relationships among ourselves, between people.

The Holy Bible says that human beings are the crown of creation. That is true, but even if he is the crown of creation, master of all creation, he has to be a wise master and not the one who destroys the creation, leaving nothing for those who are coming after us.

Abbot Anton was the first to open part of the monastery to outside people.

People come at weekends with their spiritual guide to enjoy spiritual concentration.

This monastic church became a parish church a few years before the disbandment of monastery in 1784. It was opened for people and people could use it. We have a holy mass every evening. On Sundays there are three parish masses at 6, 8 and 10 am and one in the afternoon, at times of fasting, Way of the Cross or Vespers [evening prayers] at other time of the year.

Of course, monks who are priests, like myself, are always here for people for spiritual conversation. People can always come to the monastery entrance and ask for someone for spiritual conversation. On Sundays we are in confessional boxes between masses for confession or spiritual talk. So, we are here for the people.

Like a steadfast clear stream, the Stična Monastery is a place in which one can return to the way of spiritual aspiration, of solace, diligence, wisdom, and love. May this beautiful holy site continue to be a sanctuary that graces souls, of monks and lay pilgrims alike.

Thank you for joining us on today’s The World Around Us. Coming up next is Words of Wisdom, after Noteworthy News. May the Providence bless you with love and joy.