Light of the North Issue 20

DON’T BE LEFT IN THE DARK Page 1

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GET THE LIGHT OF THE NORTH Light of the Nortth

I am the Light of the World Bishop Hugh introduces Pope Benedict’s “Year of Faith” Page 4 E a c h c o py of th he L ig g h t of th h e N o r th h co o s tss ovv e r a p o u n d to o prr odu u c e a n d w e w oull d a s k y o u t o con n s id der this iff y o u w ish h to o m a k e a d o n a tii on.

AOS Port Chaplains - Extending the hand of friendship Page 22

Is sue 20, Su mme r, 2012 Installation of “ Icon of the Resurrection” at St Mary’s, Beauly Page 23

“Someone to Watch Over Me” Win the latest Susan Boyle CD Page 34

Oc tob YE A er 20 R O 12 - N F FA ove IT mb H er 20 13

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A quarterly magazine produced and published by the Diocese of Aberdeen R.C. Diocese of Aberdeen Charitable Trust, a registered Scottish Charity no. SC005122

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Light of the North

his issue’s cover features a work entitled “The Transfiguration of Christ” (c. 1455) by the Venetian artist, Giovanni Bellini, the founder of the Venetian Renaissance school of painting.

Giovanni was born in 1430 to a family of painters.

His father was Jacopo Bellini, a great early Venetian master of International Gothic painting. His brother, Gentile Bellini, was also a painter and his sister, Nicolasina, married Andrea Mantegna, who was the major master painter of Padua and whose painting of the“Death of Christ” was on the cover of the spring issue of the “Light of the North”.

The Transfiguration is a rare event in the Gospels because it is a revelation of the godly nature of Christ.

All through the life of Jesus, doubt remained on this aspect of his person, a doubt which could only be solved by the mystery of faith. It was a scene which had to remain private and the disciples were forbidden to talk about it until after Jesus’ death.

This is the second and final version of the subject

by Bellini. As his career continued, Giovanni became famed as a landscape painter. His ability to portray outdoor light was so skillful that the viewer can tell, not only the season of the year, but also almost the hour of the day. In his “Transfiguration” the afternoon is well advanced : at the left a farmer leads an ox and goat past a monastery on a crag that is already darkening in the evening shadows.

The composition has been conceived according to a stratified, ascending movement culminating in the figure of Christ, who is clothed in an ethereal, white robe. The folds of the robes of all the figures are painted in sophisticated detail.

Christ stands in the centre of this landscape, his hands and head silhouetted against the shining white clouds. The flanking figures of Moses and Elijah have all the majesty of the Old Testament. They are painted as patriarchs with long white beards, long flowing white hair, and both are dressed in light red cloaks. They are the wise men that dwell near to God. They are depicted in full geometrical symmetry, which continues in the two trees near the figures of the prophets. Jesus holds his arms open; Elijah holds

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one outstretched arm in a movement that continues to Moses who holds his hand to his heart. These two gestures link the prophets together around Jesus.

Before this group the three apostles have fallen to the ground. Peter, James and John are seen blinded by the vision before them. The apostle Peter lies in the middle, James is on the left and his younger brother John is on the right. Surprise and fear show in the gesture of James. In these figures also is strong symmetry, broken only by a tree trunk which is just out of our frame on the left. The trunk serves a purpose. The cut tree is a symbol of life without Jesus and of the punishment that awaits the sinner.

A sapling fence moves diagonally across the foreground, and immediately behind it a rift separates viewer and scene. The view is held from a bridge or path that runs on the other side of the rift so that the spectator is only allowed a distant view of the opposite landscape. This underlines the mystery of the Transfiguration scene in which two worlds are represented: we see the world of Jesus and the heavens on one side, where the aspects of architecture, roads, meadows and especially the far, grey hills, are brightly lit; on the left, our earthly world remains separate and in partial darkness.

Bellini is focusing here on the contrast between life and death. It is not a coincidence that the tree on the dark left side seems dead and is without leaves, whereas the tree on the full bright right has luxurious foliage and disappears into the skies.

Bellini emphasises space, dignity and strong symmetrical composition in a painting which is rich insymbolic meaning, one of the greatest masterpieces of late fifteenth century painting in Venice.

As for the artist himself, although little is known of him personally, this glowing description by the German Renaissance painter, Albrecht Dürer would seem to suffice: “Everyone tells me what an upright man he is, so that I am really fond of him. He is very old, and still he is the best painter of them all.”

Cowan Watson

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Light of the North

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contents

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obituary 10 liturgy 11

educationandformation 12

faithinaction 22 faithandculture 23

humour 33

crossword 34

Westminster 35

Light of the North Managing Editor Deacon Tony Schmitz Editor Cowan Watson Editorial Advisor Canon Bill Anderson Advertising Sandra Townsley 01463 831 133 Sedstown@aol.com

Light of the North Ogilvie Centre 16 Huntly Street Aberdeen AB10 1SH 01224 638675 lightofthenorthmagazine@gmail.com www.lightofthenorth.org

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Midsummer musings

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f course, when you come to read this, the whole Diocese of Aberdeen may be basking in brilliant sunshine under a blue sky but, as I write this editorial the words, “Into every life a little rain must fall�, are the ones which spring to mind. I wondered at first if that phrase was coined from Scripture but in fact it comes from a line in a poem by Henry Longfellow, later popularised in a song by the “Inkspots� with Ella Fitzgerald and released in 1945!

Still, there are plenty of references to rain in the Bible, about 94 all told, including my favourite from Matthew (5:45): “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.� (Needless to say, it’s the just who tend to get wetter, the unjust having stolen their umbrellas!) But rain is much like grace. Like rain it can be wild, generous and unpredictable and no one is more worthy of it than anyone else. If we are fortunate, it’s not because we’re particularly deserving, spiritually or any other way. If we’re suffering, it’s not because we merit it, nor does it mean that God doesn’t exist.

Rather, it’s because God is like that. He just seems to love without reason, to love in some mysterious sense that at the same time doesn’t deny suffering and loss but is somehow present in it—if God is like that—then we have to be like that, too. Is that not what the Gospel is saying? Love like that. Be like the sun. Be like the rain. “Rain� on everybody, whether they deserve it or not. A tall order but then Christianity is the most radical of faiths and Jesus never said it would be easy!

Now, enough of these ramblings and to the important task in hand.

This October marks the start of “A Year of Faith� to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catholic Catechism.

Overleaf you’ll find Bishop Hugh has written an explanatory introduction to the opportunities for faith development which this year is offering us. On page 12, Marianist John Samaha casts a look back to the origins of Vatican II and reflects on the dynamic teachings of the Council which are still being implemented today. On page 14, Petroc Willey, Deputy Director of Maryvale Institute and a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelisation, explains why the Catechism is so important for the life of the Church today. We also have a faith-inspiring account of a modern-day “miracle� recorded by Fr Bernard O’Connor on page 15 and, in a lighter vein, there’s an opportunity to win a copy of Susan Boyle’s latest album in our ever popular crossword and Sudoku competition on page 34.

Happy holidays Cowan

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Light of the North

The Year of Faith Hugh Gilbert OSB Bishop of Aberdeen

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he Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has called for a Year of Faith.

It will begin on 11 October 2012, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the 2nd Vatican Council. It will end on the solemnity of Christ the King on 24 November 2013.

The opening date also coincides with the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

There are several levels to this Year.

At a first level, the Year of Faith is commemorating that decisive, Spirit-inspired event which was the 2nd Vatican Council. This was the 21st Ecumenical Council in the long history of the Church. The bishops, theologians and others who were actors in it met for 4 sessions between October 1962 and December 1965. It was presided over first by Bl. John XXIII and then by Paul VI. It left us a wealth of teaching and inspiration in 16 documents. Bl. John Paul II described the Council as ‘the great grace bestowed on the Church in the 20th century’, and as ‘a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning’. So this Year of Faith is an opportunity to refresh our knowledge of what the Council taught as doctrine and proposed for action. We can ask ourselves, as individuals and together, how far we have taken it on board, ‘realised’ it in the sense of making it real in our own lives and that of our parishes and diocese. As Pope Benedict has said, ‘if we interpret and implement [the Council] guided by a right hermeneutic, it can be and can become increasingly powerful for the ever necessary renewal of the Church.’

At the same time, this Year commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

This has proved a valuable resource. It has been followed up by the much shorter Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, by YouCat, a catechism for young people, and by various national catechisms. It is one of the major contributors to This is Our Faith, the guide for the teaching of the faith in Catholic schools in Scotland. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, on the whole very successfully, lays out the full range of Catholic belief in a way both rooted in Scripture and Tradition and accessible. It has a theological integrity to it. It isn’t just a collection of separate items to be believed or done, something which could come across as oppressive and disheartening. Rather, it gives a coherent vision of the faith as it is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed in the Church. I know many people who find in it inspiration for their personal lives and prayer. And it is of course a powerful instrument for sharing our faith with others, with both young and old, with those already Catholic and those seeking to become so.

There is a still deeper level to this Year. It is a Year of Faith. Faith has two dimensions. It is a personal acceptance of the truth and love of God revealed in Christ. It’s ‘the act by which we choose to entrust ourselves fully to God, in complete freedom’, a ‘choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him’ (Pope Benedict XVI). It opens us to a relationship with Christ. At the same time, it is an acceptance of the faith as it has been transmitted to us from the time of the Apostles and is professed by the whole Church. It involves knowledge of the content of the faith.

These two dimensions are closely linked. If I am committed to someone, have faith in them (as in the first sense), it would be odd to have no interest in knowing about them (as in the second sense). Indeed, I’m committed to them precisely because of what I know, and the more I know the more I can be committed. In human relationships, of course, there’s always uncertainty.

We can betray each other. But God we can trust absolutely, and eternity will not be too long to get to know him. The Year of Faith will be a time for simultaneously getting to know better our mysterious God and for entrusting ourselves ever more to his merciful love.

As Christians and Catholics we can feel somewhat beleaguered. We are constantly reminded of the failings of the Church, sometimes truthfully, sometimes not. We often feel incapable of finding good arguments in defence of some of the Church’s positions. The others can seem to have all the best tunes. Here too the Year of Faith can help us. After we renew our baptismal faith at the Easter Vigil, the celebrant proclaims: ‘This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ If at the end of the Year of Faith, each of us can feel a little more of that pride, can profess our faith more resonantly and resolutely, it won’t have been wasted.

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And at the practical level?

Shortly after the Pope announced the Year of Faith, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith offered some pastoral recommendations: for the Church as a whole, for Bishops’ conferences, for dioceses and finally for parishes, communities, associations and movements.

At the national level, three bishops have been tasked with drawing up some proposals, Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley, Joseph Toal of Argyll and the Isles and myself. We are meeting shortly with a group of mainly lay people to forward this.

At the diocesan level, the Year will open with a celebration of Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral, Aberdeen, on the evening of 11th October, and on the following day at St Mary’s, Inverness. Several other initiatives are being discussed including a Youth Festival and a diocese-wide Conference. But what will happen at the parish level is the most decisive. The Pope’s Letter, Porta Fidei (the Door of Faith), is a good starting point for discussion.

It is available through the Vatican website and the Catholic Truth Society.

The phrase, ‘the Door of Faith’, comes from Acts 14:27. Paul and Barnabas, after their missionary journey, return to their base at Antioch and recount how God

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had opened a ‘door of faith to the Gentiles’. In ch. 16 comes the story of Lydia, a woman from Thyatira, a businesswoman dealing in purple-dyed cloth, and a Gentile sympathetic to Judaism. She listens to Paul preaching, and ‘the Lord opened her heart to give heed to’ what Paul was saying (Acts 16:14). She and her household were baptized, and then offered hospitality to Paul and his companions. The grace the Lord is offering, through this ‘sacramental’ of the Year of Faith, is precisely that of opening our hearts to the word of the Lord and our lives to one another. Let us first of all pray for its success.

Will you be there?

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oung people from all around the world will be converging on the CITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO for World Youth Day 2013. At the last WYD 2011 in Madrid the Holy Father, Pope Benedict, hoped that he would greet another large gathering of Catholic young people in RIO DE JANEIRO. Planning is well under way. The Diocese of Aberdeen has reserved15 places. We are pledged to take 15 pilgrims to Rio. If the demand is greater we will book more places.

The Pilgrimage will include two elements: 1)17th -22nd July - Missionary Week working in the parishes (formally known as Days in the Diocese) There is a great deal of obvious poverty in Rio. You may expect to be sharing your faith in a very practical way.

2) 23rd-31st July - Main Programme in Rio. There will be Catechesis, Cultural Events, Stations of the Cross, Masses, an all night Vigil and Closing Ceremonies with Pope Benedict.

