The end of a bad place. The nuns pray for the completion of the monastery in Drasty
“We believe that the dilapidated farmyard will become a well-accessible spiritual and cultural center, where everyone who needs it can recover humanly and spiritually and from where they will leave with the new power of everyday life,” says Carmel St. Josefa.
Above the large construction site, where the workers are laying the foundations of the future chapel of St. Theresa, Sister Marie still accompanies us through the difficult terrain. About a hundred meters further, there is a view of the nascent growing garden, meadow, orchard and forest with a neat system of paths. Until four years ago, this area was full of nettles, air raids and garbage. The nine nuns spent hundreds of hours here on brigades. Volunteers soon joined them, and dozens of garbage containers were exported from Drast. “Regular brigades were every Saturday. But besides, we worked with the nurses whenever needed – sometimes three times a week. There is still work to be done. In winter we can prune the forest. One of us can handle a chainsaw. And in the spring we will have a lot of other work to do: landscaping the land and preparing the soil for grassing, weeding and caring for the already restored part of the forest park, ”says Marie.
The significant involvement of nurses in the work has several motives. “For each of us, I think it is very important that our new residence changes before our eyes and that we participate in it ourselves. At the same time, there is no negligible or practical reason – by participating in the work, we reduce the total cost of the project, “Marie. Since the start of work in 2018, in addition to the aforementioned general cleaning, complete renovations of two large buildings have taken place. In one, an apartment building was created for tenants, including people who work with the order. The nuns have been living in the so-called Manor House, which also includes a chapel, and which is also connected to the revitalized forest park, since last spring. However, they would like to move the emerging monastery quadratures with a capacity for up to 21 inhabitants in the middle of next year. The manor house will then be able to serve individuals or groups for a short stay.
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The current costs of the work have already reached tens of millions of crowns and will be around two hundred million crowns. At the same time, the Carmelites sold the original monastery in Hradčany non-commercially to their “brothers”. Other money earned and received from donors, mostly smaller donations from individuals. “At the moment, we are missing some 30 million crowns to complete the quadrature. Therefore, the construction contract so far only includes the reconstruction of the original granary, one complete two new buildings and rough constructions of other buildings as well as a chapel with a crypt, in which, among other things, public events are planned in the future, “continues Sister Marie. building materials and work. “Even in the signed contract, we have written that it is necessary to count on a financial reserve due to further price increases of materials during construction. We have a loan from a bank, but we are reluctant to go into any more debt to be able to repay it. As for the successful future of this work, we rely on people’s solidarity and prayer, ”adds the young nun about financial issues.
The rise in building components led the nurses to announce the collection
It was the increase in building components that prompted the nurses to announce the current collection on the Donio charity initiatives portal. People have already sent over one and a half million crowns and the collection will be open for another month. “Reimbursement of wood costs for the new truss of the granary, which amounts to CZK 1,670,000, which significantly helped us to pay for the first stage and continue. The amount collected is primarily intended for the cost of wood, but will also be used for other carpentry and plumbing work, “say the Carmelites via Donio.
Prayer replaces prayer. How do the nuns live in the Kroměříž monastery?
The vision of Sister Mary and other nuns is that after the completion of the monastery quadrature, they will again resort to peace, prayers and the production of handicrafts, which they already offer today via the e-shop. The staff of the order will take care of serving visitors. The end of the migration and the provisional period will formally end the period of the papal enclosure that accompanies the greatest contact with the world behind the walls of the monastery. “I am happy to return to our normal way of life. I perceive it as a form of service. And I don’t feel isolated from the world around me. We are connected to people through intercessory prayer. Moreover, external events may affect the person in the enclosure perhaps even more than outside, ”confides the youngest of the nine barefoot Carmelites, who entered the contemplative order at the age of nineteen and recently, after about seven years, made” famous promises “- a definitive commitment.
“This agricultural lost meets its location, the area used and their requirements, which are necessary for our contemplative life. At the same time, it is a place close to Prague, of which we wished to remain a part. Together with the Vyšehrad Chapter, we would like to restore this small village near Klecany so that it becomes not only our new home, but also a pleasant place for living and spiritual relaxation for other people,