Technically it’s Friday, but it’s a little hard to tell where Thursday ended and Friday began. Maybe during our brief stay in the Dublin airport, or maybe somewhere over the Atlantic. A lot of confusing things happened in the gray area between Thursday and Friday: we flew from Dublin to Shannon with a Wisconsin high school marching band off to play in a St. Patrick’s Day parade, we saw pagan protestors on the front page of the Irish Times and some of us bought garish plastic watches in a fit of suddenly-it’s-6 a.m. hysteria.
Photo: Sarah MorganMost of us woke up for real when our bus arrived at Roscrea, the monastery where we’ll be spending the next two nights. We were just in time for a bountiful lunch at 1 p.m., after which we piled back on the bus for a trip into town.
Town consisted of a trip to Tesco and a quick glance at the local castle. Our tour guide explained to us how many of Ireland’s towns grew up around monasteries like the one at Roscrea. Monasteries, with their golden chalices and other implements for the Eucharist, were fat targets for the Vikings, and Ireland’s round towers – one of which we saw on our short drive – may have been built for Christians’ protection against Viking raiders. Their entryways stand several meters above the ground. They were also used as bell towers to chime the hours and call the people to their regular prayers.
A few Roscrea monks still structure their day around Vigils and Vespers and Compline. Father Nivard Kinsella gave us a tour of the church where they worship and the cloisters where they live. The Cistercian monastery was founded in 1858 when the order bought its 500-acre farm from two elderly women in London. That farm, with its 250 cows, now provides the monastery’s main source of income. Most of the monks are too old to teach in the private school on the grounds.
Only 17 monks now live in the cloisters. The oldest is 94-and-a-half years old, and half of the community is over 80. Father Kinsella himself is 81.
"We’re a bit lost in a church this size," Father Kinsella said, gesturing to the empty cathedral around him. "There’s a very big drift away from religion in Ireland."
The Roscrea monks, not drifting anywhere, take vows of poverty, obedience and stability. This means they have no possessions of their own – and they will remain at Roscrea their entire lives (apparently St. Benedict felt that, without this vow, monks would flit around too much). They meet at 4 a.m. every morning for Vigils, a 40-minute prayer in which they watch with the Lord for the coming morning. There are three shorter offices, or prayers, during the day, followed by Vespers at 5:15 and finally Complitorium at 7:30 p.m.
After dinner this evening, we’ll have a chance to see the evening church service – and to celebrate the Jewish Sabbath. And then we will very gratefully get an actual night’s sleep.
Town consisted of a trip to Tesco and a quick glance at the local castle. Our tour guide explained to us how many of Ireland’s towns grew up around monasteries like the one at Roscrea. Monasteries, with their golden chalices and other implements for the Eucharist, were fat targets for the Vikings, and Ireland’s round towers – one of which we saw on our short drive – may have been built for Christians’ protection against Viking raiders. Their entryways stand several meters above the ground. They were also used as bell towers to chime the hours and call the people to their regular prayers.
A few Roscrea monks still structure their day around Vigils and Vespers and Compline. Father Nivard Kinsella gave us a tour of the church where they worship and the cloisters where they live. The Cistercian monastery was founded in 1858 when the order bought its 500-acre farm from two elderly women in London. That farm, with its 250 cows, now provides the monastery’s main source of income. Most of the monks are too old to teach in the private school on the grounds.
Only 17 monks now live in the cloisters. The oldest is 94-and-a-half years old, and half of the community is over 80. Father Kinsella himself is 81.
"We’re a bit lost in a church this size," Father Kinsella said, gesturing to the empty cathedral around him. "There’s a very big drift away from religion in Ireland."
The Roscrea monks, not drifting anywhere, take vows of poverty, obedience and stability. This means they have no possessions of their own – and they will remain at Roscrea their entire lives (apparently St. Benedict felt that, without this vow, monks would flit around too much). They meet at 4 a.m. every morning for Vigils, a 40-minute prayer in which they watch with the Lord for the coming morning. There are three shorter offices, or prayers, during the day, followed by Vespers at 5:15 and finally Complitorium at 7:30 p.m.
After dinner this evening, we’ll have a chance to see the evening church service – and to celebrate the Jewish Sabbath. And then we will very gratefully get an actual night’s sleep.
