The monastery
Hi, there.
I've just gone round the main places in the abbey to photograph them, just to give you an idea. I thought it was beautiful with the little snow falling. I'll explain a little bit about the pictures as I go along!
This is the evacuation plan. It doesn't tell you much, that's true. The part that sticks out on the left is the church, the part that sticks out at the bottom is the hostelry. The square in the centre is the courtyard, an open space with vegetation. Around it is the cloister. To the right is the refectory and kitchen wing, upstairs is the office wing, and to the left is the library and chapter house wing. This is the ground floor by the way. Upstairs is the bedroom floor, and the basement is mainly work-related, although the gym and music room are there too. Well, I'll continue!
The refectory. This is where we eat, at lunchtime and in the evening one of the brothers reads a book aloud to the others and then eats. It looks like we eat in the forest, it's really beautiful (and we escape the mosquitoes).
One side of the cloister. If you've seen one, you might as well say you've seen all four. It's very bright, it breathes.
The library on the ground floor. You can lose the map if you like books!
This isn't over...
The suite, in the basement. Over 35,000 pounds in all!
The gym in the basement! Nice place to keep a balance between the intellectual and physical dimensions.
The deadlift corner (note the cushions, silence is protected)!
The workshop, right next to the gym.
The music room to practice, still in the basement. It's also where we store movies and music DVDs.
The laboratory (not like the place where you do experiments, more like the place where you change for work - labora = work in Latin). It's also in the basement.
One of the many stairs. As for the cloister, you've seen one, you've seen them all. We also have an elevator for the older brothers.
The novitiate room, on the bedroom floor. Really a beautiful room. That's where the classes are held for the novices.
One of the three bedroom hallways. The monastery has a capacity of 28 monks. Then you have to found a new monastery!
An empty room. The beds are retractable, and there's a sink.
One bedroom balcony. That's great for getting some fresh air without going too far!
The room in which the Abbot's council meets from time to time is also upstairs. There are quite a few music CDs, and on the right there are a lot of old manuscripts. The window in the centre looks out over the church.
The church! It's really beautiful (fortunately, we pray there seven times a day)! Every day the stained glass is different, and the artist who made it is particularly talented.
The courtyard, in the center of the complex. So the heart of the monastery is nature and the great outdoors. It feels like you're outside without even going out sometimes.
The gatehouse, where guests are welcomed. The wing on the right is the hostelry, very similar to the monks' spaces, but separate from them. We are welcoming, but solitude is an important aspect of our way of life! I would like to remind you that the hostelry is open to all, please look in the section HOTELS.
The chapter hall, a place where we meet regularly for community exchanges or teachings of the Father Abbot. That's up north...
And that's south.
It's the little chapel next to the church. The monastery is not completely made of glass, but with a slight exaggeration I would say, almost!
Well, I hope you enjoyed your visit. It was a pleasure for me to show you a bit of our living environment.
Looking forward to seeing you one day at the abbey!
With love,
a novice brother.