Newsletter

Solemnity of Pentecost

May 28th 2023

 

My dear parishioners,

 

I hope this finds you well and enjoying this Bank Holiday Weekend. As we gather for the liturgy, we celebrate the beautiful Solemnity of Pentecost. I offer here some words by Pope Benedict for your reflection:

 

“The Holy Spirit is first and foremost a Creator Spirit, hence Pentecost is also a feast of creation. For us Christians, the world is the fruit of an act of love by God who has made all things and in which he rejoices because it is good, it is very good, as the creation narrative tells us (Gn 1:1-31). Consequently God is not totally Other, unnameable and obscure. God reveals himself, he has a face, God is reason, God is will, God is love, God is beauty. Faith in the Creator Spirit and faith in the Spirit whom the risen Christ gave to his Apostles and gives to each one of us are therefore inseparably united. The Gospel passage offers us a marvellous image to clarify the connection between Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Father: the Holy Spirit is portrayed a the breath of the risen Jesus Christ. Here the evangelist John takes up an image of the creation narrative, where it says that God breathed into the nostrils of man the Breath of Life (Gn 2:7). The breath of God is life. Now, the Lord breathes into our soul the new breath of life, the Holy Spirit, his most intimate essence, and in this way welcomes us into God’s family. With Baptism and Confirmation this gift was given to us specifically, and with the sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance it is continuously repeated: the Lord breathes a breath of life into our soul.

Pope Benedict XVI

 

As a parish we look forward to celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation with some of our young parishioners. Bishop Toal will come to St. Paul’s Church on Wednesday June 7th at 7pm and on Wednesday June 14th to St. Mary’s Church at 7pm. It’s good that the Bishop can once again come in person to celebrate this Sacrament with us and for us. Let us keep our confirmandi in our prayers.

 

Synodal Meeting, Thursday June 1st at 7pm in the parish hall; this meeting is open to every parishioner and is an opportunity to continue the discussions we had during Lent of 2022. Pope Francis has asked the church to be a listening church and so we really need these opportunities to share concerns, ideas and hopes for the future.

 

 

I offer now the times of the Liturgy for the coming week:

 

Monday May 29th: Mass at St. Mary’s at 10am

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

In 2018 Pope Francis inscribed this beautiful memorial in the Roman Calendar to remind all Christ’s disciples that, if they want to grow and be filled with the love of God, it is necessary to plant their lives firmly on three great realities: the Cross, the Eucharist and the Mother of God. Please join us for the Rosary at 9.40am and then for Mass at 10am, if you are free.

 

Tuesday May 30th: Mass at St. Paul’s at 10am

Rosary at 9.40am

 

Wednesday May 31st: Mass at St. Mary’s at 10am

Pupils from St. Mary’s preparing for Confirmation will join us for Mass

 

Thursday June 1st: Requiem Mass for Mrs Nan McCluskey at 10am

 

Saturday, June 3rd

Vigil at St. Paul’s at 4pm

Vigil at St. Mary’s at 5.30pm

 

Sunday June 4th

Mass at St. Paul’s at 9.15am

Mass at St. Mary’s at 10.30am

 

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Thank you to Bishop Toal for his very welcome pastoral visit to our two primary schools during the week to meet the young people who will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation in June. The pupils and teachers enjoyed very much getting the chance to spend some time with the bishop.

 

Journeying with Mary: Prayer Service in Preparation for the Synod; Carfin Grotto, Wednesday 31st May at 7pm; the Bishop’s Conference of Scotland is hosting an Hour of Prayer for the success of the Synod. All are most welcome.

 

St. Paul’s Primary is having a Summer Fayre on Thursday afternoon, June 1st; the school would be grateful for donated prizes for their raffle or tombola, especially prizes for children.

 

Credo: Parish Faith Sharing Group will meet this Tuesday at 1pm in the parish meeting room. Faith sharing is about quiet and respectful listening and a celebration of how God is at work in my life and in the lives of the other members of the group. All are welcome to come along and afterwards to enjoy a cup of tea together at 2.30pm

 

Please remember in your prayers:

 

Recently Deceased: Nan McCluskey, Christopher Grant, Lauren Docherty, Catianna Darragh, Angela Kelly,

 

Special Remembrance: Mark Hughes, John Kane, Tommy Maxwell, Matthew Hoey, Thomas and Mary Linden, Alex and Kathleen Lind, Maureen Chapman and the deceased members of the Dalton and McKenna families, Moira Douglas, and all our deceased relatives and friends and the benefactors of St. Mary’s and St. Paul’s, requiescant in pace.