Light of the north issue 6

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Light of the North

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I am the Light of the World The two forms of the Roman Rite Bishop Peter echoes the Pope’s call for charity and understanding

North I s s ue 6, Aut umn, 2007

Scalan - the seminary in the heather

by Anne Dean

THE AFRICAN CHOIR

African Choir goes from strength to strength

by Patricia Fatsani Malikebu

All Saints 1st November

FREE FREE ...but ...but all contributions towards production costs be gratefully re ceived all contributions towards production costs willwill be gratefully re ceived A quarterly magazine produced and published by the Ogilvie Institute for the Diocese of Aberdeen

Light of the North

up front

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ur front cover for this issue features the work of Steve Erspamer OSB, a gifted painter, sculptor, stained glass artist and ceramist. He was a Marianist Brother for many years but is now a Benedictine at the Abbey of St Meinradian, Indiana. His art work graces the covers of many liturgical publications, and his beautifully painted figures and designs are filled with symbols of our faith. Our cover is actually a montage of eight longtime favourite saints who have been assigned new areas of patronage for modern times:

Top, from left to right: St Clare of Assisi, patron saint of television. One Christmas Eve St Clare was so ill she couldn’t leave her bed to attend Midnight Mass. “Look, Lord God,” she sighed, “ I have been left here alone with you.” At this very moment she had a vision of the Mass taking place, hearing the music and singing as if she were present. In 1958 Pope Pius Xll interpreted this miracle as the first ‘live broadcast’ and assigned this area of patronage to St Clare.

St Helen, patron of divorced people. For many years devotion to Helen was linked to her belief that she had found the True Cross in Jerusalem but a sadder fact is that her husband, Constantius, divorced her after twenty years in order to make a politically advantageous marriage with a younger woman who was a member of Rome’s imperial family. Now that divorce has become commonplace Helen is a heavenly patron who can truly sympathise with the anguish of unhappy spouses.

St Margaret of Cortona, patron of single mothers who for whatever reason are raising their children alone.

At the age of forteen St Margaret became the mistress of a young nobleman called Arsenio. She had a son with him but Arsenio made it clear that he would never marry her. Still, she had always hoped he would change his mind. It wasn’t to be. Arsenio was murdered. The shock caused her to re-evaluate her life and she became a Franciscan Sister. After her death St Margaret was held up to the faithful as “a second Magdalene”.

St Monica, patron saint of lapsed Catholics. St Monica’s favourite child, Augustine, turned away from the Church and became a Manichee, a member of a gnostic sect. For twelve years she begged God to bring her son back to the Catholic faith. In the end her prayers were answered. Augustine returned to the fold and is now venerated as a saint and doctor of the Church. In the 15th century a confraternity was established, The Confraternity of St Monica, still in existence today, whose members pray for family members who have left the Church.

Below, from left to right: St Aloysius, patron of people with aids and their carers. When Aloysius entered the Jesuit novitiate in Rome he was assigned to work in one of the City’s hospitals. He hated the work as he was a particularly squeamish man. Nevertheless, when the plague struck Rome in 1591 he set to work to care for the sick and dieing, no matter how repulsive were the tasks he was called on to do. Within a few short weeks he succumbed to the plague himself. He was just 24 years old.

St Benedict Joseph Labré, patron of homeless people. Christ once said of himself: “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head”. In imitation of Our Lord, Benedict Joseph became a full-tme pilgrim, walking from one great European shrine to another. Later in life he stayed permanently in Rome and spent his days visiting the Cities churches. In all this time he never begged but relied on whatever strangers were moved to give him. Often he would be driven out of churches because of his appearance or smell. Yet, after he died the filthy rags he wore were preserved as relics.

St Isidore, patron of the internet. St. Isidore, Bishop of Seville died in 672, never having surfed the web, but he did compile a 30-volume encyclopedia of all knowledge then extant. This encyclopedia, dot-com Catholics claim, could be regarded as the world’s first database and the enthusiasm for St. Isidore among Catholics who work in the Internet industry has made his patronage an unofficial fact.

St Martin de Porres, patron of people who suffer discrimination. St Martin endured a lifetime of scorn and insults. His unmarried mother was a freed slave and his father a Spanish gentleman. Martin had a calling to the religious life but, being of African descent, he was barred from becoming a full member of a religious order in his native Peru. Instead, he had to enter the Dominican friary in Lima as a layman and was given the most menial tasks. He was regularly insulted and humiliated but bore it all with heroic patience. By the time he died he had won the respect of his fellow Dominicans and many people outside the friary. Remarkably, at his funeral the archbishop of Mexico, the bishop of Cuzco and the judge of the royal court carried his coffin to the grave.

Thomas Craughwell, Saints For Every Occasion - 101 of Heaven’s Most Powerful Patrons is available from C D Stampley Ent ISBN1580870597

Light of the North

Happy “All Saints”

contents deaneries 4 faithinaction 11

witness

13 youthlight 14 liturgy 15 educationandformation 19 faithandculture 32 children’slight 32 humour 33 crossword 34 Rome 35 OgilvieInstitute 36

Light of the North Managing Editor Deacon Tony Schmitz Editor Cowan Watson Chief Reporter Fr Paul Bonnici Editorial Advisor Canon Bill Anderson If you would like to advertise in the Light of the North from only £250 a quarter page, or sponsor a page for just £200, get in touch with us at the address below.

Light of the North Ogilvie Institute 16 Huntly Street Aberdeen AB10 1SH Tel: 01224 638675 Email: lightofthenorth@speedpost.net

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Anatole France, the French author and Nobel Prize winner, said that when he was a little boy he read the story of the life of St. Simeon Stylites, that strange gentlemen of ancient times who lived for thirty years on top of a sixty-foot pillar in Syria, and for some reason Anatole decided he was called to perform a similar act of saintly heroism. So he went into the kitchen, climbed up on the kitchen cabinet, and stayed there all morning. At lunch time he got down. His mother, who understood what was happening, said: “Now, you mustn’t feel bad about this. You have at least made the attempt, which is more than most people have ever done. But you must remember that it is almost impossible to be a saint in your own kitchen.”

But of course this is exactly what we are called to be, kitchen saints which reminds me it’s my turn to empty the dishwasher!

Anyway, welcome to our “All Saints” issue. As usual we have all our regular columnists including Fr Walls and his children’s page which is well worth looking at even though adults aren’t really supposed to read it! Local historian, Anne Dean, reveals what attracts people from all over Scotland to attend the annual Mass at Scalan, the “seminary in the heather”, and Patricia Fatsani Malikebu, founder member of the African Choir, looks back at how it all began. We’ve got some great book reveiws and do take the time to read Bishop Peter’s response to Pope Benedict’s recent “Motu Proprio” concerning the two forms of Roman Rite.

Thank you once again for your continued support for the magazine.

Please consider whether you parish would like to sponsor a page or, if you happen to be in business and reading this, maybe you would like to advertise with us. Our rates are competitive and you would be actively helping to “spread the word” as well as finding some new customers.

Cowan

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N ew s fro m the D e a ne rie s

Diocese welcomes new priests Fr Paul Bonnici

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wo new priests for the Diocese were ordained at St Mary’s Cathedral in Aberdeen

by Bishop Peter Moran in July

He has just completed his course of studies at the Pontifical Scots College in Rome where he specialised in Spirituality. Father Gonsalves has been appointed Assistant Priest at the Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption in Aberdeen.

The new priests are Father Colin Morrison Davies from Caol near Fort William and Father Anil Gonsalves, from India.

Father Davies, 44, came to Aberdeen to train as a nurse shortly after he became a Catholic in 1991. He completed his course of studies at Scotus College in Glasgow and has been assigned to St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Inverness as an Assistant Priest.

Father Gonsalves was born in a village called BinagaKarwar in India, and was a member of the parish of St Anne’s in Binaga. With a background in science and in marketing, he worked for IFB, a Home Appliance Company and Cadila Pharmaceuticals, before starting training for the priesthood.

Fr Gonsaves and Fr Davies celebrate with family and friends

Archbishop Mario Conti, Rev Peter Moran, Bishop of Aberdeen and Abbot Hugh Gilbert of Pluscarden Abbey with Fr Davies and Fr Gonsalves

Bishop Moran , Archbishop Conti, Abbot Hugh Gilbert and priests from all over Scotland

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Historic day for St Mary’s Church John Dolan

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t Mary’s Church was the venue on July 7 for the historic ordination to the priesthood of the Rev Deacon Damian Martell by the Rt Rev Peter Moran, Bishop of Aberdeen. It is believed to be the first time that an ordination has taken place in St Mary’s, which was built in 1864.

Among those who took part in the service were the Superior General of the St Patrick’s Missionary Society, Seamus O’Neil; Fr Gary Howley, the Irish Regional Superior of the Society; Fr Colin Stewart, Fr Francis Barnett and altar servers, Eilidh Rankin and Emily Ewan

Kenya, with the St Patrick’s Missionary Society, commonly known as the Kiltegan Fathers. He is to return to Fr Martell (38) gave up teaching in 1997 to begin his Kenya at the end of September. studies for the priesthood. He grew up in Forres, where his mother Christina still lives.

At the end of the service, the procession was piped out of the church by 18-year-old Michael MacKenzie, of Nairn Bishop Moran told the congregation he was delighted to and District Pipe Band. be officiating at the ordination of Rev Martell, who has been accepted as a missionary in the St Patrick’s MissionFr Martell celebrated his first Mass the following day ary Society and would be working thousands of miles when he officiated at St Mary’s 11 o’clock service. A from his family home in Forres. Before his ordination, plaque commemorating the ordination is to be erected Fr Martell had spent the past five years based in Nairobi, in St Mary’s.

Nazareth Care Home is on the move

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he trustees of Nazareth Care Home in Aberdeen have announced their intention to move to a new purpose built care home.

They intend to finance the move by selling the present premises which occupy a very prestigious site between Union Grove and Claremont Street.

The trustees plan to involve the residents, their relatives and the staff who will be invited to form advisory groups and to make suggestions.

The trustees have every hope that the staff, many of whom have worked at the home for many years, will still be with them in the new location. The trustees are presently investigating possibilities for the best new site.

There will be no move until the new home is ready.

The trustees and the care manager will remain in

charge of the care of the residents before, during and after the relocation.

Speaking on behalf of her fellow Trustees of Nazareth Care Home, Dr Anne Cannon said: “We are very excited about the prospect of a new home, with first class state of the art facilities. We have now invited residents, staff and relatives to help us with the planning of the whole project.”

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Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes

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n July this year 68 pilgrims from the Diocese of Ab- shirts and Diocesan banner but mainly perhaps because erdeen joined Bishop Peter on the Diocesan Pilgrim- they were accompanied by their own piper. age to Lourdes.

Many found it very moving to take part in the torchlight The party was accompanied by the Pilgrimage Director, procession which took place at 9:00 p.m. every evening.

Father Gerry Livingstone and by ten other priests, deacon Another highlight of the week was the Blessed Sacrament and religious including our two most recently ordained procession which was led on the Wednesday by members priests, Fathers Colin Davies and Anil Gonsalves. This of the Diocesan party. On the Sunday, the Aberdeen pilyear, for the first time, the pilgrims were able to fly direct grims joined with thousands of others for the International from Aberdeen to Lourdes. For those who remembered Mass held in the underground basilica built to accommoearlier pilgrimages by coach, this was a great improve- date 20,000 people. ment.

There were also quieter moments – time for individual The itinerary was a good mixture of organised worship, prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, a visit to the baths, activities and free time which allowed opportunities for opportunities for reconciliation or for private prayer at the grotto – particularly early in the morning or late at night. private devotions, sight-seeing and shopping.

This was a week which drew people from all over this The group met together daily for Morning and Evening wide-flung Diocese together; a chance to catch up with Prayer and at Mass which was celebrated each day in one old friends, including Archbishop Conti, in Lourdes with of the many chapels and, on the Saturday, in the Grotto the Glasgow Diocesan Pilgrimage; and a time of good fun – the fancy dress party in particular, and Monsignor Mcitself.

Donald’s costume, will long be remembered!

