Up-date #4 - (Feb 13, 2024)
A New Wall Being Built
Much work has been done since our last up-date. With the wall between the Chapel Sanctuary and the Sisters’ Choir gone, leaving a gaping space which gave us an eerie feeling , the builders then began to put up the wooden frame of a new wall. This was done in stages. -Picture 1
First, the sheets of plastic came down; then an initial wooden frame was built forming a kind of a “skeleton ” of a wall. That was a day’s work! - Pictures 2 & 3 The next day, the “skeleton” was “fleshed out” quite a bit. The difference was impressive, as can be seen in the photos ! Another day’s work! -Pictures 4 & 5 The following day wallboard (also called “drywall”) was put up on the Chapel Sanctuary side. - Pictures 6 &7.- The next day, the wooden arch was made on the Choir side of the wall. This arch will form the frame for the painted background design called a “diaper pattern”. In front of this painted design the canopy housing the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus, our Beloved Lord and Bridegroom will be enshrined. - Picture 8
(If you follow the pictures below, left to right, you can see the daily progress!)
Perhaps a little explanation about “diaper pattern” may help here for those who may not be familiar with the term. “Diapering” is a form of decorative art dating from the Middle Ages (cir. 1300). The etymology is from the Middle English word dyaper and the Old French dyapre or diapre; this is derived from the Medieval Latin diasprus. This was an artistic motif of diamond or diagonal shaped patterns used in architecture, painting, stained-glass, cloth weaving and heraldry. Here is a sample of a diaper pattern on a silk cloth that we use as a festive Altar Frontal here at the Monastery and some other examples as well.
Here we think it appropriate to add a good word about all our workers from Marianacci: Kyle, Dan, John and their team of co-workers. How deeply grateful we are for the care and expertise they bring to their work! Many long hours have been spent removing the brick wall, and then making very exact measurements and carefully cutting numerous pieces of wood to make an inner frame for the new wall. One of our Sisters commented at recreation: “All of this hard work by these men, and no one will ever see it!” Of course, this inner wooden frame will eventually be covered with wallboard and paneling. But God knows it’s there, and we do also! We pray that the Lord in His goodness will bless these good men in their labors!
On the same day that the arch was constructed, and the following day, the workers tore up the linoleum flooring in the Choir – what a mess ! The linoleum is quite worn and cracked in a number of places; it is also very uneven due to the cement flooring underneath which was not leveled during its construction in 1956. It is time for it to be replaced. So, for this renovation, we planned that the cement flooring would be leveled, then tiled with heavy duty vinyl tile.
Besides the utility and durability of the vinyl tiling, we spoke with our architect, Michi Sanderson about the design of the flooring. We requested that the tiles have a wood look, and be laid in a traditional monastic style: that is, with a darker colored tile forming a “mat” along the front and back of the Choir, in front of the benches, and across the middle of the Choir; and an alternate lighter colored tile to fill-in the middle sections and the outer edges . Though it is difficult to describe in words, this floor plan is both practical and beautiful for a monastic Choir. Here we will come many times a day, with eager steps, in the spiritual footsteps of our seraphic Mother St. Teresa of Jesus, and in the actual footsteps of several generations of her daughters who have lived in this Monastery. Here we will bow before the Most Holy Trinity, where we will kneel in adoration, and raise our minds and hearts and voices to sing the praises of the Lord.
Know that we daily carry you in our hearts, our dear families and friends, before “Him who we know loves us” - as St. Teresa would say! May the Holy Season of Lent be a time rich in grace for you and your families, and may God bless you abundantly! You may find much devotion in this picture of Jesus Crucified. This crucifix is at the Altar in our Chapter Room. It is here that we have Holy Mass during the renovations .
