One of our favourite monasteries that we visit annually is Mount Saviour Monastery in upper New York State, nestled between Corning and Elmira. It is also a beautiful area when the leaves are changing colours in the fall.
This is a Benedictine monastery with a cultivated sense of hospitality. All are welcome, men, women and couples. Guests are welcome, but certainly not required to participate in the various liturgical celebrations of the day. The community gathers for prayer seven times a day. At the end of the day, the final prayer, Compline, is chanted in darkness, accompanied by a harp. It concludes in the crypt of the chapel, a reminder that when we sleep we also prepare for the sleep of death. The first prayer of the day, usually around 4:15 a.m., begins in the same crypt with a prayer of gratitude for this new day and a reminder that our life is to be one of praise and thanksgiving. We then move up to the chapel, ready to greet the day and its various challenges.
Costs are covered by donation. The bookstore is a place where we often stock up on currents and classical spiritual offerings. The rolling hills, populated by sheep and their llama protectors, provide a wonderful, quiet space to walk in.