When making their way through the town, the Aberdeen contingent were easily recognisable by their pilgrimage

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Celebrations to mark the founding of St Peters, Buckie Fr Paul Bonnici

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rchbishop Mario Conti returned to his old diocese for celebrations to mark the 150 years since the founding of St Peter’s Church in Buckie.

Once built to be the future cathedral of teh Diocese of Aberdeen, the fine Gothic church with its prominent west front (said to be based on that of Elgin Cathedral) with its twin towers and spires, is now one of the landmarks of the area.

Until 1832 the nearest place of worship to Buckie was Preshome, and in that year the Trades Hall located in what is now Cluny Square, was leased and opened as a Chapel on Trinity Sunday.

In January 1850, the Baronets of Letterfourie (both of whom are buried in the church) gave Bishop Kyle the ground to build a new church, and following the design conceived by Bishop Kyle and Alexander Ellis, the foundations were laid in 1851. Fr. Clapperton was the founding parish priest.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the parish the congregation presented Fr. Clapperton with £200 in 1882, which he spent in creating the two marble side altars.

This was the beginnings of the interior marble work, now such a feature of the present St Peter’s.

In 1906, the chancel, was extended and a high altar and baptistry were formed. Many different marbles were

Pic: Bishop Peter Moran and Archbishop Conti as well as other clergy at the celebration in Buckie. used together with Caen stone for the beautiful high altar and reredos. The striking 13 foot diameter rose window was transferred intact from the old gable to the new.

In 1910, a new pulpit with a handsomely carved timber canopy, was added, complementing the decorative frames of the “Stations of the Cross”, of the side aisles.

A few years later this elegant interior was completed and enriched by the application of marble facings to the lower sections of the walls around the church.

During recent interior redecoration works two large paintings, previously covered over, were discovered in the sanctuary, and and restored.

Following Vatican II, to accommodate the new Liturgy, the altar and reredos were skilfully separated, the altar being brought forward to the position it now occupies.

Identical twins, Euan and Evan, the first ever to be baptised in Scotland’s northernmost parish of Lerwick with parents Donna and Jason and Parish Priest Fr Paul Bonnici (Pic Kieran Murray)

Twin record breakers

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Twenty one years of service

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n Saturday 23rd June Bishop Peter Moran celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving to commemorate 21 years of service by Deacons Jacques Cook and John Futers.

Jacques was ordained on 22nd of June 1986. For two years he served as parish deacon of St Anne’s & St Joachim, Wick with Fr Ronnie Walls before moving to St Mary’s Inverness with Canon Duncan Stone. Among his many diaconal duties Jacques brought Communion to the sick, was Assistant Chaplain of the Knights of St Columba and was spiritual director to the local conference of St Vincent de Paul. Jacques became a counsellor for the Catholic Marriage Guidance Service. As well as instructing couples planning to get married Jacques was an auditor for the Scottish Marriage Tribunal. Laterally, Jacque has reduced his heavy workload to spend more time with Moira and his extended family.

John was ordained in St Mary’s Cathedral Aberdeen by Bishop Mario Conti on 13th July 1986. As well as taking on his diaconal duties in Aberdeen he was appointed Diocesan Director of Missio Scotland. In 1987 Bishop Mario formally introduced the Permanent Diaconate into Scotland, the first bishop to do so, and John was appointed National Director of Diaconal Studies. Over the next ten years the Permanent

Bishop Peter Moran celebrated the thanksgiving Mass Diaconate extended to three diocese; Aberdeen, Dunkeld and Motherwell.

In 1992 John was appointed Cathedral Administrator and also took charge of diocesan contracts. In the same year, alongside his work for Missio, he was appointed National Secretary of the Society of St Peter the Apostle.

By 1997 John’s health forced him to leave the Cathedral and take on a less demanding role as parish deacon in Portlethen, but he still retained his Diaconal Studies role and work for Missio. Because of continuing health problems he had no option but to retire in the year 2000. He and his wife Margaret moved to Coldstream, Berwickshire to be near his family. Throughout his years as a deacon John’s efforts centred on promoting the Permanent Diaconate in Scotland. Since his ‘retirement’ he still helps out in his parish, preparing children for the sacraments, and assisting the parish clergy where he can.

Apostleship of the Sea - World Congress

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ishop Peter Moran of Aberdeen and Bishop Tom Burns, Bishop in Ordinary to H.M. Forces, bishop promoters for the Apostleship of the Sea, represented the UK at the XXII World Congress of the Apostleship of the Sea, which was held in Gdynia, Poland, from the 24th to the 29th June.

The theme of the Congress was “In Solidarity with the People of the Sea as Witnesses of Hope through Proclamation of the Word, Liturgy and Diakonia”.

Among those present was Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, President of the Pontifical Councils for Justice and Peace and that of Migrants and Itinerant Workers. Also taking part were the Archbishop of Gdańsk, Tadeusz Goclowski, C.M., and Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant Workers.

Bishop Peter Moran of Aberdeen and Bishop Tom Burns

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New lease of life for Torry church

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ishop Peter Moran of Aberdeen has announced that after a thorough consultation, he has decided to keep the church of Sacred Heart, Torry, Aberdeen open. The presbytery house will be sold to provide funding for works needing to be done in the church and to improve parish facilities.

In a letter written to parishioners and friends of Sacred Heart, Torry, the Bishop of Aberdeen said: “Your church of the Sacred Heart will NOT be closed: indeed I plan to repair it and improve it.

The Sanctuary, Church of the Sacred Heart “The Catholic community in Torry has proved that it is in good heart, both the small Scottish nucleus and the The Bishop concluded his letter by thanking all those larger community of recent arrivals from Poland. You who have contributed to the discussions, inside or outhave fought a good fight and shown your spirit. side the parish community. He concluded: “It has been a long and sometimes painful process, and some of you “However, the financing of even the minimum repairs is may still feel disappointed. I ask you to rally round my a huge challenge. After serious consideration of several decision, to look ahead positively, and to play your part proposed schemes, I have decided that we must sell the in revitalising the parish of Sacred Heart.” presbytery house.”

Didn’t they do well ! £7,000 raised for Kristo Buase

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From left to right: Father Tad Turski, Father Colin Stewart, Father Giles OSB. Front: Alexandra and Charlie

hen Father Colin Stewart celebrated the Silver Jubilee of his priestly ordination during the summer, he invited his parishioners in Aberlour, Chapeltown, Dufftown, Elgin, Lossiemouth,Tombae and Tomintoul, to mark the event by giving a donation to the Pluscarden off-shoot, Kristo Buase Monastery in Ghana, led by Father Giles Conacher.

They generously gave £7,000 to this excellent and worthy cause. The picture shows Father Giles presenting a Ghananian celebration garment to Father Colin, during a trip back to Scotland.

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Sister Jude centenary

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ister Jude, who spent a remarkable 54 years at Nazareth House in Aberdeen, celebrated her 100th birthday in August.

Sister Jude, born Margaret Collins, was one of eight children raised on a farm in Lanark. She worked on the family farm for a number of years before becoming a religious.

Sister Jude with Bury’s deputy mayor and his wife

She spent some time at the Nazareth House ResidenA mass was held in the church attached to Nazareth tial Home in London where she was mainly involved House to celebrate Sister Jude’s centenary. Seven in looking after youngsters. priests were in attendance as well as Archbishop Conti However, Sister Jude spent a remarkable 54 years at who as known Sister Jude since he was a curate.

Nazareth House in Aberdeen where she cared for nursery children and where she is fondly remembered.

Sister Judes birthday party had a strong Scottish flaAfter breaking her hip in a fall Sister Jude moved south vour with a performance of Highland dancing. Among to the Nazareth House Nursing Home in Prestwich. the special guests attending the celebration was Bury’s deputy mayor, Councillor Jack Walton.

Aberdeen Diocese leads the way

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he Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies recently announced a bold initiative, the opening of 76 new diocesan newspapers. The goal is that each of Italy’s 226 dioceses would have at least one publication to serve its members and the board believes that the same type of coverage is needed in the United States and Canada.

in the social and political arena,” promoting dialogue and “convergences and objectives for joint action in the service of the Gospel and the common good.”

Diocesan newspapers “serve a vital role in our local churches,” the board said in its statement. “They are vehicles of evangelization and accountability, offering a way for Catholics to make their faith relevant to their daily lives.”

The board suggested that in many Catholic households the diocesan newspaper may be the only Catholic reading material that comes into the home and that diocesan newspapers help their readers “realize that they are part of a larger family that extends well beyond their parish to the rest of the diocese and to the entire Catholic world.”

The move was sparked by a meeting of the Federation last “Diocesan publications are often the first step for CathNovember with Pope Benedict XVI who said that dioc- olics who are interested in reading and learning more esan papers “can represent significant places of encoun- about their faith,” it said. ter and attentive discernment for lay faithful involved

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THE AFRICAN CHOIR Our main aim is to unite with local church congregations to praise, worship and adore God with the zeal, effervescence and joyous infectiousness that are characteristic of the African way of expressing their love for the Lord. It is irst of all, we want to thank the Lord for making not the dead who praise the Lord … but it is we, the living, it possible for the African Choir to feature in this who bless the Lord now and forever (Psalm115:17-18). edition. Since its inception in October 2006 the choir has experienced the faithfulness of the Lord. Africa is a vast continent; rich in culture but above all else Africans enjoy lifting up the name of Jesus Christ, to expeThe history of the African Choir is chequered with many rience the glory of His presence and to joyfully express it. challenges but God’s timing is always perfect and great is His faithfulness. After the first advertisement for choir members The choir realised that many Catholics have never had the opportunity to attend six people responded. That an African mass. However, was really encouraging but through an African choir the next few meetings were we could share something poorly attended. Nevertheof that experience. This is less, we felt persuaded to go the beauty of being a memon. Just as Peter replied to ber of the universal church.

Jesus, ‘but if you say so, I will We don’t believe in the saylower the nets’ (Luke 5:5b), ing ‘when you are in Rome, so we trusted the Lord for a do as the Romans do.’ It is good catch. our prayer that Africans will soar like eagles for the Lord As events unfolded, we in this land. Many of the were more than convinced Africans living here have that it was God’s idea to young families. The young have this choir so we surBack row, from left to right: Vicent Eze, rendered the difficulties Dante Iheozor-Ejiofor, Obinna Njoku and Joy Njoku ones need to appreciate their heritage and part of we were having in getting Front row, from left to right: Mark Okonokhua, that is the way of worship. thigs off the ground to Frances Ekwue, Chinelo Ekwu, We want our children not Him because we believed Njideka Chima-Amaeshi and Patricia Malikebu to miss out on this. It is it was in His heart that important then that the the choir should prosper.

We tried to play our part, talking to people and praying choir be as representative of the African continent as poswhenever the occasion arose. In His faithfulness, God sible so we are still looking for more members or those ministered to the hearts of people and gradually they who can teach us songs from their respective countries. started responding to the call. Though our numbers fluc- It is our hope that we will become involved not just with tuate due to the members work commitments, we are a the parishes in the City of Aberdeen but throughout the strong united team working together in the love of God. Diocese as the Lord extends our territory. As we conPatricia Fatsani Malikebu, founder of the African choir, charts the history of the choir’s growth and her hopes for the future

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tinue to expand we hope to perform on special occasions started singing at St Peters we have a choir which is built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. as the Lord leads us.

We take this opportunity to encourage other Africans to utilise their gifts in the church. Let’s not hide the gift that God has given us. We have made a commitment to sing at least once a month in one of the parishes in the diocese. Fr Keith Hererra celebrated our first mass at St Peters on 28th January 2007. Fr Keith and indeed all the other priests we have been in contact with: Frs. Chris and Patrick have been supportive. We believe that since we

Anyone interested in joining us (Africans or not as long as you have interest in African music) please come along on Saturdays between 1800-2000hrs in the Upper Hall at St. Mary’s Cathedral or contact Patty on 01224 492384, mob: 07891714549, e-mail: arise@fsmail.net May the Lord shine His face upon you all. Amen.

SIR’s recipe for success

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ver the Christmas period, it has long been the practice in the Ellon Parish for the parishioners to exchange Christmas cards.

Rather than sending cards by post parishioners would just leave their cards on a table in the porch to be collected .

Last year some ladies in the Parish agreed that this was an unnecessary waste of money as they would be seeing each other at Mass anyway.

