Light of the North Issue 24

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I am the Light of the World Letter to Readers from Bishop Hugh

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Light of the North

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North Issue 24, Autumn, 2013 Post-Reformation spirituality of St Francis de Sales Canon Alistair Doyle Page 20

Each copy of the Light of the North costs over a pound to produce and we would ask you to consider this if you wish to make a donation.

R.C. Diocese of Aberdeen Charitable Trust, a registered Scottish Charity no. SC005122

Fra Angelico’s Annunciation: An Advent Reflection Fr Domenico Zanrè Page 24

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A Letter from Bishop Hugh O.S.B.

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ear Readers,

By the time this number of the Light of the North reaches you, the Year of Faith will be at its end and another liturgical year will be beginning with Advent.

I think we all feel that it has been a memorable year in the life of Christ’s Church. Memorable for the noble resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the accession of the eversurprising Pope Francis. Memorable for World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. Memorable, nearer home, for the painful events surrounding the resignation of Cardinal O’Brien and the disclosures concerning the former Abbey and school at Fort Augustus. Memorable for happier happenings in our own diocese, such as the various celebrations for the Year of Faith.

For myself, three of the latter stand out: - the pilgrimage for young people at Pluscarden at the end of June, - the National Ecumenical Event in September with its walk of witness down Aberdeen’s Union Street and celebration of Evening Prayer at St Mary’s Cathedral, - in October, the diocesan pilgrimage to Rome which touched all who took part in it.

Light of the North How good again that 30 young people from our diocese went to Brazil for WYD in July, adding their own enthusiasm to that of three and a half million others. How good to welcome the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of St Cecilia to Elgin - they are already making their mark locally and further afield. How good that so many took part in our new Catechetics Course and have come forward to serve in this way. How good to have four seminarians, persevering in Rome and England, and two young men taking part in the Seminary Applicants Year just begun. Good too to hear of others considering the vocation to the Permanent Diaconate.

All the while as well, there is the larger history of our society, our country, our world, in which we are all caught up, sometimes distantly, sometimes not. How can we forget what is happening in Syria? Meanwhile too, in homes and families, in parishes and our seven Catholic schools, in our few but lively religious communities, and in the various groups at the service of the spiritual life or evangelisation or charity, life goes on, with its more immediate mix of hopes and disappointments, pressures and relief, struggles and joys, its reasons for gratitude and its calls to prayer.

We are not living in a stable period of history – at least it does not feel like that to us, however the future may see it.

And in the Church, we are not living in a time of triumph. But we are living in a time of grace. Grace - a word for God’s action in our lives – is everywhere, as St Therese of Lisieux famously said. Like divine wisdom in the Old Testament, Grace is something ‘active, incisive, unsullied…beneficent, loving to man, steadfast, dependable…quicker to move than any motion…pure, pervading and permeating all things’ (Wisdom 7: 22, 23, 24). As a bishop, I’m privileged to see it everywhere. For all its delicacy, it’s stronger than evil and sin and our penchant for division and hostility. It is our hope. And, as Advent ‘messages’, it takes flesh in Christ.

It lives in Scripture and the Sacraments. Its story is recalled every liturgical year, with its highlights of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. It enters our lives as faith, hope and love. We see it in so many people we meet and know. It shines out in Mary and John the Baptist and all the saints. It brings our humanity to full flower and takes us to heaven. The Year of Faith, with its purifications and encouragements, is ending.

Another year of Grace is beginning.

Keith Christmas cards are proving popular

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arishioners from St Thomas’ church, Keith have been busy raising money towards the cost of repairing and repainting the interior of St. Thomas' in time for March 2015. This will mark the 400th anniversary of the death of St. John Ogilvie who was born within the bounds of the parish.

As part of the fund-rasing effort, Keith artist Don Ferguson painted this picture of the church in the snow, and has generously allowed the parish to use it for a Christmas card; the proceeds of sale will all go to the fund. These are available for 90p each, including envelope, and are available from fundraiser Ron Smith: ronsmith@chronalog.co.uk

Fund-raiser Ron Smith and local artist Don Ferguson with the Keith Christmas card

Light of the North

contents

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liturgy 18 faithinaction 18 educationandformation 19 faithandculture 25 humour 33 crossword 34

Light of the North Managing Editor Deacon Tony Schmitz Editor Cowan Watson Editorial Advisor Canon Bill Anderson Advertising Manager 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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Advent: Why are we waiting?

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hy are we waiting and what are we waiting for? Sometimes, as we all know, the questions can be much more interesting than the answers.

Like the young man who goes to his rabbi and says, “Rabbi, why is it that you always answer a question with another question?” “Why do you ask?” replies the rabbi.

Advent is a season which throws up more than its fair share of interesting questions. It’s a season that celebrates waiting, though not the impatient ‘watching the clock’ waiting, rather an expectant, full of hope waiting; but for what? Of course Advent is about preparing to recall Christ’s coming at Christmas but to devote a whole season to prepare for remembering something that has happened in the past! That would seem, on the face of it, an odd thing to do. There must be more to it than that and the readings at this time of year provide us with the answer; Advent is also about preparing for Christ’s Second Coming at the end of the world.

And how do we know if we’re prepared? Well, recently I came across a story about a woman who was curious to know more about the process of refining silver.

She got to know a silversmith and asked him if she could watch him at work. He agreed on condition that she wore the correct protective clothing, including a pair of goggles to safeguard her eyes. Then he had her stand at his side as he held a piece of silver over the flame of a blow-torch. He explained that this was necessary to burn away all the impurities. She watched in amazement as the fire refined and purified the precious metal. As the silversmith worked, she asked, “How do you know when it’s ready?” He said, “That’s easy. I know the silver’s pure when I can see in it a reflection of myself.”

So, while God doesn’t actually use a blow-torch, though at times it may feel like it, the harsh events of everyday life can help draw us closer to himself and, as we turn to him and live by faith, we reflect, more and more, the image of God in which we were created. Paradoxically then, Advent is just as much about what is already present as about what is to come, what exists within us all the time and doesn’t need to wait for an appointed time in order to emerge, but only needs our attention.

Hopefully, in this our Advent issue, you’ll find something to kick-start your seasonal preparations, not least Bishop Hugh Gilbert’s article, “Father, why have you never talked to us about Paradise?” (page 18). Then there’s, Canon Alistair Doyle’s look at the spirituality of St Francis de Sales (page 20) and Fr Domenico Zanrè’s Advent Reflection (page 26).

Have a very blessed Advent and Happy Christmas Cowan

up front

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ur cover this issue features a painting of the “Madonna and Child” (tempera on panel) by the Austrian artist Marianne Stokes (1855 – 1927). The panel is currently in the collection of Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Museum.

Marianne Stokes settled in England after her marriage to Adrian Scott Stokes the landscape painter and was considered one of the leading artists in Victorian England.

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Banff Festival of Religious Song

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n Saturday 24th August, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church held a Festival of Religious Song hosted by Parish Administrator, Fr Marek Kaleta, which attracted participants from as far away as Aberdeen and Inverness, as well as home grown talent from around Banff.

In all, 43 people took part. The first performance came from three of the Pluscarden community led by Brother Michael de Clerk who sang a series of Gregorian chants. Credo, a Polish choir from Aberdeen, brought us up to date with three contemporary hymns and Echo, a group from Inverness, sang three Latin pieces in four-part harmony.

