Our Lady of the Angels Friary -- Chapel
On the left side of the Commons Room, through a door that has a relief of Our Lady of the Angels over it, you enter our Chapel area. This area had been part of the sales offices, etc. for the family business with a wall of windows that overlooked the lawn and the herb gardens. Today the Chapel utilizes the windows to welcome in all of God's creation. As one prays in the Chapel, one feels the presence of the 'Holy' in so many ways: in the persons of those gathered to pray, in the worship celebrated there, in the Blessed Sacrament, but also in the experience of God's grandeur and goodness in being surrounded by all creation. The four seasons as God created them in this area of the Ozarks are on immediate and constant display in our Chapel.
In the center of the prayer area on the left is the icon of Our Lady of the Angels, celebrating the Blessed Mother's role as the Patroness of the friary and our Prayer Fraternity. (This icon is on the title page of this blog you are now reading.) The image of our Blessed Mother is a replica of a painting of Our Lady of the Angels in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.
Because the life of our Prayer Fraternity is built around a prayer schedule that brings the brothers and guests together 5 times a day for prayer, in the Chapel to the left are 8 prayer places. The Liturgy of the Hours is done 4 times a day and because it is celebrated in choirs, the prayer stalls face each other. The daily prayer schedule begins with a 7:00 am Morning Prayer, Mass is celebrated at 8:00 am, Mid-day Prayer follows the Noon meal, Evening Prayer is at 5:30 pm and Night Prayer is at 9:00 pm.
In the very center of the Chapel is the Ambo, with the Sacred Scripture on constant display, highlighting the central location of the 'Word of God' in the lives of the community.
To the right as one enters, one can see the tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, as well as the altar. During Mass, the Liturgy of the Word is celebrated in the prayer stalls; to celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the friars and guests gather around the altar. Mass is celebrated daily, except for Wednesdays which is the community day away. Behind the altar is the San Damiano cross, another key icon in the life of St. Francis of Assisi.
Pio Jackson, in his article, reflected on the Chapel space: "The small chapel was elegantly arranged with spaces for the individual friar and his liturgical books and strategic and esthetic placing of altar and ambo with the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. In prayer one could contemplate Mother Earth by glancing outside of the spotless windows and muse on the integrity and care of creation as God's gift."
This simple, quiet, lovely space in our Prayer Fraternity is available to the friars and to our guests at every hour of the day. Whether gathered with others in prayer or sitting quietly before the Blessed Sacrament and the surrounding beauty of nature, the chapel affords a wonderful place to bring one's life to God.
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