Who is going?

The age range is from 18 years to 35 years. But, surprise, surprise some oldies are going. They are young in heart and involved with young people as pastors and leaders.

To find out more visit the Diocesan website at www.dioceseofaberdeen.org but, if you would like to go, you’ll have to act quickly!

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Mgr McDonald shares jubilee honours with Her Majesty!

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First Communions 2012 in Aviemore Damian and Fiona celebrate their First Communion with Fr. Derick McCulloch at St. Aidan’s, Aviemore

Newman Association

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nother year has just ended for the Aberdeen Circle of the Newman Association. We’re pleasedto report that once again we managed toprovideaprogrammethathasbeenvaried,informative and enjoyable.

Two sessions, in particular, attracted a larger than usual audience. The first was last September, when Fr Stuart Chalmers came down from Inverness to give a presentation on the Revised Missal Translation. This session saw several people journeying in from outlying parishes as well as from the City. The attendance was an indication not only of the regard in which our speaker is held, but also of the importance of the topic. Fr Stuart’s own obvious enthusiasm for the improved translation and its fidelity to the original Latin conveyed itself to his audience who appeared on the whole to share his acceptance of the revised Missal.

Then in March, Fr John Keenan, Glasgow University Chaplain, travelled up from Glasgow to give a presentation on Pope John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body”. This is a subject which Fr John has lectured extensively on. His passion for this wonderful material was infectious and stimulated an appropriate reaction from his audience.

n June 29th, Mgr Robert McDonald celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood – ‘competing with the Queen’, as he put it. Fr Robert, who now lives in retirement at St Mary’s, Fochabers, has served the people and priests of this diocese in many capacities and places: Aberdeen, Kirkwall, Dornie, Elgin and Inverness. His gentle courtesy, love of folk and attachment to duty have won the hearts of many.

As a Benedictine Oblate, he celebrated his Diamond Jubilee at Pluscarden Abbey, with the community, some local friends, the Vicar General, Fr Stuart Chalmers, and Bishop Hugh. In the evening, the community kept a Gaudeamus in his honour.

We were especially pleased to have a number of younger people present, due in large part to Bishop Hugh who had encouraged his seminar participants to attend, Fr John had limited time in which to present such a huge topic and left us hungry for more and we hope to take up at a later date his suggestion for a day-long follow-up workshop with which he would be happy to be involved.

Watch this space!

Fr John Keenan with members of the audience

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After attending a three day training course last October Stephanie Scott has been been running “Godly Play” sessions every week at St. Joseph’s PrimarySchool in Aberdeen. Stephanie explains:

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Then the children have the chance to respond to the Word in a myriad of ways. Some of these ways include using art and craft materials, reading a Bible story, dancing in the dance corner, or building with materials such as “lego”, “play-doh” or building blocks.

As they leave the session, the children will participate in the last order of worship which is the sending out of God’s people into the world. Each child will be given a special blessing as they leave to be God’s disciples in their Godly Play.

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odly Play presents a joyful way for children to worship God. It invites children and adults to experience the wonder and mystery of God through a unique storytelling format and multi-sensory materials. It makes a special place where children can come to encounter God, to be still with God and to listen to God. It is a place where children come to nurture their spiritual life.

To begin, the children are welcomed into a special worship space, to a storyteller waiting for them with a smile on her face. They sit in a circle, surrounded by Bible stories made just for them, with all materials at their height. Everything in this special place is accessible to the children. This special coming together of the children follows the first order of worship, the gathering of God’s people to hear God’s word.

Next they will hear the word proclaimed through a Bible story told with multi-sensory materials that children with all different learning styles can value and enjoy. As the story is finished the children are invited to enter into a time of wonder about the story. They are asked “wondering questions” to help them dive deeper into the meaning of the story and to listen for God’s still voice that is found there.

Stephanie leads a Godly Play session at St Joseph’s Primary School, Aberdeen A Godly Play Discovery Day Workshop to learn about this way of engaging with children’s imagination in telling stories from the Bible will be held on Saturday 25th August from 10.30am to 3.45pm at St Mary’s CathedralHall, Huntly Street, Aberdeen. The workshop costs £12.00 and if you’d like to take part you can register online at: admin@godlyplayscotland.co.uk.

Places are limited so it’s advisable to book early.

Birthday celebrations at Bishop’s House

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ishop Hugh was joined by Bishop’s House staff and some ‘old’ friends from Pluscarden Abbey when he celebrated his 60th birthday. The children from St Joseph’s Primary School were on hand to present him with a very special hand-made birthday card.

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Diocesan pilgrimage to Pluscarden Abbey

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he annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to Pluscarden Abbey took place on Sunday 24th June (The Feast day of the Birth of John the Baptist).

Despite the inclement weather the Abbey church was packed with pilgrims. Unfortunately, the traditional Marian procession to St Benedict’s garden and the shrine of Our Lady after the Pilgrimage Mass had to be abandoned but there were many other highlights in the day including some fine music which was provided by the Diocesan Choir and the African Choir. It was alsoheartening to see so many young people actively participating in the Mass.

Bishop Hugh’s homily on St John the Baptist, one of the Abbey’s patronal saints, was also well received which he concluded with the following words: “‘His name is John,’ He’s a wonderful gift of God, alive in Christ, close to us. In this Eucharist, we can lift up our hearts and give thanks for him. We hear his everlasting voice at every Mass: ‘Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.’ And if we go out from here with his fire in our hearts, the rain won’t have mattered at all, and our pilgrimage will have been worthwhile.

St. John the Baptist, pray for the married, pray for the single, pray for all of us!”

Photographer: Martin Gardner

Midsummer Fundraising Ball for Aberdeen City care home

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berdeen’s Beach Ballroom was the venue for a fund-raising ball for Northcote Lodge, a new non-profit-making care home which is under construction on the city’s Craigton Road.

The Ball was hailed a great success with good food and an equally good toe-tapping dance band.

On the night a grand total of £2,839.62 was raised which will be used to buy such items as lamps, pictures and garden furniture to help turn the new facility into a real home for its 60 residents.

The two main raffle prizes, a £500.00 voucher from Booths of Inverurie and a painting by the artist, Sandra Lister, and donated by Archbishop Mario Conti , were won by Catenians, Roddy McNeil and Mario Vicca.

Northcote Lodge will serve as a replacement for Nazareth Care Home and should come into service early in 2013.

It’s all glamour and glitz at the Mid-summer Charity Ball

Calling young photographers The Diocese is running a photographic competition on the theme “The Diocese through the eyes of Youth”. Fourteen pictures will be chosen to be included in the Diocesan Calendar for 2013. There will also be prizes of £100, £50 and £25 for the best three entries. To register for the competition and obtain further details contact: joyce@rcd-abdn.org.

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Completion of church for Andhra Pradesh

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n 2010, parishioners from the Bridge of Don, Jo and Paul Costello and Margaret Duncan, visited Fr. James Puppady at his parish in Viyayawada Diocese, Andhra Pradesh. Margaret had met Fr. James during his time in Aberdeen when he was working in the Holy Family parish and had kept in touch with him.

Fr. James was responsible for a large parish, encompassing one central church and seventeen outstations. He had only one newly ordained priest to assist him in his many duties. Apart from the main parish church, the churches in the villages were little more than large store rooms or grass roofed huts; mass was usually celebrated outdoors with a makeshift altar consisting of packing cases and parishioners sat on rice sacks on the ground. Fr. James determined that he would build a new church in each village and successfully completed ten new churches with sponsorship money from Catholic charities in Italy or Germany.

In 2010 when Jo, Paul and Margaret visited one of the villages, they were shocked to see the poor state of repair of the hut currently used for mass and promised to raise enough money to build a new church which would be dedicated by the time they returned the following year.

A charity was set up and the trio began fund raising in earnest. The usual raffles were held and they also visited a number of parishes where they gave Power Point presentations of life in the villages. Paul came up with the idea of costing the building materials and offering people the chance to sponsor bricks, bags of sand and cement; doors; windows and furnishings and statues for the church which proved to be popular. Fr. James is a powerhouse of energy and before long he was sending photos of the progress of the new church.

They returned the following year in time for the dedication of the church by the local bishop. The villagers proudly chose the name St. Columba’s after its counterpart thousands of miles away in chilly Scotland and a statue of the saint holds pride of place. Jo, Paul and Margaret, accompanied by a band, walked with Bishop Prakash through the village where they were met by the sight of the new church illuminated by hundreds of tiny coloured lights and a rapturous crowd. The local Hindu population turned out too to enjoy the celebrations. After the mass of dedication, a delicious meal was served in the traditional way on coconut palm leaves.

Fr. James and his parishioners wish to thank all those kind people in Aberdeen who so gave so generously. It has made such a difference to the villagers as they now have a fitting place of worship which is also used as a centre for catechesis and Bible study. God bless you all!

The new Church of St Columba’s , lit by a dazzling array of lights to mark the occasion of its dedication

Statue of St Columba, especially garlanded for the occasion

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he Catholic community in Aberdeen was saddenedearlier this year to learn of the death ofElsieHammondwho passed away in March after a short illness.

Elsie was born in Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow, in 1926.

She married William Hammond in Glasgow in 1952 and they moved to Aberdeeen four years later. For many years, Elsie and Bill contributed to the pastoral and spiritual life of St.Mary’s Cathedral.

Elsie combined raising their young family with attending the Associates of the Sacred Heart, the Catholic Women’s League and the Ladies Circle. She also enjoyed the prayer meetings at 23 Huntly Street run by Sisters Molly and Bernice Moran.

Bill was both a passkeeper and Eucharist Minister, but will be best remembered for his work as a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, serving as President of St. Mary’s Conference at the time of his sudden death during Mass in 1986.

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Despite declining health, Elsie continued to attend the Seniors Club and as an Associate of the Sacred Heart, maintained a connection with the Convent at Queen’s Cross which spanned well over 50 years.

Elsie was a devoted mother and grandmother, and good friend to many.

Elsie Hammond Elsie’s daughters, Frances and Margaret, predeceased her. She is survived by her sons John, Peter and Philip and her ten grandchildren. Her Requiem Mass took place in the Cathedral on April 11th. May she rest in peace.

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was a very engaging person with a great sense of humour.

“He was very compassionate which made him an excellent priest. He was much loved by his congregation wherever he served.”

Towards the end of his time at the Sacred Heart, Father John was instrumental in laying the foundations for the new St John Ogilvie’s Church in the parish of Wester Hailes, which was established in 1970.

Friends said they had great admiration for Father John, and appreciated the great job he did for the church.

Away from the church, he had a great fondness for books, his favourite subject being Scottish literature, while he was also keen on history, particularly of the Catholic Church.

He often enjoyed time in the Highlands, where he eventually moved to spend the final years of his career, retiring in 1998 after serving as parish priest at St Aidan’s Church in Aviemore, Inverness-shire, where the congregation thought very highly of him.

Before that, however, he headed for Aberdeen after leaving Wester Hailes, taking over the Sacred Heart Church in the Torry area of Aberdeen between 1981 and 1986.

After Father John’s retirement he moved back to Edinburgh to live at St Joseph’s House care home in Gilmore Place, where he died on Sunday, May 27.

He was a beloved brother of Sarah and Mary and a much-loved uncle.

His funeral took take place at the Sacred Heart Church in Lauriston Street, Edinburgh on the 7th June. (www.scotsman.com)

ributeshavebeenpaidtoFatherJohnMcQuade SJ, a priest who oversaw parishes in Lauriston Street and Wester Hailes, after he passed away at the age of 93.

Father McQuade was born in the rural village of Caldercruix in North Lanarkshire on March 3, 1919, the son of John and Kathleen McQuade.

He was educated at Our Lady’s High School in Motherwell before moving to Oxfordshire, where he studied philosophy and theology at Heythrop College.

He was there from 1940 to 1952, taking a five-year gap at one point to teach at Mount St Mary’s College near Chesterfield.

By then, in 1936, he had joined the Jesuits and was ordained in 1950.

After graduating, Father McQuade moved into teaching full time at St John’s Preparatory School in Hertfordshire, where he remained between 1953 and 1958.

It was following that spell that he came north to Edinburgh after being appointed as parish priest at the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Lauriston Street.

He spent 20 years there and was fondly remembered by his congregation.

One colleague Father John McQuade SJ recalled: “Father John

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The Necessity of Faith Hugh Gilbert OSB Bishop of Aberdeen

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e live under God’s gaze. “The Lord is always looking down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any understanding or seeking God” (Ps 13.2). “The Lord searches minds and hearts” (Ps 7:10). “The Lord knows the thoughts of men” (Ps 93.11). St Benedict, in the cave, “lived with himself, alone under the eyes of the heavenly Watcher”.