An interval provided an opportunity for participants to meet each other in the garden and to enjoy a range of refreshments including traditional Polish delicacies.

Among the participants we were particularly pleased to welcome Highland Youth, a group of young people from Inverness who had been to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro earlier in the summer. Their performance included the World Youth Day song, “Esperança do amenhecer” (“Hope for the Sunrise”).

More Polish music was provided by a group of children from the parish and the musical mix also included some more unusual contemporary pieces. One of these was performed by Fr Jacek, a visiting Polish Priest, which, given the prevailing weather conditions, was particularly apt, ‘Let it rain, let your rain fall down’ a cry to the Lord to fill our hearts.

Each participating group received a commemorative glass vase and Certificates of Participation, all signed by Bishop Hugh Gilbert who concluded the Festival with the celebration of the Vigil Mass of Sunday.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish would like to thank all those who took part in the Festival as singers and musicians, and also those who made and served the refreshments, set up and adjusted sound systems, and undertook other back stage jobs which ensured the smooth running of the event.

Stephen Shaw and Madeleine Picozzi

Catechists’ retreat

The Ogilvie Centre team led by Mary Nelson together with some of the newly commissioned catechists on retreat in Elgin

An appreciative audience at Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Highland Youth from Inverness

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ollowing a course conducted over six months, a group of catechists gathered in Elgin on the 6th September for a day of retreat.

Hosted by the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia and presided over by Bishop Hugh, the day consisted of talks, time for prayer and reflection, an opportunity for Confession and culminated with the celebration of Mass and a commissioning service.

The course was delivered, as part of the Year of Faith, by Mary Nelson and the team at the Ogilvie Centre, Aberdeen. It covered a wide variety of catechetical material, designed to deepen catechists’ own knowledge of their Faith and increase their ability to pass it on more effectively. Catechists came from all over the diocese, even as far as Wick, to participate in the course.

The series of twelve modules, given in both Aberdeen and Inverness, is being repeated over the coming months, with some of the teaching being undertaken by the Dominican Sisters.

While the lack of current provision for Catholic education in the North of Scotland beyond primary school is a worrying matter, the enthusiasm and commitment of numerous individuals to pass on the Faith is uplifting and holds great promise for the future.

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Aberdeen Youth Pilgrimage to Ireland

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ccompanied by their youth leaders and Fr Keith Herrera (Administrator, St Mary’s Cathedral, Aberdeen), a group of seventeen young people, aged from twelve to seventeen, and from various parishes in Aberdeen, made a week long pilgrimage to Ireland from 10th to 18th August.

After a night in Dublin they moved to their base in Knock from where they visited beautiful Glenadalough, Kylemore Abbey, Clonmacnoise monastic ruins, and climbed Croagh Patrick – with Mass in the chapel at the summit.

In Knock the Mass of Consecration of Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, attended by an estimated 15000 people, was one of the highlights of a week of worship, prayer, joy and devotion (and go-karting!). It culminated with participation in the Youth 2000 Ireland Summer Festival weekend at Mt St Joseph’s Abbey, Roscrea. A fantastic and inspirational time was had by all!

Chris Dyos - And see Calvin Raja’s report on page 15

Fr Keith Herrera, youth leaders and young pilgrims outside the Church of the Apparition at Knock

Veneration of St Anthony’s relics

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n Sunday, 27th October parishioners from the Diocese of Aberdeen were given the opportunity to venerate the relics of St Anthony of Padua, one of the Church’s most popular saints.

The relics, which comprised a “floating” rib bone and layers of cheek skin, had been touring Britain and Ireland to mark the 750th anniversary of the discovery of the saint’s remains by St Bonaventure in 1263.

St Anthony’s most famous relic, his tongue, which was found incorrupt when his grave was opened in 1263, thirty two years after his death, is too fragile to leave the basilica in Padua. The relics were accompanied by Padua-based Greyfriar, Fr Mario Conte, the editor of the Messenger of Saint Anthony who commented: “There is nothing superstitious about relics. The real meaning of a relic is love - they are a link of love between the person who venerates and the saint.”

Anthony of Padua, OFM, was a Portuguese Catholic friar belonging to the Franciscan Order. He was born and raised in a wealthy family in Lisbon. Noted by his contemporaries for his forceful preaching and expert knowledge of scripture, he was the second-fastest canonised saint ever in the Church’s history. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in January 1946.

St Anthony was originally buried at Sancta Maria Mater Domini Church in Padua. His remains were later moved, in 1263, to the current Basilica in the Italian city. When St Bonaventure, who was head of the Franciscan Order at the time, presided over the opening of Anthony’s coffin, he discovered that the saint’s vocal organs were intact, including his tongue. “Oh blessed tongue, that ever praised the Lord and led others to praise Him!” St Bonaventure exclaimed. The saint had been known as a wonderful preacher of the Gospel.

Though he died in 1231 at the age of 35, St Anthony’s popularity has rarely waned over the centuries. He is widely revered as the saint who helps find lost things or people and his miracles have won him affectionate veneration among Christians and non-Christians alike.

Altar Servers at St Mary’s Cathedral, Aberdeen gather to venerate the relics of St Anthony

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Fish & Chip Babies at St. Thomas’ Primary

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y way of a St Vincent de Paul charitable meeting in Aberdeen, knowledge of the Fish and Chip Babies found its way to St Thomas’ Primary, Arbroath in the Diocese of Dunkeld and touched the hearts of the upper school.

As part of their citizenship work, volunteer pupils from P5-7 embarked upon a new challenge- to give support to some of the poorest children in our world. Led by class teacher Mrs Fenton and ASN practitioner Mrs Hill, the pupils gave up their Golden Time, lunchtimes and playtimes to learn how to knit.

It took many weeks but finally, armed with the know-how to cast on, knit, purl and cast-off, the knitting marathon began.

The colours chosen for the knitting also had to be carefully considered; traditional white and pastel colours wouldn’t be suitable since the clothes would quickly look ‘tatty’ as there is not always the opportunity to wash them.

Fish and Chip Babies are found in places like Africa and Romania, so called because when they are born, their environment is so poor that they are wrapped in newspaper

Lunchtime knitting with Mrs Hill rather than blankets or baby-grows. The children set their sights on producing as many little baby-grows, hats and bootees as they could, enlisting the help of family and friends.

It took many months until finally they were ready to present their work to Kathleen Hoy of Holy Family Parish in Aberdeen; she in turn would present them to Father Giles of Pluscarden Abbey, near Elgin, who will find a way to take the clothes to

Hermit sister seeks isolated hermitage

Making their presentation to Kathleen Hoy and Mary Morris from Aberdeen the babies.

The children learned about the difference in conditions for babies in Africa and in Scotland; the hospital care, their birth weights, their diets, the survival rates. Despite the hot days in these countries, the nights are markedly cold-having warm clothing gives these weak babies a much better chance to make it to childhood. Discovering this really made them think about how lucky they are and about how much they have. They were very proud to know that they had made a real difference to the lives of the babies who would receive their gifts, even to the point of saving their lives.

In the end, a collection of over fifty sets of baby-grows, hats and bootees, along with crocheted and embroidered patchwork blankets were presented. Father Giles may well need more than one suitcase to carry his message of hope this time!

We’ve been caring for seafarers for nearly 100 years.

