Monastery of Chevetogne Releases New Recording: The Encounter

Saturday, 12 December 2009 10:25

Chevetogne, Belgium - The Monastery of Chevetogne announces the release of new audio recording (on CD) with the Vigil (Vespers and Matins) for the Feast of the Encounter of Christ with Simeon and Anna (February 2nd) together with hymns to the Mother of God.

From the press release:

The Feast of the Encounter (in Greek: Ypapanti), which the Churches of East and West celebrate on February 2nd, commemorates the gospel account of Christ's Presentation in the Temple. Far from being simply an anniversary of this ritual and legal Presentation, the feast celebrates something which took place at the fringes of this event, namely the Encounter as recorded by the evangelist Luke (Lk 2:22-38).

The feast is bathed in an atmosphere of mystery and peace. It represents the conclusion of the season of Christmas - and here it acquires the sense of a Marian feast, that is, a feast which celebrates an aspect of the mystery of the Incarnation. It is also the transition toward the period of Lent and the Passion. The two cycles, as it were, 'meet' here, and this encounter is personified in a mysterious way - but the more embodied - in the Mother of Jesus, Mary.

This recording ends with three hymns to Mary the Mother of God. They correspond to three solemn moments of each liturgical day (Matins, Liturgy and Compline). We hope that these hymns might help all those who so desire to structure their day according to a threefold Encounter with the mystery of Christ, sustained by the liturgical rhythm of the Church and of our monastery.

A flyer can be found at this link. The Monastery of Chevetogne currently has a number of CDs available for purchase. The North American distributor is St. Nicholas Monastery in Beacon, NY. Click here for the full listing of available CDs. Click here for the order form. The website for the Monastere de Chevetogne is www.monasterechevetogne.com.