How's that for Serenity!

This morning I arrived in the monastic town of New Norcia, for a week of theological reading, reflection and prayer (and a bit of volunteer work in the Monastery Archives).

Ever since I first visited New Norcia as part of my ministerial studies, I have come back almost annually to enjoy the environment of prayer and peace ('Pax' being the Benedictine motto). New Norcia is a strange place (in a good way), as it is a town full of grandiose Spanish buildings, in WA's sticks, on the Great Northern Highway on the way to Geraldton, about 2 hours from Perth. 

Whenever I'm here, I like to slip into the rhythm of the monastery, praying the Offices with the monks 7 times each day (which means getting up at 5am- yes, really!). My daily schedule looks like this:

5am rise

5:15am- Vigils

(shower and breakfast)

6:45am- Lauds

7:30am- Mass (in the Abbey church)

8am- Work (which is either some volunteer work in the Archives or my reading)

12noon- Midday Prayer

12:15- Dinner (the main meal of the day- 3 courses: soup, main and dessert)

rest time

2:30- Afternoon Prayer

3pm- Work (more reading and journalling)

6:30pm- Vespers

7pm- Tea (the 'lighter' evening meal... only 2 courses, soup and main)

8:15pm- Compline (the final prayer of the day, and my favourite of the Offices)

I usually head back to my room, do some reading, journalling (this year I have my laptop and a mobile internet connection, so I can blog as part of this), and go to bed around 10-10:30pm.

The monks observe the Great Silence between 8pm and 8am (or, effectively from after Compline until after Mass the next morning), and I also like to maintain silence during these times, so as not to lose the gentle and almost visceral sense of being sent off to bed during Compline, and to help me reflect on the day, and then prepare for the coming day in the early part of the morning.

It's a full day, and in between prayer times and meal times and the after lunch rest time, I manage to fit in 7-8 hours of reading 'work' in my cosy little nook in the upstairs guesthouse reading room, so have no trouble at all justifying this time as work-related study leave. But there is also a sense of gentleness to the day, as it's broken up by the different prayer times, each with its own style (some offices are spoken, others are chanted).

I really do love this place.