LOVEThe seventy three chapters of the Rule of St Benedict are a framework for living in community. Every aspect of monastery life is covered, sometimes in detail that is a little surprising. Some parts of the text are very demanding and others are tender and considerate. This strictness is seen by St Benedict as means …
Author Archives: Turvey Nuns
St Bartholomew
John 1:45-51 That we know almost nothing about St Bartholomew (Nathanael) is perhaps a little liberating. There is space for our imaginations to read between the lines in the very short text from John. There are four things that I glean from this text: Nathanael is not afraid to make his point, he responds to …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (9)
LOVE It has often been said that the one of the reasons why the Rule of St Benedict has continued to inspire people is because of the simple humanity that we find in its pages. St Benedict lays out a way of life that he wants to be within the reach of anyone who deeply …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (8)
CHRIST Much of the Rule of St Benedict is concerned with the practicalities of living in community. St Benedict values good order and urges that things be so arranged that ‘the strong have something to yearn for and the weak have nothing to run from’ (Ch 64). Christ is implicitly honoured in every aspect of …
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 56:1,6-7Matthew 15:21-28 Over the years in monastic life I have gradually gathered a set of personals tools to help me engage with Scripture. Some of these tools involve close analysis of the text and some are more obviously creative. I have learnt the value of stepping back from a passage and seeing it in …
St Bernard Tolomei
Genesis 12:1-4John 15:9-17 Here at Turvey we are celebrating the feast of St Bernard Tolomei, founder of the Olivetan Congregation. We know relatively little about him. Born in Siena in 1272, the son of a noble man, he was educated and trained to be a lawyer. In 1313, Bernard and two companions moved out to …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (7)
CHRIST Let them prefer absolutely nothing to Christ,and may he lead us all together to everlasting life. (Ch 72, On Good Zeal) That the Rule of St Benedict is Christological is evident on just about every page of the text. Whether St Benedict is speaking of ‘running in the way of God’s commands’ (Prologue), or …
The Assumption
Revelation 11:19,12:1-6,10 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 Luke 1:39-56 The older I get the more time I seem to need to spend on paying attention to my body and making sensible choices. This is anything but self indulgent. When you live in community your own well-being is linked to the whole. There’s something of an implicit understanding that what …
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 14:22-33 Last year I watched the film Titanic again and was struck by the poignancy of the scene where the assembled passengers enthusiastically sing: Eternal Father, strong to save,Whose arm has bound the restless wave,Who bids the mighty ocean deepIt’s own appointed limits keep;O hear us when we cry to TheeFor those in peril …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (6)
GOSPEL ‘Let us get up then, for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: It is high time for us to arouse from sleep. Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God.’ (Prologue, Rule of St Benedict) For St Benedict, Scripture is a living and active thing in the life of …