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Jul 2007
St Ignatius and IT
31/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Our Broadband
connection has been down for a few days, making life
complicated as well as frustrating. One aspect of the
Jesuit story we don't often advert to is the way in
which Ignatius and his companions travelled almost
the whole of the known world and kept in touch
through the slow and difficult means of the time. The
archive they left to posterity is of incomparable
value. We find ourselves constantly apologising for
not being able to keep up with correspondence,
electronic and otherwise; but I wonder how much of
what we do write will prove to be worth preserving or
of interest to future generations. The office email
as art form or historical text? The blog entry as
cultural expression or mere pasar tiempo? At least we
have learned to be grateful when it all works!
Sabbath
28/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
God rested,
and so must we. The sabbath and its rest is one of
God's most beautiful gifts to us, both here and in
eternity. Rest in this sense does not imply mere
absence of activity but rather completeness, union, a
state of being, blessedness. O quanta qualia illa
sabbata!
Dies Non
26/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Very
disappointed that road and weather conditions
prevented our joining the congregation at St James'
Littlehampton last night, and wondering whether our
Garden Party should be rebilled as a Wader and Wellie
Event. We are having three days of relaxed choir
observance or
Dies Non to allow us more time
getting ready. The kitchen is inhabited by floury
shapes peering into the oven and muttering darkly
about batch cookery, while two forlorn souls battle
the wind and rain in the garden to hack back the
jungle which seems to have sprung up overnight. Mad
dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun, but mad
nuns seem to prefer midsummer monsoons. Strange,
rather.
Feast of St James
25/July/2007 Filed in: Chapter Talks
There is
something immensely appealing about St James. His
nickname, Boanerges, surely indicates that he had a
hot temper or, at the very least, a "definite"way of
speaking. Despite this, or perhaps even because of
it, together with his brother John he was one of
Jesus' closest companions, a privileged witness of
the Transfiguration and many other key events in Our
Lord's life. He had a pushy mother, too, and one
can't help wondering if there wasn't a little family
conference before she approached Jesus with the
request that her two sons should occupy the places of
honour in his kingdom. A quick-tempered man, then,
with a sharp tongue and a desire to get on in the
world, who met Jesus and was transformed, dying a
martyr's death. There must be hope for our
conversion, too.
A Parish Web Site
24/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Just put up a
trial web site for the parish at www.catholichendredandilsley.org.uk.
I hope they like the retro-Apple style. What one
leaves out is always as important as what one puts
in. I wonder how many people, idly surfing the
internet, would ever choose a parish web site as a
starting-point for exploring the big questions in
life. How many people would come to church on a
Sunday to find out why and what Catholics believe;
and would they be disappointed if they did? I suspect
the same is true of a monastery web site. It is
certainly true of the "average" monastery. How does
one communicate joy and hope, and the possibility of
intelligent faith?
Twiddling as Homes Flood
23/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Lots of
requests for prayer for those whose homes and
workplaces have been flooded and feeling vaguely
guilty at having spent most of the day in dry
comfort. Had I spent the day in damp discomfort, I
don't suppose anyone would have been helped. Guilt is
among the least useful of emotions. It makes one feel
"wrong" but rarely prompts one to do anything to
change things. As a time-waster it is second to none.
And wasting time, as Thomas Merton once remarked, is
a sin against poverty. Worse and worse.
Martha and Mary
22/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Slightly
distracted during all the heavy rain of the last few
days, with much clearing of gutters and unplugging of
drains. We are lucky. The garden is a wreck (so next
week's festivities are likely to be recast as "Wellie
and Wader Time"), but we have had no flooding of the
cellars as might have been expected. This morning is
suitably Wordsworthian, with stockdoves and fitful
gleams of sunshine over the noise of waters. I wonder
whether Noah awoke to such a morning as this after
his weeks in the ark. That was certainly a "Martha"
time, if ever there was one. Sunday ought to give
everyone a little more "Mary" time, but how many of
us really accept the need for sabbath in our
lives?
Printer at Play
19/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
" . . . words
strain,
Crack and sometimes break, under the burden,
Under the tension, slip, slide, perish,
Decay with imprecision, will not stay in place,
Will not stay still."
Thus, Eliot. No one who worships Jesus as Logos can be indifferent to words; and no one who cares about words can be completely indifferent to the letterforms of which words are made. So here is the monastic printer's doodle of the day. (If you like it, please respect the copyright as I might make a poster/card of it one day.)
Crack and sometimes break, under the burden,
Under the tension, slip, slide, perish,
Decay with imprecision, will not stay in place,
Will not stay still."
