Eucharistic hospitality

Eighteen years ago, very early on a cold February morning, I first arrived at the doors of Holy Cross Abbey, the Benedictine monastery nestled at the head of the Kilbroney Valley just outside Rostrevor, “where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.” Apart from a two‑year interruption during the Covid era, I have returned every year since.

What strikes me on each visit is, first of all, the magnificent beauty of the natural surroundings, and also the abbey’s quiet witness as a place of reconciliation and unity on an island with a deeply troubled history. From the grounds one can look across the border into the South, with the Cooley Mountains rising in the distance.

The small but vibrant monastic Catholic community draws its members from many different parts of the world and, in the characteristically Benedictine manner, offers hospitality to the sojourner. This spirit is expressed beautifully in the Rule of Saint Benedict (RB 53:1):

All who arrive as guests are to be welcomed like Christ, for he is going to say, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

The layout of the church and the community’s participation in the sacred liturgy speak quietly but powerfully of beauty, harmony, unity, and the praise of Almighty God. The church is centred on the table of the Word and the icon of the Cross, from which the Word of God is proclaimed.

Just as Christians of good faith are welcomed at the table of the Lord, this hospitality is also extended to the fellowship of the table in the monastic refectory. One comes away with a deep sense that it is the Risen Lord himself who has issued the invitation, and who continues to welcome each of us as guest and friend.