THE BOOK OF DEER
This manuscript is one of Scotland’s most important. It is small, 6 x 4
¼ inches, contains 86 folios (172 pages) and belongs to the category
Irish Pocket Gospel Books, clearly not intended to be used in
church. It is written on vellum using a stylus in black ink and
downwards from the line. The Gospels texts, parts of Matthew, Luke and
Mark and all of St. John, are scribed in miniscule Irish text, in a
neat, disciplined and fluent way, but the grammar and spelling of the
mixture of Old Latin and Vulgate can only be described as atrocious.
Two hands can be identified in the texts. The style can be dated to the
later part of the period 850 – 1000 A.D., and by the fact that the
colophon at the end is, unusually, in a vernacular Gaelic. In
translation it reads “Be it on the conscience of anyone who reads this
splendid little book that they say a prayer for the soul of the wretch
who wrote it.”
The text is embellished throughout by artistry and illuminations,
including decorated initials, “doodles” and full page illustrations of
the Evangelists. There is great debate about the quality of the artwork
as to some eyes it may appear to be primitive and has been described as
degenerative. Only two paints have been used in these illustrations -
yellow and pinky brown. The illustration of St. Matthew shows a higher
degree of artistry than the others, so it would appear that a third
hand was involved in this part of the manuscript. The full page
illustrations of the four Evangelists are framed and they carry book
satchels round their neck. The framing comprises simple designs, mainly
of two types of key pattern which can be traced to Pictish stones in
North East Scotland, and the others of basic cross hatching, fish
scales and four strand interlace.
All this points to the manuscript being produced within a community
with limited human and material resources. The texts would normally
have been copied from other manuscripts or read out for the scribe. The
apparent primitive nature of the artwork is perhaps better explained by
Dr. Isabel Henderson who believes that there is complex iconography
concealed in the simplicity of the art work. By way of contrast, the so
called “doodles” are cleverly done, and display a sense of humour. All
are in the folios containing the Gospel of St. John, a particular
favourite of the early church. The first is on folio 44 and consists of
arabesques, a cross and two animal heads. It is in proximity of the
passage “Thou art Simon, the son of Jona, thou shall be called Cephas,
which is interpretated Peter.” Then on folio 54 there are simple
drawings of a bird, usually taken to represent a raven, and a dog.
These are apparently highlighting the passage “Amen, amen I say unto
you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood,
you shall not have life in you.” There are a total of nineteen of these
markers throughout the Gospel.
The question may be raised as to why the synoptic Gospels are not
complete – are there folios missing? The construction of the manuscript
in eight gatherings shows that there may be only one folio missing from
the manuscript and this indicates that the incomplete Gospel texts is
what the clerics intended. The Gospel of St. John is contained in
four gatherings, the parts of the other Gospels halting abruptly but
within a complete gathering as if they had been carefully spaced to
fill the vellum available at the time of scribing.
Shortly after the completion of the gospels, there is an insertion
containing the last part the rite for the Visitatation to the Sick,
added by a different scribe. It is not as neatly done as the Gospels,
but shows a better understanding of the Latin. The overall structure of
the Rite would be recognised by present day worshippers - an
introduction, the Pater Noster which is followed by an instruction,
again unusually, in vernacular Gaelic in a single line:
“Here you give the sacrament to him.”
This is followed by antiphons and responses from the psalms, for example, in translation:
“For he has satisfied the empty soul, and filled the hungry soul with good things.”
“And let them sacrifice the sacrifice of praise: and declare His works with joy.”
There is no mention of anointing in the Rite, perhaps because of oil
being reserved for the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
A folio (No 28) has been added so that the entire Communion Rite
appears across two facing pages at a single opening, requiring no
turning of pages thus leaving the minister’s hands free. The manuscript
is now best known for six insertions in Gaelic and one Latin charter of
David 1, added at a later date in the spaces and margins around the
Gospel text. These texts are the earliest known Gaelic literature from
and because of their content, and the fact they were written in an area
influenced by Pictish culture are of great importance to historians,
place name scholars, linguists and social historians.
