General: That those from diverse religious traditions and all people of good will may work together for peace.
Missionary: That in this year dedicated to consecrated life, religious men and women may rediscover the joy of following Christ and strive to serve the poor with zeal.
NB The Sunday Mass at Nunraw has now moved back to 11 a.m. On the 12th January, we celebrate the feast of St Aelred.
St Aelred, 2nd Patron of Nunraw, was an influential figure in the beginnings of the Cistercian Order. He had connections with King David of Scotland and spent his life in Rievaulx which is relatively near our own monastery. He is therefore an appropriate patron of Nunraw. Aelred’s great authority came from his deep commitment to the monastic life and his inspirational teaching and writings. He didn’t just live in the monastery, he gave himself to it with all his heart. It is this which attracted so many monks to join Rievaulx. Aelred loved the common life, but he must surely have desired more solitude and peace than his life as abbot allowed him. Giving himself to the ideals of the Gospel as lived in the monastery involved suffering, as is true of all great commitments. But it shaped him at the same time into the great monk and saint that he became. We thank God for such a patron and pray that we may learn from St Aelred’s commitment in our own lives.
