Archbishop Rowan presided and preached at the eucharist for The Annunciation, and as part of the service dedicated the Oratory to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Benedict, and blessed the Entrance and Refectory as places of welcome and hospitality.
The weather was perfect, the daffodils were shining in the Oratory, and the skylarks sang throughout. Here are some words from Archbishop Rowan's homily:
"This new home for a community has been designed and constructed with deep attention to the kind of world we’re in; the kind of world where it won’t do to ignore considerations about ecological balance, sustainability and the health of the whole environment. And surely that’s part of the same listening: listening for the creative Word in things, in the stuff of the world; listening our way into the depths of what is around us, so that the Word comes alive in what we do with the things that are around us, the stuff we live with and live on.
...
"So,
ausculta, listen, as The Rule [of Benedict] says. But also speak, be who you are, be who you say you are in this place. Let this place be what it is, and let all of that together be God’s Word to this wider environment."
Update: The full text of the homily is now available on the
Mucknell website.
Photo credit: Rev Andrew Spurr.
Lovely to see Archbishop Rowan-he was from here in Monmouthshire and was lovely when he visited
ReplyDeleteour Primary school at Llantilio Pertholey