In May 2006 a friend of mine and I paid a four-day visit to a monastery. It was a tremendous experience. Please read my report:
It is 2006, May, the fourth, four thirty in the morning and the alarm-clock rings. After a few minutes I am taking a shower, after which I return to my room, I dress and consult the order of the day. I pick up the booklet belonging to the Vigil. Then a bell concert starts, filling the atmosphere with rhythmic, bronze tones widely in the wide surroundings of the Limburg countryside. It is still dark, but the first birds respond to the bells with tiny but clear voices. Bronze and silver. My friend knocks on my door. We walk through several corridors and a patio, and after having climbed some stairs, we enter the chapel, having crossed ourselves with blessed water from a stone bowl. It is an oblong room, the East half of it having the altar in its center, and along the South and North sides three rows of wooden benches. Along the North and South walls a colonnade with simple square columns of brick stones. The other, Western half contains the benches for the faithful visitors who want to attend the functions. Around 3.5 meters above us, a row of square, light-green windows stretches alongside the whole of the top borders of all four walls. Everything is without any ornaments except for twelve simple crosses along the walls and an Eastern Candle, everything square, straight and grey with some green shadowing. After some waiting and joint by other people convoked by the bells, the monks enter the chapel from a door in the Southern wall, a procession of mysteriously rustling black figures, escaped from an illustration in an ancient hand written book of prayers, and fill the rows of benches. Then the singing starts, introduced by a short solo by one monk, and followed by a series of psalms in Latin, sung in Gregorian music style, just the same way as Charlemagne in the ninth century must have heard it. It would continue for the next 45 minutes, the North rows responding every verse sung by the South rows… Click here to get an idea of this wonderful, meditative singing. It's the Benedictine monks who restored it in its original beauty after long and meticulous study.
The morning has several other functions like this: the “prime”, the “laude” and, of course, the Holy Mass. In-between there are short breaks for breakfast and coffee, and, of course, work. The Benedict "slogan" is "ora et labora" which means "pray and work", also and mainly meaning that wotk is prayer (think how this works out if you consider working as a kind os praying). Breakfast and coffee are used separately by monks and guests, the lunch is shared. “Noon meal” would be a better word because it consists of soup, vegetables, potatoes and a dessert on Sundays. The breaks are wonderful liaisons between the ceremonies because of the sunny weather and the landscape. The abbey is located in the South of the Dutch province of Limburg, beautifully embedded in the landscape. Its architecture is world-famous, designed by a fellow-father, Dom. Hans van der Laan, who regretfully passed away only a couple of years ago. Admire it on http://www.benedictusberg.nl/. Connected to it are a bindery, a mason workplace, a bakery, a carpenter’s workplace, and of course there is work to do in the gardens, the kitchens, the housekeeping and last but not least the care for the guests. The abbey functions as far as the guests are concerned, as a kind of hotel, with “proposed” room rates: you are free to give less or more, even nothing at all will not make you a thief. The guests are completely free to attend the functions or to do other things, as long as it is in harmony with the core activity of the abbey, which is praying and working: “ora et labora” as their founding father Benedict (who is also the founding father of all Christian monastery life in the world) ordered.
In the afternoon of the second day of our staying one of the monks loosened himself from the group of brothers he was chatting with in the garden, approached me and said: “Yes, it’s you!” and I also recognised him. I already suspected him to be among the monks, and chose this abbey for our stay to check it. Forty-two years ago he was my classmate at high school, and I remembered him as eager to enter into this Order. Can you imagine? We embraced each other and were very happy that we met again. During the rest of our four-day stay we had some short but impressive talks. He asked why we got the idea to be guests of the abbey. I explained that I wrote an article about Wil Derkse in CHNtimes, and held a presentation about ST. Benedict, both exactly one year ago. I wanted to familiarize myself more with the Order of St. Benedict, and enjoy of course also the benefits of religious reflection in a very special way. As a matter of fact, after my presentation my friend had challenged me to go with him, and so we encouraged each other to take this unfamiliar step. We don’t regret and are determined to repeat it more times. I invite readers of this blog to contact me to repeat the visit I just described. It’s far cheaper than a budget hotel and you get so much more than in a 5 star hotel… Only one small restriction: you have to be male.
