The Monastic Day of Prayer

The Abbey Church as seen from entering the Monastery Main Gates.

As I went to bed last night I quickly figured that I was in the abbey church for almost eight hours of community prayer (which was not including my own personal prayers and readings).  That's a third of the day!  Now I understand not every day is Palm Sunday, but there is still a lot of time spent in church and I must say it's a wonderful blessing.  The words of St. Benedict ring true here: ora et labora (prayer and work).  So here is a peek at my monastic weekday.  Sundays have some changes with more prayer time.

All of the prayer times are associated with the chanting of the 150 psalms from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament).  The prayers that I say at home along with the other priests, deacons and our sisters are similar to praying the psalms here at Solesmes.  They just do it in common.  And they sing more psalms and at fixed points throughout the day.  It's also called the The Liturgy of the Hours and I know some lay folk who do part of it each day.  When the monks chant the psalms its like being rocked in a boat back and forth or even breathing in and out.

4:45AM  I wake up at about 4:45AM.  Yep it's pitch black out but that is not as bad as the chill in my room and the common bathroom on my floor of the Retreat House.  It never gets warm.  That's for sure.
I take time to wash up and head over to the abbey church which is about five minutes from my room.

5:30AM   The first prayers offered by the Benedictines are called Vigils.  Done in the darkness before sunrise they have readings accompanying them.  It is the longest of the offices (prayer times) lasting over an hour.  This office sets the theme for the rest of the day depending on the liturgical season or feast.

6:30-8:45AM  Breakfast is available in the Guest Dinning Room.  (I will do another post about meals later.)  A bowl of cafe au lait, bread, butter and jam can work wonders on a chilly morning.

7:30AM  After breakfast I return to church for Lauds or morning prayers.  The psalms used here have more to do with the day at hand which is God's gift to us so we can praise Him.  Lauds lasts about 45 minutes on a weekday.  Lauds in the morning and Vespers in the evening are the two hinges on which the Monastic Day swings.

8:15AM  After morning prayers I return to my room.  I tidy it up some and then I have been working on my blog at this time.  I also pray over the readings (in English!) that will be proclaimed at Mass.

10AM  The Community Mass is at 10AM.  It begins with more psalms and the praying of the minor office of Terce.  Terce gets its name from the third hour after sunrise.  Benedict and the monks and nuns that followed him withdrew from the world so that they could praise God without ceasing or in this case periodically throughout the day.  Mass lasts about an hour on weekdays and is entirely sung.  The monks don't use popular hymns, but rather, they would chant a line from the psalms in beautiful and elaborate gregorian chant.  This is my favorite part of the day without a doubt.

11:15AM  After Mass would be free time and a great time to get out for some walking, maybe help with some of the monks chores (I've done that before here) but the weather has been a little to harsh to go out for a walk or to work in the gardens.  I also finish up my blog.

Monks processing to prayer.

1PM  The monks gather in the church for the second of the minor offices called Sext or prayers at the sixth hour of daylight.  This short twenty minute office concludes with the monks and retretants chanting as we head into the Grand Refectory for the main meal.    The meal which lasts about a half hour is taken without talking while a brother reads from either "the Roman Calendar" (whose saints' day it is today), the Rule of St. Benedict or from a book the abbot has chosen.  He could be reading the sports scores with the amount of French I know!  After the meal we head back to church chanting psalm 51 asking God's Mercy.

2PM  The minor office of None (ninth hour) concludes the "Lunch Cycle."

2:15PM  Is free time for me; work for the monks.  I have been getting to church around 4PM for my personal Holy Hour and prayers.

The empty Sanctuary and Choir while I make my private prayers.

5PM  The second major hour of Vespers or evening prayer begins at 5PM.  I always love vespers because it culminates with Mary's hymn of praise the Magnificat.  Vespers lasts little less than an hour.  After Vespers I always stop by the little graveyard near the church to say a prayer for those who have entered the fullness of life.  Some I know by name, other I recall that their faces are missing from the choir or refectory.

6PM  Another free hour comes my way after vespers before dinner.

