Anidxa Crespo is a student in HIS 241 – Western Civilization II, taught by John Schirmer. The class is also part of a collaborative learning course with ENG 102 – English Composition, taught by Norman Bates. ENG 102 covers Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets and Shakespeare’s Othello. This literature meshes well with HIS 241 coverage of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In late March, students traveled to St. David’s Monastery to see how the Benedictine order has endured and evolved to the present. It was also a contrast/comparison to Chaucer’s and Spielvogel’s (English and history texts, respectively) depiction and description of monks.
A view of the monastery chapel. (Photo by Joe Montgomery)
By Anidxa Crespo
For our field trip, some of us from the History 241 and English 102 classes drove over together to the Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David.
Upon entering the monastery grounds, it was not difficult to imagine a monk in plain, brown robes roaming around the adobe-styled buildings. While on our visit, Mr. Schirmer, one of our instructors, advised us to think of one particular question: How do monks live today as compared to how they did in the past? As we toured the monastery grounds, our group had the opportunity to observe the life of the modern monk.
Just like the old monasteries of the past, the Holy Trinity Monastery is self-sufficient. Every week, the monastery holds a bake sale to raise a little revenue. As our group had come on the day of the bake sale, we had the opportunity to try out some of their baked goods. A few of us tried out a bag of their famous pecans. Others of us tried their desserts.
The monastery’s main source of income comes from the retreats they hold throughout the year. However, the monastery does provide other facilities such as the Guesthouse, the RV park, a church, living quarters, offices, and a dining area. All work on the monastery grounds is done by the community members who visit yearly to assist the monastery in various ways and oblates that voluntarily live and work there.
Like the early medieval monks, the Holy Trinity volunteers work to preserve a vast collection of art and knowledge. The Holy Trinity also strives to be a center of culture and learning. As a result, a library, museum, and used bookstore have been built on the monastery grounds. In addition, a Spring and Autumn Festival is held every year; various artists and crafters come to display their work. It is a time of great fun and entertainment.
Monastic religious services were very different from what they are today. Long ago, monks attended at least seven services a day. Monks took communion, said ritual prayers, and sang chants.
Serenity pond. (Photo by Joe Montgomery)
For the Holy Trinity Monastery, prayer rituals and sacred chants remain a part of their religious practices. Instead of seven services a day, the Holy Trinity worshipers only hold five services a day. As part of our tour, our group was allowed to sit in on one the masses. In addition, we had the opportunity to ask questions of Father Henry, the current abbot of the monastery.
Once mass was over, we all asked Father Henry about the monastery, the community, and several other topics. We learned a lot in that short time span. An abbot still presides over the doings of the monastery just as in the past. He is elected by the monastery members. The monastery does participate in helping others outside the community such as sending priests to aid neighboring parishes with their own needs and donating clothing and other amenities to the orphans in Mexico. Holy Trinity volunteers work only four hours instead of the standard four to eight hours monks in the past actually worked. Also, masses are attended only five times a day, not seven. We even learned a little of the history of the monastery itself.
Afterward, our group ate lunch in the dining area with the visitors to the monastery and the volunteers assisting around the place. In the old day, the menu of the average monk was rather basic. The lunch prepared for everyone at the Holy Trinity was no different. Whatever was served that day was our meal. Our meal for the day was a thick vegetable and meat soup, some salad, and a glass of tea or water. Before eating, Father Henry had us pray in thanks to the Lord for providing the food and for blessing the monastery. At the end of the meal, our group completed the tour of the monastery.
For our last part of our tour, we were shown the huge cross that stands next to the bookstore/gift shop at the driveway entrance. The cross is perhaps the most iconic object on the entire monastery grounds. Standing on a large pedestal, this cross is separated from the driveway and the rest of the grounds by a squat stone gate. In the middle of this giant cross was placed a circle with four letters on each of its four sides — V, I, T and A. Translated, these four letters form a single word meaning “Life.” There also was a great plain wooden altar standing in front of the cross’s base. As a souvenir of the trip, all the ladies got free dish detergent samples. Thanks to the hospitality of the monastery’s community, our trip was not only informative, but also most enjoyable.