Gethsemane

While looking for something else, I came across this photo of an old post card. This is how Gethsemane looked when I was a child, and how it looked when Merton was there. A single road led to the front gate; we parked the car on either side of the road. We walked down the path on the left to get to the Church. The little door to the left of the main door led to the gift shop, where we browsed the holy cards. There was a sign over an interior door in the gift shop that read "no women allowed". I remember a "God Alone" sign, but I thought it was over the main gate.

Things were always quiet at Gethsemane, and I liked going over there, even though I never knew quite what to make of it.

This is me with some friends standing before the Church in Nov. 2019. The monks are more open to women and the public now, while still protecting the silence and solitude.