Called by God
“The love of God seeks us. God became human in Jesus, in whom we encounter the gaze of God. In our lives, as in the Gospel of John, God’s call is heard in different ways. Touched by his love, we set out.” quote from CTBI resources for Unity Week
Praying and working together with Christians of all traditions is very important to us at the Monastery of Our Lady and St. Bernard. Each year our community likes to participate in the week of prayer for Christian Unity, organized by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. This year we will be using readings and prayers for unity at Lauds each day. These are taken from the CTBI programme, which was prepared by the Monastic Community of Grandchamp in Switzerland. You can join us by listening to the daily recordings of Lauds on our Welcome page.
Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth peace to people of good will.
The community at Brownshill wishes you a Happy Christmas. May the joy of Christ’s birth enflame our love and rekindle our hope.
Join us for a service of songs and readings as we offer our prayer and praise to the God who comes. Recording on the “Welcome” page of this web-site
Advent Wreath in Chapel with the fourth candle lit.
Sunset over the valley, Advent at Brownshill. The days are getting still shorter, summoning us to hope in the Light of the World, as we begin the great O-antiphons.
Here is a link to our Clifton Diocese news.
https://cliftondiocese.com/news/sister-elizabeth-mary-says-farewell-to-brownshill/
Many of you will remember S Florence who returned to our Community at Goma last August after 2 years with us here at Brownshill.
We ask you to pray with us today for her and for S Veronique as they make their Solemn Profession (life vows) today. We celebrate with our Community in Goma and the whole Order, in great joy and with thanksgiving….hopefully a photo will follow…..
Dear Friends
I hope that you have all been continuing to keep well. We do not forget you and have been remembering you in our prayers during these very strange weeks of the lockdown. The guesthouse remains closed. Our own situation concerning public worship is slightly different from that of a Parish Church as the Community, including its ‘vulnerable’ members, uses the Chapel five times daily to sing the Divine Office.
I am writing to share some Community news with you and apologise for this rather formal and impersonal nature of this post.
Our 6 yearly General Chapter meeting of the Order, due to be held this summer, has been postponed for a year. For various reasons, this has resulted in changes to our Communities in England.
I have been asked to move to our Community of Hyning, situated in north Lancashire. Sr. Reina will move ‘up north’ with me. There she will join our other two sisters in temporary profession.
The Community here will have the joy of welcoming Sr. Maria as Prioress. Sr. Maria is no stranger to Brownshill. She was here from 2006 until 2008 as part of the founding Community and shared the adventure of those early days of setting up the Monastery. I know that she is looking forward to being back.
Coming ‘down south’ with Sr. Maria will be Sr. Michelle Marie, who has been a relatively frequent visitor here over the last 14 years, and Audrey, who is a novice preparing for monastic vows.
I know that you will give them a warm welcome and will enjoy getting to know them. Change, while bringing new life, can be challenging, and I am confident that you will continue to support the Community through this time of transition and beyond.
Please keep me, too, in your prayers, along with my new Community at Hyning. It has been a wonderful privilege to be here for the last 14 years and to participate in the Lord’s work of building up this Monastery. I will leave with a deep sense of gratitude for the Community here, our wider community of friends, all we have shared together…….and no doubt with a few tears. It is no secret that I have loved the years here!
The moves are scheduled for mid-August. I hope that the easing of lockdown measures will now allow some face to face ‘goodbyes’.
With our love and the assurance of our continuing prayers,
S Elizabeth Mary
We had home grown spinach for lunch yesterday ….and there was enough for a second helping……!!!!
See how the seedlings are doing………..
Pumpkins…….
Squash………
Courgettes
Spinach and leeks……..
Beans…….
Peppers……..
Rocket and mixed leaves……..
The tomatoes are self-isolating………….
…..but not the peppers, pumpkin or squash……….!!!
The lilac and honeysuckle smell wonderful………
……the peonies are on the point of bursting forth…….
Thank you for your prayer throughout the Community Retreat. It was a week blessed with glorious sunshine and excellent Retreat talks on: ‘Be Expanded’, Prayer, Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Silence, Suffering, Community/friendship, Generosity, Joy.
Our annual Community Retreat starts at Vespers today until Sunday 26th…..
Usually our two Communities would have been together at Hyning this year to share the week, but each Community is self-isolating. We are VERY grateful to our Retreat priest, Fr John Udris, for his daily talks which will be sent to us as an video file each day.
Please keep us in your prayers…..we will be remembering you in our prayers…..
We continue to upload a recording of our Morning Office - this week it will be available from 8.20 on the welcome page of this website.
S Reina prepared our Easter Candle this year. She explains the symbolism below the photos…….
Meaning of the Easter Candle this year:
The outer layer in gold symbolises the Glory of Our Risen Lord, which in our worldly life is still overshadowed by our weaknesses and frailty which is why we have a second layer, the light yellow, as if the gold is overshadowed by clouds.
Both layers are in oval - symbolising the glory of the Lord which surrounds the 'roundness' of our world. The circle shape itself symbolises eternity where beginning and end meets.
In the middle, as a focal point, there is the red cross. The red colour symbolises Christ's passion, his blood poured out to wash away our sins. It is also the colour of the blood of our brethren shed in the midst of present conflicts and wars. It is also the sacrifice of many who at this moment of pandemic are giving their lives to save others'. All of these are united in and being carried by the cross of Christ which has become for us the symbol of victory.
On the edges of the cross, there are tints of black marks which symbolises our brothers and sisters who have gone before us, especially those inflicted by Covid-19.Again, they too are being carried by Christ and brought into His Glory.
In the middle of the cross, there are two chains, vertical and horizontal, constructed by small and large ellipses. This symbolises all the nations, large and small, rich or poor, developed or developing, trying to work together to contain the pandemic.
The "coronavirus" crowns the Alpha and Omega, meaning that Christ who is the Beginning and the End, is with us at this moment of pandemic, and that the pandemic will surely come to an end, as well as all kinds of sufferings in our world. The time will come when Christ will come as our Lord and King, wearing the crown of true glory.
Enjoy these photos………….
The Emptiness of the sanctuary…….
The Promise of New Life in the Spring garden…….
A child once asked ‘What is ‘good’ about Good Friday?
How would you reply?
Hint: A one word answer, 4 letters beginning with L - - - ?
A stripped sanctuary wall…..can you see where the crucifix was?
“The radical gift of oneself to God, loved and served for Himself alone, listening to His Word, and a humble attentiveness to His presence in all human beings and in events, are the characteristics of this life; its sole aim is the search for God, lived out in Community.”
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