Mt Angel Abbey
I hope this letter finds everyone well, and I pray that you are all enjoying this day, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. If you are unfamiliar, this day commemorates the day that Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Temple to offer him up to God (as was the Jewish tradition). It was there that Simeon, a devout man, recognized the baby Jesus as the Messiah.
The two novices, Brother Joshua and Brother Stephen, and I just finished with our daily work early (Tuesdays we finish and deliver laundry), and I am now sitting in the monks computer lab, a rather plain room with three Macs on one wall with a printer on the opposite. The clash between modern culture and monastic tradition is so relevant here, sending email through a cable modem on a very modern mac in a room that is close to a hundred years old, a Brother in his Habit sitting next to me reading from some website.
Mom, the monastary is always hot. You would love it in the mornings. I have to sleep with my window open just to stand it. Speaking of sleeping, last night was the first night that I was able to sleep throughout the night, awaking exactly at five AM. I guess that means I am starting to integrate. Walking outside this sunny morning, the fog low creating the illusion of a monastary in the clouds, I grumbled at the fact that the day seemed to never be heating up. I stopped and laughed at myself; it was 9 AM. Just because I had been up for four hours already doesn't mean the day had. That will take some getting used to. Thankfully (or perhaps not) coffee appears like magic in what seems like every room and every meal.
The retreat went well, though we stayed very busy with conferences, chats with brothers, both Novitiates and Juniors, and of course the office of the hours. The silence I was looking for was not to be found in the weekend, where I was surrounded by 5 others, then four, then three. I discovered that I had been introduced last year to one of the fellow retreatants, Jesus. This was his seventh, and he, Jesus, had found out the week before that his application had been accepted. He will be beginning his postulancy on March 21st. He is a great guy and I plan on coming back here for the initiation service. He and I stayed in the monastary. The halls are enormous, 175 of MY paces from one side to the next, with a communal staircase in the center opposite the church. Sound magnifies and intensifies, you can quite literally hear a pin drop, and a whisper from one side can be heard to the other. For most of the week 'quiet' is observed during the day, and 'silence' at night. Heading back into the monastary one night I accidentaly let a door slam shut behind me. I am positive that everyone on three floors heard it, and it was extremely embarassing, although not uncommon. The building is ancient, and these old doors seem to each have individual personalities.
I am being VERY well fed, but I am careful about carbs (as careful as I can) and I am watching portions. A set meal schedual is a blessing, and even though I am eating more here than I was outside, I am always hungry when the next meal approaches. With the exception of feast days (like today), Lunch and dinner are served to us in groups of four. We eat in silence while a brother reads first from the Bible, and then from a book of interest to the monks. Currently we ae listening to a book co-authored by a Benedictine monk and and businesswoman of some sort. I'm not really that interested, but we have barely gotten through the introduction. When the meal is over we pray the litany of St. Joseph. For what reason exactly I am not sure.
Have I mentioned all of the stairs? I have become a stair master. Three floors up to my room, four floors down to the basement, one more to the laundry facilities, back up, three floors to the basement of the guest house, one to the dining room, four down to the parking lot, back up, down, up, down. It is not an overstatement when I say that I walk at least one mile in stairs every day. My legs are constantly sore, but it is nice, it helps you remember that everything is a gift from God, and to be thankfull for both what you have, and what you receive.
The wildlife continues to astound me. During a break from a conference I chanced to see a hummingbird less than a yard away. It was a male known as Anna's Hummingbird. I don't know where that name came from but it is a real species. I decided one night to take a drive (there is a housebridge very close), and at the very bottom of the property, sitting on the side of the road, an owl. This is the first time I have seen an owl in the wild, and it was stunning. Mostly white with a dusting of grey, must have stood to nearly my knee. With the limited resources I have here I came across the name Eastern Screech Owl, but I am not necessarily convinced that is what I saw. The poster said it is native, though. Who knows.
The work is fine. Monday and Tuesday are laundry day. I have never seen so many pairs of underwear at the same time. They have a laundress here that washes three days a week. It is up to the postulants and novices to fold, separate numerically, and deliver the fresh laundry for the week. Tomorrow will be "museum" chores. We will be moving some artwork around, some of which is priced at over $5,000. I am a little nervous, but glad for the opportunity to see and share the artwork. Thursday we work outside, and who knows how that will go. Someone mentioned wood chopping. I hope I am better at it than I am at home.
'Now this is all fascinating,' you are probably saying, 'but what about YOU? What are you feeling? What is going on in that head?" I cannot answer much now. This experience continues to be a blessing as I meet the current and former abbot, the fathers, the brothers, the laity (I even met the priest from Silverton, who is well informed about baby Jack). I pray the rosary nightly, and practice Lectio Divina daily with a journal. I would hope that by now I don't need to gush anymore over the office of the hours and how I cherish that. I am taking it slow, learning, praying, working. As for right now, with three days left, things are as they should be. I love you all, will talk to you when I get back. Thank you for your prayers and pass this around if you care to, (just make sure to spellcheck it first, I don't know how to use it on a fancy mac)
Love,
Alexander Scott
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