They decided to have a collection box in the porch and, rather than send a card, parishioners could make a donation to the charity “Mary’s Meals” instead. As a result, after Christmas, the charity, Mary’s Meals received a cheque for £100.00.

by parents, the child must attend school. Now, children who were never able to attend school before because they were too busy working to help their families put food on the table, are getting a schooling for the first time. It will only be when the children have benefited from an education that they will begin to win their struggle against chronic poverty, poor agricultural techniques, corruption and HIV/ AIDS. “Mary’s Meals” feed 120,000 children a day in Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.For as little as £5.30 they can provide a child with Mary’s Meals and education for one year.

In case you have not heard of “Mary’s Meals”, they are a charity run by Scottish International Relief (SIR) from their base at Craig Lodge, Dalmally in Argyll. They have a simple solution to world hunger that appears to work.

One meal, given every day, to a hungry, impoverished child. To receive the meal, which is prepared and cooked

Perhaps your parish may want to consider doing something similar this coming Christmas. Thousands of young lives could be transformed. http://www.marysmeals.org/uk Paul Costello

Approximately 62,000 Scots have dementia and this number is increasing as people live longer. By 2011 66,000 people in Scotland will have dementia. Almost everyone knows someone who is affected.

and supportive environment where people can meet and have a chat, a cup of tea/coffee and a light lunch. The service is run by staff employed by Alzheimer Scotland, and a team of volunteers.

If you think you could help as a volunteer please contact Alzheimer Scotland provides a Drop-in service for peoAlzheimer Scotland on 01224 644077 and ask for Pameple with dementia and their carers which operates every Tuesday from 10.00am to 2.00pm in St Marys Roman la Adams, or email aberdeencityservices@.alzscot.org or Catholic Cathedral Hall in Huntly Street. It is a friendly call in at the Drop-in any Tuesday between 10.00am and 2.00pm for more information.

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Sometimes it takes a newcomer to the Church to remind us of what we can often take for granted Fiona Mitchell, a parishioner of St Mary’s Cathedral in Aberdeen, was received into the Church at Easter, 2004. We asked her if she would write something about what drew her to join the Church.

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was brought up in the Baptist Church - my father and his family were Baptists. I was baptised when I was 16 - this is the usual sort of age for baptism in the Baptist Church which is ‘believers baptism’. When I went to University in Edinburgh, I went to church with a school friend who was an Episcopalian. The church, Old Saint Paul’s, was within what is known as the ‘Anglo-Catholic’ tradition which meant that the teaching, liturgy, music and church building were all very catholic (with a small ‘c’). The main difference with the Catholic Church related to questions of authority and the position of the Pope. I was swept away by it all and in my second year at university I was confirmed as a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church and there I remained for the next 24 years.

Looking back, I can see that the Catholic Church always held an attraction for me but, in my youth, the leap from Baptist to Catholic would have been too great. The Episcopalian Church has been for me, as for many others, a bridge to the Catholic Church and I feel that I have been slowly, gradually making my way towards the point which I reached in 2004.

Some of the things which have influenced me are as follows: † I love the way that being a Catholic is routine, taken for granted - as an ‘Anglo- Catholic’, I always felt slightly self-conscious, part of a ‘movement within a movement’;

† I have come to value the teaching role and authority of the Catholic Church - although I don’t find all her

teachings easy, I accept that the Church has teaching authority and that this is as it should be;

† I am impressed by the unselfconscious way that Catholics will talk about their faith, about prayer and about Jesus - this takes me back to my evangelical roots;

† I like the fact that the Church is not just for the respectable and comfortably-off and also appreciate its universality and international character;

† I love the sacramental worship of the Church - in particular, I feel very blessed to be able to share in the Eucharist with others who believe in the Real Presence; † I feel supported by the church community, both in the Cathedral and in the wider Diocese;

† I am reassured by the ability of Catholics to enjoy themselves and the good things of life - a quality shared by my Anglo-Catholic friends!

† I feel that becoming a Catholic has built on things that have gone before and has helped me to rediscover things which I knew already. For example -through lectio divina, or meditative reading of the Bible, I am experiencing the benefits of regular Bible reading - my Baptist forebears would approve!

† I have been struck again by the absolutely basic fact that Christian faith is based on a personal relationship with Jesus;

† I am re-learning the importance of a regular rhythm of prayer and struggling to achieve this as part of my daily life-style;

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† I have been challenged to consider the importance of witnessing and of sharing my faith with others.

While all this sounds very inspiring, I know that the living out of my Christian life regularly falls short. I need to remind myself that I can’t live the way that I want to by my own efforts alone and that for this I need God’s help. I do feel though that I am in the right place and that I am at the beginning of something exciting.

Update on World Youth Day 2008 & the Youth Service The Youth Service has decided, after due consideration, not to attend the World Youth Day in Sydney. The price has substantially increased and is above what can realistically be expected from the young people. Our energies will now be focused on subsequent events closer to home.

Next July Kamila and I have been invited to join the parish community in Shetland for a residential week with their young people and children. We have accepted this invitation and look forward to sharing that experience together. We hope to make use of some of the World Youth Day thematic material (at an age-appropriate level) during our sessions and activities with them.

By the time you read this we will also have worked with the new P7 class at St. Peter’s Primary School, Aberdeen, and would welcome further invitations to work in our diocesan schools.

The Youth Service also has a new website which will be updated with news and features throughout the coming year: www.aberdeenyouth-service.org.uk Thank you for your continued prayer and support.

Matt Hadley 01463 232136 matt.hadley@hotmail.com

Aberdeen Diocesan Calendar ST. Devenick

[November 13th]

St Devenick was one of the last missionaries to be sent out from St Ninian’s monastery at Whithorn to minister to the Picts. He penetrated as far north as Caithness but It is thought that for many years St Devenick laboured in the North East of Scotland and founded two churches, at Methlick and at Lower Banchory or Banchory-Devenick.

The ‘banchor’ with which Devenick is associated was situated close to another founded by St Ternan slightly higher up the Dee valley. The fact that two such seats of Celtic learning were situated so close together is almost unique and is, perhaps, a reflection of the fact that the north-east of Scotland was very much a power-house and source of Christianity at the time.

St Devenick is commemorated at Methlick by a well situated at the north end of the Den of Ardo on the opposite bank of the river Ythan from the village. The well was said to have great powers of healing and annually on St Devenick’s Day it was the scene of pilgrimage.`St Devenick’s Fair’ took place annually on the second Tuesday of November for generations.

St Devenick died in the year 877 in Caithness but his body was carried south to Banchory-Devenick where he is said to have expressed the wish to be buried.

Saint of the Deva stream, whose clear strong voice Woke the dark echoes of our Northern vale, Bidding the souls of mortal men rejoice In Gospel light, and o’er their sins bewail; We hail thee from the century afar, DEVENICK, the preacher-saint of Celtic zeal, Who with Saint Machar didst point the star Of Christ’s bright love that men might see, and feel That ‘mid the darkness of their heathen life Hope had arisen, and the dawn was near Of-deathless Joy, and Peace ‘mid sturdy strife; That men might love, and never more should fear.

Patron and Saint! For thy great work we joy: Thy sturdy zeal be ours without alloy.

Arthur Austin Foster

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Healing the divisions Prompted by Pope Benedict’s recent letter regarding the two forms of the Roman Rite Bishop Peter Moran clarifies the issues which have sometimes led to serious differences of opinion, and echoes the Pope’s call for charity and understanding

priate. However, permission was also given for translations into modern spoken languages (“the vernacular”), and this rapidly became the usual practice. Thus today, in Scotland, Mass is regularly celebrated in English, French, Gaelic and Polish, among other languages.

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Today even fewer people than forty years ago understand Latin, but for those who do, that venerable language, properly spoken, has a rhythm and a cadence which gives solemnity to the words. This will be the case whether the older form (now called forma extraordinaria) or the newer form (forma ordinaria) is used.

n mid-September of this year Pope Benedict XVI issued his long-expected Personal Letter (Litterae Motu Proprio Datae) or “Motu Proprio”. Its subject is the two forms of the Roman Rite, the Forma Ordinaria and the Forma Extraordinaria. Its format is a series of liturgical regulations. But its purpose is reconciliation and unity.

Even in the document itself, but much more explicitly in his caring and friendly letter to “My dear Brother Bishops”, sent with the Motu Proprio, the Pope pleads for charity and understanding from everyone, and clearly yearns for an end to the bitterness and division which this whole question has sometimes aroused.

The differences of opinion, which have sometimes flared into hostility and accusation, actually concern three quite distinct aspects of “The Latin Mass”. If we are to play our part in the reconciliation which Pope Benedict desires, and which is surely God’s will, we need to be clear about these aspects, or levels, in any discussion.

They are not identical and they are not all equally important.

1. Latin Up to and including the Missal published in 1962, Mass in the Roman Rite was normally celebrated in Latin. (For Mass in other Catholic Rites, other languages were used – Greek, for example, or Old Slavonic; and of course, in the very early Church, the Eucharist was celebrated in Greek or Aramaic.) Almost everyone knew, by heart, some of the responses, such as “Et cum spiritu tuo” or “Deo gratias”. People who had studied Latin at school could understand some of what was said, but even they usually had a bilingual missal, with parallel Latin and English text. Almost no-one understood the readings or the full text of the Eucharistic Prayer without these helps.

The Missal published in 1970, with the new form (the novus ordo) of the Mass, was also in Latin. Mass in the new form can still be celebrated in Latin where appro-

For certain communities (such as Pluscarden Abbey) or for certain occasions (such as academic Mass or pilgrimages) Latin might be the pastorally appropriate choice – and if the forma ordinaria is used, no special permission is needed nor has it ever been needed.

When there is a request for Mass in Latin we should be clear whether this is just a matter of language or is a call for something deeper.

2. Reverent celebration We must be careful what we mean by this. Mass is not a spectator event but is the Christian community at worship. Mass itself is the prayer we are to pray, not something which the priest does while we say our own prayers. Already Pope Saint Pius X, a hundred years ago, was calling for “active participation” (actuosa participatio) by the congregation at Mass. The people are not merely attending Mass but celebrating Mass.

Reverent celebration means appropriate behaviour for a joyful, prayerful, attentive, active gathering. If Mass is celebrated inappropriately, distractedly, joylessly, or in banal way, the reality of what we are doing can pass us by. The Pope admits, and many of us would agree, that some Masses, in some churches, are lacking in reverence.

But this was also true fifty years ago. Where reverence has slipped away, we need to restore it. But adopting the forma extraordinaria will not guarantee this.

When there is a lament for lost reverence, there is no easy formula to recover it.

3. Validity of the Second Vatican Council In some isolated cases, claims are made that in introducing the “new Mass” the Second Vatican Council was mistaken. A return to the “old Mass” is seen as the only way to recover genuine Catholic worship. Some individuals and groups

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who hold this view have broken away from the Church.

Pope Benedict makes very clear his grief and dismay at this situation, and his loving concern that these divisions can be healed. This is the clearly stated underlying purpose of his “Motu Proprio” 4. The new regulations So what exactly are the new regulations?

(1) The “new Mass” – the forma ordinaria – is what the name suggests, the normal way of celebrating Mass.

(2) A priest celebrating Mass alone can use the forma extraordinaria without needing permission. If people ask to participate in his Mass, they may be admitted.

(3) Religious communities may use the forma extraordinaria, but if they wish to use it frequently or permanently, this is to be decided by their Provincial or similar Superior.

(4) In parishes, “where there exists on a permanent basis a group of the faithful attached to the previous liturgical tradition, the Parish Priest should willingly receive their requests. He is to see to it that the good of these people is in harmony with ordinary pastoral care under the control of the Bishop”

All Saints Abbot Hugh Gilbert OSB

E

arlier this year a visiting monk said to me, speaking of himself: ‘I’m interested in the dead.’ And I thought, yes, that’s right. The dead are of interest. And I was reminded of a small boy, whose grandmother had recently died.

‘Mummy,’ he said, ‘how do you think Gran is getting on with her deadness?’ Yes, they seem so silent, the dead; ‘dead and gone’, we say. And we must respect their silence. But perhaps if we were more silent, the

The forma extraordinaria can be used on ferias (weekdays which are not feasts or solemnities). On Sundays there may be one Mass in the forma extraordinaria.