7:20PM  Supper is a lighter meal here than in the States.  Depending on what's going on we either eat with the monks in their refectory or in the guests' refectory.

8:30PM  Compline or night prayer is also a beautiful way to end the day.  These short prayers (twenty-five minutes, if even) done mostly in the dark and with few visitors to the abbey church always end with a hymn to our Mother and the blessing of the abbot who sprinkles each one present with Holy Water.

Father Abbot

8:55PM  While there is not much talking or noise around here.  After Compline begins the Grand Silence which will not be broken till Vigils when the abbot intones,  "Lord, open my lips" and the monks reply "And my mouth will declare Your praises."

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Are you fickle?  Are you fickle-minded? Am I?  After the very moving Mass this morning, getting some glimpses of Our Holy Father's first Palm Sunday Procession and Mass at St. Peter's, and now just coming back from Vespers with Benediction I just can't get the word or idea of fickle out of my head.

First of all it's been an ugly day here along the Sarthe River.  It was foggy and damp when I went to the church for vigils at 5AM.  You could feel it in your bones.  Because we are so far west in the time zone, the sun doesn't rise till about 7AM anyway.  Right now it sets after 7PM because we have not sprung forward yet (that takes place next weekend when it will set around 8:30PM).  Any way it doesn't really matter because the sun never made it through the overcast today.

It's a shame the sun didn't shine for our procession at the beginning of Mass while the monks sang Pueri Hebraeorum.  The Mass which was two hours and fifteen minutes began with the blessing of branches and the Luke's Gospel passage about Jesus entering the city and how excited they were to welcome Him.  The packed church (monks, retreatants, faithful then followed the abbot into the formal monastery gardens (that are off limits except for the monks) about the size of 3/4 of a football field.  The monks were chanting the whole time.  But it was cold: about 38-40 degrees.

Palm Sunday Procession through the cloister.

Maybe Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion should always be cold because by the time we got settled back in church 3 monks were already chanting Luke's version of the Passion.  From His Sunday entrance to his Thursday arrest the crowds become awfully cold to Jesus.  Here is where that fickle word entered my head the first time.  How did everything appear to go so wrong, so fast?  We know the answer to that.  We know the end of the story; and no matter if it was in Queens Village, Solesmes or Rome we celebrated Mass which recalls the Passion, death, Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Now there was no lack of sun today in Rome as Our Holy Father blessed the palm and olive branches by the great obelisk in the Piazza S. Pietro.  With so many young people gathered on this first day of Holy Week there was a tangible excitement.  The excitement was certainly about the Great Week before us but also about this new Shepherd who will lead us.  Everyone loves Francis!  But what happens Thursday?  No, not this Holy Thursday.  But what happens when he begins to challenge us with the Gospel Message of Jesus?  How will he be received when he challenges us not to consume so much?  Or that our rights are dependent upon those of others?  Or that every life is sacred from natural conception to natural death?  Again that fickle word made it's way to my consciousness.

Pope Francis listens to the Gospel Reading with Palm in hand.

After a well deserved meal and a long overdue nap, I returned to the church for Sunday Vespers with as it is called here "un Salut" to Real Presence of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist.  Sunday vespers are always important and the First day of Holy Week made them all the more so.  Even without the sun cascading in the near clear windows of the choir the monks began singing the psalms of evening prayer.  Maybe because I had a few hours to meditate about it but the Lord's Passion did not seem as violent.  Perhaps it was because there was no one shouting "Crucify him!," but I think it was more than likely because placed upon the Altar was Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  With Jesus so close, it's silly but, the church seemed a little warmer, the world, a little calmer, and the violence of this morning's Passion account, a bit more muted.  As I raised my eyes to the Altar and looked upon the monstrance with the Sacred Host, the Saving Victim, that fickle word returned to my head.  All I could think was St. Teresa's observation.  "God never changes."  There is nothing fickle about Jesus, although He probably has as many reasons to be as people made in His image.  Precisely because there is nothing fickle in God, it allows me to handle the fickle nature in myself and others.

The sun should be out tomorrow, though they say it will be cold again.  Imagine that!  Fickle weather for an imperfect world.

Why Solesmes?

