On this third Sunday of Advent, at the darkest time of year in Northern lands, the keynote of our celebration is JOY. The entrance chant for Mass in the Roman liturgy bids us Gaudete, ‘Rejoice!’, taking the words from St Paul’s letter to the Philippians (4: 4). After repeating this exhortation, Paul explains why we […]
In northerly latitudes we are entering the darkest fortnight of the year when daylight hours are at their shortest. When we hear world news it is easy to see this naturally occurring cycle echoed in the manmade darkness of war and all kinds of human-induced suffering. But the power of grace is deepening as we […]
This year’s Advent wreath, confected with local greenery: holly, variegated and traditional, and pine branches, is a joy to behold. While so much of nature lies dormant, these cheerful evergreens are a powerful reminder of God’s abiding presence. The single candle for the first week of Advent is a kind of preview of the Paschal […]
‘Without hope you have nothing.’ So says Graham Lee, a Grand National winning jockey after a late fall from a horse in which he was paralyzed from the neck down. The Jubilee Year of Hope is ending. The celebration passes but hope itself, a theological virtue, does not end; along with faith and charity, it […]
Peacefully, around 10pm on Monday 13 October 2025, at Apley Grange Nursing Home, Harrogate, Mother Joanna Jamieson made her transitus. She was in her 91st year of age and the 68th of her monastic life. Please pray for her. Funeral arrangements to follow.
When we arrive at the beginning of October here at Stanbrook, Wass, we are aware Summer is definitely over; now we are into the beautiful season of Autumn. The trees are turning and the leaves are shouting their last hurrah, as they put on their final great show of colour, wearing their cloak of gold. […]
The Funeral of Dame Hilda Wood 27.02.1934-03.09.2025 Readings: Wisdom 3: 1-6, 9 Psalm 26/27 ‘The Lord is my light and my help’ 2 Cor 4: 14-5:1 John 6: 51-58 22 September 2025 Venus, shining low in the eastern sky, ushered in a perfect September day for today’s gathering to honour and pray for Dame Hilda […]
“Always be ready to give the reason for your hope” says Saint Peter. What is the reason? It is the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is there that we see the triumph of his lowliness, the victory he won for us as one of us, stripped powerless, abused, derided, to teach us that […]
In the early hours of 3 September 2025, our dear sister, Dame Hilda Wood, died peacefully at Apley Grange Nursing Home, Harrogate. She was in her 92nd year and the 69th of her monastic life. May she rest in peace. Details of the funeral to follow. A full obituary will appear in a future edition […]
All year we have been reflecting on the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ which Pope Francis proposed for this Jubilee Year, 2025. The feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord lends itself most gloriously to this theme as the Lord shows us his radiant face and form, even his clothes dazzling bright, as the hope of […]
ST BENEDICT: PATRON OF ALL EUROPE Context and history On 24 October 1964 Pope Paul VI declared St Benedict, ‘Patron of All Europe’ via the Apostolic Letter, Pacis Nuntius (‘Herald of Peace’). On that same day the Pope had re-consecrated St Benedict’s monastery of Monte Cassino which had been destroyed by Allied bombing in 1944 […]
We both reflected upon our day at Mount Grace Priory on our way home and without a doubt we both focussed in on how special it was to share midday prayer together in such a beautiful, peaceful and prayerful place. However, a ‘place’ is just that – it is a point of meeting; a location […]