Hyning Monastery Christmas Newsletter 2009

COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER CHRISTMAS 2009

The approaching feast of Christmas prompts us to look back over the year that is coming to an end and to share with you some of the events of our life here at Hyning.
Last year we spoke of our joy at the arrival of Sr. Ernestine, but in August we had to say goodbye to her as she returned to Goma where she is happily settled and teaching English in our school there.  The political situation in the DRC is still precarious and we admire the courage of our sisters who just continue with their daily lives. Whilst she was here Sr. Ernestine taught us a joyful Gloria and Sanctus in Swahili which together with tam-tam, violin and guitar enhanced our liturgy on a number of feast days.  We sang it on the feast of Pentecost, together with a full house of retreatants, a particularly apt occasion. In the few weeks before she left us Sr. Ernestine fulfilled two wishes.  Firstly she visited the Poor Clare Community in Ellesmere where she has a friend from her student days whom she had not seen for many years. Secondly she spent a happy day together with Sr. Mary Cecilia, Sr. Maria and Sr. Mary Bernard at Mount St. Bernard abbey, visiting the place where Blessed Cyprian Tansi had lived in England.  Another outing was with Marion Middleditch to see the beautiful area of the Lake District. They managed to visit most of the lakes in a single day as well as places of interest connected with Wordsworth! Before returning to Goma Sr. Ernestine was also able to go and speak about life there to the parish of Leyburn who had very kindly raised funds for our school.  In February Sr. Josephine Mary visited Ansdell parish who were celebrating their centenary.  They had the novel idea of offering to a fledgling church the amount of money their church had cost one hundred years ago and generously offered this to our foundation in Burkina Faso.  In September Sr. Maria and Sr. Michaela represented us at the closing Mass for the centenary and in the same month we welcomed a group of parishioners who came to meet us and learn a little more about us.  We hope that a couple of them will be able to go out to Burkina and see the project for themselves. Ansdell link. Click for information about the links.

Last year we mentioned Sr. Anna Maria’s three month stay in Viet-Nam and we were very glad to welcome her home in February and listen to her accounts of life in her native land.  However, after a lengthy discernment process, it has been decided that three Bernardine sisters will return there sometime during 2009 for an indefinite period.  This is an exciting venture but also a step into the unknown and for this project we ask your prayer.

No sooner had Sr. Anna Maria returned than it was Sr. Maria who left us from March to June. She writes “The Monastic Formators’ Programme comprised 28 monks and nuns of the Benedictine and Cistercian traditions from all over the world and it was an enriching experience living, working and praying with such a culturally diverse group.  The Programme was based in Rome and Assisi.  The aims of the Programme were threefold; to provide a deepened knowledge and appreciation of our monastic tradition, to communicate this tradition to our communities and to deal with pastoral issues such as human development, discernment and spiritual growth.  The teaching we had in the form of lectures was first class and Sr. Josephine Mary also came to give us input on two days.  Pilgrimages to monastic, historical and artistic sites enriched the whole course, the highlight being places where St Benedict, whose Rule we follow, lived including Monte Cassino and Subiaco.  I found the whole experience extremely enriching and formative and thank my community for giving me such a wonderful opportunity”.

Our annual retreat took place in July this year and was given by Fr. Michael Casey, a well-known Cistercian writer from Tarrawarra, Australia, the area which suffered severely from bush fires during the year.  He took as his theme parts of St. Mark’s gospel which were not addressed in his book “Fully human, fully alive” and we appreciated all the insights that he shared with us.  Sr. Mary Helen joined us for the retreat and then stayed on to make her first official visit to the community as Prioress General. We also welcomed several others to share this retreat. It was a joy to have Sr. Kate, whom we had missed since she had left us early in January after five years living here as a hermit sister.  Sr. Joan, a La Sagesse sister from Lytham who was about to celebrate her Golden Jubilee also joined us as did Sr. Mary Ilona, from Sussex.  On one day a group of lay people who are preparing to become oblates were with us and shared the excellent input from Fr. Michael.   Their presence contributed to the rich experience of the week. 