It is 2006, May, the fourth, four thirty in the morning and the alarm-clock rings. After a few minutes I am taking a shower, after which I return to my room, I dress and consult the order of the day. I pick up the booklet belonging to the Vigil. Then a bell concert starts, filling the atmosphere with rhythmic, bronze tones widely in the wide surroundings of the Limburg countryside. It is still dark, but the first birds respond to the bells with tiny but clear voices. Bronze and silver. My friend knocks on my door. We walk through several corridors and a patio, and after having climbed some stairs, we enter the chapel, having crossed ourselves with blessed water from a stone bowl. It is an oblong room, the East half of it having the altar in its center, and along the South and North sides three rows of wooden benches. Along the North and South walls a colonnade with simple square columns of brick stones. The other, Western half contains the benches for the faithful visitors who want to attend the functions. Around 3.5 meters above us, a row of square, light-green windows stretches alongside the whole of the top borders of all four walls. Everything is without any ornaments except for twelve simple crosses along the walls and an Eastern Candle, everything square, straight and grey with some green shadowing. After some waiting and joint by other people convoked by the bells, the monks enter the chapel from a door in the Southern wall, a procession of mysteriously rustling black figures, escaped from an illustration in an ancient hand written book of prayers, and fill the rows of benches. Then the singing starts, introduced by a short solo by one monk, and followed by a series of psalms in Latin, sung in Gregorian music style, just the same way as Charlemagne in the ninth century must have heard it. It would continue for the next 45 minutes, the North rows responding every verse sung by the South rows… Click here to get an idea of this wonderful, meditative singing. It's the Benedictine monks who restored it in its original beauty after long and meticulous study.
The morning has several other functions like this: the “prime”, the “laude” and, of course, the Holy Mass. In-between there are short breaks for breakfast and coffee, and, of course, work. The Benedict "slogan" is "ora et labora" which means "pray and work", also and mainly meaning that wotk is prayer (think how this works out if you consider working as a kind os praying). Breakfast and coffee are used separately by monks and guests, the lunch is shared. “Noon meal” would be a better word because it consists of soup, vegetables, potatoes and a dessert on Sundays. The breaks are wonderful liaisons between the ceremonies because of the sunny weather and the landscape. The abbey is located in the South of the Dutch province of Limburg, beautifully embedded in the landscape. Its architecture is world-famous, designed by a fellow-father, Dom. Hans van der Laan, who regretfully passed away only a couple of years ago. Admire it on http://www.benedictusberg.nl/. Connected to it are a bindery, a mason workplace, a bakery, a carpenter’s workplace, and of course there is work to do in the gardens, the kitchens, the housekeeping and last but not least the care for the guests. The abbey functions as far as the guests are concerned, as a kind of hotel, with “proposed” room rates: you are free to give less or more, even nothing at all will not make you a thief. The guests are completely free to attend the functions or to do other things, as long as it is in harmony with the core activity of the abbey, which is praying and working: “ora et labora” as their founding father Benedict (who is also the founding father of all Christian monastery life in the world) ordered.
In the afternoon of the second day of our staying one of the monks loosened himself from the group of brothers he was chatting with in the garden, approached me and said: “Yes, it’s you!” and I also recognised him. I already suspected him to be among the monks, and chose this abbey for our stay to check it. Forty-two years ago he was my classmate at high school, and I remembered him as eager to enter into this Order. Can you imagine? We embraced each other and were very happy that we met again. During the rest of our four-day stay we had some short but impressive talks. He asked why we got the idea to be guests of the abbey. I explained that I wrote an article about Wil Derkse in CHNtimes, and held a presentation about ST. Benedict, both exactly one year ago. I wanted to familiarize myself more with the Order of St. Benedict, and enjoy of course also the benefits of religious reflection in a very special way. As a matter of fact, after my presentation my friend had challenged me to go with him, and so we encouraged each other to take this unfamiliar step. We don’t regret and are determined to repeat it more times. I invite readers of this blog to contact me to repeat the visit I just described. It’s far cheaper than a budget hotel and you get so much more than in a 5 star hotel… Only one small restriction: you have to be male.
1 comment:
Many years ago, when my husband was a seminary student, he and his classmates attended a weeken retreat at a monastery. He said it was blessed, refreshing event. It seems that your experience was similar.
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