Quarr

Abbey Issue 27 NEWSLETTER Summer 2020

Human, Safe and Caring Friends of Quarr “Stay Safe!” We hear this phrase quite a lot these days. Spontaneously, it seems, we fight the ‘malediction’ of the pandemic with good wishes. On behalf of the Friends of Quarr we St Benedict quotes the Bible saying: “A good word is above the best hope you continue to be well and safe in gift.” It is a good thing to say good words, to ‘say well’, to give a ‘bene- these challenging times. diction’ –literally, a ‘well-saying’, what we call a ‘blessing’. It is the first Quarr like so many other step towards doing good. Wherever there is an evil, the right answer, charities has been hit hard by the Covid19 pandemic and the support of according to St Paul, is to do good: “Do not be overcome by evil, but the Friends and all those who visit the overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21). There is always so much abbey is ever more important. good we can do. Fundraising, as we know it, is impossible When we bless others, we are asking God to bless them. Our blessing is in the ‘new normal’ with arranged a wish; God’s blessing is efficacious. Francis solemnly blessed the events having to be postponed or world on 27th March. He reminded us that we were not under a curse cancelled. The Friends were unable to hold the Easter Day Retreat and we and that God’s blessing would accompany us all through this trial. God’s cannot arrange a date for the Advent blessing rarely suppresses evil totally; but, through it, opens doors of life. Retreat. The Friends calendar for 2021 To see these doors we need hearts attuned with life. Let us be attentive has not been produced because of the and inventive. Families have found new ways of expressing love and threat of the on-going pandemic. The chairman will donate the funds, which proximity, beyond the suffering of separation and distance. Friends and would have been used to produce the neighbours have developed strategies of solidarity: a smile, a phone calendar, to the Accessible Paths Project. call, flowers or vegetables from the garden put at the door, help with It is hoped the project will be started shopping, keeping an eye on the more vulnerable, those more in need in the second week of September, of attention; nothing exceptional, when you think of it, just the simple, pandemic and weather permitting. elementary, and humbly effective language of love. To love is to procure The Friends send good wishes to you what is good for the other, to wish him or her good, and to do good, as and your families and hope that you much as we can. continue to keep safe. If you would like to join the Friends please email: And, yes, by the way, it is a very good time for loving others, for [email protected] or telephone offering support and humanity. St Benedict, speaking of the guests of 01983 882420 ext. 209 and leave a message. the , says we should first pray with them and then omnis exhibeatur humanitas. We could translate: ‘let them be treated as Like many charities, is human beings by human beings’. In good health or in illness, in youth suffering a lot of the present Covid or old age, gifted or handicapped, rich or poor, native or foreigner, a crisis. The Community is very human being remains at the same time carer and in need of care. The grateful for any donation towards stress can be on one side, or the other. Jesus, the most wonderful carer the maintenance of the monastery ever, was much in need of care in the crib and on the cross. He is cared and estate so that Quarr may remain open to many. Donations can be for in those who suffer. He is caring in those who serve them. made online through the website. You Getting closer to Him, we may, through these difficult times, become might also consider putting us in your will. The Procurator can be contacted more simply human, and even see more clearly what it is to be a human for any questions: procurator@quarr. being, what weakness this implies, and what nobility. org and 01983 882420 ext. 204. Xavier 1 was closed; all its staff were put on and unable even to enter a church to pray furlough. Our Operations Manager was before the tabernacle it was not something Quarr tasked to master the rapidly expanding we could take for granted. We gained a mass of advice and assistance offered by greater awareness of what it means for the Government. a monastic community to exercise a Abbey ministry of intercession on behalf of the Perhaps unsurprisingly the closure of the Church made the greatest difference wider Church and of the world. Chronicle to the community. It was very strange We gathered together before the statue celebrating the first Sunday Mass during of our Lady in the cloister for an act of lockdown. The Mass was celebrated as devotion each day after None. This was Lockdown Abbey normal, but abnormally, no congregation the regular custom during May, but was present. The door to the Church we extended it indefinitely. An rattled rather pathetically a few times on discovered a medieval Sequence, “Stella Someone said to me recently: “Of course, that first Sunday, but afterwards, only caeli exstirpavit”, composed during the you spend your whole lives silence. There was no offertory procession, fourteenth century for use in a