As I am writing this, our group is already in Montgomery, AL, having departed from Cullman and Birmingham several days ago. While we were planning this course, I wanted to find a way to connect St. Benedict's Prep with the Benedictine school run by St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, AL. After having made the email connection with the Headmaster, Fr. Linus, we had created the first step toward creating interaction between SBP (St. Benedict's Prep) and the other SBP (St. Bernard's Prep).
Our five days and four nights at St. Bernard were very enjoyable, especially because of the Benedictine hospitality from Br. Marion who runs the Abbey Retreat Center. We all found our rooms very comfortable and well-appointed, and our group essentially had the run of the whole place -- which was huge -- because were were the only ones there for most of the time. We planned to experience an entire day at St. Bernard while we were in the Birmingham area, so the students 'went to school' for most of the day on Thursday, May 9. After lunch, we were treated by Br. Thomas, the Abbey Librarian, to a private tour of the Abbey Church, which was breathtaking in its beauty.
Br. Thomas explained the history of the Church, in which Mass was first celebrated in 1962, and he also quizzed us about what we knew about the statues that are built into the pillars of the church. He showed us around the sacristy and took us up to the loft for a grand view of the church below. Br. Thomas showed us the many relics of the saints, and also a piece of the True Cross contained in the sacristy crucifix. This was a very detailed and very informative tour of this wonderful house of God.
We all attended the 5 PM Mass that afternoon, and then stayed for vespers at 5:30. We were guided by one of the other monks about which page to be on for the psalmody and prayers. After church, we went to dinner just as we had for the previous several nights, with the resident students.
Fr. Linus built us a nice campfire that evening, and it took a while and a great (but enjoyable) effort to get the fire going. When it finally did after an hour, we roasted marshmallows provided by Fr. Linus, and we also sang a lot of Convocation songs with Jesus on the soprano ukulele and me on the bass ukulele. We used our bluetooth speakers to sing a lot of songs karaoke-style. And it wasn't just Jesus and me singing -- ALL the guys were singing, and Fr. Linus looked quite entertained, swaying and bobbing his head while we sang loudly into the night.
Fr. Linus said that he was interested in creating some type of student exchange program between Benedict's and Bernard's. I think it's important that we try to nurture this idea. There is a bit of history between these two Abbeys -- Fr. Edwin, Fr. Philip, and Fr. Albert went to school here -- and both Abbeys owe their origin to the Archabbey in Latrobe, PA, St. Vincent's.
I am grateful, and the whole group extends its thanks to the monks and students at St. Bernard's. Our visit to the Birmingham area was made especially memorable because of our time at the southern 'version' of SBP. Yes, we even share the same initials.
Our five days and four nights at St. Bernard were very enjoyable, especially because of the Benedictine hospitality from Br. Marion who runs the Abbey Retreat Center. We all found our rooms very comfortable and well-appointed, and our group essentially had the run of the whole place -- which was huge -- because were were the only ones there for most of the time. We planned to experience an entire day at St. Bernard while we were in the Birmingham area, so the students 'went to school' for most of the day on Thursday, May 9. After lunch, we were treated by Br. Thomas, the Abbey Librarian, to a private tour of the Abbey Church, which was breathtaking in its beauty.Br. Thomas explained the history of the Church, in which Mass was first celebrated in 1962, and he also quizzed us about what we knew about the statues that are built into the pillars of the church. He showed us around the sacristy and took us up to the loft for a grand view of the church below. Br. Thomas showed us the many relics of the saints, and also a piece of the True Cross contained in the sacristy crucifix. This was a very detailed and very informative tour of this wonderful house of God.
We all attended the 5 PM Mass that afternoon, and then stayed for vespers at 5:30. We were guided by one of the other monks about which page to be on for the psalmody and prayers. After church, we went to dinner just as we had for the previous several nights, with the resident students.
Fr. Linus built us a nice campfire that evening, and it took a while and a great (but enjoyable) effort to get the fire going. When it finally did after an hour, we roasted marshmallows provided by Fr. Linus, and we also sang a lot of Convocation songs with Jesus on the soprano ukulele and me on the bass ukulele. We used our bluetooth speakers to sing a lot of songs karaoke-style. And it wasn't just Jesus and me singing -- ALL the guys were singing, and Fr. Linus looked quite entertained, swaying and bobbing his head while we sang loudly into the night.
Fr. Linus said that he was interested in creating some type of student exchange program between Benedict's and Bernard's. I think it's important that we try to nurture this idea. There is a bit of history between these two Abbeys -- Fr. Edwin, Fr. Philip, and Fr. Albert went to school here -- and both Abbeys owe their origin to the Archabbey in Latrobe, PA, St. Vincent's.
I am grateful, and the whole group extends its thanks to the monks and students at St. Bernard's. Our visit to the Birmingham area was made especially memorable because of our time at the southern 'version' of SBP. Yes, we even share the same initials.
Thank you, Dr. Lansang, for such a beautiful account of the group's visit to the "SBP of the South." I'm hoping we get to see photos of you and Jesus on the ukuleles!
ReplyDeleteWith best regards -- Ms. MacPherson
P.S. Is there an instrument that you can't play? : )