My dear Friends and bloggers
From now until Monday 7th July, I will be 'off the air' and taking a little holiday in a beautiful place. It will be restful to be away from a mobile, and a computer(although i don't have one at home and do everything from libraries) and to try to do nothing - I used to be good at it, not so much now, but worth another try!
So, until 7th JULY, Be well and
Shalom from
Sister Gila
xxxx
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Sainte Anne-de-Beaupre
My dear Friends
In 1988 I was sitting by the river in Cambridge, Ontario. A man, bare-chested and wearing what looked like a St Christopher medal, stepped out of a small boat (another man stayed in the boat) and looked right at me, saying: 'Are you religious?' Taken aback, I stuttered: 'I suppose so.' 'Then you must go to the Shrine of Sainte Anne-de Beaupre.' he continued.
Several days later, having travelled by train, stayed the night in Quebec and taken a bus up the ravishing St Lawrence river, I came to the Shrine.
Not one for large Basilicas, and telling the good Lord as much, I found some small chapels at the back. A light was burning in one of them, and there was a little prayer card, asking for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I knelt down, said the prayer, and suddenly felt she was with me. I knew she wanted to go somewhere, Where? I asked.
Stumbling out of the Basilica, I ran up the road and came to a convent. 'Would you like to join the service, my dear?' a nice lady at the desk said. ''It's not a Mass.' So I climbed up and came to what seemed like a trapdoorand poked my head into the chapel - it was full of 40 nuns, all dressed in white, praying for vocations!
All this and more is described in The Moving Swan. It was only the beginning of my journey into my new life. And the beginning of my special relationship with the people of Quebec. Last Friday, almost 20 years to the day later, I returned from London on the bus. Behind me two young women were talking animatedly in a language which sounded joyful, lyrical and musical all at the same time. It sounded familiar, French, no a little different, with English interspersed, yes French, of course-Quebecois!
I turned round and we had a three way conversation. They were delighted when I said how much their language pleased me, and I was sad to hear of its frailty, because it is apparently mainly spoken now only in the Province of Quebec.
I realise now, from my experience in the Shrine of Sainte Anne-de Beaupre, and in the Cathedral in Montreal, when I was on my way into the Church, that God was planting something very special in my heart, which will bear much fruit when I finally emigrate to Canada and live in the country of the Beaupre-the Beautiful Pasture.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
In 1988 I was sitting by the river in Cambridge, Ontario. A man, bare-chested and wearing what looked like a St Christopher medal, stepped out of a small boat (another man stayed in the boat) and looked right at me, saying: 'Are you religious?' Taken aback, I stuttered: 'I suppose so.' 'Then you must go to the Shrine of Sainte Anne-de Beaupre.' he continued.
Several days later, having travelled by train, stayed the night in Quebec and taken a bus up the ravishing St Lawrence river, I came to the Shrine.
Not one for large Basilicas, and telling the good Lord as much, I found some small chapels at the back. A light was burning in one of them, and there was a little prayer card, asking for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I knelt down, said the prayer, and suddenly felt she was with me. I knew she wanted to go somewhere, Where? I asked.
Stumbling out of the Basilica, I ran up the road and came to a convent. 'Would you like to join the service, my dear?' a nice lady at the desk said. ''It's not a Mass.' So I climbed up and came to what seemed like a trapdoorand poked my head into the chapel - it was full of 40 nuns, all dressed in white, praying for vocations!
All this and more is described in The Moving Swan. It was only the beginning of my journey into my new life. And the beginning of my special relationship with the people of Quebec. Last Friday, almost 20 years to the day later, I returned from London on the bus. Behind me two young women were talking animatedly in a language which sounded joyful, lyrical and musical all at the same time. It sounded familiar, French, no a little different, with English interspersed, yes French, of course-Quebecois!
I turned round and we had a three way conversation. They were delighted when I said how much their language pleased me, and I was sad to hear of its frailty, because it is apparently mainly spoken now only in the Province of Quebec.
I realise now, from my experience in the Shrine of Sainte Anne-de Beaupre, and in the Cathedral in Montreal, when I was on my way into the Church, that God was planting something very special in my heart, which will bear much fruit when I finally emigrate to Canada and live in the country of the Beaupre-the Beautiful Pasture.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
The Moving Swan-Book Cover
My dear Friends
With regard to the article below about The Moving Swan, you can view the cover of the book to the right of the Blog, next to my Profile. Many unseen hands contributed to the production of this book, published by The Little Sisters of Joy, and one of them was the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, who hold the original painting by the French artist Degas, which I chose for the cover, from their collection. As the painting was not hanging in the public galleries at the time, I asked for a private view: I was amazed to learn that it is a pastel, not oil, and two-thirds of the way down on the cover is a line: apparently Degas joined two pieces of paper, which the Museum expert called 'glorified toilet paper' because he was so poor!
Because Degas did not allow anyone in to the studio while he was painting, we can never know if the 'backdrop' to the painting was a real outdoor scene, or a stage backcloth for a theatrical production. I leave you to guess the deeper meaning of the title, and just hope you enjoy the book.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
With regard to the article below about The Moving Swan, you can view the cover of the book to the right of the Blog, next to my Profile. Many unseen hands contributed to the production of this book, published by The Little Sisters of Joy, and one of them was the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, who hold the original painting by the French artist Degas, which I chose for the cover, from their collection. As the painting was not hanging in the public galleries at the time, I asked for a private view: I was amazed to learn that it is a pastel, not oil, and two-thirds of the way down on the cover is a line: apparently Degas joined two pieces of paper, which the Museum expert called 'glorified toilet paper' because he was so poor!
