Many times in the Old Testament God’s people are spoken of as sheep, led by a shepherd. The image would be a very natural one in the Ancient Near East, where wandering flocks led by a shepherd were everywhere a familiar sight. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all shepherds. Moses and Joshua are portrayed as shepherds guiding Israel to freedom, and to the promised land (cf. Nb 27:17). David was taken from shepherding sheep to become the Kingly shepherd of Israel (cf. 2 Sm 5:2). We find this same image several times in the Psalms, and in the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah.
Homily for the 8 o’clock Mass, Easter Day, 9 April 2023: John 20:1-9
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.
Homily for the 8 o’clock Mass, 12 March 2023, Sunday Lent 3A John 4:5-42 - The Samaritan Woman at the Well
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.
Homily for the Diaconal Ordination of Br Simon Piątowski
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.
Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, 5 March 2023: Matthew 17:1-9
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. ABBOT ANSELM’S HOMILY FOR THE FUNERAL OF FR. MATTHEW TYLOR; 17 FEBRUARY 2023
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.
Homily for 29 January 2023, Sunday 4A, Matthew 5:1-12
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”.
Homily for the 8 o’clock Mass, Sunday 2A, 15 January 2023, John 1:29-34
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.