Introduction After finishing the Gospel of Luke, I began this month by reading its companion volume, the Acts of the Apostles. However, with Solemn Profession rapidly approaching (it is this week) I turned to one of my favourite books of the Bible – the Gospel of John. For this post rather than give an overview […]
At Holborn, London on 9 August, 1641, Fr AUGUSTINE BAKER, Benedictine monk, priest, spiritual writer and prayer mentor of our foundresses. Born in Abergavenny, Wales on 9 December 1575 into a large family which had outwardly conformed to the state religion, at the age of about twenty-five David Baker was crossing a narrow bridge above […]
Traditionally, at Stanbrook, the junior nun who is approaching the time of making her solemn vows for life composes her own prayer which is distributed to family, friends and other monasteries throughout the world in order to ask their prayers. The prayer is traditionally translated into Latin which reflects the universality of the Church. The […]
Introduction I have continued to read the Gospel of Luke over the past month, and I am still studying this book, along with the Acts of the Apostles, in my Scripture class. While weighing up what to write for this post, I began mentally to list what themes are commonly attributed to Luke’s Gospel: prayer, […]
Oblate Pilgrimage to Ripon Cathedral On the eve of the Feast of St Benedict and at the height of the heatwave, a party of Stanbrook oblates set out for the cool interior of Ripon Cathedral. The main focus of our pilgrimage was to visit the crypt built by St Wilfrid (634-710) and dedicated in 672, […]
We are grateful to Adrienne Frazer who has sent in the following list of books: in her own words, ‘an eclectic selection that I love, the majority of which I’ve read many times’. Great Novels A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute Two adventures in one book with such positive main characters and romantic too. Milkman […]
Introduction After finishing the Letter to the Ephesians, I have moved on to the Gospel of Luke for my lectio. This choice is to complement my study – we are looking at Luke’s Gospel and Acts in my Scripture classes. All the Gospels have their own perspective and texture. When I think of Luke’s Gospel […]
On Saturday 13 June the Stanbrook community, oblates and friends met for the annual Study Day. The theme was chosen to mark the tenth anniversary of the Dedication of the Abbey Church on 6 September 2025. In the morning Dom Edmund Wales OSB, monk of Ampleforth Abbey, gave a richly illustrated talk on Roman Basilicas […]
Year of the Book We are delighted to have received several responses to our appeal for Year of the Book entries: a book which has changed your life; maybe your first book or one that you return to often. We shall be sharing these in the coming months on the website and in Stanbrook Benedictines. […]
GOLDEN JUBILEE OF DAME BENEDICTA WHITE Saturday 16 May 2026 A glorious May morning dawned, in contradiction to the grey skies predicted by the weather forecast. There was also, at last, some warmth in the sun to cheer the fifty or so who gathered at Stanbrook to celebrate Dame Benedicta White’s fifty years in the […]
Introduction After the Easter Octave I returned to my Lent Book, St Paul’s letter to the Romans, for my lectio, reading it this time in the RSV translation in a study bible which gives lots of insight into the context and meaning of St Paul’s words and message. Looking back, I found that I was […]
As well as being the Lunar Year of the Horse, this is also the Year of the Book, or, more accurately, ‘The National Year of Reading’, an initiative by the National Literacy Trust to celebrate and encourage reading. Studies show the urgency of such an initiative: a YouGov poll in March 2026 showed that 40% […]