Dairy from La Rivelaine, Belgium. August 2024

August visit to The FELLOWSHIP OF SAINT MICHAEL ARCHANGEL.
It probably takes a poet or a more poetic source than the one that runs through my veins to describe the atmosphere that meets the visitor in La Rivelaine. You get the feeling that the four elements have decided to merge in a presence that invites you to participate in a kind of magical presence. It is a place between heaven and earth that takes physical form here, in an abundance of beautifully restored old buildings and different types of gardens in a terrain that both rises and falls, alternately opening up the view and gathering it into smaller spaces. There are fruit trees, herb gardens, stairs, water basins, Zen Garden and other gardens around and near each of the buildings. More sculptures appear, each telling their own story – and the story could go on and on.
Here, a group of Benedictine monks dedicated to byzantine liturgi, have created a small monastic community, the Fellowship of Saint Michael Archangel.  All the monks lived and worked for many years in the monastery of Chevetogne.  A small group from the Danish association ‘Contemporary Christian Spirituality’ was invited to the community’s first public course/workshop for groups, which is one of the activities the monks envision for the future of the community – among many other things.
The key element of the days at La Rivelaine are the two liturgies – First Hour at 8:00 am and Vespers at 6 pm The day begins in the small chapel where we gather for First Hour and ends here again at 6 pm with Vespers.
Fellowship of Saint Michael broadcasts live every morning and evening here: https://michaelarchangel.mixlr.com/.
The liturgy is the beautiful Byzantine liturgi that many will know from the byzantine church in Chevetogne and is performed by the monks here in La Rivelaine with a depth and beauty that opens the ears and melts the heart. It is like hearing the angels singing – excuse the banality, but if the expression has a reality, it must be something like what we hear here.
We are in the land of ‘Ora et Labora’ and experience how the spiritual life and the ordinary activities of everyday life intertwine into a whole. During the day, there are a few hours of ‘labora’ in the magical gardens, where even the weeds have plenty of vitality and grow happily. As mentioned, working here does not feel like an interruption of anything else, but feels just as rewarding for the mind and soul as the other activities throughout the day.
During the day, the monks hold a few hours of teaching, which deserves a special mention. There are two main themes on the program. The world of icons was one of the themes and the role of our senses in the spiritual process was the other. The latter is linked to the Fellowship’s incense making.
The lectures on icons take place in the small chapel and are led by Thomas, who gives some really in-depth and interesting presentations on the history and philosophy of icons. Thomas starts by setting the scene – all living things are icons, we are icons to each other, icons open the door to the spiritual world. You get the sense that he speaks from both great knowledge and a deep insight, recognition and experience – and perhaps we can assume, not least, a great love for the subject.
Thomas also put into words the special and rather indescribable atmosphere we experience here – Mundus Imaginalis – which Thomas explains as the concrete reality that is more subtle (fine) than the physical world – but denser than the spiritual world. In other words, the mundus imaginalis – ‘the imaginal world’ is the world in between. It is the reality that icons and liturgy allow us to be a part of. This reality ‘in between’ is, I think, the reality we all ‘lived’ in for a while during the liturgy here in the small chapel.
Anyway, without it being an adequate description at all, one could say that ‘the imaginal world’ is the ‘place’ that is opened to us through participation in the liturgy here – the senses are opened through the sound of the choir, through the icons, through the smell of the very special incense that is produced here. It can be difficult to put this ambience into words, but one can perhaps imagine a holistic experience of body-soul-spirit, where the boundaries between them are erased for a while.
The chapel will feature new icons painted by an icon painter known to the monks. The acquisition was made possible through an adoption scheme where we were lucky enough that the last icon, St. John the Baptist, was still an orphan. We adopted that one.

INCENSE
Incense making is part of the work of the Fellowship of Saint Michael Archangel. Production and sales are done through their own business – Insensum.
Cyrille, another of the monks in charge of incense making, showed us around the workshop and explained the construction of machines and the manufacturing procedures they use. Many of these were ‘invented’ and constructed by Cyrille himself – to refine the process and make it less time-consuming. The Fellowship’s incense is sold to many countries and for many purposes.
Cyrille gave several presentations on the mystery of our senses and on the spiritual use and meaning of incense as that which, through the olfactory sense/sense of smell, can help open up the experience of ‘the imaginal world’ – and also on the ability of the scents to recall memories, awaken memory and build a bridge between past and present.
The Fellowship’s understanding and thoughts on the importance of incense are beautifully described on the Insensum website – here are some short excerpts/summaries, freely translated and interpreted:
‘With its refined cultural heritage, incense conveys a poetic perception of the world, a perception that can be rediscovered through the fragrance’s delicate and delicate indication of something else. Incense is the symbol par excellence of the sacred nature of the encounter between the human on the one hand and between the human and the divine on the other. Incense can be an instrument to penetrate the mystical world of self-transcendence’.
“…fragrance is a sign of the divine presence in all its immediacy …… in their epiphanies gods are perceived as a perfumed fragrance….. (Peter Kingsley)
Insensum – “Incense & Fragrance” is a non-profit association whose purpose is to study, develop and promote the refined, intercultural and religious heritage of the olfactory science, the world of fragrances. Incense has a unique place at the heart of this heritage. The association is formed and run by the small Benedictine monastic community here in La Rivelaine.
You can read more about the Insensum incense and the purpose of the association here.
https://insensum.be/en/

La Rivelaine, the place and the future:
Since 1975, Bernard de Renesse and his family have been owners and residents of the site. Bernard still lives on site but has reached an age where he wants to pass on the beauty and opportunities he has created here. The Fellowship of Saint Michael is now working to raise funds to take over the site to continue it as a monastic community and create a spiritual meeting place for people from all parts of the world – a centre for spirituality, encounter and communication.