An orderly Christmas

Ruadhán Jones explores how religious orders around the country celebrate Christmas

We are blessed in Ireland by the presence of so many different religious orders, men and women. Cistercians, Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans and many, many more – each have a lively presence, even if it’s one we may not always see.

The way in which they live their lives is somewhat inscrutable to most of us, quite deliberately alien to the life beyond the monastery walls. Alien, but not alienated – their differing levels of asceticism and withdrawal mark a deep reverence for the world, promoting an interior freedom that enables a greater appreciation for the origin of nature’s wonder: God.

But one way in which their world and ours finds a concrete connection is through the liturgical seasons. They will join us in mourning and rejoicing in the Easter season, and celebrating Christ’s birth at Christmas. But what does Christmas in the monastery and the convent look like? Does it differ much from our own? I interviewed three of the orders to get a sense of how they celebrate Christmas.

The Dominicans

The Dominicans have had a nearly continuous 800-year presence in Dublin and Ireland. In fact, 2024 will mark the 800th anniversary of the friars’ arrival in Dublin in 1224, just three years after the death of St Dominic himself.

For a start, the brothers spend Christmas day together, much as families would come together for the day”

The Dominicans are renowned for their intellectual tradition – St Thomas Aquinas being its most famous representative – as well as their devotion to the Virgin Mary. With regard to Christmas, however, their celebration is “mainstream” compared to other orders, says Fr Conor McDonough OP of St Saviour’s.

“We’ve a few pieces of Christmas music that are strong in our tradition,” he explains. “Bits of chant and so on that we would sing. Apart from that the way we celebrate it, it’s fairly mainstream. From my experience sometimes in houses of formation where we have brothers in training – often the youngest brother will carry the Christ-child in procession to the crib at the beginning or the end of Mass.

“It’s this idea of the youngest member of the community carrying Christ with him into the main church. In times past, the feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December), was a time when the youngest member of the community would become the prior for the day. In some cases that was observed as a day of special fun and enjoyment.”

In relation to the experience of the laity, there are significant similarities also. For a start, the brothers spend Christmas day together, much as families would come together for the day. This is very important, Fr Conor says and after Mass in the morning, they share a relaxed, quiet lunch.

After lunch, the priests and brothers have a chance to do their own thing for a time. Fr Conor explains that he has a personal habit of going out “onto O’Connell street, it’s almost deserted, and visit the crib for the extraordinary sense of peace, simply just to pray there to pray the rosary at the crib on a very, very quiet O’Connell street in the twilight. That’s a beautiful tradition that I personally have,” he says.

In the evening they come back together to celebrate, having dinner and a party before taking part in games and sharing a few party-pieces. So passes Christmas day in St Saviour’s Dominican Priory.

Advent

What is remarkable so far is how similar their celebration is to our own. However, where the paths of men and women religious and the laity diverge is in the celebration of Advent. While for many, Advent is seen mostly as an extension of Christmas, the Dominican’s celebrate it as a distinctive season of its own.

Where Christ is addressed as O, Root of Jesse, O Key of David, all these ancient, ancient antiphons are sung that go back to the 8th century and so on”

“Christmas comes later in a sense because Advent is observed so intensely,” Fr Conor explains. “When I first entered religious life, it was strangely out of kilter with the commercial world and the world of parties. We’re still very much in Advent mode, six or seven times a day we’re singing about waiting, waiting, waiting – but that has its own excitement as well.

“Especially the O Antiphons, the Magnificat antiphons that are sung on the last days leading up to Christmas. Where Christ is addressed as O, Root of Jesse, O Key of David, all these ancient, ancient antiphons are sung that go back to the 8th century and so on. Those antiphons have their own excitement attached to them and there’s a great build up then.

