.On Saturday June 15, we are inviting you to discover the monastery and its history. More details to follow!
Programme for 2024
Our programme for 2024 is now live! Here are some highlights.
Starting in February, we will offer a quiet day each month. You will find all the dates here. If the idea of a day spent at the monastery appeals, but these dates do not suit you, feel free to contact us and make other arrangements.
During Lent, there will also be two weekend retreats: the annual Lent Retreat in February and a Prayer Live-in, in March. Once again, we will welcome those who wish to spend the Easter Triduum at the monastery.
Are you aged between 18 and 35 and wondering about the plans God has for your life? Come along to our Seeking God weekend in March to get a taste of Cistercian monastic life.
Go to our Programme page for the full list of retreats and events happening here at Brownshill
New mass time on weekdays
Please note that from Thursday January 4th, mass will usually be at 9am on weekdays (Monday to Friday).
Time of mass at the weekend is unchanged. Please visit this page to find out about the times for the Divine Office.
Happy Christmas!
The community at Brownshill wishes you all joy and peace
Christmas Newsletter 2023
As we celebrate Christmas and mark the turn of the year, something ends and another part of life begins. These turning points are moments to pause, take stock, reflect, to give thanks and to share our news of the past year.
The same six Sisters who began 2023 at Brownshill are here at the cusp of 2024, but our numbers have fluctuated over the last 12 months between ten and four, signifying welcome visitors and necessary absences. In November, Sr. Maria attended a meeting of the Extended Council of Our Order in Lille, France. Sr. Michelle Marie travelled with her, pleased to be in France again, having lived in France and Belgium at various stages of her Bernardine life.
Sisters from three or four of the seven communities that make up our Order have stayed at Brownshill in 2023. In September Sr. Marthe travelled to England from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she had just completed her service as headmistress of the lycée Amani in Goma. She was preparing to take up her new role as Sister in charge of our community on the other side of Africa, in Burkina Faso. Sr. Marthe came to Brownshill, after a week at our Monastery of Our Lady of Hyning, Lancashire, where she had lived when Sr. Mary Lucy was Prioress in the 1990s. It was sobering to hear about the constant presence of violence and corruption in and around the city of Goma; and the insecurity with which everyone lives day in, day out. In Burkina Faso the challenges are different, but no less significant: among them the fierce climate and the increasing threat from militant Islamists.
In June Sr. Elizabeth Mary, our Prioress General (known to many of you from her 16 years at Brownshill), came with her Assistant, Soeur Félicité a Congolese Sister, to conduct our Regular Visit. We appreciated S. Félicité’s prayerful, calm presence and gladly accepted her help, especially in the kitchen, where she seemed to feel at home.
The timing of our Regular Visit coincided with the golden jubilee of ordination of Fr. Peter Craddy OCSO, our former Chaplain, at Mount St. Bernard Abbey. Sr. Elizabeth Mary, Sr. Maria and Sr. Mary Philippa represented us and thoroughly enjoyed the celebrations. Fr. Peter returned to his own community in April 2022 and very soon found himself serving as their superior, but he has managed to make a few fleeting visits back to Brownshill, much to our delight.
In July it was Sr. Audrey’s turn to go to Mount St. Bernard Abbey for the annual course for Cistercian nuns and monks in temporary vows within the Region of the Isles (UK, Ireland and Norway!). Dom Elias Dietz OCSO, a monk of Gethsemane Abbey in the USA, gave lectures on the life and work of the Cistercian Saint, Aelred of Rievaulx. The group visited Rievaulx in Yorkshire, and walked the six miles from there to Byland, another ancient Abbey, all of which helped to deepen both their appreciation of our Cistercian heritage, and the fraternal relationships between our different contemporary communities.
The course followed immediately after our annual retreat, held this year at Hyning, where Fr. Nick Crowe OP gave stimulating homilies and interesting talks on God’s call in creation and the patriarchs, reflecting on Genesis and Exodus.