The Parish Priest may allow the forma extraordinaria, on request, for particular occasions.

Priests celebrating the forma extraordinaria must be idonei (= suitable) (5) In forma extraordinaria Masses people present, the readings may be in the vernacular language.

(6) Where a “group of the faithful” as in (4) above does not obtain its petition, it should tell the diocesan bishop.

The bishop is “earnestly requested” to accede to the petitions. If he cannot provide, he is to inform the “Ecclesia Dei Commission” in Rome.

(7) A Parish Priest omnibus bene perpensis (= having thoroughly considered everything) and bono animarum suadente (= if the good of souls suggests it) may allow the forma extraordinaria in the celebration of baptism, marriage, penance and anointing of the sick. The Bishop can use it in Confirmation bono animarum id suadente.

dead might seem less so. We, after all, who call ourselves the living, we are only a minority, even if we have reached six billion. We’re the crest of a wave, if you like, but think of the swell behind the crest making it possible. We’re this year’s leaves, but the tree is very, very old. Yes, it’s good to let the dead in to our memories and our hearts and our prayers. They are there already, just as they’re in the soil. Not least in a place like this, which is alive with the dead. We’re part of humanity and humanity is a whole, the living and the dead and the yet to come. It’s a whole, from Adam to the last of his children. Yes, it’s good to remember the dead. It keeps our little life wide and deep. It’s a profoundly, anciently, perennially human thing to do.

But how do the dead get on with their deadness? To answer that we have the word of God. To answer that, at least in part, we have this feast. The human race is a whole, from Adam to the end, and Christ is its centre.

Christ lived and died and rose again so that – as Paul says – ‘he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living’ (Rom 14:9). Christ, if you’ll pardon the phrase, grasped the nettle: death. And he turned the nettle into a rose. No longer should we think of the life of the dead as a shadow life.

For all who are in Christ there is a new creation. There is a share in the life of the risen and ascended Son of

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God. There is fullness. And it’s that we celebrate today.

Or rather, it’s those – the blessed – that we celebrate today. Or rather, to catch the spirit of the thing as closely as we can, it is ‘the company of the blessed’ that we celebrate today. God has granted us today, says the Collect, to honour the merits of all the saints ‘in one celebration’.

our whole world. Today, really, we’re asked to go with this flow of Providence, to go with God’s great design for the race He creates and redeems and glorifies. Today, really, we’re asked to do more than just remember the dead. We’re asked to enter into a different perspective: on life and the world and ourselves. We’re asked to put on what the saints have put on: the mind of the risen We are celebrating a city, the Jerusalem above, Sion, a and ascended Christ. kingdom, a society, a fellowship, a gathering, an assembly, a woman, the Bride, the Church, the world at one At the heart of this feast, there is the Throne. There is with God. That’s why it’s at Mass we most keep this feast. the mysterious One who sits upon the Throne, God The gathering around the altar is the closest we can come the Father. There is the Lamb, slain and glorified, in the to the gathering of angels and saints around the Throne. midst of the Throne. There is, flowing from the Throne And it’s very close indeed. The human race is a whole, of God and of the Lamb, from the Father and the Son, and the great crowd we’re shown today, crying ‘Victory the river of the water of life, the life-giving Spirit of the to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb’, Father and the Son. Today’s feast calls us to put on the this great crowd is that part of our race, that part of our mind of the risen Christ, and that human mind of the world which has touched dock, come into harbour, is risen Christ sees what it sees and loves what it loves beat rest, and alive to the full. Mundus reconciliatus, St cause of the light and the love it drinks from the vision Augustine called the Church: the world reconciled. And of the Father: The Lamb is in the midst of the Throne. the Church of heaven is the world not just reconciled Today’s feast is a feast, in the end, of what it is that feasts but glorified. It is creation come to its goal. It is Genesis the angels and the saints. ‘We shall see him as he really arrived at the Apocalypse. is.’ It’s a feast of God’s unveiling. Let us ask, then, with It’s therefore hope for us. It’s mercy for us, as the Collect so many intercessors around us, for the gift of prayer, says. Even more, in this perspective, should we remem- the gift of contemplation, the beginning of the vision of ber the dead. Because they, we believe, remember us. As God, a taste of the water of the river of life. Let’s ask for St Bernard put it so vividly: they await us, they call us, a glimpse of the glory of God, and all the blessed differthey look for us, they love us. This Church of glory, this ence that will make. final cause of all that is, what a pull, what a gravity it must have – in ways we can hardly guess – on us and

Unique role of sacred music In the second of a new series, David Meiklejohn continues to highlight the unique role and value of liturgical music. In the first he referred to the promulgations of Pope Paul VI and in this edition he provides important insights on the teachings of Pope John Paul II who based much of his own writings on this subject on the reflections of St Pius X. While such a short article can scarcely do justice to such a major contribution, it is nevertheless hoped that these extracts will provide a sufficient stimulus for further discussion and development. The following extracts are taken from a chirograph by Pope John Paul II at St Peter’s on 22 November 2003, the Memorial of St Cecilia, Patron saint of Music:

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otivated by a strong desire “to maintain and promote the decorum of the House of God” St Pius X promulgated Moto Proprio Tra le Sollecitudini, with the purpose to renew sacred music during liturgical services.

With it he intended to offer the Church practical guidelines in that vital sector of the Liturgy, presenting them as a ‘juridical code of sacred music’ {1}. The centenary of the Document gives me the opportunity to recall the important role of sacred music, which St Pius presented both as a means of lifting up the spirit to God and as a precious aid to the faithful in their “active participation in the most holy mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the Church”{2}.

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The holy Pontiff recalls that the special attention which sacred music rightly deserves stems from the fact that “being an integral part of the solemn Liturgy, it participates in the general purpose of the Liturgy, which is the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the faithful”{3}. Since it interprets and expresses the deep meaning of the sacred text to which it is intimately linked, it must be able “to add greater efficacy to the text in order that through it the faithful may be… better disposed for the reception of the fruits of grace belonging to the celebration of the most holy mysteries”{4}.

By continuing the ancient biblical tradition to which the Lord himself and the Apostles abided (cf. Mt 26:30; Eph 5: 19; Col 3: 16) the Church has encouraged song at liturgical celebrations throughout her history, providing wonderful examples of melodic comment to the sacred texts in accordance with the creativity of every culture, in the rites of both West and East.

Liturgical music must meet the specific prerequisites of the Liturgy: full adherence to the text it presents, synchronisation with the time and moment of the Liturgy for which it is intended, appropriately reflecting the gestures proposed by the rite. The various moments in the liturgy require a musical expression of their own. The music and songs requested by the liturgical reform must comply with the legitimate demands of adaptation and inculturation.

It is clear however that any innovation in this sensitive matter must respect specific criteria such as the search for musical expressions, which respond to the necessary involvement of the entire assembly in the celebration and which, at the same time, avoid any concessions to frivolity or superficiality.

sisted in particular on the musical training of clerics. The Second Vatican council also recalled in this regard: Great importance is to be attached to the teaching and practice of music in seminaries, in the novitiate houses of studies of Religious of both sexes, and also in other Catholic institutions and schools” {24}. This instruction has yet to be fully implemented. I therefore consider it appropriate to recall it, so that future pastors may acquire sufficient sensitivity also in this field.

Since the Church has always recognised and fostered progress in the arts, it should not come as a surprise that in addition to Gregorian chant and polyphony she admits into celebrations even the most modern music, as long as it respects both the liturgical spirit and the true value of this art form {27}.

Renewed and deeper thought about the principles that must be the basis on the formation and dissemination

Aberdeen Diocesan Choir

is ready

to sing

for You

of a high quality repertoire is therefore required.

Sacred music lovers, by dedicating themselves with renewed impetus to a sector of such vital importance, will contribute to the spiritual growth of the People of God. The faithful for their part, in expressing their faith harmoniously and solemnly in song, will experience its richness ever more fully and will abide by the commitment to express its impulses in their daily life.

In this way, through the unanimous agreement of pastors of souls, musicians and faithful, it will be possible to achieve what the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium describes as the true “purpose of sacred music”, that is, “ the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful”{44}.

From the smooth coordination of all – the priest celebrant and the deacon, the acolytes, the altar servers, the readers, the psalmist, the schola cantorum, the musicians, the cantor and the assembly - flows the proper spiritual atmosphere which makes the liturgical movement truly intense, shared in and fruitful. The musical aspect of liturgical celebrations cannot, therefore, be left to improvisation or to the arbitration of individuals but must be well conducted and rehearsed in accordance with the norms and competencies resulting from a satisfactory liturgical formation. In this area, therefore, the urgent need to encourage the sound formation of both pastors The next article on sacred music will focus on the and the lay faithful also comes to the fore. St Pius X in- writings of Pope Benedict XVI.

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“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord” praise and gratitude overflowing in spontaneous joy at the certainty of love and redemption in ‘psalms and hymns and spiritual songs’.

Clare Benedict ‘A song is a thing of joy; more profoundly, it is a thing of love.’

‘Catholics don’t have a tradition of singing’ – we often hear this said, almost by way of apology. Well, this week’s surprise announcement is that Catholics do have a tradition of singing, reaching far back into our Jewish roots.

The beautiful Book of Psalms, containing all the longing of the human heart, was the sung prayer book of our ancestors in faith; Jesus sang them; the first Christians sang them. They really knew how to express their joy in the Lord in the most effective and uninhibited way. Indeed, we are told how David, the ‘Psalmist’, danced in his joy as the Lord entered his city in the Ark of the Covenant (2 Sam.6:14). Traditionally, the angels sing for God; could it be that God enjoys singing so much that He planted it in our very nature?

‘With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God’ (Col.3:16).

At the Last Supper Jesus sang hymns with his friends before going out to die (Mt 26:30); likewise the Roman martyrs sang hymns as they waited for death in the arena and amazed people with their joy in their Lord even in suffering. The first Christians also composed and sang new hymns: Paul and Silas in prison ‘were praying and singing God’s praises’ and Paul himself included extracts from many early hymns in his letters, hymns which expressed

‘The musical tradition of the Catholic Church is a treasure of immeasurable value, greater even than of any other art… as sacred melody united to words, it forms a necessary and integral part of the solemn liturgy’ (SC 112).

So hymn-singing wasn’t invented by the Protestant Reformers! Many hymns that are still sung today were composed by the Church Fathers, such as St Ambrose and St Thomas Aquinas. Words united to melody have always been the most delightful way of praising God for, as St Augustine famously remarked, ‘He who sings, prays twice.’ We talk about our hearts singing when we are feeling particularly joyful; why shouldn’t we desire to vocalise what is in our hearts? As St Augustine also said, ‘singing is for one who loves!’ One could go further and say – when you’re in love, you need to express your joy in song! Many of us need to rediscover that innate desire in ourselves.

There are various points in the Mass when singing is very definitely what is called for: firstly, the entrance procession with accompanying hymn on the day’s theme should give us a sense of communion – we do not worship alone – and a thrill of expectation as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s act of redemption. After the general confession when we ask the Lord for mercy we should sing our entreaty; many congregations still use the traditional chants of the Kyrie eleison, chant which seems to express exquisitely all the yearning of the world for salvation. These traditional snippets of Greek, Latin and Hebrew (Amen!) can help to give us a sense of continuity with our ancestors in faith. The Gloria ought really to be sung for it takes us back to

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the joyful song of the angels proclaiming the birth of Jesus. Singing of glory reminds us of the shining presence of God who accompanies His people wherever they go.

The Responsorial Psalm again is traditionally sung, preferably not in a hymn which often has little relevance to the reading we have just heard, meaning that we may miss a significant part of the liturgy. There may be resistance to the idea of a ‘soloist’ chanting the psalm but the tradition of a ‘cantor’ presenting the psalm for our response is one dating back to earliest times – it is a Catholic tradition! Our repetition of the response verse helps us to meditate on the reading and can stimulate our personal response to God’s message. Done well, this can be a very beautiful moment which deepens our involvement in and acceptance of God’s word.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Because we are about to hear the words of Jesus Christ himself, we acclaim the Gospel in song. Don’t you really miss those alleluias during Lent?