Please remember Apostleship of the Sea in your Will.

Apostleship the Sea 1/4

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“The Church recognises the life of hermits, in which Christ’s faithful withdraw further from the world and devote their lives to the praise of God and the salvation of the world through the silence of solitude and through constant prayer and penance … they lead their particular form of life under the guidance of the diocesan Bishop” (Canon 603).

Sister Mary Benedicta, a canonical Hermit, is looking for a small, unfurnished cottage/bothy, preferably in an isolated coastal area or island, for long term let as soon as possible.

She is prepared to pay a reasonable rent. (Tel. 07760346533)

www.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk Registered charity in Scotland number SC043085

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Tercentenary of Seminaries in Scotland

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lairs Museum will be marking the tercentenary of seminaries in Scotland next year with a small exhibition recording a remarkable history.

By the 16th century the church in Scotland, as elsewhere, was in need of reform. Bishops, for example, were often the appointment of the monarch who used this authority to his own benefit – James IV's illegitimate son Alexander, for instance, was nominated as Archbishop of St. Andrews at the age of 11 which allowed his father to receive the revenues of St Andrews until Alexander turned 27. Alexander was also Lord Chancellor of Scotland and co-founded St Leonard’s College in St Andrews but died with his father on the battlefield of Flodden 500 years ago aged 20.

As an important part of the counter-Reformation, the Council of Trent (1545-1563) decided that candidates for the priesthood should in future be trained in seminaries and from as young as twelve years of age. In Scotland that was always going to be difficult. In 1560 the Scottish Parliament declared Scotland a Protestant country and outlawed the Catholic religion. This was soon put to the test because the newly widowed, teenage and Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots arrived in Scotland from France the following year to take her place on the throne. Some have said that Mary was at the forefront of the ecumenical movement because she allowed her people to worship as they wished but

The seminary at Scalan it being used as incriminating evidence. 1714 would seem to be the date of the first seminary – six boys under their tutor, a young priest called George Innes, began their studies on Eilean Ban, a small island on Loch Morar. One of the boys was Hugh Macdonald, son of the laird of Morar. However it was short lived as the failure of the 1715 Rebellion a year later meant George Innes was forced to abandon Eilean Ban and send the students home.

In 1716 a seminary in Glenlivet at Scalan opened. Hugh Macdonald eventually made his way there and when he completed his studies was ordained in 1726 as one of the first

Eilean Ban, a small island on Loch Morar Mary was soon gone from Scotland, having been forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son, James VI. He was brought up Protestant and on the death of Elizabeth I also became James I of Great Britain and Ireland. He was the intended victim of the ‘Gunpowder Plot’, seen as a Catholic plot to kill a king who had publicly announced his 'utter detestation' of Catholicism as well as confirming Elizabeth’s laws against Catholicism.

Scottish seminaries were set up in various countries on the continent because of the situation in Scotland and there is some evidence of ‘schools’ where boys lived and studied in the home of a priest. Such a school seems to have existed in Glenlivet in 1699 but when the priest left, it closed.

It is difficult to be completely certain of the date of the first proper seminary in Scotland and this might well be because little was written down and kept because of the possibility of

The seminary of Aquhorties near Inverurie ‘heather priests’ (trained entirely in Scotland).

Guidal, Arisaig; Glenfinnan; Buorblach, Loch Morar; Samalaman, Moidart and Lismore were all part of a series of heroic attempts to have a permanent seminary for students within the Highland District of Scotland. In the Lowland District Scalan, which itself survived several attempts to destroy it, was followed by Aquhorties and then in 1829, the year of the Catholic Emancipation Act, Blairs became the national seminary.

Next year’s exhibition at Blairs Museum will attempt to tell this story.

Ian Forbes

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Restored Blairs Crucifixion and Rembrandt connection

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arlier this year, thanks to a grant from the Association of Independent Museums, a mid 17th century painting of the Crucifixion from the Blairs Museum collection was restored and conserved.

Albrecht Durer who, at the very end of the 15th century, completed his image of the crucifixion, would seem to be the original inspiration for this painting at Blairs Museum which is

dated 1642. After the Reformation, religious art began to flourish again in 17th century Netherlands and such was the demand that 16th century German prints after Durer were often referred to when considering the composition of crucifixion scenes rather than starting from scratch.

The Blairs Museum painting has similarities in terms of composition and technique with Pieter Lastman’s ‘The crucifixion’, 1616 (Rembrandt House Museum). Lastman was the teacher of Rembrandt and the source of some of Rembrandt’s compositions.

The spatial relationship of the three crosses; the poses of the bodies on the crosses; the despairing figure at the base of Christ’s cross; and the nobleman on horseback dressed in eastern costume are all similar to Lastman’s painting.

The stylistic transitions make it seem likely that the artist of the Blairs Museum painting was working in either Leiden or Amsterdam. Aberdeen had strong academic links with Leiden in the 16th century and strong trading links with Amsterdam throughout the 17th century.

A Blairs Museum inventory suggests that this crucifixion scene was previously in St Andrew’s Church, Braemar. Bishop Aeneas Chisholm, who is pictured in a large stained glass window in the church, may be the reason for this. At Blairs Museum we have the drawing for the window and Bishop Chisholm sent several items to Blairs College, where he had previously been the principal, for safe-keeping.

Ian Forbes (Museum manager)

St Mary's, Beauly 150th Anniversary Pilgrimage to Lourdes 10th October 2014 There are still a few places available on our Parish Pilgrimage for next year.

The Pilgrimage will be led by Father Colin Davies.

We will travel by luxury coach and ferry from Dover.

After an overnight stay in Paris we will have three full days in Lourdes.

On our return journey we will stop in Nevers at the Convent of St Gildard where the body of St Bernadette is preserved.

We will also visit the Chapel of the Miraculous medal in Paris and take a bus tour of the City.

On day eight we leave Paris, cross the channel at Calais and arrive home in the evening.

Cost will be £549 per person (based on 2 Sharing) If you would like further details please call Father Colin on 01463 782232 or Sandra on 01463 831133

Hugh

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f you have access to the internet do take a look at some of the many inspiring talks and homilies given by Bishop Hugh Gilbert and other members of the clergy and which are now available on “You Tube”. These include videos of the Diocesan Faith Formation Seminars led by Bishop Hugh which cover a wide range of topics such as “Why does God allow evil?” and “A Catholic Perspective on Economic Life”.

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n Tuesday 17th September the Parishioners of St. Peter and St. Benedict Parish, Fort Augustus in the Diocese of Aberdeen, enjoyed a day of Catechesis and Prayer with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia who are based at Greyfriars Convent in Elgin.

The Sisters gave talks to the three age groups of the Parish: children, teenagers and adults in the evening. The themes for the talks were the Virtues (Faith, Hope & Charity); Our call to Holiness; and Spiritual Renewal.

The adults took part in the service of Compline with the Sisters and the Sisters joined Fr. John Allen, our parish priest, and the parishioners for their usual Wednesday morning celebration of the Eucharist.

The sisters very much enjoyed their visit to the parish and hope to visit again soon.

The Parishioners were very grateful for their visit and would like to express their thanks.

Lorraine McDonald (Parish Catechist)

Sisters of St Cecilia have a pizza break at a youth gathering at St Peter and St Benedict Parish, Fort Augustus

Nightfever Saturday, December 14th St Mary’s Cathedral, Aberdeen Nightfever is an evening where the doors of the church are opened wide for everyone to “come and see” .

