Monastic Movements

As I prepare to visit the city of Angers today and tomorrow, I wanted to describe some of the Monastic Movements of the past few weeks.

Processions.  Everything in choir (where the monks sit in church) has a procession.  The monks enter and exit for most offices in silence lead by Father Abbot alone then two by two following the prior and sub-prior.  Of course there are the processions for Mass and Solemn Vespers where all the liturgical ministers process to their places while the organ plays.  My favorite procession is after lunch when the monk (and their guests behind them) process back to the abbey church chanting a seasonal psalm as they do so.  I find that procession the most moving.

Standing.  The monks stand silently before and after each office or prayer time.  It's simply a minute or more to gather themselves mindful that what they are about two do, praising God, should be done with whole heart and mind free from distraction.

Facing East (to the Tabernacle). When the monks are sitting in choir they face each other.  When certain prayers are offered they turn and face east.  Most noticeably this takes place at the prayer of the faithful.  Besides the monks in choir, the priest-celebrant also turns after his introduction to prayer so that everyone in the church except the deacon reading the petitions is facing east and the tabernacle.  Because it is a slender and long church building it can be very moving all long and praying together.

Bows.   As you would imagine there is also a lot of bowing here.  But not all bows are the same.
  Glory be.  At the end of almost every psalm that is sung the "Glory be to the Father  . . ." is added.  This is part of St. Benedict's Rule and it allows the psalms of praise from the Old Testament to have an explicitly Christian aspect added to them.  The monks rise and bow deeply at the end of each psalm and sit again.  all done quite reverently and uniformly.
  Prayers and Blessing.  Mindful of the story of the sinner who keeps his head down while he beseeches God and is look on more favorably than the publican who is in the front and thinks how wonderful he is, the monks bow after all the prayers the priest offers at Mass.  The prayers that the priest offers from the chair (usually after the invitation "Let us pray.")  This also happens at the time of the final blessing.
  The Kiss of Peace.  No handshaking at Mass a simple bow to the person to your left and right.  It's a little awkward at first but I find it so counter-cultural that it reminds me how sacred the person next to me is that I bow to him.
  To the Abbot.  Before each and every service including Mass, all the monks bow to Father Abbot and he bows to them collectively.  It's just another one of those signs of reverence and respect.
  To each other.  That reverence and respect is also to each other.  Whenever the monks enter or exit chapel they genuflect two by two to the Blessed Sacrament.  Either after (upon entering) or before (when leaving) the two genuflecting will bow to each other as a sign that sacredness and reverence is intended for all God's Holy Ones.
  At Night Prayers.  While I love the bow at the "Glory be," my favorite bow is at Night Prayers.  After the prayers are concluded, the lights are dimmed and Father Abbot walks back and forth through choir blessing each monk with a tap of Holy Water.  After he finishes he walks to the Altar rail gate and blesses each in the darkened church.   Here begins the great silence of the night.

Kneeling.  While important there is less kneeling than you would think.  But that largely comes from the amount of sitting that goes on with the singing of the psalms.
  Receiving Holy Communion.  People receive Holy Communion here kneeling either at the sanctuary step or at the Altar rail.
  Prayer.  Mostly during the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass and at prayer before the Blessed Sacrament at Benediction with Solemn Vespers.
  Mistakes in Choir.  A fun thing is that the monks kneel if they make a mistake singing the psalms or readings.  Mostly its the younger brothers.  But you see monks periodically kneel for a moment to ask God's forgiveness over their faux pas.  If guests had to do that I'd be kneeling for weeks now.

Sitting.  As I mentioned above most time in choir is occupied while sitting.
   Chanting of the Psalms.  The monks sit for the chanting of the psalms and rise at the end of each psalm to bow for the "Glory Be."  Just a reminder that their chanting of the psalms alone can add up to over two hours each day.
   Meditation.  There are little periods of just simple silent meditation done together in prayer.

Singing.  Almost everything except the readings at Mass are sung in Latin.  The readings and Gospel (but not the psalm) are read in French.  The homily which is given only on Sundays is also in French.

Silence.  While there is an overall silence around the monastery there are relatively few pauses for silence within the monks formal prayers together.
   Post Communion.  The most profound is after Holy Communion where there is a good 2-3 minute period of silent refection.
   Before each Office.  I also mention before that each office (prayer period) the monks silently gather themselves to be properly disposed to the prayer at hand.


So as I get on the move today, I just wanted to share with you some of the Monastic Movements that I have been witnessing and a part of these past weeks.