This ‘looking’ is a ‘looking for’. The Lord God walks in the garden and calls to Adam, “Where are you?” The Lord is looking for a response. “Having given us these instructions, the Lord daily looks out for us to respond with deeds to his holy admonitions” (Rule Prologue 35).

This is, at the end of the day, what being “made in his image, according to his likeness” means. And so the question arises, what is the Lord looking for in his human creature? His ‘look’ is his knowledge, and he wants his knowledge to be ‘acknowledged’, to be reflected back somehow. How do we acknowledge? By faith. There doesn’t seem to be any other way in this life.

Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe…’

(Heb 11:6) The “necessity of faith” is one of the subheadings found in any adequate Catholic theology of faith. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16.1b). What does Jesus ‘look for’ in the Gospels if not faith? “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, My son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mk 2:5). “And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (4:39-40) “Who touched my garments? … And he looked around to see who had done it … And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (5:30, 31, 34). “And he could do no mighty work there … And he marvelled because of their unbelief ” (6:6).

That’s the marvelling of God. “Why does this generation seek a sign? … Do you not yet understand?” (8:11, 21) “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you?

How long am I to bear with you?” (9:19). “And Jesus said to him, If you can? All things are possible to him who

believes” (9:23). “And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has made you well. And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way” (10:52).

So speaks Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:2).

Jesus looks for faith, God looks for faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please.” What is this faith?

“Whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb 12:6). Belief that God is, and not just is, but rewards.

Belief that He offers us eternal life. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Faith, in the end surely, is belief – real belief, life-changing belief – in God’s love. That is to say, in God’s will to give us good things, to do us good, to give us life. “Your faith has saved you”, and your faith was precisely in my power and my will to save. We believe in God’s goodness towards us: towards us collectively, towards us individually. “God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God has expressed that goodness, beyond the fact of creation, in a particular series of actions on our behalf, and supremely in the sending, life, death and resurrection of his Son. And faith, materially speaking (content-wise), is called to embrace all that God has done, is doing and will do, all that the Bible and the Church tell us of the mighty acts of God, in view of our salvation, all the divine attributes that are disclosed therein, all that’s asked of us.

But all this, very simply, is what St Paul sums up in six Greek words: “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). Faith, simply, is belief in the grace of God, belief that God is love, belief that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39). “Love is his meaning.” For all and for each. A putative word of the Lord to Margery Kempe went to this effect: “All your asceticism, all your good works, all your prayers do not mean so much to me as that you should believe I love you.” And faith surely must go that far. Is it faith – fully – to believe, say, in the forgiveness of sins (as in the Apostles’ Creed), but to be incapable of believing, after baptism, after the sacrament of penance, that my sins are forgiven? Faith, simply, is belief in the resurrection of the dead, in other words, in the love of God, in the love of God which is stronger than death.

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Continuity and reform are the call of Vatican ll This October marks the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. John Samaha SM, of the Marian community in California, presents an historical overview of its origins.

John Samaha SM

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hen we observed the Pauline Year in 2009 we also marked the half-century anniversary of the convocation of Vatican II. Fifty years earlier on the feast of the Conversion of St Paul, January 25 1959, Pope John XXIII had announced the convocation of a general council for the universal Church. And the Second Vatican Council was born. Blessed John XXIII had been pope for fewer than 100 days. Trembling with emotion, he issued the call for an ecumenical council in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in the presence of 17 cardinals of the Curia and other Church servants.

The immediate reaction was — silence. Later Pope John mentioned that he expected the cardinals to be elated and overjoyed with enthusiasm. But this was not the case.

Quickly and from various parts of the world several cardinals expressed scepticism, saying this was “a rash and impulsive decision,” “a hornet`s nest,” and “premature, senseless, and doomed in advance to failure.” But history quickly exposed their poor judgment, and John XXIII’s dauntless confidence in the working of the Holy Spirit bore rich fruit.

Three years of preparation led to the four sessions of Vatican II, which began in 1962 and concluded in 1965.

Blessed John XXIII passed to his eternal reward after the first session, and Pope Paul VI presided over the remaining three sessions. Three decades earlier Pope Pius Xl had considered a general council, and in the early 1950s the same thought occupied Pope Pius Xll. But conditions were not right. The 1959 announcement by John XXlll was welcomed by the majority of leading theologians, who wondered if this new council would be a continuation of Vatican l held almost a century earlier. But the intrepid Dominican Yves Congar expressed the confidence that this would be a new council and not a continuation of Vatican l: “I saw in the council an opportunity for the recovery of the true meaning of the episcopacy and of ecclesiology. This would be a pastoral council.”

Many consider Vatican ll a Pauline council. The sixteen instructional and directional documents reveal theological insights imbued with many themes found in St Paul’s

letters enlightening biblical theology and spirituality; the theology of the Church, the universal call to holiness, liturgical renewal, engaging contemporary society. And the revised liturgical year cycles of Scripture readings for Mass draw heavily from the letters of Paul. And what authority is quoted most frequently in the documents of Vatican ll? None other than St Paul the Apostle. ln the nascent Church, Paul played a prominent role in the epochal event we now call the Council of Jerusalem (Gal 2.1-10 and Acts 15.1-22). Like Vatican II, the Council of Jerusalem dealt with challenging pastoral questions. Paul, Titus, Barnabas, and others came to Jerusalem to meet with Peter, James and other leaders of the apostolic Church to meld different but complementary charisms and gifts for the good and growth of the Church.

The Jerusalem Council is an early example of the very real interrelationship between the human and the divine in Christ’s Church. A similar interplay was experienced at the Second Vatican Council.

The past is prologue, so with wisdom we recall the past as well as point to the future. Today it is important to recall the insight of Blessed John Henry Newman at the time of the First Vatican Council (1870), that there is always a lack of historical perspective after an ecumenical council. “It is rare,” Newman wrote, “for a council not to be followed by great confusion .... The century following each council has ever been a time of great trial. .... and this seems likely to be no exception.”

Cardinal Newman shrewdly projected that it takes a century to integrate fully the wisdom of an ecumenical council This perceived lack of historical perspective after Vatican II caused some observers to suggest erroneously that the Council rejected the historical consciousness of the Church in order to meet the needs of our contemporary world, overlooking history and tradition. Pope Benedict XVI aptly described this as a “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture” by which Vatican II is seen as an end of tradition, a new start from scratch, a history and a theology based on a false distinction between a “pre-conciliar Church” and a “post-conciliar Church.” Our faith reminds us that the Holy Spirit guided the Church through all the centuries before John XXlll’s inspiration to convoke a council. The Holy Spirit was with the Fathers of the Council during Vatican II. The Holy Spirit has been with the Church during the past fifty years as we gradually incorporated the Council’s teachings. And the Holy Spirit will be with the Church in all the years to come. St Paul

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The opening ceremony of the Second Vatican Council at St. Peter’s in Rome ( Painting by Franklin McMahon) made this crystal clear in his writings. lf we lose sight of this fundamental truth, we risk the confused thinking that the Holy Spirit would abandon Christ’s Church. But we know that the Holy Spirit, like Christ himself, is with us always.

Pope Benedict XVI prudently teaches us that the false “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture” needs to be replaced by an authentic “hermeneutic of continuity and reform.” History shows us that the Church is not always the same, but is reformed and always reforming. Continuity and reform provide the correct map for the study and implementation of Vatican II. Blessed John XXlll told us: “This Council wishes to transmit doctrine pure and whole without attenuating it or falsifying it, but not watching over this precious treasure as if we were concerned only with antiquity. We wish to present the sure and immutable doctrine in a way that answers the needs of our time. The deposit of faith and our venerated doctrines are one thing; the way they are announced is another thing.” Pope John called for the Second Vatican Council to be a synthesis of faithfulness and dynamism in the spirit of Saints Peter and Paul and the Council of Jerusalem.

Cardinal Newman shrewdly projected that it takes a

century to integrate fully the wisdom of an ecumenical council. At the outset of Vatican II Pope John XXIII noted that “It is now only dawn ....”’ We are still digesting the work of Vatican II: Sixteen important decrees approved by more than 2,500 Council Fathers, who cast over 1,200,000 ballots after more than l,000 speeches and over 6,000 written interventions. As we enter the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, let us consider this an invitation and opportunity to refresh and renew ourselves by re-reading (or reading for the first time) the dynamic teachings of the Council. These documents reveal a Church ever faithful, a divine gift, a Church ever dynamic, and a grace that continues from that very first council at Jerusalem.

Both continuity and reform are the call of Vatican ll, the great Council that will always have the power to draw us closer to Jesus Christ and to each other.

Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that “The Church both before and after the Council is the same one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church journeying through time.”

This article first appeared in the November/December 2011 issue of “The Pastoral Review” and is reprinted here with the kind permission of the publishers.

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The Catechism in the Year of Faith Petroc Willey

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of healing in our lives as he draws us unceasingly home to himself.

God first The Catechism is utterly faithful to the Church’s saving doctrine and to her knowledge that no human need can begin to compare to the need for God, and that no relevance can be attached to any transitory moment which ignores the one who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Pope John Paul, in his encyclical on faith and reason, argued that, without God, the human being was caught in ‘the constrictions of a technocratic logic’. We turn in on ourselves and lose sight of our true glory because we can no longer look up to God. The Catechism has been given to us as the great gift of God and of his Church in order to help save us from this stultifying anthropocentrism. The Catechism reminds us, at every turn, that God is real, that he is first, and that we are his creatures. This is the Good News that we have to proclaim: God exists and he holds us in being at every moment. God exists and he is our Father. Nothing falls through his hands, not even the smallest sparrow. He reveals his face in the Person of his Son and bestows on us his Spirit as the love with which we can love him as does his Son. Blessed are those who find joy in their adoption as children of the Father.

The right order In its proclamation of these truths the Catechism provides us with the true bedrock of the new evangelisation.

And it communicates through all of the features that make it up. So, for instance, the Catechism holds to a certain ordering and weighting of the four parts of which it is composed. God in himself, and then in his work of creation, redemption and sanctification, is presented first through a proclamation and explanation of the Creed. I am reminded that I believe, not in myself or in my works, but in God and his works. I believe in God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then I turn to how the works of God are poured out through grace to unite me to him, to strengthen, heal and restore me in him, through the sacraments. In the third part, a study of my daily life in Christ, I learn that even the merit of my good works is ‘to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God’ since my good actions ‘proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit’ (CCC 2008).

Finally, I learn how I am to pray in Christ, to the glory of the Father. What this ordering provides us with is a graceled morality and a dogmatic spirituality. When we read the Catechism, with its perspective and approach, we are enabled to do so always from the perspective of how we are responding, under grace, to God’s action in our lives.

his October we begin a “Year of Faith” and the Holy Father has asked for a study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church during this Year. In the words of Pope Benedict: “the Year of Faith will have to see a concerted effort to rediscover and study the fundamental content of the faith that receives its systematic and organic synthesis in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here, in fact, we see the wealth of teaching that the Church has received, safeguarded and proposed in her two thousand years of history. From Sacred Scripture to the Fathers of the Church, from theological masters to the saints across the centuries, the Catechism provides a permanent record of the many ways in which the Church has meditated on the faith and made progress in doctrine so as to offer certitude to believers in their lives of faith.” (Porta Fidei 11) Why is this study of the Catechism so important for the life of the Church today? Because it will help each one of us to re-discover, in and through its pages, the God who is ‘infinitely perfect and blessed in himself’ as the opening phrase of the Catechism has it. This is in the end the secret of the Catechism’s beauty, its appeal and its value – simply that it allows us, in page after page, to do this. And as we Petroc Willey is the Deputy Director of Maryvale read and reflect this can address our deepest need, which is Institute and a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the for us to be able to understand and to receive God’s work Promotion of New Evangelisation.

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Light Ligh igh ght ht

Page P age 15

2006 M ons. Chirayath was consecrated as the Eparchy’s Eparchy’s Mons.

(D iocese’s) thir hird bishop His episcopal ordination ordination was (Diocese’s) third bishop.. His concelebrated d bbyy 25 bishops and 250 priests, in the pr esence of more more than 500 female Religious Religious gious and 5,000 presence laity y. This was tr uly an historic occasion, on, highlighting laity. truly the h enormityy off the h challenge h llenge which faced f d the h ne w new SShepherd. hepherd. The diocese to which he succeeded eeded covered covered a vvast ast territory, territory, some 39,020 SSq. q. Kms, and d play ed host to played a total Catholic olic population of a mer meree 7,100 persons, amidst some 6 million H indus. SStill, till, the he E parchy then Hindus.

