Crescent College Sixth Years Visit Glencairn

We were delighted to welcome the sixth-year students of Crescent College, Limerick, to Glencairn last Friday for their annual retreat day. Groups from Crescent College have been coming to Glencairn for a number of years now with their chaplain, Gráinne Delaney, and it is always a joy to see them.

For these young people, the visit comes at an important moment in their final year of school, as they prepare for the for the Leaving Certificate. Crescent College offers its students a number of opportunities for retreat in different settings, so we are particularly honoured that so many of them choose to spend a day here at Glencairn.

The day began with Terce with the nuns in the Abbey Church, followed by a rest and an opportunity to hear about our life as Cistercian nuns.

Sr Marie was joined by Fr Mark Butlin, a visiting Benedictine monk from the English Benedictine Congregation, and Bianca, one of our volunteers and an experienced Catechist, for an informal question-and-answer session. The conversation had the feel of a little panel discussion, with the students asking thoughtful and searching questions about the Church, community life, vocation and the everyday reality of a living faith.

The students were then given a tour of some of our work areas, seeing more of what goes on behind the scenes to support our life here. They even had the chance to meet some of our sheep along the way! The tour, of course, did not extend into the enclosure, but it gave them a glimpse of the balance of prayer and work that is at the heart of Cistercian life.

We are always grateful for the opportunity to welcome young people to Glencairn and to share something of our life with them. We thank Gráinne for bringing the students to Glencairn once again, and we thank the students themselves for their interest, openness and good humour throughout the day.

We assure all the Crescent College sixth years of our prayers. May they be given wisdom and peace in the months ahead, and may their time at Glencairn remain with them as a quiet reminder that, even in a busy and demanding season of life, there is always space to pray.