Too little time

One thing about a quick weekend trip to the monastery is that as soon as you start to get adjusted to the pace of life, it is time to go.

After Eucharist, we had to pack up and return to life (I had to figure out where I'm living in the next few months).

But even a weekend was a nice time to relax a little and thank God for his many blessings.

A view from across the river

My friend, Vicky, was going a little stir crazy - It does take a little time to get used to monastery life - so we took off for a drive after dinner (the Noon meal).

The Vanderbilt mansion in Hyde Park is right across the river from the monastery and the view of the monastery is always picturesque.

Morning Sun

As we sat and ate our breakfast in silence, we had an incredible display as the sun burned off the fog this morning.

An incredible day

After a tour of GE's Analytical labs this morning, I hopped on the NY Thruway and was at the guesthouse in time for it opening at 2:00. It's a beautiful day... clear and cool... vibrant color in the leaves but still enough green to intensify the fall colors.

This trip is one of Thanksgiving. Life has been great lately. God is good. R

A Quick Visit...

I find myself in upstate NY, after a business meeting at GE's Research Center. When I looked at the map, I realized that my drive home will take me right down the Thruway, so fortunately, Laurie has vacancy and I can stop by for a few days of prayer before life gets really crazy in the next few months.

End of Benedictine Experience 2012

Before I sum up the Benedictine Experience, I must first share with you "George's First 'Rule' of Monastic Living"... which is NEVER skip breakfast on Sunday.  I swear that is the true secret of happiness since breakfast this morning included scrambled eggs, thick-cut bacon, cheese grits and fresh fruit (along with the ever present monastic coffee).  It was simply incredible.

So today we end the Benedictine Experience 2012.  This is a frequently repeated program that differs somewhat from year to year.  A number of my companions on this journey have done this year after year (some for decades) and a few of the brothers date their interest in the monastic life to one of these retreats.

It's really just an immersion into the guest life at the monastery... attending all the services in the chapel, taking part in the "School of Prayer" discussions, learning about themes from the Rule of St. Benedict, Worshiping, Praying, Learning, Working and of course Eating (I guess there's some sleep in there as well).  I will be thankful for Doug's recommendation of "Always We Begin Again: The Benedictine Way of Living" by John McQuiston II - this book paraphrases the Rule of St. Benedict as a way everyone can live a more balanced life.

As I've seen every Sunday, these last few hours are spent with people trying to drink in all the incredible spaces the monastery offers for reading, reflection & conversation.  Above are the quiet cloister which overlooks a huge tree, Pilgrim Hall which is sort of the monastery's "living room", and the guest library with it's incredible brick fireplace.

So finally after today's services, a last wrap up for BE2012, and of course the Sunday feast, we all leave and the Brothers have some much needed time to themselves.

This time, I dive right back into the real world... no leisurely drive and walk across the Hudson, etc.  I have to make it back in time for the end of an open house (trying to sell my home) and a friend's 60th birthday party.

Thanks for reading...

Beads, Bees, Work and Recreation

For some reason, I didn't sleep very well last night (perhaps a bit too much nodding off during my "quiet reflection time"), and when I awoke to one of the train whistles I went to the window to see the lights of the train pass (which you can't photograph), but I saw a ton of stars in the sky so I tried a night shot.  Unfortunately, as I was doing that I realized that the floor boards were squeaking and thought better of trying to perfect the photo in light of any possible downstairs neighbors.  When the sunlight flooded my room this morning, though, I had to capture that.

We departed from the planned "School of Prayer" lesson on the Holy Eucharist for one on Praying with Beads (due to class interest).  Br. James (the white) took us through the history of prayer beads and shared with us several examples, many of which you can find in the monastery gift shop.  (I realize that sounds more commercial than intended... there were no "Three easy payments of $19.99 if you get them in the next hour" sort of pitches, he just pointed out that the gift shop carried prayer beads that Br. Julian makes.)

We then had a lesson from Br. James from the RB about The Community at Work, where he read from the Rule of St. Benedict and explained the concept of work as a means of prayer... and also to keep monks from being idle.  It lead to an interesting discussion about how our work lives and our faith intersect.  After Dinner and a brief rest time, we went to work.

 A couple of us worked in the monastic library with Br. Adam while the rest of us helped Br. Bernard with the monastery's new beekeeping project.  Bees are due to arrive on Monday and we needed to level the place for the hives, clear some grass and get ready to install an electric fence (to keep the bears away).  It was a Bee-utiful day, Bee-nard is very excited about his bees (which is very Bee-coming to him), and now that I'm suitably tired, I'm heading to the chapel to study the Bee-atitudes. 

 During the rest period, I finally got to check out the organ in the chapel.  It's a nice Rodgers instrument... the couple of times I heard it in services it sounded thin, but I realized when playing it that I was hearing people play it without the pedals.  It seems perfectly sized for the space, though has a bit too much artificial reverb which is not needed at all in this chapel.

After Vespers, I finally got an opportunity to photograph the incense burning.  The monastery makes liturgical incense (the stuff they burn on charcoal and use in processionals, etc. - not the sticks you can burn at home).  They burn incense on Saturday Vespers and also before certain feast days.  The twirling smoke is always fascinating to me, but usually the sacristy workers take it away quickly after the service.  This evening Br. Andrew was willing to stay behind for a few min so I could try and capture it. 

(If you go to Oct 2011, you can see the incense making operation with Br. Robert and the tour.)

Finally, our evening time tonight was "Recreation" an important part of community building in a Benedictine monastery.  We had craft sodas, incredible chocolate chip cookies (Thanks Laurie!) and some wide-ranging conversations between us and Brs. Bernard and James (the black).