It was chilly and windy when Mom and Dad picked me up for our excursion to Conyers. Things started off a little crazy, we get to Hardee’s in
Then, once we reached the monastery, we found out that my teacher, and a good portion of our group had not yet arrived! So, we milled around the bookstore and welcome room until the rest showed up within the hour. After a brief meeting, we were then free to roam around the grounds until 1, when we’d be meeting with Father James Behrens.
The first place of note was the church. After passing through the heavy, wooden doors, and passing through the shadowed foyer, the most striking feature of the sanctuary is the colors. The walls were undecorated, white stone, which glowed in the blue light given off from the stained glass windows above. Further in, on the far side of the sanctuary (where the altar is) the blue glow gives way to bright yellow light that beams down on the altar on which the Eucharist is performed. Above all this is the Salve window, which depicts Mary “holding the enthroned Christ Child and overshadowed by symbols of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.”
As I stood there in the back, I just soaked up the colors and the silence. There were moments when I’d get that tingly feeling on the back of my neck that just relaxed me into this very peaceful environment. It would be appropriate to say that, standing there, you could feel the sacredness of the place.
After we left the church, we walked down to the lake to look around, but then the wind picked up so, since it was nearing 1:00, we went on to the Retreat House to wait on the group to gather. Waiting in the foyer, I tried the coffee they had brewing which was from a Trappist monastery in the
The amazing part of this was that—apart from some whispering when getting the food and a recitation of the Hail Mary—the entire meal was conducted in silence. The meal, small but filling, consisted of a piece of fried chicken, steamed carrots and broccoli, coleslaw, bread, and apple pie. This meal gave me the best understanding of the contemplative nature of monastic life; the idea that every action, every aspect of one’s life becomes a contemplative communion with God.
I don’t really have much to say regarding the meeting with Father James Behrens, apart from the fact that he definitely showed that the commonly-held image of monks is often misplaced. He was very down-to-earth, laidback, and funny.
The funniest thing regarding our meeting with Father Behrens had nothing to do with him, but a case of mistaken identity. When we were all waiting for him to arrive, my teacher comes in and, seeing my Dad, quizzically asks, “. . . Father Behrens?” He had mistaken Dad to be the monk, to which Dad just laughed and said no, he was with me. Today in class, I smiled when this story was relayed to the class as I was told that Dad just looked, to my teacher, like an Irish priest!
To close, I went back to Pilgrimage this past Sunday, and I’m feeling pretty comfortable going there, the atmosphere is very non-threatening and accepting. I’m still trying to discover what my thoughts and feelings are towards my spiritual development, but I’m comfortable with this period of change, so far.
Please keep an eye on the photo section of my own website for a few pictures I took from the trip.
