Hellebore times

Br. Marc is on his pre-profession retreat at Mepkin Abbey, in South Carolina. His inital profession of the Benedictine vow will take place next Wednesday. Would you hold him in prayer as he prepares for this great transition?

Br. Luc is coming to the end of his first month of a three-month sojourn at our St Benedict's Priory, in Hermanus, South Africa.

Br. Josias, our South African Novice, is getting to the midway of his stay with us in West Park, he is a prayerful presence and a joy to live with.

Here in West Park, we have been observing Contemplative Days this week, accompanied by a dozen or so guests who also appreciate the round-the-clock silence.

Other than that, it's been a slow week; what the media used to call "cucumber times" for the mid-summer days when the cucumber harvest was what caught the headlines. We will call this week, "hellebore times" for the flowering of our first hellebores, also called "Lenten roses." They are suitably discreet and understated for this liturgical season.

Hellebore times. From top, clockwise: lit-up barge and its tugboat on the Hudson River under an orange moonrise; first blooming hellebore in front of the Guesthouse (2 pictures).

May you experience the blessings of Lent.