Jamberoo Abbey

09/09/2026

Post Compline

Oh Gracious Giver of the Day,
Bountiful has been my daily bread;
and in the heart of sorrows
You have surrounded me with grace.

My eyes scan the horizons
of your goodness.
Standing tall with thanksgiving
I praise you with a grateful heart.

Let your mantle of peace
clothe me in this evening hour.
It is well with my soul.
All shall be well; all shall be well.
Amen

~ Macrina Wiederkehr osb

And may it indeed be well for us all, this night...

07/09/2026

Today is the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary...or in simple terms, it's Mary's birthday!

Last night, as I was reflecting on this, my mind turned to wondering about the young Mary in the days before we actually meet her having a conversation with an angel in the first pages of Luke's Gospel.

There is so much we don't know about the young Mary...so much we'd like to know! We imagine the delight of her conception and birth for Anna and Joachim her parents...her days as a small child being loved, nurtured, formed...her time as a teenager, learning, engaging, questioning, blossoming. And what of her birthdays...how were they celebrated? Were there special foods, gifts, family gatherings...what was done to make her feel special?

I'm not too sure where I'm heading with all these random thoughts but maybe that word, "special" is what today's feast is about. Mary has been, and continues to be, one of our "specials" throughout history. Today, we celebrate her and rejoice in her birth, her life and her ever-presence with us as sister, mother, mentor, friend.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!

Artwork ~ Mary Southard csj

07/09/2026

Monday Morning Reflection during the Season of Creation

Dear God,
We celebrate spring’s returning
and the rejuvenation of the natural world.
Let us be moved by this vast and gentle insistence
that goodness shall return,
that warmth and life shall succeed.
Help us to understand our place in this miracle.
Let us see that as a bird now builds its nest, bravely,
with bits and pieces, so we must build human faith.
It is our simple duty;
it is the highest art;
it is our natural and vital role within the miracle of spring;
the creation of faith.
Amen
~words and image to welcome spring by Michael Leunig

06/09/2026

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time & Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all our dads, grandads and father figures in our lives. We remember too fathers who are no longer with us and pray for fathers who are struggling in any way.

Our thoughts and prayers are also with those for whom today is a difficult day and all families who have suffered hardship, loss or tragedy recently.

This tender blessing from Jan Richardson is our prayer today for fathers and families...

For Those Who Walked With Us

For those
who walked with us,
this is a prayer.
For those
who have gone ahead,
this is a blessing.

For those
who touched and tended us,
who lingered with us
while they lived,
this is a thanksgiving.

For those
who journey still with us
in the shadows of awareness,
in the crevices of memory,
in the landscape of our dreams,
this is a benediction.
Amen

05/09/2026

A few thoughts for the weekend on "that matter of finding joy"...

"That matter of finding joy and not treating joy as optional but understanding that joy is life-giving; it is resilience-making; it is our birthright and it must accompany us if we are to really walk into the world ahead of us with its vast challenges and magnificent callings. We have to claim joy...be whole..and stay whole."
~ Author unknown

A joy-full weekend to us all!

04/09/2026

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
~ Wendell Berry

The great Wendell Berry has died. Wendell was an American poet, novelist, environmentalist and farmer who was often referred to as a modern day prophet.

Amongst all of his poems, essays and novels, he is best remembered for the poem above. A quick look back through our page shows that we have posted this poem several times over the years, most often when, as now with the tragedy in Nepal and Tibet, we have faced climate emergencies which carry a clear message from our planet.

Today we thank God for Wendell's life and for the gift of his creativity, insight and words which so often celebrate the beauty of creation and inspire us to return to a more simple lifestyle where we live in harmony with the earth and all her peoples.

As we farewell Wendell and return him to the earth he loved, may our God and all his "wild things" welcome him home to the light and peace he longed for.

Some years ago, OnBeing produced a short video of The Peace of Wild Things recited by Wendell himself. We share it now as we remember him with gratitude.

“The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry is part of our “Poetry ...

03/09/2026

As mentioned last week, we recently held a book launch at Jamberoo Abbey to celebrate the publication of Sr Antonia Curtis' new book, Dying to Die. There's been a great deal of interest in the book from places near and far so we thought we'd share a bit more about the joy-filled day we experienced with family members, Oblates and friends.

The article includes further information from Sr Antonia herself about what the book isn't and more importantly what it is! Above all she hopes it is a warm book and a spiritual one which has the theology of the Rule of St Bendedict at its heart. You can read more about the book, the author and the celebration at this link:
https://www.jamberooabbey.org.au/dying-to-die-book-launch/

02/09/2026

Season of Creation

"The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, God's boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God.”
~Pope Francis in Laudato Si (Paragraph 84)

May our eyes and hearts be open to every "caress" of our Creator God throughout this double delight of spring and the Season of Creation.

Image - a spring caress from the Abbey with thanks to photographer, Sr Mary Bernadette!

31/08/2026

Spring! National Wattle Day! The Season of Creation!

Wow, three wonderful events on the same day and to all three, we say WELCOME! It has been a cold winter and how we all long for sunshine, warmth and the joy of seeing new life springing up around us. All of these signs will hopefully thaw any chill in our own hearts and restore life and hope as we look forward to summer and holidays.

The Season of Creation which runs from today until the feast of St Francis on 4 October, will provide us with many opportunities to delight, engage, listen, learn and act. But, for today, let us simply rejoice, breathe deeply of the fresh spring air, enjoy some sun on our skin and praise God for this wonderful gift, the season of spring!

31/08/2026

Monday Morning Reflection

What Enters through the Open Heart

I awaken early as usual,
have my little pot of breakfast and feed the dog,
then she makes circles and squeals,
knowing what is next.

Morning prayer, walking the canal and river,
quiet before the city hums,
she stops every few feet to sniff
messages left for her on blades of grass
and tree trunks,

and I wonder at the messages
imprinted here for me too,
a feather floating,
a leaf on my path,
an acorn fallen.

I pray with my feet,
smell dawn’s freshness,
the possibility of here and now,
the swan glides up the water
and the duck quacks a warning
to his companions,

the blackbird does what he must do
and I return home singing amen.
~ Christine Valters Paintner

Messages entering through open hearts...and singing amen as we go...yes to all of the above! Happy last day of winter!

Image ~ Maggies singing their farewell to winter with thanks to Diana Andersen Photography