Our thoughts and prayers were especially with our Sisters at Hyning in May, as they mourned the loss of Sr. Mary Joseph at the age of 90. Sr. Mary Joseph was a lovely, gentle person, who did not like to make a fuss. It was quite in character that she died quietly in her sleep. Sr. Maria and Sr. Mary Philippa went to Hyning for her funeral Mass, which was attended by many members of her large and loving family. In August we were very happy to welcome Sr. Mary Joseph’s great niece Katy for a short stay at Brownshill.
While four members of our community were on retreat at Hyning, two of our friends spent a weekend at Brownshill, continuing the sterling work they have done over the last year or so to spruce up the grounds. We are very grateful to all our friends and volunteers for supporting us in various ways: maintenance and sewing, administrative tasks, cleaning, driving, helping in the garden and in the laundry.
For 4 weeks in August/September Sr. Audrey participated in the course of monastic formation, run by the Order of Cistercians (O.Cists) at their Generalate house in Rome. Among the thirty or so participants were two other Bernardine Cistercians, Sr. Agnes Hanh from VietNam and Sr. Annie from Goma in the Congo. It was a wonderful opportunity to widen their experience of monasticism and the Church through an intense programme of study, visits to some of the sights in Rome and, very importantly, living together with nuns and monks from all over the world, who try to be faithful to the call to monastic life in their different situations and cultures.
In September Sr. Maria had a week of Pastoral Sharing with the superiors of the Region of the Isles at the Mariakloster at Tautra in Norway. These are always valuable opportunities for mutual support and building up the links between our communities.
Engaging with the wider monastic world, Sr. Maria was invited to be co-visitor to the Anglican Benedictine community of Malling in Kent. Their Bishop, Adrian Newman, came to meet Sr. Maria at Brownshill in July in preparation for the visitation in August.
Another very welcome contact with our Benedictine Sisters came in the form of Sr. Mildred Maria of Minster Abbey, who had a week in September and another week in November with our community to give her time for reflection and prayer, in preparation for her solemn profession. We appreciate her fraternal presence among us, and we keep her in our prayers, as she prepares to make her definitive commitment to the Lord in monastic life.
In September Sr. Elizabeth Mary and Sr. Félicité were at Brownshill again on the way north for Hyning’s Regular Visit. With them came S. Cécile Marie, one of our French Sisters, for a time of rest at Brownshill. Sr. Elizabeth Mary made her retreat and renewed her passport. There was more business on their way back in October, when all the trustees came to Brownshill for the first in-person trustees’ meeting in over 4 years.
We value our links within our Diocese of Clifton, and it is a joy to see many friends at the priests’ Advent retreat day at Brownshill on the feast of St. Andrew.
In March we hosted a Vocations Weekend for the Diocese of Clifton. The young men and women joined the community in prayer and listened to the experiences of people with different vocations in the Church. The guesthouse was so full that three of the leaders had to stay in the local B&B!
Sr. Maria is on the Diocesan Vocations team, and as assistant to the Vicar for Religious, Fr. Tony Pazhayakalam CST, she organized an excellent day for the religious of the Diocese at Brownshill in October. The subject was the Synodal Journey, which Pope Francis initiated in 2021. We were led through the day by Sarah Adams, who has been deeply involved in the synodal process in the diocese, and at the national and European stages. She emphasized the importance of praying and celebrating the Eucharist together, to form the basis for fruitful listening as we ‘journey together’.
The starting point of all our journeys is with our families. The year began with the sad news of the death of Sr. Michelle Marie’s brother–in-law, Alan, whose funeral she attended. Happy times included visits from many of our family members, but old age or ill health sometimes make it impossible for them to come to us. Sr. Hilda has been to her parents, including a visit on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary in March. Later in the year Sr. Audrey made the long journey to spend some precious time with her mother at her home on La Réunion.
We were very happy when one of Sr. Mary Lucy’s great nephews, asked to visit in July. In December we welcomed her three nieces. Sr. Mary Lucy’s family, like us, had a year of “firsts”: first Christmas, first spring, first Easter without her, and we often think of her, especially at tea time!
