Here’s where I’ll share photographs of my retreats at (and day-visits to) Gethsemani.
If you have photos you’d like me to post, please e-mail them to me at the address on the Contact page.
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If you can dig those guidelines, feel free to share.
Okay. I’ll start. These pictures are from our most recent (September 9-12, 2016) retreat at Gethsemani.
This announces you’re “home”:
One of my favorite sights: The walkway toward the church (straight ahead) and the entryway for retreatants (on the left). The entryway on the right is for monks. (Next picture below.)
Quote from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux that welcomes all:
“God Alone” is carved above the entry to the monks’ area, which is off limits for retreatants. Picture taken at dusk, which I thought gave it a mysterious look.
Fr. Seamus at the desk welcoming retreatants:
The schedule for retreatants. My favorites are Vigils at 3:15am and Compline at 7:30pm.
What it looks like at 3:15am. Picture taken by sleepy retreatant in the balcony:
For some reason, this picture seemed to sum up what a retreat at the Abbey looks like:
Walking sticks can be found everywhere. I grabbed one and took it on the hike. I returned it to that exact spot when we were done:
The grounds of the Abbey offer wonderful opportunities for hiking and solitude. They begin with this path:
Sights along the path through the woods:
More from our hike:
More from our hike:
More from our hike:
More from hike:
My favorite place in the Abbey: The balcony. I don’t know why. I think it’s the vantage point. Or the smell of incense. Or the intense silence. This is a panorama shot from one window to the other. If you look closely, you can see my wife in the far right corner, seated, looking at me (and probably wondering, “What the heck are you doing?):
Another view of the balcony. At a certain time of day, the late afternoon sun beams through the stained-glass windows and illuminates everything in a beautiful shade of blue:
The Abbott addressing the monks after Terce on September 10, 2016. He wanted to make sure they were singing in unison, and clearly. It was interesting to hear him coach these monks about how to sing, since they’ve been doing it for decades upon decades. Sometimes, though, one needs a reminder:
The view from outside the Abbey toward the grave markers:
The view from farther around to the back side of the Abbey:
Dusk from the hill beside the statue:
