Got
this email in from
orthodoxcanada@gmail.com
A
couple of years ago a friend sent me the following
email;
I ordered this icon of St Brendan from Fr Aldea in
Scotland at the All Saints monastery. I placed it next
to my icon of Christ in my home.
It
features St Ita, the foster mother of Saints, giving her
blessing to St Brendan the Navigator for his journey..
and they are surrounded in the love of Christ.
This
icon was my inspiration for starting a response network
in Vancouver between Catholic and Orthodox, because we
are different, and I don’t believe in ecumenism. At the
same time, this icon shows how we can love one another,
and serve the poor in the love and unity of Christ.
It is a
blueprint for how we can unite in times of persecution,
as well as in peace to serve the poor.. in the way that
Christ has commanded.
Not in
ecumenism, we will leave that to the clergy. But in the
brotherhood of Christ and his sacraments, doing his
will, and loving one another as laity.
That
love may save our lives as well as our souls as the
world turns further and further away from Gods love and
hates Christ more.
So let
us be awake and ready, and have a grass roots network to
be able to respond quickly to the needs of all those who
yearn earnestly to serve our Lord. - Tim Redford
The
Monastery has been running week-long summer pilgrimages
to the Celtic Isles since 2015. We have introduced over
three hundred people to the holy sites of these amazing
Isles and the extraordinary Saints who lived here. Most
of our pilgrims come from the United States, Canada and
Australia. Please note that these are spiritual
pilgrimages, not touristic opportunities. The focus of
this experience is prayer and developing a personal
relationship with the Saints of the Isles.
We
visit some of the most remote and authentic places
connected with early Celtic Christianity in the
Scottish Isles. Some of these places have been
uninhabited for centuries, with no touristic or
religious routes linking them to other destinations.
The pilgrimages organised by the Monastery are the
only way one can visit some of these isles.
Among many other places, we shall get to the Isle of
Iona (Iona Abbey, Martyrs’ Bay, the Nunnery, St
Oran’s Chapel, the famous Celtic High Crosses, St
Columba’s Bay, the Hill of the Turning Back to
Ireland, the Marble Quarry and the Machair); the
ruins of St Kenneth’s monastery and the ancient
hermit cells; St Brendan’s monastery on his
uninhabited Isle; and some of the great Celtic
Christian places on the Isle of Mull (The Nuns’
Cave, the Carsaig Arches, Kilninian etc). The
schedule depends on the weather and the state of the
ocean.
We
aim to make sure that, once you arrive to Mull,
there is nothing else for you to worry about for the
entire week. This way, we may focus on the
pilgrimage itself, on personal prayer and communion
with one another. If you need help with any aspect
of the trip to Mull, we are here to advise and help
you.
