Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent

Text ©brittarnhild and Sr. Miriam

Images © Turvey Abbey

When I decided to write about lent in my Norwegian blog this year, I sent an email to my dear friend, Sr. Miriam at Turvey Abbey, the monastery north of London where I have been several times, asking her to share some of her experiences of how they celebrate lent in the monastery. A few days ago I got Sr. Miriam´s post. I am going to translate it into Norwegian and post it on Blåklokkeveien, but I have also asked Sr. Miriam´s permission to share her original English words here with you.

 

The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent.
Rule of St Benedict Chapter 49

I’ve been living according to the Rule of St Benedict for more than 20 years and each year these words both challenge and inspire me. They are tough words. These words were written with a particular community in mind, a community of ordinary human beings who were trying their best to seek God in a monastery. In the rest of the chapter St Benedict explains how he understands the season of Lent, he says; ‘we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times.’

 

During Lent, one of the ways in which we are helped to ‘wash away the negligences’ is by listening with our whole hearts to God’s word in communal and personal prayer. During Lent we listen to the Book of Exodus. I always look forward to this. I find myself in the story and I am challenged to allow God to provide ‘the manna, the water and the quails’ that I need for my monastic journey.

St Benedict recommended that his monks should be given a book to read during Lent. We still keep this practice in the monastery. This year I am reading The Didache by Tom O’Loughlin. (The Didache is an early Christian text, thought to be written in the First Century. It is like a ‘handbook’ for Christian living. I am enjoying the academic style and am finding much to think about. Another book that is proving to be a great spiritual tool for me is: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo. Marie Kondo is an expert in de-cluttering and her method is potentially life changing. During Lent I have tackled various areas in my room and the results are wonderful!

During Lent we also have a little extra time for prayer and creative activities. I like to try a new craft or to work on an on-going project. This year I have been inspired by ideas I have found on Pinterest for using old magazines.

I made a cross to send to a friend who works as a teacher in London.

It is traditional to fast during Lent. In practice, this can be rather hard to arrange in a monastery. We are of varying ages and have very different metabolisms. We try to eat simply and to enjoy what we have. Of course, there are several feast days in our calendar and so we really appreciate something special on those days.

At the heart of Lent is the desire to have God at the centre of our lives. Our time spent in prayer, or trying to fast, or in doing some small act of kindness brings us closer to the God we seek and to the new light of Easter. At the end of the journey of Lent we are ready to sing with St Augustine, ‘We are an EASTER people and ALLELUIA is our song.’

 

Thank you Sr. Miriam for your thoughts and thanks for letting me share them here.
I had to laugh when you write that you read Marie Kondo´s book though. I have never read it, but read about it in a newspaper a few weeks ago. And wrote this post:

Å faste fra eller å faste til

May be I should read the book, and get some new ideas myself :-)

 

By the way, your cross is beautiful. Next time I come to Turvey you must teach mw how to make it.

 

 

A Walk in the Abbey Park

@brittarnhild

While Norwegians, at least in my corner of Norway, continue to wake up with fresh snow, which luckily melts during the day, I am walking in the monastery park of Turvey Abbey.

Most of the time I have the park all by myself.
Well, me and the birds that is.

All through the park there are old, worn benches. From time to time I sit down. I read from the book I´ve brought. I write and draw in my journal. I do some work writing and thinking.

Or I just listen to the birds.

 

The day I was kidnapped

@brittarnhild

It was on my second day in the monastery. I was just finishing my lunch and was planning to have a quiet afternoon, walking in the abbey park, may be do some reading, some writing and some praying. Then the door to the room where I was served my meals opened, and one of the sisters came in with a woman I had never seen before.

"Hi, I am Lindsay, one of your blog readers. Do you have some spare time, or do you want to be alone?" Of course I had some spare time. Of course I wanted to be alone, but more than that I was ready to spend a couple of hours with a blogging friend.

We walked in the Turvey Abbey park together, both of us with our cameras, both of us with our life stories. 

Then Lindsay invited me for tea over in Emmaus Village Carlton, where we continued to share bits and pieces from our lives, and I learned about the Emmaus project for homeless. I had never heard of the Emmaus project before, but as I walked through one house after another with second hand stuff, learning about how much it means that we re-use, that we take care, that we use second hand when we can, I was amazed what this project is doing

And I never get tired of singing out aload - the blog world is an amazing world, with friends and friends to be around every corner.

You can read more about Emmaus Village Carlton here

And you find Lindsay´s blog here

 

 

Lindsay took this photo of me and posted it on her facebook page :-)

 

 

Day #something……..Turvey Abbey

@brittarnhild

I am back in London, after three days in lovely, peaceful Turvey Abbey. Yes, I am back in London, though in my mind I am still walking the secret pathways in the park which is surrounding the abbey.

 

Last time I spent time at Turvey Abbey it was May, and the woods where coloured completely blue by the bluebells. This time I found quite another colour palette.

Though still just as beautiful.

 I walked in the park from early morning until the light faded, and though the pathway is only a short one, it never felt the same.

 

And if it started to feel the samen, I just turned around and walked the other way back.

 

The charming greenhouse at Turvey Abbey

text and images britt-arnhild

Afternoons and nights in The Blue Garden, they continue to serve as my sanctuary.
Yesterday weeding was on my list,
my poor old body........yes, I can feel it in my muscles today.
The peonies declared that they love me though :-)

While my own garden keep on growing,
my mind wanders south west to Turvey Abbey 
and the remote corner of the garden with the greenhouse,
the fruit trees and the vegetables and herb.

.

The blue irises were in full bloom during my stay.
So many different flowers are my favorites,
irises are among them.

Sister Esther is the sister in charge of the greenhouse.

 

In my mind I am back at Turvey Abbey,
working together with sister Esther in the green house,
in silence,
in peace.

Flowers,
growth.

To be an apprentice of The Gardener of Life

The novel I dream to write, the novel I have been working on for several years,
the novel which is finished and perfect in my mind....

.......is a lot about growth,
flowers,
gardens.

 

One day I will take you with my into its world.

What would you do?

text and image britt-arnhild

What would you do if you had an English Cottage all by yourself for a few days. With a livingroom taken out of a Beatrix Potter fairy tale, with magnolia, roses and wisteria blooming outside in the cottage garden. With a blessed silence and with all the time you wanted at hand?

I know exactly what I would do. Work on the novel I started last year.........and which might be finished in a ten year´s time.

 

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And, well......that is actually what I am doing.......

....when I don´t walk in the Turvey Abbey garden, say prayers with the nuns, eat or sleep.

Internet connection! Unbelieveable!

 

Today´s retreat is over, and I have given myself another kind of "retreat".......a night visit to the local pub, The Three Fyshes, where they have free WiFi.
Ha, I couldn´t stay away from blogging longer than......was it around 30 hours?

Back at Christmas time I got an email from Sr.Miriam. She is a nun at Turvey Abbey north of London, and she told me that she, at least one other nun and many other people she knew of, are all reading my blog.
Long story short - we started to write a few emails back and forth, we became friends on facebook......and here I am, doing my own spiritual retreat at Turvey Abbey.

I am having very good days. Days for my heart, my mind, my body. Experiences which will be share with my diary only, or with my closests (Terje, I am looking forward to the weekend).

But a few photo from paradice can be share with the world of course.

Not difficult to sense why I love this place, is it?

Here is a  link to Turvey Abbey

My times in Your hand

For a few days I am on a retreat, without internet connection.

See you later!

 

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I already have pockets full of tales to tell......