Monks Celebrate Advent
On Sunday, Dec. 13, some of the monks watched a wonderful performance of Handel’s Messiah. Handel wrote the oratorio in 1741, and it consists entirely of texts from Scripture. For many people it is a vital part of their Advent meditation. Handel wrote the Messiah over a short period of 20 days, and when he was finished, his servant found him in tears. Handel famously said, “I think I did see all the heavens before me, and the great God Himself seated on the throne with a company of angels.” The performance that the monks watched came from the Sydney Opera House in 2019 with a choir of six hundred.
In the monastic refectory on Sunday, Dec. 20, the monks joined in some Christmas carols led by two of our long-term residents, Walid and Fred. We sang, Joy to the World, We Three Kings, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and we concluded with Silent Night.