NEWS
5.3.11.
Our good friend, Ann, comes every few weeks to
recharge her batteries in the peace & quiet of the
monastery. While here she loves to help in the garden
& in the kitchen. She is a prolific gardener & has an
allotment at home where she grows her own vegetables.
On her allotment lives Alice , her scarecrow.
During the winter months we had Alice as a 'house
guest
',
see opposite. Alice has her own website
www.allotmentlifeandadvice.org
check it out.
3.4.11.
The word 'halcyon' means peaceful, calm & tranquil.
In his 'Introduction to the Devout Life', our Holy Founder,
St Francis de Sales
, when
speaking of the 'Poor in Spirit', tells of the story of the
Halcyon, a legendary bird
which
was said to have nested at sea & been able to calm the rough
waves for the 7 days before & after the winter solstice.
The Halcyon is akin to our modern day Kingfisher
.
Click on the picture to read what he says
.
29.3.11
Do you know what has been discovered about the way
geese fly in formation? We are surrounded by lessons of
life, often where we least expect to find them. This is one
little lesson for us today.
27.3.11.
For everything there is a season;
a time to be born & a time to die,
a time to plant & a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill & a time to heal,
a time to break down & a time to build up;
a time to weep & a time to laugh,
a time to mourn & a time to dance;
a time to throw away & a time to gather together,
a time to embrace & a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek & a time to lose,
a time to keep & a time to throw away;
a time to tear & a time to sew,
a time to keep silence & a time to speak;
a time to love & a time to hate,
a time for war & a time for peace.'
Ecclesiastes 3. 1-13
The Church's year has 'seasons', as do we throughout
our years. This is celebrated in all of Gods creation.
How fortunate we are to live in a climate which also has the
blessings of 'seasons'. As we gaze out of the monastery
window this is so evident with the passing months of the
year.
20.3.11.
Yesterday was a real Spring day, we had blue skies,
sunshine & birds singing. The daffodils are out in full
glory. Click opposite to see them. These beautiful daffodils bring
hope to our hearts.
'I wondered lonely as a cloud
that floats on high
o'er vales & hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
a host of golden daffodils;
Fluttering & dancing in the breeze'
William Wordsworth
19.3.11.
The Solemnity of St Joseph.
Today is the feast of St Joseph, the patron saint of
the Universal Church & also the patron saint of Pope
Benedict XVIth. We have been making a novena in preparation
for this special day, as we do every year. 207 years ago
today the Visitation was founded in England. You can read a
short account of this on our 'Birth of the Order' page. Click opposite to
read the beautiful homily Pope Paul V1th gave on this day in
1969.
15.311.
Our Mother shared these Lenten thoughts with us a few
days ago, & we in turn share them with you.
11..3.11.
Found this on the 'net' & thought you'd all like to
share it.
10.3.11.
We have begun our 40 days of Lent, a 6 week journey
of contemplation, reflection, prayer & penance, in
preparation for the celebration of the Resurrection. We are
all called at this special time to repentance & conversion,
& it's good in our busy world to perhaps slow down a bit &
take time just to to be with God. St Francis de
Sales wote a sermon on the 1st Sunday of Lent, February 13th 1622,
click opposite to read it. Each day during Lent we say the Litany of
the Passion, please click opposite to if you would like to say it with is.
8.3.11
Pancake Tuesday, & the sisters had a try at tossing
them, some more successful than others! See opposite.
6.3.11.
To meet our sisters of Africa, Korea & the Lebabnon
click opposite
5.3.11
In last Wednesday's audience the Holy Father spoke
about our Holy Founder, St. Francis de Sales. Click opposite
to read it.
4.3.11.
Today is the first Friday of the month. We have a
special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus & each first
Friday we have a community day of recollection & Exposition
of the Blessed Sacrament. Each Sister has a time of
adoration during the day. So much to pray for, so many
intentions. Today is also 'Women's World Day of Prayer'. We
unite ourselves with all those, who in over 170 countries
throughout the world, will hold special services of
reflection & prayer. The theme this year is 'Chile, How many
loaves of bread have you?' Together we will bring the needs
of the people of Chile before the Lord. Please join with us
in thanking God for for all He gives us, while especially
remembering today our less fortunate brothers & sisters of
Chile.