Thus, Eliot. No one who worships Jesus as Logos can be indifferent to words; and no one who cares about words can be completely indifferent to the letterforms of which words are made. So here is the monastic printer's doodle of the day. (If you like it, please respect the copyright as I might make a poster/card of it one day.)
Ethical Trading
18/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Lots of
questions from readers about Veilshop. The goods we
sell through our online shop are all manufactured in
Europe. We are assured that they are "responsibly
sourced", i.e. there is no exploitation of producers
of the raw materials nor of the finished articles.
Inevitably, therefore, we will never be able to match
the prices of mass retailers or supermarkets. As we
are selling in such small quantities, one wonders why
anyone should expect us to. There is a similar
problem with Veilpress. We offer a professional
design and print service and incur the same costs as
any other small company, yet some people assume that
as nuns we should work for nothing. That is not only
impossible, it is immoral. If Benedict were writing
his Rule today, instead of worrying about
overcharging, I suspect he would be cautioning
against undercutting in the hope of cornering the
market and the ills which flow from that. Ethical
trading has as much to do with value as with price,
and at its core must be a concern for honesty and
fairness all round.
Carmelite Martyrs
17/July/2007 Filed in: Chapter Talks
We keep today
the feast of the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne,
mindful that the Cambrai community shared their
prison and only narrowly escaped the guillotine. I
remember once being reprimanded for having said the
community "luckily" escaped execution. Clearly, I
undervalued the grace of martyrdom! In these days,
when the words "martyr" and "martyrdom" are most
commonly used as self-descriptions by suicide bombers
or associated with minor ailments, it is worth
reflecting on the Christian tradition of martyrdom.
The word means "witness" and the Church has always
acknowledged two types of martyrdom, the red
martyrdom of shedding one's blood for Christ, and the
white martyrdom of striving to live a holy life. Both
martyrdoms are a witness to what we believe and hold
most precious, and both require courage. We may not
seek red martyrdom, but we are all encouraged to live
holy lives. Living the monastic life
ought
to be a
powerful witness to the primacy of God. If it also
happens to be something of a "martyrdom" in any other
sense — tough.
The Good Samaritan
14/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Sunday's
Gospel prompts so many thoughts. The Good Samaritan
is praised for his neighbourliness, for doing what he
could, even though he could not be sure that the
wounded man would recover. Today's podcast reminds us
that the whole universe can be sustained by our
cooperating with God in ways that by themselves seem
weak and insignificant.
The Trivial and the Tremendous
13/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Busy lifting
what has survived of our potato crop, always an
enjoyable actvity, and an excellent way of postponing
more difficult tasks. Spent the rest of the morning
adding new items to our online shop and musing on the
English sense of humour which does not always
translate well, as our email "postbag" testifies.
Finally, abandoned trivia for the tremendous, in the
literal sense of the word: trying to write letters of
sympathy to friends who have lost people dear to
them. Impossible to forget that bleak, bleak line of
Racine's, which he puts into the mouth of Mithridate,
"Un seul être vous manque, et tout le monde est
depeuplé." No point in trying to dodge that with
words of conventional piety; but we can pray that the
Holy Spirit, the Comforter, will pour his balm on the
wounded hearts and battered spirits of those
afflicted by suffering and death.
On Being Nice to Others
12/July/2007 Filed in: Chapter Talks
Up early
yesterday and an early morning drive through the New
Forest. Sang Lauds to a few startled ponies, then
discovered I/we had forgotten the coffee flask — so
our "festive" St Benedict's Day breakfast was
suitably sixth century. No recriminations, just
laughter and apologies all round: chapter 74, On
Being Nice to Others, in action. That missing chapter
of the Rule is worth pondering. Benedict gives us so
many helps towards community living: offering
opportunities for saying sorry and making amends when
things go wrong, ritualising the courtesies of
everyday life so that different backgrounds and
temperaments cause as little friction as possible.
But we often fall short of making community "a good
place to be". We know perfectly well how we can
observe every precept of the Rule yet miss its point.
It is generally easy to do
things for
others, sometimes, alas, with an inner glow of
beatific self-sacrifice and, dare I say it,
self-satisfaction; but to overlook shortcomings and
accept inconveniences with good grace is much harder.
It can be harder still to acknowledge another's good
points; hardest of all to hear their praises being
sung by someone else. We need generosity of spirit to
practise being genuinely nice to others.
