Pluscarden Abbey

After an interval of nearly 400 years, Benedictine monastic life began anew at Pluscarden. After the Reformation, the Priory had been in the hands of lay owners. In 1897, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, and author of the eccentric but enormously useful translation of the Roman Breviary, purchased the Priory from the Duke of Fife. A devout and wealthy philanthropist, he helped the Presyterian congregation who had been using the ruins for services to build a Church in the glen, and arranged for Catholic Mass to be celebrated in the Prior's Chapel by Dom Sir David Oswald Hunter Blair Bt OSB of Fort Augustus Abbey.

On the death of the Marquess, the property passed to his son, Lord Colum Crichton-Stuart who was eager for a monastic community to take up residence. Eventually, he found Abbot Wilfred Upson of Prinknash willing to found a new monastic community and in 1948, five monks began to live the Benedictine life once more in the Priory.

The community has carried out much restoration work in the meantime. Here is an example from the Dunbar vestry:

Although the nave of the Church is missing, the East End is quite well preserved:


To the West of the Church, the community have built the St Benedict's guest house which offers hospitality to men:

This was where I stayed during the past week. The accommodation is simple but perfectly adequate. Guests are expected to enter into the spirit of the monastic life, including the dimension of manual work. At a minimum, this involves cleaning the room in preparation for the next guest to use it.

There is also St Scholastica's guest house for women, situated outside the main ground of the Abbey. There were several women staying during the week - one couple had come for a visit of a few days and stayed in separate accommodation on retreat.

One of the senior members of the community is Dom Camillus, a kindly man who has time to talk to the many visitors who come to the monastery each day. I asked him to hear my confession during my retreat - a special celebration of the sacrament in which traditionally, one tries to look at besetting sins and faults. I was very grateful for his kindly and wise advice.

While touring round with my camera one afternoon, I found him with this magnolia bush which was donated in honour of his 40th anniversary - I am afraid I cannot remember whether it was his profession or ordination that was commemorated.

Popular posts from this blog

1962 Missal pdf online

The Church Music Association of America and Jeffrey Tucker of the New Liturgical Movement have made available the 1962 Missal online in pdf format (72Mb). The file is hosted at Musica Sacra , the website of the CMAA, thanks to a generous gift from Fr Robert Skeris While you are at it, take a look at the articles clarifying the rules for music at Low Mass and music at High Mass .
Read more

Request for Novena to Blessed Pius IX

Image
A priest friend of mine is ill in hospital. He has a special devotion to Blessed Pius IX. Could I ask you, of your charity, to say a Novena for his speedy recovery. Novena In Honour of Blessed Pius IX Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, hear our prayers and glorify your servant Pius IX, who consecrated the Universal Church to you. (Our Father...) O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, hear our prayer and glorify your servant Pius IX who declared you Immaculate. (Hail Mary...) Saint Joseph, spouse of the most pure Virgin Mary, hear our prayer and glorify your servant Pius IX who declared you the Patron of the Universal Church. (Glory be...) Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Immaculate Mary, our Hope, and Saint Joseph hear our prayers and glorify your servant Pius IX , granting to us through his merits and intercessions the graces which we ardently desire: that the glory of God be revealed through Father's illness. (Our Father..., Hail Mary..., Glory be...
Read more

Saint Gabriel

Image
The angels call for our veneration and awe as part of God’s creation. Part of the destructive modernism of the 1970s included advice to Catholic school teachers that they should not talk to children about angels. This wrought lasting damage which continues to need rectifying. We should include in our prayers a heartfelt recourse to our own Guardian Angels. The Archangel Gabriel “God is my strength” would be terrifying were he to appear to any of us. Our Lady was “troubled” at the word of Saint Gabriel and wondered at the manner of the salutation. Immediately, according to his mission, the awesome messenger explained himself. Modern retelling of the event is often reduced to the jejune “Mary said Yes to God”. In fact, she said “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word”. This conveys more accurately the flawless faith and trust of the Immaculata. In the infinitely wise providence of the Father, we now know the structure of the event in even more detai...
Read more

Novena in honour of Bl Pius IX for seminarian

Image
The Overbrook Seminary of Philadelphia began yesterday a novena in honor of Blessed Pius IX that God might be glorified through the illness of a second year seminarian, Philip Gerard Johnson. Philip has helped at Lourdes for many years as a day pilgrim guide as one of those guiding the torchlight Rosary Procession throughout these Summers. He blogs at In Caritate non Ficta . The photo above is one I took of the statue of Blessed Pius IX in the Salesian Church of the Sacred Heart in Rome. Do join the Novena if you can. Here are the prayers: Novena In Honor of Blessed Pius IX Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, hear our prayers and glorify your servant Pius IX, who consecrated the Universal Church to you. (Our Father...) O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, hear our prayer and glorify your servant Pius IX who declared you Immaculate. (Hail Mary...) Saint Joseph, spouse of the most pure Virgin Mary, hear our prayer and glorify your servant Pius IX who ...
Read more

Plenary indulgences not impossible

Dilexit Prior in Letters from a Young Catholic asked some useful questions today about indulgences. I thought it would be best to do a post here especially to cover the controversial question of detachment from venial sin. But first the other questions: The conditions for gaining a plenary indulgence Pope Paul VI set down a number of norms relating to indulgences at the end of Indulgentiarum Doctrina . Norm 7 states: To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfil three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent. If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial, except for the provisions contained in n.11 for those who are “impeded.” It is worth reading the other norms bec...
Read more