A Day in the Life

7:15am – Lauds and Mass

“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim Your praise!”

We start every day with what is most central in our life: the praise and worship of the God whom we get to serve. During sung morning prayer, we greet and praise Him. This is followed, at 8am, by the high point of our day and center of our lives: the celebration of Mass and communion with our Eucharistic Lord. Nourished by this heavenly food, we can go out and live our day in intimate contact with Him.

8:45am – Breakfast, followed by Work and Adoration

“I look at Him, and He looks at me.” – a farmer to St. John Vianney

After Mass we eat breakfast and then head to our projects and assignments. During the morning hours, we also have ongoing Eucharistic Adoration in our convent, where we can have personal time with Jesus in the Eucharist. Even if we cannot find time during the morning hours, our parish has a Perpetual Adoration chapel where we can speak to and adore Jesus whenever we want.

12:30pm – Midday Prayer and Lunch, followed by Work and Study

“Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy Gifts …”

At midday, we come together once again as one community and sing midday prayer, followed by lunch. During this meal, we either listen to table readings (i.e., books read in the background), remain in silence, or just talk with each other in fraternal community. After lunch (and, not to forget, washing the dishes) we return to our assignments.

5:45pm – Vespers and Dinner, followed by Free Time

“Having come to the setting of the sun …”

As the day slowly comes to a close, we return to our church and pray evening prayer, raising our prayers and songs to God the Father and interceding for all those we met and encountered throughout the day. After that, we have dinner and some time to rest.

8pm – Compline

“Lord, now You let Your servant go in peace.”

In the evening we examine our day and ask God for his continued presence with us at night. Sometimes, instead of praying night prayer as a community, we have Adoration or pray the Rosary together. Then, each brother or sister returns to their cell for the night.

A Week in the Life

While there is great regularity in our daily rhythm, we also live each day a bit differently. From Thursday to Sunday, we celebrate a “Little Triduum” which shapes our week and leads us up toward Sunday, the day of the Resurrection.

Monday through Thursday

  • Mondays is a day of rest and recreation. Some of us may go to our hermitage in the mountains and have a “desert day,” others may go hiking, and others may simply choose to rest at our convent. We largely practice silence.
  • Upon returning into community life on Tuesday mornings, we usually follow the daily rhythm described above until Thursday evening.

Thursday Evening

  • Fasting and silence at dinner.
  • At 8pm, we have Eucharistic Adoration, spending time with Jesus in the Garden, and we pray the Office of Gethsemane, interceding for the world.
  • In larger houses, we have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament throughout the night.

Friday 

  • On Fridays, we remember the Passion and death of Jesus. We fast and hold silence throughout the day.
  • In the evening, we celebrate Shabbat. During this time of community and prayer in Hebrew (you don’t have to know the language to enjoy it), we express our love, intercession and connection to the Jewish people, and as a family anticipate the joy of the coming Kingdom. By way of entering into this living tradition of Israel, we also learn more about Jesus, who Himself lived in this tradition.

Saturday

  • On Saturdays we seek to enter into the peaceful expectation of Shabbat. Every Saturday is an echo of Holy Saturday for us, a time of waiting for the Lord’s Resurrection and Second Coming.
  • At 5:15pm, we celebrate Vespers of the Resurrection which includes Byzantine and Charismatic elements. Contemplating the great news of Easter, we can truly cry out at the end: “Christ is risen!” As we conclude pray, we share a sign of peace among one another.
  • In celebration of Easter, we have a potluck afterwards. We also like to play games or do Israeli dances.

Sunday 

  • “Christ is truly risen!” Sundays are a day of joy for us.
  • We start the day with morning prayer and Eucharistic Adoration. After that we celebrate Mass and gather as a community with our many dear friends for a festive lunch.

Would you like to experience our daily life of prayer, praise, community, and mission? Then get in touch with us.

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