Since the middle of March
when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out with intensity in our area, the community
at Saint Joseph’s Abbey has been living a new reality, following
mandated safety protocols including appropriate social distancing even in
choir. We are grateful that none of our monks have been infected.
Because we cannot yet
welcome guests or visitors, we are more aware than ever of our connectedness to
the wider church. Truly, the faithful are integral to our monastic life,
especially those who frequent our guest chapels for Eucharist, the Liturgy of
the Hours and quiet prayer. Some visitors who love the beauty of our setting or
miss praying in church with us continue to come to the Abbey, walking in the
areas around the church entrance or sitting in small groups on the lawns by the
guest house. And on a recent spring evening we noticed a guest dutifully
wearing his face mask and standing prayerfully outside an open church window
listening to us chant Compline.
We have come to understand
more than ever our need for prayer and human connectivity to sustain us in
hope. The reality of the pandemic has caused us to enter more deeply
into the mystery of our hidden life of work and prayer, trusting that it will
be a healing grace for all God’s people.