to the paradise garden
anne margot boyd
The lure of a Paradise Garden gleams like a mystic thread through Anne’s remarkable story of adaptation to the social upheaval of the 1960s. As Sister Mary Anne in a 300-year-old contemplative nunnery in the UK, she wrote home to Australia from 1956 to 1970. These letters, rescued from a house fire in the 1990s, form the heart of this captivating memoir.
“Your style of writing is so free-flowing. It’s like listening to a story being told, and unfolding in front of you. It’s easy reading, and yet very informative and educational. It is thought-provoking, when you consider the changes affecting women through the ages. I’m sure all who read it will be rewarded.”
rembrandt
etchings
& gospel passages that inspired them
Rembrandt etchings and extracts from Christ Our Light by Anne Margot Boyd provided with kind permission of the National Gallery of Victoria.
Christ at
Emmaus
“As the two disciples came near to the village of Emmaus to which they were going, Jesus walked ahead as if He were going on. But they urged Him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So He went in to stay with them. When He was at the table with them, He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised Him.”
the Descent
from the Cross
“After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission and he came and removed the body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the custom.”
the return
of the prodigal son
“Then the son said to the father, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out a robe - the best one - and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, and get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’”
By Anne Margot Boyd
A spiritual journey through 15 Rembrandt etchings, presented with the relevant Gospel passage. Rembrandt is one of the world’s greatest artists and every generation discovers new treasures in contemplating his work. This is especially true of his religious art. His paintings and etchings inspired by biblical subjects were made for prayer. They touch the depths of human feelings and have never lost their universal appeal.
About the
author
Anne Margot Boyd is an Australian author and editor, who in 1955 joined the Dominican contemplative community at Carisbrooke on the Isle of Wight in England. She was one of the founders of Carisbrooke Priory Press, and subsequently worked for many years in the publishing division of Cambridge University Press and Cassell Publishers. After returning to Australia, Anne was founding editor of Ferntree Gully News, and she continues to write and edit.
