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Byland Abbey Programme TX 3rd November Radio 4听

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Radio 4 announcement:听

And now on Radio 4 its time for Sunday worship recorded at Byland Abbey, Yorkshire.听听

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Intro & Welcome听

FXMusic 听
20(20Ad Completorium: Psalmus 90 (91) 听

: (Album Version)听

Performer :The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz听

Album Title: Chant - Music For The Soul听

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Good morning!听听

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For today鈥檚 Sunday worship we are being sheltered by the rolling hills of northern England, somewhere off-the-beaten tracks between the town of Thirsk & the city of York.听听

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I鈥檓 Father Dermot Preston and, in the dale before me, are the ruins of Byland Abbey, just one in the cluster of remarkable Christian monasteries established in the 12th century here in the wilderness of North Yorkshire.听听

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The Cistercian monks who came here had left Furness Abbey,听 just south of the Lake District, in search of a remote place to build a permanent house of prayer. Their journey had been long and arduous, but from the moment they arrived in Byland, on the E鈥檈n of All Hallows 1177, their prayers mingled with the sounds of construction as they chipped at the rocks, cleared the ground and hauled and stacked the stones, eventually building an听 outstanding house of prayer and worship鈥� 鈥榃here, (as they wrote) God willing, we will remain鈥︹�澨�

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Sadly, little remains of that bustling Abbey today: there is a strong footprint in the Yorkshire soil, and some of the locally mined limestone arches and walls stand defiant, giving a hint to the original shape, but the roofs have been stripped and the monastery lies corroded and open to the elements.听

We will, however, be able to look at some manuscripts which survived the Abbey鈥檚 destruction, and in particular to ponder the Byland Ghost stories; startling medieval tales, through which we can catch a glimpse of thoughts on death and dying in those distant times.听

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Our worship today is all about Saints, Souls & Spirits; and Byland is a rich source of reflection on all three. We are close to the 鈥榯riduum鈥� of Halloween/All Saints/All Souls which opened the month of November, a month which is the traditional time when Christians remember, and pray for, the dead.听听

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So, let us pray.听听

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Lord, although our bodies are rooted in the world, our spirits allow us to touch eternity. As we consider this house of prayer & shelter, give us a knowledge of your presence in the saints, souls and spirits who have walked this pilgrim road before us and still cast a shadow in our own times. (We ask this prayer through Christ Our Lord.) Amen听

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Music: Give us Wings of Faith听听

James Whitbourn/Isaac Watts听听

Westminster Williamson Singers听

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Good morning I鈥檓 Michael Carter from English Heritage鈥�.Ghost Story听听

FX Music under is from Music box Cavendish Music听 - Haunting听

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What was the aim of the Abbey?听

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So, what was the point of Byland? Its beating heart was the desire of a group of Christians to respond as fully as possible to the call of St Paul to pray in the Spirit, at all times, in every season. Their aim was to live like the Christ of the Gospels: to be free as he was free, to love generously as he loved and to live a life of service, as he served - and by this means, to enter into the Kingdom of God.听

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The monks knew that as individuals, they might stumble or fall or lose their footing, but as a community, accepting common rules & regulations, they bound themselves together to carry each other when some were fragile, and others were strong.听听

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No Pater Noster, or Credo or Gloria intoned to heaven was ever lost; and as they sought the salvation of their own souls by their work, prayer and faithfulness, they cast wide the net-of-prayer for the salvation of all souls across the face of God鈥檚 creation.听听

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Music听听

If ye love me听 - by Thomas Tallis sung by Talliss scholars听听

A monastery like Byland was a medieval power-station of prayer.听

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But such a journey always starts with an individual call and an individual response鈥� Let us listen to a story from Mark鈥檚 Gospel鈥μ�听

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(Mark 12听 V 28-34) to be read by sister Anna听

28鈥疧ne of the teachers of the law鈥痗ame and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, 鈥淥f all the commandments, which is the most important?鈥澨�

29鈥�鈥淭he most important one,鈥濃�痑nswered Jesus,鈥�鈥渋s this: 鈥楬ear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[]鈥�30鈥疞ove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.鈥橻]鈥�31鈥疶he second is this: 鈥楲ove your neighbor as yourself.鈥橻]鈥疶here is no commandment greater than these.鈥澨�

32鈥�鈥淲ell said, teacher,鈥� the man replied. 鈥淵ou are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.鈥�33鈥疶o love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.鈥澨�

34鈥疻hen Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him,鈥�鈥淵ou are not far from the kingdom of God.鈥濃�疉nd from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.听

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Dermot:听

Michael Carter went along to the British Library to look at the Byland Abbey Manuscript鈥檚; there he met Eleanor Jackson the Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts.听听

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Story of the Nun听听

Music听 Cecilia_Bartoli_etal_-_Durufl茅__Requiem__Pie_Jesu_5_2听听

From Music box听

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Michael Carter and Dale Townsend talk in ruins of Byland Abbey Library.听

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Michael Carter 鈥� Byland ghost story听听

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Music听听

Berthier: Beati voi poveri Taiz茅听听

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I鈥檓 Abbess Anna Brennan of Stanbrook Abbey.听

I am a Benedictine nun. I live in a new-build, eco-friendly monastery on top of a hill in North Yorkshire In the plain below lie the ruins of an ancient monastery, Byland Abbey. Monks lived there for almost 400 years, leaving only in 1538 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. The now-deserted monastery was plundered, leaving the ruins we see today.听听

C.16th monks, C.21st nuns, separated in time by almost 500 years 鈥� but united in a common purpose: we both seek God. This is our path to holiness, to saintliness. It鈥檚 what our founder, St Benedict, asked of us in his Rule, written in C.5th. It鈥檚 a simple call with only one purpose 鈥� life with God.听听