Four of our sisters from Brownshill, Sr. Mary Lucy, Sr. Catherine, Sr. Mary Philippa and Sr. Mary Johanna were also with us during this time.  Our sisters have had a busy year with their building project which was finished in September.  They are very pleased with the results, a lovely dining-room for guests, refectory for community, new kitchen and spacious reception area.  Sr. Josephine Mary and Sr. Maria were present at the blessing of the new building by Bishop Declan in October and Sr. Mary Anthony, Sr. Mary Stella and Sr. Mary have also had the opportunity to spend time there and appreciate the improvements.  You will find pictures on the Bernardine website if you would like to see for yourselves. Brownshill blessing

Nearer home the beginning of our ‘closed’ period in August found us hard at work emptying Cottage 1 which was in need of major renovation work. Everyone helped to fetch and carry and we were grateful to John Calnan and his son Peter who moved heavy furniture into storage for us. The structural work is now complete; roofing, guttering, soil pipes, a new damp proof course, re-rendering and pebble dashing and chimneys and redundant fire places removed. Interiorly the kitchenette was stripped out and new cupboards, fridge and cooker installed and bathrooms have been converted into shower rooms and toilets. There is still all the re-decoration and carpeting to be done, to say nothing of returning the furniture and contents, but we expect it to be back in use for Easter. We have certainly missed the space and having to limit guest numbers accordingly. As this is a major and costly renovation no other significant maintenance work has been undertaken this year. One other small project which took place at the same time was the renewal of insulation in the east wing and second floor roof spaces. As we write we have only just experienced the first frost of the year so we have yet to find out if this work will, as we hope, help to conserve energy and keep the heat in.

August was an unusual month for us as many of us are usually away at our generalate house in France for the feast of the Assumption, the patronal feast of Cistercians. This year Sr. Anna Maria was the only one of our community to be there, though others have been able to visit at other times. At the end of January Sr. Mary Anthony accompanied Sr. Mary Helen for her official visit to the community and in October Sr. Mary Colette stopped off briefly en route when she undertook the same role for the visit to the community at St. Bernard du Touvet. Sr. Michaela spent several weeks there in June and was able to work on our Bernardine website with Sr. Marie-Josèphe, her French counterpart. In June Sr. Marie Pia was able to travel with Sr. Josephine Mary and make the most of the occasion to see her sisters, one of whom had been in hospital for some time. Finally in September it was the turn of Sr. Mary Bernard to profit from a visit. We mentioned our General Chapter last year and part of the work asked for at that time was a revision of certain parts of our Constitutions, our Rule of life which interprets the Gospel and the Rule of St. Benedict for us. Sr. Josephine Mary was asked to head the commission of four sisters who are co-ordinating this work, no small task. This has necessitated several visits to France to work with the other sisters and recently we have enjoyed a visit from Sr. Francoise Therese, formerly our secretary general, who is one of the group master-minding this project. For the community it has involved a number of meetings responding to the questions posed and though hard work it is both interesting and stimulating as we look to respond to the challenges of monastic life today.

We had changes this year in our local church when Bishop Michael Campbell took over as Bishop of the diocese of Lancaster in May. Sr. Josephine Mary and Sr. Mary Anthony attended his inaugural Mass at the cathedral.  We were pleased to welcome him as co-adjutor bishop last year, but were sorry to say goodbye to Bishop Patrick when he retired.  We have enjoyed his visits during the eight years he spent in the diocese and were amused by a comment of Fr. Robert Billing, his secretary, in his farewell tribute to Bishop Patrick: “Many times I recall after a day away at Hyning, I would get the call: ‘Robert – I was thinking about a new scheme or document!’  It is good to know we played our part in the coming to birth of ‘Fit for Mission’. We were happy to see Bishop Patrick again during the visit of the relics of St. Thérèse in September. (Click on Relics for pictures.) The relics remained in Lancaster Cathedral for two days and all but our oldest sister, Sr. Mary John, were able to visit.  Some sisters went for the big celebration of Vespers, others late at night or very early in the morning for a few hours prior to Mass at 6 a.m.  All were struck by the simplicity of the event and the prayerful, calm atmosphere which prevailed. On the second morning some of us met up with Fr. Damian Porter our local Anglican vicar who had not long taken up his post in Warton.  We were glad to welcome him and his wife, Yvonne, to tea one afternoon and wish him well in his ministry.

