Prayer and Gardening Week

Last week we mentioned that the Prayer and Gardening Week was taking place and we promised some pictures. Here they are! Lots of activity was taking place around the garden, including the Grand Sweep and the front of the house. The weather was varied, but the group were valiant in their commitment. The numbers of the group varied from 11 to 18 because some of them came for the day only. Have a look at their pictures below. The next Prayer and Gardening week will be in October. More details to follow.

#Bernardines #Prayerandgardeningweek #Hyning

July News!

HAPPY FEAST OF ST.BENEDICT !!!

Today we are celebrating the feast of St. Benedict. St.Benedict was the founder of the Benedictines. When the Cistercians reformed the Benedictines, they renewed the life but kept the strict observance of the Rule. When the Bernardines were founded, we kept the Rule of St.Benedict as the main Rule which we still follow today.

For more information about St.Benedict and his rule, go here

Toward the end of June, Irene joined the Cistercian Junior Course at Roscrea, Ireland. The course was about The Psalms. There were 11 participants, including 3 Bernardines. see the picture below and see if you could recognize us!

View fullsize

For more images and information, go to Mount St.Joseph's Abbey, Roscrea

At the moment, Sr.Mary Stella and David Redmore are running a Prayer and Gardening Week. We will post some pictures during the week of their various activities.

Community's Outing to Furness Abbey

Last week, most of the Hyning community went to visit Furness Abbey in Cumbria. We were very fortunate to have a tour led by Gill Jepson, author of several children's book on Furness Abbey. We sang Vespers in the infirmary chapel and were joined by several other visitors. We enjoyed a picnic tea. We came back in time for a delicious supper. 

For more information about Furness Abbey and The Furness Abbey Fellowship Trust, click on the links:

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/furness-abbey/

http://www.furnessabbeyfellowship.org/

Come and Join in the #CardMakingDay !!!

View fullsize

Beginning of Kitchen Refurbishment

Today saw the start of the kitchen refurbishment. The main work will take place in July and August. We will be closed from the 23rd of July - 9th of September to allow for a full scale of refurbishment of the monastery kitchen. The first part of the work involves the taking out of the old windows and the putting in of the new. (During this time of refurbishment, we can be reminded to get rid of the "old-self" and let in the "new". This always need to be done with the help of other people!)

Last night and this morning, we took a picture of the kitchen and we will continue to update the website when more work has taken place.

Hyning Garden Open Afternoon

This Saturday in conjunction with the Arnside and Silverdale AONB, we are hosting an Open Garden Afternoon. There will be a talk from one of the AONB team at 2 PM, followed by tours of the garden and cream teas! You do not have to book to come but we are suggesting a £5 donation. Tickets are available on the door from Saturday, 21st May 2016 at  1 PM onward.  #Hyninghomemadecakes

#HyningOpenGarden@HyningMonastery

View fullsize

Come Holy Spirit

View fullsize

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. 

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ, Our Lord, Amen.

May News!

It seems like a long time since we've posted any news. Life has been rather busy. We had 2 weeks of the Regular Visit, with Sr.Mary Helen, Sr.Marie Philomene and Sr.Claire Marie. They stayed for the celebration of Easter. This was quickly followed by Sr.Mary's Diamond Jubilee on the 9th of April. Since then we have a series of guests and groups for the weekend and during the week. 

This week, we are waiting for the arrival of St. Peter's Roman Catholic School from Lancaster. They are 24 students from Year 4, accompanied by several teachers and adults. 

At the weekend, we will be hosting a "Walking and Prayer Weekend". There are still places available! Details are on the poster below.

View fullsize

The Way of the Cross

Click on the link if you want to listen and watch the Hyning Stations of the Cross

Stations

Holy Week

THE MYSTERY OF THE CROSS

Question of the day:
How can gazing upon the crucified God transform us?

This deep gazing upon the mystery of divine and human suffering is found in the prophet Zechariah in a very telling text that became a prophecy for the transformative power of the victims of history.

