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The meals of the brothers are a major concern for St. Benedict. Meals play an important part in most religions, and the words "banquet" and "feast" have religious and liturgical meanings. The connection has become more concrete here recently with the construction of the slype (enclosed walkway) that connects the church to the dining room and allows the community to process from the liturgy to the table.
In the distant past, the Monastic Refectory was in the basement of the monastery; the monks sat at table according to their rank and took turns serving each other. In 1962 a new cafeteria building was built for the students. With the closing of the schools, the monks made that building their monastic refectory. Meal service became less formal; we now used used the cafeteria line, rather than waiting on each other at table. But many of the monastic mealtime elements remain. We take breakfast in silence, but enjoy conversation during the noon meal. For most of the year, we have table reading of 12 to 15 minutes with the evening meal. Br. Alban Petesch is kitchen masterand oversees a staff of women from the local area who do most of the work, though Alban bakes bread and plans menus. The kitchen also provides for the needs of the many guests and groups that use our facilities. To this extent the kitchen truly is concrete hospitality. |
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The Cafeteria building, built with a student body in mind, is larger than what we might have built for ourselves, but it serves very well to accommodate groups that now use it. With a spectacular view to the north one can easily see forty miles in a wide 160° panorama on a clear day. Many monks assure that the dining room, like the church, is decorated for the seaons.
Visitors often remember us as the Abbey with "the view from the refectory." |
Assumption Abbey
418 Third Avenue West, Richardton, North Dakota 58652
TEL (701) 974-3315 / FAX (701) 974-3317