Eparchy pr ovided more mor ore than 24 Parishes, Parishes, 14 Parochial Par a ochial Centers provided (without rresident esident sident P astors) and 71 Mission Mission Stations.

Stations.

Pastors) When B ishop op Chirayath commenced his ministry ministry he Bishop also became rresponsible esponsible for overseeing overseeingg a college, 13 H igh Schools, ls, 22 ‘lower’ ‘lower’ schools, twoo hospitals, an High orphanage and nd two homes for the disabled. bled. This list is bbyy no meanss exhaustive exhaustive and, under his is dynamic and energetic leadership adership, the range of pastoral astoral facilities leadership, expanded steadily eadilyy. What is extraor dinar ary is that such steadily. extraordinary endeav ors ar by donations d from endeavors aree largely financed by from external Catholic holic charities (including pr o oceeds from the proceeds from annual G ood dF riday Collection) for the people of SSagar agar Good Friday etween etw een n JJune une 2004 and O October ctober 2010 I had ar disadvantaged. d. By

By W estern aree seriously economically disadvantaged.

Western the h privilege i ilege of ser ving i i the h Vatican’s he Vatican i n’s serving in standar ds they ey are are destitute, although this his fact certainly certainly standards Congr regation for Easter n Churches.

Chur urches. My My Congregation Eastern does not lessen en their cr eativity and their determination. creativity rresponsibility esponsibility nsibility was to assist the S yroSyrofolloows is an account, indeed an n extraordinary extraordinary What follows Malabar and S y o-Malankara Churches, yr Churches, originating Malabar Syro-Malankara one, based upon a R eport which Bishop Bishop shop Chirayath Report India, and no w pr esent, due to immigration, mmigration, in India, now present, author ed and d distributed. Readers Readers should ld note that the authored throughout Britain.

Britain. tain. throughout D ivine Mercy Mercyy devotion devotion and the life of St. St.. Maria Maria Faustina Faustina Divine SSince ince leaving R ome I hav d to Indiana Indiana Rome havee been assigned w ere then largely argely unfamiliar to the bishop. bishop shop. Born in were University Kokomo Kokomo omo as “Chancellor lar for Law University “Chancellor’s’s Scholar 1905 in G logowiec, Poland, Poland, SSt. t. F austina stina had been Glogowiec, Faustina Humanities..” B etween preparation preparation for courses and and Humanities.”

Between canoniz ed only nly six yyears ears prior to thee initial ev ents canonized events various univ ersity ity committees and pr ojects ects I have have various university projects described bbyy the bishop. bishop. At At present, present, of course, her frequent opportunity opportunity t to rrecall ecall my experience ence at the frequent adv ocacy of a “Thr ee oo’clock ’clock Prayer Prayer for Mercy” Mercy” and advocacy “Three Holy SSee. ee. N umerous memories ar Holy Numerous aree Divine Mercy Mercy are are quite Chaplet of Divine vivid. I will always cherish, for xis of Catholic familiar in the praxis exxceptional dedication, example, the exceptional spiritualityy, but such was not always spirituality, delity which features features sincerity and fidelity Imagine, then, B ishop the case. Imagine, Bishop prominently among mong the clergy and prominently Chirayath’s amaz ement ent during the Chirayath’s amazement ese Eastern-Church Eastern-Church laity of these evening of October October 5th 2006 while evening par ticipation p Catholics. Theirr p participation in their h was visiting i i i San San Francisco Francisco ancisco i and d was he exemplary, as is their local parishes is exemplary, responding ding to emails engaged in responding remarkable devotion devotion o to the SSabbath abbath remarkable “suddenly enly something when, he says, “suddenly Eucharist and their heir diligent effor ts to Eucharist efforts happened [and] for some moments evangelise, beginning nning with individual evangelise, went blank.” blank. nk.” He He ““was was my mind went xtending as witness families and extending sed by by a thought totally shaken, possessed throughout the br oader community y. throughout broader community.

Shrine to D ivine that he must build a Shrine Divine But there there is one instance which rreaders eaders But Mercy in SSagar.” agar.” The idea dominated Mercy h encouraging and may find both ough he did not his consciousness although ially during times of uplifting, especially share it with anyone anyone that hat ev ening. share evening. adversityy. It It relates relates to the SyroSyroadversity.

N ext morning he fle w to Sioux Sioux Next flew Malabar B ishop of Sagar Sagar (I ndia), the Malabar Bishop (India), Falls, via a stop-o verr in SSt. t. Paul’s Paul’s Falls, stop-over Most R evv. Anthony ony Chirayath.

Most Rev. I nternational Airpor t t, M inneapolis.

International Airport, Minneapolis.

TThe he Most Rev Rev. v. A Anthony nthony After wor king for thir ty-four years years working thirty-four At 10.00am his cell phone rrelayed elayed a At Chirrayyath, Bishop of Sagar Sagar Chirayath, Vatican C uria, on M arch 25th in the Vatican Curia, March

Fr Bernard O’Connor’s

Vatican Brief

Divine D ivine M Mercy ercy at at S Sagar a agar

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Light of the North Page 16 educationandformation call from a complete stranger in Charlotte, North Carolina. What was unfathomable is that the bishop had never circulated his private cell phone number.

How was a man, about whom he knew nothing, able to contact him? And for what purpose? The man stated that “that morning I was praying to Divine Mercy and I had a vision of a Shrine of Divine Mercy in Sagar” and to which “thousands of people” came as pilgrims. The bishop “was speechless,” all the more so when the man arranged substantial financing to begin construction.

Then again, on October 7th, a priest of Sagar emailed the bishop to say that another stranger, this time a man living in South India, had telephoned the diocese and told of a vision identical to that of the North Carolina benefactor. No ‘natural’ communication between them A Prayer Day at Dayasagar, Khajooria was possible or explicable.

On November 9th 2007, the shrine was inaugurated His church “with various gifts,” including those in Sagar’s village of Khajooria. It was named Dayasagar “charismatic” which are “the fruits of His grace” (Lumen which means “Ocean of Mercy”. With all the priests, Gentium, no. 4). Nonetheless, the Church remains numerous Religious and laity standing by, the bishop appropriately rigorous in its assessment of claims of the formally dedicated his diocese to Divine Mercy. On July miraculous. However, there are instances when ‘miracle’ 15th 2008, Perpetual Adoration was instituted. Special is an apt conclusion and the Sagar Shrine and Bishop Chirayath may possibly qualify. Only time will prayers are offered daily for those who so request.

Since then, several miraculous healings have been corroborate. Meanwhile, we certainly have cause to reported, and are the subject of current investigation. reflect, to pray and to hope.

Among these is that of the bishop himself. On January 11th 2008, the bishop arrived at Kottayam (Kerala) after an arduous four hour trip. “I found myself unable to breathe and to speak,” he stated. A doctor prescribed antibiotics but these did nothing to relieve the relentless coughing and vomiting. Next, while attending meetings in Rome, a doctor diagnosed “that [the bishop’s] lungs Throughout our lives we make plans for are in a difficult state” and that”immediate medical the future. So it makes sense to plan for the one

Wm Gilchrist William Gilchrist 1/4 page repeat thing that none of us can avoid.

However, there are instances when ‘miracle’ is an apt conclusion. The Sagar Shrine and Bishop Chirayath may possibly qualify attention” was needed. The bishop returned to India and on February 28th he consulted a pulmonary specialist. Several medical tests “revealed suspicious dark marks on the lungs,” a possible tumor. Intercession to Divine Mercy began in earnest. “Thy will be done.” On March 30th 2008, the bishop awakened after an uncharacteristic deep sleep. “I was not the same. I was not coughing anymore,” he later said. He presided over all the ceremonies of that day with no trace of ailment.

Ten days later, he underwent a CT scan of the thorax.

This and other tests verified that his lungs were healthy.

The two black smears earlier apparent on the medical scans were now entirely absent. Subsequent visits to two specialists in two different hopsitals in Thrissur confirmed the fact: Bishop Chirayath was physically well!

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Canon c. 215 states this fundamental right: “The Christian faithful are at liberty to freely found and direct associations for purposes of charity or piety or for the promotion of the Christian vocation in the world and to hold meetings for the common pursuit of these purposes”.

The following canon, c. 216 is even more explicit: “Since they participate in the mission of the Church, all the Christian faithful have the right to promote or sustain apostolic action even by their own undertakings, according to their own state and condition”.

In his apostolic exhortation Christifideles laici, Blessed Pope John-Paul II spoke of freedom of association saying: “such liberty is a true and proper right that is not derived from any kind of ‘concession’ by authority, but flows from the sacrament of baptism, which calls the lay faithful to participate actively in the Church’s communion and mission”.

In the final part of this series on the Code of Canon These examples affirm the principle that each one of us, Law, Diocesan Chancellor, the Rev Deacon John Wire, the faithful members of the Catholic Church, can freely considers how the basic right of Christians to freely found and govern associations for the purpose of associate with one another is protected in Canon promoting faith, charity and knowledge of God. Law. This principle of free association applies equally to all aspects of our lives. You may be a member of a golf club Deacon John Wire or football club or your local residents association; you may be in a choir or book club. Whatever it may be you n my last article in this series of Rights and are associating with other like minded people for some Obligations of the Christian faithful, I want to purpose or ideal. When an association is founded by turn to the “right of association”, a basic human Catholics coming together for a common purpose there right which is enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights1 and the European Convention on Human Rights2.

But why, you may ask, “is it necessary to formally recognize this human right in the Church’s code of law?”

The answer is that its inclusion in Church law is the recognition of the basic fundamental right of all the faithful whatever their state in the Church may be, whether lay person, religious, deacon, priest or bishop to get together for a social or spiritual reason or both. If you consider the celebration of Mass as an example of what I mean, all members of the faithful whatever their status in the Church come together as a community to worship God. The right of this “Bible Study Group” to meet is By the very fact of its inclusion in Book II of the code enshrined in the code of Canon Law of canon law the right of association becomes something to be protected and promoted. are three possibilities for its status. It can be an informal,

The Code of Cano n Law

I

de facto, association of people who meet informally to 1 Article 20 §1 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights – 10 carry out the objective of their association such as a December 1948, (Everyone has the right to freedom of assembly and peaceful weekly prayer group or a group of elderly people meeting association). occasionally for a social get-together and are content to remain like that without any formal structure.

2 Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights – 3 September If however, the purpose of the association has loftier 1950, (protects the right to freedom of assembly and association…). ideals and wishes to promote social awareness, for

Light of the North Page 18 educationandformation example, on a national basis, or to form a community of faith, embracing and proclaiming the truth about Christ, Christian families, for the purpose of promoting Catholic the Church and humanity, in obedience to the Church's teaching, then some degree of formal structure is generally Magisterium as the Church interprets it. For this reason required in the form of rules otherwise known as statutes, every association of the lay faithful must be a forum where the faith is proclaimed as well as taught in its total c.304.

Statutes generally define the name and nature of the content. t ɨF XJUOFTT UP B TUSPOH BOE BVUIFOUJD DPNNVOJPO association, its purpose or social objective, how it is to be governed and where the governance takes place and how in filial relationship to the Pope, in total adherence to the it will carry out its purpose. This form of structured belief that he is the perpetual and visible centre of unity association under the umbrella of the Catholic Church of the universal Church, and with the local Bishop, the can be known as a private or public association. Examples visible principle and foundation of unity in the particular of private associations would be the Saint Vincent de Church, and in mutual esteem for all forms of the Paul Society or the Catenians, whilst an example of a Church's apostolate. t $POGPSNJUZ UP BOE QBSUJDJQBUJPO JO UIF $IVSDIhT public association would be a religious association which had been established or ‘erected’ by a decree of the local apostolic goals, that is, the evangelization and bishop. Obviously before the bishop issues a decree sanctification of humanity and the Christian formation everything about the association has to be known and of people's conscience, so as to enable them to infuse the spirit of the Gospel into the various communities and approved by the bishop.

However, without getting lost in the technicalities of spheres of life.

The message then for us all is that within the law of the canon law I want to refer you again to the apostolic exhortation of Blessed Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Catholic Church we have the basic right to get together laici, in which he sets out five ‘Criteria of Ecclesiality’ for with other members of the faithful and form associations.

However, it has to be accepted that the primary objective associations of lay people. These are: t ɨF QSJNBDZ HJWFO UP UIF DBMM PG FWFSZ $ISJTUJBO UP with each association is the apostolic mission of the holiness, as it is manifested in the fruits of grace which the Church, that is to spread the message of the gospel and spirit produces in the faithful and in a growth towards the the knowledge of God. fullness of Christian life and the perfection of charity. t ɨF SFTQPOTJCJMJUZ PG QSPGFTTJOH UIF $BUIPMJD

O Come to the Water…

Eileen Grant

R

ecently, I encountered a young woman who had just been received into the Church. She was very keen that all should know that she had been received ‘under the old rite’, that is, a form of reception followed by a Tridentine Mass.