27.2.11.
To meet our sisters of the United States of America &
Canada click opposite.
26.2.11.
"The
heavens proclaim
the glory of
God".
In those magical few minutes between dusk & nightfall
the sky can become a true witness to the Majesty & Glory of
God. Ablaze with colours that change as you blink & if you
aren't quick enough you miss them. Here is God's art gallery
that we enjoyed for such a brief moment this evening.
24,2,11,
Throughout the world we have over 135 Monasteries.
Click opposite if you would like to meet our sisters of
South & Central America & Mexico. We haven't put all the
Monasteries on as there are so many. As part of our 4th Centenary last year 2 new foundations were made, in
Colombia & Uraguay. In honouring the mystery of the
Visitation, each day we say a special prayer to Our Lady,
see opposite, please join wih us in saying it.
14.2.11.
The first Jonquil have appeared, the yellow hues of Spring
are beginning, that will bring with it a host of flowers,
Daffodils, Primroses. Little spots of sunshine after the
winter.
9.2.11.
Yesterday the sun was shining in a clear, cold, blue sky, & everywhere
was still. The birds were singing their first tunes of the
year, practising for their big concert later on. The first
snowdrops are now in flower, but the small greenhouse & the
kitchen garden are bare, waiting, resting, for the first
sowing. Spring is in the air, you can smell it, feel it,
almost touch it.
3.2.11.
Towards the end of last year Sue Gaisford, the literary
editor for 'The Tablet' wrote an article about our
life. Some of our friends didn't see it. Click opposite to
read it.
30.1.11
Every year at our Epiphany recreation our 96 yr. old Sr.
Francis de Sales used to sing a little ditty,
"Count your blessings, count them one by one, & it will
surprise you what the Lord has done." Isn't it true our
lives are full of blessings if only we look for them.
Nothing big, each day small gifts from God. Todays Gospel
gives us the Beatitudes, making holy things that others may
see as negative, a recipe for becoming holy. We have the
first snowdrops popping up their buds, ponies grazing in our
fields, & the sun is shining, these for us are blessings.
May God send many blessings into your lives today, & may you
recognise them & give thanks.
28.1.11.
For the past few years there has been a Contemplative
community of nuns next to the Vatican at 'Mater Ecclessiae',
each remaining 3-5 years before returning to their
monasteries. There have been Benedictines, Carmelites & Poor
Clares. Since 2009 we have had a community of Visitation
sisters, coming from Spain, Italy & South America. On the
14th December 2010, for the close of our special 4th
Centenary Jubilee year the Holy Father visited our sisters &
celebrated an early morning Mass. They sent us a beautiful
Power Point Presentation of this happy event. Click opposite
to share it.
24.1.11.
It's always good to prepare for an important day & so last
night we had a Vigil prayer service in honour of our Holy
Founder, click opposite to see short exerpts.
23.1.11.
Tomorrow is the feast of our Holy Founder, St Francis de
Sales, our gentle, humble Saint. Click opposite to read some
of his writings & to see what he may be saying to you today.
May he bless you & all those you hold in your heart.
16.1.11.
Today we begin the Novena to our Holy Founder, St.
Francis de Sales in preparation for his feast on January
24th.
Our Constitutions remind us that our Order was founded
'to give to God Daughters of prayer, to share in the
evangelisation of the world by a hidden, apostolic
fruitfulness, giving genuine witness to the fact that God is
love'.
Const. Ch1.
9.1.11.
Tomorrow we begin the 'ordinary' time of the Church's
year in the Liturgy. Is there ever an ordinary time in our
lives? Each day is gift, each day has it's surprises, it's
joys & pains. Each day is what we make it. "My life tomorrow
will be the result of the choices I make today".
2.1.11.
Feast of the The Epiphany
We begin this New Year with open, empty hands,
searching for Jesus. Like the Wisemen we follow our 'star'.
We know that we'll only find Him in the 'ordinariness' of
our daily lives. We're all on this 'faith journey' & as we
travel together in hope we are changed. What have we to
offer Him, what will be our gold, frankincense & myrrh?