In Solesmes is a Benedictine Monastery with a rich and important history in the life of France and the Liturgy of the Church Universal.  The first religious settlement here was around the year one thousand.  For the next seven hundred years it had a rough history with battles being fought all around it often disrupting the prayer life of the monks and the villages around it.  All of this misfortune culminated in the French Revolution and the laws that closed all the monasteries and scattered the monks.  The buildings and grounds fell into disrepair and monastic life in France ceased.

View of the Sarthe River and the town of Le Port de Juigne from  Solesmes.

In 1833, Rev. Prosper Gueranger, a diocesan priest (like the ones at Incarnation) heard that the remains of the old priory at Solesmes was going to be sold.  He asked his bishop if he could get donations to buy the land in the homes of restoring monastic life to France.  With the bishop's permission he bought the land and along with a few other young priests began to reside work and pray at Solesmes along the bank of the Sarthe river.

Dom Gueranger was a very gifted individual and explored many historical books about the Benedictine way of life.  He became the first Abbot when in 1837 the Abbaye Saint Pierre was recognized by the Holy Father.  Under Dom Gueranger's watchful eyes the monastery grew in numbers and the needed buildings on the grounds were restored or erected.  As the monastery grew it founded other monasteries throughout France and indeed all the world.  Dom Gueranger also helped found the nearby Benedictine Convent of Sainte Cecile (about a twenty minute walk on the other end of town). Today there are 24 monasteries rooted in Solesmes on three continents across the globe.

The central focus of all monastic life is the Liturgy (our work in praising God).  The monks at S. Pierre study about the many aspects of the Liturgy; especially Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.  I came to know of this monastery first hand when I was a Liturgy student with the Benedictines at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Sant'Anselmo in Rome.  My first visit here was in the early 1990's with Father Fonti when we were students in Rome.

Today there are about 60 monks, both priests and brothers here at S. Pierre.  Their sole work - if you can call it that - is the Liturgy.  They do not make or sell jams, chocolates, vestments or booze.  They celebrate and chant the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours in Latin eight times a day (A later entry will talk about the Monastic day and the Liturgy of the Hours).  They sell CDs of their chants and textbooks of their works on the Sacred Liturgy to support themselves.  They live very simple lives.

The Abbaye is along the Sarthe River in the Loire Valley.  It is beautiful countryside.  The river is flanked by small villages.  Many like Solesmes don't ever have a traffic light.  As I arrive here I can tell that Spring is just ready to burst forth as birds are chirping out my window and many buds are looking to blossom.

View of the Gardens and the old "Cooling House" from my window in the retreat house.

So who comes to Solesmes besides priests on Sabbatical?  Well, the retreat house will be filled next week for Holy Week.  There will be 30 retreatants of all ages.  Groups come by the bus load at times to pray some of the day with the monks in the abby church.  School children, like the ones I encountered on Thursday pass through, too.  In the summer months they stay for a few days in like dormitory buildings on the grounds as they hike through the countryside.

The others who come to Solesmes are those who never leave:  the brothers and priests.  S. Pierre becomes their home and extended family.  Mostly from France, but some are from all over, they feel God's call to monastic life.  Many were very successful in their former lives.  Ironically, today many of the monks are from Versailles.  Famous for the lavishness of the French Monarchy before the Revolution, today there seems to be many vocations from that enclave just on the outskirts of Paris.

I'm not the only American here either!  One of the priests here is from Hartford, CT.  Fr. Michael has been here well over 25 years.  He was working in the DC area when he decided there was more to this world.  Another monk I met here was from Bayside.  That's right, our Bayside!  Fr. Gregory wasn't even Catholic when he heard about Solesmes!  He was an accomplished organist and came here to further his musical studies.  After returning to the New York he became Catholic and came back to Solesmes; this time inquiring about religious life.  Father Gregory left the Loire Valley in 1994 when S. Pierre founded a monastery in Lithuania, part of the former Soviet Union-extending the Benedictine life to another part of the world.