They were added at time of great changes in Scottish society which had
started in the reign of Malcolm Canmore who married Margaret, later to
become St. Margaret of Scotland, in 1069. Both had come under the
influence of Anglian customs and Margaret had a wider experience of
modern European ways. The Gaelic language and customs were being
gradually marginalised, and Church practices were changing; and the
introduction of monasteries of cloistered monks which did not follow
the Celtic/Pictish tradition in which secular clerics had pastoral
duties over a wide area. These new monasteries were well endowed with
land which would have been recorded in charters written in Latin, as
was the custom in Europe. David (1124 – 53) also planted Norman and
others of his own choice as Earls in troublesome province of Moray.
It was in this climate that the clerics in Old Deer made the insertions
between the years 1130 and 1150. There are no previous recording of
land holding in Pictland, indeed there is little or no literary
evidence of their culture and history. The first Latin charter appeared
in Scotland in 1094, but they did not become common until the reign of
David.
The texts, in a form of Gaelic, attempted to establish the clerics’
ecclesiastic authority by invoking St. Columba and St. Drostan as
founders and patrons of their monastery; and their rights to lands
granted to them over the years by King, mormaer and toisech. These
rights included freedom from taxes and other services that lay tenants
would have had to carry out for the benefit of their overlords. They
must have been done mostly from memory as two Kings mentioned, Coluim
mac Cinaeda and Mael Coluim mac Mail Brigte died in 1034 and 1029
respectively; but the third states the grant of land was made in the
eighth year of the reign of David. Place names within the texts - some
unidentified, but others – Altrie, Biffie, Ednie, Skillymarno, Pitfour
and Auchmachar, all have a clear association with Deer.
Why did the clerics take this surprising step in putting things in
writing? It appears that they had prepared a case to present in court
at Banff because they were being subject to improper extortion. It can
be easily imagined that their case would be entered and preserved in
their sacred manuscript. They won their case, which may well have been
presented to King David himself as he was known to be in the North East
at the time of the foundation of Kinloss Abbey about 1150. The Latin
Charter, copied into the manuscript reads:
David King of Scots, to all his good men, greetings. You are to know
that the clergy of Deer are to be quit and immune from all lay service
and improper exaction, as is written in their book, and as they proved
by argument at Banff and swore at Aberdeen. Wherefore I strictly enjoin
that no-one shall dare to do any harm to them or to their goods.
Witness, Gregory bishop of Dunkeld. Witness, Andrew bishop of
Caithness. Witness, Samson bishop of Brechin. Witness, Donnchad earl of
Fife and Mal-Moire of Atholl and Gille-Brigte earl of Angus, and
Gille-Coimded son of Aed, and Bróiccín, and Cormac of Turriff, and Adam
son of Ferdomnach, and Gille-Aindrias son of Maitne; at Aberdeen.
The site at the centre of the clerics of Deer’s activities has yet to
be located, but should not to be confused with the ruins of the nearby
Cistercian Abbey of Deer founded in 1219, and a daughter abbey of
Kinloss.
There is no record that this manuscript was ever in the possession of
the Abbey of Deer, so it can be supposed that it was removed from the
area sometime before the Reformation. Its journey to Cambridge
University is obscure. It resurfaces in 1695 in the possession of a Dr.
Gale and is described as” having belonged to a Monastery in the north
of Scotland.” Gale did not have it long, perhaps only months, before it
was in the Bishop of Ely’s library. When the Bishop died in 1714, his
library was bought by George 1 who donated it to the University of
Cambridge Library. There it lay until 1857 when it was “discovered” by
the librarian Henry Bradshaw. It was farmed out for editing and study
to the Spalding Club, and when the association with the North east of
Scotland became clear, the manuscript was then described as the “Book
of Deer.” At this point, Dr. John Stuart who edited the first volume of
research described the condition of the manuscript as having been
“greatly handled” during its lifetime.
The manuscript was produced in the “Mar peerage case” in 1870,
presumably because there is a reference to Ruaudri, mormaer of Mar in
one of the land grants; and from November 1990 to April 1991 it was
lent to Glasgow City Museums and Art galleries for an exhibition in the
McLellan Galleries. The present binding dates from 1963 when the
folios were also extensively and expertly repaired.
In 1997, The Book of Deer Project was formed to act as a catalyst for
the continuing academic interest, research and community development in
the North East of Scotland. The impetus for this initiative came from a
project undertaken within the area around Old Deer in Buchan,
Aberdeenshire in collaboration with Aberdeen University, Cambridge
University Library and Aberdeenshire Council. Now, through the latest
technology, the manuscript is available in digitised form via
www.bookofdeer.co.uk and in public libraries, schools and colleges by
way of www.scran.ac.uk/ ,the website of Scottish Cultural Resources
Access Network.