“I really love the season of advent, that building of expectation. Each year for me it’s like a slight separation from the incarnation and then a sudden return on Christmas day to a new appreciation of the presence of God among us in Jesus Christ. For me it’s that each year, there’s a new appreciation, a new desire for Christ, that’s built into the waiting in Advent. It’s then finally at midnight Mass that you allow yourself to fully celebrate Christmas. That midnight Mass is all the more special for that.”

The Cistercians

When the Normans arrived in Ireland in 1169, there were already 10 Cistercian monasteries in Ireland. The order’s first monastery was established in Armagh in 1142, in part the result of the local bishop’s enthusiasm for the order’s way of life.

The Cistercians were readily welcomed by the Irish, who appreciated their orientation towards pastoral and agricultural activities. Equally, the austerity of the Cistercian practices was reminiscent of Ireland’s traditional, native asceticism.

❛❛We also make Christmas cards, this is the busiest time for our cards department”

St Bernard of Clairvaux, who is largely responsible for popularising the order, described the true Cistercian spirit when he wrote: ”Our order is humility, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Our order is silence, fasting, prayer and labour; and above all, to follow the more excellent way, which is charity.”

A number of monasteries continue the order’s tradition in Ireland, including men’s orders in Roscrea, Tipperary and Waterford, and a women’s order in Lismore. Sr Eleanor Campion of St Mary’s Abbey, Glencairn explains how the order celebrates the season of Christmas. Much like the Dominicans, it is striking the emphasis placed on the season of Advent.

“The first thing is that we don’t begin to celebrate Christmas until it’s actually Christmas,” Sr Eleanor says. “We keep Advent as Advent. For example, we wouldn’t have our Christmas lights turned on or our lights put up until as close to Christmas as possible. Advent is a quiet time, almost a time of retreat.

“It’s still busy because of our industries, we do altar breads – now, there’s not much doing because of Covid, but usually it’s a busy time because of Christmas. We also make Christmas cards, this is the busiest time for our cards department. And one or two of the sisters make candles. But in general we try to have more of a retreat time leading up to Christmas so that we can begin the celebration of Christmas at Christmas and keep it up until the Sunday after Epiphany.”

Liturgy

The focal point of monastic life is the liturgy and this doesn’t change during the Christmas period, Sr Eleanor explains. They observe all the hours of the Divine Office, also known as the liturgy of the hours, a set of prayers to be recited at fixed hours of the day and night.

“Our focus is on the liturgy, we sing all the hours of the Divine Office every day,” says Sr Eleanor. “When Christmas comes, the week between Christmas and New Year, we would have more of a relaxed atmosphere in the house. We watch some TV or DVD’s or something similar.

“Nevertheless, we’re still up at 4:10 am every day. We’re conscious that yes this is a season of joy, but it’s not for everybody – there’s still a lot of people in suffering and pain, people in isolation and hardship and we’re keeping all those people in our prayers even in the hours of darkness.”

The feast of the Epiphany and the idea of the recognition of Christ spreading out through the Magi to the whole world”

Christmas day itself is also structured around the different hours of prayer, such as Matins in the morning through to Vespers later in the day.

“It’s definitely still structured around the hours of prayer,” Sr Eleanor says. “But we would have a more – our commitment to silence would be more relaxed than usual, we all like going to the kitchen and helping out a bit with the lovely dinner. After dinner, just giving ourselves a good rest especially if we’ve been up for midnight Mass the previous night. We’ll have ourselves quite a lavish spread compared to other days.”

Reflecting on the Christmas season and the Cistercians’ celebration of it, Sr Eleanor says she finds it beautiful and emphasises the contribution enclosed religious orders such as the Cistercians are able to offer to the world.

“It’s all very beautiful isn’t it,” she says. “The feast of the Epiphany and the idea of the recognition of Christ spreading out through the Magi to the whole world. And in the same way our life has meaning for the whole world, even if we are obscure and hidden in many ways, not out there in the thick of things, but through our prayer and the whole gift of our life we are sending out the grace of Christ through the whole world.”