So I could not think of a better place to begin my Sabbatical.  The Abbaye S.  Pierre is a prayerful place in a beautiful setting.  I am excited to celebrate Holy Week, the Easter Octave and even our Parish Feast of the Annunciation, this year on April 8, with Dom Gueranger's Benedictine Family at Solesmes.

Je suis arrive!

The past two weeks have been very hectic preparing for my departure.  So many people were so helpful - my nervous stomach was not.  Both a cold and a stomach virus made my last few days even more hectic.  I think everyone in the rectory was so relieved when I left them.  I was driving them crazy trying to prepare for all the events that will go on while I am on Sabbatical.  All they wanted to do was get me on that plane!  In the midst of handshakes and hugs I realized that Incarnation is in good hands.

The plane that they wanted to get me on was late - two hours late.  So I spent an additional two hours home while not feeling my best.  Now that I didn't have anything to do I was overwhelmed with emotions of thanksgiving over two great events:  the generosity by the People of Incarnation to me and the never ending generosity of God toHis People in the gift of our new pope.

I always thought the people of the parish liked me - or at least what I'm doing at the parish.  I was so shocked and humbled over the cards, gifts and best wishes I received before my departure.  There were cards from groups and societies, best wishes on parchment or in crayon, hugs and kisses or voice and emails.  All wishing me well and offering me their prayers.  How lucky I am.  I hope this blog will allow those who want the opportunity to journey with me over the next few months.

While waiting at the airport I got the chance to read a few newspapers.  I don't get any delivered at the rectory.  Reading about Our Holy Father's Mass of Installation on the Solemnity of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary, Patron of the Universal Church and Guardian of  the Redeemer,  I was so amazed at how so many people have a connection already with their new "papa."  It's more than faith and optimism that has me expecting great things from Francis, our Pope.

Finally on my plane after going from one part of the American Airlines terminal to the other and back again, I had an uneventful flight.  I skipped the meal and just closed my eyes.  While i never really sleep on planes I just enjoyed the rest.

Arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris it could well have been JFK if they weren't shouting directions at us in French.  33 degrees (that's zero celsius!) with a cold mix of snow and rain falling.  Just what I left, no?  I had plenty of time to get my bags and catch my train to the Loire Valley.

Oh, I forgot to tell you what I am bringing.  Everything!  For those of you who would tease me about how little I bring on the parish pilgrimages and trips I wish you were there to see me navigate the airport and rail stations with a giant black suitcase, a tremendous duffle bag with my back pack for the camino and a black shoulder bag for money, documents and my laptop.  What a mess!  Why am I bringing everything?  Because I am here for three seasons.  Because I am praying, studying, hiking.  Because I love being prepared especially when it comes to the comforts of home:  medicines and toiletries!  So far the only thing I realized I forgot? The only thing that was indispensable:  my camino guidebook and map!  Jose Santiago, the PAG-ASA coordinator, offered me a copy before I left.  I told him to keep it I have the same book upstairs.  Well, it's still there on my night table!  Nothing a quick call to Amazon can't fix.

After a cold and tough trip with my bags, I arrived in the rain to the Abbaye S. Pierre des Solesmes.  It was during lunch so I spent some thanksgiving time in the abby church.  I lucked out on my arrival for the Benedictine Monks were celebrating one of the great feasts of their community:  the Transitus (or death) of St. Benedict.  There is a beauty in the silence of any church - particularly an abby church with the rain pounding down.  That was quickly dissolved when a group of about 60 sixth or seventh graders arrived on a school trip to hear the monks sing their prayers in Latin.  While they were cute kids, it was simple a disaster!  After mid-afternoon prayer I found the guest-master and made it to my rooms.

I had some time to get my things in order, cry a bit over my missing guidebook and lay down a bit before Evening Prayer and Benediction.  I'll talk more about the way the Benedictines pray and sanctify the day.  Before dinner, I had the chance to catch up with Fr. Michael.  He is from Hartford, CT and I met him here over twenty years ago.  He has aged much better than me!  Before dinner with the community, I met the Abbot who spent some time speaking with me and then washed my hands:  A sign of welcome that Benedict has in his Rule.  After dinner I went right to bed.  I couldn't go back for night prayers in the church.  I was too tired.

