This past week end a friend and I had the supreme privilege to make a retreat with the monks of Most Holy Trinity Monastery of the Maronite Catholic Rite. Situated deep in rural Massachusetts, the monks live out their blessed days calling on God's Mercy for themselves and for all of us. It's so very edifying!
We began our retreat Friday evening shortly before the monks chanted Compline. The melodies and voices take you right up to God in a way that seems only the Church's sacred liturgy can. At the end of Compline the monks sing a hymn to our Blessed Lady, in a beautiful melody interchanged with polyphony, then the Abbot blesses all with an image of Our Lady of Gaudalupe.
Next day, Saturday begins at 5:20 for morning prayer and Holy Mass/Divine Liturgy at 7:30. The rest of the day for the retreatant is spent attending the Divine office with the Monks, private prayer in the Church or in our cells or out in the beautiful and secluded countryside. The monks have a wonderful retreathouse with rooms for 8 men at a time. Each room is very comfortable with bed, dest and chair, chest of drawers and a full bathroom. the retreat house has a common room with tea, coffee and snacks available. Meals are taken with the monks in their refectory and in silence, with table reading. I hope I have many more retreats there to come.
DEO GRATIAS!
3 comments:
That sounds so wonderful! What a blessed way to focus on God.
It was wonderul!
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