She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb.
In today’s Gospel Jesus doesn’t appear at all. In the half light of very early dawn St. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb, and sees that it’s empty: but she entirely fails to understand what that means. We rightly call her the Apostle of the Apostles: but in the first place she runs off to convey to the disciples a message of non-faith.
From ancient times the 3rd, 4th and 5th Sundays of lent were designated as special for catechumens. There were public ceremonies on these days for all the candidates for Baptism: exorcisms, anointings, and special instructions, marking stages on their path towards becoming fully members of Christ, and members of His Church, at Easter. The Gospels for these Sundays were always the same: the Samaritan woman at the well, the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus, according to St. John.
In the hushed, verdant garden of the cloister grow many things: not just wispy beards, but human plants and flowers, shrubs and bushes, trees, every kind of flora. Together they create a space where the Lord walks in the cool of the day, and others too find refreshment. Perhaps one could say, a place where the tree of life is once again within reach. And so I’m honoured to be here to confer the ministry of deacon on one of Pluscarden’s plants. Br Simon is, of course, already grounded here, by choice, by call, by profession.
Something is wrong! We are not where we’re meant to be! We were designed and made by God to be perfectly happy. But we aren’t! We were made to be entirely free from sin and from death. But we’re not! We were made to enjoy perfect and unimpeded communion with God. But we don’t! The season of lent confronts us in a special way with the reality of our condition: our sinfulness, our mortality, our distance from God, our state of exile from our heavenly home. In lent also we fix our gaze on Jesus in his suffering and death.
Fr Matthew was a monk for over sixty years; a Priest for fifty years. Before he was a monk he was a soldier, being of the generation that did military service, and he fought in the jungle in Malaysia. He was a tall, strong man, whose long and interesting life was mostly behind him when he arrived at Pluscarden nearly twenty years ago.
Recently I was asked to speak to a visiting group of sixth form teenagers. In the course of our exchange one of them asked: “What is the purpose of life?” I thought that a jolly good question. You can imagine lots of different answers coming from different people.
Well, I’m a Benedictine monk, so the first answer that came into my head, was: “to give God glory”. Then I thought of another: “to become the person God wants you to be - the person you alone can be - so that you give God glory in the way you alone can”.
We’ve just read of the first appearance of Jesus in St. John’s Gospel. I wonder if you’ve noticed how wonderfully crafted St. John’s narrative here is? The Fathers of the Church called St. John "The Theologian". We see why especially in his opening lines, where, beyond all other New Testament writers, he seems to gaze directly into the heart of God. John speaks there of the Logos, the Word who was with God, and who was God. Through this Word all things were made. Yet also: this Word became flesh.
"Lantern of the North" Pilgrimage to Elgin Cathedral 7 January 2023
A group of local Catholics has been organising a series of Pilgrimage Masses at sites of historic importance around Catholic Moray. There are plenty of such sites.
On Saturday 7 January the venue was Elgin Cathedral. Its ancient appellation was "The Lantern of the North": so that was the title of the Pilgrimage…
Popular now: Daily timetable • Light a candle • Music • News • Retreats • Shop • South Range appeal • Subscribe