A Deep and Subtle Joy: Life at Quarr Abbey [Paperback]

Luke Bell (Author), Tony Hendra (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2006

Quarr Abbey is a historic and beautiful Benedictine Monastery founded on the Isle of Wight in 1132. Along the way it was home to Father Joe, celebrated in Tony Hendra's New York Times bestselling book. In A Deep and Subtitle Joy, Fr. Luke Bell takes the reader on a fascinating 24-hour personal tour of Quarr Abbey, and provides a perfect introduction to Benedictine--and to Christian--spirituality

The author brings you, chapter-by-chapter, to the place in the monastery where the monks spend their lives and provides a vivid insight into the rhythm of their day. While en route he talks about some of the personal experiences that brought him to the abbey and explains what this place and life in the monastery means to the monks who live here.

Drawing equally upon nature and scripture, Fr. Luke explains the practice and the purpose of the different aspects of monastic life. Each chapter presents a spiritual theme by means of reflection on a particular aspect of the husbandry or buildings of the monastery, finding profound answers to such seemingly mundane questions as, What can we learn from the way pigs eat? or Why is the cloister hidden?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Father Luke Bell is a Benedictine monk at Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 153 pages
• Publisher: HiddenSpring (September 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587680378
• ISBN-13: 978-1587680373
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,667,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born on 28th June 1952, Nicholas (later Luke) Bell grew up in Surrey (United Kingdom) in a house full of books. He studied English literature at King's College, Cambridge, where he was particularly drawn to the novels of Dostoevsky. Having qualified as a teacher following further study at Bristol University, he taught English at a school in Surrey. After three years of this, he left England to take up a post at the University of Fez in Morocco. Here he taught Shakespeare to Moroccans, and was known to them by the nickname of "Shakespeare." He produced a staging of "Othello" with a Moor playing the lead role! After four years in North Africa, he took a teaching post back in England at the Jesuit Wimbledon College. Here he was received into the Catholic Church, and after five years teaching in a very lively and companionable English department, he left to become a monk at Downside Abbey in Somerset. On entering the monastery he took the name "Luke". All his books have been written by him as a monk. His first book, "Paradise on Earth" (dedicated to Saint Therese of Lisieux) explores a Christian approach to suffering, drawing illustrations widely from literature. The second "Discovery of Grace" (dedicated to the monks of Quarr Abbey) looks at various Christian spiritual themes. Both these books were published by Kevin Mayhew Publishing. His third book "Joy in Heaven" draws on his experience working as a priest in an English country parish and as a prison chaplain. It is dedicated to the people of his parish, Saint Michael's, Shepton Mallet, and published by New Life Publishing (Luton). In 2003 Father Luke (as he then was) came as a monk to Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight. His first book written there was "A Deep and Subtle Joy: Life at Quarr Abbey", which takes the reader on a twenty-four hour personal tour of Quarr Abbey and invites the reader to share in the lives of the monks. It is dedicated to his goddaughter, Hannah, and published by HiddenSpring, an imprint of Paulist Press. The same publisher is issuing his new book, "Baptising Harry Potter: A Christian Reading of J K Rowling", which is dedicated to his godson, Aelred. News of its publication prompted an accusation of betrayal by Christians opposed to Harry Potter, but it is not really written to try to win over such people: rather it is written for all who enjoy the Harry Potter books - to delight and enlighten them!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A joy to read, December 1, 2006

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Stella (Bethesda, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Deep and Subtle Joy: Life at Quarr Abbey (Paperback)

What do monks do? What is the meaning of and purpose of what they do? If you are looking for the answers to these questions, you will find them in this book, and more besides. You will be welcomed by the author to the beautiful Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight in England, and shown around the monastery with an explanation of the meaning of every place and every time for the spiritual life of the monks. The meanings of the signs of nature are complemented with corresponding quotations from the signs of revelation. The book is written in a very appealing, simple and direct way, and contains some touching anecdotes from the personal life of the author. At a time when there are so many misleading and deviant books masquerading as spiritual treatises, it is a joy to find a completely orthodox contemporary spiritual work. It has a general message that goes beyond the cloistered life. It is not at all difficult to read, as the spiritual content is woven into your stay at the monastery, as you are guided through the places of interest there. Quarr was also a special place of prayer for three hundred years in the middle ages, and the author often speaks of the blessing from the prayers of the monks of the original monastery there. At the end of the book we are standing together on the shore of the sea pondering on the beauty to be found on the island, and the uncreated beauty of God. "It is a beauty unknown yet known: known in the still depths of the soul by the deep and subtle joy that radiates from it; known from the gestures of generous love that come from others... It is the beauty of the distant sky...The blue of the sea is murky and eddying; the blue of the beyond is crystal and still. To reach the horizon, the point of intersection of the timeless with time, we need to leave the earth we know... `Then shall I know even as I am known.'"