What a surge of joy fills our hearts when we hear the priest intone that first alleluia of Easter night; we should certainly be eager to echo him.

The Church expects that we should sing the other chants of the ‘Common’ of the Mass: the Sanctus or ‘Holy, holy, holy’, acclamation and adoration, adapted from the song of the angels in Isaiah’s vision and the joyful acclamation of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. At this point it’s good to think of the whole Church, living and dead, and all the angels in heaven rushing in to swell our chorus, making us one with them in praise of God’s glory. Sing up with them, to be heard in the courts of heaven!

Our proclamation of the ‘mystery of faith: we are here acclaiming the tremendous action that Jesus has done for us – his redemptive sacrifice which has brought us salvation and the promise of eternal life with him in Paradise – surely we should be jumping up and down in our desire to sing praise at this moment? The Our Father, the prayer our Lord taught us, may be sung or said; when sung it is recommended that it be a suitably reverential chant as prayer rather than simply another hymn. Above all, it is vocalised prayer of the heart.

The Great Amen: our response to the doxology chanted by the celebrant should be a surge of joyful affirmation from the heart that raises the roof! It really should be a Great Amen, uttered with full voice and full heart, for this is our assent to the whole of the Eucharistic Prayer we have just heard, indeed to the whole of God’s saving plan for us. Sometimes this moment is ludicrously brief: a sung,

expanded Amen proclaimed loudly with joy can be very moving.

The Agnus Dei: ‘Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us’: we sing this in acknowledgement of our need and desire for the Lord as the priest fractures the host and we prepare to recognise our Saviour ‘in the breaking of the bread’.

‘Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy, and to which the Christian people, ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people’, have a right and an obligation by reason of their Baptism’ (SC 14) Full, conscious and active participation: we don’t come to Mass to sit there as passive onlookers; we come together as the Whole Body of Christ our Head to offer ‘a perfect sacrifice’ – we can’t do that effectively unless we all put our whole selves into our worship, body, soul, heart and voice. Indeed, if we haven’t participated in as full, conscious and active a way as we can, should we really consider ourselves ready to receive the Lord in Holy Communion? Catholics shouldn’t feel shy about speaking or singing out – should we feel too shy to respond in the presence of our Father? Surely not – we should want to ‘sing and shout for joy’! So let our responses be said or sung firmly, confidently, joyfully, as children who know they are loved and have been redeemed.

Even in Heaven we will carry on singing our praise before God. In the Revelation of St John we hear of the angels and the blessed together singing ‘a new song’ before the Lamb and a great multitude singing ‘Alleluia!

Salvation and glory and power to our God!’ If, therefore, we are likely to go on singing in Heaven for all eternity surely we’d better start practising now!

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What you always wanted to know about your faith but were afraid to ask! kernel ... What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable (1 Cor. 15:35-37, 42).

I BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY AND IN LIFE EVERLASTING.

When we die our souls are temporarily separated from our physical bodies, but this is not a permanent state. At the end of time, when the world as we know it comes to an end and Jesus hands over everything to the Father, we will be reunited with our bodies, but bodies which are transformed. Then ‘on the Day of Judgement all human beings will appear in their own bodies before Christ’s tribunal to render an account of their own acts’ (CCC 1059). Jesus will be our Judge, the same Jesus who loved us enough to become man, to suffer humiliation, abuse, torture and a most cruel death for us; he will not be an unjust judge and we too will be judged according to our love. God once said to His chosen people as they were about to enter the Promised Land:

‘But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain … If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied’ (1 Cor. 15:13-19).

‘Look, today I call heaven and earth to witness. I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, The whole idea of the resurrection of the body has always then…’ (Deut 30:19). been a difficult one for people to take on board, although they may be able to accept the concept of the soul being He is saying the same to each of us; we must make our immortal. This was a real stumbling-block for people in choice not just once, but every day of our lives, just as we St Paul’s time, but he proclaims joyfully, triumphantly are called every day of our lives to conversion, a turning even: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, back towards God. Even at the moment of our death we the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor can make that choice for life or death, for life with God 15:20). There is a temptation to believe that when we or life without God. The Catholic doctrine of the ‘Last die our bodies are no longer necessary; that our souls Things’ offers us hope, a hope which those who do not are what really count. In fact, we may even view our believe in the final resurrection do not know. But God bodies as the negative, the bad, part of us. This has been does not force anything, even Himself, on us; at the end a very common heresy right from the beginning of the of the day – at the end of my day – the choice is mine. A Church. BUT human beings were uniquely created by beautiful explanation of that future is: God as body and soul; true, as a result of humanity’s fall from grace, our bodies age, grow weak, get in the way, as ‘Heaven is our total acceptance of God’s love; Hell is it were; but God intended from the beginning that we our total rejection of God’s love; and Purgatory is the would one day live in glory with Him in spirit and flesh gradual burning away of our resistance to God’s love. As – glorified human flesh, just as Jesus now is. So, in one such, they all begin here and now.’ sense, we may still have the bodies we have now, with all the bits we don’t much like, but it won’t matter, not in ‘At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love’ (St their glorified state!

John of the Cross).

‘But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’ You foolish man!

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare

THE LAST JUDGEMENT What we profess in the Creed, the resurrection of the dead, ‘of both the just and the unjust’ (Acts 24:15), will precede the Last Judgement. This will be ‘the hour when

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all who are in the tombs will hear [the Son of man’s] voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement’ (Jn 5:28-29). Then Christ will come ‘in his glory … Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left… And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life’ (Mt 25:31,32,46).

HELL ‘We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love Him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against Him, against our neighbours or against ourselves … This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called hell.’ So says the Catechism (1033). We find many very graphic (and terrifying) images of hell in the Scriptures and elsewhere: again, we have only human images of our most frightening nightmares to go on. It’s a lot worse than the worst nightmare: hell is the eternal loss of God’s love. This is why the devil must be the unhappiest being (or rather, non-being) ever; he chose freely to reject God’s love and damned himself for all eternity. We do not know who, if anyone, will end up in hell; what we can do is pray that no one will.

‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another’ (2 Cor. 3:18).

Coming face to face with Love, being drawn in to share the inner life of God – this must be eternal blessedness, real happiness, not the weak and watery kind we may know in this life. This life is an exile; heaven is our true homeland.

DEATH In order to get to heaven and to be united eternally with God, we first have to die. Death must come to us all and, though we may fear the manner of that death, we should not fear death itself, for death means leaving this place of exile and going to our heavenly homeland.

‘I want to see God and, in order to see Him, I must die’ (St Teresa of Avila) ‘I am not dying; I am entering life’ (St Thérèse of Lisieux).

At a Catholic funeral the mourners hear these words:

‘Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended.

When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death We gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven’ (Preface PURGATORY When we die, most of us are not yet ready or worthy of Christian Death 1). to come face to face with God (unless we’re saints!). We need to clean up our act first, to be ‘purified’; this is what At the end of our lives, the ‘perfect’ Christian death the word ‘purgatory’ means – ‘purification’, ‘cleansing’. means that we die in God’s friendship, having confessed Most of us will still be a bit on the grubby side when our sins, been reconciled and absolved, having received we die, although knowing this shouldn’t stop us trying sacramental anointing, and the Eucharist one last time as to cleanse ourselves – with the help of prayer and the ‘food for the journey’. sacraments – while we’re still living in this world. We can pray also, and offer the sacrifice of the Mass, for those ‘True and subsistent life consists in this: the Father, who have gone before us, that their purification will be through the Son and in the Holy Spirit, pouring out his achieved. Praying for our dead is a great act of kindness heavenly gifts on all things without exception. Thanks to and love; we should continue to show solidarity with his mercy, we too, men that we are, have received the inthem even when we no longer see them, just as we think alienable promise of eternal life’ (St Cyril of Jerusalem). of or pray for those who are on a journey or in another Not a bad exchange! country.

HEAVEN Of course, we can’t really know what heaven will be like; we have only inadequate human comparisons to go by: eternal bliss, eternal rest, eternal getting-to-know-God etc. What we can believe is that heaven will mean seeing the Lord ‘as He is’, face-to-face, with no barriers between us.

Eileen Grant is the RCIA Catechist at St Mary’s Cathedral, Aberdeen

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Cursillo’s tenth anniversary

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ursillo, a Spanish word meaning “a short claim and to live the Gospel in service to the person and course”, is the name given to a Catholic Move- to society …” ment that originated in Spain and quickly spread around the world after Vatican II. Faced with this challenge, the reality often is that “an isolated Christian is a paralysed Christian”. Christ’s strategy Our Diocesan Cursillo began in 1998 by invitation of while on earth was to build communities. With this in Bishop Conti and to date there have been eleven residential “Wee Courses” (Scots for Cursillos!) prepared mind, Cursillo provides opportunities throughout our and presented by laity and clergy, usually at Pluscarden Abbey. The spiritual support and hospitality of the Benedictine monks, who live there, have ensured a fruitful and enjoyable Three Days.

Cursillo offers a method to help Christians respond positively to their Baptismal responsibilities. The introductory three day course – usually a weekend (see below) – reminds participants of the great challenge and invitation of our Faith - to share the good news of Christ’s love with others. The aim is to help ordinary people make a real difference in the 21st century world; bringing Christ and The Gospel to every area of society. We know that sometimes it is not easy to talk to others about Christ - it takes courage and often we need help. The Cursillo method offers a proven formula and a support network of friends who meet regularly, encouraging one another and praying together. This means that, rather than feeling alone and isolated in their efforts, they benefit from a real sense of community and are enabled to persevere as Christians aware of their role in answering Christ’s call to “launch out into the deep”.

At the beginning of his pontificate Pope Benedict XVI said, “I greet you, members of the lay faithful, immersed in the task of building up the Kingdom of God which spreads throughout the world in every area of life.” The Second Vatican Council and a number of Post-Conciliar Documents, notably Christifideles Laici and Novo Millennio Ineunte, reiterate the unique role and responsibility of the laity. As Pope John Paul II stated in Christifideles Laici, “A great venture, both challenging and wonderful, is entrusted to the Church – that of a re-evangelisation, which is so much needed by the present world. The lay faithful ought to regard themselves as an active and responsible part of this venture, called as they are to pro-

EWTN Catholic Television and Radio is available on SKY, with its television service on EPG 769, and radio on EPG 0147.

Programming covers the gamut of the Church’s long-standing cultural and spiritual heritage, through documentaries, films, music, phone-in chat shows, news, educational series on a variety of topics, programmes for children and youth, live coverage of events from the Vatican, as well as daily prayer and reflection.

Viewers find programmes as varied as a documentary exploring the gothic architecture of Chartres Cathedral to children’s animated adventures of the Bible, to a concert performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, to lectures on the early Fathers of the Church, to a lively chatshow on how to be a young Christian in today’s world.

And there is no advertising.If you do not have Sky you can get Sky’s Freesat service which after the initial cost of £150 has no monthly or further costs. For more information or for a free programme guide contact: tel 08700 636734, PO Box 913, Enfield EN2 0WY, info@stclaremedia-ewtn.co.uk.

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A residential “wee course” at Pluscarden Abbey

One of the workshops held over the weekend

Cursillistas line up for a group photograph

More flowers of the forest ready to bloom Diocese for people to meet together locally on a regular basis (weekly or fortnightly), share hopes and concerns, pray, help and learn from one another. This informal meeting of friends, in “Cursillo-speak” is termed ‘Group Reunion’ and happens at a mutually convenient time and place; at home, in a café, church, or wherever our wit and wisdom lead us to gather in His name. In addition, there is a larger get-together of people from throughout the Diocese, termed an “Ultreya!” (meaning ‘Onward!’). This takes place monthly and as well as echoing the Group Reunion format, it provides an opportunity to learn from someone’s experience of journeying with Christ (Witness talk) and to receive Spiritual Direction provided by Fr Keith Herrera and Deacon John Woodside.

Cursillo is not an organisation that you join, it is a world-wide movement within the Catholic Church (and some other Christian denominations have adapt-

A word in your ear! ed it to their needs). After the 3-day Wee Course, those who have attended are encouraged to use the Cursillo ‘method’ to help them persevere as they return to their own places in the world and continue their lives as Christians, faithful to their Baptismal promises. The Cursillo Community, serving Christ and the Church, under the patronage of St Paul, aims to effect real and meaningful change to society by “making friends, being friends and (because it is God’s will) bringing friends to Christ”.

