Reflections from Turvey Abbey
SECOND WEEK OF ADVENTWEDNESDAY Isaiah 40:25-31Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my …
Continue reading “A Path Through Advent with St Benedict (11)”
SECOND WEEEK OF ADVENTTUESDAY Isaiah 40:1-11Matthew 18:12-14 Today Isaiah paints the scene of a triumphant homecoming for Judah, their time of exile ended. Isaiah uses the familiar biblical theme of reversal, and we are invited to picture a landscape where valleys, hills, ridges and mountains are transformed. It’s likely that the image of ‘a straight …
Continue reading “A Path Through Advent with St Benedict (10)”
Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash WEEK TWOMONDAY Isaiah 35:1-10Luke 5:17-26 In the days of the overhead projector and the use of acetates I remember watching a clever presenter build up a picture by laying five acetates, one on top of each other. Something similar is perhaps at work with the liturgy of the Word …
Continue reading “A Path Through Advent with St Benedict (9)”
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT Isaiah 11:1-10Matthew 3:1-12 While last week’s Gospel text invited us to ‘Stay Awake!’, the message this week is no less urgent: ‘Repent, for the kingdom of God is close at hand.’ John the Baptist walks into our Advent landscape with a message that is uncompromising. His cry of ‘Repent’ is for …
Continue reading “A Path Through Advent with St Benedict (8)”
WEEK ONESATURDAY Isaiah 30:19-21. 23-26Matthew 9:35-10:1. 6-8 Read through the Scripture texts and then look back over your week. Where have you seen the ‘wasteland rejoice and bloom’?Have you heard God say ‘Courage! Do not be afraid.’?Are there things for which your heart can shout for joy?What do you most need and desire for this …
Continue reading “A Path Through Advent with St Benedict (7)”
WEEK ONEFRIDAY Isaiah 29:17-24Matthew 9:27-31 ‘What page, what passage of the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments is not the truest guides for human life?’ Ch 73: This Rule only a Beginning of Perfection Read through the Scripture texts. Choose one and copy out the whole text. Notice the words and phrases which …
Continue reading “A Path Through Advent with St Benedict (6)”
WEEK ONETHURDAY Isaiah 26:1–6Matthew 7:21. 24–27 The fate of those who do not have the luxury of building their houses on rock is a regular feature in our news. There can be few things more distressing than having your home ruined by flood waters. Matthew’s hearers too knew the dangers of foundations that were not …
Continue reading “A Path Through Advent with St Benedict (5)”
WEDNESDAY Isaiah 25:6-10Matthew 15:29-37 Social anthropologists tell us that what distinguishes us from other species is that we cook and share food. From the plucking of the fruit in the opening chapters of Genesis, to the tree of life ‘bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month’ in the Book of Revelation, food …
Continue reading “A Path Through Advent with St Benedict (4)”
TUESDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT Isaiah 11:1-10Luke 10:21-24 A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse,a scion thrusts from his roots:on him the spirit of the Lord rests, a spirit of wisdom and insight,a spirit of counsel and power,a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Today Isaiah lays out …
Continue reading “A Path Through Advent with St Benedict (3)”
IST WEEK OF ADVENTMONDAY Isaiah 4:2-6Matthew 8:5-11 ‘Clothed then with faith and the performance of good works, let us set out on this way with the Gospel for our guide, that we may deserve to see him who has called us to his kingdom (1 Thess 2:12).’ Rule of St Benedict, Prologue Use the Scripture …
Continue reading “A Path Through Advent with St Benedict (2)”