Thanks be to God, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Today ends the Easter Octave or Easter Week.  The greatest benefit of being here at the monastery has been this Easter Octave Celebration.

I have always told people that my saddest day as a priest comes each year on Easter Monday.  The crowds of Holy Week have dissipated and the daily Mass crowd that had grown over Lent is dwindled as even many of the year round Mass goers are often visiting with family.  Not even the school children are there it's vacation.  So on these holiest days of the year it's often just a hand full of faithful.

The Octave of Easter (or Christmas for that matter) treats each day like a mini- holiday.  The Mystery is so large that it needs more time to reflect on and let sink in.  Daily was read another account of Easter at Mass.  The reality is too great to capture from just one viewpoint.  and like our own realities many people besides Jesus were involved.  We don't do well living as a Resurrected People.  The Power of Christ's Triumph should mean more than my soul lives on after this world.  We have to see the value in each other while we live.  Why can't we just bask in the light of Easter Joy?

Everyday this week was Easter at the monastery.   Every Mass was celebrated like Easter Sunday:  from the tower bells ringing to the time schedule, to the chants and choir.  It was even Easter all week in the refectory as extra food and sweets were added.   What use is it to profess a belief in the Resurrected Lord and not let it alter our way of life quite literally.

One thing I missed terribly was our Mercy Celebration on Sunday afternoon.  It's so moving to sing together the Divine Mercy Chaplet and so many always come out.  Plus I would not have had to preach as Pope Francis talked about the triumph of God's Mercy which is intertwined with the Resurrection of Jesus.  I'm sure he would not have minded if I borrowed a line (paragraph) or two.

Even if the monks did have some thing here, it would would not be in English or use that wonderful melody that we reserve for the Easter Octave day.  I remember back in 2009 when I had my date with the electrophysiologist the Monday after the Easter Octave Day.  The last thing I did before I went into St. Francis Hospital was the Divine Mercy Celebration.  Fresh in my memory and on my soul I prayed/sang the chaplet through the entire procedure and haven't stopped since.  I'm sure it was wonderful again this year at Incarnation with Deacon Robinson's efforts.  I know I was praying it here at 9:30PM as I was preparing for bed.

Mercy received, Mercy shared.
Resurrection won, Resurrection lived.

Thanks be to God, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Happy Easter!

Catholic Culture

I have heard and read about the many challenges the Church faces in Europe and how so few people practice their Faith especially through Sunday Mass attendance.  If my parish was here it would be very disheartening.  Thank goodness Mass attendance, though not as high as it used to be is still better than here in France and, indeed, Europe as a whole.

What I miss in the States is a "Catholic Culture."  It used to be present in Catholic enclaves or ghettos in  former years but it does not exist anymore.  Stores are not closed on Sundays.  Rarely do people make their parish central in their lives.  Holy Days and Feast Days are just like other days.

Schola monks in copes at Solemn Easter Vespers.

As "pagan" as it might have become in some aspects, France still has that vestige of Catholic culture.  On Easter Sunday evening, the abbey church was packed for Easter Vespers and Benediction.  The majority of those there lived relatively nearby and had left there tables to acknowledge the Risen Lord.  Most had been to Mass in the morning or the night before, others had not.  Good Friday, as well as Holy Thursday afternoon are holidays here in recognition of the sacred character of the days and to allow individuals time to reflect and observe them (It also helps those who are traveling to spend Easter with loved ones).  Easter Monday is also a holiday.  If I had wanted to leave here then it would have been problematic to get a taxi and the trains were on a reduced schedule.  Why?  because it was Easter Monday!

This mindset is the same in Italy, Austria, Spain - throughout Europe.  It's one of the few things I miss about the States.  Being Catholic should permeate every aspect of our lives.

The Lord is Risen!  Alleluia!

Divine Intervention?!

