This is how the Monks live through their schedule:
Rising 2:15am
Vigils 2:30am
Lauds 5:30am
Mass 6:00am
Terce after the Mass
End of Work 10:45am
Sext 11:30am
None 1:45pm
End of Work 4:15pm
Vespers 5:00pm
Compline 6:45pm
When they rise at 2:15am to prepare for the Vigils, the monks no longer go back to bed, but devote their time in prayer and intercession for the slumbering world. They then engage themselves in manual labor, tending the farm, the food processing, and many other works. Work and prayer- this is their credo. At certain hours (7 times in a day), the bell rings to call the faithful to times of prayer. During the prayer time, the monks lift up songs of praise and adoration to God as they chant the psalms. A portion of the time is also devoted to Scripture, meditations and readings. I love the moment of silence after the Scripture is read. This is to give time for reflection, and divina lectio. No, the retreatants are not required to follow the Monk’s schedules. Although some of the retreatants gladly joined the monk in their rhythm of life. Silence is highly encouraged, but is not strictly required. The retreatants meet with the retreat master once a day to discuss with them the content of the devotions and reflection that are assigned daily. I go up to the tower to meditate and be silent.
This is what I saw:
Calloused, sun-burned hands folded in repose, stilled from the labors of the day. Palms held open, it is a poem of praise, a hymn of celebration. These hands, this life: all are offered as a fitting sacrifice.
Sandaled feet hurrying to go back to the enclosure – like lovers on their way to a tryst, or children on their way to play- these are images evoked as the monks nimbly proceed to the chapel for the prayers. Indeed, the monks are on their way to meet their Love and child-like, they lift up their eyes to gaze at the Father in wonder and awe.
Sweat flowing profusely in the unmerciful summer sunshine, as tears in copious stream surge in a tide of remembrace, and celebration. In the cycle of life – in the bitterness as well as in its most sublime joys, in the mundane and the extraordinary, we sense His deep, abiding Love, Grace, Kindness and we are lifted up to a place where transformation, healing, fullness may be received, and received in overflowing abundance.
This is what I heard:
In the dying light, the sonorous chants of the monks echo in the chamber, and strike a chord that reverberate to that place where we hide the most secret, most sacred of our being. In the darkness, a faint light sends a sliver of ray that lifts up the weakened spirit as His presence is made manifest in the absence of abstractions. (This is during the Compline, the last prayer for the day. It is a service done in total darkness, and only the voices of the monks can be heard. They are singing, chanting psalms and prayers to the Lord.)
Silence. The noises we have come to rely on to cover the emptiness of our lives are slowly peeled away. We cringe at the thought of so much silence, because ultimately it leads us to look inward, and what we see, what we hear there will tell us how we really are, how we have been – but those who dare immerse themselves in silence, and in solitude find Someone waiting for them there – and find acceptance, not condemnation. We find love instead of rejection. We find grace that unshackles us from the burdens of our religion.
“We think that life in the monastery – life without t.v., without magazines, without the modern gadgets we think necessary to enjoy life- is at best boring, and at worst, tragic. But we who are outside the enclosure, with all these things, don’t we also find life boring, and tragic? It is therefore not these things that bring meaning and joy into our lives. It points to something else” (Paraphrase of Jonathan’s meditation on life in the monastery)
This is what I felt:
At first, sorrow. Sorrow for the regrets, the pains, the unnecessary traumas we go through in life, and we carry these baggages with resentment. Embrace them as part of who you are, the retreat master urges. We are all wounded. Let healing tears flow, give them permission to water your life with their healing presence. Let your tears be united with the tears of Jesus. Forgive. Look at these with understanding. “Dress the wounds with Your glance of love. May the glance be the manna that satisfies my hunger.”
Deep joy – for God’s work in our lives, for the beauty that all around us, for His special gifts, for the gift of laughter, for the gift of person, for friends, and those who love us, and a deep sense of His involvement and regard for each one of us.
Respect for the monks who has embraced this kind of life. They became monks not because they are super-spiritual, or because they hate the world, but because they are aware of their humanity, and of their love for the world. Doctors, professors, engineers, accountants – the backround of these monks are surprisingly are varied, but all are drawn into the monastic way of life. Repeatedly, when asked what their prayer concern was, they say, “Perseverance. Unity.” This underscores the struggles they too face as they live their calling. You would think they are a somber lot, dour and unsmiling, but you will be pleasantly surprised that they are quick to smile, they are gracious and deeply appreciative of the goodness of God. When they sing, you know something sacred is going on. God is there, and He delights in their earnest prayers.