time of in lockdown, so it doesn’t make any the cantor had to remember to intone plague. It wasn’t easy to sing, but once we difference to you.” I wonder. There may the “Agnus Dei” rather than exchange had mastered it this became a favourite be some truth in it; we do try to take the Kiss of Peace, and there was no need, chant we could offer to our Lady. solitude and silence seriously, but I have of course, to repeat the Communion noticed a fair few differences of late. It soon became clear that there would be Antiphon. a difficulty in providing the regular daily Lockdown crept up to us at Quarr We had a vague and rather insubstantial Mass for our sisters at Cecilia’s Abbey slowly, and we didn’t really see it coming hope that it would all be over by Easter, in . For a time they had a visiting until it was upon us. Coronavirus was a but the Solemnity of solemnities came Dominican priest, but after Easter he left, topic of conversation in the Art Gallery. and went in the midst of our isolation. and they were left without a Mass. The The Chronicler exchanged humorous It seemed somehow very wrong that we problem had to be solved. The solution remarks with the artists about the various could not share the joy of Christ’s victory involved a priest of the community living precautions to be taken. But it didn’t with our faithful friends and neighbours. at The Garth, Saint Cecilia’s external guest really strike home until one day I was told Their desire to come was almost tangible: accommodation for a week at a time. Mass the next exhibition had been cancelled. when we placed a recording of our Easter could be said for the sisters daily while The Gallery, the Bookshop and the Sunday Mass on our website, two hundred keeping strict isolation. The Garth has a Visitors Centre all closed together. The of them listened in, and that within forty- small private garden attached, and what little courtyard was emptied of all its eight hours of its posting. with a generous supply of books, most of crowds and business. Worried artists We felt very privileged to be able to the brethren found their week at Saint were concerned about the refunding of celebrate the Mass and the seven Hours of Cecilia’s a welcome silent retreat. their hire fees, volunteers were suddenly Prayer each day in our Abbey Church. It Otherwise the usual day to day ministry unoccupied on their day in the week. was something we had always done, but of the priest- to those outside the The Teashop stayed open for takeaways it became something more vital. With so community was much curtailed. Visitors for a few days more, but then that too, many people deprived of the sacraments, were few and far between. Nevertheless

Hudson Media 2 Fr. Luke was able to take the sacraments strange a thing to hear- the new normal. As I write the Farmshop is in process of to a friend and neighbour who was dying, Bees were still regular visitors to the re-opening to a limited extent. On my clothing himself in personal protective gardens as the Bee Keepers round I can see yellow markings on the equipment rather than the customary Association run a teaching apiary at paths leading to it; lines setting out the liturgical vestments. Quarr and that was still maintained. You approved social distancing limit. There is Although the guesthouse was closed from cannot keep bees on lockdown, but hives also a yellow box junction, marking the the beginning of the crisis, it was not, of were moved to areas where they could point where two lines of customers may course, empty. Saint Benedict says that be checked regularly but more discreetly. cross, and cause confusion and possibly guests are never lacking in a monastery, And the queen-rearing apiary reduced in contagion. and that is true even during lockdown. size for the time of crisis. Work goes on, for My security round ends with the Art Our two “familiares” are a regular fixture; it must, but the priorities and the rhythms Gallery, and it was there that I first saw they should really count as members of may change. evidence of a break-in! There was a large the community, but our cook decided There were places around the Abbey we pile of sticks outside the locked Gallery to join our household for the duration, rarely visited, especially to the front of the door. I pondered on the mess- could it taking over our self-contained guest flat- buildings. The Chronicler, however, was have been caused by someone cleaning his presence was very much appreciated! given an evening security round which up in the courtyard earlier in the day? In the middle of Lent a young man came gave him an eye for what was changing A moment later I had to duck down for a month’s trial in the and there. abruptly, as a jackdaw swooped down found that he could not leave us at the I used to glance across at the pig fields from above, and made for the open spaces. end of it. He became another lockdown on my way to the Teashop. In ordinary The sound of screeching from a loft above guest. Then there was an Italian student times they were surrounded by families, the Gallery gave a sign of occupation. The in Wales, whose course was put on hold, especially crowds of excited children. But jackdaws have never nested there before, and who couldn’t return to Sicily, and