While I had been rather faithful in posting since I began my sabbatical all that stopped Easter Evening.  Earlier in the week I got an email from my internet provider (I carry this little gadget that gives me a wifi signal) saying there was maintenance to be undertaken beginning on April 1 and that I needed a new SIM card for my gadget.  I duly gave my address and they said it would be here on the 28.  Well, it never arrived.  I assumed that with the Holy Days/Holidays it was late.  Needless to say there was a mx up.  I finally received the new SIM card yesterday.

Was it a mix up, or perhaps, Divine Intervention?  While I am more prone to think the former, I took it as a sign to evaluate my time here; especially my internet time here.  With wifi there was blogging and email.  I also followed our Holy Father in Rome during the Triduum.  But of course, there was other nonsense:  Getting caught up with the craziness from North Korea, or how ready the Mets were to play ball, etc.

All those distractions were precisely that, distractions.  Worrying about so many things can prevent oneself from handing over other things to God.  Trying to be "connected" can also prevent a deeper unity and intimacy with the Risen Lord.  So while I will continue my posts, I will try to limit my internet time.  I don't want to be that person who sits in Starbucks all day in front of a lap-top while the whole world passes by.

Surrexit Dominus Vere, Alleluia!

Cover of the Easter CD of the monks.

Monasteries are weird.  Monastic life has a beautiful simplicity.  By their very nature these places founded by St. Benedict and so many others are so counter cultural.  Those who go there see and celebrate things in such a different way than we do "on the outside."

Last night at the Easter Vigil and today, Easter Morn are so similar to other days in the life of these monks.  While the retreatants had a little gathering after the Easter Vigil last night, the monks quietly went to bed.  There were no "High Fives" or applause in the sacristy after Mass, just a simple bow to the crucifix as has been done after every Mass I have concelebrated so far.  Father Abbott did not thank everyone.  There was no need to.  Their thanks was their ability to offer their talents and their very selves to the Risen Lord.

Certainly, Easter is different!  But you would never know it was the pinnacle of the entire Church year by the decorations in the abbey church.  Besides the Paschal Candle which towers like the Morning Star overhead and the large carpet in the sanctuary, I only counted 8 vases of cut flowers:  two by the Main Altar of Sacrifice, one by the statue of Our Blessed Mother, one by the statue of St. Benedict, one each on the two side Altars, and one each before the chapel of the Entombment of Christ and the Dormition (Sleep) of the Mother of God.  I know back home the Liturgy Committee under the direction of Deacon Franklin and assisted by our sacristans placed out a lot more foliage than that.

So where is the difference?  It's in the words!  The antiphons, chants, songs are all filled with joy and are taken from the various accounts of what happened "early in the morning on that first day of the week."  In a society where words count for so little and are so malleable, these words are everything to us and to the ages for they speak of the greatest event of human history!

Here are just some of the words I was privileged to hear at Lauds this morning as the sun climbed over the eastern landscape of the Loire Valley:

   The Lord is risen, alleluia.

   The splendor of Christ risen from the dead has shown on the people redeemed by his blood, alleluia.

    Our Redeemer has risen from the tomb; let us sing a hymn of praise to the Lord our God, alleluia.

    Alleluia, the Lord is risen as he promised, alleluia.

    This is the day the Lord has made, Alleluia.  Let us rejoice and be glad, alleluia.

    Very early on the morning after the Sabbath, when the sun had just risen, they came to the tomb,
               alleluia.

In these words and the gorgeous melodies that accompanied them, I found the monks excitement.  I found our excitement.  If these words have the meaning which we profess them to than this is the key to life.  This Jesus, Risen from the dead, has the key to eternal life.

"Alleluia.  Christ Our Passover has been sacrificed."

The only difference to the Mass on Easter Sunday is the Easter Sequence (which you will hear as well) that tells the wonderful reality of the feelings and experience of the women at the Tomb!  As the pope warned us last night in his homily at the Easter Vigil in St. Peter's:  "Don't be afraid of surprises."  The women got the surprise that changed their lives and all history.  After we ourselves were sprinkled with with Easter Water, a reminder of our new life in Christ, there was a procession through the monastery as the abbott blessed the cloister with Easter Water.  I love the song that we sing as we do so:  Salve Festa Dies (Hail, Festival Day - it's the last hymn).  I'll have it in my head for all fifty days of Eastertide now.


