Christmastime at our Abbey.

Today is the last day of 2007 so i thought it was once again time for an update.  This, my first Christmas in community has been really wonderful and a very happy time for me.

After first vespers of Christmas Sr Mary Magdalen and I moved the screens hiding the Christmas crib so that it could be seen. We then had our meal and went up to bed for a few hours before Matins at 11.15 which led into Midnight Mass. This was very simple and beautiful with a great sense of joy. At the end we all met in the Chapter room where we greeted each other beginning with Mother Abbess, then we had hot beef tea and went up to bed for a few hours before morning office and Mass again.

 On Christmas day we came to breakfast and found a large scented candle at each of our places – a gift from a friend of the community, Chris – and a bag of goodies given by our Oblate Edna and friend Audrey. We have lit the candles at our evening meal each day and the bags which  were full of individually wrapped things such as gardening gloves, hand cream and socks gave us lots of enjoyment. Later in the day we came together for festive recreation with tea, cakes and crackers.

On the feast of the Holy Innocents, we in the noviceship took over recreation by holding a treasure hunt. The sisters were randomly split into two teams who then had to answer and find 6 clues hidden over the abbey, the first team back won. There was a lot of laughter and the brains were working hard to work out where to go next. It is quite a challenge in itself just writing the clues as we had no idea how hard or easy they would be. They were all found and presented to Mother Prioress who will give out prizes at Epiphany. Yesterday we also hosted recreation in the noviceship at the top of the house. We provided tea and cakes, music and a jigsaw and we all had a nice informal, relaxing time together.

Over the last few days we have had two women discerning with us, please pray for them as they seek to find God’s will.

This last week has been a lot of fun, it is also exhausting having so much free time and personally i can’t wait to get back to ‘normal’ which is a surpize to me.

I also have the excitement of my Clothing drawing near – it is now only three and a half weeks away, my habit is being made and should soon be completed. Another wonderful ‘God-incidence’ i have just discoverd is that in our diocesan prayer cycle for vocations, our community is being prayed for on the 25th January – my Clothing day. We will have a full day of adoration for it so we will have my festive tea on the following day instead.

That’s all for now, until next year. I wish you all a very Happy, Healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year, with peace and blessings, Adele.

Christmas is a coming – almost here

Christmas is almost upon us so here is a quick run down of our last week.

As you might imagine this last week of Advent has been very busy with preparations for Christmas. Each day we have had a longer choir practice going over the Great O’s and all of the antiphons – some of them are very difficult so have taken some time to get right!

Our Abbey has become very green and aparkly all over as we all began to decorate. As much of the decoration is cut from our trees the smell is wonderful too. The cloisters have cards strung up in one section, in another there is fir and red candles. The refectory has a crib on the sill will it’s own tree and tinsel. Our work room (community room) looks lovely with strings holding cards, a large tree which has Chelsea’s gifts from friends underneath it and greenery around the wall and ceiling. Sr Davina made some small felt stockings which are hanging across Our Lady’s alcove and holding small pieces of chocolate.

 Sr Mary Magdalen and I have decorated the noviceship with fir, pine and pine cones and we had the joy of doing the Christmas Crib in chapel. This has been hidden behind screens for the last few days but we took them away after Vespers earlier in preparation for Matins beginning at 11.30pm followed by Midnight Mass.

We have also been busy with the cleaning. Putting up decorations makes lots of mess which has to be cleared up but it is worth it – of course there are still the usual jobs like cooking and laundry to do too.

We have had lots of lovely cards and gifts from our friends and family and will enjoy them over the next two weeks as we take a sort of holiday. Over this time we relax, spend more time together informally and may chat and meet up with each other as we please. Our prayer still goes on but we do celebrate our Saviours birth with great joy and we aim to have some fun too

   We would like to wish you all

         a very Happy Christmas and a joyful and

             blessed New Year.

               thankyou for blogging with us,

Alleluia Amen  – from all of us at Colwich Abbey.

More Great O’s.

I am a bit late with these as we reach the last one today, but here they are:

 20th December- O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel:qui aperis et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et edu vinctum de domo carceris, sedentum in tenebris et umbra mortis. Amen.

