Annual Aberdeen Diocesan Pilgrimage to Pluscarden: Sunday 29 July 2025

To describe this year’s annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to Pluscarden, much of what was said in these pages about the 2024 event could almost be repeated. The format remained the same; the Feast was the same (SS. Peter and Paul, 29 June), the place, the Mass time (3.00 p.m.) and many of the people were the same: Bishop, clergy, monks, people! We had two large marquees as before, and Choirs as before, and Exposition before the Mass as before, and a Marian procession after it, as before, and (as before) many volunteers involved in the organisation, which all went extremely well. Nevertheless, this 2025 event certainly merits its own description, for it was marvellous

Prior’s Homily for the Nativity of St John the Baptist; 24 June 2025

Isaiah 49:1-6   Acts 13:22-26   Luke 1:57-66,80

Even though John the Baptist grew to be the most formidable ascetic in the Bible, we have every right to celebrate his birthday by throwing a big monastic party, with a full liturgy followed by plenty of rich food and wine in the refectory.

Homily for the 8 o’clock Mass, Trinity Sunday “C”, 15 June 2025

Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

Lent, then Palm Sunday; Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Day. Then Alleluia “without ceasing” - then the Ascension, then Pentecost. And now, as if to sum it all up, the Feast of the Holy Trinity.

Homily for Pentecost, Year C: Sunday 8 June 2025

Acts 2:1-11   Romans 8:8-17   John 14:15-16,23-26

The Polish poet Czesław Miłosz composed his personal version of the Veni Creator:


"Come, Holy Spirit, / Bending or not bending the grasses, / Appearing or not above our heads in a tongue of flame, / At hay harvest or when they plough in the orchards or when snow / Covers crippled firs in the Sierra Nevada. /

Fr. Prior’s Homily for the Ascension Year C, Thursday 29 May 2025 Acts 1:1-11   Heb 9:24-28,10:19-23   Luke 24:46-53

According to St Leo the Great, and many other commentators, Jesus kept appearing to his disciples for forty days so that they would recognize as truly risen One whom they knew as truly born, as him who truly suffered, and truly died. “The result was that not only were they not afflicted with sadness, but were filled with great joy when the Lord went into the heights of heaven” (Sermon 73:4).

Bread Alone

Recently during lunch times the Pluscarden community has listened to a book about Ultra-Processed Food.

The conclusions of this book are rather alarming.

It seems that a lot of what we eat contains ultra-processed ingredients which are, or may be, by and large, harmful. That is: these ingredients are (or may be) harmful to health, to the environment, to the global economy, to the poor.