St Benedict's Eve
10/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
St Benedict's
Day tomorrow, but we shall be spending part of it
with our Accountant, so there has been much burning
of midnight oil to ensure that our financial records
are in apple-pie order. For a small community such as
ours "compliance" and "best practice" can make quite
heavy demands, especially when important liturgical
feasts coincide with the need to make certain returns
or undertake specific activities. (Dear Lord, don't
let anyone inspect the house until we've got that
last smoke detector fitted over the far stair…) As
Benedictines we customarily work in our cells (rooms)
rather than in dedicated offices, so finding room for
all the files can be a bit of a headache. Perhaps it
is as well that our clothing can be comfortably
accommodated on two hooks and a small drawer. I like
to think St Benedict would approve of that, if not of
the deep litter of paper that seems to cover every
available surface, including most of the
floor.
07.07.07
07/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Pope
Benedict's
Motu Proprio, published today, will
probably have a mixed reception. There is nothing
like liturgy for revealing the tiger in the tamest
monastic mouse. None of us here has any difficulty in
praying the Mass whatever form it is given, and that,
I have come to realise, is a great freedom. We all
have our personal preferences, even prejudices; but
whatever the Church has approved, the community
reverently and gratefully accepts. Today's prayer
podcast is a reminder that we must look beyond the
accidentals, so to say, and embrace the love at the
heart of all.
God and Mammon
06/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Sweating all
day over an online gift shop (do, please, have a look
at Veilshop
if you haven't already done so and keep an eye out
for additions to the range, most of which will be
tasteful by comparison). Feeling faintly queasy about
it. It's the old, old problem of monasteries needing
to engage with Mammon if they are to continue serving
God. No doubt the disapproving emails will follow
thick and fast. At least the quality of the products
on which we are putting our designs is second to
none, and anyone who makes a purchase will have the
satisfaction of knowing they are helping to support a
number of enterprises which are truly worthwhile.
Next set of designs to be uploaded feature this
lovely village of East Hendred. Quite safe to give
one's Great Aunt or Uncle!
Vocation
05/July/2007 Filed in: Chapter Talks
This feast of
Our Lady of Consolation will always be precious to us
by association, and our prayers today will, in a
special way, be with the community at Stanbrook. It
is a good day to reflect on our vocation both as
individuals and as a community. A vocation isn't
something one either "has" or doesn't "have" (like
measles): each of us is
a vocation,
uniquely called by God to be a part of the Body of
Christ that no one else ever has been or ever will
be. Our community, too, is a vocation, called to give
glory to God as no other community ever has or will
do. We should be awed by the grandeur of our calling
and encouraged by the fact that God chooses such weak
and wobbly creatures as ourselves. What Hopkins said
of Mary is true even of us. Like her, our community
"This one work has to do —
Let all God's glory through."
Let us pray that we may do our work well.
"This one work has to do —
Let all God's glory through."
Let us pray that we may do our work well.
In a Monastery Garden
04/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
I was trying
to solve a problem and looked out into the garden for
inspiration. A tangle of sweet peas laden with heavy
drops of rain caught my eye. Sweet peas are my
favourite flowers, but at that moment their sombre
purples and mauves seemed as glum as my mood. Then
the sun made a brief appearance and everything was
transformed. The flowers shimmered and shone, the
drops of rain diamond points of light among the
petals. Nothing in the garden had actually changed,
only my attitude. I think that was God's homily to me
for the day. The last few days have been quite
demanding for the community and we are all just a tad
grumpy, so it wasn't really by accident that vases of
deep mauve sweet peas appeared in the oratory and the
dining room at midday.
The Grace of Tolerance
02/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
I do not
understand why people should want to murder one
another, although Benedict did not find it
unthinkable even in the monastery (see RB4) Recent
events in London and Glasgow and the latest
statistics from Iraq (a reduction in civilian deaths
to 1200 for the month of June lauded as an
improvement?)
certainly concentrate the mind. Tolerance gets a bad
press, being too often confused with indifference;
but it is surely one of the marks of a civilized
society and yes, it does demand effort and
self-sacrifice. Had Chesterton been alive today,
perhaps he would have found the grace of God in
tolerance as well as courtesy.
Challoner's Chapel
01/July/2007 Filed in: Jottings
Mass this evening at Milton, where we provided the Schola. The chapel is probably the oldest post-Reformation Catholic chapel still in use and has a lovely atmosphere. Good glass from Steventon, and some surprising panels depicting the legend of St Julian; contemporary candlesticks and altar furnishings (how did they survive the Victorian era unscathed, to say nothing of the destructiveness of more recent times) and the chance to see Challoner's vestments in use rather than preserved behind glass.