Surviving a Friary - Top Tips

In order to ensure that your stay with the Franciscans is a pleasant one, please read the following advice:


PART ONE - FOOD

a) If you have never cooked crayfish when they are donated to the friary, follow Kerri's lead, play with them for a while in the sink before boiling them for an unspecified period in cajun spices. Give thanks at Evening Prayer that everyone loved them and no one was ill.

b) Crayfish are a fearsome adversary.  Remain steadfast in faith.  A good flick of the colander also helps.

c) Cheese and broccoli quiche becomes the best thing in the world when you add masses more cheese than usual to it.

d) Cucumber may not be eaten within the friary if it conforms to a normal cucumber shape.

e) St Francis opened the Gospels at random to find out the will of God.  This does not work with Love Hearts.

 PART TWO - TRIPS OUT

a) It is impossible to take pictures of Michael and Lyndon eating packed lunches and keep them as friends when they see the resulting picture.  Also, supervise the making of the sandwiches next time.

 b) Franciscans contemplate the scenery in a pretentious manner wherever they go.

c) The big city is exciting, but far better to go to Sidmouth (c/o Waterloo Station btw).

 d) People in Dorchester are very proud of their murderous past

PART THREE - The Library

a) Never invite Lord Chief Rabbi Sacks around to see what he has been put next to.

PART FOUR - Administration

a) Amazon send you lots of boxes with one object - there will always be a use for these, even if it is making a toy tractor.

PART FIVE - Animals

a) Always engage with the animals on a trip to the donkey sancturary. They will always make your life better, even if you feel like a small child whilst doing so.

b) Br Raymond has the same hairdresser as Albert Einstein.  Please stroke the donkey rather than Br Andrew.

c) Become one with the animals by imitating their relationship with the Earth - also try not to get trodden on.

d) Unlike Br Damian, do not feed your clothing to the animals.  They will not release you.

Peace and goodwill from Hilfield!

A few pictures from the Transitus Service

Tomorrow (the 4th of October) is the feast of St Francis, so finally the madness will be over.  On the night before his feast day, that is tonight, Franciscans celebrate Francis' death in a service called the 'transitus' or 'journey across.'

The service uses chunks of the biographers to recreate Francis' last days and here at Hilfield centres around a habit on the floor with five candles, representing the stigmata, the wounds of Christ which Francis bore.

Here are some pictures taken after the service.  It is pretty rare to see this sort of thing, so I thought I had better share it.

 

Br Vincent's habit used to represent St Francis

(The candles represent the wounds in Francis' feet, hands and side)

 The altar with a candle in front of a renaissance painting of St Francis

The complete effect

Five candles for the Stigmata and one at the altar, reflecting on the floor tiles

Br Hugh getting slowly more narked as people keep taking photos

May God bless you all this St Francistide.