they were now empty; not to protect but nature abhors a vacuum. I suppose who asked to be taken in. Finally a young the pigs from the virus, but to save their that before too long we will have to take Islander who had to leave his lodgings many fans from the dangers of a social possession of our world again, but perhaps when Coronavirus struck needed gathering. some things will have changed for good. somewhere to live. Fortunately, all fitted well into our makeshift household. Differences could be noticed in the Abbey grounds too. I remember one day being A New Book struck by the sound of bird song. It seemed by Fr. Abbot so much more insistent than usual. I thought about this, and gradually became À L’École de SAINT BENOÎT: La aware that there was no competing Spiritualité Bénédictine à l’usage de background noise. tous les chrétiens (Éditions Emmanuel) The drone of traffic from the Ryde to Abbot Xavier’s new book (signed Newport road was no longer there. on the first Saint Benedict feast and Only an occasional and rather raucous published in time for the second) is roar from an isolated vehicle compelled imbued with the spirit of the father attention. And little sound came from the of western monasticism. The first Solent, and nothing but bird song from section of this book examines the two the air. sources we have for Benedict’s life, Pope Saint Gregory’s biography and The sea and the sky were so empty. No the Rule of Saint Benedict, but not small boats troubled . Only the at all in a merely archaeological way. occasional car ferry ( no foot passengers Giving due attention to the form and allowed! ) or container ships stirred the context of these documents, Father Saint Bede and Dame Gertrude waters. And no planes crossed the blue. Xavier considers why our founder did More). Appended to each brief life Only clouds marked the sky. The absence or prescribed particular things and is a passage from the writings of the of vapour trails recalled a pre-modern in discerning the saint’s aims reveals person concerned, valuable for the world. his heart. The tells us that we depth of its spiritual teaching. The final Nature was trying to return to the wild, know people by their fruits and this section, which will be of special value but our gardeners were still hard at work. principle underlies the second section, to Benedictine , is about how to They were spared furlough, and could which presents the rich fruits of Saint live in the world in the spirit of Saint continue coming in each day on condition Benedict’s life and teaching: a family Benedict. Discernment, an abbot’s that we never met. They were mostly both very diverse and very united. special charism and duty, shines employed in the public areas in front of We are shown this family through through this. It is hoped that this fine the house. But they did come into the particular monastic figures through introduction will soon be available in cloister garden on one occasion. The the centuries and from among the English translation. day before we were warned to keep our nations (including two from : Dom Luke Bell distance. And by now it didn’t seem so

3 exchanges with Britain, in the region of intellectual life. It was a challenge for this Cognac. The bicultural identity of the rather smart young gentleman to be given family was fostered when Jean-Pierre’s the tasks of a stable-boy. But an excellent father, who had lost his wife when the boy perfectly understood his was still young, fled to England in June heart and guided him wisely, supporting 1940. He was to spend the war as an officer him through initial periods of difficulty in the France Libre of Général De Gaulle. and even of doubt. Through friendship links between De Frère Robert was a man of great vitality Gaulle and Père de Baulaincourt, Jean- who always saw the good side of things Pierre was led to visit Quarr in August and easily became enthusiastic about ideals 1943 together with his father. This was an and persons, sometimes in a slightly naïve illumination. Coming out of the church way, but always very sincerely. after attending Vespers, he immediately asked his father: ‘Where could I live such From the start, Frère Robert was in tune a life in France?’ He paid another visit in with the great movements of the life 1944, and visited four times in 1945. He of the Church in the 20th Century. He would remember his conversations with followed with the greatest interest the Abbot Tissot, with Père de la Messelière, developments of the liturgical movement Frère Robert the guest-master, and with Dom Paul and welcomed the liturgical reform of Meyvaert. Above all, he was captivated Vatican II with joy and gratitude. Access Williamson by the beauty of the abbey church, the to the full divine office for the lay- monastery and the grounds, and enthused brothers (he had been for years the only (1928-2020) by the liturgical life. He became an Oblate one among them who attended Vigils), of Quarr before leaving England. concelebration, readings in the vernacular, Oblate of Quarr (1945) and celebration versus populum: all these Monk of Kergonan (1949) Back in France in 1946, he joined the points were signs of hope and seeds for a Benedictine Abbey of Kergonan in deep renewal of the whole