Beginning here we glimpse the Three-in-one;The river runs, the clouds are torn apart,The Father speaks, the Sprit and the SonReveal to us the single loving heartThat beats behind the being of all thingsAnd calls and keeps and kindles us to light.The dove descends, the spirit soars and sings‘You are belovèd, you are my delight!’ In …
Author Archives: Turvey Nuns
Mary, the Mother of God
In the Desert Tradition, the men and women who fled to the physical margins of society, developed a very particular relationship with Scripture and particularly with Biblical characters. They were judged by the Master to have understood the Scriptures in so far as they embodied the virtues of the Biblical characters. This teaching came to …
Seventh Day within the Octave of Christmas
John 1:1-18 By the time we reach the Seventh day of the Christmas Octave my heart and my mind have been invited to move in so many different directions. It is quite a challenge. So today I value the familiarity of the Prologue of John’s Gospel. The rhythm and the repetition of the words still …
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Sixth Day within the Octave of Christmas
Luke 2:36-40 I have always loved the prophetess Anna. There is an air of mystery about her as I try to imagine what it would mean to never leave the Temple. Anna has a single focus: she’s there to serve God until her last breath. She stands in a tradition of men and women whose …
Feast of the Holy Family
Luke 2:41-52 There are a myriad of biblical threads which could be traced in today’s Liturgy of the Word: blessing, promise, mutual obedience in family life, faithfulness to the Law, joy and sorrow. Add to that the opening Collect and the other prayers of the Mass and the picture which emerges is something a little …
Christ is Here
Christ is here, Emmanuel!Majesty so mild:Wisdom dwells with grace and truth,Hidden in this child. Here is God’s eternal Son,Now to us made known,By the Spirit’s love conceived,Mary’s flesh his own. Born of God’s creative will,Christ is Light from Light,Come to rescue Adam’s sons,Waiting in the night. Father, Son and Spirit blest:Heav’n their glory sings,While the …
Advent Alphabet (Z)
We have journeyed throughout Advent with the people of Israel. We have followed their joys and sorrows. With them we have held fast to the promise that out of desolation God will bring hope and joy. We have attuned our ears to God’s word. We have listened to words of comfort and of challenge. In …
O Emmanuel
Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24Luke 1:57-66 Liturgy of the Word O Emmanuel, king and lawgiverdesire of the nations, Saviour of all people.Come and set us free, Lord our God. O Emmanuel O come, O come, and be our God-with-usO long-sought With-ness for a world without,O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken …
Advent Alphabet (Y)
YOUNG MEN This Scripture verse always takes me back to my early 20s and memories of the combinations of things that I just took in my stride. Suddenly falling exhausted was quite a rarity. It’s an entirely different matter now. The context for Isaiah’s words is the promised return from Exile in Babylon, a theme …
Advent Alphabet (X)
CHRISTΧρίστος ‘This is how Jesus CHRIST came to be born.’ Matthew begins his gospel with a lengthy genealogy which requires great concentration, whether you are listening to it or reading it aloud. It’s not unlike having a complicated story plot explained or trying to work out how you are related to a distant relative. The …