There is a realisation by the Project that some light has been shed on
the life and times of the clerics but whatever more is to be learned
about the culture which produced this manuscript can only be achieved
through archaeology and the reinterpretation of the imagery on its
amazing sculptured stones. Testimony to this, is the discovery of the
remains a Pictish monastery at Portmahomack in Eater Ross. There is
evidence of their way of life including a mill, a vellum making
operation and an ingenious water filtration system using charcoal. It
dates from the 6th century to the 9th century.
Andrew Kelloch
Points of Interest
1. The annual Mass at Scalan was well attended by Catholics and non
Catholics. The rain held off for the service which meant the midges
caused much flapping of paper and waving of arms. Father Colin Stewart
arranged the music and our president, Jim Thomson, the speakers and
amplifier. Included in the concelebrants were trainee priests from
-----? The homily was by Fr Bell.
2. In the congregation were four monks from the Golgotha Monastery on
the island of Papa Stronsay, a small island in Orkney lying north east
of Stronsay. It is on the site of the most northerly early Christian
monastery ever found.
The island is
fertile and in the eighteenth century was an important centre for
herring curing but was abandoned in the 1970s.In 1999 it was purchased
from Ronald Smith by the monastic community of the Sons of the Most
Holy Redeemer. The traditional Catholic religious congregation was
formerly affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X. In 2008 the
congregation, with the majority of its members, were received into full
communion with the Holy See. The Golgotha monastery is the base for
twenty five monks from novices to priests from far and wide. It now
includes a working farm with sheep, Highland cows and productive
fields. The aim is to restore the ancient monastic ruins, dating back
to the 7th or 8th centuries, to their former glory once again. Papa
Stronsay will be known as the Holy Island. I wish to thank the monks
who attended the Scalan Mass who made me aware of their Monastery and
their aims.
3. The cottage is now renovated and painted. Green skirting boards and
doors except in the narrow passage where it was decided to use yellow
to lighten the area. The ceiling and the walls are white or magnolia
emulsion. The small room off the sitting room is still to finish.
Everywhere looks cleaner and brighter. The fire bars in the sitting
room have been repaired and the floor near the fire has been
reconcreted. The fire has been laid and used twice now, “never expected
to see smoke out of the lum again", comment from a local. It eats wood
but peat and coal are a no go at the moment. There are still odd jobs
to do but we are on tract to provide refreshments at the annual Mass —
tea, coffee, cakes, biscuits etc; sandwiches on request. All profits to
go to Scalan Association. Groups, large or small can be catered for; we
have two large tea services (a good start) but no teaspoons or knives.
4. We have had a very poor summer in the Braes with plenty of rain and
little sun. The frost in June and again at the end of August did untold
damage to potatoes etc, not to mention the elderberry bushes that
haven’t fruited- less food for the birds. The rowans provided a
good crop of berries which were blown of by the gales. An article in
the Moray and Nairn Express dated 1892 records an interview with a
Cathy Christie, living in Larryvarry, on her 100th birthday. Her
recollections make interesting reading; she was a child when Scalan was
functioning as a college and then a farmhouse.
“When smugglin was in vogue your men
wore coats wi scarce a sleeve at:
Your cornfields were marshes then,
and swampy was Glenlivet.”
From all accounts the weather is slipping back to “the good old days”
5. Papers from Columbia House in Edinburgh documenting the dark days
between the Scottish Reformation in 1560 which outlawed the Catholic
religion and its hierarchy’s restoration in 1878 are to be returned to
the north east. They will be housed in Aberdeen University’s new
library along with letters from Mary Queen of Scots and about27000
valuable books and pamphlets belonging to the former Blairs library.
Archbishop Mario Conti, president of the Heritage Commission of the
Bishop’s Conference of Scotland said the whole Catholic Community was
indebted to the University.
6. Scalan Seminary has seen a steep drop in casual visitors which means
the donation box has suffered possibly due to the economic climate,
fuel costs and cold wet weather. This has balanced out by more booked
groups that request a talk about Scalan and the Braes church. Combining
the two has proved financially beneficial to both. The Buchan Field
Club came early in the year to see the old field systems and other
historic sights. The Historic Wheels Club had an evening visit which
will be remembered for the rain, wind and soggy ground; not a good
venue for vintage cars and a number called off. 2013 will see a return
visit in June. The Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the
Holy Sepulchre had a cool day but the threatening rain held off. Scalan
is a regular stopping off point for The Tomintoul Pony trekking Club;
the horses do a good job of grass cutting. The Duke of Edinburgh award
youngsters, like the Aberdeen Ramblers, often have a break at Scalan
walking to or from the Well of Lecht. The ramblers stop for a talk and
have visited three times this summer.
