Would you like to come up to the monastery and find out who we monks really are?  We could organize a tour and hop aboard a bus and drive up to St. Benedict Monastery in Oxford, Michigan so that you could meet these men they call Benedictine monks.  Or maybe you'd rather take on a personal tour of the monastery from the comfort of your own home . . .

     . . .  But in order to do this I have to ask you to use your imagination. . . .

. . . .Imagine yourself standing in front of two huge, wooden doors.  I think they must be eight or nine feet high!  As you place your hand on the door handle and open it the door swings open into a tall, wide hallway with lots of sunlight and a high arching ceiling.  You walk out of the cold into the warm building.  You guessed it, you're in the monastery! Suddenly you become aware of a delightful aroma and since it's been awhile since you've eaten you decide to do what the toucan says and "follow your nose".  Soon you find yourself in the monastery kitchen where a thin man in a green sweater is scurrying around putting together a meal.  It's Br. Gregory the monastery cook making something wonderful for the monks.  Once you introduce yourself, Brother asks you the question he asked all guests, "Will you be staying for dinner?"  Then you say "One of the monks sent me over here to find out just what you fellows are about."  "Then you'll want to stay for dinner", responds Br. Gregory, "You're sure to find out that way", and Brother walks off to set a place for you at the table.

     Suddenly you become aware of a strange noise coming from below the floor.  It's a loud hammering noise like a sculptor working with hammer and chisel.  So you head off down a flight of stairs into a small basement room to investigate.  There at the bottom of the stairs you meet another man, a tall thin man with disheveled hair.  This is Br. Jim who is standing with a hammer in one hand, a knife in the other, violently chipping off pieces from a large block of wax.  As you watch him in this activity he takes the broken pieces and places them in a hot kettle to melt them.  This is your first encounter with Br. Jim the candle-maker.  Now Br. Jim has a generous heart and so he turns to you and asks "would you like a candle?".  He reaches into a large cardboard box pulling out a small candle about four inches high made of brightly colored wax.  You notice that the box is filled with hundreds of these candles.  "Thank you, Br. Jim" you respond, "I was sent here to find out just who you monks are."  "Then you'll want to head over to the retreat house"  retorts Br. Jim, "there are a lot of monks over there helping with a retreat.  That's why I make all these candles.  Every retreatant gets to take one home as a gift."  So Br. Jim points you in the direction of the retreat house and you head back outside.

     Across the drive from the monastery just a few yards away is the modern looking retreat house building.  You begin a short walk over to the building thinking of how pleasant, quiet and serene this retreat house must be.  But just before you arrive at the door an army of teenagers comes rushing out of the building!  They are like bees leaving their hive.  The kids are laughing, they're singing and shouting.  At the head of this barely organized bunch is a short fellow with a goatee shouting out directions and trying to keep some semblance of order.  This is Br. Paul and he's taking this group of kids off on a hike in the woods.  This is when you realize that this retreat house is not for adults, it's for high school kids.

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