She believed this made her somehow more privileged than those initiated under the ‘new’ rite. I found this

rather sad and wondered what sort of instruction she had been given, as it was obvious she did not realise the rite she called ‘new’ dates back to ancient times, long before the Council of Trent.

One of the richest fruits to grow out of the Second Vatican Council was the restoration of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the RCIA. This was proposed in the first document issued by the Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, the decree on Divine Worship, indicating the importance they placed on Christian Initiation: “The catechumenate for adults, comprising several distinct steps, is to be restored and to be taken into use … [and] intended as a period of suitable instruction, may be sanctified by sacred rites to be celebrated at successive intervals of time” (64). Two years later, this was further developed in Ad Gentes, which stated that “catechumens should be properly instructed in the mystery of salvation and in the practice of Gospel morality, and by sacred rites … at successive intervals, they should be introduced into the life of faith, of liturgy, and of love, which is led by the People of God” (14). This decree also prescribed the timing of initiation: “It is to be desired that the liturgy of the Lenten and paschal seasons should be restored in such a way as to dispose the hearts of the catechumens to celebrate the Easter mystery at

Light of the North Page 19 educationandformation whose solemn ceremonies they are reborn to Christ long ago Paschal Vigils. Thanks to the restoration of these Rites in our own time, we are privileged to taste the through Baptism.�

In 1972, the Congregation for Divine Worship issued experience of those early catechumens when we gather a decree on a Rite prepared according to the prescriptions on Easter Night in darkness lit by the Paschal Candle and of the Council and this Rite immediately became the the candles in the hands of the faithful.

Those early converts must have received an extremely form by which adults would forthwith be baptized: “in Latin at once and in the vernacular ‌ after [the conference thorough grounding in the Church’s teaching and of bishops] has prepared a translationâ€?. This translation practices: during those three years they were taught was finally published in 1987 and, described as “an nothing about the ‘Mysteries’, the Sacraments they were important part of the Church’s desire to restore the adult to receive at Easter. These came to them truly as mystery catechumenate to its rightful place in the life of our and it was only during the period of ‘Mystagogy’ that communitiesâ€? and “the exemplar and rule for all they had explained to them the Sacraments of Initiation initiationâ€?, became mandatory for use in the Dioceses of – Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. As one of the England, Wales and Scotland on the 1st Sunday of Advent most inspirational catechists of all time told them: “I have long been wishing, O true-born and dearly 1988.

What, then, is the RCIA? It is a journey made in beloved children of the Church, to discourse to you maturing faith, following various significant steps along concerning these spiritual and heavenly Mysteries‌ I the way, whereby, as well as receiving a thorough catechesis waited for the present season; that finding you more open in the Church’s teaching and Sacraments, the catechumens to the influence of my words from your present experience, are also guided through a series of rites which lead them I might lead you by the hand into the brighter and more deeper into the life of the Church and the community of fragrant meadow of the Paradise before us; especially as the People of God. When these different steps are followed you have been made fit to receive the more sacred as prescribed within the community of the local church, Mysteries, after having been found worthy of divine and it also enables the faithful to renew “their own conversionâ€? life-giving Baptismâ€? (St Cyril of Jerusalem).

Thanks be to God for the inspired decision of the and to “provide an example that will help the catechumens to obey the Holy Spirit more generously�. In fact, every Council to restore this luminous Rite to the Church. parish, or group of parishes, is expected to make provision for the RCIA within their community and to ensure that orthodox catechesis is supplied and that the various steps

and rites are celebrated. This can inspire joyful ongoing conversion of all the faithful. “The first period consists of inquiry on the part of the candidatesandofevangelization and the precatechumenate on the part of the Church. It ends with the rite of acceptance into the order of catechumens. The second period, which ‌ may last for several years, includes catechesis and the rites connected with catechesis. It comes to an end on the day of election [at the beginning of Lent]. The third period, which follows the Rite of Election, ordinarily coincides with the Lenten preparation for the Easter celebration and the sacraments of initiation.

It is a time of purification and enlightenment and includes

the celebration of the rites belonging to this period. The

final period extends through the whole Easter season and

is devoted to the post-baptismal catechesis or mystagogy.

It is a time for deepening the Christian experience, for

spiritual growth, and for entering more fully into the life

and unity of the community� (RCIA 7).

I mentioned earlier that what has been restored is a very

ancient Rite, dating back to the early life of the Church.

We know this because we are fortunate to have original

catechetical material from the Church Fathers –

preparation usually lasted three years – as well as eyewitness accounts of the Rites of Initiation celebrated at

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“Our Father” Clare Benedict

D

uring the forthcoming Year of Faith, we will also be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, that treasure-house of Church teaching with which the Holy Father is keen that all the faithful should familiarise themselves. If you find this weighty tome a daunting prospect, why not begin with the final section, a beautiful exposition of the Lord’s Prayer?

“The Lord’s Prayer ‘is truly the summary of the whole gospel’” (CCC2761; Tertullian), underpinning the Christian life which cooperates with God when the words come from the heart and are translated into action. Christ taught how we should love God and neighbour and prayed that all God’s scattered children be gathered into one communion. When we pray his prayer, we pray not as isolated individuals, but in unity with the whole Church, for all God’s people, including those yet to be gathered in. It is the zenith of Christian prayer, each phrase sufficient in itself, summing up and including the rest and acknowledging, in filial trust, our Father’s boundless merciful love.

When we call God, “Our Father”, we acknowledge the astounding new relationship we have, through Baptism, with God, for, in Jesus, we are adopted children, enjoying filial blessings in this world and looking forward to eternal blessedness. Through the Holy Spirit we are enabled to cry: “Abba, Father!” (Gal.4:6): thus, we pray in conscious communion, longing for perfect unity.

Who art in Heaven: “the Father’s house is our homeland” (CCC2795), and we are called to make our hearts a suitable dwelling-place for God. Already citizens of heaven, we long for the final consummation, for “Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfilment of the deepest human longings” (CCC1024). Jesus “descended from heaven” (Jn 3:13) to show us the way; when he ascended to his Father in heaven, he left a promise that, conformed to him, we might one day follow. The Paradise closed by the first disobedience has been reopened to us by Christ’s obedience.

Hallowed be Thy Name: “I have manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest me out of the world” (Jn 17:6). By calling on God’s name to be made holy in and by us, we are caught up into His plan for our salvation, that we might “be holy and blameless before Him in love” (Eph 1:4). We can actually help God to consummate

Sculpture of the “Our Father” in Schorndorf, Germany this work by revealing His holiness in our lives. We are called to be holy, as He is; by hallowing Him in ourselves, in our lives, in our acts, we can attain to that share in His glory. We pray daily to become holy; when we act in a way worthy of God’s children, we manifest to the world His holiness. Everything Jesus did on earth was to glorify his Father: “Holy Father … for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth” (Jn17:11,19) and, in return, God gave His Son the name that is above all names: “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9-11).

Thy Kingdom come: “The Kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). We are called to manifest God’s Kingdom on

Light of the North Page 21 educationandformation earth by the example of our lives, as we wait for Christ’s find ourselves ‘forgiving one another, as God in Christ return in glory. While we see the Kingdom made present, forgave us’” (CCC2842; Eph 4:32). “Father, forgive in mystery, in the Eucharist, we yearn for it to become them…” (Lk 23:34). Jesus never condemned anyone, present in reality. By living lives free from sin, we may though he was mocked, humiliated, tortured and even hasten its coming. Our longing for eternal blessedness crucified. God’s mercy shone in him. He taught that should prompt us to follow Jesus’ example, to bring God’s actions alone are not sufficient; we must undergo an justice and peace to all men, so that when Christ returns, interior conversion, our acts mirroring what is in our he will reap a rich harvest: “Here on earth the kingdom is hearts, for it is in our hearts that Truth dwells. Divine mysteriously present; when the Lord comes it will enter forgiveness is limitless; so we also must forgive.

And lead us not into temptation: We need God’s help into its perfection” (Gaudium et Spes 39). This petition is the core of Jesus’ priestly prayer (Jn 17); his passion was to keep us from giving in to temptation; we therefore this prayer, a prayer which continues to be presented and entreat Him to send us the Spirit who leads us to discern right and gives us strength to resist wrong. Through granted in the Eucharist.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven: What is grace, we may know the good and recognise the evil to God’s will? He “desires all men to be saved and to come which temptation exposes us. God “will not let you be to the knowledge of the truth” (1Tim 2:3-4): “that you tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also will also provide the way of escape, so that you will be love one another” (Jn13:34). It is difficult to relinquish able to endure it” (1Cor 10:13) “In this petition … self-will, to conform one’s will to the Father’s, but the Christ unites us to his battle and his agony” (CCC2849), reward is joy. We ask God to unite our will to the Son’s so teaching us to remain watchful, aware of our danger, but that we too may help fulfil the Father’s plan. By His grace, aware also of the divine assistance which is but a breath we can achieve this. It goes even beyond our salvation; away.

But deliver us from evil: We pray for ourselves and for the “new heaven and earth” signifies the salvation of the entire cosmos. Jesus came to do and show us the Father’s all those who are oblivious of, or scornful of, their danger will, obeying even unto death on a cross and often from the whisperings of the Evil One. We express trust repeated that he came to do “not my own will but the will that our Father will protect us from harm and that, if we cooperate with His grace, we too can overcome evil. As of him who sent me” (Jn 5:30).

Give us this day our daily bread: “To those who seek we bring to the Father “all the distress of the world” the kingdom of God and His righteousness, He has (CCC2854), we ask for peace for all men and anticipate promised to give all else besides” (St Cyprian). This that glorious consummation when all men will be petition, offered for all, expresses total trust in our Father. gathered together in Christ before the throne of grace.

He asks us to cooperate with His loving providence, by This plea was central to Jesus’ prayer: “I am not asking caring for the needy and spreading His justice in the you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect world; to share our material and spiritual goods, always them from the evil one” (Jn17:15). Jesus resisted Satan in remembering that everything we ourselves receive is pure the wilderness by calling on his Father and finally gift. Above all, it is the Bread of Life, Christ’s Body vanquished him through his sacrificial death and glorious received in the Eucharist, which gives us real life. This Resurrection, leading the way into life everlasting. Born “daily bread” anticipates the divine banquet we will one anew in Christ, praying with his Church, we are day enjoy as the glorified Body, with Christ, in the empowered to manifest to the world the power of Our presence of our Father. Jesus taught men filial trust – “this Lord’s redemptive sacrifice. day” is also God’s eternal today: so Jesus could promise the Good Thief: “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43).

JERICHO BENEDICTINES And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who Combine the Spiritual Life with the running of ‘Jericho Inns’ for those being trespass against us: “Forgiveness is the fundamental passed by on the other side’ condition of the reconciliation of the children of God The Drug & Alcohol Addicted with their Father and of men with one another” Victims of Domestic Violence (CCC2844). If we wish to merit forgiveness, we must be Homeless Men & Women ready to forgive, as the Father has already forgiven us. He Holidays for those on low income asks us first to acknowledge our sinfulness, in the certain Enquiries & donations gratefully received Fr. James knowledge of His mercy and, open to His grace, we Monastery of Jesus, become capable of forgiving others. Can we forgive as Harelaw Farm KILBARCHAN Jesus did? Left to ourselves, no; but, with God’s grace, in Renfrewshire PA10 2PY the power of His Spirit, it becomes a possibility, and we

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AOS P AOS Port or t C Chaplains: haplains: aplains: E Ex Extending tending ing the hand of friendship h Brian Kilk Kilkerr err Greg W Watts atts “Few “F ew of us rrealise e ealise that if ther theree was a general geeneral shipping strike, shelvess of our supermarkets supermarkets and d shops would be bare bare then the shelves thrree w e eeks,” says B rian Kilkerr, Kilkerrr, A postleship of the S ea within three weeks,” Brian Apostleship Sea port chaplain. h l port B rian’’s patch in ncludes Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Peterhead, Peterhead d, Fraserburgh Fraserburgh and also Brian’s includes Shetland. H reckons e hips a year. year. A team of Shetland.

Hee reckons to visit about 900 ships volunteer ship visitors vissitors help him in his ministr y. Like many A postleship volunteer ministry.

Apostleship Sea por chaplains, he is a permanent deacon. of the Sea portt chaplains, The rrole ole of a por ers on portt chaplain, he explains, is to visit seafar seafarers board their ships ship ps to see what practical or spiritual suppor board supportt they need.

