About the Abbey
Saint Benedict Abbey is a Benedictine community of twenty monks in Still River, Massachusetts dedicated to living and promoting the Catholic Faith. Guided by the Rule of St. Benedict, we perceive our mission to be the pursuit of holiness - i.e., seeking Christ, together in a monastic community by prayer, work, and study.Prayer
Abbot Columba Marmion wrote of monastic prayer, “Now the Church is praising God through my mouth; now the Church is struggling for souls with my hands!” Prayer at the Abbey is primarily communal liturgical prayer. Seven times each day we gather in the chapel to offer praise to God through the Liturgy, much of which is sung in Latin and Gregorian chant. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, offered in Latin according to the Novus Ordo, takes precedence over all else. Other forms of Eucharistic worship include weekly Benediction and monthly Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. However, the major part of our time in chapel is spent singing the Divine Office, also known as The Liturgy of the Hours - services composed of psalms, hymns, and readings and prayed at specific times throughout the day.
Work
Self-sufficiency is a goal in monastic life, and in that spirit we try doing most of the work in and for the Abbey ourselves. A principal source of income and of work is our guest program, which welcomes individual guests and families to spend anywhere from a day to a week with us. Hosting weekend retreats keeps us busy throughout the year. Setting tables, serving meals, and cleaning the guesthouses allow us to carry out in a very real way St. Benedict’s injunction to treat all guests as Christ. Other forms of work are maintenance of the buildings and grounds, carpentry, auto repair and the countless other jobs that need to be done to keep a monastery operating.
Study
St. Benedict calls the monastery “a school of the Lord’s service.” Each monk fosters in his life a love of truth and learning. Our program for undergraduate studies is available for those who do not already have a liberal arts degree. The core of the curriculum is Thomistic Philosophy and Theology together with courses in Scripture, Church History, English, Latin, Greek, and Gregorian chant. The opportunity for priestly studies is encouraged for those who desire it; but is not a necessary part of the Benedictine vocation, nor is it a condition for membership in our monastery. Ongoing education is the obligation of the individual monk who is encouraged to use some of his personal time both for further study and lectio divina - the ancient monastic practice of prayerful reading.
Community Life
Whether the monk is chanting the psalms, mowing the lawn, or studying for a mid-term, he is imitating Christ, who came to serve, and not to be served. In Chapter 72 of his Rule, St. Benedict reiterates the Gospel teaching that Christ did not please himself, “No one is to pursue what he judges better for himself, but instead, what he judges better for someone else.” By his vows of stability, conversion of life, and obedience, the monk promises God that he will try with all his strength to put himself at the service of his brothers and live under the guidance of his abbot. The degree to which the monk imitates Christ - the ideal of the monastic life - is, in the last analysis, the measure of his living community life.
Formation
All new members are acclimated to the monastic life by a formation process, during which the candidate takes classes in Monastic History, The Rule of St. Benedict, and many of the courses described above in the undergraduate program. His daily routine of prayer, work, meals, and recreation is that of the community. Under the guidance of the formation director, the candidate is led gradually to a greater understanding of the calling he is trying to discern. The process leading to solemn (final) vows ordinarily takes approximately five years. The first stage, observership, lasts three months; the next step, postulancy, is for one year; the novitiate lasts one year, and simple (temporary) vows are for three years. Full membership is attained with solemn vows.