I want to speak about our second reading today: 4 verses from the end of Romans Chapter 11. This is St. Paul’s outburst of wonder and awe and amazement; Paul’s bowing down in silent worship before the unspeakable greatness of God; Paul’s proclamation of his own invincible faith and confidence - even as he recognises the severe limits to what he can know and understand of the inexhaustible mystery of God.
Golden Jubilee of Monastic Profession of Dom Giles Conacher
Visit of Br. Patrick's Mother
Summer Charity Concert
On Thursday 17 August John Mustard's Cello Studio and friends put on a fund raising concert in our Abbey Church.The beneficiaries of the evening were two. First our own new Guest House building Project. Then quite a new local charity called SurfABLE. This organisation helps people with impaired abilities to enjoy the surf around the Moray Firth coast line.
Homily for Sunday 20A, 20 August 2023: Matthew 15:21-28
He answered her not a word.
St. Matthew doesn’t tell us why the Lord withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. St. Mark, in his slightly fuller account of the same incident, adds the detail that Jesus wanted to remain hidden there. At any rate, he certainly didn’t go to pagan territory in order to preach or teach or perform miracles. Why? Because Jesus was a faithful Jew, obedient to the law, as well as to his own mission from the Father. According to the law given to Israel, the Jews are a people set apart, a consecrated nation, a holy people of God. As the Psalm puts it: they are the sheep of God’s pasture, and the flock led by his hand (Ps 94/95:7).
Oblate Weekend August 2023 - Bishop Richard's Summer Talks 2023
Once again the Abbey hosted a special weekend for Oblates, from Friday 11th to Monday 14th August. Also once again Bishop Richard Moth, who is a Pluscarden Oblate, gave a series of talks for those attending. Bishop Richard has been coming to Pluscarden very regularly and faithfully since he was a teenage seminarian.
Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration, Year A: DSP
Daniel 7:9-10.13-14 2 Peter 1:16-19 Matthew 17:1-9
We know the basic meaning of today's feast. On Mt Tabor Peter, James, and John caught a glimpse of the light of Easter, of Christ's divinity and of the glory of heaven. All that to strengthen their faith and “to remove the scandal of the Cross”, as we heard in the martyrology yesterday. I'm not so sure that “the scandal” was in fact entirely removed. You have to stumble over the humiliation of Jesus, over His suffering and over the finality of His death, in some ways that's the whole point – and all disciples would in fact stumble over it. They would be left grief-stricken, confused and utterly humiliated themselves – as those who staked their very lives on Jesus being the Messiah.
THE PILGRIM STATUE OF ST. MICHAEL AT PLUSCARDEN
Pluscarden Abbey is the 54th station in the journey of the Pilgrim Statue of St. Michael around Scotland. Our statue is a replica of the famous marble original, carved in 1507 by Andrea Sansovino, for the Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel at Gargano, in South East Italy. The plaster replica was commissioned specially for this Scottish project, which commenced in May 2022. It is scheduled to be at Pluscarden for about two weeks from 2 August 2023.