The monks of Saint Anselm welcomed twenty-nine students and alumni into their home this Holy Week to share in a Lenten retreat away from the stresses of school.

Fr. Anselm Smedile, O.S.B., organized the annual retreat, a time of peace and reflection for students to connect in prayer.

The day began at 6:00 AM, with the group rising and joining together for Morning Prayer. This is followed by breakfast, eaten in silence to allow for more time to think about the prayer.

“During prayer, it gave a lot of time to reflect on the readings of the day,” said CJ McKay, ’15. “The retreat was really unique and peaceful, a quiet break away from the busyness of school.”

After breakfast was a time of work and service, called labora. During this time students did work for the service, cleaning the church and moving furniture for the monks.

Students joined the monks in prayer throughout the weekend, also serving in masses in the capacity of altar servers, choir members, and part of the community.

Joining the monks and living with them for a few days provided a very good insight into the lifestyle of the monastic community. Ian Snyder ’13, holds the Easter retreat as the highlight of his college experience.

“If you want to understand the Saint Anselm community, you have to understand their community,” Snyder said, reflecting on his fourth retreat. “The diversity of the people in attendance, students of organizations from the Keys to the altar servers, really speaks to their community.”

Each day students also had the opportunity to hear a talk from a different monk, each presenting a theme for the day. Topics ranged from “Gentleness,” given by Fr. John Fortin, O.S.B., to the liturgy of Good Friday, and the theme of sacrificial love, with Fr. Jerome Day, O.S.B.

Along with the spiritual food offered to students, the meals left little to be desired.

“The food was excellent,” McKay said.

After the Easter Vigil, the group also enjoyed a traditional dinner cooked by Fr. Patrick Sullivan, O.S.B.

Shane Matthews said the experience was a very deep and meaningful one.

“It was great seeing monastic life from another angle,” Matthews said. “We always see the monks around campus, but to join them in meals and in prayer each day, that is a wonderful experience.”