More from Spencer

After my well-attended and much-appreciated talk yesterday, I share 3 more photos from St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. The first photo shows the outside of the church, built by the monks themselves with fieldstone they found in the area when they decided to build their monastery there, after a devastating fire destroyed their former Abbey in Rhode Island. The whole complex included a cloister, chapter house, Scriptorium (Library), Refectory , the private cells to house over 100 monks, an Infirmary for the elderly and sick monks, an Energy centre, large warehouses for the Trappist preserves factory, another section for the Holy Rood Guild, a gift shop, and other buildings for all kinds of equipment, offices and storage space.

The second photo shows the stained-glass windows in the chapel, dominated by the Salve Regina window, behind the main altar. This is lit from the outside at 8 PM every day when the monks sing the Salve Regina in Latin, as they pass in front of the Abbot to be blessed with holy water, then heading to sleep. The stained glass of Mary was crafted by Nicolas Joep in the 1950s.

The third photo shows the monks in the choir stalls during one of their Vespers for which they meet daily, besides 6 other times when they congregate for prayer. The midday prayers are prayed even at their place of work, that is None, Sext and Terce.  Most of the singing is Gregorian Chant, and all the Psalms are sung alternating by the Schola Cantorum ( a group of 6-8 best singing voices) and the rest of the community in their stalls.