1.1.11.
Solemnity of the Mother of God
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown!"
And he replied:
"Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of
God. That shall be to you better than light &
safer than a known way."
So I went forth & finding the hand of God, trod gladly into
the night. And he led me toward the hills & the breaking of
day in the lone East.
by Minnie Louise Haskins 1908
25.12.10
CHRISTMAS DAY
24.12.10.
It's Christmas Eve, the Liturgy is prepared, we've sung
our Geat O Antiphons. Now we wait in joyful expectancy to
celebrate the birth of Jesus. We unite ourselves with all
our sisters & friends throughout the world, we hold you all
in prayer. May you all have a wonderful, blessed Christmas.
22.12.10.
Sr. Clare Chantal is beginning to sort out the
Christmas decorations in the community room
.
21.12.10.
Our 4th Centenary Jubilee Year has finished. The
Celebrations are over but the memories remain. Memories of a
year filled with blessings & graces, memories of friendships
& of beauty. We are grateful to all those who shared our
special year with us
in so many different ways, & who gave us the opportunity
to share our Salesian spirituality & life with them.
17.12.10.
Today 5 very couragous ladies from our nearby village of
Waldron ventured through the snow blizzards to give us a
Christmas concert with their hand bells. It was much enjoyed
by all although our singing wasn't very good! The bells are
pitched very high & we seemed to find it impossible to hit
the right notes! But Sr. Josephine Margaret got her big
moment during 'Jingle Bells'!
See opposite.
12.12.10.
The 3rd Sunday of Advent
Gaudate Sunday
'Rejoice in the Lord always'. Today at Mass the
vestments are pink & we light the rose-pink candle in the Advent
wreath. It is a day when we celebrate with joy in our hearts
that the birth of Jesus is almost here
.
3.12.10.
We have blue skies & sunshine so are slowly 'defrosting'.
2.12.10.
The days of Advent; a very special time when we are
invited to go deeper into the mystery of the Incarnation.
To walk in simplicity & allow ourselves to be transformed as
we wait in the stillness, the darkness & the holiness of
each present moment. May these days be for us & for you a
blessed preparation, as our hearts resound
'Come Lord Jesus Come'.
We have had over 12 inches of snow & all around is muted
in dazzling beauty. We have a winter wonderland. See
opposite.
26.11.10
Today we kept the Feastday recreation for our dear
Mother, Sr. Jane Margaret. The 'theme' was bees, a favourite
topic of our Holy Founder, St Francis de Sales. It's always good to have an opportunity to say
thank you, to share & celebrate community together in joy &
laughter. We had dinner in
the community room and enjoyed a log fire after a very icy
start to the day.
20.11.10
It is the custom of our Order that each year on Nov.
21st, Feast of the Presentation, the Sisters publicly &
individually renew their vows
during Mass
.
This year because the 21st is also the Feast of Christ
the King
we are keeping it today. We unite ourselves with our Sisters throughout the world. For each it is a very special
moment, renewing our commitment to 'Live Jesus' as
Visitandines & Daughters of Prayer. Afterwards each Sister
writes & signs her vows in the vow book.
13.11.10
Remembrance Sunday
On the 2nd Sunday in November each year we keep
Remembrance Sunday, a special day
set aside to remember more than 1 million men & women
from Britain & the Commonwealth who sacrificed their lives
for us during World War 1, 1914 -1918 & World war 11,
1939 - 1945
& other conflicts.
Services are held throughout the country & abroad and
wreaths of poppies are laid to honour the dead.We wear a
poppy to remember them.
May they rest in peace.
7.11.10.
As religious sisters we proudly wear our habit. Nurses,
policemen, firemen and those in the military all wear a
uniform that denotes who & what they are.
Today at our monthly meeting of the Daughters of St.
Francis de Sales, Geraldine showed us a gift she had
received for her birthday
-
her 'uniform
'.
See opposite.
4.11.10.
Our dear Sr. Francis de Sales, who is originally from
Adelaide had a wonderful visit today from one of her great
nephews who was visiting from Australia.
What a blessing family is.
2.11.10.
