Monasticism
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Sunday, May 4th, 2008
My photograph, taken at Turvey Abbey, May 3 2008
I saw the archangels in my apple-tree last night,
I saw them like great birds in the starlight—
Purple and burning blue, crimson and shining white.
And each to each they tossed an apple to and fro,
And once I heard their laughter gay and low;
And yet I felt no […]
Rooted
Saturday, April 26th, 2008Photograph by Paul Peracchia
I’m reading a newly-published book (Christine’s recommendation): Seven Sacred Pauses by Benedictine monastic Macrina Wiederkehr. Actually, ‘reading’ probably isn’t the right word, ‘praying’ or ‘absorbing’ might be.
Subtitled Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day, this beautiful book takes us through the monastic hours - the practice of pausing for prayer at […]
The closeness of community
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
It’s difficult to write about the joy of community without sounding saccharine or trite. But I’ve been so aware of depth and blessedness this last weekend that I’m going to try.
I was at Turvey Abbey, a Benedictine monastery, teaching the first of our Enneagram weekends this year. The Enneagram system is a wonderful way of […]
The sacredness of everyday things
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008In a recent comment, Barbara mentioned what is to me possibly the most beautiful and far-sighted teaching of the Rule of St Benedict.
It comes in Chapter 31, which discusses what sort of person the Cellarer should be. (The Cellarer in a medieval monastery held a very important position. He or she was responsible for all […]
Sunday Collection: Listen to the Silence
Sunday, December 16th, 2007
Photograph of Preveli Monastery by Wolfgang Staudt
This week I’ve been struck by the theme of quietness and listening in what I’ve read.
Cate’s post Short Days and Turnings speaks of an unsought moment of calm:
When I sat down here this morning, my mind was a tabula rasa for a while, no restless spirit, no impatience or […]
Enlightenment
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007There’s an old Buddhist story:
A young man enters a monastery to walk the path of enlightenment. He asks a question: “Master, what shall I do while I seek enlightenment?” The Master replies “You must chop wood and fetch water.”
The long, slow years pass as the young man studies and meditates. Eventually, he realises he is […]
View from an attic window
Sunday, September 16th, 2007Daybreak
Midday
Sunset
Praise the Lord from the heavens
praise him in the heights.
Psalm 148
Photographs taken by me at Turvey Abbey guesthouse, September 2007.
Honestly monastic?
Friday, August 17th, 2007After I posted my video Monastic life - a meditation the other day, I had an email exchange with a friend (not a nun, in case you wonder) who liked it but considered it completely unrepresentative of monastic life and its difficulties. I think she was trying to tell me I was sentimentalising, but was […]
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