IItt is estimated that 60% of all seafarers seafarers are are Catholic. When Brian Brian board a ship he usually takes with him a supply of prayer prayer goes on board cards, pray er bo ooks in different different languages, s, medals, bibles, holy cards, prayer books pictures and rrosaries. osaaries. pictures The kind of pr ractical suppor gives seaf farers visiting north-east north-east practical supportt he gives seafarers includees providing providing transpor wn; top-ups for Scotland includes transportt into the to town; o lap top internet dongles; arranging for money to mobile phones or seafaarers’ family; or visiting a sick sicck or injured injured seafar er in be sent to a seafarers’ seafarer hospital.

“F For a seafarer seafarrer e who feels unloved unloved and under und der valued, valued, a chaplain’s chaplain’s “For friendsh hip can make an enormous enormouss differ rence to his or her hand of friendship difference well being physical well being”” Most of the men m he meets are are from from countries coun ntries in the developing developing Most support their family world and join a ship to earn enough moneyy to support Typi ypically icallyy, they are are away for ten months m back home. Typically, at a time. work longg hours for lo w pay and often n live live in poor conditions They work low creature comforts. comforts. ts with little in the way of creature “While seafarers seafarers e are are at sea their children children are a e born, or might have ar have “While problems, or a parent paarent may die. But But because they t are in the middle of problems, are even at the other side of thee world, there there is nothing the ocean, maybee even do,” he says. they can do,” “For a seafarer seafarerr who feels unloved unloved and undervalued, un ndervalued, a chaplain’s chaplain’s “For friendsh hip can make an enormous difference difference to his or her hand of friendship well being: bein ng: physical well “There was a young young man from from Myanmar, Myanmar, formerly Burma, Burma, who “There l th h telephone he l h f ages. I said id to him hi jokingly j ki l that h he h was always on the for have been talking t pretty girl. ‘No, ‘No, I talk to members of my must have to a pretty familyy, as it’s it’s the th he only time I get to speak my own own language,’ language,’ he family, replied.” replied.”

Much of Brian’s Brian n’s time is spent in Aberdeen, Aberdeen n, where where around around eighty Much

Deacon Deacon Brian Kilkerr, Kilkkerrr, Apostleship Apostleship o of the Sea port port chap plain Sea chaplain percent of the ships in por percent portt ar aree involved involved in industry. some way with the oil indu stry.

Seafarers Seafarers visiting Aberdeen Aberdeen can now now relax relax in a seafarers’ which seafarers’ centre, centre, wh hich opened in Market Market Street Street just before before Christmas.

C Run Run by it provides by volunteers, volunteers, l provide d s fr ffree ee Internet Internet access; cheap phone calls; satellite atellite TV TV; V; pool, and a book and DVD library; DVD exchange exchaange librar y; and free tea and coffee. free Brian Brian is often at hand at moments of

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crisis. “If a seafarer is airlifted to hospital following an accident or serious illness, we can be called to assist. This might involve buying toiletries for the seafarer or liaising with the ship’s agent for his return home.”

Following the deaths of three fishermen in a fire on a trawler in Fraserburgh in 2007 Brian was involved in liaising with various parties including the International Transport Workers Federation, the police, shipping agents, and the local parish Seafarers are, of course, known for being superstitious.

“If someone dies on board a ship or cruise liner, I am often invited to bless the cabin, as some seafarers have a fear of going inside unless this has happened.”

Brian often calls on cruise ships when they are in port.

“During the cruise liner season I am sometimes allowed to visit a few of the ships in Invergordon. Sometimes I might have the opportunity to have Mass offered in the crew lounge. Bishop Peter Moran and Father Richard Reese have regularly said Mass on board.”

His wife is an Apostleship of the Sea volunteer ship visitor and often takes religious items to the crew on cruise ships.

“It’s amazing to see how hungry seafarers are for rosaries and crucifixes. My wife receives so many requests for them that she has to ration them. You might have a crew of 1100, with 500 of them from the Philippines,” he says.

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Deacon Brian on his rounds - visiting ships in port He adds that seafarers from predominantly Catholic countries are surprised to find our churches closed.

“I recall once going down into the galley to meet the cook following a request from the captain. He asked me to join him for lunch and told me he had walked into town and found the church closed. I took out some prayer cards and offered them to him. He picked up one of Our Lady of Good Succour, and had tears in his eyes as he held it.”

“The iconographer’s duty is to proclaim the vision of the kingdom of God” “““““““““““““““““““““““lllllllllkkkkkk/.’’’’;’z.x#.;v#./”””””””””””””TRYFRFYR”””””””””ggg

Sr Petra Clare, Sister in residence at Sancti Angeli Benedictine Skete, has undertaken numerous commissions for homes, churches, societies and businesses both in this country and abroad. She specialises in work associated with the re-ordering of churches and devotional art which bridges the gap between the needs of a traditional parish congregation and the modern world, including cycles for liturgical seasons, Stations of the Cross and R.C.I.A. In the following article Sister Petra Clare describes the background to a recent commission she carried out for St Mary’s Church, Beauly.

Sr Petra Clare

S

everal years ago I was approached to write an icon of the Resurrection for St. Mary’s, Beauly, which was completed and put in place this Easter.

Firstly, the priest and people decided which event of the Resurrection narrative they wanted as a focus for prayer. I gave a slide lecture on the various icons portraying the

events of the Resurrection - a Bible study with images.

We chose a combination of two events - the appearance to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, described in Matthew 28:8-10, and a collation from the other accounts, with several women and just one angel representing the heavenly powers.

A long narrow wall, was chosen - just above the lectern where the Word of God is proclaimed. The Word and image declare the message of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787 AD): ‘the making of iconographic representations - being in accordance with the narrative of

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the proclamation of the Gospel’ is ‘for the purpose of ascertaining the incarnation of God the Word ... was real, not imaginary.’

The shape and size of the icon replicates the arched enclosure of the statue of Our Lady by the high altar including its three-fold stone beading, which was repeated as a gilded ‘frame’ on the icon.

It is not only the subject of an icon which is a sign of the resurrection, but the materials themselves. Each material has died, and is ‘reborn’ in the icon. Wood is chopped down to become the icon board - the wood of the cross. Flax is cut for cotton, which covers the wood as a sign of the burial shroud.

Limestone is ground to powder and mixed with glue to become gesso. Gold is heated and hammered repeatedly to purify it into thin gold leaves. Each pigment has to lose its original form - stone, earth or

Applying the gold leaf metal to become the brilliant resurrection colours of paint.

Writing the icon is a spiritual process for each iconographer. H/she sacrifices personal ideas and private imagination to express the teaching of the Church. The iconographer’s duty is to proclaim the vision of the kingdom of God, serving through silent witness the community of the Church. In this way, the vocation of the iconographer is closely linked to that of the prophet.

This is particularly evident in the Beauly Resurrection, where the icon visibly backs up the teaching of the priest from the pulpit.

To see more examples of Sr Petra Clare’s work or for information about Sancti Angeli Benedictine Skete see www.sanctiangeli.org

New Course for Catechists

T

he Ogilvie Centre has devised a new course to train catechists for the Diocese of Aberdeen. The course follows “strands” has been developed using strands of “This is Our Faith”, the new religious education syllabus from the

The Icon of the Resurrection Scottish Catholic Education Service.

Beginning in September, the course will take place on six Saturdays at the end of which time catechists will be commissioned by Bishop Hugh at a Catechist Day held at Greyfriars Convent, Elgin.

For more information please contact Mary Nelson, Ogilvie Course Coordinator on 01224 638675 or email: office@ogilvie.ac.uk

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A C CA A LEND L END DA AR O OF F SAINTS Sa Saint aint Drostan n Abbot and Evangelist Evange v gelist Canon Alista A Alistair ir M. D Doyle oyle e

I

f yyou ou vventure en entur nture to the village of O Old ld dD Deer eer near M intlaw in i the hear berdeensshire, about Mintlaw heartt of A Aberdeenshire, the 11th of JJuly, ulyy, yyou ou will see a sc catteringg of scattering carav ans and a side-sho ows b oad. caravans side-shows byy the side of the rroad. of a medieval This is all that rremains e emains medieval fair in n honour of S t. Drostan.

Drostan. After Affter a week week or so, it moves moves e to a field St. Buckie “Peter Fair”. outside B uckie where w where it is known kno own as “P Peterr F air”.

D rostan is rreputed ep puted to be the son of a friend f of SSt. t.

Drostan Columba, Aidan n of D alriada. The bo w sent to Dalriada. boyy was Columba in IIreland relland to be educated and tra ained in the trained rreligious eligious life. IIn n due course he became a monk in the monaster y. Ther wheether he was monastery.

Theree is some dispute as to whether one of the monk ks that accompanied Columba ba to IIona ona or monks whether he was alr aalready eady in Scotland and joined ed Columba at IIona. ona. Ther are dedications to D rostan in Angus A Theree are Drostan — the hear Pictland d — at Glenesk, Glenesk, E dzell and Lochee.

L heartt of Pictland Edzell This would giv edeence to the stor Drostan n left IIreland reland givee cr credence storyy that Drostan to rretire etire to the Glens Glens of Angus as a hermit before beefore joining Columba in lonaa in 563 AD. The fact that he had liv ed lived among the P ictss would also explain the success su uccess of his Picts trav els l among the th h Picts he Picts i off B uchan h and d alon l ng both b h sides id travels Buchan along of the M oray F irrth.

Moray Firth.

Picts w ere a tribal society and the stor The Picts were storyy in the Book Deer is that Columba and Drostan Drostan approached app proached the of Deer Aber b dour for land to build a monastery. monastery. local chief in Aberdour were directed directeed to Old Old Deer Deer where where Drostan Drostan set up his They were monastery. Aberdeen Aberrdeen diocese owns owns what is left of Deer Deer monastery.

Abbeyy, although h this is a later Cistercian Cistercian foundation.

Abbey, Drostan’s monastery monasstery is thought to be thee old parish Drostan’s church which in in the Middle Middle Ages was dedicated d church to Peter, Columba C Drostan.” The Th Chief of “Christ, Peter, and Drostan.”

Pictland d was King Brude Brude who lived lived in lnverness lnverness chiefs in Pictland there is still a Brude’s Brude’s hill there. there. Drostan Drostan n worked worked in — there Glen Urquhart Urquhart near lnverness lnverness which at one on ne time was Glen

known as “Drostan’s “D Drostan’s Urquhart” Urquhart” to distinguish distinguish it from from known Urquhaarts. The monastery monastery at Deer Deer became a centre centre other Urquharts. evangelising Buchan Buchan and Banffshire Banffshire although although Drostan Drostan for evangelising havve personally p y gone g p mayy not have to these places but was responsible for f the Gospel Gospel being preached preach hed there. there. There There responsible are churches churches dedicated d Drostan at Aberlour, Aberlour berllour, Rothiemay, Rothiemayy, are to Drostan Insch, Deer Deer and Aberdour.

Aberdour. St. St. Drostan Drostaan died in the Insch, monastery att Deer Deer and was buried in Aberdour, Aberdour, near monastery Fraserburgh. His His tomb soon became a shrine hrine and, in the Fraserburgh.

Middle Ages,, fairs were were held in his honour ur at Rothiemay, Rothiemayy, Middle Aberlour and d Old Old Deer.

Deer. Pope Pope Leo Xlll restored restored his feast Aberlour ish calendar in 1898 and the t Dioceses Dioceses of to the Scottish Aberdeen and nd Argyll honour him on July July 12th. The Aberdeen chu urch in Fraserburgh Fraserburgh is dedicated dedicatted to Our Our Lady Catholic church St. Drostan.

Drosttan. and St. monasstery founded by

by St. St. Drostan Drosttan was handed The monastery over to the Cistercians Cistercians of Kinloss in 1219 219 by by the first over Buchan who had married marrried Marjorie, Marjorie, a Comyn Earl of Buchan

Portrait P ortrrait of Mark M the EEvangelist vangelist fr from rom the th he B Book ook of Deer Deer

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descendant of the Pictish chiefs of Buchan. The Cistercians moved the monastery two miles away and built the present Deer Abbey. One of the treasures preserved in the move was the Book of Deer, an illustrated manuscript now in Cambridge University Library. This Celtic book contains the Gospel of St. John, some parts of the other Gospels, the Apostles’ Creed and other prayers and an inventory of gifts given to the monastery by the Chief of Buchan. It also claims the monastery was founded by Columba and Drostan.