Church. Jean-Pierre Grenfell Williamson was born Brittany, near Carnac. His father’s , He was also an ardent ecumenist. The in 1928 in France. He was the grandson the highly respected “Oncle Robert”, was prayer for Christian unity was at the of Grenfell Mackellar Williamson, an an oblate of Kergonan. At his clothing, heart of his life and he fostered all possible Englishman named after the ship the Jean-Pierre took his name and became contacts with Anglican and Orthodox ‘Admiral Grenfell’ on board of which he “Frère Robert”. He was received among Christians. was born in the China Sea in 1857. This the lay-brothers whose life focussed man had married into a French family on manual work, whereas the choir He was attentive to interreligious dialogue, of the gentry, active in commercial monks had a more intense liturgical and having known as young monk Dom

Abbey of Saint Anne of Kergonan

4 Henri Le Saux, a monk of Kergonan who of this book: it can be used as a retreat- travelled to India in 1950 and initiated a guide for an intensive week’s study, or dialogue with the Hindu religion. for those with less free time, a chance Moreover, he had always had a strong call for “a pause” in which to learn and to serve the poor and took to heart the absorb a life-view based on prayer and “preferential option for the poor”. contemplation: a “living from love.” Each chapter is devoted to a single day All these great currents of the life of of the week, beginning with Sunday, the the Church became part of his life. For day of the Resurrection. The derivation many decades he was an enthusiastic of each day’s name is explained and sacristan with love for all the details which connected with the message of that contribute to the beauty of the service chapter’s subject and focus. Using of God. He became very good at making poetry, and quotations from Scripture flower arrangements to the point that he in the poetic King James translation, as eventually led courses. illustrations, we are guided into a new In the 80s he was put in charge of way of living our lives, of seeing life itself. welcoming the tramps who ask for One word echoes throughout the hospitality for a night at the Abbey. whole book, the Greek word “menein”, When he took over from his predecessor, for which the author gives varied he transformed this activity into an translations, but focuses mainly on apostolate of charity. He really made A New Book by the meaning “abide”. This is the key himself the brother of all these often and essence of what we are meant to broken men, and the father of many of Dom Luke Bell understand: to abide with the Spirit them. He had a real paternity towards There is these days a growing debate and dwell with Him daily, hourly, many people including Aids patients, in society between believers and non- every moment, until our lives become former prisoners, and destitute of all sorts. believers about what should drive rooted both in the present, and in the In 2006, he underwent a serious heart our life-purpose. Under the stresses Eternal. Each chapter takes us deeper operation. From that time on, he had to of the current situation, or even the and more fully into this mystery, reduce his activities and contacts. There stresses of “normal” everyday life, through contemplation and the were new currents of thoughts and ways simply counting on what can be seen understanding of symbolism, giving a of doing things in the Church, to which he and touched and possessed, or proven better understanding of the meaning of was less attuned. His health deteriorated physically, eventually fails us. We long God’s love for us and its expression in and he lost many dear members of his for something more: a Mystery to enrich Christ and the meaning of Unity with extended family and numerous friends. our lives, change our life-view. This little the Divine Life. All this was not easy, but he underwent volume can introduce to those who It is a book to keep in a pocket and it without any sadness or bitterness. He have no experience of it, and deepen the carry with you – something rich can be let the hand of God work in His life with understanding of those who are part way gleaned just from opening it at random deep trust and great joy. Up to the end, along the road, that which, in the words and reading a few paragraphs, and also he remained something of an Englishman of the introduction, “is more likely to from a more steady and thorough study with a good sense of humour, courage in make us pause before the mystery, to of its chapters in sequence as they build adversity, and a strong taste for all sorts of humble us before the numinous, to open day-on-day into a full expression of the beans. Above all, he was a monk: a man of us to what comes from beyond.” richness to be gained from “staying tender”. simple, but constant prayer, intercession We can pursue this through the chapters Julia Trahair and praise, who was fully himself in the liturgical praise; and a brother who was not perfect, but who was evidently doing his best to love you and to open his heart to all. Ode to the Pen Recall that when But ontic stamp He kept in contact with Quarr over the The writing pen From Beauty’s Lamp years, writing regularly to Abbot Tissot. Than type more