{"id":2457192,"date":"2020-04-15T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=324346"},"modified":"2020-04-15T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T11:00:00","slug":"st-benedicts-monastery-feels-isolation-focuses-prayer-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/st-benedicts-monastery-feels-isolation-focuses-prayer-during-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery feels isolation, focuses prayer during COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.3375\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-324346-21\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled gallery-container\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun | St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery on a sunny day in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-0.47039473684211\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9.4078947368421\">\n<p><strong>St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery on a sunny day in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/st-benedicts-monastery-feels-isolation-focuses-prayer-during-covid-19\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-1024x682.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-1024x682.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery on a sunny day in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun | A sign announcing the closure of The Retreat House hangs on a door at St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10.521739130435\">\n<p><strong>A sign announcing the closure of The Retreat House hangs on a door at St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/st-benedicts-monastery-feels-isolation-focuses-prayer-during-covid-19\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-1-1024x682.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-1.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-1-1024x682.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"A sign announcing the closure of The Retreat House hangs on a door at St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-2-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun | Sun shines on the Retreat House of St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-0.47383720930233\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9.4767441860465\">\n<p><strong>Sun shines on the Retreat House of St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/st-benedicts-monastery-feels-isolation-focuses-prayer-during-covid-19\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-2-1024x682.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-2.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-2-1024x682.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/monks-svs-041520-1-2-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Sun shines on the Retreat House of St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/st-benedicts-monastery-feels-isolation-focuses-prayer-during-covid-19\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/st-benedicts-monastery-feels-isolation-focuses-prayer-during-covid-19\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Quiet and contemplative. Solitary and devoted. Simple.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">These are some of the words used to describe the monastic way of life. For hundreds of years, Christian men and women around the world have chosen this lifestyle, giving up much of their individual freedoms to live in a monastic community rooted in religious tradition, humility and obedience to God.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in Old Snowmass is one such community. A Cistercian or Trappist tradition, the St. Benedict\u2019s monks aspire to be \u201ctransformed in mind and heart by embodying Jesus Christ in ways appropriate to our times\u201d and to share their values and spirituality with interested visitors and regular locals often on a daily and weekly basis, according to the monastery website.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But with the novel coronavirus pandemic and local COVID-19 outbreak, times have changed. The Old Snowmass monastery closed to the public in late March and even though the six monks who call it home are used to being isolated from much of the Aspen-Snowmass area, Father Charles Albanese said it doesn\u2019t really make social distancing for their small community any easier.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe have no guests, no one sharing the liturgy we have so we\u2019re by ourselves,\u201d Albanese said. \u201cI don\u2019t feel disconnected but we are isolated. \u2026 We\u2019ve never experienced anything like this before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For the past 42 years, Albanese has lived at St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery and is its current abbot, or head monk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Originally from New York City, Albanese said he first became interested in the monastic way of life after visiting 11th century monastery ruins in Europe, which sparked him to learn more about Cistercians, or Trappists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s a long-term experience of growth in God if I could put it that simply, so I\u2019m not the same person I was 42 years ago. I don\u2019t know who that was. I used to think I knew everything and now I probably know less than I started out knowing,\u201d Albanese said of his experiences as a monk, chuckling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cOur growth in God is also how we serve those who visit us, mostly through the retreat house and the local people who visit us for liturgy. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so difficult right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">According to Albanese, sharing this lifestyle with others is a prominent aspect of St. Benedict\u2019s. Before COVID-19, at least 50 locals attended services at the monastery each Sunday and roughly 10 to 15 visitors on group or individual retreats were at the Old Snowmass site each week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Retreats also are a major source of income for the monastery, running on suggested donations. However, he said the monastery has financial support from \u201cthe generosity of a lot of people\u201d along with the land it leases for ranch operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Albanese went on to say the monastery specifically is a \u201csmall community that\u2019s going through a vocational challenge\u201d and that has experienced a lot of loss. He doesn\u2019t know what the future holds, especially now as it navigates through the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re each trying to understand what this all means and we realize the impact no so many people. We\u2019re praying for all of these people but I think it\u2019s really too soon to know the massive impact that this is going to have on us and everybody,\u201d Albanese said. \u201cYou can\u2019t stop thinking about it. It\u2019s traumatic how this has affected people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Spiritually and socially, Albanese said the small St. Benedict\u2019s community is continuing its worship services for those living on site, is devoting its prayers to all those affected by COVID-19 and is optimistic about international, national and local recovery, including its own. Many people have called to check in on the monks and they are all doing their best to stay in touch with their families and friends over-the-phone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Albanese said he feels all of the monks are in pretty good spirits so far, and is looking forward to a resurrection of sorts for the global community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWhen you have the ability to pray I wouldn\u2019t give it up. I would just pray my concerns to God and to pray for people. Look at the beautiful place we live, not everyone has this experience so I just hope our prayers are spreading,\u201d Albanese said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI feel it\u2019s a good idea to do what we can to help each other and I hope we at the monastery can open up again and invite people to experience our life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\"><a href=\"mailto:mvincent@aspentimes.com\">mvincent@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/st-benedicts-monastery-feels-isolation-focuses-prayer-during-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery on a sunny day in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun Buy Photo A sign announcing the closure of The Retreat House hangs on a door at St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in Old Snowmass on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun)Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun Buy Photo Sun [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 03:54:49","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457192\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}