Sr. Mary Lucy and all the Bernardines in heaven, will undoubtedly be celebrating with us in 2027, the bicentenary of the Order of the Bernardines of Esquermes. We are preparing for this jubilee in a spirit of renewal with a common programme of formation for the Order. The programme begins with the prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict, which is the first text most of us were given to read when we first came to the monastery. It is good to return and to hear afresh St. Benedict’s appeal to listen to Christ, give up all that hinders our progress in holiness, and follow Him to glory.
We continue to record our celebration of Lauds each morning and share it on our website. We are grateful to Fr. Ted M.Afr. for celebrating Mass each day, and for his dedicated service to our guests and the wider community. We are grateful also for the generous support of the many priests, who have celebrated the sacraments for us on the days in each month when Fr. Ted is with his community in London.
Our Oblates met at Brownshill for retreat days in May and October, organized by Sr. Catherine. They share in our prayer and work according to their circumstances, and Sr. Catherine stays in touch with each one, as far as possible. She is also mentoring 2 or 3 people, who are exploring the possibility of becoming Oblates.
We are aware of a great thirst for knowledge and understanding in people of all ages, and we like to support the educational work of the Church. We have welcomed several groups from Catholic schools, and the Kings School of Theology held a weekend course here in January. We have developed our links with YouCAN (Young Catholic Adult Network), and welcomed groups of confirmation candidates, catechists, Teams of Our Lady, priests’ retreat days, local parish groups, and retreats run by Notre Dame de Vie, a secular institute.
Our Lent and Advent retreats, both led by Sr. Mary Philippa, were well attended and much appreciated, as is her on-going work as a spiritual director. At the end of September we offered a weekend for “beginners” on prayer, which gave opportunities to experience different ways of praying. Brownshill Quiet Days have attracted new people, and it is encouraging to see many of them returning for another Quiet Day or a longer visit.
We held two “Seeking God” weekends for 18-35 year olds, discerning a vocation in the Church. They shared our work and meal times, and joined us for times of recreation, as well as the Divine Office. This has been mutually enriching, and we will hold more such weekends in 2024.
Several priests of the Church of England come regularly for quiet days or retreats to Brownshill. The Diocese of Gloucester has held quiet days, and their Curate Spirituality Day here. A new ecumenical link was made when a member of the local Baptist Church enquired about holding a healing retreat here in the summer. A programme of healing, dance, and talks on scripture kept the participants busy, and with 30 people eating most of their meals here all weekend, we were kept busy too!
The visit of year 6 pupils from St. Bernard’s Preparatory School, Slough was a highlight of our year. Three members of staff accompanied the bus load of pupils, who completed a quiz about the monastery, had the chance to ask us questions, and gave the community great pleasure by participating in the celebration of Midday Office and performing songs from the musical they had been working on. We maintain our links with the school as prayer partners, and particularly enjoy opportunities to meet them on-line, if not in person.
We continue to make good use of virtual means to meet people, but always encourage them to come and visit us at the Monastery. Guests tell us that it is beautiful here, and we know they are right. When the opportunity arises, we love to show people the walk down the banks, up past the chickens, call in at the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, go up through the village via the allotments, and back down to the Monastery. We feel very much part of the village, and it is good to hear our neighbours’ news and to include their intentions in our prayers.
We close with our wishes and prayers for you at Christmas, when we marvel at the humility of the Son of God, born into our fragile world. We pray especially for the people in the land of his birth, and for all who are living in fear this Christmas. We ask Jesus, the Word made flesh, to make his home in us and give us His peace.
Sr. Maria, Sr. Catherine, Sr. Michelle Marie, Sr. Mary Philippa, Sr. Hilda, Sr. Audrey
Mass times during the Christmas Octave
Christmas Eve : 8 p.m. (Mass during the night)
Christmas Day : 10.00 a.m. (Terce 9.50 a.m.)(Mass during the day)
Tues 26th Dec: 9.30 a.m. (Terce 9.20 a.m.)
Wed 27th–Sat 30th Dec: 9.00 a.m. (Terce: 8.50 a.m.)
