Trappist

Those alt.rock fans amongst you familiar with the oeuvre of Matchbox 20 have probably tapped your Birkenstocks to the angst-ridden chorus of "3 A.M.": namely, "Baby, it's three a.m., I must be lonely." Interestingly, for the Trappist monks of South Carolina's Mepkin Abbey, "3 A.M." doesn't refer to the long dark night of the soul engendered by loneliness, insomnia or too much pepperoni on that Pizza Hut gutbuster; nope, 3 a.m. is wake-up time. Dovetailing the story of seventeen centuries of monastic history with a contemporary overview of the (very) early risers of Mepkin Abbey, Trappist chronicles the often bloody history of monastic life from its origins with Saint Anthony (circa 275 A.D.), through the many persecutions and reforms from the late Middle Ages through the French Revolution, to the arrival of some 40 monks in America in 1898. Today, the United States is home to 100 monasteries, 17 of which are Roman Catholic Trappist. Viewers will go behind the scenes at Mepkin to watch the monks in prayer, at work (they run a thriving egg business), and welcoming visitors (contrary to popular belief, monks are not hermits). Individual monks comment on a wide range of topics--including celibacy, spiritual calling, and abbey life--and the program also features brief interviews with Thomas Moore (Care of the Soul) and Kathleen Norris (The Cloister Walk). With the rising interest in matters spiritual and monastic (witness the popularity of Moore's and Norris' books, weekend monastic retreats, and Gregorian chant CD's--or even its parody, the Pig Latin Grunt CD), this reasonably engaging documentary is strongly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)