But this call is not only for monks and nuns, despite their life being quite different from that of other people. It鈥檚 the call of all who believe in Christ. St Paul used to address his letters to the 鈥榮aints鈥� in the early churches he founded round the Mediterranean. Saints, for him, were not canonised, those who had already died and gone gloriously to heaven; they were people like you and me, striving to live good lives here and now, in the ordinary circumstances of our life.听

On Friday we celebrated one of the most encouraging, hope-filled feasts in the Christian calendar: All Saints. During the rest of the year, we celebrate individual, canonized saints, or groups of them. But Friday鈥檚 feast reminds us of what St Paul knew very early on - that there is in fact much more holiness around than we probably imagine, that holiness and goodness are not reserved for special types of people.听 Extraordinary feats of sanctity, which often mark canonised saints, are not necessary. Ordinary believers who live according to their own calling, strive to do what is right and good, who are often not remembered or identified in this world, but known and loved individually and personally by God 鈥� this is holiness, sainthood. This is why the feast of All Saints is so joyful. We are either already saints or are on the way to being so (believe it or not!).听

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You might think that the empty, plundered ruins of Byland Abbey have no meaning and are of little value 鈥� but that is not the case at all. There is a haunting mystery and beauty about Byland; it resonates with the life of the monks who lived there, who searched for God and found holiness by being faithful to the search, despite their human weaknesses.听

The west front is, for me, very powerful. In its time, it formed an imposing entrance, marked by a delicately-crafted rose window above the large doors of the abbey church. Most of the stonework has fallen away, to leave what I see as a finger pointing heavenwards, raising our minds, hearts and souls to what is beyond, to our destiny in God. In Latin, we speak of digitus Dei, the finger of God calling us upward, beyond the ordinary and visible, to himself. The finger is not real, it is there only in my imagination, but it is symbolic 鈥� and symbols are very powerful; they work within us leading us to ever-deeper truth.听

It鈥檚 said that ghosts haunt the ruins and villages around Byland. Are we to be afraid of them, spooked by them? I don鈥檛 think so. Read the stories carefully and you see a common theme: the ghosts are lost souls searching pitifully to find rest in God.听 All they ask of those of those to whom they show themselves is that they pray and arrange Masses for them, to free them from the sins they have committed and which bind them still to this world, that prevent them from seeing God and going to their eternal rest.听

On Saturday, the day after the feast of All Saints, we commemorated All Souls. It鈥檚 a day of great humanity and insight. On one level, we naturally remember loved ones who have died. But we also know that to live with God we need to be freed from anything that hinders our vision of him. We can鈥檛 do this alone 鈥� and the thoughts and prayers of the living help. Some day we may need the same help ourselves.听

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Music: Come Holy Ghost are souls inspire听听

Choir of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral,听听

Plainsong/Cosin, John [1594-1672]听

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Prayers听

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Dermot: So let us bring our prayers before the Lord.听

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We give thanks to the Lord for the saints who have gone before us, marked with the sign of faith. They heard the call and responded with lives filled with hope and love. May their example inspire us in our lives. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer听

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We pray for the souls of those who died in this last year. We pray especially for those who might have died suddenly or unexpectedly, and for those to whom we didn鈥檛 manage to say 鈥榝arewell鈥�.听

Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.听

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For a world in turmoil, where we might feel helpless or paralysed, let us recognise our role as a praying community this morning 鈥� for these few moments, we, like the monks of Byland, are assembled as a power-station of prayer; so let us pray, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for Peace in our world.听听

Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.听

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The most powerful democracy in the world moves towards its Presidential election in the coming days. Let us pray for the people of the United States; that, as they vote, they may be open hearted in seeking to do what is right; and after the election, they may strive for reconciliation and the common good.听听

Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer.听

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OUR FATHER听听

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Lord, give us the insight to know Your most holy will - and the grace to perfectly fulfil it. Amen.听

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End on Hymn 鈥� 鈥淔or All the Saints鈥澨�听

For All the Saints Who from Their Labours Rest ('Sine nomine')听

Ralph Vaughan Williams [1872-1958]听

Choir of St. Marks Church North听

Back anno:听听

Medieval Women: In Their Own Words鈥痠s on show at the British Library from now听 to the 2nd听 of听 March 2025.鈥痷nfinished听

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Music possibles:听

Traditional: Ad Completorium: Psalmus 90 (91) (Album Version)听

Performer :The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz听

Album Title: Chant - Music For The Soul + other tracks for background听

All heaven declares听

Berthier: Beati voi poveri Taiz茅听

Commercial Track Title Berthier: Beati voi poveri Performer Taiz茅听

Album Title Chants de paix et d'unit茅 External PRS Tune Code 4682242A听

North American Copyright Catalog #00028947941712听

鈩� 2014 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin听

Contributors听

COMPOSER: Jacques Berthier, AUTHOR: Traditional, PRODUCER: Anna Barry, STUDIO PERSONNEL: Jonathan Stokes, RECORDING ENGINEER: Jonathan Stokes, STUDIO PERSONNEL: Philippe Malidin, ENGINEER: Philippe Malidin, MAIN ARTIST: Taiz茅, ENSEMBLE: Taiz茅rthier: Beati voi poveri Taiz茅听听

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God be in my head (Walford Davies)听

James Whitburn give us the wings of faith听

Blessed are the pure in heart鈥μ�

Bit of faure or durufle requiem / Anything Latin anthem from renaissance or earlier.听听

Byrd masses or any other medieval (Machaut mass?) or Victoria masses or Palestrina听