Because Degas did not allow anyone in to the studio while he was painting, we can never know if the 'backdrop' to the painting was a real outdoor scene, or a stage backcloth for a theatrical production. I leave you to guess the deeper meaning of the title, and just hope you enjoy the book.
Shalom from
Sister Gila
The Moving Swan
The Moving Swan is an account of my life so far from the beginning until 1999, when The Little Sisters of Joy was officially founded. It documents, with photos, my Jewish childhood in London, the move to Glasgow when I was 11 and my adolescence and wild youth. Breakdown followed and I came back to God through music, a gift inherited from my very musical Jewish family. Coming to Cambridge in 1982, I studied music and returned to the practice of my Jewish religion, the Joy of which I never lost.
In East Anglia, Wales and Canada, I received some profound mystical experiences which led me into the Catholic Church in 1989. I also received a religious vocation. But The Moving Swan is not simply about my journey in faith; it tells of my many journeys and especially the people I have loved. That is why I started writing and it mysteriously turned into a book.
The Moving Swan was launched on 8th May 2006 in the lovely Impington Church Hall near Cambridge, under the auspices of the Impington Mothers' Union. I talked and sang, in Hebrew and English, about my life, while the gathering joined in. Afterwards we had tea and I signed copies of the book. To date, over 750 copies have been sold and distributed, in Cambridge and other parts of the world.
If you are interested, and would like a copy, I am offering it for £12 worldwide including postage. Please send a cheque, made payable to 'The Little Sisters of Joy' to:
Sister Gila Margolin
The Little Sisters of Joy
The Haven
61 Edgecombe
Cambridge
CB4 2LW
England, UK
and I will send the book out to you as quickly as I can.
All proceeds go to The Little Sisters of Joy, soon to become a registered charity in the UK, and will be used for travel, publishing, printing, admin. for Concerts and all things required to help us continue to work for Peace and Reconciliation in this troubled world.
Bless you and thank you in advance
Shalom from
Sister Gila
In East Anglia, Wales and Canada, I received some profound mystical experiences which led me into the Catholic Church in 1989. I also received a religious vocation. But The Moving Swan is not simply about my journey in faith; it tells of my many journeys and especially the people I have loved. That is why I started writing and it mysteriously turned into a book.
The Moving Swan was launched on 8th May 2006 in the lovely Impington Church Hall near Cambridge, under the auspices of the Impington Mothers' Union. I talked and sang, in Hebrew and English, about my life, while the gathering joined in. Afterwards we had tea and I signed copies of the book. To date, over 750 copies have been sold and distributed, in Cambridge and other parts of the world.
If you are interested, and would like a copy, I am offering it for £12 worldwide including postage. Please send a cheque, made payable to 'The Little Sisters of Joy' to:
Sister Gila Margolin
The Little Sisters of Joy
The Haven
61 Edgecombe
Cambridge
CB4 2LW
England, UK
and I will send the book out to you as quickly as I can.
All proceeds go to The Little Sisters of Joy, soon to become a registered charity in the UK, and will be used for travel, publishing, printing, admin. for Concerts and all things required to help us continue to work for Peace and Reconciliation in this troubled world.
Bless you and thank you in advance
Shalom from
Sister Gila
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Shalom by David Lord
I had the use of a car over the weekend, as I said in the last Blog entry. As it was the Feast of the Visitation, the meeting of Mary and Elisabeth while pregnant with Jesus and John the Baptist, I decided to get away from Cambridge, and go to mass on the Saturday somewhere further afield. This Feast is particularly important for the joy and reconciliation we hope to achieve in The Little Sisters of Joy. And, for a meeting of the Old and the New.
Having phoned the priest the night before, I jumped in the car at 7.45 am on Saturday morning and drove down to Swaffham in Norfolk, on the road to Walsingham.
Feeling the need for a little rest and a coffee in Brandon, I came to a hotel I had not noticed before. Tea and toast was only a couple of pounds and inside I met the handyman, David Lord, known as 'Lordie.'
Not young, but still handsome, I discovered he was Jewish like me. And sensitive, with a keen talent for writing words to express our human condition. His lyrics, for that is what they are, have not been set to music, so I hope to do that, or get my friend Sue, who writes wonderful peace songs, to set it so that it can be accompanied on the guitar. But in the meantime I wanted to share with you his words, which I find very moving.
Having phoned the priest the night before, I jumped in the car at 7.45 am on Saturday morning and drove down to Swaffham in Norfolk, on the road to Walsingham.
Feeling the need for a little rest and a coffee in Brandon, I came to a hotel I had not noticed before. Tea and toast was only a couple of pounds and inside I met the handyman, David Lord, known as 'Lordie.'
Not young, but still handsome, I discovered he was Jewish like me. And sensitive, with a keen talent for writing words to express our human condition. His lyrics, for that is what they are, have not been set to music, so I hope to do that, or get my friend Sue, who writes wonderful peace songs, to set it so that it can be accompanied on the guitar. But in the meantime I wanted to share with you his words, which I find very moving.
Never mind, my sons,
They'll write your names in stone,
They'll remember you once a year
While your mother stands there
with a crown of thorns.
I see your night fighters
flying over the Beirut sky;
I know this night
some innocent child will die.
Some people make love in the night,
And some people make war,
But let my children go free,
Let them climb their ladder to the stars
And be in paradise with me.
Shalom by David Lord
And Shalom from
Sister Gila
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