New Church in Goma

On the 19th September, the new church in Goma was consecrated.  Here is a gallery of some of the images taken on the day. 

 

 

Posted on September 26, 2017 .

New sister

Here is the new sister we mentioned in last week's news... Welcome to Hyning Sr. Marie Genevieve

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Posted on September 13, 2017 .

September news

It seems a long time since we posted news on this page.  You can get regular news on our Facebook page as well don't forget.  We have a page you can look at - Bernardines. We also have a group Bernardine Cistercian and you are very welcome to join either or both groups.  

In August Sr. Anne Chantal was named back to La Plaine and Sr Marie Genevieve has taken her place, photo coming soon!  Next week we have a re-organisation of work to start off our new Bernardine year.  We have had lots of changes of Prioresses across the Order but the 2 English sisters remained n place!   Though both houses have had changes of sisters.  

During July and August, there were meetings of all our juniors and novices (of 6 months) at the Mother House at La Plaine, France.  The sessions were greatly appreciated by the young ones of Europe, Asia and Africa.  

We have officially reopened so don't forget to check our programme page for news of the events coming up.  The first one is the Christmas Card making day on the 10th October.  It's never too soon to start Christmas cards or make mince pies!!  

We do not forget to pray for all our guests and we hope to see lots of you soon!  

Posted on September 5, 2017 .

Sr Maria's Silver Jubilee

On the 8th July, Sr. Maria celebrated 25 years of religious profession as a Bernardine Cistercian sister.  The Mass was celebrated at Hyning in the afternoon, followed by a buffet lunch.  Her family and friends were present to celebrate with the community.  The main celebrant was her brother, Fr. Joseph and the homily was given by Fr. John McGowan, OCD.   Here are some photos of the wonderful celebrations of the day.

 

 

Posted on July 9, 2017 .

Hyning on Radio Lancashire!

On Friday 14th April, Good Friday, Sr. Mary Stella and Sr. Michaela will be on Radio Lancashire talking about Holy Week in the monastery.  We will be on between 1 - 2 pm, we are not sure of the exact time but we were interviewed by Joe Wilson for a programme on Holy Week in the North West.  

Posted on March 27, 2017 .

Memorial Mass for Sr. Mary Stephen

There will be a Memorial Mass for S Mary Stephen who died in January on Tues 2nd May 6.30pm at St Bernard's RC Grammar School, Slough. All are welcome to attend and share in the celebration.  If you are definitely going to attend it would be helpful to know in advance.  Contact S. Elizabeth Mary at Brownshill for more details sisterelizabethmary@yahoo.co.uk 

Please share this information if you know someone who would like to share the celebration of her life.

Please share this information if you know someone who would like to share the celebration of her life.

 

#bernardines #srmarystephen #memorialmass

 

Posted on March 27, 2017 .

Monastic Weekend Experience

On Friday, 27th Jan 2017 until Sunday, 29th Jan 2017, we held the Monastic Experience Weekend.  Four young women spent the weekend with us. They came from different backgrounds and nations, but they all blended together so well that they gave the impression that it seems as if they have known each other before. They joined the community for the celebration of the Divine Office and Mass. They also did some manual work as well as sharing the daily life with the sisters, including some meals . 

During this event, Sr. Maria and Sr. Mary Stella, who led the event and assisted the four women, reflected on community life according to the Rule of St. Benedict.

They appreciated the event very much and hopefully will have found it helpful for a deepening oftheir life of faith. We pray for many young people who are discerning their future, especially those who are considering religious life that the light of Christ may lead and strengthen them.

Posted on February 8, 2017 .

Sr. Mary Stephen's Mass and Burial

As we celebrated the Feast of Sts. Robert, Alberic and Stephen Harding, the founder fathers of the Cistercian Order, we accompanied Sr. Mary Stephen to her final place of rest. Mass was celebrated by Fr. Michael McKenna as the chief celebrant, concelebrated by Fr. Peter Craddy OCSO who gave the homily. We were joined by our sisters from Brownshill and several other guests. The burial was followed by tea together in the Guests Dining Room. 

We thank you for all who have prayed with us for Sr. Mary Stephen and all her relatives. May she rest in peace.

 

 

Posted on January 31, 2017 .

News from Brownshill

Message from Sr. Elizabeth Mary for all those who knew Sr. Mary Stephen

I think that many of you have now heard the news that S M Stephen died very peacefully in her sleep at 5am on Thursday. There was no distress, no struggle, no pain..........she very simply 'slipped away' into the Lord whom she had loved and served all her life.

In many ways, this was unexpected as she had picked up a little in the last week, getting down to Mass both Monday and Tuesday mornings. But she was very very frail.....

Sorry to all those for whom this message will come as a shock. We would love to speak to you all personally, but it is not possible. The Community is keeping you all in our prayers as the news filters through various friendship groups, social media networks etc.......

