Jerodmac's Thoughts on Stuff

Entering the Abbey

It rained all day. The drive up seemed like it took forever. As I got closer I felt more and more nervous. I can’t explain it, it just felt like I was entering into another world. As I drove onto the grounds I was sure that I had entered a foreign country. The landscape is dominated by this large sandstone fortress, part of which is discernable as a church (more like a cathedral). From one of the corners a tall bell tower shoots up. Crosses and symbols are everywhere, etched in the stone work of buildings and custom shaped into the landscaping. It feels like this must be a sacred place, everything is designed for it to be. Everything in my mind tells me that thought isn’t true, I know that God doesn’t dwell in houses made of stone and that He presence is just as real in my house as it is at the Abbey. Yet here is all this imagery. Crosses and Statues everywhere. Places set aside to pray and listen to the Lord. Knowing that I don’t need to be bowed before a crucifix to have my prayers heard by God, I still kind of like seeing them around. I pass 4 statues of St. Benedict, 2 Jesus, a St. Francis and a Mary on my way from the truck to the front door of the retreat house. Inside the lobby door of the Coury House there is a life size St. Benedict holding a shepherd’s staff and a broken goblet. On the other wall is a picture of Mary and the Christ Child, asking people to pray for AIDS victims worldwide. There is another crucifix complete with corpus (That’s a catholic way of saying the body of Jesus hanging on the cross) on my left. And on the right a mosaic of a flaming dove coming from heaven to touch the earth. There is no doubt what kind of facility this is. Its imagery gives it away. This is a place that reverences and honors the Triune God as the supreme king over everything. I can tell right away that these people are serious about God. I like that. I am going to like it here.