In the first half of the 20th century, the diocesan pilgrimage to Deer Abbey in honour of St. Drostan was so popular that a special train ran from Aberdeen to

Mintlaw Station until Dr. Beeching axed the line. A brief revival of the pilgrimage was attempted during Bishop Conti’s episcopacy. The ruins of Deer Abbey have been owned by the Diocese since 1930 and are managed by Historic Scotland. It is on the main road from Mintlaw to New Pitsligo (The A95O) and is open to the public.

The diocesan missal has the prayer of the Mass as follows: Lord God, you chose Saint Drostan to sow the good seed of your word in the hearts of our forefathers. Grant to us, at his intercession, an ever greater harvest of faith that we may come at last to share in your glory. Amen.

Lady Lovat, the widow of the legendary decorated war hero, the 17th Lord Lovat, died aged 94 in March this year. Lady Lovat was held in great affection in the area and was laid to rest at the family graveyard at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Eskadale.

Few places can match the uniqueness and tranquillity of the rural Highland Church of St. Mary’s. It is hard to believe that so large a Roman Catholic chapel was built as far back as 1827, only 34 years after the passing of the Catholic Relief Act. It was built by the Chief of the Clan Fraser, the 14th Lord Lovat; the rose window being added to the east gable in 1881.

The Parish owe a great debt to Lady Lovat and her family who for close on 200 years have been most generous benefactors.

In the following article Alasdair Roberts traces the history of a church which has been a constant source of wonder for the congregation of Eskadale.

Whitebridge in Stratherrick, and Morar, besides presenting the land for the Benedictine Abbey and School at Fort Augustus.’ Most of Lovat’s forebears as Chief of Clan Fraser had been called Simon like himself (or Shimi in Gaelic) but the man behind Eskadale was Thomas Fraser of Strichen. He fell heir to the Lovat estates in 1815 at the age of thirteen. Twelve years later a chapel ‘on a scale of grandeur hitherto unknown in the Highlands’ was opened for the Catholics of Strathglass.

There was also a woman behind Eskadale: Thomas’s mother. Emilia Leslie, oldest daughter of the 22nd Baron of Balquhain, married Captain Thomas Alexander Fraser of Strichen in the domestic chapel at Fetternear. Bishop George Hay had just brought his boys from Scalan in Glenlivet to a new seminary at Aquhorties beside Fetternear.

As a close friend of the Leslie family (he baptised five of them) Bishop Hay probably married the couple. They took up residence at Strichen, where the future Lord Lovat was born, and while living there as a widow Emilia had a small chapel erected in the grounds. Eskadale came next, in a round-arched Norman style with seating for 800.

The Rev. Duncan Mackenzie preached at the opening ceremony. He was already ill, aged forty-eight, and died in the new clergy-house a year later. Another local priest, Philip MacRae, had been forced by ill health to abandon the Fasnakyle mission with its heather-thatched chapel

Alasdair Roberts

I

n his Commando book March Past, Lord Lovat made reference to the piety of his family: ‘My immediate forebears, who were religious people, built churches at Beaufort, Beauly, Eskadale,

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twelve miles up the glen. Thus when the Rev. Alexander MacSweyn was sent to Eskadale in 1827 - newly ordained at the Highland seminary of Lismore after seven years study in Spain he found himself responsible for the whole of Strathglass. Maighstir Alasdair Mac Suibhne began his work as an itinerant pastor over rough Highland tracks.

His journeying took him as far as the Torgyle chapel in Glenmoriston, where he heard the ghostly footsteps of a murdered housekeeper. This comes from a source in Nova Scotia where he ended up among migrant Gaels.

Mr MacSweyn described himself as having been a ‘court preacher in A recent watercolour of the church by artist Ann Dean the Old Country’ - a reference to the formal setting of Eskadale, where the Lovat family sat a time when most other Highland lairds were clearing in a pew with raised armchairs at the back. Every second people in favour of sheep he gave up a farm near Beauly Sunday the preaching was in Gaelic, so the children were for families evicted by ‘the Chisholm’. This partly explains allowed to slip out and walk five miles back to Beaufort. why so many seats were put in. The second priest at Things were different in their holiday chapel at Bracara on Eskadale was Angus MacKenzie, placed there because it was ‘in the interests of the Church to have at the ear of a At a time when most other Highland lairds were British peer an intelligent and sensible confessor. . .’ clearing people in favour of sheep Lord Thomas gave Tragedy ended his ten years at Eskadale when, after a up a farm near Beauly for families evicted by ‘the dinner at Dingwall on 22 January 1856, he died of Chisholm’. aconite-poisoning along with the Beauly priest and another guest. A servant had mistaken ‘wolf ’s bain’ for the Lovats’ Morar estate: ‘A kind of pew was arranged for radish in the garden. us on the gospel side of the altar, so we looked sideways at The next two clergymen who served Strathglass found the body of the church, and for children who were inclined that this country mission (at the back of beyond, as would to giggle it was extremely difficult to keep a solemn face ...’ appear) was a stepping-stone to high authority. The Rev. Lord Thomas, as he became when the title of the John MacDonald, a local man, was educated at the Scots executed Shimi of the ’Forty-five was restored by monastery in Bavaria and Scots College Rome before Westminster, proved himself an exceptional landlord. At serving in turn the scattered Catholics of Glenmoriston, Braemar and Fasnakyle. After twelve years at Eskadale he became Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, then Bishop of Aberdeen on the restoration of the episcopal hierarchy. One of his early duties was to attend the first Vatican Council. During the Rev. Colin Grant’s two decades at Eskadale the traceried rose window designed by Peter Paul Pugin was put in above the altar. Father Grant too became Bishop of Aberdeen, but his tenure of office lasted only six weeks. A succession of devout women exercised their influence on the Lovat menfolk, none more so than the Commando leader’s grandmother Alice Lady Lovat. Her book Highland Bishop honoured the Rev. Aeneas Chisholm, a family friend as priest of Beauly who became Bishop of Aberdeen at the turn of last century.

The chapel interior

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Light of the North

Shelagh Noden’s Musical Memories of the North-East Shelagh Noden

O

n Christmas Eve 1748 William Guthrie, a young apprentice joiner in Ellon, was dismissed and turned out of his lodgings at short notice because he had become a Catholic and was therefore considered a bad influence.

Nothing daunted, William realised he had a vocation to the priesthood and in November of the following year he and another student, John Geddes (the future bishop), set sail for the Scots College in Rome.

On the way they landed at Gibraltar where the two young men went ashore to Mass. This was the first time they had ever attended a ‘real’ Catholic church. Previously like all Scottish Catholics at the time they had been forced to worship in secret and near-silence; here was a splendid

The significance of this story is that it was not unique.

Many newly-ordained priests longed to introduce something of the style of worship they had experienced abroad into their small chapels back in Scotland. ceremony with wonderful music in a beautiful church.

Thrilled and inspired by what he had seen, William wrote home: As it was the first Catholic Church that ever I was in I cannot express so much as I was struck with amazement to see the Altars so finely adorned with the most amiable Pictures, which I should think might move a heart of stone and excite it to devotion; and likewise, I was well pleased to see the Orders of the Church go about their functions with so much decency and respect to what they were about, and the people performing their part to the height of admiration … Lord grant that I may make good use of it and declare it unto others, that they may share the same sweetness with myself.

The significance of this story is that it was not unique.

Many newly-ordained priests longed to introduce something of the style of worship they had experienced abroad into their small chapels back in Scotland. As religious toleration gradually increased they were

eventually able to do so, and one aspect of this was the explosion of interest in church music in the early nineteenth century.

Sometimes this enthusiasm led to clergy and musicians getting carried away. An examination of nineteenth century editions of the Scottish Catholic Directory reveals that the most popular piece of church music, at least for big occasions, was Mozart’s 12th Mass. Older readers may remember it as its popularity lasted well into the twentieth century. The melody of the opening Kyrie has been used to set the hymn ‘Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.’

Alas, modern scholarship has revealed that this wellloved Mass is not by Mozart but is the work of a comparatively obscure composer called Wenzel Müller.

Nor is it his or anybody’s 12th. This numbering for Mozart’s and Haydn’s Masses was arbitrarily introduced

by Vincent Novello for his published editions, which became very popular.

‘Mozart’s 12th’ is not an easy work to perform, requiring a competent choir and organist, if not a small orchestra.

One wonders what some of the performances must have been like. Old copies have been found in which large portions of the Mass are omitted or the harmonies reduced, making it almost unrecognisable. Without such cuts the choir would have sung seamlessly through the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei, leaving the priest to his own devices at the altar.

Unsurprisingly this was sometimes described as a ‘holy concert’.

When a choir from St Mary’s, Aberdeen, went up to Banff to sing ‘Mozart’s 12th’ at a Mass to celebrate the opening of the new chapel in October 1870, they apparently had no tenors, and asked if there might be any available in the Buckie or Enzie area to help out. The idea of attempting this Mass in such circumstances makes one shudder, especially as they told the local priest, Rev. John MacKay that ‘they would be leaving out a good few bits of it (ie the most florid).’ They also took with them a violinist and a cornet player; Fr. MacKay commented drily, ‘which we could have done without.’ Perhaps not the choir’s most successful performance?

Why did choirs feel obliged to attempt this sort of music? Why are old music cupboards stuffed with copies of Masses by Mozart, Haydn, Weber, Gounod and other

faithandculture

Light of the North

lesser names? The reason seems to chime in with William Guthrie’s thoughts as described earlier; people wanted to do the best they could for the glory of God and the edification of the faithful. And human nature being what it is, they possibly wanted to show off the riches of Catholic culture, especially when they had been deprived of these for so long.

Eventually and inevitably there was a reaction against this, but that will have to wait for another article.

Meanwhile, what of William Guthrie? His story could easily have ended in tragedy. After a bad accident he had to undergo the horror of having a leg amputated—no anaesthetics, no antibiotics. Not only did he survive the operation, but after convalescing in Edinburgh he

Page 29

returned to work in a remote and inhospitable part of the North East, trudging around in all weathers on his wooden leg. Although not noted as a musician he helped enrich the worship of the Church by discovering a talent for embroidery and creating several sets of vestments for local colleagues.

His is an inspiring story; one of many such among the priests who laboured to keep the faith going in Scotland through difficult times.

Shelagh Noden is researching the history of Catholic church music in Scotland, and would be delighted to hear from anyone with any musical memories to share.

She can be contacted by email at: s.noden@abdn.ac.uk

Cathedral church with an unusual dedication Ron Smith

O

ur Lady of the Trellis is the unusual title of the Cathedral of the great French city of Lille. It is easy to get to from the UK. I took the Caledonian Sleeper train from Aberdeen to London, and then it is just 80 minutes by train through the tunnel.

The Cathedral is built on what was a mound that at one time supported a castle. Since the middle ages Lille had been well known for having a miraculous statue of Our Lady, protected by an iron trellis. In 1854 it was decided to build a splendid cathedral dedicated to Our Lady on the site. This church would be 132 metres (433

feet) long, with spires 115 metres (375 feet) high. This ambitious project dragged on, wars and economic problems made progress slow. Then in 1913 the building became a Cathedral, but progress was still slow, even though the size of the church was now much more modest. Unbelievably, in the 1990s money was raised to complete the building, which was finally inaugurated in 1999! This remarkable church has so many styles and bits and pieces developed over the years, and the final part was the massive central section, the front door. This wall is covered in 110 sheets of white marble, each one 28 mm thick. It looks grey from the outside, but from the inside the marble forms a translucent veil with the daylight coming through it in an orange – pink tint.

Inside there is a massive organ, in the top four in France for size, with 102 stops and 7,600 pipes. This was moved from Paris in 2007. With the light from the marble wall behind you, at the far end you see the altar with, up high on it, a small statue of Our Lady, protected by a low metal trellis. What an unusual name for Our Lady. Another version of the name is the French humorous expression “le jus de la treille” which simply means wine (from the vines that traditionally are trained to grow on a wooden trellis), and this wine represents life, appropriate for a church, and more subtle and romantic than a metal framework!

Our Lady of the Trellis - once seen never forgotten

In the next issue of the magazine Ron Smith, our globe-trotting investigator, reveals the long-awaited solution to the mystery of the Pope’s slippers!

Not to be missed.

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Light of the North

Margaret Bradley’s FOOD AND FAITH

Food and faith are essential parts of the human psyche. Food is essential to human existence. Food is nourishment; food is life. Its procurement, preparation and enjoyment connect directly to human concerns of life and death, happiness and sadness.

But what about the nourishment of our faith?

Certainly, Scripture plays a major part and food is often used to communicate the Good News, characterising situations and persons, and structuring and marking the dramatic development of the scriptural text. Metaphors frequently consist of gastronomic terms, and many of Jesus’ parables are connected with food. In the “Our Father” the request, “Give us each day our daily bread,” places food firmly within the context of worship and faith. It also stresses the “daily” necessity for enough food to satisfy but not to waste or to refuse to share with others.

