Monastery News

“She ain’t heavy, she’s my sister.”

Our barnyard managerie, composed of sixteen sheep, one donkey and fifty hens, gets along very well. Even the three cats on the sidelines are part of the mix and don’t threaten the chickens at all. And certainly not the donkey!

The sheep are under the watchful care of Matty the donkey 24/7 and they all get along swimmingly.

To break life’s monotony, Matty occasionally gives one or more of the hens a lift here and there in Abbotsfield.

The Peaceable Kingdom lives again.

With prayers and greetings as a new year of interacting gets under way. Blessed New Year 2021.

The last day of the calendar year is also the Seventh Day of Christmas. On the Eighth Day of Christmas, January 1st, we celebrate the beginning of a new civil year.

The Church asks us on January 1st to focus on the remembrance of Mary the Mother of Jesus, declared at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 as the “Theotokos,” literally, “she who gave birth to the One who is God.” Often the term “Theotokos” is translated into English as, “Mother of God.”

Mary’s example of profound humility and acceptance of God’s will in her life, as well as her intercession in Heaven for God’s people on earth, are an important part of Catholic doctrine, tradition and piety.

The prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary are an encouragement in these troubled times, because we never journey alone, but always in the presence of the Holy Trinity and all the saints and angels of God.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

We awoke on December 29th to a fresh blanket of snow. In the desert Southwest moisture in either form, as rain or snow, is always welcome. Winter snow and occasional rain are of course good for the earth and a deterant to dreaded forest fires in the spring, summer and fall.

Sometimes friends or family ask us if are “stranded” at the monastery when we have snow, since the dirt and gravel road leading to the monastery (Forest Service Road 151) is 13 miles long.

Generally we have no trouble traversing the road, being careful not to go too fast, in order to avoid slipping. Four-wheel drive also helps. The road not usually icey, but simply covered with snow, which is not necessarily slippery.

In these times of not verturing out except for necessary medical appointments or grocery shopping, we can mostly enjoy the snow from the relative comfort of “home sweet home,” our monastery.

A trek to Bethlehem would have taken the wise men from the east some days of travel. Maybe they traveled by camel, or could they have made the journey by horseback? Here we like to think it was by horseback and can imagine the necessary preparation.

Precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were going to be offered to one who was a king, a deity and who would die.

As we continue the Christmas journey from the crib and ultimately to the cross, may the good zeal of the magi from the east, in pursuit of the Christ Child, to adore the new-born King, inspire us as well.

Our celebration of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ carries on in prayerful rejoicing. We carry out the daily round of chanting of the Divine Office, in praise of our Creator and for the needs and intentions of all of our families, friends, benefactors and oblates.

For many people, particularly those who have lost loved ones in the past at this time of year, the present holy days can be very painful. We pray in solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world, that God’s healing touch be upon them.

Of course what our world is suffering now because of the coronavirus and its mutations is unprecedented. May the arrival of vaccines do much good in preventing the spread of the disease.

Lord, hear us. Lord, graciously hear us.

Winter has officially begun and we are enjoying spectacular sunsets.

The O Antiphon at Vespers for December 22nd (see explantion of O Antiphons for December 20th entry on this page) proclaims:

“O King of all nations and keystone of the Church; come and save those whom you formed from the dust!”

The Antiphon is a fervent prayer that God stoop down to lift us up to life in the Blessed Trinity. God has done that and we recount it in a particular way at the end of the Advent season and the Christmas season that begins at the end of this week.

Our senior monk, Brother Leander Hogg, turned 94 on December 20th. Ad multos annos!

Brother Leander faithfully lives our life day in and day out and attends without fail the Divine Office and Conventual Mass.

He works also in the formation of new Brothers, teaches classes in Monastic History and Spirituality, and is cheerful and positive element in our midst. Would that we all might be at age 94!

Happy Birthday, Brother Leander, and many happy returns of the day!

Our Lady of Bethlehem monastery barn is moving closer to completion. Brother-carpenters are braving the cold, albeit sunny, weather, to complete the project by Christmas.

We have now entered into the final days of Advent and sing the “O Aniphons” at Vespers each evening, from December 17th until December 23rd.

These biblically-inspired Antiphons are texts chanted at Vespers just before the Magnificat, the Gospel Canticle of Mary (Luke 1:46-55), and are prayers which proclaim some of the various names that God has been know by throughout the ages:

Wisdom, Adonai, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Orient from on High, King of Nations, Emmanuel.

Each “name” of God is preceded by the exclamation: “O,” hence their all being called the “O Antiphons.”

The popular Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is an adaptation of the O Antiphons, using an ancient Gregorian chant melody.

Each morning at 8:30 we monks gather in our Chapter Room for any announcements by the Abbot or individual monks, then going over the day’s work assignments and finally reading out the names of the deceased members of our Subiaco Cassinese Congregation who died that day.
After that we also pray for all our deceased relatives, benefactors, friends and oblates.

The morning gathering concludes with the singing of Psalm 129, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,” traditionally a prayer for the Faithful Departed.. The psalm is often called the “De Profundis,” the Latin words for “out of the depths.”

After the work meeting we go to church to pray the Office of Terce, then on to our work assignments.

“All wild beasts and tame, O bless the Lord,” the Prophet Daniel prayed.

Our Brother Dominic, donkey Matty and doggie Gnuf Gnuf gather at the wild bird feeder, primarily to refill it. During their visit no birds were to be seen. Matty even helped herself to a portion of the bird feed, until she was lead away.

December and January are normally the coldest months in the Chama canyon. This year is no exception, with temperatures dropping down to the teens at night and by midday reaching only the low 40s. We carry on nonetheless.

At this time of year we are experiencing lovely sunrises and sunsets, a certain sign that the Lord is Maker of heaven and earth, and provides for our needs of body and soul.

Blessed continuation of the Advent season. Peaceful preparation for Christmas, just ten days from now.

Our community continues to be covid-free, for which we are very grateful.

All our friends and family remain in our daily prayers. Please keep us in yours. Thank you.