If we don’t get our attention under control there are plenty of people who will. The church has always understood that directing our attention toward what is holy is important. That is why medieval Christendom was filled with prayers, rituals, fasts and feasts: to keep life, both public and private ordered, around divine things.

If we are to regain control of our attention, the first step is to create a space of silence in which you can think. To still the mind is hard but by doing it you open up a beach-head in which the Holy Spirit can work to calm the stormy waters within.

There is a Jewish organisation called ‘Reboot’ which promotes what they call the ‘Digital Sabbath’ – a day of rest in which people disconnect from technology especially computers, iPads and smartphones – in order that they can reconnect with the real world.

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On Saturday 7th October, Glenstal’s most senior monk by profession, Fr Placid Murray rejoiced to celebrate an extraordinary milestone in his life. It was his 99th birthday. Fr Placid has been resident at a nearby nursing home for several years but he remains a regular visitor to the monastery, and returned home on Saturday to celebrate his birthday, joining his brethren for Mass and lunch.

October 7th is also the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and in his homily during Mass, Fr Henry linked the two celebrations.

“When we look at the Rosary, we see that it is a wonderful recapitulation of the mysteries of the life of Christ and with that a concise compendium for our own contemplation of those mysteries. We call to mind Blessed Columba Marmion’s saying that Christ’s mysteries are our mysteries.

“We celebrate this Mass in the company of our confrere Father Placid who is celebrating his 99th birthday. We thank God for a life spent meditating on these mysteries of which we have just spoken and trying to imitate what they contain. We thank God for Fr Placid’s life-long work for the liturgical celebration and living of these mysteries as well as his scholarly elucidation of them in his many publications on the teaching of Cardinal Newman. We pray for continued good health and growth in a life permeated by the spirit of Mary when, in the words of the gospel we have just heard, she replied to the angel, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’”

After Mass, the community gathered in the monastery refectory for lunch. Father Abbot spoke briefly on behalf of the community, congratulating Fr Placid and wishing him all the best for the one hundredth year of his life. Still strong, Fr Placid blew out all the candles on his birthday cake in one go.

Ad multos annos, Fr Placid!

Every minute I was engrossed in a virtual interaction I was not involved in a human encounter. Every second absorbed in some trivia was a second less for any form of reflection or calm or spirituality. “Multitasking” was a mirage.  This was a zero-sum question. I either lived as a voice online or I lived as a human being in the world that humans had lived in since the beginning of time. And so I decided after 15 years, to live in reality.

The past month

September has been a mixed bag weather wise, but we are lucky to escape the ravages of earthquakes and hurricanes. The activity has increased in my hives as the ivy starts to flower. Last year we had a bumper crop of ivy honey and it filled every available piece of honey comb. I get the feeling that this year we won’t have the same heavy yield.

Ivy flowers form in clusters between September and November giving off a sweet nectar. Ivy is to autumn what pussy willow is to spring – the pussy willow hums with insects in March and April, and ivy provides the same abundance of nectar and pollen for insects in autumn.  Pussy willow provides almost the first food supply in the spring and ivy provides the last food for insects in the autumn. It is unusual among native plants flowering as it does in the autumn and producing its blue black berries in spring.  It has many other insects besides bees feasting on its riches, among them the stingless hover flies who mimic bees and so are less attractive to predators. They spend the winter as adult flies and a feast of nectar ivy will help them through. Some last remaining wasps can also be found feeding on the abundant ivy flowers. The bees will be active on warm days through the winter, but for the wasps this is the endgame. All die but the queen. All these insects provide food for birds which can be seen round ivy clumps. Since we introduced a policy of not cutting ivy here our small bird population has increased.

