A Week with the Monks

Pastor's Log- Sabbatical Date: 2-3-17 - 22:10

On Monday, I worked out and packed the car.  Then I drove down to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, KY to spend another week in silence and solitude before returning to daily ministry.  Once I got there, I settled into my room and did some reading.  I went down for supper and sat in the dinning room where they were playing tapes of talks that Thomas Merton had given.  After the meal, I went to an orientation with a short video.  I then did some exploring of the building, worked on scripture memory, and did some drawing.  Before going to bed, I read a bit of Inheritance.

 Tuesday, I got up and got ready in time for breakfast which is served at 7am.  Afterward, I sat outside for a bit before attending a lecture by one of the monks about Monasticism.  I then mailed a postcard home, toured the gift shop and took a couple of short hikes before working on scripture memory and some reading.  I ate lunch and spent the afternoon reading and working on scripture.  I had supper and then read outside for awhile before heading in to draw and read a bit more before bed.

On Wednesday, I had breakfast and read outside a bit.  I attended the morning lecture which was supposed to be about judging others, but changed at the last minute because it was the day to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.  As such, the monk told us more about what the mystics have to say about Mary, which went far above and beyond what our cannon of scripture has to offer us.  I have come to appreciate much about Catholics, but this is an area in which I still find myself at odds with.  I spent the rest of the morning doing some more extensive hiking out to some sculptures and the stone house.  I even saw a deer.  After lunch I read and worked on scripture.  After supper I read some more and drew a bit.

Thursday was my last full day there, so I decided that I would follow the monks routine of praying seven times a day.  I got up at 3am to pray with them and then went back to bed.  I got up again at 5:30am  for prayer and then took a nap before getting up at 6:30am to get my shower and go to breakfast.   This was followed by prayers at 7:30am.  I read for a bit and then went to the monks lecture on judging others.  After that, I sat outside for a bit and worked on scripture memory and reading until the 12:15pm prayers.  I ate lunch in the silent dinning room since I was doing the prayers that day.  I did some more reading and then went to the 2:15 prayer time.  I read some more and then went to the 5:30 prayer time before going to supper in the silent dinning room again.  That evening I studied scripture some more before going to the 7:30PM prayer.  After which I read and drew for a bit.  I'm glad that I experienced their rhythm of prayer.  There is much that we could learn from this devotion to prayer, though I personally struggled to really enter into chanting the Psalms.

Friday, I got up and got packed.  I had to have all of my stuff out of my room by 8am.  I ate breakfast and then did some journalling and reading while I waited for the gift shop to open.  After hitting the gift shop, I headed home.  We spent the afternoon reconnecting and exchanging gifts.  That evening, we ate pizza and watched a movie.