We invite you to sit and take a minute to open your heart and soul to God's grace and love through Adoration, Confession, music and prayer.

The basic mission is all about inviting people on the street to come into the church to light a candle. Then, once inside, inviting them to the front of the church where they can leave their lit candle, write a prayer intention, read a Word of God and simply sit or kneel in front of Jesus.

The results for many can be very moving.

To find out more see Nightfever Scotland (https://www.facebook.com/NightfeverScotland/info).

If you would like to be involved then please be at St. Mary's Cathedral, Aberdeen just before 8.00pm.

Our Lady of Aberdeen

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tanding high on a pedestal in a side chapel of a Brussels church is one of Scotland’s treasures, a statue of Our Lady and Child which was saved from destruction in Aberdeen during the Reformation.

The fascinating story of this unique statue’s survial is told in a new book by author Ron Smith, a parishioner of St Thomas’ church in Keith.

The eighty eight page book with a preface by Bishop Hugh Gilbert includes sixteen pages of colour illustrations. To order your copy or copies for your parish please get in touch with Ron at: ronsmith@chronalog.co.uk.

Copies cost £5.00 plus £1.10 U.K. postage and will be available shortly.

COMPREHENSIVE SELECTION OF DEVOTIONAL ITEMS CANDLES ALL OCCASION CARDS COMMUNION GOODS CHRISTMAS CARDS TRADE SUPPLIERS TO REPOSITORY SHOPS, GIFTS SHOPS & CHURCHES

CBC 1/4 repeat copy

Greenbank, Newry, Co. Down BT34 2JP Tel: (028) 3026 5216 Fax: (028) 3026 3927 ^^^ JIJKPZ[YPI\[VYZ JV \R , 4HPS! ZHSLZ'JIJKPZ[YPI\[VYZ JV \R

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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL 2013

Diocese of Aberdeen Gaynoll Craig

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hree and a half million young people attended Pope Francis’ Final Mass in Rio this summer together with 400 bishops and priests.

WOW!! How awesome and inspiring to see 3.5 million young people kneeling in prayer on Copacabana Beach during WYD Masses. The Church is alive and well throughout the world and for our young people a reassurance from God that it is great to be Catholic and celebrate our faith together. Bishop Hugh, Fr Tomaz Klin and Gaynoll Craig led the group of thirty young people which included both Scottish and Polish seminarians.

Aberdeen Diocese was the only Scottish diocese to make the Pilgrimage to Rio and they returned fully affirmed in their faith and ready to serve God. Missionary Week was spent at the Cathedral of São Pedro de Alcântara where we were made so welcome by Fr Jacque, Fr Moses and the families of the parish. The Catechesis themes for the week were Holiness, Communion and Mission.

Our Mission Day was spent inviting people in poor areas to come to the Rosary Walk to Our Lady of Fatima Shrine on the Friday and celebrated at the summit with music and dancing (for Brazilians, dancing is a form of prayer). Our final day was celebrated by a big Mass (with about 4,000 in attendance) in Itaipava Park with groups from Chile, Colombia, France and other nations. Here we performed our drama of History of the Faith in Scotland which was great fun. We travelled to WYD Rio the following week and were hosted by families St Cecilia’s Parish, a poor area of Rio. Our Catechesis took place in a multi storey car park and we were blessed by talks from Bishop Coleridge of Sydney, Archbishop Timothy

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Dolan from New York and a Nigerian bishop as well as joining Bishop Hugh at the Fluminese Football Club to hear his talk.

The Masses, Stations of the Cross and Overnight Vigil under the stars all took place on Copacabana Beach with the ever present sound of the waves breaking on the shore.

This was a challenging Pilgrimage for our young adults, far from home and confronted by a new culture, different language, extreme poverty at times, and a chaotic transport system. Despite all the scaremongering, however, we felt safe and that we had each been given the grace and patience to overcome any difficulties and rejoice in sharing the faith, joy and dynamism that is WYD. Pope Francis announced that the next WYD is to take place in Krakow, Poland, much to the joy of our Polish young people.

Since our return, one of our number has entered the preparatory year for the seminary and another has entered postulancy for the Capuchins, while yet others are preparing to serve in their parishes or diocese. We are very Blessed!

If anyone would like a presentation to your young people or parish, our pilgrims will be happy to visit you.

Contact - gaynollcraig@yahoo.co.uk Gaynoll Craig is the Diocesan Coordinator for WYD

Jericho BenJERICHO BENEDICTINES edictines 1/8 page repeat copy

Combine the Spiritual Life with the running of ‘Jericho Inns’ for those being passed by on the other side’ The Drug & Alcohol Addicted Victims of Domestic Violence Homeless Men & Women Holidays for those on low income Enquiries & donations gratefully received Fr. James Monastery of Jesus, Harelaw Farm KILBARCHAN Renfrewshire PA10 2PY

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World Youth Day: Memories which will last a lifetime

In the following lively report Lidia Konar reflects on the highs, lows, challenges and altogether memorable experiences that made this year’s International World Youth Day in Rio so special.

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Lidia Konar

had never thought that I would ever visit Brazil or meet any Pope other than Benedict XVI. Last July, when I heard about the pilgrimage being organized to Rio, I decided without hesitation that I wanted to be there. Seven months later, the world heard about the resignation of Benedict. I was a little disappointed because I never had the chance to meet him. I did not understand his sudden decision and the Pope, the pastor of the Church, had been important to me from the beginning of his pontificate. Later, I waited in suspense for the election of the next Pope. I wondered who I would meet in Rio. At the time I was working on my dissertation entitled ‘How did the Polish and British press portray John Paul II in spring 2005? and even my university supervisor told me, ‘Lidia, when I was driving this morning I was thinking about you: oh, the smoke is black!’.

‘Habemus papam’, posted my friends with joy on their ‘Facebook walls’ when Francis was elected.

I did not really know many in the group and it scared me that I did not know Portuguese, had no experience of Brazilian food and was not familiar with their culture. Interestingly, already at the airport, I forgot about my concerns and what I wanted most of all I thought were spiritual experiences.

In Manchester we had already met a group from Inverness with “What we saw on arrival exceeded our expectations: dozens of people were standing outside the church, playing and singing songs to welcome us.” whom we spent the entire stay in Rio. So, there were thirty of us altogether: ten Polish and twenty Scottish.

When we arrived in Rio, it was dark. From the airport we were transported by bus to Petropolis, the town also known as The Imperial City of Brazil, located over sixty km from Rio. It was around midnight when we arrived at the Cathedral of St. Peter of Alcantara (São Pedro de Alcântara). What we saw on arrival exceeded our expectations: dozens of people were standing outside the church, playing and singing songs to welcome us. We were very surprised, maybe slightly embarrassed, but very happy. We did not know what to do, but the situation was rescued by the McGillivray brothers from Inverness - Andrew, Michael and Ian - who started playing the bagpipes. At the church, after a short speech by the parish priests, Fr Jacque and Fr Moses, we were taken to the homes of the Brazilian families to whom we had previously been allocated.

