Our stay at the friary in Aylesford has been filled with prayer, contemplation, and appreciation for our beautiful tranquil surroundings. The friary, or simply “The Friars”, is a Carmelite priory located directly on the banks of the River Medway in Aylesford. The Friars provides a prayerful atmosphere for reflection in the beautiful natural surroundings of God’s glory.
The Priory has a view directly onto the River Medway in Aylesford.
So, who are the Carmelites? Here is a bit of history. The Carmelites are a Roman Catholic religious order with roots in the early 13th century. The Carmelites live in community together, eat meals together, and pray together. The first Carmelites were hermits who lived a life of solitary prayer in the caves on Mt. Carmel, which is located near the Mediterranean Sea in present day Israel. They take inspiration from the prophet Elijah; their motto is Elijah's proclamation, "With zeal I have been zealous for the Lord God of Hosts" (1 Kings 19:10).
The “Rule”, or prescribed way of life, of the Carmelites was written by St. Albert Avogadro, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem between 1206 and 1214, and the Rule of
St. Albert continues to guide the Carmelites today. The Carmelites also have a special devotion to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the Blessed Mother of Jesus. The Carmelites are often known as the “Whitefriars” due to the white cloaks that they wear. See an example of their monastic habit at the right. (Taken from https://www.carmelite.org/family/friars)
A small group of Carmelites left the Holy Land and arrived in Aylesford in 1242, where Baron Richard de Grey gave them land on which to build a church. The first meeting of the General Chapter of the Order outside the Holy Land was held there. The Chapter changed the lifestyle of the Carmelites from hermits to mendicant friars (mendicant: from the Latin word for “begging”). Mendicant friars are not permanently attached to one particular abbey; the Carmelites thus joined the three other mendicant orders in Britain (the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians). Over the next fifty years, more than thirty Carmelite priories were established in England and Wales.
A new church for the Aylesford Carmelite Motherhouse was built and then blessed by the bishop of Llandaff, Wales, in 1348 and consecrated in 1417. During the 13th-15th centuries, The Friars functioned as a stop along the Pilgrims' Way. The Pilgrim's Hall, where pilgrims would eat and lodge, is a 13th century structure and still stands today (and we ate there, too!).
During the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the late 1530’s, the friars were forced to leave the monastery, and the property changed hands privately many times through different English nobility and families. Over 400 years later, in 1949, The Friars was put up for sale, and the Carmelites of the UK were able to buy back their motherhouse. Fr. Malachy Lynch, the first Prior after the buyback, began the task of restoring the buildings, and within a short time, The Friars became a flourishing pilgrimage center once again. The complex was rededicated in 1965, and it now serves as a center of prayer and peace and a destination for pilgrims.
(1) Left: Entrance sign to The Friars. (2) Right: Walkway into the complex.
(1) Left: The Great Courtyard, the oldest part of the Friary (dating to the 13th century). (2) Right: Piazza for open-air Masses. The center archway in the back of the picture leads to the main shrine to the Blessed Mother (inside views later in this post).
Here are some outdoor scenes from The Friars:
The Friars has a lovely outdoor walking path, Rosary Way, and we said our morning rosary while walking on this trail. This peaceful, wooded path has beautiful ceramic plaques along the way that depict the mysteries of the Rosary. They were created by Polish artist Adam Kossowski, and more information on this artist is given below.
At right, see one of the rosary plaques which depicts the fourth Glorious Mystery, the Assumption of Mary into Heaven.
The Peace Garden is another outdoor space that instills a sense of calm with its fountains and plants. The word “peace” is translated into 300 languages on tiles at your feet.
The Peace Garden
Back to Carmelite history. The charism (particular gift of the Holy Spirit) of the Carmelites consists of three elements: prayer, community, and service. These elements give the Carmelites their distinctive character and identity. The Carmelites believe that praying with a listening heart allows God to transform our lives. Prayer for them takes the form of personal contemplation of the scriptures (Lectio Divina), as well as daily prayer with the community: Morning, Midday, Evening and Night Prayers, Mass, the Rosary, and other Marian devotions.
The community also invites the greater external community as well as pilgrims and other visitors from all over the world to pray with them. Because the Priory is a major center of pilgrimage, the community tends to the spiritual needs of pilgrims who come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Daily Mass, confessions, devotions, and spiritual direction are always offered and available. For Carmelites, prayer and work make up a seamless whole, so while personal and public prayer is at the core of their lives, they also serve the community in school and hospital chaplaincies, prison work, work with youth, teaching, writing, and offering retreats. More information about Carmelite spirituality can be found here.
The Friars has a beautiful series of corridors, buildings for lodging and meals, and chapels for contemplation and prayer, as well as a fine collection of religious art.
Corridors
13th century pilgrim guest house
We ate breakfast and lunch in the Pilgrims Hall, the oldest building in the Great Courtyard (13th century), with wonderful views of the river.
(1) Left: The Pilgrims' Hall. (2) Right: They reserved a table for us!