Every Mass is the Celebration of the Lord's death and Resurrection!  Every Sunday is Easter Sunday!  This weekend we get to reflect through words on the actions of Christ Risen.  These words mean something extraordinary.  And as limited as we are we use these words to pass on to future generations that "this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in in, Alleluia!"

Happy Easter!  The Lord is Risen!  It is true!  He has appeared to Simon!

What Are We Waiting for? Simply Jesus!

View of the Abbey from the bridge.

Normally everything is pretty much done in silence here at the monastery.  Everything unless you have an excuse.

When I mentioned who was here at Solesmes in a earlier blog this week I omitted someone.  Firstly, he is not staying at the retreat house.  He is staying in the abbey proper.  Secondly, I just wanted to respect his space.  But we just had coffee together.  Making his episcopal retreat is Msgr. Eamon Martin, the coadjutor Archbishop-elect of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.  Before any ordination the Church requires a retreat by the candidate.  One of the American deacons is making his priesthood retreat here before he is ordained a priest in Oakland on May 18.  My diaconate retreat was in Naim, Italy.  My priesthood retreat was done at Rocca Sant'Angelo, a house of prayer that was originally founded by St. Francis himself just an hour's walk outside of Assisi.

Today, the archbishop-elect joined us for coffee after the main meal in the guest refectory.  You know those Irish can be chatty.  When the brother came in to quiet us down.  He saw Msgr. Martin and turned right around.  I guess we all got a "Talking Pass" for the rest of the coffee hour.

Besides talking to the archbishop-elect about our new Holy Father, his time at the monastery, and his moving once he gets home, I had a chance to talk with the deacon from Oakland.  We chatted about Rome and his excitement both at at being at S. Pierre and his upcoming ordination as a priest.  We knew some common friends and of course there was Easter that begins with the vigil tonight.  It was truly enjoyable and there was no need to worry about our conversation.  We had our "Talking Pass."

As we were chatting a college student approached us.  Thibaut is from St. Etienne, not to far from Lyon on the south of France.  He is finishing up a degree in physics from a university in Paris and decided to spend his break at a monastery.  He was very interested in questions about the seminary and the priesthood.  We talked about a half hour.  I would not be surprised if Thibaut entered the seminary one day.

An archbishop-elect, a priest, a deacon, an university student.  We all came to Solesmes for different reasons but all for the same end.  We are waiting for Jesus.  With the Church Universal and Christians everywhere it's Jesus we seek as we approach the Empty Tomb.  We look to Him to help prepare us for all we endeavor.  We follow Him on all our life's journeys.  We ask of Him the answers to all of the questions that well up in our hearts.

Abbey church:  Chapel of the Entombment of Jesus. 

In the States we have mastered making things complicated and that can effect our religious expressions of faith.  If you can this Holy Saturday in the midst of all you have going on, remember . . .

What are we waiting for?  Simply Jesus!

Here Come the Yanks!

Last night and this morning three deacons arrived from the American College in Rome (my alma mater) to spend the Holy Triduum with the Benedictines here.  There were supposed to be more of them but with Pope Benedict's resignation a few cancelled so that they could celebrate in Rome with the new Holy Father.  (I only hope they aren't attending the Mass of the Lord's Supper with the pope on Holy Thursday:  it's taking place in prison!)

So who is in this full guesthouse?  Well there are forty of us.  But it's a little difficult to say precisely since we experience these days in silence for the most part.  Besides myself there are six other priests.  They are mainly professors who have off during these days from school so that they have the luxury to be away at Holy Week.  I mentioned the three American deacons (one from Minnesota, two from California).  The rest are just laymen.  Some are wearing wedding bans, most are not.  A few appear to be in their sixties while the majority are much younger.  I would say that there are a few college aged men here as well.  The guest house also has a man or two who will be around for extended period.  Whether they are exploring a vocation or what not, they tend to stay longer, do more chores and pay less.

