Prayer

Since the early years of the Church, there have been men and women called to realize the Lord’s exhortation as literally as possible.  In the third and fourth centuries, communities devoted exclusively to this goal began to take shape.  Believers came together to create a ‘way of life’ (Latin: conversatio) from which prayer would naturally flow.  A gentle oscillation between the communal celebration of the Divine Office and the personal prayer of lectio divina gave form to this life.  Silence, manual work, and the cultivation of virtue filled out the substance.

We pray the traditional Benedictine office, using Gregorian chant in both Latin and English.  We also devote about an hour and a half each day to lectio divina, the quiet memorization of and meditation on the scriptures and texts of the liturgy.  All monks, but especially those new to the life, carry out manual labor.  This work is normally done in silence, in order to allow the monk to pray as he puts his body to work for the common good.

We invite all to join us for the daily celebration of the Mass and the Divine Office. The full daily schedule can be found below.

Schedule

Weekdays & Saturdays

• 3:30 a.m. Vigils (prayed privately by the monastic community)
• 6:00 a.m. Lauds
• 6:35 a.m. Mass
• 9:30 a.m. Terce
• 12:45 p.m. Sext
• 2:30 p.m. None
• 5:15 p.m. Vespers
• 7:15 p.m. Compline

Sundays

• 3:30 a.m. Vigils (prayed privately by the monastic community)
• 6:30 a.m. Lauds
• 9:40 a.m. Terce
• 10:00 a.m. Mass
• 12:45 p.m. Sext
• 5:15 p.m. Vespers with Benediction

On all Solemnities (excluding Christmas, January 1, and Easter), Mass is at 6:35 a.m. and Terce is at 8:30 a.m.

Once a month, the community observes a Desert Day, when there is no public liturgy.  These fall on Mondays and sometimes also on Tuesdays.  For more information about specific dates, please submit a contact form here.