Saint John's in Ireland?

Stepping off the bus at the front gates of Glenstal Abbey, I immediately felt the unmistakable welcoming feeling that always surfaces when returning to Saint John's. Glenstal is the only male, benedictine, monastic community in Ireland. We started our day on Sunday before the sun did in order to make the two hour drive to morning service. The chapel itself was a gorgeously vibrantly decorated chapel with the classic layout of the monastic community positioned in front. We shared the pews with the amassed population of the school boys from age eleven to eighteen.

After service we headed into the woods with Father Anthony for a lesson on mystagogy of the woods. Father Anthony was the resident expert of the woods and toured us through it with ease stopping at certain key places to describe the trees and tell short stories. Anyone who knows me probably can deduce that this was absolutely my favorite part. I shared a few stories with him of the Saint John's Arboretum and he was thrilled to have a tree enthusiast on the walk as well. After our tour we stopped in for a beautiful lunch of our choice of either chicken or salmon. I, of course, had the salmon and it was delectable. We then had a wonderful tour around the abbey including the walled garden, the glen itself, the terraced garden, and of course the castle that they call home. He explained how the castle was actually a big fake, built in the 12th century style it actually was built in the 1800's. He also explained how the order had moved to its present location in 1927 from Belgium. After our tour we stopped for coffee or tea and digestives (cookies) before touring the icon chapel and the library, both of which were very impressive and well-presented. Speaking with some of the monks we discovered that this group is very interested in being a worldly community and many of the members had visited Saint John's itself. One, in fact, had been there three weeks ago! All in all it was a phenomenal experience that made me miss SJU more than ever.

If you care to know a bit more, this video, although lengthy, is very good!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix4IxfyKloE