That's just the men.  Then there are women who come and pray with the monks while staying with the sisters across town at Sainte Cecile.  They might split their time praying with either the men or the woman of this great Benedictine family.

Lastly, there are the well-healed who stay at the beautiful hotel across the street.  For whatever reason (perhaps they are a couple that would like to stay together) they make the pricey but wonderful choice of three stars plus.  I will be honest one summer I came to the abbaye thinking I had a room in the guesthouse for the feast of St. Benedict on July 11 and there was no room so I had to go across the street for two nights.  I'll admit I wasn't exactly crying.

In addition to those who come for an extended period, the abbey church will be filled and the monks will put up chairs and speakers outside for others who live nearby or just come for one of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Triduum.  I hope they dress warmly because it is still kinda of chilly here.

So, like Incarnation, everybody is here for Holy Week - even the Yanks.  As it should be!

There is a Giant Crucifix at the Table!

The Grand Refectory.  Notice the Abbot's Table under the painting in the center and the Lecturn on the left.

There is a Giant Crucifix at the Table!  In fact there are two!

The first time I came to Solesmes was for Holy Week with Father Fonti when we were seminarians in Rome in 1990.  Before we left a priest who had been there the year before said we should eat as much as possible at the beginning of the week because they give you less and less food as Holy Week moves on.

Upon entering the Grand Refectory for the first time on Monday, we saw an old monk who looked a lot like Uncle Fester from The Munsters TV show eating crumbs off the floor.  Fonti looked at me with a big grin and said:  "O'Connor, you're never gunna last!"  I obviously did.  There was plenty of food to go around. "Uncle Fester" was just a monk way up in years who had kinda lost it and was very scrupulous about wasting food.

A year or so later I returned to S. Pierre during the summer.  Expecting to see "Uncle Fester" in the refectory, instead I saw a Giant Crucifix where his place was.  "Uncle Fester" had died earlier in the month and the Benedictine tradition is to place a Crucifix at the dead monk's place in the refectory for thirty days.  In the old days the food he would have eaten during that time would have been given to the poor for his intentions.  Today the monastery makes a monetary gift to the poor for his intentions.  This Holy Week I found two Giant Crucifixes in the refectory and freshly turned earth in the graveyard.

As opposed to Mass and choir where seating is dependent on office or function, seating in the refectory is by seniority.  The abbot sits alone (or with special guests, ie. visiting bishops and abbots) on a central raised platform, then on either side of the refectory are raised rows of tables where the monks sit at one wall side facing out.  The monks on the abbot's right begins with a small table for the prior alone.  The monks on the abbot's left begin with a small table for the sub-prior alone.  The rest of the monks alternate from side to side by seniority in tables of five, determined by the date that they arrived at the abbey.  The more senior you are the closer you are to Father Abbot.

There is a table right before the abbot's table that is for the guests/retreatants.  We don't get a raised platform.  But we do get to eat first and we have wine!

So everyone asks how is the food?  Well, it's not bad actually.  Not bad at all.  Now, there is no choice, mind you.  You get what they serve and the presentation is very institutional - stainless steel trays and buckets, but it tastes fine so far.  Without a doubt the bread at the monastery and throughout France is phenomenal.  But I will leave that for another posting.

Monks eating main meal in the Grand Refectory while others serve them.

The monks take turns serving the meals and I guess there is a Chef Monk who is in charge of the kitchen.  When you are cooking for close to a hundred hungry men, you can't leave these things to chance.  As I mentioned before meals are take in silence while one of the monks reads.  On very special days recorded classical music is played in place of the reading.

Monk reading from the Lecturn of the Grand Refectory.

Each meal always begins and ends with sung prayers which are always lead by the abbot or, if he is absent, by the prior.  After the main meal the guests/retreatants can go to the small guest refectory to have coffee.

While it's not a three star restaurant, there is one literally across the street.  I haven't been yet but it has only been five days.  More tempting, for me, is the patisserie which is just down the street.  That I might have to visit right after we encounter the Empty Tomb again.  It wouldn't be Easter without some sweets.  But I can wait because I'm definitely not eating crumbs off the floor.