The boys and I took a field trip this past Friday to Canada for a visit to the Benedictine monastery of St. Benoit du Lac. We enjoyed Vespers sung by the monks, walking along the grounds, and stocking up on cheese and other products made by the monks. St. Benedict intended for his monasteries to be self sufficient, so the monks keep a farm, orchards and cheese making facility for their own needs as well as for the needs of guests who are always well received and cared for as prescribed by the Rule of St. Benedict. The most profound quality of the monastery that the visitor notices immediately is the silence. The silence is so deep and penetrating that once experienced, it can hardly be forgotten... it is in such silence where we encounter our God, is it not?
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| Front entrance of the Monastery |
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| A small chapel on the Monastery grounds |
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| In the long ornate corridor that leads to the church, we read the history of the congregation originally from Solesmes. They escaped another round of anti-clerical persecution in France in the late 1800's, settled in Belgium shortly, and then relocated to Canada. |
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| The grand organ in the Church. Just to the right are some of the monks stalls where they sing the Divine Office. |
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| This stone is from a French Benedictine Monastery built in the 1400's. |
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| Either the apple harvest was really good this year or the fruit is left on the trees for some purpose... Hard Cider? |
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| Reading some of the history of Austin, the town where the Monastery is built |