More Christmas Cheer

Just two days into the new year I had the opportunity to welcome the sisters from Incarnation Convent to the rectory for a small Christmas Celebration.  It was lovely.  The sisters arrived punctually at 5PM and stayed until well after 9PM.
Father Auggie was also there as we shared stories, many of which had to do with the Incarnation Family as well as our own families.  There were hors d'oeuves and great laughter that closed out with a wonderful meal and Christmas Cupcakes.
On Saturday, January 12 another crowd came to the rectory to celebrate at the tail end of Christmastide.  I invited all the priests who celebrate the Sacraments with us throughout the year:  Msgr. Arella, Msgr. Ryan, Fr. Kelly, Fr. Sweeney, Fr. Swartvagher all stopped by.   Unfortunately, Msgr. Feldhaus, Fr. Fonti and Fr. Kuroly had other plans.  Like with the sisters it was a wonderful evening of stories and laughter.  I mentioned that I wish I could celebrate every Mass at Incarnation but this is not possible so I need help.  I mentioned to those present that I invited them to celebrate Mass for us because I thought that they did so both reverently and enthusiastically.  They also preach the Word of God well.
Like Christmas Eve it was a wonderful exchange of priestly fraternity.  But the Saturday night before the Baptism of the Lord it was a lot less stressful as no one had Midnight Mass.
These two opportunities only highlight how we have such good people at Incarnation.  I firmly believe that spirit is contagious.
Merry Christmas and now back to Ordinary Time

Christmas

Yesterday we brought the Octave of Christmas to a close even as the Christmastide continues until January 13.  It has been a wonderful Advent and Christmas so far.  Wonderful and bittersweet.

As I get even closer to my sabbatical I was thinking how much fun I had approaching the Holidays.  The enthusiasm of the Liturgy Committee as they came out, some with their children, under the cover of darkness on Sunday, December 23 to transform the Parish Church from Advent to Christmas.  They did a wonderful job.  It all worked so well that I have no fears that they will do an equally awesome job at Easter.

The Friday before Christmas some of the "Junior Staff"came to the rectory to decorate the Christmas tree.  It was a great deal.  All Fr. Auggie and I had to do was to spring for some pizza and soda to repay these "Christmasologists" as they transformed the Christmas tree and the room.  Watching them work together reminded me once again how great a bunch of high school and college students we have here on staff.

The many Masses of Christmas were again memorable and moving.  The prayers, readings, music and congregations for each Mass was different but the joy and the spirit was universal as we celebrated the Incarnation.  The Living Nativity Pageant at the Family Mass, the Carols preparing for Midnight Mass, the trumpeter who joined us for our feast all helped as prayers of so many were raised to the heavens.

The Christmas Season was brought to a close quietly Sunday night, after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  I will be honest it was a bitter-sweet season for me.
Don't get me wrong, Christmas was spectacular!
The Friday before Christmas our decorations arrived from the market and many of the "Junior Staff" under Stephanie's guidance came to put up the Christmas Tree in our Dinning Room.   It was a great deal.  Fr. Auggie (the chaplain from Creedmore who lives with me) and I bought them pizza-Gabby's, of course- and they decorated a gorgeous Christmas Tree.  As they were working together, and their disposition, I was so proud of these young people and the fact that they were part of the Incarnation Staff.
Then on night of the f
Fourth Sunday of Advent, the church was transformed by the members of the Liturgy Committee and or maintenance and sacristy staff.  In three hours the church moved from Advent to Christmas.  I know the flowers were a good crop this year but the efforts and team work of all present made our church so beautiful.  It definitely takes away any fears I might have about the decorations for Holy Week while I am away on sabbatical.
Christmas got off to an unexpected start as I found myself cooking for nearby priests.  Father Kuroly celebrated the Spanish Mass Christmas Eve and was to preach at the Midnight Mass so I invited him for Chinese Take-out.  Then he told me another pastor was alone for Christmas Eve and I heard of another so I ended up cooking sausages and pasta for the lot of them.  It was a great celebration of priesthood.  Dinner began at 9PM and was done by 11:15 so everyone could return for Midnight Mass.