Just outside Conyers, Ga., is a 2,300-acre island of calm.
The Monastery of the Holy Spirit, now celebrating 70 years in Rockdale County, is a tranquil retreat where a small group of Cistercian monks have dedicated themselves to lives of contemplation.
In keeping with the philosophy of the Trappist order, the monks observe vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. They live apart from the world.
But the world doesn’t want to live apart from the monks. The monastery has become one of the most popular attractions in Rockdale County.
Every month thousands of visitors tour the heritage center, walk on the monastery’s pathways, browse in the gift shop and get a bite to eat in the cafe.
Many participate in the five-times-a-day services at the Abbey Church and some, seeking more of a good thing, stay for a three- or four-day retreat.
“What drew me was the peace,” said Lorraine “Rain” Ross. “There is such a deep sense of peace there, that to me it’s not like anything else.”
Ross, 67, an educator and founder of a private school in Lithonia, was a seeker, though not really a Christian, and her visits to the monastery supplied something she’d been looking for. At the end of one visit, she realized she’d much rather stay for the night.
“I decided this was the peace I wanted to submerge myself in and not have to leave and go home to the outside world,” she said. “It made a huge difference.”
She began enjoying brief stays at the retreat center, which opened in 2011, and can accommodate up to 45 guests. Earlier this year the walking paths on the monastery grounds were connected to 30 miles of paths in the Arabia and Panola Mountain areas, bringing even more visitors into the grounds.
“You see deer and turkey,” said regular walker Mary Ewert. “It’s really pretty.”
This time of the year, on crisp clear days, one can find a steady stream of worldly day-trippers, wandering through the Monastic Heritage Center, examining the monastery’s remarkable bonsai garden, Christmas shopping for hand-made nativity sets or sampling the fudge, fruitcake and biscotti made by the monks themselves.
“This is the second-best fruitcake ever made,” said Brother Mario Schemel, tending the register at the gift shop. The best? “The best is made by my Aunt Kate,” he asserted gravely.
About 70,000 people visited the monastery last year and the number should rise to 80,000 this year.
On a recent weekday a group of walkers changed into their sneakers in the monastery parking lot, as they prepared for an outing on the Rockdale River Trail.
Brother Callistus Crichlow arrived in a golf cart, and offered a tour of the grounds, interrupted at 12:15 by a trip to the Abbey Church for midday prayers.
The church is a magnificent Gothic structure with a soaring four-story arched interior. The stained-glass windows were created by artisans at the monastery. Inside, rows of monk clad in black and white chanted prayers. Their hymns were haunting, a monochromatic plainsong.
In a gallery adjacent to the monks were 15 or so visitors in street clothes, singing along.
This situation prompts a question: If the world comes to your hideaway, are you still hidden?
Brother Callistus, 66, addressed the question in good humor. Yes, the monks live apart from the world. But they also serve the community. And the community has a thirst for the life encountered among the Abbey’s concrete pillars and manicured grounds.
“Whenever you have a group of men and women living a spiritual life, it draws people,” said the monk, his musical voice revealing traces of his native Trinidad. “We are all called to be contemplative, we all have a deep hunger for the beauty and peace and love of God.”
So the monks offer lectures and classes and tours of the facility. They also serve Rockdale’s more material needs, contributing each week to a community food bank.
The community, in turn, fills a need at the monastery. Income from visitors, particularly overnight guests, helps support the monastery’s operations, as does a yearly fund-drive at Christmas.
When the Atlanta Boy Choir performed to a sold-out crowd in the Abbey Church as part of the annual Christmas concert on Dec. 13, the monks were a small percentage of that group.
Once numbering 87, there are now 36 members of the monastery. “In the last 12 years 27 people have passed away,” said Brother Callistus. “We are dwindling.” Father Luke Kot, the last surviving original member of the monastery, died in June, at age 102. He is buried with his colleagues in the monastery graveyard. While his fellow ascetics lie beneath grassy mounds, the earth over Father Luke’s grave is still bare.
If fewer 21st century men are willing to don the scapular and take up St, Benedict’s vows, the impact of those who join the order is visible. Brother Callistus likens the monastic effect to a pair of lungs, filling the Catholic church with spiritual oxygen.
Rain Ross, who had a conversion experience during her time at the monastery, said the peace that the monks achieve is contagious.
“That peacefulness brings you to a place of love, and what is love if you keep it to yourself?”” she said.
Brother Callistus added, “When you welcome guests you are welcoming Christ.”
If you go:
The Monastery of the Holy Spirit welcomes families and individual visitors 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; the visitor center is closed on Sunday but the grounds remain open to walkers. Groups should call in advance for a reservation. Three-day and four-day retreats are scheduled through the year, focusing on topics such as "Yoga and Christian Contemplation" and "Memories of Walker Percy." The charge is on a sliding scale from $60 to $100 a night; the price includes three meals. Retreatants are advised to schedule well in advance. There is no charge to visit the monastery but donations are accepted. The Monastery of the Holy Spirit, 2625 Highway 212 SW, Conyers, Ga., 30094-4044; 770-760-0959; www.trappist.net/
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