*This is the third post about my experience at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky, on July 22-24. Links to the first two posts are below.
Diary of a Retreatant: Showing Up
Diary of a Retreatant: Hike to the Statues
The night was fitful. I expected to sleep beautifully at the Abbey, especially after figuring out how to turn on the air conditioning because it 1) cooled down the room, and 2) provided a lovely white noise.
But no. After going to bed at 9:45 the night before, I woke at 2:15, then 4:30, neither of which aligned with the prayer schedule. (Vigils was at 3:15 a.m.) At 6:15 I woke again and decided to stay up since I could see the beginnings of a beautiful sunrise through my window shades. Lauds was already in progress (5:45 a.m.), so I got up, did a bit of yoga on the hard floor (ouch), and then walked the Stations of the Cross in the retreatant’s garden.
The morning was already foggy, but the high humidity caused the camera lens to fog even more.
If you know me, then you know my love for animals. It brought me such joy to see how passive and friendly the animals were on the property, as if they knew they were safe from any sort of human harm.
This little bird hopped alongside me for at least 20 paces. He could’ve been waiting for bread crumbs, but I swear he wanted his photo taken. After I snapped it, he flew away.
As the fog lifted more birds took to the garden to feast.
At 6:45, I slipped into the final minutes of Mass and stood next to Annette, who also seemed to have just walked in. The monks and congregants were beginning the Eucharist. While I had a sneaking suspicion they would not have turned me away, I did not participate for two reasons: 1) I did not want to draw attention to myself for not knowing what to do, and 2) I did not want to offend someone by not knowing what to do.
Some congregants bowed, some didn’t. Some took only the bread but not the wine. Some went back to their seats, some kneeled and prayed. It wasn’t as uniform as I expected, which made me think that there was plenty of room in Catholicism to worship and revere as you pleased.
Breakfast was at 7: oatmeal, fruit, toast, coffee, juice. I ate only a small bowl of oatmeal because after over-serving myself for lunch the day prior, and then feeling guilty for throwing food away, I was sure to only choose smaller, more moderate servings as to not be wasteful.
Back in my room about 7:20, I laid down on the bed to rest my mind and ready it for writing. The WIFI would turn on at 7:30, so I had a few minutes to just lay there.
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