Monday, July 16, Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Happy Feastday!  Today all Carmelites celebrate our patronal feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.  It was a beautiful day here and we were blessed with the presence of our Fr John Landy, from Mount Carmel in Israel.  He and Tony Vaughan came to the grand parish celebrations yesterday and today John preached at the Eucharist with the Carmelite nuns up the hill.  We then had a very enjoyable lunch before John and Tony set off back to Gerroa via Mittagong.

While we are still moving into the new priory work has not stopped on the priory.  The last four bedrooms and the offices and varius rooms are now being completed.  The roof is up and the walls are rising.

A view from the outdoor sitting area to the last four bedrooms

The walls of the bathroom take shape

As the building is being completed it is becoming longer and therefore the views change.  In the photo below you can see the gate through which we mostly access the property.  In the distance you might be able to glimpse St Gregory's Marist Brothers Agricultural College.

View south from the new section

As the builders are still hard at it the issue of privacy for those in the south facing rooms needed to be addressed.  This is especially so as we do not have any curtains yet.  So Maurie had a privacy screen set up.  Curtains meanwhile are on the way.

South facing rooms with screen

As well as preaching at the nuns' feastday Eucharist today John Landy gave great service in helping to get our new dining room into order.  Darren Mackie and I teamed up with Pat Cullan to bring a lounge setting to the new priory.  John and Tony helped move our dining setting into place and had helpful suggestions as to where to place things. 

John, Paul and Tony in the new dining room

John, Paul and Tony try out the new lounge chairs

View of the room over the dining table

We brought a few things from our refectory in the old building and will bring more over the new few days.  The priory is feeling more and more like our home.  It is certainly a privilege to live in it.

Crucifix catches the afternoon sun

John with the kitchen behind

I will be out of action for a week or so due to a medical procedure this Wednesday.  I hope to continue this blog sooner rather than later depending on my recovery.

Tuesday, July 10

Everyone knows moving is hell.  We have been hard at it.  Eight bedrooms have been completed and we were able to move in.  On Wednesday 4 July Paul, Darren and I began to move our furniture, clothing, books, computers and what not into the new priory.  We had enough in place to be able to sleep in the new priory that night.  So the fourth of July is an historic day.

Lugging furniture and so on is very physical and tiring.  But it is also satisfying.  Personally I was not impressed by the amount of stuff I had acquired.  I promised myself to sort through it all when I had moved in.  Robert Love came for the weekend to help.  He encouraged me with an often repeated one word exhoration: "Cull".  On Saturday morning he found all the carrying and exhorting tiring so I offered him a seat outside my room.  Soon he was very relaxed and then fast asleep.  The brethren found Rob a congenial and welcome guest.


Rob Love flat out helping

 Gabriel moved in on Thursday.  Then Aloysius who had been in Perth visiting the ailing Fr Joe Kelly returned on Friday morning and began to organise the great move.  He actually moved in on Saturday.  Gerard began his move on Saturday but it was a close thing as he went off on a holiday to Lake Eyre on Sunday.  I don't think he has spent a night in the new priory as yet.  Meanwhile Shane was missing all the excitement as he was in New Zealand.  He returned on Monday night and quietly slipped into his new room.  

Paul and Aloysius with the trolley

One of the things that strikes one about the new priory is the lovely views over the property through the extensive windows. 


Fig Tree



View north



View south

On Saturday we were delighted by a gang of boisterous lorikeets frolicking in our fountain.  If you click on the photo below it will enlarge and you can actually see the birds.

Fountain with lorikeets

If the fourth of July is an important date then today, the tenth of July, is also memorable.  Tony and Andrea Ward from Bundanoon brought down the crucifix for our oratory.  Tony made the cross out of a unique piece of beautiful red cedar from northern New Soth Wales.  There were some nervous moments as Maurie and Matthew placed the crucifix.  However the results speak for themselves.  We are grateful to Tony for the skill, time and spirit which he spent on the cross.

The figure of Christ n the crucifix is personally special.  I first saw it in an antiques shop in Melbourne while with my late cousin Sr Margaret Reed, FMM.  Graham Geddes sold it to my family at a greatly reduced price.  We then donated it and other sacred art to the Box Hill community in memory of my father and other deceased family members.  It is wonderful to be able to live with it and meditate on it once more.  It is a 17th century Spanish polychrome wood carving from New Castile.

Matthew and Maurie are on the ladder while Tony is on the right

The oratory is slowly coming together.  It is our hope it will be a place of beauty and prayer at the heart of the community.



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

Sunday, 13 May

The foyer lighting

We have had beautiful weather until today.  The days have been sunny while the nights are quite cool.  At the beginning of this week our foreman Maurie Cohen returned from his holiday with his family.  Now his brother Kevin will have some of the weight taken from his shoulders so he can concentrate on his other jobs.

The fitting out of the priory continues.  There are now lights in the foyer (see above), the library and oratory and many of the other rooms.  One of the things we have to do is now choose how much light we want.

The oratory

The oratory floor has been sanded and the first layer of varnish has brought out the colour of the Sydney Blue Gum flooring.  It will be sanded against and varnished at least once more.  The windows have lovely views out over the fields and no, we do not presently intend to put in stained glass.

The first four bedrooms

 The first four bedrooms are now almost ready.  The landscaping outside has made a big difference to how complete the rooms feel.  The tanks between room collect rainwater for garden use.  The seventh and eighth bedrooms are at the back on the right.

Looking towards the novitiate from the first bedroom

This is the view from the balcony of the first room.  The roof is that of the old novitiate.

looking towards the oratory from the seventh bedroom

The photo above is the view from the seventh bedroom looking towards the first four bedrooms and the oratory.  Note the landscape area on the lower right.

Typical bedroom

This is the layout of a typical bedroom.  The floor is not carpet but a product called comcork.  It is made of of 70% cork recycled from old wine bottles and 30% rubber from old tyres, I guess.  It is a good insulator and quiet and has a bit of give in it.  The door to the left of the photo is to the shower and toilet.

The common room takes shape

The brickies have finished the next four bedrooms and are now working on the common room which you can see in above photo. The common room is a recreation and meeting room.  You can see the Moreton Bay fig tree on the left.  It seems to me to be flourishing.  The common room has a has a lovely view out across the property towards St Gregory's College from its verandah.

The final part of the priory

The steel fabricators have been back to put in the framework for the last four bedrooms, the formation rooms, laundry and garages.  They had a colourful little crane which was like an oversized Tonka Toy.    

Priory in landscape setting

The new priory is now coming together as a building.  To my eye it does not look so vast as once it did.    It is lovely to walk through the building and look out over the property.  It is also lovely to climb the hill and look down on the site and to see the priory in its landscape setting.  One of Alex Coutts big ideas for the building was that it should sit in the landscape and be open to it with views on all sides.  We are blessed to have that realised.

Every time I go away some comic will wish me a happy holiday.  Br Michael at St Greg's is convinced my whole life is a holiday.  As it happens, I am actually going on a real holiday tomorrow and will be back at the beginning of June.  There will be much progress on the build to report  when I get back and I will update the blog shortly after I return.