All Souls Day
Today, we remember especially all those we hold in our
hearts who have died. We ask God to enfold them into the
embrace of His Eternal Love. Our sisters, families &
friends. We pray for those who have no-one to remember them
&
we pray for the souls of your loved ones during this
month of November.
30.10.10.
Croquet is a quintessential English game, see opposite
how it was played many years ago, and then click on the
little video to see how it's played at the Visitation
Monastery on a very windy day!
27.10.10
If you've watched the short Channel 4, TV video below
from 30th September, you'll remember seeing Sr. Josephine
Margaret showing Jay Rayner
a heart-shaped potato she'd dug up that morning. It was
such a lovely symbol, & here it is, still firm. We are
reluctant to eat it!
26.10.10
Sr Mary Joseph has arrived home after 4 days in
Moulins, where she has been participating in the
'Colloque International'. Continuing the celebration of our
4th Centenary Jubilee this was a symposiusm of the Art
& History of the Visitation over the past 4 centuries. On
Friday she presented a paper on the history of the
Visitation in the United States with particular reference to
the foundation of the monastery of Georgetown D.C.
23.10.10
Today, during dinner we had a freak hail storm, with
thunder & lightening & lashing rain. We thought the
refectory roof was coming in, the noise was so deafening
.
Afterwards when we looked out, the ground was white over
with balls of ice, very beautiful & very awesome.
19.10.10
Autumn days here at the monastery are very
beautiful, mixtures of blue skies, gentle sun, green &
golden leaves that are beginning to flutter onto the soil.
There's only a splash of bright colour here & there, all
enfolded into crisp, cold days
.
Seeds, fruits, apples hanging in
abundance in the orchards and the sheep peacefully enjoying
the tranquility of it all.
16th October
Today is the feast of St. Margaret
Alacoque, one of our sisters. She was born in 1647 in
Burgandy, entered the Visitation at Paray-le-Monial in 1671
and died in 1690 aged 43 years. In 1675 she had a number of
apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus where she was
invited by Him to spread this devotion. It was in 1765 that
Devotion to the Sacred Heart was officially recognised &
approved by Pope Clement Xlll. Today, for us, is a 'holy'
day. after a beautiful sung Mass we have Exposition of the
Blessed Sacrament & adoration all day, where we bring to the
Lord all those we hold in our hearts,
YOU
who are reading this page, our families, friends, all those
who have asked our prayers and all those in our world who need
our prayers.
30th September
Sister Mary Blog-arina is going into retreat tomorrow
.
Please pray for her - & watch this space!
The TV programme on 'Food
'
with our sisters was televised last night on Channel 4. It's
only short.
click opposite to view.
27th September
If you want to know what the Holy Father thought of his
visit to England & Scotland, read the lovely article on the
right, taken from the Times, Thursday 23rd.
by Richard Owen
,
the retiring Rome correspondant.
25th September
Today we are having a Harvest Festival, celebrating
all the wonderful vegetables & fruits from our kitchen
garden & orchards
.
In praising God for the abundance of His blessings,
we remember also all those who help us to grow, pick,
prepare & cook these foods, as well as all those of our
world who today are hungry.
click below to
read
Fr. Thomas's Harvest sermon
given at Mass this morning
sermon
19th September
Today Cardinal John Henry Newman was beatified in
Birmingham by Pope Benedict XVI, see our Newman page for his
links to our community.
17th September
Our dear Holy Father has arrived in England & at the
crack of dawn Sr. Paul Miryam journied to Twickenham, to
join Religious from all over the country who were invited
to meet him. It had been hoped she would be able to present
a framed letter from Cardina
l
Newman, but this wasn't possible. Nevertheless Sister
returned home with a memory beyond words
&
full of joy at the privilege
she had had.
16th September
Today
Catherine, from BBC Television came to interview
Sr. Paul Miryam & Our Mother to be shown on BBC South
East News this evening at 6.30.pm. about Cardinal Newmans
letters
that we have in our archives, & Sr. Paul Miryams
journey into religious life.
Everyone that has visited us from the Media, be it
newspapers or television have been delightful & a joy to
meet.
15th September
Today our dear Sr. Paul Miryam
celebrated her Silver Jubilee.
