Saturday 9th November, it was a great delight to host our second YouCAN Monastery Day: Young adult Catholics coming together from all over the country to support one another and at the same time come to be supported by the monastic witness of our community.
We hosted our first YouCAN day in March this year and it was good this time to welcome back familiar faces and to meet new participants.
To allow for everyone to be with us to celebrate Mass, and given that we are not the easiest place to reach, the monastic horarium is slightly adapted. That said, many of the group chose to stay over in our lodges.
The format of these days hosted by many communities throughout the country follows a similar pattern. There is an input, usually based on scripture led by a member of the monastic community, a time for questions and simply discussing aspects of our faith, a shared meal, the opportunity for Mass, adoration and confession, and no Benedictine monastic day would be complete without a little manual labour.
The title for this day: ‘Costing not less than everything…’ allowed for Sr Philippa to share with the group something of the history of our community, focussing on the time during the French Revolution when we were imprisoned with the Carmelite nuns who would become known as; ‘The Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne’. It being our Jubilee year, we wanted to share some of the challenges that mark any Christian life and that have marked our community throughout these past 400yrs. It was a special moment for the group to have the opportunity to see and venerate the relics of these courageous women whose witness is forever intertwined with our community.
This led to an Emmaus Walk, a conversation in pairs or threes between members of the group accompanied by a sister reflecting on how we find our own faith challenged.
Our brothers at Ampleforth kindly adapted to the change of Mass time and returned later in the afternoon to hear confessions. It is good witness of the male and female expressions of our Benedictine life for us to collaborate on days like this.
Tea and scones were universally appreciated and prolonged the conversation, no one was in a hurry to leave and there was an ease an openness among the group and sisters in the community that made the entire day delightful.
We hope to host our next YouCan day on March 29th, 2025. To find out more about the YouCAN groups visit their website: https://youngcatholicadultnetwork.uk
