New Web Site for the Benedictines

The traditional Benedictines in Silver City have a new web site -- see http://www.ourladyofguadalupemonastery.com/

There's a number of nice photographs of life at the monastery. The place is off the beaten track, way out in the country of the American southwest among mountains and forests.

The Rule of a Benedictine monastery is rooted in the principles of Ora et Labora, which is Latin for "Prayer and Work."

The monks are obliged to be self-supporting through their own work, which includes a range of craftsman's skills from carpentry to leatherworking to bread-making; meanwhile charitable contributions allow them to erect new buildings and the like -- something they need to do, because they have more men wanting to join the monastery than they accommodate!

In addition to the work, they pray, which is what the singing is: each week they sing the Psalms in plainchant, singing a few dozen Psalms each day (with a number of hymns as well). The sung prayers are done at a fixed time each day, which sanctifies the hours of the day; it also commemorates events in the life of Christ: the middle of the night is when Christ was put on trial; in the morning He stood before Pilate; at noon He was nailed to the Cross; at 3PM He expired on the Cross; etc. It's all a life of love undertaken for the honor and glory of the Almighty.

The recent big news at the Monastery was its canonical erection, complete with a formal ceremony involving a Bishop. Essentially this was a kind of promotion for the monastery, where it was formally raised in rank and significance.

You can also poke around through the old newsletters here, and if you're of a mind to you can sign up to receive a copy in the mail.

They also have an online gift shop, which has some pretty neat items:
* books,
* CDs of the monks singing plainchant,
* Crucifixes, Rosaries, and medals,
* handsome pens and stationery paper complete with sealing wax,
* and even satchels.

There's a number of other pages to look at when exploring the site.