S M Stephen's Requiem Mass will be celebrated this Wednesday (25th) at 11.30a.m. at the Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception in Stroud (GL5 4AA). All are welcome, but please be prepared to squeeze up as necessary and perhaps even stand. There is no parking at the Church but it is in the centre of the small town so any of the town's car parks are suitable. Alternatively, it is a shortish walk from both the train and bus station.

After Mass, there will be tea/coffee and sandwiches in the Church Hall (have plucked a number out of the sky for the caterers!) so please do join us.

We are VERY grateful to Canon Tom Gunning for his generous welcome in the Parish and for all that he and his parishioners are doing to facilitate the funeral.

On Wednesday afternoon after the funeral Mass, the Community will drive up to Hyning. We have a beautiful cemetery there,in the corner of Hyning's lovely garden, overlooking Ingleborough and the other north Pennine peaks. Thursday is, for us, the Feast of the Cistercian Founders, Ss Robert, Alberic and Stephen Harding and S M Stephen will be buried after Mass there on,coincidentally her own feastday.

With our gratitude for all the messages of loving prayerful sympathy.....and with our best wishes and prayers for all of you saddened by this news......

S Elizabeth Mary and the Community at Brownshill

Posted on January 23, 2017 .

Feast of St. Aelred of Rievaulx

Today is the feast of St. Aelred of Rievaulx, a 12th century Cistercian monk from Yorkshire, abbot of the Abbey of Rievaulx. AS a form Lancastrian it goes against the grain to say his is one of my favourite saints, "Can anything good come from that place??" But his writings and ideas are still relevant for today.

What could an obscure twelfth century monk teach 21st century Christians about relationships today? I firmly believe that Aelred has something to say to our society today, our society of networking and quick and easy friendship on social networks especially. He speaks to those who probe the human need for intimacy, for deep human relationships based on self-disclosure and mutual acceptance, because he provides us with a Christo-centric view of these relationships. So what was originally written for monastics in the twelfth century could be utilised today to help us come to a Christian understanding of how to relate to each other.

I think his idea that human friendship is especially important because of the idea that human friendships lead to God. It is in each other that we meet God’s love, Aelred is saying to us today. He didn’t always choose the best, or the holiest as friends but showed his compassion for the weak and possibly more temperamental members of the community. Neither was he the strongest or the best himself. That, I think, should give us hope too, that we don’t always have to strive to be the best, or the most prayerful or the most holy Christian. We just have to be ourselves!
In Christian friendship each one shares, each listens, each gives and receives; it is an adult relationship. He emphasises the equality of those involved in a spiritual relationship and the responsibility of each for how it develops, matures and its depths, because the response we encounter in these relationships is a microcosmic image of what we shall discover eternally in God.
“He was a man whose love was great enough to prove that greatness does not need to be brutal, and that to be a saint, one does not have to despise human affections.”1

He made room for friends who spoke their mind, who never tried to please him just because he was Abbot and accepted him also for who he was. Spiritual friendship can grow in crisis and challenge and Aelred understood that. He also understood that we are all difficult in some ways but all capable of being friends with God and each other. Developing understanding of the other leads to acceptance and a growth in love. All of this takes place in the love of Christ that embraces true friendship.

He made room for friends who spoke their mind, who never tried to please him just because he was Abbot and accepted him also for who he was. Spiritual friendship can grow in crisis and challenge and Aelred understood that. He also understood that we are all difficult in some ways but all capable of being friends with God and each other. Developing understanding of the other leads to acceptance and a growth in love.  All of this takes place in the love of Christ that embraces true friendship.

#Aelred #Cistercian #bernardine 

aelred
Posted on January 12, 2017 .

Happy Feast of the Epiphany

Pope Francis in his homily for the feast of the Epiphany spoke about these three Kings who, he said, “personify all those who believe, those who long for God, who yearn for their home, their heavenly homeland.” 

They reflect, he added,  “the image of all those who in their lives have not let their hearts become anaesthetised.”

Like these kings, the Pope explained, “a holy longing for God helps us keep alert in the face of every attempt to reduce and impoverish our life.  That longing keeps hope alive in the community of believers, which from week to week continues to plead: “Come, Lord Jesus”.”

Longing for God, continued the Holy Father, “has its roots in the past yet does not remain there: it reaches out to the future.  Pope Francis said, “believers who feel this longing are led by faith to seek God, as the Magi did, in the most distant corners of history, for they know that there the Lord awaits them.  They go to the peripheries, to the frontiers, to places not yet evangelized, to encounter their Lord.”

But the Pope noted, “an entirely different attitude reigned in the palace of Herod, … He slept, anaesthetised by a cauterised conscience.  He was bewildered, afraid.  It is the bewilderment which, when faced with the newness that revolutionises history, closes in on itself and its own achievements, its knowledge, its successes.”  A bewilderment, the Holy Father stressed,  “born of fear and foreboding before anything that challenges us, calls into question our certainties and our truths, our ways of clinging to the world and this life.” 

