Reflections from Turvey Abbey
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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT Isaiah 2:1-5Matthew 24:36-44 Each year as we celebrate the liturgical cycle, I am grateful for the opportunity to take stock and refocus my mind and heart. We begin Advent with Isaiah’s prophetic vision of all nations gathering in peace. Isaiah invites us to imagine the peoples of the world being restored …
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Welcome to A Path Through Advent with St Benedict. I’ll be using the Advent Liturgy of the Word as a framework for our reflection. I’ll choose a theme from the readings and relate this to my experience of living the Rule of St Benedict. You don’t need to have any prior knowledge of the Rule. …
2 Samuel 5:1-3Colossians 1:12-20Luke 23:35-43 News that King Charles may ‘trim down’ his Coronation service has prompted me to think about Kingship and what it might mean for our world today. Is it an outmoded concept? Is it something which becomes redefined with each new monarch? I don’t get very far with these ‘earthly’ questions …
Luke 21:5-19 Throughout the story of our salvation the people of God have searched for and longed to be in the presence of God. They have sensed the sacred and marked it in physical ways by the erecting of stones and the building of altars. When Solomon builds the Temple it’s the fruit of the …
Luke 20:27-38 Since the death of Br Herbert Kaden, a monk of the Turvey communities, and the celebration of All Saints and All Souls, I have been turning round in my heart and mind what I understand about our passing from this world to the next. I have been put back in touch with my …