Bella from Elgin and I went to stay with the lovely family of Raul and Renata, parents of a two and a half-year-old daughter, who lived in ‘the pink house’ near the city centre. We had to climb up to the house via steps, of which there were probably a hundred. The pink house was inhabited by a few families: Renata’s mother, Renata’s brother’s family, and Renata’s older sister’s family. Raul and his wife’s flat was very small, but quite pleasant. They knew practically no English, and we did not know any Portuguese, but they came up with the idea of using Google Translate to communicate with us.

We had lots of fun with this since, as you can probably imagine, the application came up with some weird and wonderful translations!

This family, despite not being well-off, treated us with great generosity . The couple tried so hard to make our stay enjoyable and we received many invitations, not least an invitation to Raul’s sister Monique’s birthday party.

At the party I joked that Raul and Renata should step out to a Polish dance called Krakowiak which I knew they were familiar with. The couple had been dancing for over ten years in a local dance folk group, ‘Kaiserstadt Kulturkreis’ and, to my great surprise and delight, they started to dance the Krakowiak.

The Missionary Week (Semana Missionária) in Petropolis was very well prepared. Some of the local volunteers spoke excellent English. Apart from the pilgrims from Scotland there were young people from France, Chile, Colombia and America. During the week we were able to visit much of the city including the Crystal Palace (Palacio de Cristal) which was built in the nineteenth century. We also visited some Benedictine nuns. One of the most memorable experiences was the Rosary that we prayed together on Friday night with a group of hundreds of young people on the way to the Shrine of Fatima (Trono de Fatima). I think that for many of us it was an unforgettable spiritual experience. The prayer ended with the dances on the hill of the Statue of Our Lady. I had never seen anything like that before in my life: the Latinos’ religiosity differs significantly from what we see in Europe. We are serious in our prayers, while they also pray with dance. Another significant experience for us pilgrims from Europe was visiting favelas in the suburbs of Petropolis. For some of us it was perhaps the only opportunity to meet and greet with a smile some of the poorest citizens of the modern world. I mention our smiles because none of us could speak Poruguese and only two or three of us spoke Spanish.

The Brazilians were extremely understanding about our lack of knowledge of their language. Sometimes I used to joke that I did not know more than a few words for shopping, such as ‘Bom dia’ (‘Good morning’), ‘Oi’or ‘Ola’ (‘Hi’) and ‘Obrigada’ (‘Thank you’), because I could easily get along with them using sign language. At the end of our stay in Petropolis, Bella and I received a few presents: among others, medals of Our Lady of Aparecida (Portuguese: Nossa Senhora Aparecida), and tiny pearl colored rosaries.

It was hard to say goodbye to the inhabitants of Petropolis, as during this short time we managed to make friends with them.

They did not hide their emotions either; many of them were crying, and one of the volunteers, Guilherme, gave a moving testimony about how he experienced the week with us pilgrims from Scotland.

Father Moses gave us the final blessing on the bus. He cried too.

On July 22nd we moved to Rio de Janeiro, to St. Cecilia Parish in an area called ‘Bras de Pina’. Again, we were placed in Brazilian families. This time I stayed with a Polish girl, Ewa, and we were hosted by Carla and Antonio and their two delightful daughters,

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Maria Eduarda and Maria Ferdinanda.

On the very first evening in Rio we enjoyed a concert by a Christian Band from India – Rex Band. I also had an opportunity to speak to all of them while collecting their autographs. I immediately bought their CD, ‘Son Rise’, when I heard the song ‘You Are My Tower.’ For me, the band members were true witnesses of Christ.

I will never forget the speech by the band’s keyboardist who called on all of us gathered in the crowd to use our talents for the glory of God as he has been doing.

Throughout the next week we had morning catechesis with the Bishops. In particular, the catechesis given by Bishop Frank Maroni from the USA lodged itself in my memory. He, among others, said that we should seek things which give us not happiness, but joy. During each day we visited the city. We were divided into smaller groups of five or six. What was happening in the city was amazing. At every step we met hundreds of pilgrims from different countries, including people from Poland, Germany, Austria, France, the United States, the Czech Republic, and many other countries.

However, pilgrims from South America were the dominant group.

What struck me about them was their spontaneity and musicality.

Almost every group of Latinos had at least one musician, and they sang loudly and completely without any inhibition in the streets, on the train, in the subway or on a bus. What's more, it was very easy to engage with them and therefore to get in touch with people from Argentina, Peru, and of course from Brazil.

This spontaneity influenced us too. One evening on the bus on the way from Copacabana beach to Bras de Pina we started to sing a favourite song of Pope John Paul II in Polish called ‘Barka’ (English: ‘Boat’) and then almost all the people in the bus joined us, singing the song in their own way, in Portuguese. They were not pilgrims, but were simply the inhabitants of Rio. Finally came the long-awaited day of the ‘Papal Welcoming Ceremony’. Unfortunately there were so many people gathered at Copacabana beach that I was not able to see Papa Francisco. Some of the girls in our group said that they saw the top of the Pope’s head and for them it was just a great experience that they would later recount to their grandchildren.

Time passed by quickly and a lot of things were happening but “In the end, a young tattooed man came to us. He was probably in his late twenties. If I had met him in the UK he would probably have been one of the last people I would trust.” with hindsight I now see that what is most important happened in the second half of our stay in Rio. It started with a memorable Saturday, July 27th, when Ewa and I became separarated from the rest of our group. We got lost in the slums and I must admit that we were slightly scared because people there looked different from those in the centre of Rio. They were dressed in poor clothes, did not know English and were staring strangely at us when we asked them for directions to the train station. In the end, a young tattooed man came to us. He was probably in his late twenties and if I had met him in the UK he would probably have been one of the last people I would trust. The man spoke little English but we managed to make ourselves understood and he took us through all the poor neighborhoods to the train station. There, I almost boarded a train with Ewa in the direction of Campus Fidei where the Vigil with Pope Francis was supposed to be held. Luckily, being hungry, we did not board the train immediately and instead went to look for restaurants that would accept our meal pass (ticket restaurante). All of sudden we saw crowds of people going in another direction so we joined them. It turned out that the Campus Fidei event had been moved to Copacabana Beach because the campus was slightly

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flooded by previous heavy rains and crocodiles were now appearing on the site!! We wandered with the crowd for twelve kilometres till we reached Copacabana Beach but once there, and with so many people around, we knew that there was little chance of finding Gaynoll and the Scottish contingent. I believe that we were led by the Holy Spirit as all of a sudden we met Andrew who gave us directions to the place where the group was encamped. We spent the night on the beach; we listened to the Pope’s speech which was translated into English on the radio, followed by adoration till 1 am.

It was one of the most difficult nights in my life. The night was very cold and at some point I ended up without a sleeping bag. Feeling like a homeless person, I went for a walk. There were a million or more people sleeping on the beach. A lot of people, especially Latinos, were not sleeping at all. They played religious songs, sang, and even danced. I came back to the group at 5 am and an hour later “For me personally, looking after the homeless on the streets was my greatest experience in Rio.” I went with two other girls to have breakfast before the final Mass.

In the end I ate nothing and then we came across a lot of homeless people sleeping by the walls of the buildings. It was a very moving scene. One of the homeless, a poor, dark-skinned boy said, 'Good Morning' to us in Portuguese. He looked very tired, but what struck me most was the pain on his face. I had only ever seen a homeless person like him before on TV. We passed him, but a moment later I returned to him and gave him food that I had got the day before after staying in the three-hour queue. I also gave him a cap, which I had got from the Youth Day organizers. I have never seen anyone in my life that was enjoying wearing a new cap as much as this boy was. Later, I wanted to meet him again but unfortunately I could not find him and for the rest of my stay in Rio I was thinking about his situation. Precisely an hour after this encounter I saw the Pope!!