Sunday 31st Dec: 9.30 a.m. (Terce 9.20 a.m.)
Mon 1st Jan: 10.00 a.m. (Terce 9.50 a.m.)
Advent retreat
Last weekend, we welcomed some old friends and new for our yearly Advent Retreat led by Sister Mary Philippa. The liturgy is particularly rich in this beautiful season and the retreatants were invited to pray and reflect with the Psalms that we hear during Advent.
We leave you with two of Sister Mary Philippa’s thoughts and wish you a blessed and happy Advent!
““We are all making the journey from fear and anxiety to trust. And that is why the psalms are so very precious: not just God’s self-revelation to us, but our self-revelation to God!””
““If we can entrust our cares to the Lord (by using the difficult Psalms) then the comforting words will make so much more sense, because we are not covering up our hurts, but delighting that God really wants to hear them.””
Snippets of last summer at Brownshill
Days are definitely much shorter and colder now, as Autumn is marching on.
In the warmer summer months this year, the Brownshill community was delighted to welcome several of our Bernardine Sisters from other monasteries. Coming from our La Plaine community, in France, Sr Cécile Marie spent some time with us in September. Sr Marthe, one of our Congolese sisters had a well deserved break here before starting her new mission at Bafor, in Burkina Faso. We also welcomed Sr Elizabeth Mary and Sr Félicité for a shorter spell.
Our garden is usually alive with colourful blooms in summer, and 2023 was no exception. The added bonus this year was a surprise crop of potatoes! One fine afternoon, we found ourselves harvesting potatoes that we had neither sown, nor planted. For the fruits of the earth, thanks be to God!
Formation day for consecrated men and women
Enjoying some tea and cake at the end of the day
Bishop Declan presided at the mass
A day of formation for the consecrated men and women of Clifton diocese was held at our monastery on Tuesday October 17th. Organised by Fr Tony Pazhayakalam (CST), Vicar for Religious, and our own sister Maria, the day was a welcome opportunity for the various religious and consecrated lay people of our diocese to meet after the long hiatus imposed by COVID19.
Sarah Adams, Director for the Department of Adult Education and Evangelisation of Clifton, gave us some input on the synodal process and facilitated group sharing afterwards. Her insights based on her experience of the synodal process both in this country and at the European level were a source of inspiration and challenge.
Let us pray for one another and for the whole church as we learn to better walk together.
Our first Monastery day with YouCAN
After a rather wet and cold week, the weather was kind in the afternoon. The group could enjoy a walk or a spot of gardening.
Thank you to all who came and we are looking forward to the next Monastery day in 2024!
Last Saturday, we had the joy of hosting the first Monastery day at Brownshill (featured in our last post), welcoming 25 young adults for the day.
The theme for the morning was an introduction to the psalms with Sr Mary Philippa.
Monastery Days coming to Brownshill
Monastery days start on 23/09/23 at Brownshill
In partnership with with YouCan, we will be hosting of series of Monastery days for Catholics aged 18-45, starting on Saturday 23 September. This is a time to be with God and with others.
For more information or bookings, please contact Rina rina@youngcatholicadultnetwork.uk.
Coming to Brownshill - Our updated programme
Summer is now underway and we hope you will be able to enjoy some time of rest over the coming weeks.
Why not come to one of our quiet days in July, August or September for a bit of time with the Lord? If the idea of a day spent at the monastery appeals, but these dates do not suit you, feel free to contact us and make other arrangements.
For those looking for a weekend retreat, we are offering a weekend of prayer for “beginners” at the end of September.
Are you aged between 18 and 35 and wondering about the plans God has for your life? Come along to our Seeking God weekend in October to get a taste of Cistercian monastic life.
Looking ahead to the end of the year, we will once again run an Advent Retreat and welcome those who wish to come spend Christmas at the monastery. If you are interested, it is not too early to book!
Do check our Programme page regularly for new upcoming events!