25 years of saying 'Yes' to the Lord.
We had a concelebrated Mass at midday with Fr. Michael,
Fr. Thomas & Fr. Seamus, during which sister renewed her
vows.
click below to view videos
Sr. Paul Miryam renews her vows
Bidding prayers at the
Jubilee Mass
Final blessing at Mass
11th-13th September
We welcomed Mary and Kathy from America, and Michael
Moran from London, for a short visit. They are members of
the Society of St. Francis de Sales, the female branch being
the Daughters of St Francis de Sales & the male counterpart,
the Sons of St. Francis de Sales. They met with our group of
Daughters
and the sisters
and we
had a wonderful 'Salesian' time together. God be Praised!
10th September
We have had the Channel 4 television crew here for a days
filming in the kitchen garden and the extern kitchen. It's
for the weekly series 'The Food Programme', which is about
sustainabilty, growing your own vegetables & fruit, and
making your own soup, bread, jams & yoghurt, also chopping &
using your own wood. Our 'film stars' were Our Mother, Srs.
Josephine Margaret. Mary Joseph & Clare Chantal. The rest of
the sisters were 'hidden' extras! The videos are noisy
because of the strong wind & you may need to turn your sound
down or off.
click below
video 1
video 2
8th September
Today is the Feast of Our Lady's Birthday and this
evening we said a special rosary in Choir
in her honour
.
5th September
We have been given a new bread- making machine by a
dear friend, here is Sr. Mary Joseph with her first loaf.
30th August
And yet more photographs, this time by Jim Holden. If you
shared our day with us see if you can find yourselves.
click below
Jims photos
28th August
More
Jubilee Celebration photographs from our friend
Christopher
Siqueira.
25th August
This morning at Mass Father Michael spoke about the
beauty of nature all around us as being Gods art gallery.
Early each morning the flowers of the Morning Glory open -
see opposite - and lift our spirits with their beauty. Today
was also the birthday of our dear Sr. Anne Jacqueline who
will be returning to our monastery of Boulogne next week, so
we had a little tea party in her honour.
22nd August
Our God is great & glorious, & yesterday we were
showered with graces, blessings - & rain! Our Choir & Extern
chapel were packed to overflowing as over 300 friends &
relatives joined us for the celebration of our 4th Centenary
Mass. Our Bishop Kieron, 7 priests, Deacon David and our
faithful friend & server Peter
concelebrated a joyous Eucharist
.
The planting of an Acacia tree followed Mass & then
everyone made their way to the Marquee for lunch. Despite a
grey, dull day with a little drizzle at times, our hearts
were full of sunshine & thanksgiving as we continue the
journey begun by our first sisters 400 years ago. How
blessed we are to belong to our Visitandine family, united
throughout the world during this special year.
20th August
We're counting down the hours till our Celebration
Mass tomorrow
.
The magnificant flowers have arrived
and the lace is on the altar, everyone seems is
doing a 101 last minute tasks. The hole is dug for Bishop
Kieron to plant a tree and now we pray for a little sunshine
and hearts full of joy & gratitude.
19th August
In the Heritage room our Archivist, Sr. Mary Joseph has
been busy setting up an exhibition of many of our treasures;
very old books, photographs, documents
,
letters and embroidary plus a pictorial history of our
400 years.
18th August
Everywhere you look people are busy preparing for
Saturday.
17th August
Today Paul came to put up the marquee we are
having for the buffet lunch following the Jubilee
Celebration Mass with our Bishop this coming Saturday. He
was here all day in the rain, we didn't realize all the work
involved as watched it grow step be step.
11th August
Tomorrow is the feast of our Holy Mother, St. Jane
Francis de Chantal. This evening we held a Vigil
Service with music, prayer, readings and reflection, it was
beautiful and after a dull day at one point a magical light
streamed through the choir windows.
7th August
Today we joined, via video-link, with our sisters &
friends in our monasteries and other venues all over the
United States for a live simulcast, to be with them for the
28th National Salesian Conference on the Spirituality of St
Francis de Sales & St Jane de Chantal. The theme this year
was the Visitation. It was wonderful and for over 6 hours we
shared with them conferences by Fr. Joseph Chorpenning
O.S.F.S., Dr. Wendy Wright and Fr. Joseph Boenzi S.D.B. The
organiser was our good friend Fr. John Graden O.S.F.S. and
Joanne Kinney.