While driving to the final Mass, Papa stopped a few metres in front of me to bless a young child. I felt rewarded then for all the hard times in Rio. I cannot describe the feelings that accompanied that

Light of the North News Hounds Wanted

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he Light of the North is your Diocesan magazine and we need to know what’s happening in your Parish.

If you would be interested in being a Light of the North Parish Correspondent please get in touch with the editor at: lightofthenorthmagazine@gmail.com.

Ideally, we would like to have a correspondent in every parish who would let us know about any newsworthy events for inclusion in the magazine.

Parish news hounds could also ensure that the magazines are handed out in church and collect any donations. This would relieve their parish priest of this responsibility.

So, please say yes to being a Parish Correspondent so that we can continue to provide the news and pictures which help to make the Light of the North truly representative of all the parishes in the Diocese.

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moment but I think the predominant feeling was one of respect for him and unspeakable joy.

A few days later when I was packing for the return flight to Scotland, I said to the girls that I wanted to give some of my clothes to homeless people and they started to give me their stuff. I wanted to go so badly and I knew I would regret it if I didn’t go to visit the homeless that night. Pope Frances’ final message was ringing in my ears “Go, do not be afraid and Serve”. There were six or seven people who went with me that night along with Bruce our interpreter. For me personally, looking after the homeless on the streets was my greatest experience in Rio. In general, these people were not aggressive at all. Some of the homeless people were already sleeping but some ran up to us with joy. I remember one 33-yearold man who started to praise God when he met us. On the other hand, one young boy cried when he got a rosary from us. We came back to our accommodation at 2 am. All of us were so happy as we realised that we were working just as Papa Francisco wanted us to do. We did make disciples, but we did that from our hearts, not because we felt any obligation to do that.

I can still summon up many memories of Rio: conversations with

Light of the North Bishop Hugh, who knew the answers to the most complex questions; holy Mass in English in Petropolis during which I spontaneously joined a musical group; our performance in Petropolis when one of the McGillivray brothers played the pipes; our visit to Christ the Redeemer; the colourful parrots, lemurs, and monkeys that live in the parks in Rio; a crazy bus driver speeding at 100 km per hour through the city; bananas tasting like apples, and many other very pleasant memories.

To sum up, I'm glad that I had the chance to meet people from such a different culture who are not too embarrassed to show their feelings to strangers, who put family, love and faith over money. We Europeans have a lot to learn from them. During my stay among these people I also understood that Pope Francis’ modesty is rooted in this simple, Latin culture. I thank God for all the people that I met there, for our group, for our modest Bishop Hugh and group organiser Gaynoll without whom the trip could not have happened, for our kind second group leader Sabina, for the magnificent Father Tomasz and especially for Pope Francisco who, amidst the general deterioration of this world, gives young people an example of how to live without losing their dignity.

Stirling University hosts Scotland’s Rio While millions of pilgrims flocked to Brazil to see Pope Francis and to take part in World Youth Day 2013, Scottish Catholics marked the event with a unique Faith celebration of their own at Stirling University . Daniel MacDougall takes up the story:

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Daniel MacDougall

his year two events were held simultaneously – World Youth Day in Rio, Brazil and Scotland’s Rio in Stirling.

I attended Scotland’s Rio this year and, along with almost three hundred young people, I took part in an amazing journey. The week was composed, like the official World Youth Day, of seminars, catechesis and opportunities for both Eucharistic adoration and confession. Some activities brought laughter, some brought tears, but no matter how diverse the subject, all the workshops were all driving home a similar message – that we shouldn’t be afraid to profess our faith, and to tell others that we are not ashamed of who we are.

A priest once remarked in his sermon that we were the Ark of the Covenant and what we do makes the true values of a Christian. We are capable of evangelising people simply by the way we act: do we

“Walk of Witness” at Scotland’s Rio in Stirling

live our lives with kindness, humility, and compassion? Do we stay with Christ, even through the trials we must overcome? The week showed me that everyone faces challenges, some perhaps more than others, but in the very way we handle our problems, we show others that we can trust in something much greater than ourselves.

Along with challenges, however, our faith often provides us with many opportunities to join together as a community and have fun. And so on Thursday night we had a Scottish Ceilidh which we pulled off in our usual Scottish manner. On Friday we had a Brazilian festival for which the dress code was simply to wear something bright but this produced a wide variety of costumes. I’m sure a cd player in a hall doesn’t quite compare to the real thing, but we gave it a try and I think we did pretty well.

After the socials we attempted night prayer - the younger members of the group now filled with sugar and thoroughly shaken around. I predicted a disastrous affair but I often forget how calming prayer can truly be - a wise woman once said to me “prayer changes everything”. Silence fell easily each night and a tranquillity descended over us. I know that personally I’ve never slept so well once we were finally allowed to our beds.

We had been having glorious sunshine all week so the prospect of an evening rosary procession was quite exciting. However, our Scottish notoriety for rain couldn’t possibly disappoint, so on the single night we had an outdoor activity planned, the Scottish heavens opened and poured rain down on our heads. The youth of Scotland would not be deterred by a little rain though so we ploughed on with the procession despite the weather.

Our final day was a joyous walk to Saint Mary’s cathedral in Stirling. It was still raining, but this time we were a little more prepared and so with the Youth Cross at our head and in our hearts, we marched on in good humour. During the last hymn of mass people began dancing and singing in the aisles as if the joy of Rio had come to Scotland. The mass marked the end of our week’s journey but with the announcement of the next World Youth Day, it was really just the beginning of a whole new journey.

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Special Yo s’ c li o th a C g n u Yo l ia c e p S Young Catholics’

World Youth Day Missionary Week in St Peter’s, Petropolis Caitrin Barry gives her impressions of The World Youth Day Missionary Week which aims to give young people the chance to participate in spiritual activities, works of solidarity with local communities, as well as missionary and cultural events. Families provide hospitality for the young people taking part to give them a more authentic experience of what life is like locally.

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Caitrin Barry

e arrived in St Peter’s,Petropolis at midnight (Brazilian time), tired and weary after a long flight. At least two or three people from each of the families had come to welcome us as well as Fr Jacque, Fr Moses and the organisers. What struck me foremost was how open and welcoming the people were. They were waiting with banners and musical instruments on the steps of the Cathedral to give us a joyous welcome.

We were complete strangers from the other side of the world, most of whom didn’t speak the same language, and yet we were accepted straight away. Everybody had slightly different experiences with families due to factors such as wealth and family size but we were all accepted as members of the family.

Despite the at times obvious gap in income between some families, there didn’t appear to be any distinct “rich” or “poor” areas. For example, the house I was staying in was quite small and simple whereas the house next door was larger and clearly newer. There were also no class distinctions between the families, and on the Saturday, several families got together and put on a barbeque for those of us living on that street. It was one of the

Scottish and Polish delegates “Party in the Park”

happiest and most loving get-togethers I have ever experienced. It also happened to coincide with “Amigos Dias” (“Friendship Day” in English).

The faith is very strong in Brazil. I experienced a different culture, a different side to the Catholic Church. There’s less secularism there so young people in particular seem to have less problems expressing their faith.