It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am the more affection I have for them…. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say. Thomas Merton, Trappist Monk
At the entrance of the retreat house
Rising 2:15am
Vigils 2:30am
Lauds 5:30am
Mass 6:00am
Terce after the Mass
End of Work 10:45am
Sext 11:30am
None 1:45pm
End of Work 4:15pm
Vespers 5:00pm
Compline 6:45pm
When they rise at 2:15am to prepare for the Vigils, the monks no longer go back to bed, but devote their time in prayer and intercession for the slumbering world. They then engage themselves in manual labor, tending the farm, the food processing, and many other works. Work and prayer- this is their credo. At certain hours (7 times in a day), the bell rings to call the faithful to times of prayer. During the prayer time, the monks lift up songs of praise and adoration to God as they chant the psalms. A portion of the time is also devoted to Scripture, meditations and readings. I love the moment of silence after the Scripture is read. This is to give time for reflection, and divina lectio. No, the retreatants are not required to follow the Monk’s schedules. Although some of the retreatants gladly joined the monk in their rhythm of life. Silence is highly encouraged, but is not strictly required. The retreatants meet with the retreat master once a day to discuss with them the content of the devotions and reflection that are assigned daily. I go up to the tower to meditate and be silent.
This is what I saw:
Calloused, sun-burned hands folded in repose, stilled from the labors of the day. Palms held open, it is a poem of praise, a hymn of celebration. These hands, this life: all are offered as a fitting sacrifice.
Sandaled feet hurrying to go back to the enclosure – like lovers on their way to a tryst, or children on their way to play- these are images evoked as the monks nimbly proceed to the chapel for the prayers. Indeed, the monks are on their way to meet their Love and child-like, they lift up their eyes to gaze at the Father in wonder and awe.
Sweat flowing profusely in the unmerciful summer sunshine, as tears in copious stream surge in a tide of remembrace, and celebration. In the cycle of life – in the bitterness as well as in its most sublime joys, in the mundane and the extraordinary, we sense His deep, abiding Love, Grace, Kindness and we are lifted up to a place where transformation, healing, fullness may be received, and received in overflowing abundance.
This is what I heard:
In the dying light, the sonorous chants of the monks echo in the chamber, and strike a chord that reverberate to that place where we hide the most secret, most sacred of our being. In the darkness, a faint light sends a sliver of ray that lifts up the weakened spirit as His presence is made manifest in the absence of abstractions. (This is during the Compline, the last prayer for the day. It is a service done in total darkness, and only the voices of the monks can be heard. They are singing, chanting psalms and prayers to the Lord.)
Silence. The noises we have come to rely on to cover the emptiness of our lives are slowly peeled away. We cringe at the thought of so much silence, because ultimately it leads us to look inward, and what we see, what we hear there will tell us how we really are, how we have been – but those who dare immerse themselves in silence, and in solitude find Someone waiting for them there – and find acceptance, not condemnation. We find love instead of rejection. We find grace that unshackles us from the burdens of our religion.
“We think that life in the monastery – life without t.v., without magazines, without the modern gadgets we think necessary to enjoy life- is at best boring, and at worst, tragic. But we who are outside the enclosure, with all these things, don’t we also find life boring, and tragic? It is therefore not these things that bring meaning and joy into our lives. It points to something else” (Paraphrase of Jonathan’s meditation on life in the monastery)
This is what I felt:
At first, sorrow. Sorrow for the regrets, the pains, the unnecessary traumas we go through in life, and we carry these baggages with resentment. Embrace them as part of who you are, the retreat master urges. We are all wounded. Let healing tears flow, give them permission to water your life with their healing presence. Let your tears be united with the tears of Jesus. Forgive. Look at these with understanding. “Dress the wounds with Your glance of love. May the glance be the manna that satisfies my hunger.”
Deep joy – for God’s work in our lives, for the beauty that all around us, for His special gifts, for the gift of laughter, for the gift of person, for friends, and those who love us, and a deep sense of His involvement and regard for each one of us.
Respect for the monks who has embraced this kind of life. They became monks not because they are super-spiritual, or because they hate the world, but because they are aware of their humanity, and of their love for the world. Doctors, professors, engineers, accountants – the backround of these monks are surprisingly are varied, but all are drawn into the monastic way of life. Repeatedly, when asked what their prayer concern was, they say, “Perseverance. Unity.” This underscores the struggles they too face as they live their calling. You would think they are a somber lot, dour and unsmiling, but you will be pleasantly surprised that they are quick to smile, they are gracious and deeply appreciative of the goodness of God. When they sing, you know something sacred is going on. God is there, and He delights in their earnest prayers.
It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am the more affection I have for them…. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say. Thomas Merton, Trappist Monk
At the entrance of the retreat house
Comments
It brings a strange comfort yet familiar longing for His peace to quiet the din in one's heart
Reading your articles made me miss the monks of Guimaras and their way of life all the more ... the sights, sounds, scents of the place ... what I most took away from the experience is the rhythm to their life. Everything stops for their prayer. And their work is prayer to God in itself.
I loved that part "like lovers on the way to a tryst". Those of us who live "outside"--may God give us the grace to live with a finetuned sense of His alluring and joyful presence (just like our Fr. Bruno who made us laugh at the most unthinkable things).
Keep in touch ... abbie