Life Within the Cloister
In the February-March 1922 edition of the Rosary Pilgrim, the Sisters began publishing a series of articles explaining what life is like inside the enclosure of a monastery, entitled ‘Life Within the Cloister.’ It is interesting to look back almost 100 years and see what customs have changed and what remain the same!
The articles were reprinted many times in the Rosary Pilgrim, and after the monastery was completed, some of the articles were updated to reflect some of the changes that a new building brought. Originally published in the February-March 1922 edition, the text printed here is from the June, July, August, 1944 edition of the Rosary Pilgrim, which was after the current monastery was completed. This first article brings you “in spirit” within our “strict enclosure!” The article has been edited for length.
LIFE WITHIN THE CLOISTER
By A Nun of Rosary Shrine
How are those Sisters occupied? is a question frequently asked, even by good Catholics, of one who is interested in or acquainted with the life of cloistered contemplative nuns.
Although the Monastery of the Dominican Nuns is a strictly cloistered one, (…) yet we invite you, dear reader, to spend a day in spirit within this strict enclosure.
Let us suppose it is evening. You have journeyed to the Monastery, and after visiting the beautiful, attractive Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, where you are welcomed by Jesus in the Sacrament of His Love, you are entertained for a little while in the exterior parlor by a nun who speaks to you from behind a grating, or grille.
The cloister door is unlocked and you enter the enclosure of the Dominican Nuns whose lives are dedicated to perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the Perpetual Rosary. You are filled with awe at the silence that reigns throughout the house…
Suddenly the monastery bell rings; (…) you are told it is the bell for Compline – the evening hour of the Divine Office. It is usually chanted about ten minutes past five o’clock.
You are soon in the choir, which is actually the Nuns’ Chapel, to assist at Compline. The choir is not as you had imagined and is quite different from an ordinary chapel. There is a row of stalls along the sides and across the back where a large double door (through which you entered) separates the Right Choir from the Left; the rest of the floor space, with the exception of the places where the organ and lectern stand, is vacant. Above the stall nearest the door on the right is a lovely image of Our Lady, and in the same position on the left is one of St. Dominic. Near the grille, which looks onto the sanctuary, is a life-size Christ on the Cross and, in alcoves, statues of Our Lady of the Rosary and St. Joseph.
(… to be continued)
The article goes on to describe the praying of the Office - we’ll post that and some old pictures of the Office next time! To learn more about our chapel and choir, see our recent post here, from the 80th anniversary of the dedication of our chapel.
