Christmas and the beginning of Christmastide

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were blessed with beautiful liturgies and lots of merriment and good food (and a little too many sweets for our own good...). We had a Guest House full of guests (some Christmas first-timers and a lot of repeat Christmas visitors).

Brothers Josép, Max and Scott (who is visiting from South Africa for a few weeks) sang beautifully in the scola that adorned the First Vespers of Christmas and the First Eucharist of Christmas.

After First Vespers on Christmas Eve we had a carols sing with cookies and egg nog. The spirited singing near the newly decorated Christmas tree kept us going until... 9 p.m. when we sent everyone to bed in recovered silence. Nice contrast.

Carol Singing on Christmas Eve. Br. Josép led the singing and lots of cookies and eggnog were consumed. Bottom left, three friends came together for the festivities (from left to right: Liz Moss and Judy Schram, both from Lexington, VA and Nancy Adamczyk, from Madison, NJ).

Most of our outside visitors came for the First Vespers of Christmas. The First Mass of Christmas was celebrated amongst our guests with fewer visitors. Our Christmas Eve celebration wins the popularity contest.

Before the First Mass of Christmas. The Christmas scola comprised (from left to right) Br. Max, Br. Josép and Br. Scott. They also sang before First Vespers of Christmas. Bottom choir pircture: Brs. John and Bede enjoy the scola's offering.

After all the Christmas festivities, we closed the Guest House for a day and a half and had our own community celebration. Boxing Day was a sabbath day. On Saturday after Christmas we invited our nursing home Brothers to come for Diurnum and dinner. We got to sing "O Christmas Tree" in English and in German (a favorite of Br. Laurence). After a good meal and a competitive game of cribbage, our Brothers were ready to go back home to rest. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves on a day when we could give them more of our attention.

From top left, clockwise: Br. Laurence and Br. Max playing cribbage together; Br. Josép's cell's illuminations put mine to sharme; Bros. Aidan, Carl and Scott chatting at our end of Christmas Day get-together; Br. Rafael is helped to find the right page in the breviary by Br. Josép; several monks sing "O Chritmas Tree" and "O Tannenbaum" with Bros. Laurence and Rafael in our enclosure common room (also in the center picture); The Rev. Stacey Grossman, from Novato, CA with Bros. Robert Hagler (rolling the wheelchair, and Rafael; Bros. Laurence, Bernard and Max near the Pilgrim Hall Christmas tree beautifully decorated by our guests; Br. Josép in a very festive mood.

And so began Christmastide (a.k.a. the Twelve Days of Christmas). A lot of people love the quiet and cozy time in-between Christmas and New Year in the Guest House. And we get a lot of repeat guests and visitors for those days. Several clergy people come and rest from the the Advent and Christmas excitement.

Christmastide Guests. From top left, clockwise: The Rev. Gwyneth Murphy, from Rhinebeck, NY and Associate Andrew Jones from NYC; sunrise over the foggy valley; The Rev. John Mennell and The Rev. Sonia Waters, from Montclair, NJ; guests sitting down to breakfast in the golden rising sun light; guests helping themselves to dinner in the refectory; the Coast Guard patroling the Hudson; The Rev. Hall Kirkham and Jennifer McCracken.

On New Year's Day we closed the Guest House until Tuesday, January 14. The closure enables the community to take its Long Retreat (eight days of silence and prayer). The closure also enables some building work to proceed. This year we are dividing St Augustine room into two meeting rooms.

On New Year's Day, the community had our traditional pizza-movie-and-coquito event. We watched the recent Netflix movie "The Two Popes." It is very well done and worth watching. I teared up a couple of times... Not bad for a movie of two old guys debating about church and faith.

And now, off to praying, meditating, resting, reading, studying, holy leisure and blessed silence. We love our Long Retreat. We pray for all those who visit us and support us. Would you say a prayer for us while we delve into deep silence?

Happy New Year!