There are many chapels at The Friars. This map gives you an idea of the layout of the complex:
The main shrine is the Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Simon Stock (St. Simon Stock was an early Carmelite prior).
(1) Left: Inside the main shrine. The central statue of the Blessed Mother was carved by Michael Clark. (2) Right: Us with Fr. Michael in front of the main shrine.
At the Choir Chapel, a small simple chapel used primarily for the Liturgy of the Hours, we attended Morning Prayer. Fr. Michael, who has a beautiful voice, sang the prayers. We felt at peace and soothed.
Click the video to the right to listen to the sound of Morning Prayer sung at the Friary.
Inside the Choir Chapel.
We also attended noon Mass at the Choir Chapel. It was beautiful, and many people attended. Fr. Michael mentioned us at Mass and said a prayer and blessing for us. We were so grateful and very moved by his kindness.
At right, Lisa receives instructions for proclaiming the readings from Fr. Michael before Mass.
Next, we visited the Chapel of St. Joseph. The large statue behind the altar was carved also by Michael Clark (who carved the statue in the main shrine). Scenes from the life of the prophet Elijah, an inspirational figure for the Carmelites, are depicted on the walls by ceramicist Adam Kossowski.
From left: (1) Inside St. Joseph Chapel. (2) Statue of St. Joseph. (3) Scenes from the life of Elijah.
In the Relic Chapel, we found a tall reliquary containing a portion of the skull of St. Simon Stock, an early Carmelite Prior often associated with the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. The reliquary--which sits behind the altar in the image below--was designed by Adam Kossowski, and the various levels represent the cells of the hermits of Mt. Carmel.
The altar and reliquary in the Relic Chapel.
The Carmelite Saints Chapel (depicted below) celebrates the saints of the Carmelites, including St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Titus Brandsma, and Edith Stein. The informational posters on either side of the altar describe the life of St. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite saint and Doctor of the Church.
Inside the Carmelite Saints Chapel.
The final chapel we visited was the Martyrs Chapel. This chapel is dedicated to the martyrs of England and Wales. The murder of St. Thomas Becket is depicted on the face of the altar. St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More are depicted on the walls.
Martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket. Becket lifts his hands in a gesture of both peace and prayer, a gesture that the priest celebrating at this altar also adopts during the Eucharistic Liturgy, thus drawing a parallel between martyrdom and Christ's eucharistic sacrifice.
Wall of the chapel listing the names of English and Welsh Christians who died for their faith. God did but test them, and testing them found them worthy of Him.
Images of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More in the Martyrs Chapel.
A final artistic aspect of note is the work of the Polish artist, Adam Kossowski, at The Friars. We already saw his ceramic work on the Rosary Way and in the St. Joseph Chapel. In addition, a wonderful series of panels painted by Kossowski stand in the 15th century Prior's Hall. Kossowski thought of his art as an act of thanksgiving for his release from a Soviet slave labor camp. He stated:
“When I was so deep in this calamity and nearly dead, I promised myself that if I came out of this subhuman land, I would tender my thanks to God.”
He began working at the Aylesford priory in 1950, and produced his artistic work there for over twenty-five years. His seven painted panels in the Priory tell the story of the Carmelites at Aylesford. Scroll through the slideshow below to see the panels (descriptions at bottom).
(1) The Prior's Hall. (2) Giving the monastic Rule on Mt. Carmel. (3) Decision of a group of Carmelites to leave the Holy Land. (4) Arrival of the Carmelites in Aylesford, 1242. (4) The General Chapter at Aylesford, 1247. (5) Building the medieval church. (6) Leaving Aylesford at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. (7) Return to Aylesford, 1949.
These two days at The Friars have truly felt like a pilgrimage within a pilgrimage. We all have renewed the penitential aspects of our journey, renewed our prayer life, and have reached clarity about our spiritual intentions. Being in the midst of this old and glorious pilgrimage center has made us feel connected to the thousands of pilgrims who have made this journey before us. Our Catholic faith has been strengthened by the time spent in quiet prayer and reflection as well as at Mass and confessions. Praying the rosary and meditating on the Stations of the Cross in an outdoor setting instilled peaceful contemplation in the beauty of God’s creation. Everyone at the friary, especially Fr. Michael, has been gracious and kind.
(1) Left: As we were leaving, Fr. Michael came out to say goodbye, and he shared his enjoyment with our visit. (2) Right: Walking out of the friary. Our stay here was a highlight of our pilgrimage.
We made one more stop in Aylesford at St. Peter and St. Paul Church. The oldest part of this church (the base of the tower) is nearly 1000 years old.
From left: (1) Entrance to the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. (2) Church tower. (3) Beautiful painted Victorian organ.
At the end of the day, we arrived in our destination of Maidstone and went to our AirBnb. We were able to do our laundry in the house. We had a delicious dinner at Miller and Carter Steakhouse and then went back to our accommodations for a restful sleep.
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