noble to revere. The pen’s bright write light sure. He visited many times, either for a time So now and then of personal retreat on the occasion of one I wonder when So now and then of his jubilees, or to attend an abbatial That pen Take up that pen, blessing (including Abbot Xavier’s in 2016), May re-appear. Once worked and flower anew. thus remaining a dearly beloved member Your words of art of the extended Quarr family. He had If gift you have A new bud start celebrated 70 years of monastic profession In letter craft, Growth’s shooting – at Kergonan and had been an oblate of Then either show this true. None too few! Quarr for 75 years when he was called to Dom Brian Gerard Kelly meet the Lord. Abbot Xavier 5 of the Psalms the early monks practised other forms of prayer. Many of them knew the whole of the Bible by heart and CELL-a place would spend hours meditating on the Sacred Text. They would do this also while of freedom they were working. Very few of us today have the ability to memorise such a great body of material. However one of the chief types of prayer practised by the modern monk or is Lectio Divina, Spiritual Reading. There are many ways of reading the Bible but when we practice Lectio Divina we are praying with the Word of God. Lectio Divina is the very slow deliberate reading of the Sacred Scriptures with significant periods of silence. In this prayer we are asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what He wants us to learn from that passage at that time. Silence is very important because we cannot really listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit unless we open the ears of our heart just as in Hudson Media normal human conversation we cannot Monks and generally live in rooms This tradition is still very much upheld understand what someone else is saying that are called cells. They share this with in the monastic life of the 21st century. unless we stop speaking ourselves and another group of people called prisoners. Our Cells at Quarr are really simple study really listen. Whereas for most prisoners the cell is a bedrooms. The Cell of a monk can only be It is in the silence of his Cell that the place of restriction and confinement in entered by the Abbot or by another monk monk normally practices Lectio Divina the monastic tradition the cell is just the for serious reasons but only with the but as he goes about his work he can recall opposite. It is a place of freedom and joy express permission of the Abbot. Thus the verses of Scripture which speak to his where the monk can encounter the deep monk’s solitude is protected. heart. mystery of the Living God. The purpose of the Cell is to provide a The Cell, as we have said, is the place In Latin the word Cella can mean a shed protected place where the monk can pray, where the monk know he has solitude to store agricultural produce or a simple meditate upon the Scriptures. and study and another very important type of prayer dwelling place suitable for a slave or a sacred theology without disturbance. practised by the monk in his cell can poor worker. It was very appropriate For the early monastic their be called “the prayer of Silence” In this therefore that the early monks called their prayer was largely based on the recitation prayer the monk seeks to enter deeply very simple dwellings ‘Cells’ as they saw of the Psalter. As we know from the Rule into the silence of his heart where he can themselves as slaves of Christ. of St. Benedict our monastic fathers very encounter the Uncreated Light of the In the deserts these were either very often recited all the Psalms in a day. Holy . simple structures or even caves in a cliff With the development of Cenobitic Even when we can find external silence, face. They would contain the minimum monastic life, where the monks lived in a which even for a monk can be difficult items needed for living. Community, the monks gathered several with ferries and aircraft around, most of How then did the monks perceive the times a day for what became the Divine us have a real problem achieving internal purpose of their cells? As a starting point Office. This had its origin in the ancient silence. The moment we really attempt we can say that the Cell is a dwelling place prayers of the Jewish Temple, and like in to be still our mind fills up. Sometimes for a monk. The word ‘monk’ comes the Temple, the key times of prayer were with real concerns and worries but to from the Latin word ‘monachus’ meaning at sunrise and sunset. Gradually other often with aimless thoughts or day solitary. Solitude is essential for the times of prayer were added and by the dreams. There is also sometimes the monastic life and the Cell is the centre of time of St. Benedict, (480 – 547 C.E.) we problem of temptations to indulge in solitude for the monk. find in the Latin West the classical seven evil practices which the early monastic fold Office. The point is that it was in this theologian Evagrius, who went into the Quarr Abbey is a Choir Office which was recited by the deserts of Egypt about 383 until he died community of Benedictine monks monks, or nuns, together in Choir that in 399, tabulated as “the eight passions” of the Solesmes Congregation. If the Psalter was prayed. but, through the