4th August
Click below to read Ruth Gledhills article printed in
the Times, of her visit to our Monastery.
Ruths article
3rd August
If you would like to hear Sr. Jane Margaret speaking to
Jane Gledhill & playing the zither please click below.
zither
2nd August
We've had a busy weekend. Jan Moir, a reporter from
the Daily Mail newspaper came for a mini retreat and to
write an article on the Visitation for her paper. On Sunday
Stephanie, a photographer from the newspaper came to take
pictures.
1st August
Sr. Paul Miryam has received her official
invitation to see the Holy Father in London when he comes
in September.
She will celebrate her Silver Jubilee just two days
before his arrival
.
31st July
The last day of July is here and during this month we
have been blessed with an abundance of fruit; raspberries,
strawberries, red, black & white currants, gooseberries and
cherry tomatoes. Our sister jam-maker has been very busy
making many good things, conserves, preserves and jellies.
16th July
Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Today we welcomed Ruth Gledhill, the Religious Correspondent
from the Times newspaper with Rhoda & Susanna, both
photographers, at the monastery. They are going to do an
article for the Times on monastic life.
9th July
Our dear Sr. Francis de Sales celebrated her 96th
birthday
.
We enjoyed a little tea party with her.
click here for
video
1st July
We had the joy of welcoming our dear Sr. Anne Jacqueline
today for a two month stay. Sister is from our Monastery of
Loango, Africa & has been studying Accountancy & English in Boulogne,
staying with our sisters there.
30th June
The last day of June, a glorious sunny, warm day with
a good breeze, perfect for a gardening day
with retreatants and friends. Click opposite to see how we
got on.
(we really did do some work as well
)
June 29th
Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul
Yesterday evening two of our sisters represented us
at the Induction ceremony of the Rev. David Charles
as Vicar of the Anglican church of All Saints in our nearby
village of Waldron. Our Mother & Sr. Clare Chantal
enjoyed the beautiful Liturgy and great welcome they
received.
June 24th
Today we had a delightful group
of
children
from the Trefoil Montessori Farm School in East Grinstead,
West Sussex. The only Eco school of its kind in the country which
uses 100% green energy. This lively group of 14 year olds
were doing a project on Religious Life
.
After seeing a slide show, armed with juice & biscuits they had a lot of questions.
June 1st - 10th
Mother Jane Margaret & Sr. Mary Joseph left
for Annecy, France by Eurostar, very early in the morning.They
were joining sisters who had gathered from all over the world to
celebrate this special year & to be at 'La Sainte Source' for
our Foundation day on the 6th June. They had a wonderful,
unforgettable few days, praying, visiting different places where
our first sisters had lived and most of all renewing friendships
and making new ones. These were gracefilled days uniting our
Visitation family. A beautiful Mass was concelebrated in the
Basilica of the Visitation on June 6th, by the Bishop of Annecy.
Click below to view short videos
Our Mother signing the vow book
in the Annecy Archives.
Lunch
at our monastery of Annecy.
Exposition during the Vigil service
in the Church of St Francoise.
Magnificat in the chapel
of our
Monastery of Marclaz.
Remembering the anniversaries of
our Monasteries & Sisters
during this special year.
Violin played at the vigil by a
Visitation sister from Belgium.
Placing flowers at the
Vigil service.
June 6th
Feast of Corpus Christi
1610-2010
We are 400 years old!
On Trinity Sunday, June 6th 1610 in Annecy, the Order of the
Visitation was founded by St Francis de Sales & St. Jane de
Chantal. We thank God for the graces & blessings of the last 400
years and as our Order continues to spread throughout the world,
we look to the future in hope and joy.
GOD BE PRAISED
May 25th
Today we have three
B's
Bluebells,
Blackbirds
and
Bellringers.
Our bluebell woods have been a sea of blue/mauve flowers.
Our blackbird eggs have hatched in the Turn cloister and there
are very large, very hungry chicks in a nest much too small for
them.
