“As the rain and snow come down from heaven …and water the earth … so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty.”

Our brief first reading today, from Isaiah Chapter 55, is familiar as part of a longer passage we have in the Easter Vigil.

These days, more and more, the Pluscarden brethren are aware of our need to pray for vocations: to ask the Lord to send us men, who want to be, and will become, monks.

The quarterly magazine which generally includes a letter from Fr Abbot, a diary of recent activity at the Abbey, book reviews and articles by monks, oblates or visitors.

The quarterly magazine which generally includes a letter from Fr Abbot, a diary of recent activity at the Abbey, book reviews and articles by monks, oblates or visitors.

24 June 2026

Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66.80

Today we are celebrating the birthday of a great prophet, and more than a prophet – the Forerunner, the Precursor to Christ our Lord himself. The voice which would become “the voice crying out in the wilderness” cried out for the first time as little John emerged from his mother's womb.

Today’s second reading gave us some verses from Romans Chapter 5. Romans Chapter 5 is one of those texts people build their lives on. This is a passage with an inbuilt potential really to hit you between the eyes. Paul’s message is so thrilling that if you would only allow its impact to sink in, you’d be dancing about and singing.

Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23

Fr. Prior Simon

We know about the humility of God's only Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Over the past six months the Liturgy has been teaching us about his self-emptying: how he took flesh from the Virgin Mary; how “he learned obedience through what he suffered”; how he died and was buried, then descended into the lower parts of the earth, for our sake and for our salvation.