I thought I had left plenty of honey in my hives even if there was no late ivy flow. I am ashamed to say, that having been away for two weeks in early September, I found one of my hives dying of starvation. I could not believe my eyes. There was no activity at the entrance of this once very strong colony and then I hefted it. It was as light as a feather. Then the awful scene of bees dead and dying, many with their heads stuck in honey cells trying to eke out the last bit of honey. Not a happy sight. The lesson is that we should only rely on ivy to top up their reserves of nectar and pollen.

Recovering from that shock I checked all my other colonies and found one other in need of a feed. The rest are fine and flying hard when the weather allows them to get out and about, which seems to be about every second or third day. I need to check the entrances and ventilation and then I can leave them alone until the spring.

We beekeepers tend to regard October to March as the off season. But it is the time to start tidying up and preparing for the next beekeeping year! I always say that to myself but rarely do anything about it. October means we are heading into darker days and we say goodbye to the abundance of summer, though there are still lots of seeds and berries, products of successful pollination, to be harvested in our hedgerows. The biggest change is in the colours. There are some beautiful reds, yellows and browns around at the moment.

Mead

Here is a thought: If you have some surplus honey, why not try making some mead. Mead is simply fermented honey and water with some fruit acid? You need very little new equipment. The main item is a glass demijohn for the fermentation process. The type of yeast and the amount of honey determine the level of alcohol in your mead. Yeasts have different tolerances for alcohol. When this is reached they stop fermenting. The leftover sugar will give mead its sweet taste. The more honey the sweeter the mead will be.

Ingredients

(Makes one gallon of a medium sweet mead. If you want sweeter or dryer then adjust the amount of honey by about half a pound either way) 

3.5 lbs of honey

Juice of one lemon

Half to one cup of strong black tea

One teaspoon yeast nutrient

Yeast and water

(There are natural yeasts in honey – it is best not to rely on those and use a general purpose wine yeast. Best to use a freshly bought yeast.)

Method

Make a starter by half filling a honey jar with water and add a couple of teaspoons of dried yeast. Stir and leave covered for a few hours in a warm place. Put the jar on a saucer in case it overflows.

Place honey in a pan with 2 to 3 pints of water and bring to the boil and simmer gently for a few minutes to kill the wild yeasts. Once cool, pour it into the fermenting jar, add nutrient, tea and yeast starter.

Fill with cold water to 3 – 4 inches below the neck of the jar and put a piece of tough plastic sheet over the neck and secure with a plastic band to act as an air lock. Place in warm place. When fermentation reduces in a week or so, top up with water. Ferment until it clears and sediment builds up in the bottom of the jar. Then siphon off the clear mead and you can repeat each time sediment forms. Mead matures better in bulk so leave in the jar until ready to drink and then decant into bottles.

Imitation of the wise bee…

I was given the following section from a homily by Gregory of Nyssa – it is Homily 9 on the Song of Songs and I include it for your edification!

The Book of Proverbs desires the disciple of Wisdom to resort for instruction to the bee – and you are perfectly well aware, of the identity of this teacher. It says to the lovers of Wisdom (Prov 6:8): “Make your way to the bee and  learn that she is a worker and makes a serious business of her labours; and both kings and simple folk consume what she produces for their health’s sake. It also says that she is “sought after” and “of high repute”. Weak in body to be sure but one who honours Wisdom and is therefore brought forward as an example to the virtuous, for it says, “having honoured wisdom she has been brought to honour”. (Prov 6:8)

In these words Proverbs counsels that one should not depart from any of the good teachings but, flying to the grassy meadow of the inspired words, should suck from each of them something that assists the acquisition of Wisdom and make oneself into a honeycomb, storing the fruit of this labour in one’s heart as in some beehive, fashioning for the manifold teachings separate storage places in the memory, like the hollow cells in a honeycomb. In this way one will make business of this noble work of the virtues, in imitation of the wise bee, whose honeycomb is sweet and whose sting does not wound. For the person who exchanges hard work here for eternal goods and who dispenses the fruit of his own labours to kings and to common folk alike for the sake of their souls, truly obtains a reward, so that a soul of this sort becomes an object of the Bridegroom’s desire and glorious in the sight of the angels, because she has made “strength perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9) by giving honour to wisdom. 