We celebrated Mass every day with each country hosting it in their own language with their own Mass parts which I felt helped to share our faith and express the global Church which, after all, is what World Youth Day is all about.

Even though our group was ‘hosting’ English Mass the only English speaking priest there was our Polish Fr Tomasz! This meant that Mass was celebrated by a French Bishop with the Gospel read by a Brazilian Priest, neither of whom had spoken English before. I found this just emphasised the unity of the week rather than hindered the Mass in any way.

“Even though our group was ‘hosting’ English Mass the only English speaking priest there was our Polish Fr Tomasz!”

The International Mass brought us together to share some music and dancing from our respective countries. The Brazilians put on a good hour of Samba dancing which we all joined in.

They also dramatized the story of the discovery, by Brazilian fishermen and women, of the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida, the principal patroness of Brazil.

How welcoming and open they were was shown during the Missionary Day when we visited the poorer areas, inviting people to an evening of prayer, a “Rosary Walk” and a celebration at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. The people we visited didn’t seem offended at our coming out to meet them, some even invited us in to pray with them. The houses we went to didn’t have any sort of doorbell or door knocker which meant we had to clap to get people’s attention which may have seemed rude to us but, judging by the number of people who answered, they didn’t seem to mind.

Many people turned out for the Rosary Walk and when we reached the top of the Shrine of Fatima it was a total surprise to find a band. Brazilians view dance as a form of prayer so we all danced with great joy. This was the first time I have seen priests dancing ‘Flashmob’ so we all joined in. I think our Lady enjoyed watching us, we were all so happy.

Our week in Petropolis culminated with a “Party in the Park” at Itaipava, an event attended by all the pilgrims staying in Petropolis and the surrounding areas. There were various catechesis tents for the different languages in the park. We presented a brief history of the Faith in Scotland in the English language tent and the day finished with a Mass attended by the thousands of pilgrims present.

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St Andrew’s Pilgrimage to Ireland gets thumbs up from Calvin Raja

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Calvin Raja

he St Andrew’s community of St. Mary’s Cathedral, Aberdeen organized a “Youth Pilgrimage to Ireland” in August. So my first time in Ireland was the result of a pilgrimage: isn’t God great?

After arriving at the airport the first thing I did was to go to Mass at a church on the airport grounds. It was good to begin my pilgrimage with holy Mass and a good confession.

Day 1: On our arrival we went to a place called Glendalough where a hermit named St. Kevin used to live and there, among the ruins, we had lunch. After lunch we were able to climb the sides of a steep valley which had a stream flowing in the middle of it.

When I drank from that stream I wanted more of it, the more I drank the more I wanted. It reminded me of God who, like that stream, is refreshing and also like a drug. We got a bit lost on our way down so I started saying a prayer. While I was praying, we saw a few people and asked them the way back to the car park - “Ask and it shall be given.” When we finally reached the mini-vans it was time to head to Knock. During our journey we were praying the holy Rosary, each in their own language. We were all really tired and it was a hot day, so the St. Andrew’s Community bought us ice creams. I thought the ice cream was the best thing that I was going to eat that day but I was soon to be proved wrong. When we were told that we were going to have dinner when we reach Knock we all thought it was going to be at a restaurant. However, it was a place much better than any restaurant I had been to - it was somebody’s house. There were at least thirty five people all in a single room.

I always wondered how Jesus and his twelve disciples all fitted in to one boat and now I know how he did it. We had night prayer together after the sumptuous dinner and it was off to bed for us.

Day 2: We went to a place called Kylemore Abbey where there were Benedictine sisters. We had Mass, then lunch followed by a tour around the castle and those who wanted to go up the hill to

The climb to Croagh Patrick

Time for a group photograph outside the miniature Gothic Cathedral in the grounds of Kylemore Abbey the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were allowed to do so. It was only a thirty minute climb. and when we had reached the top we said a few prayers and tried to analyse and take in everything that we had seen. We joined the sisters for afternoon prayer after which it was time to head back to Knock for dinner with our hosts and then a testimony given by a person called Andy. We were off to bed early that day around twelve because the next day we were going to climb Croagh Patrick.

Day 3: A few of us got up early and went to the shop to get chocolate powder, milk and marshmallows because Augustine and I were going to make hot chocolate. After a heartening breakfast, however, we were off to climb Croagh Patrick! I was really excited.

When we arrived at the car park I looked up and saw a small hill.

We couldn’t see very much because it was rainy and foggy and so we said disappointedly, “Is that it?!” Then someone pointed to a huge cloud and said, “That’s it there!”. “That’s more like it!” I thought.

There was a statue of Our Lady at the foot of the mountain. We started our way up by asking Our Lady to watch over our climb and by learning a little about how St. Patrick had spent forty days on the Mountain praying and fasting. We celebrated Holy Mass when we reached the top. It was still foggy up there so we could not see anything below us. As we descended we admired the great wonder and the beauty of his creation. I sat down to take everything in. I never regret doing that even though I was getting midge bites all over my body! When we were descending we were able to see more because the sky was finally clearing away. When we finally got to the bottom I went back to the Grotto to say a prayer of thanks. For dinner we went by the costal route to someone’s house. It had an amazing view of the sea, too bad we couldn’t stay until sundown.

We also got a testimony from him. Great guy, great God. Day 4: We went to Clonmacnoise, the place where Christianity first arrived at Ireland, before it spread to Europe. This is the place

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where Blessed John Paul II came and shed tears during a visit to Ireland in 1979. We had lunch and even a treasure hunt there.

When we arrived back in Knock we went to join in saying a novena at the Knock Shrine as our Lady’s feast of the apparition was coming up. It was beautiful, with the lit candles creating a special atmosphere. I could literally feel God’s presence moving in that place. Day 4 was short, I mean really short.

Day 5: This was the first time we were able to go around Knock.

We had lunch and then we went for Mass. After that we went gokarting. If I was you, I would never trust me with your car keys because I was deadly when I hit those pedals! I kept hitting the bumpers or crashing into somebody. It was fun and it lasted for about twenty minutes although it felt like twenty seconds.

Day 6: It was time for us to leave Knock and then head to Roscrea for the “Youth 2000 Retreat”. We had morning Mass at one of the chapels at the Knock shrine before we left for Roscrea.

There were lots of things for us to do there. There was a great

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band which played my favorite Christian songs. It was fantastic to see so many young people there, especially when the Church in Ireland is going through such difficult times. I know that God will always be watching over them in all the things they do and all the choices that they are expected to make.

Everything must come to an end I guess. So it was the journey back home that was the last part of our pilgrimage. I know that I will never forget my first trip to Ireland because from the word “GO” God has always been there with me. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organizers: Fr Keith, the St Andrew’s Community, Chris Dyos and everyone else who made the holiday an experience to remember. And most importantly, thanks be to God.

Young Adults Day with Bishop Hugh at Greyfriars Convent Daniel MacDougall

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e live in a fast-paced society with many things filling our day to day lives and these things often accumulate to make us feel stressed. Fortunately, I have discovered the solution. The next time I feel stressed I’m going to make the trip to Elgin and spend some time in the convent with the wonderful Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia who have crossed the Atlantic to join us. The Sisters had kindly agreed to host the Diocesan Youth Event, where young adults from around the diocese came together to share their experiences from World Youth Day in Rio and from Scotland’s Rio. I was in the convent in Elgin a few years ago for a similar event but when I walked through the doors in October I instantly felt the building was different. It was warmer for a start, but there was also a different sort of warmth radiating from the walls. I felt instantly at ease and at home.

