Day 12 (July 26): O Day of Rest and Gladness

Sunday—a day when we can choose to rest, to not run around like chickens missing their heads. Today we chose to worship. Because the massive and impressive Church of Scotland building in Falkland was open only one Sunday a month, 

Church of Scotland in Falkland

we chose to accompany Noel to the Catholic mass, celebrated in the ornate medieval chapel at Falkland Palace, which we had explored yesterday. This is the same chapel in which Mary Queen of Scots and her son, James I, worshipped. 

The royal chapel

The mass is held there weekly at 9 a.m., and we found seats around the middle but a bit to the back, so that we could observe the sit-stand-kneel-sit-stand-sing procedure of those in front of us. The church gradually filled up almost completely (a surprise; I’d expected just a handful) and the music began. Arielle knew the tunes to the first two songs, so that was a big help. 

The priest was newly arrived in the area and had a lovely, deep African voice. He spoke on the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price—ones I’ve encountered in Luke and find challenging and life-giving. 

After the service we walked home and lunched together before the rest of the group took off together for a walk on the coast of Fife, which included a stop at the world’s best chocolate shop. Thanks to my bum knee, I stayed home, rested, and caught up on several days from the blog. To be honest, the solitude and quiet was lovely and restorative. A day of rest and gladness. 

The view from our living room window out 

over the Lomond Hills.