Reflections from Turvey Abbey
John 1:1-18 By the time we reach the Seventh day of the Christmas Octave my heart and my mind have been invited to move in so many different directions. It is quite a challenge. So today I value the familiarity of the Prologue of John’s Gospel. The rhythm and the repetition of the words still …
Continue reading “Seventh Day within the Octave of Christmas”
Luke 2:36-40 I have always loved the prophetess Anna. There is an air of mystery about her as I try to imagine what it would mean to never leave the Temple. Anna has a single focus: she’s there to serve God until her last breath. She stands in a tradition of men and women whose …
Luke 2:41-52 There are a myriad of biblical threads which could be traced in today’s Liturgy of the Word: blessing, promise, mutual obedience in family life, faithfulness to the Law, joy and sorrow. Add to that the opening Collect and the other prayers of the Mass and the picture which emerges is something a little …
Christ is here, Emmanuel!Majesty so mild:Wisdom dwells with grace and truth,Hidden in this child. Here is God’s eternal Son,Now to us made known,By the Spirit’s love conceived,Mary’s flesh his own. Born of God’s creative will,Christ is Light from Light,Come to rescue Adam’s sons,Waiting in the night. Father, Son and Spirit blest:Heav’n their glory sings,While the …
We have journeyed throughout Advent with the people of Israel. We have followed their joys and sorrows. With them we have held fast to the promise that out of desolation God will bring hope and joy. We have attuned our ears to God’s word. We have listened to words of comfort and of challenge. In …
Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24Luke 1:57-66 Liturgy of the Word O Emmanuel, king and lawgiverdesire of the nations, Saviour of all people.Come and set us free, Lord our God. O Emmanuel O come, O come, and be our God-with-usO long-sought With-ness for a world without,O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken …
YOUNG MEN This Scripture verse always takes me back to my early 20s and memories of the combinations of things that I just took in my stride. Suddenly falling exhausted was quite a rarity. It’s an entirely different matter now. The context for Isaiah’s words is the promised return from Exile in Babylon, a theme …
CHRISTΧρίστος ‘This is how Jesus CHRIST came to be born.’ Matthew begins his gospel with a lengthy genealogy which requires great concentration, whether you are listening to it or reading it aloud. It’s not unlike having a complicated story plot explained or trying to work out how you are related to a distant relative. The …
Liturgy of the Word 1 Sam 1:24-28Luke 1:46-56 O King of all the nations,the only joy of every human heart;O keystone of the mighty arch of man,come and save the creatureyou fashioned out of dust. O Rex Gentium O King of our desire whom we despise,King of the nations never on the throne,Unfound foundation, cast-off …
WILDERNESS Let the WILDERNESS and the dry-lands exult,let the wasteland rejoice and bloom,let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil,let it rejoice and sing for joy. Over the years I have had a number of friends from missionary Religious Orders. One of them in particular brought this passage of Isaiah alive by talking about the …