Sunday, June 24

During the past week we celebrated our regional superior's birthday which is on his patron saint's feast St Aloysius.  This is also the shortest day of the year.  Of course it is cold and wintry at present.  Some days it takes until afternoon to get to a comfortable temperature.  Still the work on the priory is moving along at a clip.  We hope to move in during the first week of July.  We have sorted out who will go into what rooms, and now all we have to do is sort through our goods and chattels and get them moved in. 

Altar and tabernacle stand

During the week the altar and church furnishings were delivered and assembled by Dean the stone mason from Revesby.  He and Jan run a workshop opposite St Lukes Church.

Altar with Blessed Sacrament chapel behind

As well as the altar and tabernacle stand we have the lectern and holy water stand installed.  The lectern looked high to my eye.  So I measured the one we have in the chapel as they were supposed to be the same height.  They are!

Lectern with holy water stand behind

So all we need now is some seating.  After looking at the costs of individual seat we decided to use the pews from our old choir in the chapel.  We used these for many years to celebrate the liturgy of the hours.  During the week two strong young men brought them from the chapel to the priory.  They were young and strong footballers.  While I worried that the pews were quite heavy Maurie would have none of this.  When I asked the boys if they were heavy they left me in no doubt I was right.  They took a number of prudent rests on the way.

Choir pews in corridor

The only real issue with the pews is when or whether we strip them back and re-varnish them.  I hope we do so quickly.

Guest room with Shane's bits and pieces

As I said above we now have our rooms.  However Shane is going to New Zealand next Thursday and his room will not be ready by then.  So he is storing his things in the guest room.

Corridor looking from the common room

The workmen are now finishing off the second set of four bedrooms and the common room.

With all the work on the priory the first stage of the building is almost complete.  One of the issue we have looked at in the past has been how we, as a small and ageing community, can adequately look after our property.  I asked Br Luke from St Greg's is he had any suggestions.  Luke is rightly a legend.  Of course he knew someone who might help, so he suggested I speak to someone from the NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation.  I had a very helpful and hopeful conversation.

On my return from my holidays there was a message from Peter Kirkwood from the Hawkesbury and Nepean Catchment Management Authority.  He visited last Wednesday with Jeanie Musprat a colleague from the Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority.  Paul Maunder and I walked the property with them for two and a half hours.

It was fascinating to see the property through their (young) eyes.  It is our hope that we will be able to enter into an agreement with the CMA to have a plan for our property that would help restore the Cumberland Plain woodland and maintain it for future generations.  With the woodland will come more birds and native wildlife.  It is an exciting environmental connection for us and the retreat centre.

PS  It is 10.50 on Sunday morning as I complete this post.  It is a lovely sunny winter's morning.  When I upload the post the time and date will be given.  However the time and date seem to be West Coast USA time.

PPS  You may have heard today's news that Greg Burke has been appointed as the PR person to the Vatican.  This is true and I could not think of a better man than myself to help them at this troubled time.  However, it is another Greg Burke, an American member of Opus Dei and ten years younger than me at that.

Sunday, 17 June

Since my last post there has been a lot of rain.  The ground is water logged.  On Friday I went for a walk with the hydraulic engineer, Garey Sparkes, from the Carmelite nuns down to our place.  Garey, sensibly had his wellington boots on.  We both collected quite a lot of mud from the fields on our footwear.  Garey said he was some inches higher at the end of the walk than when he started.

On Thursday I got home at about 9.15pm  from a wedding practice.  I was surprised there were vehicle lights from near the priory site.  It turned out to be the Korean tilers had just finished work.  They had begun on site 13 hours earlier.  They were working on laying the floor of the entry foyer.  It is a red travertine.  In the photo below you can see it needs a final clean and polish.  It will look fine.

Entry foyer

I have been asked what the bedrooms look like in the new priory so here are a few photos of the rooms from different angles. 

Bedroom looking out

Bedroom looking towards the wardrobe, entry door and bathroom

Cupboard space in the wardrobe

The light on the wall is over the likely bed space

The doors to the oratory have been painted and match the colour of the floor covering. 

Chapel doors

These photos were taken this morning which was a beautiful and sunny.  In the photo below you can see the morning sunlight coming into the oratory.  In the coming week or so we will have the altar and other furnishings in place.

Another job that has been completed is the coating of the concrete approaches to the building which looks clean and smart

Walkway to the priory

And finally the in the photo below you can see the railing around the area where we hope to place our new bell tower.  The tower will be similar in shape to the one near the chapel but will be much smaller.

Looking up the where the bell tower will be

Sunday 3 June

I am now adjusting back to life as normal here at Mount Carmel.  I got back on Friday from the Daintree.  Just being in the rainforest was an extraordinarily rich experience.  As was snorkling on the reef and jungle surfing.

Now that I am back it is clear the priory has moved ahead in a number of ways.  First off the walkway to the priory from the chapel is now complete.

Priory walkway from the chapel

As the walkway comes behind the chapel its shape changes.  What is impressive about this is that it does not intrude on the view from the large chapel windows.  The chapel is now clearly the linchpin of the site with the retreat centre to one side, the old novitiate to the other side and the priory behind.

Covered walkway behind the chapel

Priory and chapel are linked

Some parts of the building look more or less finished while in other there is still work going on.  In the view below you can see that the workers sheds have moved across the road from the site.

Fountain in the foreground while work continues behind

The dining room and kitchen are now almost complete.

The dining room

The washing up are of the kitchen

Food preparation and cooking area

Here is a photo of a bedroom.  I took it a while ago but mislaid it.  Four bedrooms are now complete, the guest room is almost finished.

Bedroom with a view

Between the bedroom are rainwater tanks which collect rain from the roof.  This water is then to be used for watering the gardens.  One of the things that has marked this project has been the pride the builders take in their work.  I was pleased to see the comment from the team that designed the water tanks in my last post.  There is a very large underground tank as well from which water is harvest for toilet flushing.

Water tanks and bedrooms

The common room has a lovely view south.  On the north side of the corridor is a sheltered sitting area.  Someone has already placed a seat there.  Beyond you can see the steel framework for the completed building.

A quiet place to sit

Before I left the red spire pear tree in the courtyard was still green but now it has autumn colour.  We look forward to the white flowers in Spring.

Courtyard with red spire pear tree

Our walk through the priory has brought us to the entrance where the lights are now in.  It is a generous and welcoming space.  One of the delights of the building is the number of views over the property.  Every window has a view.  In the photo below you can see the trees in the distance.  In a couple of weeks the entry will be complete when the stone floor is installed.

Entry foyer looking out