How about a trip to Scalan with school children
where they can hear about the important part the College played in
history. Weather permitting a picnic outside by the burn or inside if
it is too wet. Notify John or Sylvia 01807590295 or Email
johnsylvia-braes@hotmail.co.uk. If you would like refreshments and a
talk or see inside the renovated cottage near by which houses artefacts
from days gone by. I wish to thank all those who have visited Scalan
for there generous donations and not leaving rubbish about and using
the bins.
Trials And Triumphs, The Gordons of Huntly in Sixteenth Century Scotland
by Anne L Forbes
Publisher Birlinn Ltd 2012
£25.00
Available
Orbs Bookshop Huntly
The Castle Huntly
I believe this to be a very important book on the Scottish Reformation
and Gordon Family History because it is written from the position of
examining the role of 6 major Gordon Family players.
John Gordon
George Gordon
Adam Gordon
Margaret Gordon
Jean Gordon
James Gordon
The writing, scholarship and detail is impressive. The Appendix, Who’s
Who, Notes, Genealogy Tables and Bibliography make it a classic
reference work on the Gordon Family I feel that is well worth the
purchase….if you want a book on the Gordon Family then this is it.
Anne takes a revised look at the Catholic motivation for the players
set against the protestant and political revolution that took place in
Scotland and notes that the monarchs were lenient on the Gordon family
when further south they would have met the axe. I find this very
objective in that she does not make the value judgements against Mary
Queen of Scots, James, Lennox etc but explains the options before them
and their decisions.
Anne is also respectful and balanced in the influence of the great
women of the period when it would be easy to reduce their role and I
like this too.
The Chapter on James Gordon- Jesuit Traitor ? is a classic in that it
sets a question for the reader and shows how family loyalty became
mixed with faith and politics. Anne does not easily equate Jesuit equal
to loyalty to the Pope and treasonable but describes how James asked to
argue the case in public but was ignored by reformers who presumably
feared such a debate.
The illustrations show portraits of many of the players and help understand the context of the period.
The fact that the Gordon family protected the Catholic in their area
had a lasting effect on the foundation and development of Scalan
Seminary later and it was during this earlier period that North East
Catholicism might have been quashed but for the Gordon family; this is
a very important book !
Mike Morrison
St Peter’s, Drumdelgie, commonly known as ‘Peterkirk’
The district of Drumdelgie is roughly two miles west of the town of
Huntly, good farming land encircled by forested low hills with the
River Deveron flowing through from its source in the Cabrach to its
meeting with the River Bogie at Huntly. Before the Reformation, the
parish of Drumdelgie in the Diocese of Moray was on both sides of the
river. The parish church dedicated to St Peter and its graveyard were
on the north bank. In 1597 the parish was annexed to Dunbennan and
Botarie, the portion south of the river to Dunbennan (Huntly) and that
north of the river to Botarie (Cairnie).
Today after crossing the bridge over the Deveron from Huntly to
Dufftown, all that remains of ‘Peterkirk’ and its graveyard can be seen
on the right hand within a large cultivated field - a portion of a wall
about nine feet high with the outline of the entire foundations and the
graveyard surrounded by a stone dyke. The length of the building was
about 55 feet and the width 24 feet, facing east and west. There have
been interments within the ruined church and still standing in the
small graveyard are many simple tombstones. The graveyard is not
maintained, and a visit is to be avoided during the summer months when
nettles, brambles, goose grass (sticky willy) and fallen tombstones are
a hazard. The church was partially destroyed by fire in the late
1500s, reputedly by a jackdaw dropping a smouldering twig onto the
thatched roof; the church was then known locally as ‘the brunt kirk of
Strathbogie’. Although the church was abandoned the graveyard
continued to be used occasionally by people of the locality. It became
particularly associated with the area’s Catholics up to the end of the
1800s.
