[Magdalen] Happy Saint Benedict's Day

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/11/2016 1:04:21 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
houstonklr at gmail.com writes:

I have  an episcopalian priest friend, formerly a Benedictine (TEC priest 
now probably  25+ years) who described his life in the monastery of 
individual daily mass,  said by each member of the community at "their own" small 
side altars which  lined both sides of the nave -10 on each side. Also 
something difficult to  imagine even in the '50s.  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 
Despite the award winning poured concrete structure that makes  up
Saint John's Abbey at Collegeville, MN (oddly the largest  Benedictine
monastic community  in the world), the Abbey was built before  the 
architectural changes wrought by Vatican-2, and there  are?were?
some 30 altars in the lower level to accommodate the clergy bound  by
the old rule that every clergyman must say a Mass per day, and  there
were no concelebrations.
 
The Episcopal Diocese of MN and the RC Abbey have always had a  good
ecumenical relationship, and several large events for TEC MN have  taken
place in the Abbey.
 
It was during those first, heady days of the mid-1960's that I  volunteered
for a morning duty as a server for the Abbey, and did so for  several
Masses - by that time in English.  There were electronic  controls to keep
the priests flowing into the proper altar.  They resembled the  control 
panel
of a 747.
 
The monks couldn't have been more appreciative.
 
 
David S.