My visit among the monks....
... now that I am back. I actually did not live the life of the monks, who are Trappists, or what are now called Cistercians of the Strict Observance. Thank God! That requires more fortitude than I could muster and the effort would turn my time there into a different kind of retreat.
Instead we stayed in a separate guest house about a quarter mile from the abbey itself. The retreat house in turn is a bit less than a quarter mile from the Shenandoah river. Right on the other side of the river rises the slope of the Blue Ridge Mountain. At night the stars shine like you can rarely see now. It was a lovely spot to spend four days.
If you click here you can see several pictures of the guest house. The top picture is the chapel. From the main foor where my room was you walk down to the end of the hall out onto a small balcony overlooking this chapel which is spare and simple, like the rest of the house. I imagine that it was cheap to build but still conveys eloquence and quiet. The next two pictures show the rooms: each is exactly alike. We were not given keys because we were not expected to lock our doors. That was the first thing I leaned when I signed in and it clearly marked out our space as being outside normal time and space.
I especially liked the little desk built into the wall under the crucifix and the lamp. Simple but functional. I think the Shakers would have understood the architecture and furnishings of this place if nothing else. The entrance hall to the room is slanted so that you can leave the door wide open, as some did, and still have privacy. I also had a out my windows of fields backed by the mountains.
The next picture is of the sun room right off the library which you can see in the following picture. It was a wonderful place to sit and read in the morning. We could spend as much time in the library as we wanted which was a real treat, of course. Not surprisingly it contained a lot of material on and by Thomas Merton, including a set of tapes of talks that Merton had done on various aspects of spirituality.
At the opposite end of the building right by the front entrance was a dining room that could seat 15 people, the limit the house could hold (although one room was always kept empty for the 'unknown traveler' who might show up at any moment, or for any traveler in need). Breakfast was self serve anytime between 7 and 9:30. To my relief there was always a pot of coffee available, but since it was always brewed by other guests who apparently never lived in Minnesota it was never strong enough.
Meals were the only things we had to do and the only thing we all did together, promptly at noon and 6:30. All meals were taken in silence, like the monks, and we all helped clean up as part of our 'sharing the monastic life.' Everyone of the monks has their work to do. Noontime dinner was the main meal and unlike the monks ours always included meat. Meals were fairly simple but good and with plenty of it. I never took desert, drank nothing but black coffee and water, and enjoyed it. Didn't even miss the things I had given up.
... now that I am back. I actually did not live the life of the monks, who are Trappists, or what are now called Cistercians of the Strict Observance. Thank God! That requires more fortitude than I could muster and the effort would turn my time there into a different kind of retreat.
Instead we stayed in a separate guest house about a quarter mile from the abbey itself. The retreat house in turn is a bit less than a quarter mile from the Shenandoah river. Right on the other side of the river rises the slope of the Blue Ridge Mountain. At night the stars shine like you can rarely see now. It was a lovely spot to spend four days.
If you click here you can see several pictures of the guest house. The top picture is the chapel. From the main foor where my room was you walk down to the end of the hall out onto a small balcony overlooking this chapel which is spare and simple, like the rest of the house. I imagine that it was cheap to build but still conveys eloquence and quiet. The next two pictures show the rooms: each is exactly alike. We were not given keys because we were not expected to lock our doors. That was the first thing I leaned when I signed in and it clearly marked out our space as being outside normal time and space.
I especially liked the little desk built into the wall under the crucifix and the lamp. Simple but functional. I think the Shakers would have understood the architecture and furnishings of this place if nothing else. The entrance hall to the room is slanted so that you can leave the door wide open, as some did, and still have privacy. I also had a out my windows of fields backed by the mountains.
The next picture is of the sun room right off the library which you can see in the following picture. It was a wonderful place to sit and read in the morning. We could spend as much time in the library as we wanted which was a real treat, of course. Not surprisingly it contained a lot of material on and by Thomas Merton, including a set of tapes of talks that Merton had done on various aspects of spirituality.
At the opposite end of the building right by the front entrance was a dining room that could seat 15 people, the limit the house could hold (although one room was always kept empty for the 'unknown traveler' who might show up at any moment, or for any traveler in need). Breakfast was self serve anytime between 7 and 9:30. To my relief there was always a pot of coffee available, but since it was always brewed by other guests who apparently never lived in Minnesota it was never strong enough.
Meals were the only things we had to do and the only thing we all did together, promptly at noon and 6:30. All meals were taken in silence, like the monks, and we all helped clean up as part of our 'sharing the monastic life.' Everyone of the monks has their work to do. Noontime dinner was the main meal and unlike the monks ours always included meat. Meals were fairly simple but good and with plenty of it. I never took desert, drank nothing but black coffee and water, and enjoyed it. Didn't even miss the things I had given up.
posted by Clemens | 12:02 AM
3 Comments:
How can you not have (excellent) beer at an Abbey?
I always pictured there were fountains of it flowing, and you could just grab a chalice while strolling around empty halls letting yourself think.
--Joey
Your report was very interesting.
Unlike Joey, it never entered my mind that the Abbey would have beer let alone flowing fountains of it.
Jackie
The best beer in the world is brewed by Belgian monks.
During long periods of fasting, their ales sustained them.
--Joey
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