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A Monastic Rhythm

Matthew Harrison
Co-director, This Side of Eden

For over fifty years the Benedictine monastery Westminster Abbey has built a reputation for their liturgies.

It was the monks' celebration of the Easter Triduum that brought myself, director of photography George Hosek, and camera assistant David Leross, to the Abbey in April 2009.  We were there to capture the unfolding of Holy Week and the powerful images that accompany the pinnacle of the Catholic Church's liturgical calendar. 

These images would come together to create Salt + Light Television’s first feature length documentary, This Side of Eden.

Arriving at the Abbey and walking around the grounds one is struck by the calm and tranquility.  Occasionally an airplane floats across the clear sky, but it hardly disturbs the stillness.  Part of the peace is the beautiful surroundings: the majestic mountains, the sweet smelling cedar trees, the soft sounds of the birds, and even the deer the occasionally visit the grounds to graze. You are continually reminded of God's magnificent creation!

The peace is also found in the monks.  They are recollected, but certainly not distant.  They are very warm, quick to greet you with a smile, and always willing to share a story offering insight into their life. 

The more time you spend with them, the more you begin to notice the pace of their life.  I recall early in the week praying the Our Father at Mass.  It was considerably slower than what I was used to: more pronounced, more meditative. 

It was uncomfortable at first, foreign. However, as I participated in more Masses, and prayed the Liturgy of the Hours with the monks, the more I began to absorb and understand the rhythm of their lives.

The Abbot of the monastery, Father John Braganza OSB explains the source of that rhythm: “For us Benedictines, we have a special devotion to the liturgy, and so the liturgy is the center of our life.”

As co-director Marc Boudignon and I began the process of editing, it was clear that this film must reflect that way of life. 

For 90 minutes we wanted to draw viewers into that life, allowing them to experience monastic life. Whether it is harrowing a field, teaching a science class at their minor seminary, serving each other at table, or making preparations for the Triduum, viewers will see how the routine and daily work of these sons of St. Benedict flows from the liturgy. 

All aspects of their life become an encounter with God, an occasion of prayer.   At the same time, the viewer is invited to their own prayer: to consider how we allow God to enter into our lives, to better understand that work can be a blessing, and to contemplate anew our Lord's Passion, Death, and Resurrection.