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Exodus 34: 26 Moses’ face shineth

Exodus 34; 26-28
 
26 The first of the fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
 
 
27 And the Lord said unto Moses, write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words i have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. 
 
28 And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread nor drink water. And he wrote upton the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.  
 
29 And it came to pass that Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
 
30 And when Aron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. 
 
31 And Moses called unto them; and Aron and all the congregation returned unto him; and Moses talked with them. 
 
32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. 
 
33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.
 
34 But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel  that which he was commanded. 
 
35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
 
EXODUS 35:1 And Moses gathered all the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the Lord hath commanded, that ye should do them.
 
2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work on therein shall be put to death.
 
3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
 
4 And Moses spake unto all the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying
 
5 Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, and offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass
 
6 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,
 
7 And rams’ skins dyed red and badgers’ skins and shittim wood,
 
8 And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil and for the sweet incense 
 
9 And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.   
 
10 And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded;

 

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STANBROOK ABBEY

 

Benedictine life at Stanbrook is:

Rooted in tradition: contemplative prayer, lectio divina, Gregorian Chant

(Latin and adapted to English), study, manual labour, arts, crafts, 
literary work, hospitality. 

Seven times a day I will praise you, Ps 118 v. 164

Praise of God is at the heart of Benedictine life. Beginning with Vigils at 6am, the bell summons the community to gather for prayer six times during the day. In addition, each sister spends a total of one hour in personal prayer, while the community Mass is the highpoint of prayer together. So prayer is the main work of contemplatives who, through growing in union with Christ, offer the concerns of the whole world to God.

All our services are open to the public:
Sunday:
Vigils: 6am, Lauds:7.30am, Office:9.30am, MASS: Noon, Vespers:6pm, Compline, 8.15

Monday-Saturday:
Vigils: 6am, Lauds:7.30am, MASS:9.00am, Office 12.30, Vespers:6pm, Compline, 8.15

Your Word is a lamp for my steps 
and a light for my path, Ps 118 v. 105

Lectio Divina, the prayerful reading of Scripture, is a vital part of the Benedictine day which is firmly rooted in the Word of God. The faithful practice of this ancient art of reading the Bible gradually re-forms us in the image of Christ. Time is also given to study which continues beyond initial training.

 

When they live by the labour of their hands, they are truly monks,  RB 48 

While prayer is our main work, we need to support ourselves by the labour of our hands. Various arts and crafts are practised: book-binding, calligraphy, weaving, painting, photography and handcrafts. The community has a strong literary tradition, and hospitality is an important aspect of our work, though challenging while we await the building of a monastic guest-house. As an extension of our hospitality, we run some holiday lodges. Then there are the usual household tasks of cleaning, cooking, making and repairing our clothes. We keep hens and are trying to develop gardening.

How good and how pleasant it is when brothers live in unity, Ps 132, v.1

All these activities take place within the context of trying to build Christian community, a community bound by common values, called together to offer a convincing witness to the world that it is possible to respond to the Gospel challenge to live in peace and harmony.

That in all things, God may be glorified,Rule of St Benedict 57

 

 

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Vocations

I’m sure you know that, flowing from our baptism, we have all been given a vocation, a call from God to do something with our lives. We have all been graced by the Holy Spirit with our own unique way of living our common Christian calling. So, it’s time to consider how we might try and deepen our prayer as we seek to grow in our understanding of that vocation and walk the way of discipleship!

For some men, that vocation may be to the priesthood. As Vocations Director, it is my role to encourage especially this particular calling. After all, the call to the priesthood is a vital one within our Church because a priest is ordained to be a sign and instrument of Christ the Good Shepherd for his people, and to preside at the Eucharist, amongst many other things.

For some men and women, their vocation may be to serve Christ in the religious life, be it in monastic or apostolic communities. This call is to help sanctify the world through prayer, active ministry, and especially through the faithful living out of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

For many men and women their vocation will be to marriage, and to the joy that brings as they seek to reflect Christ’s love for the Church in their blessed union and through their family.

For some men and women their vocation will be to the consecrated single life and to the sanctification of themselves and the world through this commitment.

Some married men will also be called to serve as permanent deacons – ordained heralds of the Gospel and servers of the poor.

Vocations Director:
Fr Matt Anscombe
103 Queens Road
Clifton
Bristol
BS8 1LL
Email: vocations@cliftondiocese.com
Phone: 0117 914 0003		 Matt_anscombe

Vocations information copied from Clifton Diocese website http://www.cliftondiocese.com/departments/vocations-2/

We are Catholic Episode 2 Communion of the Saints extract

Anita, Manuel, Phillip and Henry have countless adventures in the town of Santa Clara, all of which lead them, in one way or another, to a greater understanding of their Faith. Episode 2 – The Communion of the Saints Manuel and Phillip discover the Communion of Saints when they find themselves in situations where they need the power of their brothers and sisters in heaven to help them.