I start my pre-novitiate retreat tonight. I will be on retreat until The Feast of the Annunciation. Then I will receive my habit. Please pray for me.
God Bless!!
Pax.
Cyprian Michael Tansi Local BBC Leicester
10 years ago
17 March 2010
16 March 2010
Hereford Cathedral
Everybody should go to Hereford Cathedral. It is beautiful. It is the home to the 13th Century Mappa Mundi (Map of the World) and the Chain Library. And it holds an even greater treasure. Hospitality. Not just the "Have a nice day" stuff, but genuine hospitality. The staff there want to make sure you enjoy your visit.
AND ENTERANCE IS FREE!!! With begrudging understanding, most big Anglican churches have an entrance fee when a worship service is not going on. Not at Hereford. God Bless them.
If you have the opportunity, attend the Choral Evensong. One can even sit in the quire (choir) and follow along with the choristers.
The city of Hereford is beautiful, as well. It truly is worth a visit.
Mediaeval Madonna and Child
Interior shot of the Norman Arcade
The Cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Ethelbert the King is situated near the banks of the River Wye.
AND ENTERANCE IS FREE!!! With begrudging understanding, most big Anglican churches have an entrance fee when a worship service is not going on. Not at Hereford. God Bless them.
If you have the opportunity, attend the Choral Evensong. One can even sit in the quire (choir) and follow along with the choristers.
The city of Hereford is beautiful, as well. It truly is worth a visit.
Mediaeval Madonna and Child
Interior shot of the Norman Arcade
The Cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Ethelbert the King is situated near the banks of the River Wye.
Belmont Abbey
On Saturday the novitiate went to Hereford. Our first stop was to beautiful Belmont Abbey. Benedictine hospitality was up to its normal high standards. We also received a grand tour which lead us to the top of the church tower and throughout the monastery. If you believe that you are called to the monastic life, but you would like active apostolates, too, Belmont Abbey is definitely worth a look.
Belmont has just restored their Pipe Organ. Our Br. Rafael got to try it out for a while.
The restored reredos
Stained Glass windows of St. Wilfred and (our) St. Bernard
The Abbey of St. Michael and All the Angels.
14 March 2010
Fellow bloggers beware
Lately I have been getting comments from either China or Taiwan: sometimes in English, sometimes in Chinese. There are hypertext links to "adult" web-sites on these comments.
So,my fellow bloggers. If you get unusual post, make sure there are no links to other websites.
For the rest of you. Later today, I hope to post details and pics of Belmont Abbey and Hereford Cathedral.
God Bless!
So,my fellow bloggers. If you get unusual post, make sure there are no links to other websites.
For the rest of you. Later today, I hope to post details and pics of Belmont Abbey and Hereford Cathedral.
God Bless!
12 March 2010
Good News
I received some very good news today. My request to become a novice has been accepted by the Abbot's council. Please God I will be clothed on The Feast of the Annunciation, 25 March, 2010.
Thank you, everyone, for your prayers. Please keep praying for me.
God's Blessing and Peace to you all!
Thank you, everyone, for your prayers. Please keep praying for me.
God's Blessing and Peace to you all!
04 March 2010
Grace of the Present Moment
Today at Mount St.Bernard we had our first truly Bona Fide sunrise during Lauds. As we turned to the east to sing the Sub Tuum the windows were golden and the statue of the Madonna and Child was silhouetted. It was quite beautiful. Right after Lauds we meet briefly for Chapter and then we have roughly a half-hour until Mass.
So I went out for a brief stroll after Chapter. The Sun was bright, the sky was clear and very blue. It was a bit chilly and there was a light frosty dew on the lawn. The flowers are beginning to poke their shoots above the soil and there are velvety buds on the trees.
This lovely scene gave me pause for thought. I am quite focused on my upcoming "clothing". God Willing it is 21 days away, not that I'm counting (right!) The thought of being clothed, of canonically becoming part of the community, of having a role in the community besides manual labour and washing up after dinner every other week, occupies a lot of my time. Even prayer time.
One of the priest here warned me that I should be looking for the grace of the present moment because there is always another thing to look forward to. After clothing, there is simple profession two years later. Then solemn profession three years after that. Then maybe ordination to the diaconate, the priesthood, etc. etc.
Trying to be aware of the grace that God gives us every day, is not as fun as looking forward to milestones, but it is still quite important. I find it easiest, if that is the right way to phrase it, after I receive Holy Communion. For me that is always a quiet and often intense time for me. So I invite you to look for the grace of the present moment too.
May God's grace and peace be with you always.
So I went out for a brief stroll after Chapter. The Sun was bright, the sky was clear and very blue. It was a bit chilly and there was a light frosty dew on the lawn. The flowers are beginning to poke their shoots above the soil and there are velvety buds on the trees.
This lovely scene gave me pause for thought. I am quite focused on my upcoming "clothing". God Willing it is 21 days away, not that I'm counting (right!) The thought of being clothed, of canonically becoming part of the community, of having a role in the community besides manual labour and washing up after dinner every other week, occupies a lot of my time. Even prayer time.
One of the priest here warned me that I should be looking for the grace of the present moment because there is always another thing to look forward to. After clothing, there is simple profession two years later. Then solemn profession three years after that. Then maybe ordination to the diaconate, the priesthood, etc. etc.