mediation of Pope St. you wish to contact us please write Gregory the Great, have come into the When considering monastic prayer to [email protected] or Quarr west as “the seven deadly sins”. Abbey, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 we have to remember that almost the 4ES. Our website address is www. chief motivation of the whole monastic Starting with the early Desert Fathers quarrabbey.org movement is to “pray without ceasing through the great monastic teachers like “(1 Thess.5/17) Apart from the recitation Evagrius and St. John Climacus (579 – 649) 6 to the great mystical writers of both east pray- to be with Jesus in the depths of our and west such as St. Theresa of Avila and hearts so we as Christians can be beacons St. Gregory Palamas we are given clear of Divine Light and Love to the world. In the Deep teaching on how to combat distraction During these last strange months and evil passions. many millions of people in the world Deaf the story, dumb the song To give but one example of how we can have experienced having to be locked It isn’t as it was before overcome inward noise to encounter the down in a confined space. They have Songs and stories get it wrong silence of the Divine Light within us- for experienced something of the Cell. For They cannot tell it any more the teaching of the fathers is so rich it is some, especially perhaps for families with In the past then all is dance impossible to really do justice to it here- small children, this has been a very hard Now all is bluff, remembering let us look at the so called Jesus Prayer. and difficult time. Despite all the modern We give no thought to form or chance This prayer arose from the early monastic means of intercommunication even We open lips, we love, we sing prayer of the Desert Fathers. The classical some teenagers have talked of their great version of this prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, loneliness and distress because they could We fall, we fade, now in the deep Son of the Living God, have mercy upon not go to College or physically meet with Now is a when, the past a well me a sinner.” was not totally formulated their mates. It holds us, in its murk we creep Who once had wings and tales to tell for a few centuries but using the Divine But for others this has been a time of great Name of Jesus goes back to beyond the blessing. Stepping back from their busy And yet in deeper dark I see deserts to the very earliest Christian world in the solitude of lockdown they The fair reflection of the mind Communities. have been able to reach out and reconnect Glimmering, so fitful-free As used in the Cells of the monks it seems with the Divine. Many have also been So pregnant with sheer light to find given time to rethink how they look at that the monk first of all tried to be truly And in the silence, in the stillness the world. No one would have wished silent. This was aided by physical posture When we ask the woe and mirth Covid 19 with all the very real and acute and deep slow breathing. Then the prayer To make some sense of death and suffering it has brought. Nevertheless if was recited slowly with the breath. After illness we can see that God can bring good out some time the monk just stopped the God speaks, and Heaven comes to of the most profound evil perhaps we prayer and tried to enter a pool of deep Earth can see hope that on the other side of the prayer and silence. When distractions Sam Davidson came he took up the prayer again. While Pandemic the world will be in some ways we do not know the exact pattern we changed for the good. There has been know enough from early monastic a great resurgence of kindness between teaching that this is at least a rough peoples. Ordinary people are going out of approximation. their way to help their neighbour as the early monks laid aside solitude to practice Ode to There are many others ways of prayer hospitality- the love of Christ- to those but the Cell invites us all into silence- who came to them. Perhaps also we have Quarr Abbey however the Holy Spirit invites us to been made to look again at our very fragile Lavender lavabo in the monastery’s earth in the hope that mankind will care stone more profoundly for this beautiful home my prayer-flower heals in the lilac flow God has given us. of air as fragrant as the crystalline coast But it is our deepest prayer, as monks, that your hands of prayer-blossom give life for many this time of solitude will enable to new fountains them to seek and find a relationship with blessing a tree that trembles invisibly God. That people will see how shallow the fallen apple renewed in rhythmic and dangerous our modern materialistic strophes culture is. That in the Cell they may see that only in God can we find true healing the purest blue incense of Solesmes’ for the world. The early monks went into tones the desert to find solitude, silence and eleftheria’s hyssop in the silent heart simplicity so they could really seek God. eleftheria’s hyssop in the black-mantle Quarr is, if you like, a cell of deep prayer night and silence to show the world there is a the plainchant fruit yields its blood better way than the false idols of modern pebbles soften in the almond-clay tide culture. The lockdown has