He calls Israel to “Look upon the pierced one and to mourn over him as for an only son,” and “weep for him as for a firstborn child,” and then “from that mourning” (five times repeated) will flow “a spirit of kindness and prayer” (12:10) and “a fountain of water” (13:1; 14:8).

I believe we are invited to gaze upon the image of the crucified to soften our hearts toward God, and to know that God’s heart has always been softened toward us, even and most especially in our suffering. This softens us toward ourselves and all others who suffer.

from Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, p. 192

March News!

Last Thursday (10/03), we welcomed five new oblates: Pauline Wright, Chris Doyle, Angela Lee, Mary Jackson, Kathryn Such who made their commitment for a year. We also had Francis Dawburn who renewed for three years, and Mary Tierney and Maureen Ryan Craig who renewed for another year. We rejoice in the growth of our oblate family and we ask your prayers as they continue on their Bernardine journey. 

On Saturday, Sr.Michaela visited Furness Abbey as a part of a Weekend on Furness and the Cistercians. The weekend was organized by Sr.Margaret Atkins and held at Boarbank Hall, Grange. Here are some pictures of her visit.

Brownshill's Chapel Project

Over the last few weeks, our sisters at Brownshill have had major works done on their chapel. The lighting was redone and the chapel repainted, there were also some minor changes. Click here and spot the difference.

Year of Mercy page

View fullsize

We hope to provide people with resources for the Year of Mercy and Sr. Michaela will post her reflections on here as well.  Why not visit our  page and remember to be merciful this year!

Into the Desert...

View fullsize

"During these days, therefore, we will add the usual measure of service something by way of private prayer and abstinence from food or drink...and look forward to Holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing."

(Rule of St.Benedict, Ch. 49 - The Observance of Lent)

Lent Retreat is On The Way!

On February 12th-14th 2016, Sr.Michaela is going to give a talk for this year's Lent Retreat at Hyning. The theme is "The Valley of Achor to the Door of Hope", deriving from the Prophet Hosea. This theme relates to the Year of Mercy, how we could discover the door of hope in our valley of trouble.

View fullsize

Images of the Prodigal Son set to the music of Andy Severyn

Visit to the - #PrioryChurch

The Benedictine family returns to the Priory! As part of the Monastic Guestmasters and Guestmistresses' course, we visited the former Benedictine priory at Lancaster. It had been a Benedictine monastery for over 400 years before the Reformation. The timing of the visit, fitted in well with the week of prayer for Christian Unity. We had a talk by the Vicar of Lancaster, Fr.Chris, and we had a tour by Rev.Brenda who is well known to us at Hyning. And we had an organ recital by the resident organist of the Priory. We were made very welcome by the team of "Priory Ladies" who served us tea and cakes.

Some of the pictures are from our visit to the Priory and a couple were taken at Hyning during the session on Social Media.

January News!

We have been enjoying a few days of holiday while we have been closed, but now we are ready to re-open and welcome a group of monastic guess mistresses and masters. One of the days of the course will focus on the role of spiritual direction in the Christian life and the other day will focus on the use of social media to promote monastic values. We also hope to have a trip to the Priory Church in Lancaster where we will have a guided tour and an organ recital. More news coming up!

Meanwhile, here are some snow picture which we took on Sunday (17/01).

New Sister

As we mentioned in a previous post, we welcomed Sr.Anne Chantal to our community.

She spent a year in here in the 1980s and has now taken charge of the dining room. She will be part of the cleaning team and flower arrangement around the house.

This is a picture of her that we have just taken!

View fullsize

2016 programme now online!

2016 programme now online.  Visit our programme page for more details

Sr. Mary Cecilia's funeral

Sr. Mary Cecilia'a funeral will be at 11:30 am on Tuesday 5th January. Please let us know if you are coming. There will be a buffet lunch afterwards, all are welcome to stay.