The nourishment of faith is found in the Gospel account of the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1-15). Jesus has been preaching and healing all day and it is getting late. The disciples urge Jesus to send the people off to buy food for themselves. Jesus has another idea, one that connects the hearing of the Word with the nourishment of faith. “Give them something to eat”, he says. But there is not enough money to feed the crowd so the disciples look around for any food which is handy. “Five loaves and two fish.”

Jesus organises the crowd, blesses the food, and provides nourishment.

In the Bible, this passage comes at the start of the bread of life discourse.

In John 6: 5-15 we find that the multiplication of loaves started with the gift of a few simple possessions. We learn that those who can help others must bring what they possess to the Father. He doesn’t ask for what we do not have but accepts what we can offer him. In John 6: 24-35 we find the message that our hunger for life must be nourished by the real heavenly bread from the Father. In John 6: 41-51 Jesus describes himself, “I am the bread from heaven!” He promises that, “The bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” In John 6: 51-58 we find Jesus remains for us the living bread from heaven, flesh and blood given for the life of the world. To receive him is to enter into a wholly new intimacy with him. They who eat are themselves assimilated into the life of Jesus. In turn, they are invited to give their lives without measure.

(The Vienna International Religious Centre) The Church of the Multiplication At Tabgha on the north-west shore of the Sea of Galilee, stands the Roman Catholic Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, shortened to “The Church of the Multiplication”. It was built on the site of two earlier churches. The first of these is believed to have been built before 380, when it was recorded by the Spanish pilgrim Egeria and is believed to mark the site of the miracle of the seven loaves and five fishes and built to commemorate both this miracle and also the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes. In 480 the Church was enlarged and a mosaic floor added. In 614 the Persians destroyed the Church and the site was lost for 1,300 years. In 1888 it was rediscovered by the German Catholic Society who instigated an archaeological survey. Excavations began in 1932 resulting in the discovery of the 5th century mosaic floors which not only depict local animals, birds and plants but also, in front of the altar, two fish flanking a basket containing loaves of bread. The present Church is administered by the Benedictine order as a daughter-house of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem.

Light of the North

faithandculture

Lentil Soup with Flat Bread “Bread” in the Bible and in the Middle East represented life itself, as grains used to make bread were the staple food. A typical meal in ancient Israel might have consisted of lentil soup and flatbread (usually barley bread). With this might have been fresh fruits in season or dried fruit, cheese or yogurt and fresh or dried fish. These are some recipes you can use to recreate such a meal. Why not have a go?

Lentil Soup 7 ounces red lentils, 1 tbsp rice, 1 tbsp cumin, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 onions, sliced, Salt Rinse the lentils and rice, put them in a saucepan and cover with water. Add salt and cumin, bring to boil and cook one hour. Fry or grill the sliced onions until blackened. Scatter the onions on the soup and serve immediately with the Flat Bread which can either be used for dipping, either toasted or untoasted or cut into bite sized pieces and then sprinkled on the soup.

Flatbread This recipe makes eight loaves.

1 tsp active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water 1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt at room temperature 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 cups wholemeal flour (barley flour or other whole grain) 1/2 teaspoon salt Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Stir the yogurt until it is smooth, then stir in the baking soda - the yogurt will froth. Add salt to the flour and stir in the yogurt - yeast - water mixture. Knead for 10 minutes by hand. Cover the bowl with a wet towel and leave to rise for 1 to 1½ hours in a warm place. It should have doubled in size. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead. Divide into eight small balls. Flatten each ball into a 6” circle. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Warm a frying pan, coat with oil and place dough in the pan (as many as will fit at one time).

Press each circle of dough with kitchen paper to squeeze out air bubbles. Cook for 1½ minutes, flip, and cook another minute more. When the bread is cooked the edges of the bread will look moist.

Remove from pan and wrap in cloth to keep warm.

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crossword

Page 34

Light of the North

In this issue’s competition there’s an opportunity to win a copy of SusanBoyle’s latest CD, “Someone to Watch Over Me”.

Justsendyour completed entry, together with your name, address and telephone number to the ‘Light of the North’, Ogilvie Centre, 16 Huntly Street, Aberdeen AB10 Crossword 1SH. First correct entry drawn out of the hat is the winner. Closing date: 1st No.19 October, 2012.

Last issue’s crossword solution Across: 1 Rebecca, 5 Glories, 9 Myths, 10 Officials, 11 Disasters, 12 Sacar 13 Hell, 15 Ethiopia, 18 Laughter, 19 Ship, 22 Aloft, 24 Breakfast, 26 Difficult, 27 Ivory, 28 Enraged, 29 Dressed.

Down: 1 Remedy, 2 Bathsheba, 3 Casks, 4 Atonement, 5 Gifts, 6 Occasions, 7 Isaac, 8 Sisera, 14 Lightning, 16 Harvested, 17 Imitators, 20 Saddle, 21 Stayed, 23 Offer, 24 Bound 25 Knife.

Congratulations to our last competition winner, Miss E. MacDonald from Inverness

Little Horror Sudoku No. 8 If you prefer sudoku to crosswords then you still have a chance to win a copy of Susan Boyle’s latest CD, “Someone to Watch Over Me” with our super tough sudoku puzzle.

BibleQuizzes.org.uk

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

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

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

Across 7 Remembering Israel’s deliverance from Egypt (8) 9 A mother who gave her son to the Lord in service (6) 10 Father (4) 11 Genealogically recorded (10) 12 Father of seven daughters (6) 14 Tether for a Hebrew mobile home (4-4) 15 It would help our understanding!

(13) 17 Painful (8) 19 At peace (6) 21 Those who watch the world go by (10) 22 Siloam for example (4) 23 Reflect (6) 24 Adept (8)

Down 1 They mocked Jesus (6) 2 Paul forbidden to preach here (4) 3 God will do this with our sins if we repent (8) 4 Selected (6) 5 What Jesus does for us (10) 6 How we should be if we trust God (8) 8 Goodness (13) 13 Gleaners (10) 15 Number of years taken to build the temple (5-3) 16 Jesus said the kings exercised it over them (8) 18 Hoarded riches are harmful to these people (6) 20 Time to go! (6) 22 Could be crossed or waved in celebration (4)

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

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

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

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S i ster Jan et ’s We s tm ins te r Blo g Si s te r J a n e t Fea rn s FMDM i s t h e Co m mu n i ca t i o n s Co o rd i n ato r fo r t h e Po n t i fi cal M i s s i o n S o c i et i es w w w.m i s s i o. o rg. uk .

CHILDREN TRAVELLING IN JOY AND SORROW

S

ummer holidays inevitably involve some degree of travelling. On one occasion, just as I sat down on the train and looked out of the window, a thud beside me announced the arrival of a little girl who turned out to be seven years old. “Hello. Can I sit beside you? My name is Georgia.” So much for a previously planned peaceful, reflective journey!

The child was delightful. One question followed another with the beautifully simple curiosity that is unique to the very young.

Knowing that Georgia’s mother was sitting on the seat behind, I suddenly realised, with deep regret, that my own enquiries could, these days, be misconstrued. “Where are you going? What are you going to do? Which are your favourite rides on the fairground?” The absolutely normal questions that an adult puts to a small child, excited at the prospect of a family day out, are not always as innocent as they might seem. I rapidly altered my conversation and began to describe my own childhood experiences on the Ghost Train, but however much I continued to enjoy Georgia’s conversation, some of my own pleasure had disappeared.

There was a similar experience a few days later when, again on a train, this time heading towards Liverpool, a woman sat beside me, accompanied by four young girls, presumably her granddaughters. The girls were highly excited, not only by the rare treat of a train journey, but also by the prospect of the promised trip on the ferry across the River Mersey. Two of the children, aged about eight or nine, sat with their backs to the engine, delighted that they were travelling backwards whilst everybody else was moving forwards. Two short tunnels occasioned more joy than I had ever realised possible for such a brief experience of darkness.

I suspect that as I left the train, I was not the only person whose day had been made happier by being allowed to share the giggles and the enthusiasm of two young travelling companions.

Some years ago, I chatted with an elderly man who was passing the time before he could collect his granddaughter from school. “I used to love to stand by the school playground and watch the children playing”, he said. “It gave me so much pleasure and gave meaning to my day.

Now I can’t. I’m afraid that people will think that I’m up to something.

I still collect my granddaughter from school, but I go for a walk first and only approach the school when I know it is time for the children to come out. We don’t hang around... but something has gone from my life, something really precious.”

Certainly, children are to be loved and protected. Any normal person is horrified by the thought of their spontaneity and innocence being damaged in any way. For the past five years, people across the world have united in prayer and concern for Madeleine McCann, abducted

during the family holiday in Portugal. So many have reached out in practical love towards, not only the suffering McCann family, but also to others who have lost a child through whatever cause, knowing that the McCann family tragedy is merely the tip of a tragic iceberg.

At the time of writing, we are still hoping for good news from the recent age-updated picture of Madeleine and the Scotland Yard statement that she may still be alive. We do not know what happened to the child who disappeared apparently without trace.

There are others who vanish only to become the victims of human trafficking. For most of us, this is an issue which is at a distance from our everyday reality – and thank God this is the case. Yet for the 1.2 million children who, each year, are removed from their homes and, possibly, from their own countries, their plight demands greater attention.

Across the world, 161 countries are reported as a source, transit or destination for human trafficking. People are reported to be trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries, but where children are concerned, they are often too young to know what is happening to them and are rarely the ones to complain to the police about what is happening.

ECPAT UK stands for End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes. It is ‘a leading children’s rights organisation campaigning against the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the UK and its international aspects’. In a recent document, the organisation stated that its members know only too well ‘that trafficking is a massive problem in the UK. In the [first three months of 2012], 30 boys and 14 girls have been suspected as victims of forced labour and domestic servitude, the Government says.

But these are just the ones we know about.’

A family of four was recently jailed for trafficking a 7 year-old girl into London to be their domestic slave, even re-naming her Cinderella! How many other ‘Cinderellas’ are being exploited across the UK?’ Those who would hurt children have also hurt those of us who love them. In order to ensure safety for the youngest and most vulnerable amongst us, so many right-thinking adults have been obliged to step backwards and deny themselves the opportunity of sharing in the joy of childhood for a few moments. Especially those of us who do not have children and who do not work with them are enriched by the freshness and novelty of their outlook on even the most mundane events. How many of us have found ourselves laughing at a comment made in all seriousness by a small child who has succeeded, in a few words, in turning the adult world upside-down?

During these summer holidays, may children everywhere be filled with freedom and joy... but may they also spread a little of their happiness around them in ever-increasing circles, surrounding those of us who might be bystanders, but who would also like to be participants in their wonder and celebration.

Page 36

Light of the North

Let the sun shine in! - Beauly glass transformation Rainbow Glass Studio LTD is a family company, which specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of ecclesiastical, public and residential stained glass.

We have recently completed the conservation of a large stained glass window in St Mary’s church, Beauly.

The project involved the removal and conservation of the large stained glass window located behind the altar. It had numerous conservation issues which included deterioration of the lead and many years’ accumulation of grime. The window was becoming very unstable. These issues were all addressed using various conservation techniques at our specialist workshop. The individual window panels were then re-glazed, fitted into new frames and then installed with a new internally ventilated protective glazing system and protective wire guards. You will observe that the windows are now much brighter and the appearance has much improved, both the interior and exterior view. We would like to take this opportunity to thank St Mary’s church for their custom.

At Rainbow Glass Studio all the work we carry out is of the highest standard by skilled craftspersons using traditional methods and high quality materials. We do not compromise on the quality or finish of our work. All work carried out follows CVMA guidelines, which promote minimal intervention and maximum retention of original materials.

Our Directors include a PACR accredited conservator and an Accredited Artist of the Church of Scotland.

Please feel free to contact us if you require any advice regarding architectural stained glass windows. We cover all areas of Scotland but we also welcome enquiries from further afield.

**** NEWS – We are very pleased to announce that Rainbow Glass Studio expanded into new premises in December 2011. Our new studio is now over 3 times the size and we have been very busy creating a fully equipped workspace which allows us to work safely and productively.

This expansion has also allowed us to employ additional staff, including our new apprentice, Ryan and French Graduate Adelie Payen.

Left: The window before restoration Below left: Panels are reinstalled Below: The finished window

ICON ACCREDITED STUDIO Accredited Artist of the Church of Scotland.

Rainbow Glass Studio Ltd y14 Shaw Road y Prestwick 01292 474279