Abbaye Sainte Marie de Valmagne, France

 The day was quite warm, but the abbey's stone walls offered a much welcomed cool shade.  This 12th-c. structure was constructed by the Cistercians during their earlier years, when ideals of austerity were still embraced.  The abbey's vast wealth would come later and challenge those ideals.

The cloister area is remarkably well preserved on all sides, possibly one of the best preserved in the countryside.  Its wide walkway, its stone seating areas where one read your book aloud, all invite one to the world of contemplation. 

The psalmist once wrote, "Wash me and I shall be clean".  Washing was important to monastic life.  Many monasteries had fountains where you could literally clean your hands before eating or symbolically wash them.  

 

This fireplace in the refrectory (dining hall) offered heat at one end.  Monks sat in the same order as in chapel--in the order in which they took their vows.  The youngest would be farthest from the warmth.  This elaborate fireplace, a later addition, allows the elderly to sit close to the hot embers during the coldest days. 

I went to Valmagne, prepared to criticize the ancient casks of wine stationed in the church aisles.  They were added not all that long after the French Revolution.  However, I soon realized that the church was preserved mainly because it proved useful, as it.  The new owners, probably devout Catholics? found a reason to keep the building intact.  I had to wonder whether they ever hoped that Cistercians would someday return.  The casks are no longer used, though the 'abbey' or now, the farm, produces and sells its fine wines. 

The sanctuary is a fairly early southern example of gothic arches, a high ceiling which draws thoughts upward, repeatedly.  You can also see some of the ongoing renovation, for once you build something, the repairs will never end.

 

 

 

 

Finally, our church is contemplating having people pick up hymnals from a rack and returning them after each service.  This tradition goes back many centuries. This is the little nook (originally with protective doors) where monks picked up their books for the service and then deposited them.  

Evan


 

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