been forced light is reborn in the orchard-sea souls on many but may they be given eyes to where Agape walks through rose- see beyond the present blackness to open crystal grass their hearts and minds to receive the where Agape sings the Lamb’s rose- Divine Light from God which is the only chant. way to eternal happiness and peace to all Blake Everrett in our troubled world. Hudson Media Dom Nicholas Spencer 7 in a final chapter gives us a measure of hope by recounting the fragile signs of movement toward reconciliation arising in our own time. Ralph Hodd, was, like Patrick, a school teacher with a life long interest in history, and especially the history of the in England. “A Wight ” is the book he completed shortly before his death in 2018. He provides an account of the Reformation as it affected the Island Parishes, which he examines individually. But he begins and ends with chapters of a more general nature. He emphasizes the tentative nature of many of his judgements owing to the extremely fragmentary condition of the evidence available, yet a broad outline of events becomes clear in a succession Two friends, two books, of fascinating facts uncovered by his researches. two stories of schism A monk of Quarr is intrigued to learn that no fewer than four were It was with very real pleasure that we Constantinople, and he was not alone in dissolved on the Island to his own received copies of two recently published so doing. and that a century before the Protestant books written by two good friends of The real bones of contention between Reformation. In the early fifteenth Quarr, now both, alas, deceased. By East and West seem to have been political century, and for political reasons four coincidence both books concerned rather than theological. The Greeks French dependent were closed at themselves with the religious and political were accused of siding with the Moslems the height of the hundred years war. trials of historical island communities. against their western Christian brethren, – Patrick Tobin’s, “The Gong-Tormented When Quarr itself was dissolved under or, at least, with failing to supply men and Sea: The Norman Kingdom of Sicily and Henry VIII we learn that two monks went arms and supplies to assist the crusading the Byzantine Empire” surveys a very to Beaulieu Abbey in Hampshire, two armies. The Latins were accused of seizing long period of medieval history, while to in while Fr. Greek churches in the West and placing Ralph Hodd’s “A Wight Reformation: The Richard Wodhill stayed to act as them under Latin jurisdiction, of failing People, Priests and Parishes of the Isle of priest of and Quarr. Then the to stand up to Norman aggression against Wight during the Tudor Reformation” treasures of the Abbey were seized by the Greeks in Apulia, Calabria and Sicily. has a more concentrated focus over a the Crown Commissioners including Disputes over the Procession of the Holy shorter time frame. But a reviewer is “a cristall boxe with relikks in it.” What Spirit and the use of unleavened bread at naturally tempted to consider them became of that? Mass were no more or less a problem than together. they had been for centuries. And as Quarr rejoices in a French abbot Patrick Tobin studied history at Oxford in the person of Dom Xavier we are University and enjoyed a long and The relationship which staggered on reminded of the strange appearance of a successful career as a teacher and throughout the twelfth century was dealt French curate at Binstead during Queen headmaster. “The Gong-Tormented Sea” its death blow in the fatal year of 1204. Mary’s brief Catholic restoration in was a work of his retirement and was In this year a new crusade was launched, the mid sixteenth century. Fr. Combus completed shortly before his death in ostensibly to recapture Jerusalem from Monamye, like a meteor appears for a 2020. the Saracens and re-establish a Latin moment before suddenly disappearing Kingdom centred on the Holy City. Quite into oblivion. From that time the Island At the heart of his narrative of Norman possibly, its leaders never intended to take becomes a Reformation isle. Perhaps the rule in South Italy and Sicily is the heart- it; they had their eyes fixed on a far richer threat of Spanish invasion led to a closing breaking account of the Great Schism prize. The ships made for Constaninople of the ranks and all seeking refuge in the of the Eastern and Western Churches, and after the breakdown of embassies, national church. of how centuries of misunderstanding and mutual recriminations, the city “The Gong-Tormented Sea” is published culminated in a final, seemingly was besieged, and breached, and finally by the Estcourt Press, and “A Wight irrevocable split. The well-known, mutual sacked in an orgy of hatred. The Eastern Reformation” is privately published excommunications of 1054 were not, Church has never forgotten the harlot so by The Isle of Wight Catholic History according to Patrick, all that significant. A sacrilegiously placed on the patriarchal Society” Both books are available from century later, Blessed Peter the Venerable, throne. Abbot of Cluny, was writing with both Quarr Abbey Bookshop. reverence and affection to the in Patrick tells the story with panache, but Br Duncan Smith 8