Gilbert Blakhall, a priest serving a vast area of Dee and Don-side,
Buchan and Strathbogie, secretly celebrated mass at ‘Peterkirk’ in 1640
and probably did so frequently when he stayed with the Gordons of
Cairnborrow; Alexander Gordon, excommunicated by the local Presbytery,
was buried within the ruined church in 1664. Once safely returned to
France Blakhall wrote ‘Breiffe Narration’, an account of his mission in
the North-east. James Conne at Knockiemilne [near Turriff] who had
been banished from Scotland because of his Catholic religion, met him
in Paris and told him: When I was taken prisonnier, and sent befor
theis lords, they examined me whither or not I had heared messe in the
realme. I avouched that I had, and being asked wher? I said in the
brunt church of Strathboggye, And interroged, who said the messe? I
answered, who, but Father Blakhall, for we had no other priest in the
north these many yeares but he….
Father Patrick Primrose, a Scottish Dominican, worked in the North-east
from 1655. He was arrested in 1670 at Kinnairdy, Aberchirder after
reports had reached the Privy Council that he had been celebrating mass
there. He remained in prison at Banff from September to December of
that year and was released in ill health on the condition that he left
for the continent, never to return, on pain of death. As a very sick
man he was allowed until the 5th February before he had to go. He
never recovered his health; later that year he died and his body was
carried to ‘Peterkirk’ where, after the burial a monument was erected
on his grave. This did not remain for long and the sheriff of
Aberdeen’s instructions were: wee authorise and require yow to cause
demolish the same, in prosecution of which commands wee expect your
ready obedience, and doe assure yow that the same shall be taken as
good service done to his Majesty and a signall expression of your zeal
for the preservation of the true protestant religion (Innes Review, 23,
1972).
George Adamson, priest in Strathbogie from 1703, exhausted himself
physically working on his own in the winter of 1706-7. He died in 1707
and was buried not far from the SE corner of the ruined church of
Peterkirk on the banks of the Deveron, where is yet to be seen an
inscription over his grave though it is now much effaced (Catholic
Church in Scotland, 515).
John Gordon, a member of the Cairnborrow family, studied for the
priesthood at the Scots colleges of Paris and Rome and became a priest
in 1708. At the time of the 1715 Rising he was priest of Glenlivet,
staying near Minmore. As both priest and active Jacobite he was a
hunted man, so to be safer he moved in 1716 to the head of the Braes of
Glenlivet to Scalan reputedly finding shelter in a barn before being
permitted by the local tacksman, Grant of Tomnavoulin to build a small
dwelling beside the Crombie Burn. This is where he lived until the
students from Eileen Ban on Loch Morar arrived to form the first
community at Scalan. John Gordon left for Mortlach (Huntly), caring
for the Catholic community there; when he died in 1720 aged 48, he was
buried at ‘Peterkirk’.
Another John Gordon related to the Mill of Smithston family, was priest
in Strathbogie from 1742 until his death in 1761. He is often
mentioned as the keeper of the earliest Register of Baptisms and
Marriages to have survived (apart from the Jesuit Register for
Braemar). A study of his Register indicates how hard working and
dedicated a priest he was. He died at Mill of Smithston between
Kennethmont and Rhynie, where he had been looked after by his Gordon
relatives and was buried at ‘Peterkirk’.
Within the ruined church of ‘Peterkirk’ there are two burials of the
1800s of people related to this John Gordon priest. They will be the
introduction to another story ‘Balgowan or Blairs’.
Ann Dean
SCALAN : Homily 1 July 2012
If I may paraphrase the poet TS Eliot, “If you came this way, taking
any route, starting from anywhere, .. then.. you are here to kneel,
where prayer has been valid, and prayer is more than an order of words,
the conscious occupation of the praying mind”
Yes, some of you have come a long way, by rail, by road, by foot and
here we are beside a place where prayer has been valid, a place of
devotion and self sacrifice, a place of learning and honest endeavour,
a place too, of hardship, and occasional failure. You are here to pray,
not perhaps given the nature of things to kneel, but anyway to adopt
the inner posture of humble thanksgiving to God, in this place wherein
the Mass was said, where men were ordained to the priesthood, and the
episcopate. In its short life these stones were hallowed by the
prayers, the studies, the reflections of those boys and men who lived
here through difficult times, sharing profoundly in that mystery which
is our Common Life in the Body of Christ. We breathe this same Highland
air, and we have trodden on the turf, making our pilgrim way to this
spot. We come not to “inform curiosity”, or carry away a report, we
have come to find in this place a “timeless moment”, a sense of the
presence of God, as we recall the past, yet living in our present, and,
with an unwavering hope we reach out to the future.
