Palm Sunday, 1 April

Today it is Palm Sunday and a beautiful sunny day.  Blessings of the crucified and risen Lord to you for the celebration of Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum (The "three days" of Holy Thursday night, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday).

Work on the priory has continued since my last post.  As well the Carmelite community has met and discussed how we will furnish the oratory.  The library and other effects from our Box Hill house will arrive from storage on 16 April.  That will help us make more decisions in regard to the priory and provide lots of work in sorting books and assembling shelving etc.

Parts of the building look almost finished.  In other parts it is slower.  We have had delays in the delivery of some products.  We wished Maurie well on Wednesday as he left on Friday with his wife and kids for a holiday in the USA.  Big hearted Maurie had thrown a BBQ the previous Friday for all the workers including me. 

Walkway beside the chapel takes shape

Some of our rooms have now sprouted adjustable sun shades over the veranda spaces outside.  These are very necessary in the north facing rooms in summer.  However the photo I have below is of the south facing rooms- the dining room, two bedrooms and in the distance the common room.  Here the sunshades are simpler.

The sunshades in white

The corridor now has a ceiling as do some of the rooms. The ceiling in the corridor has been painted. 

Corridor with ceilings painted

The area around the courtyard has been tidied up as well. 

Looking through to the courtyard with the view beyond

Some of the bedrooms have also had their ceilings put in, though they have not been painted as yet.  We now have a sense of the final look and shape of the bedrooms.  As the workers will have a break for Easter I will take photos next week.

Bedroom looking to the entrance with clerestory above

Sunday, 25 March

It has been catch up time all week for me and the community.  Some of us spent a fair bit of time boxing our library and dismantling the shelving.  Thursday with the help of Paul Maunder's nephew Paul Betros we moved the books and shelving into the new library.

Meanwhile the workers on the site have been busy as usual.  The car park has had lemon scented ti trees planted between it and St Teresa's hermitage.  It now has wheel stoppers on the side near St Teresa's as it is quite a drop.

Car Park with signage and wheel stoppers

Wes and Troy have been working cutting and laying sandstone at the entrance to the priory.  The colour of the stone is typical of Sydney stone.

Entrance with sandstone paving

The landscapers have also put in lawn which makes the path from the chapel to the priory very pleasant.  It give a sense of arrival to the front of the priory

Path to the priory entrance

When we look up from the north side of the chapel all the fencing has gone and we can see an almost complete exterior of the new building. 

Look no fence- the view from the cemetery

The view from the novitiate to the oratory is also impressive. 

The oratory from the novitiate

The bedrooms now have windows and door and insulation in the ceiling.  The insulation has an R rating of R3.5.  This is impressive in itself but it is now the standard for all buildings in Australia.

Bedroom with doors and windows

The oratory now has a floor.  The wood is Sydney Blue Gum.  When it is sealed it will look beautiful.

Oratory with Sydney Blue Gum floor

Here is a picture of the library with all our books and shelving transferred.  At some point we will have to begin assembling the shelving and unpacking the book.  We will also soon bring the books and shelving from the Box Hill priory to the site.  Then we will have our library.

Books in boxes and shelving awaiting assembly

The walkway on the south side of the chapel took another step last week.  The columns are now at their right height.  Maurie Cohen, our foreman, is pushing for a lot of work to be completed this coming week as he and his family are going on holidays from Friday.  I will make sure I am organised to update soon.

Columns for the walkway to the priory

Saturday, 10 March

OCDS Congress participants

For most of this week I have been away with the Carmelite Secular Order at their Congress at the St Joseph Centre in Baulkham Hills.  It was an excellent week.  We were privileged to have with us Fr Aloysius Deeney, OCD, the Carmelite General Delegate for the Secular Carmelites.  We were pleased to welcome Fr Jim De Laurier, OCarm, and three Lay OCarm members with us on Tuesday and Wednesday.  If you click on the photo it becomes larger and so you might see who was there.  It was a very worthwhile time together.  We met OCDS members from around Australia and reflected on what St Teresa had to say to us today.  For all the excellent facilities at St Joseph's it was good to be back in my own bed on Friday. 

Car park after the rain

It rained on Thursday.  While we were absorbed in our meetings there was flash flooding back home.  Roads were covered with water and it was quite dramatic.  In the above photo from the car park you can see the traces of mud washed down by the rain. 

From the priory entrance looking to the chapel

The worker pushed on through the week and it was good on my return to walk around the site.  You can see how the landscaping has begun to give a sense of the finished building and how it will relate to the other buildings on site.

Entry foyer

The windows are in the entry and the ceiling has been painted.

Library

The library just needs lighting and floor covering to be complete.

Oratory

The oratory has now taken shape.

Courtyard

The courtyard is enclosed and now needs to be landscaped and planted.  The first block of buildings along the corridor is now almost complete.  To the right are four bedroom and to the left are the kitchen and storerooms, the dining room and a guest room.

Corridor- bedrooms on the right, kitchen and refectory on left