Saturday, 28 April

Although the brickies are back and so the next sections of the priory are now being built much of the work is the fitting out of the rooms.  These are the finishing touches. 

One thing that has been done of late was the erection of a plinth outside the front door and the placing on it of the fountain.  All we need now is for the planting to grow, the benches to be placed and the concrete to be finished and then we will have our entry space.

We have a fountain but no water as yet

The exterior of the priory in the first section is largely complete.  Below is a view of the oratory with the cells beyond.

The oratory from the 'novitiate'

This is not to say that we have been doing nothing.  In regard to the oratory interior we have been hastening slowly.  Basically this means talking about what is possible and desirable with Alex Coutts and Peter Coad the architects and Kevin Coen the site foreman while his brother Maurie is away.  It is a blessing to have this team to work with.

A particularly exciting day recently was opening the boxes which had been in storage with the church furnishings and art from our house in Box Hill.  The stained glass windows by Cedar Prest, a noted Australian artist in glass, are particularly impressive.   These are based on themese and images from St John of the Cross.  We hope to use them in the refurbished retreat centre. 

It was also a joy to see once more the religious art from Box Hill.  For me it was a particular delight to see the icon of Our Lady of Kazan and the figure of Christ from a cross.  These were given in memory of the deceased members of my family.  We will certainly use these in our oratory.  Finding the right place for the crucifix was largely solved by getting a long ladder and holding the corpus high.  I think we have found just the right spot for it.

The icon of Our Lady of Kazan

This week I hope to visit a stone mason in Revesby to see about the altar and lectern which we hope to have made from sandstone.