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| Photo credit: westonpriory.org |
SERENITY
Plainsong
at Vespers
sung
by a handful
of Episcopalian sisters
of Episcopalian sisters
in
a little convent chapel
in New Jersey,
in New Jersey,
whisked
me back a few decades
to
a summer weekend
at
Weston Priory in Vermont,
to
celebrate
the Feast of St. Benedict;
the Feast of St. Benedict;
whisked
me back to
my Catholic Charismatic days,
my Catholic Charismatic days,
when
I was willing
to travel anywhere
to
participate in vibrant
congregational worship.
At
the priory
I
witnessed what many never see,
monks
dancing in a circle,
their
slow, graceful sweeps
billowing
white hooded frocks
in
the gentle breeze.
They
sang fresh, mellow songs
that
were wending their way
into
contemporary liturgies.
The
monks invited a few of us
to
join their sunrise worship.
We
quietly gathered in a rude garret
with
a wide many-paned window
that
offered pre-dawn darkness.
Sitting
upon pillows strewn on the floor,
we
melded with the stillness.
One
by one the Benedictines entered
with
their prayer books
and
sat meditatively.
After
a time
they
softly read Scripture,
prayed, and chanted mellifluous praise.
Suddenly,
a brown field mouse
scampered
among us,
flitting
betwixt and between.
No
one stirred at all.
Beyond
the panes
blackness
gave way
to
the rising sun;
streams
of warm glow
dissolved
the morning mist
above
a placid pond.
Splashes
of magenta and lavender
petunias
drenched in dew
emerged
at water's edge.
Maude
Carolan
You brought me there! As I read, I felt like I was on holy ground.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I'll never forget how peaceful it was to commune with God in that garret and how that tiny mouse scurried among us and no one stirred. It made me smile. If that were to happen in my kitchen, I'd jump up on a chair! Have a blessed and serene day.
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