O Key of David  and Sceptre of the House of Israel, who opens and no one can shut,who shuts and no one can open; come and bring the prisoners forth out of the prison cell, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. Amen.

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21st December: O Oriens   splendour lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis.

O Morning Star  splendour of the light eternal and bright sun of righteousness; come and bring light to those who dwell in darkness and walk in the shadow of death. Amen.

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 22nd December: O Rex Gentium et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti. Amen.

O King of the Nations,  you alone can fulful their desires; cornerstones, binding all together, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust of the earth. Amen.

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 23rd December- O Emmanuel Rex et legifer noster, expectatio gentium, et Salvator e arum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster. Amen.

O Emmanuel  our King and Lawgiver, hope of the nations and their saviour: come and save us Lord Our God. Amen.

O Radix Jesse

O Radix Jesse  qui stas in signum populorum super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

O Root of Jesse  standing as a sign among the nations: Kings will keep silence before you for whom the nations long: come and save us and delay no longer. Amen Come Lord Jesus.

O Adonai

O Adonai  et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuist, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

O Adonai and  leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush and you gave him the law on Sinai. O Come and save us with your mighty power.

The Great ‘O’s

Today we begin to count down the last 7 days until Christmas. This also means that we begin to sing the Great O antiphons at Vespers each day – usually known simply as the ‘Great O’s’ . These antiphons have been sung for centuries in Monasteries all over the world and here in Colwich we continue this tradition which unites us with others and prepares us more deeply to accept and recieve Christ in the mystery of His incarnation. Each day over this next week I will share them with you all.

Monday 17th December.

O Sapientia  quae ex ore Altissimi prodisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviter disponensque omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom  you come forth from the mouth of the most High. You fill the universe and hold all things together in a strong yet gentle manner, O Come to teach us the way of truth.

Christmas is a coming update…

Now we are into Advent Christmas is approaching fast, the days are getting busier as our preparations increase with our sense of expectation. Soon the babe will be born, soon once again we will celebrate the joy of new birth but first we have the days to prepare ourselves well, to be open and welcoming and let our joy build.

In the last week of our liturgical year Sr Theresa – Mary was busy once again in the kitchen. This time she made delicious ginger biscuits which were eaten at Saturday supper to mark the beginning of Advent. Sr Benedict thinks the tradition started because from Advent until Christmas our sisters would eat sparingly with nothing but the very basics until Christmas – they did keep it as a penitential time so this was the last treat to sort of give them a boost and mark the fasting and abstinence. Sister Theresa-Mary says she has to beat the mixture for an hour or else the biscuits don’t turn out right – they did! She also made the Christmas cakes so all week we had delicious, mouthwatering smells around.Personally i am thankful that it was last week not this as in Advent we keep a simple fast on Wednesdays and Fridays – we eat very simple meals -boiled egg or jacket potato without trimmings in the evening with no desert.

 In the past the tradition in the English Benedictine Congregation ( which we belong to ) was to eat fish instead of meat on Christmas day as a real sacrifice for the conversion of England. Like most communities formed during penal times the conversion of England was something they prayed for daily and was one of the reasons they even came into existence. Now we do have a meat on Christmas day once again.

During the week the Advent wreaths were made for Chapel and the noviceship and they are lit during Mass and Offices and classes in the noviceship. It was lovely walking around the garden cutting branches, leaves,berries and pine cones to make them with and the smell is so wonderful, it really makes me feel blessed and very fortunate, these home made and home grown wreaths are so much nicer. The berries are so bright, red and shiny and the holly glistens, whilst some of the larger pine cones are covered in a white resin – which sticks to everything but smells great.

In the noviceship we are planning entertainments which we lead on two days over Christmas – more about those when they happen, for now we need our thinking caps on. We have also been folding the community  cards and putting them in envelopes to be sent to friends and family. Christmas presents are arriving and are being spirited away by our Prioress to unknown destinations untll they reappear later. In Chapel our antiphons have changed and become more seasonal, Mother Abbess has given out new diaries – in which i have marked my Clothing with joy – and Advent prayer books. We are also planning the decorations which will go up around the 17th December. Sr Sheila puts a short piece about general Christmas customs on the notice board every day or so.

I think that’s all for now, more to come later, keep watching. Pax, Adele.