Any year brings its joys and sorrows.  We shared in our chaplain, Fr. Michael’s, thanksgiving for his 40 years of priesthood in June and were pleased that he was able to go to Freshfield to celebrate with his Mill Hill brethren there. An account and pictures of this day can be found by clicking here.

There were also sorrows for Sr. Mary Cecilia at the death of her sister, Betty and for Sr. Mary Stella at the death of her mother, Stella McNamee. Betty came to stay in June and as it was the week in which she had her birthday, we all met with her for tea on the afternoon before her departure when she was in excellent form. We knew she was awaiting a second hip replacement but it was a real shock to hear that she did not recover from the anaesthetic and died a couple of days after the operation.  Sr. Mary Cecilia went to stay with the Benedictine sisters at Minster who were very kind to her, and thus was able to attend Betty’s funeral in Canterbury on 17th July.  Sr. Mary Cecilia also had a hip replacement in October, but fortunately has recovered well.

Mrs. McNamee had been resident at Nazareth House in Lancaster for some years and so was a regular visitor here, usually brought by one or other of Sr. Mary Stella’s sisters.  Earlier in the year she had had visits from family members in America and Ireland which she enjoyed very much.  She died on September 3rd aged 97 after just a few weeks illness and her funeral was held here on 17th. 

Sr. Mary Stella has continued to develop the icon studio and during the year the group made several interesting visits: to the Byzantium exhibition at the Royal Academy, to a new Orthodox church in Leyland and to an icon exhibition in Blackburn.  Sr. Esther, from Turvey abbey, led an icon writing course in March and the resultant work was blessed in a moving ceremony during Mass on the last morning.  In October a weekend entitled “Seeking the Sacred” included a day with Guillem Ramos-Poqui, whose icon of St. Thérèse was displayed in the cathedral during the visit of her relics.

We mentioned earlier the small group of lay people who have been following a formation with a view to becoming Oblates. As well as the individual preparation of each one we have had two days this year for the group to get to know each other and to have input together on the Rule of St. Benedict, the writings of our Cistercian fathers and the implications of Oblature.  We are looking forward to eight of them making their first commitment during this coming week. Lay associates (click on link)

2009 is almost upon us and we think already of two special events.  In March our sisters in Belgium will leave the house at Péruwelz, severing a link of more than a hundred years presence there.  As we re-grouped in England in 2006 so will the sisters of France/Belgium.  This is obviously an event which touches us all and we ask your prayer for our Order at this time.  2009 is also the 9th centenary of the birth of an important Cistercian writer, Abbot Aelred of Rievaulx.  You will notice on our programme that we will re-open rather later than usual next summer, this is because in August we will be hosting a meeting open to all our sisters at which we will reflect on the spirituality and writings of this great saint.  Our sisters from France are looking forward to a visit to the wonderful ruins of the abbey of Rievaulx, a very special place. 

So as we look back over this past year and look forward to this continued sharing of our Cistercian heritage next year, it remains for us to send you our greetings and good wishes for Christmas and the year ahead.  We are grateful to you all, our staff, our friends, our benefactors and our families for your continual support for our community in so many ways, practical and otherwise.  You are so much part of our life here at Hyning and we appreciate all that you do for us and share with us.  It is truly a mutual enrichment. 

 Abbot Aelred was not unaware of the good and evil in the world of his day as he comments, for example, in his sermon for the nativity “There are many today who take greater joy in a battle than in Christ’s birth”.  As we remember in prayer all the needs of our world, we also acknowledge that peace and change for the good have to come about first in our own hearts, so we pray for ourselves and for you Aelred’s concluding words from the same sermon: 

“Let us hasten to the Lord’s manger-crib, but as far as we can let us first by his grace prepare ourselves to approach it. Then… with a pure heart, a good conscience and an unfeigned faith, let us sing to the Lord in the whole of our life and our monastic conversion:  Glory to God on high and on earth peace to all people of good will”.