The next ‘Wee Course’ at Pluscarden Abbey is scheduled for 2nd to 5th May, 2008 (Bank Holiday Weekend). More information will be available in the coming months. If you would like further details about Cursillo please contact Brian Osborne, Cursillo Lay Director (Email: Cursillo.aberdeen@hotmail.co.uk) or Deacon John Woodside (01261 812204).

If you know somebody who is unable to get to church to pick Light of the North please let them know that up a copy of the for just £10.00 they can be put on our subscribers mailing list, and we will send them a year’s issues of the magazine by post.

All cheques should be made out to the Ogilvie Institute.

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Prue King, a volunteer at Blairs Museum, takes a look at some of the remarkable objects in the museum’s collection which spans 500 years of Scottish Church History

Memorial to a queen Once hidden in a chimney this magnificent portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots now occupies pride of place at Blairs Museum

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here are many who would say that the Memorial Portrait is Blairs Museum. A small boy asked what it was worth to be told “Everything and nothing, you cannot put its value in monetary terms.” It is part of the history of Scotland and closely interlinked with the fortunes of the Church.

There are strong grounds to believe that while the Portrait may not have been painted from the same miniature that is contained in the Blairs Jewel, it must have been worked from one remarkably similar.

The story goes that the miniature was given to Elizabeth Curle, one of the Queen’s ladies on the eve of her death and that when the lady went to live in Antwerp, she had the Portrait painted to commemorate her dead mistress with the thought that it should go to a Scottish seminary, possibly to the Scots College in Rome. Queen Mary had dearly wished that there could be a seminary for Scots in Scotland, but that was not to happen for many years. The Portrait found its way to Douai in France, and had to be hurriedly secreted during the French Revolution before the mob descended on the College there. It is reported to have spent the rest of the troubled times bricked up in a chimney until it was rescued and brought to Blairs around the time of the founding of the College, perhaps even by Priest Gordon who had been a student at Douai at the time. It has remained in the College ever since.

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Postcards from Blairs

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useum

M The Blairs

It has often been alleged that the Portrait must have come from one of the great ateliers in Antwerp but alas there is no proof of this other than the excellence of the painting.

When it was sent for conservation, there were high hopes that some clue might emerge about the artist, but nothing was revealed. It would be nice to think that nothing but the best would have been good enough for Elizabeth Curle when it came to making a Memorial Portrait of the Queen, but it is all a matter of conjecture.

The Portrait shows Queen Mary, richly clad possibly around the time of her execution. There is a smaller scene of the execution itself - which primary school visitor has not heard of the tale of the pet dog? – and portraits of her ladies inscribed Joanna Kennethie and Elizabetha Curle; the coat of arms and the Latin inscription complete the details familiar from the frequent reproductions in the works about the Stuarts and Queen Mary telling of the circumstances of her captivity and execution. To-day the portrait stands in the Museum which tells the story of the Scots seminary which she wanted to see established but which took a long time to realise. Perhaps she is home at last?

A Christms Concert to raise funds for the museum will be held on 2nd December at St Mary’s Chapel, Blairs.

Tickets will be available from the curator, tel 01224 863767 THE BLAIRS MUSEUM Come on a journey of faith Discover the treasures of the former Roman Catholic Seminary situated on Deeside and see the recently restored St Mary’s Chapel.

On display are the rarest portraits of Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie; fabulous gold and silver church plate and splendid 16th century embroidered vestments Guided Tours • Shop • Disabled • Access Open: April to September, Saturday 10am - 5pm; Sunday 12 noon - 5pm; or outwith these times you are welcome by appointment.

For further details telephone 01224 863767 www.blairsmuseum.com South Deeside Road, Blairs, Aberdeen AB12 5YQ

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The secret seminary I lift up my eyes to the hills.

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121

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Ann Dean

his year the Annual Pilgrimage to Scalan took place on Sunday, 1st July. Twelve priests and roughly 200 people gathered at the head of the Braes of Glenlivet in Banffshire for the celebration of Mass. Despite heavy rain, thick mist and, for many, a mile and a half long walk on a mud churned and flooded track, this year’s pilgrims still turned up. What attracts people from all over Scotland to attend the annual Mass at Scalan?

From 1716 to 1799 Scalan was, during the early part of that period, Scotland’s only seminary, necessarily hidden in the hills of Banffshire to avoid persecution. From the Reformation in Scotland in 1560, throughout the 1600s and the first half of the 1700s, all Catholics were persecuted, but priests in particular. The saying of Mass was forbidden and priests caught celebrating Mass were banished from the country. If they returned as most of them did, and were caught, they were threatened with the punishment of death. It was difficult and dangerous to send boys and young men to train for the priesthood in European seminaries, mainly to Paris, Rome and Madrid.

Bishop Gordon, the successor to Bishop Nicolson, Scotland’s first post Reformation bishop, determined to solve this problem in 1714 by setting up a seminary on an island in Loch Morar in the West but persecution after the 1715 Jacobite Rising forced it to close and it moved to a simple building at Scalan, where a priest was in hiding. Between 1716 and 1799, 86 boys were given their initial training for

the priesthood at Scalan but in a few cases the young men received their entire training and were ordained there.

Situated in 1716 on the other side of the Crombie Burn, the first Scalan survived several attempts to destroy it, the most severe persecution taking place after the 1746 Rising when the building was destroyed. Warned of what was going to happen, the students were all sent home and the priest went into hiding. When it was considered safe to return, the seminary continued in a partially restored building, cramped and inadequate.

Two priests of the 1700s were closely associated with Scalan, Bishop George Hay and Bishop John Geddes. Bishop Hay was consecrated bishop of the Lowland District of Scotland at Scalan in 1769; he visited the seminary frequently each year, and even became its resident Superior between 1788 and 1791. Many of the Annual Meetings of the Clergy took place in the hidden safety of Scalan. Bishop Geddes, while still a young priest, was Scalan’s Superior between 1762 and 1767; he had the responsibility of overseeing the erection of the ‘new’ Scalan before he left in 1767.

This ‘new’ Scalan, a one-and-a-half storey building was erected where Scalan is today. Mass was celebrated in the upstairs chapel, which Catholics in the neighbourhood could attend, entering the chapel by an outside stair on the gable wall. Scalan’s roof was raised in 1786, providing a full two storey building with a large attic as well. All the upstairs rooms were more spacious and the chapel was moved from the main house to the north wing - its walls have now been stabilized at head height.

Boys came to Scalan from mainly the lowland counties of Scotland, with the Enzie district of Banffshire strongly

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represented. Life at Scalan was hard with the day starting at 5 am and finishing at 9 pm. Prayer, meditation and Mass before 8 am breakfast were followed by school work until nearly mid-day; after dinner there was an hour of recreation. Lessons continued until 7 pm supper, then a half hour of recreation before night prayers and bed. The boys were expected to take their turn reading aloud at both dinner and supper and also to do small tasks about the house. These ‘tasks’ extended to outdoor farm work, such as harvesting, manuring, digging and sowing, and getting safely home the year’s supply of peats.

In 1792 with the passing of the Toleration Act, it was no longer necessary for the seminary to be hidden and remote. It was moved to Aquhorthies in 1799 near Inverurie and then in 1829 to Blairs, Deeside. Scalan itself was abandoned. In the mid-1800s its roof was slated and the house converted into four dwellings for the families working the land. By the 1940s, it was again deserted. In 1946 three priests formed the Scalan Association with the aim ‘to restore and maintain Scalan as a place of pilgrimage and a national monument for the Catholics of Scotland’. The building and land around it were purchased for £50 and, as an emergency repair, buttresses were erected to support the walls and cement applied to cracks in the gables. Between 1992 and 1994 an extensive programme was carried out to make the building structurally sound and wind-and-water-tight.

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Its restoration outside has now been completed and work still continues in the interior.

So why go to Scalan? To remember the lives of the men whose task it was to prepare the next generation of priests to serve Scotland; their responsibilities and duties in that lonely place must have been very heavy. To remember all those boys who embraced the insecure and dangerous life at Scalan, giving up so much in order to train to be priests. Many of these North-East boys who became priests served throughout Scotland, in particular among the rapidly expanding Catholic populations of Glasgow and the industrial West. At this year’s Annual Mass the homily was given by Bishop John Jukes, OFM, parish priest of Huntly and Banff, who not only confirmed the importance of remembering Scalan’s rich heritage but also pointed out the urgent need for Catholics today to pray that Scalan will be an inspiration for young men to accept God’s gift of priestly vocation.

The Scalan Association produces a Newsletter twice each year, informing members about developments at and around Scalan. Communications and inquiries about the Association should be addressed to Mrs Jane McEwan, Ogilvie Cottage, Gallowhill, Glenlivet, Ballindalloch AB37 9DL Ann Dean is a long-standing member of the Scalan Association, a local historian and artist

Redemptorist Centre of Spirituality St. Mary’s, Kinnoull Sabbatical Courses 12 May – 26 June 2008 20 October – 4 December 2008 Healing in the Spirit: A Spirituality of True Self-Esteem Fr Jim McManus C.Ss.R, and Miss Marie Hogg 27 – 31 December 2007 Living life to the full means living in the daily awareness that we “are precious in God’s sight” (Isaiah 43:4) Personal Counselling – Inner Healing – Spiritual Direction: An Integrated model of Ministry

Fr Jim McManus C.Ss.R. and Sr. Germaine O’Neill 27 January – 8 February 2008 Learn new skills of helping people by working with their hurt feelings and leading them to a new experience of spiritual wholeness.

Holy Week Retreat Healing in the Spirit 17 – 22 March 2008 Fr. Jim McManus C.Ss.R. and Miss Marie Hogg Celebrate Holy Week in the healing environment of St. Mary’s and begin living more consciously a spirituality of true self-esteem. Self-esteem is often the missing dimension in a good person’s life.

Private retreatants and groups are always welcome at St. Mary’s.

Details: The Secretary, St. Mary’s, Kinnoull, Perth PH2 7BP Tel: 01738 624075 E-mail: copiosa@aol.com Web Page: www.kinnoullmonastery.org

P

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Canon Bill Anderson takes a look at some of his favourite inspirational verse.

To Sleep William Wordsworth

tain that cajoling plea that Sleep may favour the poet in the ensuing night “Without Thee what is all the morning’s wealth?”

A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by One after one; the sound of rain,and bees Murmuring; the fall of rivers,winds and seas, Smooth fields,white sheets of water,and pure sky; I’ve thought of all by turns,and still I lie Sleepless; and soon the small birds’ melodies Must hear,first utter’d from my orchard trees, And the first cuckoo’s melancholy cry.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning,a contemporary of Wordsworth and a professed Christian, wrote about sleep in a more spiritual vein and took as her theme a phrase from Psalm 127: “it is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep.”

Here is one of the stanzas, consonant with Wordsworth’s desire for peaceful repose:

Even thus last night,and two nights more I lay, And could not win thee,Sleep! by any stealth: So do not let me wear to-night away: Without Thee what is all the morning’s wealth?

Come,blessed barrier between day and day, Dear mother of fresh thoughts and joyous health!

“For me, my heart that erst did go, Most like a tired child at show, That sees through tears the mummers leap, Would now its wearied vision close, Would childlike on His love repose, Who giveth his beloved - sleep.

May another poet, the pious George Herbert, conclude the matter. Having portrayed God bestowing untold blessings upon humanity, he puts into His mouth this qualification: “Yet let him keep the rest, But keep them with repining restlessness: Let him be rich and weary, that at least, If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast.”

“Quote ... Unquote”

‘A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by’ William Wordsworth had a deep love for the wonders of Nature and for the tranquil parts of life. Surely the above lines confirm that assertion. The subject, sleep, is of universal application, and will strike a chord with those subject to unwanted wakefulness.

The first eight lines, simple and pictorial, derive entirely from natural sights and sounds. The remaining six con-

We are meant for sainthood. A saint is nothing more or less than one who is in union with God in a relationship of intimacy and trust. A saint is one who can accept not only his or her dependence on God, but the reality of God’s dependence on each and everyone of us to fulfill our mission of loving God through each other.

