‘Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.’ (Ch. 72, On Good Zeal) St Benedict began his life of faith in the small town of Norcia, just outside of Rome. As a young boy he was sent to Rome to study: he found himself unhappy there …
Monthly Archives: August 2023
Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 16:13-20 The whole of Scripture charts the call of God and humanity’s response. We see this in the major events that shaped the faith of the people of Israel. God’s plan inches forward, with many twists and turns along the way. At every turn God waits for a response. Everything is played out through …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (10)
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 …
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 …