The Benedictines

The Order of St Benedict, also known as the Benedictines, came to dominate monastic life in Europe during the Early Middle Ages, spreading to England by 597. In Ireland, however, it did not establish a major presence until late in the 11th century. A number of Benedictine monasteries are still active today, includingGlenstal Abbey in Limerick and Kylemore Abbey in Connemara.

For the Benedictines, much like the other orders, Advent and Christmas are distinct seasons, Fr Luke McNamara OSB of Glenstal Abbey explains. For the Benedictines, the Advent season is marked by the singing of chants and melodies specific to the season.

“There are many special chants and melodies which we sing at the offices in the church,” says Fr Luke. “In the last week of Advent leading up to Christmas, we have solemn Vespers each day with the singing of the ‘O Antiphons’ acclaiming the coming of Christ by a series of titles drawn from the Old Testament, showing that Christ is the fulfilment of God’s promises to his people.”

They communicate something of the indescribable joy of Christ’s birth for the world but also for each of us”

The O Antiphons are traditionally sung during the last week of Advent, from December 17 to 23. The popular hymn ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ is probably the best known of the antiphons, and is the last in the series. Each antiphon denotes an attribute of the coming of Christ, such as sapienta (wisdom) or rex gentium (king of the nations). They have been practiced for more than a thousand years in the monastic tradition. For Fr Luke, “the melodies of the Christmas Gregorian chant speak to the heart”.

“They communicate something of the indescribable joy of Christ’s birth for the world but also for each of us,” he explains. “The contrast between the long sleep of nature so visible in the bare trees and shrubs in the depths of Winter and the joy of Christ’s birth, point to the life that Christ can bring, perhaps especially to us in this year of the pandemic.”

Christmas day

Come Christmas Eve, the focus turns to the liturgy. Fr Luke emphasises how the liturgies on Christmas Eve and Christmas day bring life to the story of the nativity.

“We begin the celebration of Christmas at first Vespers at 6pm on Christmas eve,” Fr Luke says. “Afterwards we process to the crib where the infant Jesus is laid in the manger and the crib is incensed. The most junior monk prepares the crib every year, so while the figures of the crib are the same, the style of the crib varies greatly and it’s a reminder that Christ has come not only 2,020 years ago, but comes anew to us each year. Afterwards the nativity Gospel from Luke is read. The combination of hearing the proclamation of Jesus’ birth and seeing the figure of Jesus in the manger of the crib brings to life the story of Jesus’ birth.”

Much the same as Catholics beyond the Abbey walls, different orders have slight variations in their Christmas celebrations”

“On Christmas eve night at 11.20pm we have a vigil office before Midnight Mass, where we sing a hymn, chant the psalms and have two readings. This provides a great way to prepare for the Midnight Mass. The Abbey bells, named after the first Benedictine monk and nun, Benedict and Scholastica, and also named after the patrons of the Abbey, Joseph and Columba, are all rung together to celebrate Christ’s birth.”

On the big day itself, the morning begins as you might expect at this stage with morning prayer (Lauds) at 8am. This, Fr Luke says, allows the brothers a much-needed lie-in after midnight Mass!

“The community Christmas day Mass takes place at noon with the prior as chief celebrant,” Fr Luke says. “After this, there is a buffet lunch. We bring forward solemn second Vespers (evening prayer) to 5pm and at about 6 we have predinner drinks and then our Christmas dinner from 6.30 onwards. We have a fairly traditional menu of turkey and ham with the trimmings and then plum pudding and brandy butter for dessert. After the chat and fun of the dinner and the washing up, we have night prayer at 8.30 in the chapter room before going to bed.”

Much the same as Catholics beyond the Abbey walls, different orders have slight variations in their Christmas celebrations. Where they differ is in their celebration of the Advent season, so firmly a period of waiting and anticipation, a season in its own right rather than an extension of Christmas. But the central traditions – a communal gathering, dinner and the celebration of Mass – unify their traditions with ours as we all come to celebrate Christ’s incarnation and his Second Coming.