At the age of twelve, Therese’s sister Leonie felt she had no further use for her doll dressmaking kit, and stuffed a basket full of materials for making new dresses. Leonie then offered it to her six year old sister, Celine, and her two year old sister, Therese. “Choose what you wish, little sisters,” invited …
Author Archives: Turvey Nuns
Colours of Day
I have been giving some thought to matters liturgical over the past few months. Six months ago I began re-reading a very insightful book entitled Mysticism and Narcissism, by Sr Kathleen Lyons. She entered Religious Life in 1945 and the book is her PhD thesis which she completed in 2015. Amongst other things, it provides …
Jean Vanier: Priest, Prophet and King
I have recently been re-visiting some of the documents of Vatican II. I have been focusing on Sacrosanctum Concilium and finding articles that really tease out the ecclesiological underpinnings of this document. It is easy to forget how ground-breaking this document was. In short, Sacrosanctum Concilium calls us to return to the sources …
Stand erect, hold your heads high…
As we begin the season of Advent, the Church offers us a range of images to help us prepare for the birth of Christ. The Gospel text for the First Sunday of Advent is from Luke’s Gospel, 21:25-28, 34-36. It’s a text that can at first sight raise more questions than it answers. The …
Honoured and welcomed
On July 29th the Church keeps the Memoria of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. As it is a Sunday today, so they will more than likely go unmentioned. It’s a day that holds special significance for Benedictines. There are two collects given for Mass in a supplementary book which is used for all things Benedictine. Heavenly …
Gentle Counsel
A column in the Church Times recently caught my attention: Deliver us from the sources of the Evangelical Takeover, by Angela Tilby I enjoy her insightful columns and almost always have my perception broadened by her writing. This column, which became the most viewed column by online subscribers, has caused quite a stir. She is …
Silent Growing
Every so often there is an overlap between the cycle of scripture readings that we hear at our Sunday Eucharist and those that we hear at our Weekday Eucharist. During this year we hear Matthew’s Gospel at both Eucharists, though the sections chosen aren’t synchronised. The scriptural ground covered can at once feel …
The Way of Life
I’ve been trying all morning to write a post for the Feast of St Benedict. I realise that the text of the Rule of St Benedict just bristles with meaning for me and this makes it hard to know just where to start. I have narrowed myself down to just two thoughts. The first is …