The Church celebrates day by day the Divine Office, the cycle of
prayer, of psalms, and songs, of scripture, of readings from the
Fathers and Catholic writers. In a seminary the habit of prayer is
established. Within these walls early instruction in the language of
the Church would lead to the recitation of the Daily Office. Given the
changes of language and culture, the same Tradition continues in our
time, of obligation to the Divine Office for seminarians, deacons,
priests and religious. Near the beginning of each day there are
some words that mean much to me, from the writer of the Letter to the
Hebrews. “Every day, as long as this ‘today’ lasts, keep encouraging
one another”,
Encouraging each other, that is what we do when we pray together, for
the Spirit is moving among us, and touching the deepest parts of our
minds and souls. Encouraging one another we drive, and we trek and we
gather and huddle, and in being here together we give thanks for all
that has been, and say ‘yes’ to all that God is inviting us to do. In a
sense that is why we are here, opening ourselves up to God in Christ as
He reconciles the world to Himself.
Those habits of prayer which we learned from our mothers, perhaps also
from our fathers, from parents who, truly, can be ‘the best of
teachers’, these perhaps shaped what we have since become. As we make
our way in life others teach us and share their experience in schools
and seminaries, in universities and colleges, in the workplace and the
home. As Christians we learn our prayers, the Lord’s Prayer, The Rosary
Prayers, we say our Morning and Night Prayer, we read and we think, and
yet we still realize that “prayer is more than an order of words, or
even the conscious occupation of the praying mind”. While it is that,
reflective recollection, being there with Jesus, we hang onto His
words and open our hearts and our wills to His persuasive teaching. In
the Gospel for today we find real encouragement day by day in the
presence of Jesus. We all want His touch, to make us better, to heal
our wounded memories, to make us better husbands or wives, we all want
His touch to reach out to us to confirm us in our faith, to make us
better Catholics.
We have come, not in large crowd as in the Gospel story, but in a
sizeable enough gathering. Like Jairus we will want to plead
earnestly for what is closest to our hearts. It may not be a daughter
who is ill, it may be someone we know for whom we pray, but we may want
to be here today simply sharing in this gathering of those who reach
out to Jesus, praying for others, and no less for ourselves. Praying
that our own infirmities, our own pains may be healed, whether they are
in our minds, or in our bodies or in our circumstances of living. We
reach out to touch whatever we can of Him. Being together as we hear
His words and share in the Mystery of the Sacrament we know for sure
that our Faith will be restored. The encouragement we need day by day,
restoring faith, forgiving love, unwavering hope, these we find
together and they become not only the means of our prayer, but we
become the prayer itself. The Daily Office, the routine of prayer,
these, like the trivial round and common tasks of our work will bring
us daily nearer God.
This place of prayer, hallowed by the men of the eighteenth century, is
a symbol for us of persevering faith: that gritty determination to ‘put
the hand to the plough’, and to continue day by day in cultivating the
earth in which we live. For some of us retirement may give us new
opportunities of the prayer of slumber, of easy waiting on God,
thankful for His mercies- yet, some folk in retirement are busier than
ever, as the Lord finds them new pastures, new opportunities to do what
they best can do, and to do it as well as they can.
The young, both in body and in mind, hold before us the visions of our
Catholic ideals seen with the clarity of their conviction. The presence
today of young people mixing with those who are not so young, and those
whose youthfulness is a memory, is again an encouragement. Young
people, we hope and pray that the flame of faith, seeking knowledge of
God, that enlivening fire of ardent hope for a better world, will burn
brightly in your lives.
For all of us, whatever our age, the better world we seek has
pre-eminently to be one shaped by Catholic values, where the Common
Good and the dignity of each person are sustained. This place, Scalan,
knew persecution: closed, burned down by Red-coated troops, yet it
stood as a focus for the people of the time for the enduring hope of
seeing a revival of Catholic life and practice. Today the persecution
is more insidious, coming in the honeyed tones of legal judgements and
the silky manoeuvres of secular politicians. We still need the
courageous perseverance of our forebears to maintain the right to life
of the unborn, and the protection of those in terminal decline. Each
generation has to make its particular stand and there is hardly a more
direct threat to the dignity of the human person than the secular
aggression which characterises our time.
