Praised be Jesus Christ, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary! May your Christmas be filled with joy as we join with the Monks in beseeching the Christ Child that He grant you and your loved ones the graces you stand most in need of during this Christmas season.
Carving Stone
Throughout the early months of the year the monks applied themselves to the cutting and shaping of the stone for the upcoming summer’s work on the Chapel. Each of the hundreds of pieces, from pillars to cornices, and capitals to arches were carefully shaped and palletized, each with a unique name to identify where it would be placed in the walls of the Chapel.
Vaulting Formwork
At the same time other monks applied themselves to carpentry, building the complex formwork that would be needed to support the stone arches of the Chapel ceiling during construction. These wooden forms would be necessary to hold the arches until the keystones are placed at the peak, completing the arch.
Setting Stone
As the last vestiges of winter retreated several of the monks continued carving stone as others prepared for the summer stonework on the Chapel. The first task once the weather cleared was to complete the stone tracery for each of the apse windows. This delicate-looking stone “lacework” presented its own challenges, not the least being the tight work access and complex intersections.
Chapel Roof Trusses
In April the roof trusses arrived at the monastery. Soon a steel erection crew was onsite and placed the roof trusses over the apse end of the Chapel. The remainder of the trusses have been left off to allow crane access for the stonework and will be placed as each section of the Chapel is completed.
The Vaulted Ceiling
Work immediately moved into the stone ceiling. First the monks placed the wooden forms they had built a few months before. As soon as these were in place each stone arch was built and the keystones placed. The infill or “webstones” that fill in the space between each arch will be completed during the coming winter months.
Following the vaulted ceiling the monks began the stonework wrapping the exterior of the Chapel. The first section, part of a walkway leading around the apse, required special care as its little arches contained rather complex angles and shapes to fit into the small space.
Monastery Library
At the same time as the Chapel progresses, carpenters have set to work to complete the monastery’s library. This includes building the many bookshelves needed to house the growing number of books stacked in boxes in any available nook and cranny of the monastery, necessary for the monks’ continued study and reflection in matters as varied as theology and diesel engine rebuilding.
Up until this point the monks had used the library as their temporary chapel, but since completion of the Chapter House in 2024 they could move into a space more fitting for Divine Worship. The Chapter House will serve as the primary chapel, where the monks gather several times each day for the Divine Office as well as Holy Mass, until the monastery’s main Chapel is complete.
May God reward you this Christmas season and throughout the entire year for your dear friendship and generous support that makes the graces of the past year, and this entire monastery, a modern-day miracle. We live in a time that seems to be faced with a “deficit of grace” but the contemplative life such as is lived by this young community of monks is the answer, to be “love in the heart of the Church”. We unite our prayers for you with those of the monks as we kneel before the manger this Christmas season.