That’s the hardest part. Every day can be difficult and messy, even painful. But this human life is also one of hope and joy and generous service.

It is our destiny. --FATHER THOMAS McSWEENEY, Director, The Christophers

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Fr Bernard O’Connor

Pope Benedict Blends Clarity With Charity Jesus of Nazareth Author: Pope Benedict XVl Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC ISBN: 0747592780 List Price: £14.99 Hardback 384 pages

ussell Shaw, writing in the May edition (2007) of Columbia, refers to an interview between German journalist, Peter Seewald, and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. The subject was “misery in the world.” The Cardinal poignantly observed that: “misery is produced … by those who try to talk us out of morality….They have stripped man of all dignity, down to his most basic self, and have produced exactly what they claim to be preventing, a selfish society in which everyone lives his own life and is responsible for nothing and no one.” The statement is vintage Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. For it is profound, succinct and candid; a blend of clarity and charity. Yes. ‘charity’. Because to have spoken less emphatically would have been an affront to our vocation to pursue and defend objective truth.

It is this same mindset which characterizes Pope Benedict’s latest publication, a book, Jesus of Nazareth. The text, a first volume, is a scholarly ‘meditation’ in ten chapters upon the identity of Jesus. Given the popularity of such fiction-claiming-to-be-fact works as the

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Da Vinci Code, the Pope’s message is as timely as it is necessary. Unsubstantiated and inaccurate assertions about Jesus, namely à la Dan Brown and those similar, can never qualify to be worthy of the serious inquirer.

Catholics, indeed the world, deserve better. And so the Pope seeks to support the legitimate right to be able to probe the depths of this very important discussion.

Jesus of Nazareth is a ‘must’ for those who wish to become more adequately informed about the Founder of Christianity and Whom we identify as Son of God and Son of Man. May I recommend that you obtain an English edition (e.g. Doubleday) and read just a few pages daily, gradually savouring the richness of the commentary and of the remarkable range of sources which the Holy Father proposes. Consider the book to be a kind of spiritual guide, and which offers practical insights concerning the God Whom we encounter in Jesus, and how we may better encounter Him. Consider each chapter as being an invitation addressed to you personally. Enter into a process of discovery, of gratitude for the constancy of the Church’s commitment to Christ, of prayerful reflection, of adoration.

The Pope’s text is, in many ways, as much about humanity as it is about Christ. What is stated about Him and His earthly ministry applies to our modern context. For example, in Chapter One there is a marvelous analysis of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan. But what is also shown is that the event denotes a real solidarity with man. And just as there is an anticipation of Jesus’ later Cross, we, too, are challenged by what it means to participate in a “world transforming struggle.” This struggle underlies the familiar triple temptations which confronted Christ, and which parallel the “perils besetting mankind” (Ch.2).

And when Jesus teaches, as in the case of the Beatitudes (Ch.3), we adopt the stance of disciples – those ready to hear, to reflect and to follow. Because we are believers, people of the Church, we can likewise overcome our own inner resistance. And we can “harmonize our energies” and efforts (Ch.4). Even the language of the Lord’s Prayer (Ch.5) affirms that “God is in reach of our invocation.” We are not restricted to limitations and boundaries devised without reference to Him and to His plan for our salvation.

Christ is our hope, our “light of future,” the antidote to irrationality and to the threat that we imprison ourselves in an “anonymous atmosphere” (Ch.6). Like the Prodigal Son who returned to the Father’s house, our own bid for “false autonomy” is countered by the compassion

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ever to be found in obedience to Divine Love (Ch.7).

That compassion becomes a source of lavish graces, with the same abundance which at Cana created a surplus of water converted to wine (Ch.8).

But mere external knowledge about this Christ is always insufficient. We must yearn to embrace Him Who refuses to “fit (our) categories.” We touch Him. We are touched by Him: in study, in contemplation, in unity and in communal worship (Ch.9). Jesus continually draws us into His own eternal “Yes to God’s Word.” Jesus “gives life” precisely because “He is life” (Ch.10).

Fr. Bernard O’Connor, a priest of the Diocese of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, is an official with the Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches

Peter Morris Finding a spiritual life which extends beyond the space of prayer Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life Author: Abbot Christopher Jamison Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson ISBN: 0297851322 £10.00 List Price: £10.00 Hardback 192 pages

ome may remember a BBC documentary a couple of years ago called, “The Monastery”, where five men entered Worth Abbey to tap into the monastic experience. The programme was a success and captured the imagination of a generation that has grown out of touch with their spiritual side or, probably more accurately put, their true self. “Finding Sanctuary” is the work of the Abbot of Worth, who featured in the programme, providing an introduction to some Benedictine principles.

Jamison starts his book with a critique of the modern way of life, the “busy-ness” of people these days, which blots out the voice of God and blinkers us to the plight of those close by. How many tunes do we neglect prayer because we think we cannot spare the time? Yet how many hours a week do we waste flicking through endless supplies of drivel on the television? He also points out the fact that we are fully responsible for this busyness that we are experiencing. “When I have said to people on retreat that they have chosen to be busy, they find this impossible to accept.” (p14)

Jamison describes the process of creating sanctuary by using the metaphor of building a house. The different materials or features used for its construction are the separate goals in the process that Jamison draws out.

Each “material” is explored in a separate chapter. They are: silence, contemplation, obedience, humility, community, spirituality, and hope. Each chapter is usually concluded with reference to the progress in construction. One may therefore suggest that a more appropriate title could be “Building Sanctuary”.

While reading the book for the first time, I could not get away from the fact that the author is far from being “out of touch” (as some consider monasticism and enclosed religious to be). Abbot Jamison sees people at their worst. People who are at crisis point in their life seek sanctuary and advice in his very monastery. In other words, he does not live in a vacuum.

A running theme throughout the book is that of finding fulfilment in your day-to-day living - not just in the high points or the times when you are in church (e.g. p23 & p152), encouraging the reader to step out of their habitual part-time piety and learning to discover that their spiritual life extends beyond the space of prayer

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(without of course diminishing its importance on the road to creating sanctuary in our life).

One strong point of the book is its accessibility. Jamison does not use too much technical language and his writing flows well. It is not a close commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, but a good introduction to some key themes. Jamison draws on other personalities from the monastic tradition - including the desert fathers, Theresa of Avila and Thomas Merton.

One of the most helpful features of the book is that each chapter ends with suggestions for further reading. The book thus acted, for me, as a springboard into other texts. This includes helpful websites, providing possibly a more immediate resource for the impatient reader!

I cannot recommend this book enough to anybody who feels there is a prayer-shaped hole in their life. If nothing else, it contains one of the best descriptions of lectio divina (a way of praying with a sacred text) I have ever read. I also recommend it to any person thinking about becoming an oblate of Pluscarden Abbey. The book drives home the fact that the Rule of St. Benedict is absolutely relevant to Christianity today.

Peter Morris is a student at Scotus College in Glasgow

Joanna Bogle “It is aimed at ordinary families and it talks their language” The Joy of God’s Plan DVD Publisher: Catholic Truth Society List price: £14.95

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ext year, 2008, will see the 40th anniversary of the encyclical Humanae Vitae, explaining why artificial contraception contravenes God’s law. This is exactly the right time for a new and attractive teaching aid to put across the Catholic message. Here is a full pack of resources, including a booklet and a film and Power Point-style presentation on DVD.

The DVD has couples speaking of how understanding their natural fertility patterns enriched their marriages,

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The Catholic Truth Society has just published a new Bible with notes and introductions by Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB, an eminent biblical scholar and member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and Liturgical introductions by Dom James Leachman OSB of the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy. Prices start at £10.00 for a compact hardbound edition.

and how love grows and develops as we come to understand God’s plan for our family lives. Introduced

by Archbishop Kevin McDonald of Southwark, this is material which teaches the Christian message - it is aimed at ordinary families and it talks their language.

There is a warm, friendly ‘everyday’ feeling to the message that emerges, both from a priest speaking about God’s love and the original plan for the human race, and from the different families we meet.

This material would be useful for marriage preparation groups - there’s nothing awkward or embarrassing to watch, everything is treated with a sense of respect and dignity, and the testimony of the families involved is powerful, as they show that the Christian idea is a practical one which works with the realities of human nature.

The Catholic Truth Society is to be commended for taking up the initiative started by Luton Good Counsel and producing this extremely useful teaching material.

Those training to be priests need to watch this - our diocesan seminaries should obtain copies - and it will be useful for Catholic young adult groups, and for RCIA classes.

With the pack comes a useful booklet Questions and Answers on Sex and Marriage, written by a doctor who draws on the experience of the questions put to him at marriage preparation classes. I have had young people complain to me over recent years that marriage preparation in their local parish or diocese was ‘simply a lot of slushy talk’ with no substance - sometimes the Church’s teaching on sex and fertility was glossed over or even made the subject of ridicule. It’s time for a change.

Joanna Bogle is a correspondent for the Catholic Times

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Father Ronald Walls’ Guide for happy young folk

ALL SAINTS This page is the Children’s Page. Grown-ups aren’t supposed to read it; they don’t need to, for they already know all that I am trying to explain to the young people. Of course maybe they want to check up that I am not talking nonsense. Anyway, I am writing specially for young people, and today I want to explain what we mean by the Feast of All Saints.

Who are the saints? We think first of all of men and women who have led saintly lives, that is they are people who have not done wicked things. More important, they have done very good things and have made many other people happy. They are people we would like to imitate, and sometimes we pray to them and ask them to help us to be like them.

When we were baptized we were given a name.

Often we say that a child has been called after its grandpa or its grannie or some other relative or friend – and that is nice – but we should also think of the child being called after the saint who has the same name. That saint will have a special interest in caring for the child as he or she grows up.

Talking of growing up: after baptism, the next sacrament we are supposed to receive is confirmation, and for that sacrament we have a sponsor, who is our earthly friend and helper, and we also choose a second name, the name of the saint whom we want as our special heavenly helper; and in prayer we should often ask that saint to help us.

But this feast day – All Saints – is not just about the saint whose name I bear or whom I chose when I was confirmed or indeed about any particular well-known saint, nor is it even just about the canonized saints, that is the saints who have been proved themselves to be very, very good people.

This feast day is of all saints – the great saints, the medium great saints and the not so very great saints. Who are these people?

St Paul wrote many letters to the early Christians, and he usually began these letters in this way: ‘To the saints in –wherever the town was’. Everyone who had been baptized in the name of Jesus, St Paul called a saint. And he was right: a saint is a man or woman or child who has been forgiven their sins and given the Holy Spirit of Christ. The Spirit of Jesus Christ lives in all baptized people and makes them blood brothers of Jesus. And so what makes someone a saint is not their goodness but their being a blood brother or sister of Jesus.

All baptized people are saints and the Feast of All Saints is the feast day of the whole family of God. On Sundays at the end of the Creed we say that we believe in ‘the communion of saints’. We believe that the Church is a great family in which everybody is trying to help everybody else. Even if we feel that we are not doing very well – maybe we lose our temper and are a bit selfish at times – still we are part of the family; and if we try our best to do good then our little bit will make the world a happier place, for we are all saints – especially young people - and Jesus lives in us so that we can help to take away sadness from the world. This year on the Feast of All Saints let us remember: it is not just the great saints that count. We all do - so cheer up.

The

Children Parents Extended family Everybody else in the world and in heaven

of God

Light of the North

humour

Humour from the Vestry Humour serves to destabilise the ego. This is why laughter is essential to religion. It cuts a person down to size. Humour is the first step to humility.

Mixed Up Kids ‘Today, children we are going to say a new prayer - Hail Mary ...’ and the children responded, ‘Quite contrary ...’

Eve's Pudding A Sunday school teacher, after telling her class about the creation of the world, asked the children the name of the first woman on earth. Getting no reply she offered a clue. “It has something to do with an apple,” she said.

A little boy at the back of the class called out, “Was it Granny Smith.”

A Way With Words “The congregation's a bit thin on the ground this morning,” said the Priest.

“Did you tell them I was preaching?”

“No, Father, I didn’t,’ replied the Sacristan. “But you know how word gets about”.

A Well-known Monk A wandering monk walked barefoot everywhere he went, to the point that the soles of his feet eventually became quite thick and leathery.