Similarly the same secular intimidation is to be found working against
our well established traditions in education. Scalan, was itself a
target in the eighteenth century. Today the fundamental notion of the
Church school is again under threat. In our turn, perhaps we need to be
more persevering in our determination to see Catholic schools available
in every district. Alas, here in the Highlands and Grampian we have no
longer any Catholic secondary schools. The future may yet be different;
it is for us to shape it, by our prayers, our actions our sacrifices.
At Scalan it was not of course all work and grand aspirations: there
was play, and recreation, football and the enjoyment of meals, simple
but wholesome fare, and a wee drop to drink, and clearly there was wine
that needed care ( a Bishop has written about the safety of it). To
some Scalan may have been a remote place, but it was surely homely. Men
from here went on to other seminaries, some directly to the Mission,
and others returned to family life, better instructed and educated
Catholics. Such is seminary life in every age, and therein in their
Common Life seminarians established ties and friendships that endure,
in themselves daily encouragements in the life of prayer.
As a Catholic priest, I did not attend a seminary in the ordinary way.
I say this at once with a touch of regret, yet I had a good formation
in Anglican colleges, in the life of prayer, and reflection on
scripture, establishing habits that would endure with which to under
gird pastoral ministry.
When the then Bishop Mario received the go-ahead from Rome for me to
begin my ‘recycling’. He placed me in a one man seminary in these
lovely parts. It was my privilege and joy, the experience of a
lifetime, for five years to attend weekly at the Huntly Presbytery,
where my “Rector” was the late Bishop John Jukes, a Franciscan
Conventual who had been my area bishop in Kent. This was for me a most
stimulating experience, to be introduced to the mysteries of Catholic
practice, to get a grounding in Canon Law, and above all to observe a
generous and pastoral heart. These studies were of course further
stimulated by a glass, and a wonderfully sustaining meal made by Mrs
Pat Murphy, Bishop John’s devoted housekeeper. There is much to be said
for a remote northern seminary however singular!
It was not a seminary in the ordinary way, but I hope, that I have
served it as well as age and frailty permit. My apprenticeship with
Monsignor Robert McDonald in Inverness, happily with us today, and the
welcoming fraternity of my brother priests has made me aware of the
very real strengths and bonds of fellowship that come from the
collegiality of the priesthood. For some of you, dear fathers, that
will go back over the years and you will understand the resonances of
which I speak: the echo of yesteryear, the sound of the plainchant, the
camaraderie of the common room, the companionship of the mealtime, the
silent hours, and then the laughter and the games, football and
whatever, and, then of course, the time spent humbly waiting on God.
In this place today, we all come with our bundle of memories, our hopes
and our aspirations. Gathered among the hills, by the woods and the
farmsteads, close to the running waters \9 and the gentle drizzle) we
absorb the special nature of this holy place, ‘where prayer has been
valid’. We would do a disservice to the pioneers of Scalan if we did
not seek to further and hand on, to be a part of a living tradition
seeking, fostering and cherishing vocations to the priesthood. This is
the task of the Church as the family, all of us sharing in our common
priesthood by the Sacrament of Baptism, letting our Light so shine that
others may see it, hearing the Gospel and proclaiming it.
In all its costly simplicity this lies at the heart of what we do
today; to commend the Gospel of Christ by the living example of our
lives, to be open to the challenge of the Lord saying insistently,
“Come, follow me”.... and in walking closely with Him, may we be
touched by Him, graced to let our hearts burn within us as we share the
scriptures, and discover Him day by day in the Breaking of the Bread.
In this Bread, taken, consecrated, broken and given out may we find
ourselves true to ourselves as we become what we are, the Body of
Christ, forever giving praise to the Father and serving Him in those we
meet.
Fr. Bell
Caption for Book of Deer pictures
1
Within the decorated framework of the Chi-Rho page is Matthew's
genealogy of Christ. There is a variety of patterns in the framework.
This page also contains the fifth, and last, Gaelic land-grant down the
right-hand margin and underneath the gospel text. The page has also
been trimmed at some point because there is illegible writing in the
top margin.
2
This page precedes the beginning of John's gospel and should represent
the Evangelist, but it has been argued that this portrait instead
represents Christ in glory as seen by John, and described in the Book
of Revelation. Underneath the main portrait a scribe has added two
drawings. The first is of an animal, possibly a dog, and the second
comprises arabesques topped by an animals head.