Two sisters visiting
We had the great joy of welcoming two of our Sisters currently living in our Mother House in France, during the first two weeks of June. Sister Elizabeth Mary, former prioress at Brownshill and now Our Prioress General, was accompanied by Sr Félicité, her first councillor for our regular visit. Sr Félicité hadn’t been to England for over 40 years and was very pleased to discover Brownshill for the first time. One of our Congolese sisters, Sr Félicité has also lived in our community in Burkina Faso. We are very grateful for the time they spent with us and all that was shared.
Volunteering in our garden
This time of year, Nature looks magnificent in this part of the world and our garden is no exception.
For the last few months, two friends of the community have spent several weekends at the monastery to help with bigger jobs in the garden. We are very grateful for their hard work and cheerful presence!
If you would like to give us a hand in the garden, let us know. Any help will be gratefully received.
Monastic Experience at Brownshill
If you are a single man or woman, aged between 18-35, and want to know more about monastic life, we will be offering a similar experience early October (more info to be available shortly)
Last weekend, we had the joy of welcoming three young women wishing to have an experience of monastic life, as part of our “Seeking God” weekend.
They had an opportunity to enter into the rythm of prayer, work, and community life that makes up our lives as Bernardine Cistercians.
Several sisters gave some input about prayer, the Divine Office and the history of our Order.
Happy Easter!
CHRIST
IS RISEN!
Easter Triduum - Holy Saturday
Today we wait with Mary.
With hope and trust, we await the joy of the resurrection to come.
“For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.”
From an ancient homily for Holy Saturday that we read this morning:
Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.
He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory.
At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.
See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.
I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.
Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.
Easter Triduum - Good Friday
This year, Pope Francis had chosen the theme “Voices of Peace in a World at War” for the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum, in Rome. We pray for the Ukraine, Goma (RDC) and so many areas where there is violence and war. We pray for those who have fled, those who remain and those who have died.
The Way of the Cross concluded with those 14 “thank yous”:
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the meekness that overwhelms arrogance.
Thank you, for the courage with which you embraced the cross.
Thank you, for the peace that flows from your wounds.
Thank you, for having given us your holy Mother to be our Mother as well.
Thank you, for the love shown in the face of betrayal.
Thank you, for turning tears into smiles.
Thank you, for having loved everyone without excluding anyone.
Thank you, for the hope you instill in time of trial.
Thank you, for the mercy that heals sufferings.
Thank you, for stripping yourself of everything to enrich us.
Thank you, for having transformed the cross into the tree of life.
Thank you, for the forgiveness you offered your executioners.
Thank you, for having defeated death.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the light you kindled in our nights.
Easter Triduum - Maundy Thursday
Once again, the whole Church celebrates the 3 most sacred days of her liturgical year. The very rich liturgy helps us to enter more fully into the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, death and resurrection.
Here at the monastery, Lauds are replaced by a longer morning office for the duration of the Triduum.
On Maundy Thursday, the community commemorates the Washing of the Feet in a special ceremony called the “Mandatum”.
“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Lk 22:15).
In this eager desire of Jesus we can recognize the desire of God himself – his expectant love for mankind, for his creation.
A love which awaits the moment of union, a love which wants to draw mankind to itself and thereby fulfil the desire of all creation, for creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God (cf. Rom 8:19).
Jesus desires us, he awaits us.
But what about ourselves?
Do we really desire him?
Are we anxious to meet him?
Do we desire to encounter him, to become one with him, to receive the gifts he offers us in the Holy Eucharist?
An extract from Pope Benedict XVI’s homily for Maundy Thursday 2011, that we read at morning office.
Palm Sunday
Happy Palm Sunday!
Despite some fine misty rain this morning, we were able to gather outside the church and process in, with our palms, joyfully singing.
We would like to share with you the last 2 verses of a poem by G.K. Chesterton, “The Donkey”, that Fr Ted, our chaplain quoted at mass:
The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.
Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.
As we begin Holy Week this year, let us pray for one another!
Services for Easter Octave 2023
Easter Sunday and Easter Monday
9.45 a.m. Terce
10.00 a.m. Mass
Easter Tuesday and Easter Octave
9.20 a.m. Terce (9.15 Sat/Sun)
9.30 a.m. Mass
