Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
USA Vermont location map.svg
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Location within Vermont
Monastery information
Order Benedictine
Denomination Roman Catholic Church
Established1981
Mother house Abbaye Sainte-Marie des Deux-Montagnes
Dedicated toSt. Scholastica
Archdiocese Boston
Diocese Burlington
Architecture
Functional statusabbey
Site
Location4103 Route 100,
Westfield, Vermont
05874
Coordinates 44°50′44″N72°25′54″W / 44.8455428°N 72.431759°W / 44.8455428; -72.431759
Website www.ihmwestfield.com

The Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a Benedictine abbey located in Westfield, Vermont.

Contents

History

The Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was founded in 1981 by nuns from the Abbaye Sainte-Marie des Deux-Montagnes in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Quebec. It is part of the Solesmes Congregation, and traces its origins to St. Cecilia's Abbey, and the 11th Century Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes in France. [1] The only other monastery of the Solesmes Congregation in the United States is Clear Creek Abbey in Cherokee County, Oklahoma. [2]

The congregation of the monastery uses Latin Gregorian chant during services, [3] [4] part of the spiritual heritage of Cécile Bruyère and Prosper Guéranger. [5] Martha Hennessy, a noted peace activist and member of the Catholic Worker Movement, was an oblate at the monastery. [6]

The monastery has a guesthouse outside of the monastic enclosure, where women who wish to take part in the quiet and solitude of monastic life can stay. Guests are given three meals a day, prepared by the sisters. [7] There is a small gift shop on the monastery property which sells religious goods such as rosaries made by the nuns, books, CDs, medals and crucifixes. [8]

Baking of altar bread

The nuns produce and sell altar bread for consecration during Mass. Proceeds from the sale of altar bread are used to help support the monastery. The monastery began producing altar bread in 1990, after the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus discontinued baking altar breads, giving their equipment to the monastery. The monastery upgraded their baking equipment a few years later, buying five new bakers. [9]

In 2017, the monastery shipped over 3.7 million hosts to parishes throughout the United States and Canada, [10] with the majority going to parishes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington and Archdiocese of Boston. [11]

The batter for the altar bread is made out of flour and water, and baked on a stove. Different types of altar bread call for different mixtures of flours, such as whole-wheat flour and cake flour, to achieve different textures and colours. [12]

Altar breads are sorted and inspected prior to shipping. Approximately 5,500 out of every 6,000 breads are suitable for the Eucharist. Some of the imperfect hosts and cuttings from the baking process are sold as "Monastery Manna" in the monastery's gift shop, while others are sold to farmers as animal feed. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Regalbuto, Robert J. (2010-07-05). Monastery Guest Houses of North America: A Visitor's Guide (Fifth ed.). The Countryman Press. pp. 200–201. ISBN   978-1-58157-663-4.
  2. ↑ Sonnen, John Paul. "Clear Creek Abbey Revisited: A Triumph of Modern Classicism in the Romanesque Footprint". Liturgical Arts Journal. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  3. ↑ Regalbuto, Robert J. (2010-07-05). Monastery Guest Houses of North America: A Visitor's Guide (Fifth ed.). The Countryman Press. pp. 200–201. ISBN   978-1-58157-663-4.
  4. ↑ Miller, Timothy (2019-03-26). Communes in America, 1975-2000. Syracuse University Press. p. 52. ISBN   978-0-8156-5476-6.
  5. ↑ "History of the Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary". www.ihmwestfield.com. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  6. ↑ ""There is light and there is love in this world": An Interview with Martha Hennessy". Killing the Buddha. 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  7. ↑ Jones, Timothy K. (2000). A Place for God: A Guide to Spiritual Retreats and Retreat Centers. Doubleday. p. 181. ISBN   978-0-385-49158-7.
  8. ↑ "Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary". Finding Solace. 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  9. ↑ Fugere Urban, Cori (November 2015). "Benedictine nuns prepare altar bread for consecration at Mass". Vermont Catholic.
  10. ↑ Bender, Kimberly (23 May 2018). "St. Peter parishioner's aunt makes hosts for her first Holy Communion". Catholic News Herald .
  11. ↑ "Benedictine Nuns Support Vt. Monastery Through Religious Business". NBC Boston. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  12. ↑ Pronechen, Joseph (October 20, 2019). "The Bread of Heaven: Where do Communion hosts come from?". National Catholic Herald.
  13. ↑ "Nuns say by making altar bread, they're 'helping bring Jesus to souls'". Global Sisters Report. 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2022-02-05.

Video about the monastery's altar bread by NBC Boston

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