And because he ate very little, he gradually became very frail. Several days often passed between opportunities to brush his teeth, so he usually had bad breath. Therefore, throughout the region, he came to be known as the supercalloused fragile mystic plagued with halitosis.

Poor Attendance Preacher: “How come I never see you in church anymore, Morris?”

Poor Attendance Morris: “There are too many hypocrites there, Reverend.”

Preacher: “Don’t worry, Morris; there’s always room for one more.”

Cop With A Collar A young clergyman, fresh out of seminary, thought it would help him better understand the fears and temptations his future congregations faced if he first took a job as a policeman

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for several months. He passed the physical examination; then came the oral exam to test his ability to act quickly and wisely in an emergency. Among other questions he was asked, “What would you do to disperse a frenzied crowd?” He thought for a moment and then said, “I would take up a collection.”

Hear hear!

At a crowded Parish Council meeting the Priest asked, “Can you all hear me at the back?”. A voice from the back said, “Yes, I can hear you but I don’t mind changing with somebody who can’t”.

Charity begins in the garden!

Father Mark looked out of his window and saw an old wayfarer on his knees eating the grass on the front lawn. “My good man,” he cried. “Whatever are you doing there?” “Well Father,” the man replied. “I’m so hungry that I’m eating the grass.”

“Then go into the back garden,” said the priest. “You’ll find it longer round there.”

And So Say All Of Us! The priest was old, very devout, but sometimes far away during the service. One Sunday at Mass, and just before he reached the creed there was complete silence so the altar server went across to him, touched his arm gently and whispered, “I believe in one God, father.”

“So do I ,” replied the priest happily - “so do I.” Praise Be Sign spotted on the wall of a church: “Please don’t leave your personal things unattended lest someone assumes that these are the answer to their prayers.”

Fourteen Out Of Twelve’s Not Bad! The parish priest was ill in hospital and was visited by his sacristan who said, "Father we had a meeting of the Parish Council last night and a resolution put forward wishing you a speedy recovery was passed by 14 votes to 12”.

Not What You Think Father Jones is going on holiday next Saturday - could all SCIAF boxes be handed into the presbytery by Friday evening at the latest".

Off Key A former choir member was asked why she had given up singing in the Diocesan choir. “I was away one Sunday,”she replied, “and somebody asked if the organ had been repaired.”

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Light of the North

Three word puzzles especially for ‘All Saints’ Solve the pairs of clues to generate a letter. Arrange the letters in the puzzle to form the name of a saint. Then put the names in order and, to demonstrate that you are using more than guesswork, decide what is the next name in the sequence. Good luck!

PUZZLE ONE: a i) Male deer ( _ _ _ _ ) ii) Natural blood pump ( _ _ _ _ _ ) b i) Alcoholic drink ( _ _ _ _ ) ii) Pig ( _ _ _ _ _ ) c i) Options, preferences ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) ii) Best, most select eg cuts ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) d i) Type of tyre ( _ _ _ _ _ _ ) ii) Fundamental, relating to the root ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) e i) Wounded or killed with a gun ( _ _ _ _ ) ii) Loud cry ( _ _ _ _ _ ) PUZZLE TWO: a i) Foam made with water and soap ( _ _ _ _ _ _ ) ii) Treated skin of cow etc. ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) b i) Separated, split, distributed ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) ii) Share in profits eg from the Co-op ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) c i) What a green activist might do to a tree ( _ _ _ ) ii) Enormous, vast ( _ _ _ _ ) d i) Cube with dots on each face ( _ _ _ ) ii) Cubes with dots on each face ( _ _ _ _ ) e i) Concessive conjunction ( _ _ _ _ _ _ ) ii) Conceived, imagined ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) f i) Manual land worker, a rustic ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) ii) Nice, agreeable ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) g i) Deep unconsciousness ( _ _ _ _ ) ii) Punctuation mark ( _ _ _ _ _ ) PUZZLE THREE: a i) Hidden, secret ( _ _ _ _ _ _ ) ii) Change eg to natural gas or catholicism ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) b i) Pulling; sketching ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) ii) Saying in a slow, sleepy manner ( _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ) c i) Shape, pattern; school class ( _ _ _ _ ) ii) A funny thing happened to me on the way to the ... ( _ _ _ _ _ ) d i) Expression of pleasure or amusement made with the mouth ( _ _ _ _ _ ) ii) Figure of speech eg like a lion ( _ _ _ _ _ _ ) e i) What monarchs do ( _ _ _ _ _ ) ii) What republicans wish monarchs would do ( _ _ _ _ _ _ )

To win a copy of the new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church send your completed entry, together with your name, address and telephone number to the Light of the North, Ogilvie Institute, 16 Huntly Street, AB10 1SH. First correct entry drawn out of the hat is the winner.

Congratulations to our last competition winner, Miss Margaret Kessack from Elgin Crossword 5

Name ...........................................

Address ................................................. ............................................ ..................................................... .....................................................

Telephone ....................................

Crossword

Across: 1. Mass given by Neptune’s spear in East. (10) 6. Loch inspired by the Lord. (3) 7. Cathar habit conceals a woman from Jericho. (Jos.) (5) 9. Found before in Royal David’s City. (4) 10. Prophet who sounds like a peat-bog! (4) 11. Am I Greek? Yes! 13. Drink nothing up – it’s a precious stone. (4) 17. One of those who brought gifts to the infant Jesus. (5) 18. It’s such a long time, and it makes one confused. (3) 19. A Grey Friar. (def.) (10) Down: 1. Found between the arcade and the clerestory in a cathedral. (def.) (9) 2. A CA is confused, being Sarah’s son. (5) 3. Prime minister was Adam’s home. (4) 4. The Temple bronzesmith Hiram came from here. (1 Kings, 7) 5. Once reorganised, this prophet becomes human. (5) 8. Herb I am able to describe in the form of many churches. (9) 12. Animal that burned bright at night, according to Blake. (5) 14. What is caused by the goat-footed god? (5) 15. What Mary gave us. (Luke, 2) (1,3) 16. He was called from the tax office. (Mark, 2) (4)

Last issue’s solution Across: 1Boniface; 4 Bee; 6 Iona; 7 Bede; 8 example; 10 Modan; 12 Arculf; 14 Marnan; 15 Tillo; 16 blessed ; 19 Osma; 20 Oran; 21 Yea; 22 Servanus.

Down: 1 Bride; 2 Nynia; 3 Clare; 4 Brendan; 5 Eternan ; 9 left; 11 Emil; 12 Anthony; 13 Columba; 16 Blane ; 17 Seren; 18 Denis.

Rome

Light of the North

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Sister Janet Fearns FMDM works with the English Programme of Vatican Radio. She also has her own website called Pause for Prayer : http://pauseforprayer.blogspot.com

Roman Bus Blues

the 23 bus route and the driver has fallen asleep whilst waiting for his departure time, or he has been chatting o. I do not have a love affair with the with his colleagues, who are thereby also delayed, or he has decided to buy a bottle of water or a packet of ciganumber 23 bus! rettes…but then, I’ve also been on the 23 bus when the For a start, in the early morning, a long line driver stopped appropriately at the traffic lights, opened of people at the bus stop is just as likely to say that the the door and rushed out to buy a packet of cigarettes at the roadside newsagent’s stall! previous bus did not appear as By the time he returned, the to inform me that one is due at long line of frustrated car any second. drivers, prevented from moving when the traffic lights Secondly, there is nothing to changed to green, retaliated let me know whether or not in time-honoured Italian the missing bus will be part of fashion and made their irritaa convoy or not. If there is a tion known to the world by strike planned for later on in sounding their horns at full the week, then it is quite likely and uninterrupted volume. that the previous days will be Unperturbed, the bus driver marked by protests in which simply made some impolite the only ones who suffer are gestures to his fellow road usthe passengers. Hence, buses ers and resumed the journey! will be driven in convoy, regardless of the published timeThen there are the Saturdays table, so that their drivers will Waiting for that elusive number 23 bus! and holidays, when the bus have covered their required is as likely to come early as number of journeys during the course of a shift and can late and will be driven as if it were a taxi heading towards then go home…even if they manage to complete their seven trips in the space of a couple of hours and leave the Labour Ward with a woman imminently likely to the general public waiting for a vehicle that will not ar- give birth inside the vehicle. In such situations, the daily rive. Equally, I have been sitting on a bus and the driver journey between St. Paul’s basilica and St. Peter’s, which has suddenly folded up his newspaper and declared that normally takes anything up to half-an-hour, can be coveverybody must disembark. He is on strike and wants to ered in seven minutes and woe betide anybody who does not hold on for dear life, especially when a pedestrian is take the bus back to the depot! sufficiently foolhardy as to try to cross the road. Brakes Thirdly, when the bus does arrive on the scene, it is touch are slammed on with maximum force. The vehicle stops and go if it will stop or if the driver will continue talking within inches. The pedestrian saunters along the zeinto his mobile phone with such passion that he does not bra crossing, oblivious of the impact on the passengers see the stop and will drive past his waiting and increas- who are thrown around the bus by the emergency stop. ingly frustrated passengers. Mind you, that is slightly Meanwhile the bus driver shrugs his shoulders and lights more comforting than sitting inside and watching the his next cigarette. driver speak into his hands-free mouthpiece, but still using both of his hands to gesticulate wildly, even if it No. I do not have a love affair with the number 23 bus, but it does make a safe arrival at my destination a cause means lifting them from the steering wheel! for fervent prayers of gratitude.

There is that pleasing moment when the bus arrives, albeit late, because ‘my’ stop is the second after the end of

N

Ogilvie Institute

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Light of the North

Ogilvie Institute Ogilvie Institute Ogilvie Institute

M

y name is Cordelia Francis. I was received into the Catholic Church five years ago at the age of 59.

I enjoyed the time I spent at RCIA and learned a great deal. In the following years I was invited to join the group to help support others who had shown an interest in becoming members of the church. I did this willingly. However, I knew that I wanted and needed to know more about what we believe. I saw an advert in the Scottish Catholic Observer offering the course “Certificate in Catechesis” and realised it was

just what I was looking for. I spent two years doing the course and now have a more profound knowledge of my faith and feel more “qualified” to speak about it to others.Two years seems a long time but I was able to do this even though I have a family and am a full time teacher. The course doesn’t just deal with RCIA but helps with preparing children for the Sacraments and I would also recommend it for people who would just like to learn more about their faith.

Cordelia

Top ten resources from the Ogilvie Institute 1

Guy Gaucher, The Spiritual Journey of St Therese of Lisieux

6

B. Elliot and J. Lang, Amazing facts from the Bible - A children’s fun book of knowledge

2

Peter Schmidt, How to read the Gospels

7

Maria Tarnawska, Saint Sister Faustina

3

David Wells, Guilt-Free Parenting (video)

8

Joseph Ratzinger, An Introduction to Christianity

4

Knowing God better (video)

9

Dom Hugh Gilbert OSB, Unfolding the Mystery

5

Allan Lancashire, Journeys of Faith

10

Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth

MARYVALE COURSES OFFERED IN SCOTLAND

OGILVIE WORKSHOPS

Certificate for Parish Catechists Studies in the Catholic Catechism Listening to the Word BA in Applied Theology Diploma in Evangelisation and Ministry Art Beauty & Inspiration in a Catholic Perspective

Workshops on Spirituality Workshops for Readers Workshops for Auxiliary Ministers of Holy Communion Workshops on Liturgy Workshops for Catechists Workshops on Catholic Social Teaching Workshops on Catholic Faith and Culture Workshops on Scottish Catholic History Workshops for training Echoes Coordinators

If you would like further information on any of the above courses contact the Ogilvie Institute, 16 Huntly Street, Aberdeen AB10 1SH, Tel 01224 638675, Email: director@ogilvie.ac.uk Director: Deacon Tony Schmitz Courses Coordinator: Mary Nelson

Have you seen the Ogilvie Institute’s new website?

Just go to www.ogilvie.ac.uk to learn about all the great courses and workshops on offer, such as the ‘Listening to the Word’ scripture course or the ‘Parish Catechists’ course. You can also find out about forthcoming events, and soon you will have complete access to the Ogilvie Library which is currently being uploaded to our site.