Preparing for Advent provides us with an opportunity to reassess what really matters to us and act accordingly.

There is a sharp dichotomy in the gospel between the temple as a house of prayer and the temple as a robbers' den. As Christians, the Lord's new temple, we are called to pray unceasingly. That means practising detachment or, as I call it, spiritual distancing — from material things, yes, but above all, cultivating inner freedom.

We tend to see only what we think important in the people of history. As a nun, as well as a student of history, I'm struck by the less obvious side of Hilda's life, her loneliness especially.

Seeing a reconstruction of the head of a man who died more than four thousand years ago set me thinking how we see ourselves and how others see us. On a day when the media were busy consigning Peter Sutcliffe to hell, it was good to remember our common humanity — and leave judgement to God.

A monastery should be a place of encounter with God, whether online or off. So, how do we do that? Questions, not answers.

In the monastery, the Rule of St Benedict is read aloud three times in the course of the year. You can listen to the reading for the day in English here. The translation used is from Work and Prayer by Columba Cary-Elwes and Catherine Wybourne.

In the monastery, the Rule of St Benedict is read aloud three times in the course of the year. You can listen to the reading for the day in English here. The translation used is from Work and Prayer by Columba Cary-Elwes and Catherine Wybourne.

In the monastery, the Rule of St Benedict is read aloud three times in the course of the year. You can listen to the reading for the day in English here. The translation used is from Work and Prayer by Columba Cary-Elwes and Catherine Wybourne.

In the monastery, the Rule of St Benedict is read aloud three times in the course of the year. You can listen to the reading for the day in English here. The translation used is from Work and Prayer by Columba Cary-Elwes and Catherine Wybourne.

In the monastery, the Rule of St Benedict is read aloud three times in the course of the year. You can listen to the reading for the day in English here. The translation used is from Work and Prayer by Columba Cary-Elwes and Catherine Wybourne.