In the service of the Lord: monastic life at Stams Abbey

Stams Abbey is a place of legendary peculiarities. You can study there at Meinhardinum, listen to the finest chamber music, celebrate and dine like a prince and live in the monastery as a true monk to this day. The monks of the Stams Cistercian order maintain a wondrous balance between tradition and modernity in the midst of the most magnificent Alpine landscapes. I wanted to experience first-hand how one of the oldest Tyrolean monasteries plays a lively and relevant role in the present day: How I became a bit of a monk myself for a summer evening, how St. Anton appeared to me in the cloister and why monks are sometimes driven up to the mountain pastures.

In the golden light of the evening sun, the abbey portal shines like the incarnate gateway to heaven. It is surreally quiet here, only the wind plays in the old trees and carries angelic voices from the basilica to my ears. As Father Lukas braces himself against the mighty gate, the cool monastery air hits us. "We have to be very quiet now," he says conspiratorially, putting a finger to his lips, "they're Wiltener Sängerknaben are here for recordings today!".

In the cloisters, even the monks are usually only allowed to whisper at most, but people are actually quite happy to remain silent to the sound of singing and goosebumps. We cross the vaulted corridor reverently and without haste, step through an inconspicuous side door and suddenly find ourselves in the high baroque nave of the basilica. I have been invited to the monks' evening vespers, the communal communion and penultimate prayer of the day. The boys rush into the break, Father Lukas grabs his leather-bound prayer book and asks me for meditative silence.

In retrospect, a salvation, because the sacred songs follow rules that are completely unknown to me, I would be hopelessly lost, despite the songbook, amen. Only the Latin Pater Noster works so semi-silently and I send a grateful prayer to heaven for my school days. We then bow humbly before the blessing, receive a few sprinkles of holy water and finally process single file through the vaulted corridors towards the dining room. The evening meal is simple but tasty, with rice meat and sparkling water, followed by pastry with stewed plums.

I ask Father Lukas whether the monastery is actually familiar with the concept of haste as we set off on an evening walk through the monastery gardens. He smiles, folds his hands and walks a little more leisurely: "The bell and the prayer give us rhythm, structure. Everything else can wait. There are also lots of quiet places here to take a step back. Can you see the mountain pasture up there? The church tower right next to it? The highest rococo church in the Alps stands at 1,100 meters in the Stiftswald forest." The choirboys are singing a hymn of praise and a procession of festively decorated monks is taking place before my inner eye. I nod understandingly: Psalm 23.

Members of a Cistercian order (Ordo Cisterciensis or OCist for short, after the first French monastery in 1098) can also be recognized in Stams Abbey by their black and white habit. It can also be recognized by the twelve noble steps of humility, written around 540 by a certain Brother Benedict of Nursia. Among other things, it says Regula Benedicti written: Serenity. And perhaps also because we have just reached the small monastery cemetery, we now walk a little more devoutly. The deceased confreres lie here - and Lukas knows them all. On the anniversary of their deaths, prayers are said for each individual, very thoroughly, as there are precise records for each one. And after 751 years of monastery history, that's quite a lot of prayers on some days. Our short but very devout silence (also of Benedictine value) is surrounded by the bell-bright voices of the choirboys from the collegiate basilica in the summer breeze and the dawning evening feels wonderfully holy.

In general, people pray a lot alongside their work. In addition to our own Offizium (daily prayer) from Laudes (hymns, 6 am), Holy Mass (7:15 am), Lesehore (Holy Scripture, 12 noon), Vesper (evening praise, 5:30 pm) and Compline (night prayer, 7 pm), there are also the countless prayer requests from the faithful. All of them are prayed without exception. See here: perseverance is also a Benedictine virtue. Incidentally, you can now also submit your intentions conveniently (and anonymously) online - you move with the times, smiles the Father. However, the respective request should be described very carefully, as this helps the brothers to pray as precisely as possible. At its peak, the monks' chapter had 58 active brothers, today there are only 13. The chapter house, where the chapter meets for special occasions, is decorated with fine inlays of precious woods. Abbot elections, devotions and concerts (such as an "alternative New Year's Eve") take place here.

