By Isle of Wight Observer
“All this beauty is of God” is the motto of the Isle of Wight. The Island has many beautiful places, but to me, the most beautiful is my home, Quarr Abbey.
This is in an officially designated area of outstanding beauty. It speaks of God: the creatures (such as squirrels, badgers, foxes, seals, sheep, pigs) of Him as Creator; the wide sea of Him in His boundless eternity; the trees of humanity’s reaching for Him; the birds of souls soaring towards Him; the sky of His heaven. I have yet to see a white-tailed sea eagle, but I live in hope: the eagle is a symbol of the contemplation of God, which is the main purpose of the way of life of the community of monks to which I belong.
This community came to the Island from France in the early years of the last century. The buildings they left us also speak of God by their beauty.
As the day advances and the seasons change, the Church is filled with a living light, which Scripture teaches us is a symbol of God.
The architect, who was a monk, spoke of making it dance. The varied colours of the Church’s bricks guide the eye and the heart by their warmth to the sanctuary. Above this is a tower which, from underneath, seems to be a display of fireworks that once were bricks. From it hangs an orb tabernacling the Sacred Presence. Inside the monastery is a cloister enclosing a secret garden which is like the soul of the monk, where he works at pulling up whatever makes it ugly and planting whatever makes it beautiful.
I first came to Quarr Abbey in 2003 and have been a monk since 1987. Prayer drew me into being a monk.
Among my responsibilities is working in the book shop. I do other things as well, the most interesting of which is having care of our interns – young people who come to spend a couple of months with us, leading a similar life to that of the monks.
God gives Himself to us with reckless and trusting love in a sacrifice so sublime that it is the very breath of the beauty of our civilisation, both its culture and its caring. We try to love God back, to give Him something beautiful. That is why we gather in the Church seven times a day to sing His praises between five-thirty in the morning and eight at night. We belong to the Solesmes Congregation of monks, which has a particular tradition of singing words from the Bible, in way that makes audible the beauty of their God-given meaning.
The worship of God is our main work, but each of us have other responsibilities. Between us, we welcome guests, train new monks, look after the monastery shop and art gallery, sort out the catering, care for the grounds, take charge of the finances and so on. Although our tasks take us in separate directions, we gather once or twice a day to relax together and strengthen the bonds that make us a community. And our Abbot gives us guidance through talks from time to time.
We know there is much ugliness in the world, but we believe there is a bigger picture known to God alone, in which every sorrow is the mother of a joy, and that it is beautiful.