500 years ago the Reformation shook the world.

This autumn relive the movement with Martin Luther.

Join us at the following events

     Glenstal Launch 
Sunday October 15^th @ 4.30pm
Glenstal Abbey Bookshop

Dublin 
Monday October 16^th @ 6.15pm
Bishop Éamonn Walsh will launch the book at the Newman Centre for Faith and Culture, University Church, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.

Galway 
Wednesday 25^th October @ 5.30pm
Fintan Lyons OSB will deliver a paper‘Luther’s Challenge’
at the LUTHER 500 Conference

in the Aula Maxima at NUI Galway

Martin Luther, His Challenge Then and Now is a study of the phenomenon of Luther, and his effects on Church and society. The author concludes that issues which existed in the 16^th century are endemic to Christianity in every century. The book analyses Luther’s challenge to the church and the world of his time and then asks the same questions of today.
Fintan Lyons OSB, a monk of Glenstal Abbey, has a doctorate in Reformed Theology and taught Reformation History in the Angelicum University and the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, Rome. He has been a member of the International Pentecostal-Roman Catholic Dialogue and has published widely on ecumenical and liturgical topics.

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Glenstal Days in 2017

Take some time and join us during these Autumn days at Glenstal

and renew, refresh and restore your spirit.

 “The Benedict Option and why we need it now”

30th September

This phrase, taken from a recent article in the Plough, sets the tone for this retreat day as we examine why Benedict’s Rule is as relevant today as it was in 480.

Benedict wasn’t interested in bullying people into holiness, rather he sought to provide a way of life which would ensure that our “hearts would enlarge and that we would run in the way of God’s commandments with the unspeakable sweetness of love”.

We will look at some elements of his design to achieve this ambitious goal and how we can apply them in our busy lives.

“Ageing Well”

14th October

As we all live longer and longer, can we age well? Are there things we can do to help?

This day will reflect on the challenges of ageing. It will consider what spiritual practices we can use to help bring us successfully through this ‘third stage of life.

SBNR: “I am spiritual but not religious”

4th November

An increasing number of people describe themselves as being spiritual but not religious – interested in spirituality but not in religion.

“I am losing my religion and discovering my spirituality”.

If asked to explain what they mean, most people are quite vague in their answers. Some speak of the wonders of nature and wanting to deepen their spirituality. Others are disillusioned with formal religion and want their own spirituality. Others, notable some church leaders, are concerned about the vagueness of the term spiritual.

This day will reflect on what we mean by spirituality today and examine if it is possible for religion and spirituality to coexist once again

“Getting in touch with your inner tortoise –

preparing for the Christmas Season”

25th November

Life is fast – Pope Francis calls it the ‘rapidification’ of life. I like speed and the adrenaline rush that goes with it. But there is another side to me which is being neglected and which I need to stay in touch with – my inner tortoise. I suspect I would be happier and more productive if I did this and lived my life rather than racing through it. Pascal claimed that many of our problems derive from our inability to sit still. We need time and stillness to draw together the fragments of our lives.

This is especially true as we approach the Christmas season. This day will reflect on the gradual speeding up of our lives and how we can slow down and be ready to bathe ourselves in the celebration of the Christmas season.

Information/booking:

Registration 10am @ Monastery Reception.

Finish @ 5.15 with option of staying for 6pm Vespers

Cost: €85 (including lunch, morning and afternoon tea/coffee)

events@glenstal.com 

061 – 621005

Into September – it is on the cusp between seasons and can be very unpredictable – it can be a lovely month but it can also bring gales with wind and rain and it can fall into between these extremes.  Schools are open for business. When I was teaching I liked to finish my bee work by the beginning of September. Having retired, I can be more leisurely. I have removed some honey and I have Apiguard on to treat for varroa. Taking honey off in mid August gives time to treat for varroa. Temperatures of 15 degrees centigrade are needed for Apiguard treatment. Temperatures can drop as we head into September.