Trying to be aware of the grace that God gives us every day, is not as fun as looking forward to milestones, but it is still quite important. I find it easiest, if that is the right way to phrase it, after I receive Holy Communion. For me that is always a quiet and often intense time for me. So I invite you to look for the grace of the present moment too.
May God's grace and peace be with you always.
17 February 2010
Ash Wednesday
It has been a while since my last post, and I apologize for that. I have had a lot on my mind -- in a very good way.
Back in January I had mentioned a little bit about our community retreat. I must say I did find it funny that so many people asked me where we went for the retreat. I may have hurt a few feelings when I said, "What part of 'Enclosed Monastery' do you not understand?" Mea Culpa
The retreat was led by Mother Nikola, the Abbess of Minster Abbey near Canterbury in Kent. She gave two talk a day for a week. Most of her talks were about life in choir. Physically, The choir is two sets of wooden seats (stalls) that face each other across the church. Choir is where monks and nuns come together to pray the Divine Office. It is a major part of the life of any monk or nun, and the raison d'être for us that are enclosed.
The choir is a microcosm of what is going on in one's community life and a macrocosm of what is going on in one's own mind. With a little bit of introspection one can learn a lot about themselves and about the health of the community around them. Community life here is healthy. People do not absent themselves from the Divine Office or Mass. I have seen that in other communities, and it seems to be very painful. And how people responded to others' errors is also pretty good. Often, we just get on with the office; once in a while there is a laugh; but, I have never seen sneers, "tsks", or the like.
How I respond to the people around me says more about me than them: The other day I was quite frustrated with one of my brothers. It was a solemnity. So the hymn was in one book, the antiphons and responsories were in three parts of another book, plus there is the psalter. This brother was flipping back and forth in his book trying to find his place. I tried to assist, but he resisted my help. [How dare he!] After the Office, I stayed in church for a few minutes to pray out my frustration. I feel the Lord really spoke to me. He let me know that my frustration was with myself [long story] and my trying to control the situation with my brother was just winding me up tighter. If I stopped trying to control the situation, that my frustration would go away. The next couple times he was lost with his books, I offered help. Once he let me help and once he did not. Both times I went with the flow, and both times I felt better.
Mother Nikola also spoke about the manner in which we sing the psalms. One side says one stanza, and the other side says the next, and we go back and forth until the psalm is concluded with the "Glory be." Mother Nikola reminded us that we are not taking turns, but we are sharing the Word of God between us. We give a stanza, and we receive a stanza. I have found this most helpful. Now when I get distracted during the office, I remind myself to either "Give" or "Receive" with each stanza.
And now we begin the holy season of Lent. This year, instead of the abbot assigning a book, we have been told to choose a book on the Venerable John Henry Newman. As well as spiritual reading it is our preparation for his upcoming beatification. I do not know which book I will read: whether is is by Newman or about Newman. But I will keep you posted.
God's Blessings and Peace to you all.
Back in January I had mentioned a little bit about our community retreat. I must say I did find it funny that so many people asked me where we went for the retreat. I may have hurt a few feelings when I said, "What part of 'Enclosed Monastery' do you not understand?" Mea Culpa
The retreat was led by Mother Nikola, the Abbess of Minster Abbey near Canterbury in Kent. She gave two talk a day for a week. Most of her talks were about life in choir. Physically, The choir is two sets of wooden seats (stalls) that face each other across the church. Choir is where monks and nuns come together to pray the Divine Office. It is a major part of the life of any monk or nun, and the raison d'être for us that are enclosed.
The choir is a microcosm of what is going on in one's community life and a macrocosm of what is going on in one's own mind. With a little bit of introspection one can learn a lot about themselves and about the health of the community around them. Community life here is healthy. People do not absent themselves from the Divine Office or Mass. I have seen that in other communities, and it seems to be very painful. And how people responded to others' errors is also pretty good. Often, we just get on with the office; once in a while there is a laugh; but, I have never seen sneers, "tsks", or the like.
How I respond to the people around me says more about me than them: The other day I was quite frustrated with one of my brothers. It was a solemnity. So the hymn was in one book, the antiphons and responsories were in three parts of another book, plus there is the psalter. This brother was flipping back and forth in his book trying to find his place. I tried to assist, but he resisted my help. [How dare he!] After the Office, I stayed in church for a few minutes to pray out my frustration. I feel the Lord really spoke to me. He let me know that my frustration was with myself [long story] and my trying to control the situation with my brother was just winding me up tighter. If I stopped trying to control the situation, that my frustration would go away. The next couple times he was lost with his books, I offered help. Once he let me help and once he did not. Both times I went with the flow, and both times I felt better.
Mother Nikola also spoke about the manner in which we sing the psalms. One side says one stanza, and the other side says the next, and we go back and forth until the psalm is concluded with the "Glory be." Mother Nikola reminded us that we are not taking turns, but we are sharing the Word of God between us. We give a stanza, and we receive a stanza. I have found this most helpful. Now when I get distracted during the office, I remind myself to either "Give" or "Receive" with each stanza.
And now we begin the holy season of Lent. This year, instead of the abbot assigning a book, we have been told to choose a book on the Venerable John Henry Newman. As well as spiritual reading it is our preparation for his upcoming beatification. I do not know which book I will read: whether is is by Newman or about Newman. But I will keep you posted.
God's Blessings and Peace to you all.
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