However, you don't become a real monk just like that. There has to be a "divine call", in whatever form, according to Luke. Because the decision to dedicate your life to the Lord (and his lambs) from then on needs to be carefully considered! Since the Middle Ages, becoming a monk has always gone through the same sacred stages: As a candidate, you first spend up to a year getting to know the community and the monastery. After a successful probationary period, the convent meets and votes on the actual admission. During this process, you shed your old self, receive your habit and choose a new (monk's) name. This is followed by the one-year novitiate full of spiritual readings, choir prayers and the history of the order and monastery. The subsequent temporary Profess, i.e. the promise of continuous deepening and training, lasts a further three to five years and also confers responsibility in everyday monastic life - for example as a cook, gardener, baker, farmer, fisherman, priest or in the administration of the monastery's own operations, depending on the case.

Finally, the solemn, eternal Profess, including vows and profession certificate, follows. An absolute highlight of a monk's career. Not everyone finds it easy to leave their own self behind and commit themselves completely to service. The so-called Correctio Fraternathe so-called "fraternal rebuke" serves as a small guide to draw the attention of fellow Christians to misconduct and sin. The Rule of Benedict also lists self-denial, self-abasement and repentance - commonly known as the spiritual eradication of the worldly ego. "Again and again we realize that certain paths simply need their good time," muses Father Lukas. And I draw certain parallels between worldly death and spiritual resurrection with a well-known son here, who once walked very similar paths to salvation for us.

"Prayer is preferable to everything except the meeting," says Father Lukas. And "The monastery should never lack guests!" is also written in the old instructions in the monastery archives. But guests were always happy to come to Stams: pilgrims, artists, the poor and the sick, even the nobility - in other words, everyone. For a simple meal, a camp for the night, advice and assistance, confession and a prayer or for a soothing elixir and a Ave Maria for the grandfather on his deathbed. The monastery used to be the only pharmacy in the Tyrolean Oberland, many came from far and wide and some of the healing elixirs are still distilled here today.

Just at that moment, a pilgrim steps through the monastery gate, Father Lukas just whispers a few words and without further ado, the weary hiker is escorted to his quarters. A simple refuge, just like the monks live in. Some also come to us for retreats, intensive exercises of spiritual contemplation, for silence and prayer, for example, the man of God tells me. Quiet days in the cloister of the monastery, with spiritual guidance from Father Lukas. (If you would like to do this, please contact him directly here.) I wonder if that would be something for me too? And in the same thought, the holy gate opens again and in the last rays of the evening sun, "St. Anton von Mattle", patron saint of the Christian Socialists, appears. Smiling, he offers me his hand and immediately disappears again, for research in the monastery archives, whispers Lukas omnisciently.

The door creaks open again and a young clergyman in a gown stands before us. He lowers his head and makes a pious request: could the venerable Father unlock the side door for him, he would love to listen in! At first, Lukas shakes his head, but pauses for a moment and then beckons to him: the old key scrapes in the lock and the wooden door creaks open just a crack, we scurry through, take our places in the empty pews of the basilica and are already surrounded by the voices of angels. Side note: All recordings of the choirboys are available here, goosebumps included.

After a few quiet moments of contemplation, Lukas and I steal out and down into the old cellar vaults of the monastery. We leave the young clergyman to his own devices. The centuries are damp in the air in the basement, where the exquisite monastery products - and elixirs - are stored. Fine jams, apple cider vinegar, schnapps and liqueurs - one of the brothers even bakes bread and sweets for the small monastery store. I am allowed to taste one of the holy spirits, and the muscatel brandy is truly a masterpiece: my veins come alive, the bouquet unfolds flowery honey notes and for a brief moment it's summer all over again. With this special blessing, Father Lukas finally bids me farewell at the monastery gate and back into my life. I'll have to ask him next time whether St. Toni's revelation can be considered a divine call. Modern monastic life isn't so bad here after all.

By the way, you can experience Stams Abbey for yourself as follows: Festive and culinary in the orangery and at the"Schwarzfischern", musical at the chamber music days, spiritual at the church services, historical in the monastery museum and particularly impressive as part of a guided tour of the monastery. If you would like to explore monastery life in Stams from the comfort of your couch, you can also listen to the Father's podcast - here, for example, about silence and your own vocation.

Photos: All pictures in the article were taken by the author.