Working in the apiary all is quiet – flowers are gone except for the odd straggler – ragwort is still in bloom and this provides useful forage for the bees, butterflies and other insects – ragwort is toxic and can lead to cirrhosis of the liver in horses and cattle but cases are extremely rare – most animals are clever enough to leave it alone. Fresh ragwort is of little interest to them as it has a bitter taste – the greater risk is when the dried plant is eaten among hay.

The bees are also quiet these days, waiting for the ivy flowers to bloom. I noticed the first ivy flower in bloom a few days ago. There is a feast of berries about and fruit trees are laden with their produce. Blackbirds are reappearing round the apiary – they disappear to moult once their young have fledged – shedding their tatty, faded feathers. They replace their feathers in stages so they are never flightless.

INSPECTIONS: My main concern at the end of another season is the level of stress I cause when carrying out an inspection. I can’t help noticing the turmoil and the many bits of pollen discarded by bees under pressure. This summer I have left my colonies more or less alone and I reckon that they have produced as much honey, if not more, than usual. The other positive with this reduced inspection rate is that the bees are much calmer. When I do regular inspections, I feel they remember the last time and are ready to pounce! Apparently in the 1980s Russian beekeepers recommended just four inspections a year. That sounds about right. I plan to try it next year. 

1. First inspection – in early spring to make sure the queen is laying and has enough space – this year I had to remove some brood frames full of ivy honey to give the queens room to lay in.
2. Second inspection – approaching swarming season.
3. Third inspection – not sure about this one – but presume I would do it during the swarming season. 
4. Fourth inspection – at the end of the season to make sure all is in order for the winter.  

HONEY EXTRACTION: I gave up extracting honey some years ago as I found it very messy and time consuming. I now do cut-comb honey. I use unwired foundation in the supers or use a starter strip of foundation and let the bees draw it down.

I cut the honey out of frame (a good idea is to place the frame over a queen excluder or other metal grille) lying on its side on the queen excluder and positioned over a drip tray. This will allow the honey to drain away and avoids getting your comb soggy. Cut the comb into the size of your container using a sharp knife. You can buy comb cutters but they are expensive and do only one size.

You can also scrape the honey and capping off the frame into a muslin-lined sieve. Leave the sieve to drain over a plastic bucket in a warm room. It is a slow process but honey will separate out and drain into your bucket and then you can jar it. My mother simply removed a frame of honey, cut off the wax capping and left the frame on its side to drain into a large flat dish. The warmer the room the quicker this works. Once the frame was empty she simply popped it back in the hive to be re-filled! When taking honey, remember not to leave your bees hungry!

WASPS: Wasps can be a problem at this time of the year. Wasps, like bumble bees, survive the winter through their queens. Worker wasps feed their larvae in the spring with protein from insects and caterpillars and the larvae give out a sweet secretion to the adult wasps. In late summer the colony starts to raise drones and queens and worker brood dwindles and the source of sweetness dries up. The workers now switch from hunting protein to searching out a source of sugar such as jam, rotting fruit etc. Once they switch to sugar you can use a wasp trap baited with jam. If used in spring they must be baited with protein – bits of ham etc. To cut down on the possibility of robbing by wasps reduce the entrance. 

I hear that the US Vice-President’s wife, Karen Pence, has several bee hives at their new Washington home. Apparently, she uses each political and diplomatic visit to her home as an opportunity to invite these influential guests to visit her apiary. She then explains how important bees are to the planet. She is using Langstroth hives!

Jobs for September:

• Check honey stores in the hive – learn to estimate stores by hefting the hive
• Top up stores to a minimum of 18kg by feeding heavy syrup
• Remove, clean and store the queen excluder
• Remove empty Apiguard trays or other varroa treatment