The Magi, underlined Pope Francis, “had to discover that what they sought was not in a palace, but elsewhere, both existentially and geographically.  There, in the palace, they did not see the star guiding them to discover a God who wants to be loved.  For only under the banner of freedom, not tyranny, the Pope said, “is it possible to realize that the gaze of this unknown but desired king does not abase, enslave, or imprison us.”

It is a merciful gaze, noted the Pope, that heals, forgives, and comforts those who suffer.

What the Magi found in Bethlehem concluded Pope Francis. “was a promise of newness.  There something new was taking place.  The Magi were able to worship, because they had the courage to set out.  And as they fell to their knees before the small, poor and vulnerable Infant, the unexpected and unknown Child of Bethlehem, they discovered the glory of God.”

#epiphany #bernardines #hyning 

Posted on January 7, 2017 .

Christmas newsletter

The Hyning Christmas newsletter is finally online.  Sr. Michaela is in France at the moment so please excuse the lack of recent news.  There are regular updates though on our Facebook page and our Group page.  Why not have a look there as well if you are a member.  If you click on the link below it will take you to our Christmas newsletter!  

Christmas newsletter 2016

Posted on December 13, 2016 .

Special Events for 2017

January 27th - 29th

Monastic Experience Weekend

March 3rd - 5th

Lent Retreat*

March 14th

Card Making Day (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.)

March 28th - April 1st

Icon Writing Workshop Beginners

(Limited places)

April 7th - 9th

Prayer and Walking Weekend

April 10th -18th

Easter guests

April 13th-15th

Celebrating the Paschal Triduum

May 16th —20th

Icon Writing Workshop

Advanced/Intermediate (Limited places)

June 6th

Card Making Day (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.)

July 3rd—7th

Prayer, Nature and Gardening

July 24th - August 24th

Closed

 

Posted on December 7, 2016 .

Icon Exhibition

This weekend we are holding an Icon exhibition.  There will be a series of talks and viewings over the weekend.  The first talk is at 7:15 pm on Friday.  Contact Sr Mary Bernard for a full listing or check out our event info on Facebook,  there is no need to book beforehand.  Refreshments are available at various times.  There is an extra talk on Saturday morning, 10:30 am.  #Bernardines #iconexhibition #hyning

Posted on October 25, 2016 and filed under icons.

Sr. Reina's simple profession

On October 8th Sr. Reina (formerly Irene) made her profession for 3 years as a Bernardine Cistercian.  Our Chaplain, Fr. Michael, was the main celebrant and Fr. Peter, the chaplain at Brownshill gave a lovely sermon.  The service was followed by cake and afternoon tea.   The slideshow below shows some of the images from the service.  

Listen to the service below...

Posted on October 10, 2016 .

Sr. Mary Stella's Golden Jubilee

On Saturday the 10th of September, we had the joy of celebrating the Golden Profession of Sr. Mary Stella. About 90 people were there to celebrate with us. Mass was at 11:30 AM. Fr.John McGowan OCD was the main celebrant and Fr. Peter Craddy OCSO gave the homily. Fr. Michael, our chaplain, and Fr. John Gibson, our local parish priest concelebrated. The mass was followed by buffet lunch which ended with the customary cutting of the cake. Sr. Mary Stella was joined by members of her family, former staff and students from #St.Bernard's Slough, oblates, and members of the gardening and icon groups along with many others! (Fortunately, the new kitchen was ready just on time!) We are still waiting for more photos, here are just a few, including one of the cake.

You can see part of the Mass by clicking here

 

Posted on September 12, 2016 .

August and September News

We are coming to the end of our kitchen refurbishment and we hope to have pictures up by the end of the week.

Over the past few weeks, most of the community has been away to various places. Sr.Mary Stella went to France to celebrate her Jubilee, 50 years of profession, Sr.Maria and the novitiate from both houses were there with her. Sr.Hilda, who is based at Brownshill, didn't go with the rest of the novitiate as she is now in Rome for a course with the Cistercian Juniors. On the 19th of August, she renewed her vows for 2 years. Three of the community had already gone to Brownshill before the kitchen was gutted and the rest of the community bar two went to Brownshill for the annual retreat. Most of the community are now back, ready for the reopening of the Guest House. 

The big event of this week is the Jubilee at 11:300 AM on Saturday. Those of you who are coming would be advised to check for local traffic diversions. There is work being done on the bridges in Carnforth (Millhead) which means it is not possible to come through Warton Village to get to Hyning. It is still possible to come through the A6 and up Borwick Lane. If in doubt, please ring for instructions. 

We hope that those of you who had a break during the summer had a restful and peaceful time and we look forward to see you all again in the coming weeks. 

More news will be posted next week! 

Posted on September 5, 2016 .