Monastery view from the neighboring hill top

The adjacent hill has a road which allows a nice challenging uphill walk and spectacular views of the Silicon Valley. Here is how our monastery looks from about two-thirds of the way up.

Monastic Church

Technically, our Church is called an "oratory" since we are not a Parish Church, but a chapel for a religious community. The layout of the Church demonstrates this as it is separated, into two parts, by the altar. This picture is taken from the "public side". The other side is our side and is called "the choir" where we chant the Divine Office. I will show that part of the chapel in a future post.

Asian Madonna

In the Catholic Church, Saturday has, traditionally, been set aside to honor and venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mother of Jesus). This tile piece on the outside of the church is an Asian rendition of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (one of the many titles of Mary).

Skywatch Friday No. 37

Dawn is my favorite time of day - with so much hope and mystery of what the day might hold.

We don't usually get to see the sunrise because we are in Lauds (Morning Prayers) by this time. This was a special schedule morning.

Apricot trees

In a recent, post, I mentioned that the much of the land in the Silicon Valley (formerly Santa Clara Valley) was composed of apricot orchards. Today, most of those trees have been replaced with concrete and glass. We are fortunate to have a few surviving apricot trees on our property. Unfortunately, by the time the apricots are ready to eat they have either been stolen or eaten by the birds.

Library card catalogue

Today, I offer a glimpse of our, often, "medieval ways". In yesterday's picture of our library you did not see what is a vital part of our library - the card catalogue. Do you remember the card catalogue? It is still an important, albeit outdated, tool in making our way through the library. We hope to someday convert to an electronic cataloguing system.

Monastic Library

West window in the monastic church

This window contains symbols of the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Silicon Valley at dusk

When our forefathers arrived in San Jose in 1959, this area was known as the Santa Clara Valley. It was rich in apricot orchards. Today, as the Silicon Valley, it is known for technology. The apricot orchards have been replaced with lots of lights.

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Skywatch Friday No. 36

Solemnity of Saint Joseph

March 19 is the day that we remember and honor Saint Joseph, the "foster" father of Jesus and the husband of Mary. He is remembered as the Protector of the Church. Some of his titles include Patron of a happy death, Patron of artisans, Patron of craftsman, Patron of laborers and Patron of real estate.

View to the North

View looking toward San Francisco Bay.

Monastic cemetary

Lots of green in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

Monastic watchdog

Even the watchdog rests on Sunday!

Bell Tower and Palm

Sunset over the Santa Cruz Mountains

Church facade

Late winter morning

Looking from the monastery to the Southwest