Participants at Pluscarden Abbey's Monastic Experience Weekend 2016

Pluscarden's Monastic Experience Weekend ran from Friday 19th to Monday 22nd August. A fine group of young men attended. The weekenders joined the community in Choir for Mass, for the whole Divine Office, and for silent prayer, and also in the refectory for meals. They received talks on Monastic Life, on the Rule of St. Benedict, on the Liturgy, on Gregorian Chant, and on Vocation. They also had periods of guided Lectio divina.

The weekend included a guided tour of the Church and Monastery, and opportunity for confession. The weather smiled on the group with warm sunshine, by and large, making the garden work, and the free time for local walking all the more pleasant.

Such an intense exposure to monastic life and culture might come as rather a shock to many people. Our participants however made the most of this rare opportunity, with generosity and commitment, and went away expressing gratitude for a time of significant blessing in their lives.