The Sisters of St Cecelia were a delight to talk to and they joined us at our break times, starting lively discussions about science, the Church and even local transport.

The theme for the day was taken from Pope Francis’ words which he spoke to the young people in Rio: “Go, be Sr Nicholas Marie of the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia

Greyfriars Convent provided the setting for the Diocesan Young Adults Day not afraid, and serve!” Bishop Hugh Gilbert gave an inspirational talk expanding on what we can do to help the Church and underlining the impotance of the word “serve” in that phrase given to us by the Holy Father. Without the idea of service we cannot truly live like Christians.

His words resonated through the group and I could feel a growing sense of restlessness, a feeling that we must take action, we must do more, and that we must spread the joy we have had bestowed upon us, unto others. One of the activities we took part in was to compile ideas of how we could help our parishes at home.

The ideas ranged from small things, such as lending a little time to read at Mass or clean the church, to larger scale works of charity like helping the homeless projects.

We received catechesis from Sr Nicholas Marie in the afternoon and she expanded on our duty as Christians to help the Church and to follow our vocations. The word “Vocation” is used frequently in our Church and most people shy away from it, connecting it with priesthood or religious life. However, Sr Nicholas Marie talked not only about the religious life but also other vocations such as marriage or the single life, all of which people are called to for a reason - it is just a case of finding the right one.

Even though I only spent one day in the convent I felt uplifted and inspired to do more in my own community and to try and act more like the Christian God wants us all to be.

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“Father, why have you never talked to us about Paradise?”

A Reflection on the Feasts of All Saints and of All Souls Hugh Gilbert OSB Bishop of Aberdeen “Father, why have you never talked to us about Paradise?” So, ten years ago, said a young African seminarian to his Rector.

So, I suspect, might many a monk say to many an abbot, or many a parishioner to many a priest. “Father, why have you never talked to us about Paradise?”

Why are we so silent? Over the last few centuries, I suppose, Christian hope has had a hard time. It’s so otherworldly, focussed simply and solely on the hereafter, and nothing to do with ordinary life. Indeed, the accusation goes on, its effects on this life are largely negative. This otherworldly hope sedates us, comforts us with pie in the sky, and stops us making sure the hungry have pie here and now. It resigns us to injustice. It distracts us from the real business of improving things. And so, because human beings can’t help hoping, other hopes have been offered: the hope, one day, of a smoothly running world order, democracy and the rule of law universally accepted, the economy ticking over smoothly, with everyone fed and plenty of time for sport; or the hope of a world in which genetic engineering has been so refined that every illness will be curable, every deformity avoidable, our brain capacity enlarged, our destructive instincts curbed. Yes, if only we could change the working of the Security Council, or bring the multinationals to heel, or abolish nuclear weapons, or diminish carbon emissions, and especially stop people making claims to absolute truth, all would be well, and all manner of thing would be well, and life would be a fairy tale.

Well, if ever there was pie in the sky, it’s this kind of rot. If ever there were hopes bound to bring us back to despair, there they are.

And despair is around, all right.

Light of the North “Father, why have you never talked to us about Paradise?” The lad who said that was one of a group, killed, 40 of them, just a few days later, for refusing, under threat of machetes and guns, to separate along tribal lines – put to death in other words for Christian brotherhood.

And there’s the rub: death. “It is funny,” says a line of e.e. cummings, “you will be dead one day.” Yes, I’m going to die. The people I love are going to die or already have. How can we be part of any Brave New World that’s on its way? We won’t be there. And none of the generations before us will be there either. The only hope worth its salt, a hope deeper than all our particular, here-andnow hopes, a hope able to survive every disappointment, is a hope that looks at death, quite open-eyed, and then beyond. “Salvation is nothing if it doesn’t deliver us from death,” said Gabriel Marcel.

It is Christ, and only Christ, who delivers us from death, who lives in a body over which death no longer has dominion, whose body has become a home of everlasting life. For us, for everyone who wants it, for the generations present, past and to come.

“Father, why have you never talked to us about Paradise?” Well, let’s listen to this hope. It is magnificent. “Blessed are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven … they shall have the earth for their heritage … they shall be comforted and satisfied, and mercy will be shown them … they shall see God … they shall be called the sons of God … theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” So the Gospel. Before that St John, rephrasing those promises in the light of Easter: “we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” We shall see the risen, glorified Christ and be changed into what we see, that is, share his victory over death, his fullness of life. Before that the Apocalypse, unfolding still wider vistas: “After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation.” A crowd scene, a city scene, a Temple scene; it’s a vision of those rescued from sin and death at worship before the Throne and the Lamb. This Body which the Father has raised, has put at his right hand beyond the reach of death, has room for the many: it is Paradise, it is Jerusalem, it is All Saints. Heaven, says the Catechism, “is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ” (1026).

“Father, why have you never talked to us about Paradise?” But Scripture does. The Eucharist we celebrate does: it’s heaven in the wrapping of faith and sacrament; it’s the Body of the risen Christ and us taken into it. The young African does too, like any martyr; he became an answer to the very question he put, and his and his companions’ graves are now a place of pilgrimage. This feast too: it’s a feast of God’s glory shining in those who are with him, in that portion of humanity that has made it home, the innumerable, ever-growing crowd. And our heart as well: it can talk to us of paradise; the Christian hope within it. Let us listen! “Be still, O heart,” said a preacher, “and let all whom you have loved rise from the grave of your breast. Is there no one among All Saints and All Souls for you to celebrate? Have you never come into contact with love and meekness, goodness and purity and fidelity in a person?

[Have you never seen the Beatitudes?] Not even in your mother, so quiet and forgetful of herself? Nor in your patient father? Should you say no, I think you’d be contradicting your heart, which has its own experiences. It is not the heart’s experience to have met through life only darkness and no light, only selfishness and no selfless kindness … Up, then, and celebrate the heart-feast of All Saints, of All Souls – your saints, your beloved souls… Celebrate an All Saints of peace and loyalty. Of yearning and of faith.

Celebrate your dead who are still living [in God, in the body of the risen Christ]” (K. Rahner, The Eternal Year). Yes, let us celebrate our hope, the Paradise Christ has opened, the Paradise he is.

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The uniqueness of Jane

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Sr Janet Fearns FMDM

ane was unique! Nobody knew her age or where she lived. Everybody said the same thing: “She has a sister somewhere”, but push for more information and there was none. Yet Jane was everywhere, her small, lean frame, huge grin and battered saucepan in every place where she should not have been. She was ageless. Jane could have been 60 or 160 years old. There was no way of telling.

There were two responses to Jane: most people tried to be invisible. Others attempted to become larger than life in the hopes of driving her away. It didn’t work. Hide in the house, and her big grin and friendly wave appeared at the window. Shut the door?

She refused to go away, trapping the householders until they gave in and dealt with her needs.

Did Jane’s psychiatric condition have a name? Probably, but in the remote Zambian village of Lubwe, a diagnosis made little difference. There were no medicines for her unless she was sick.

Wherever Jane should not have been, she was, and where she should have been, she wasn’t.

Jane’s ‘normal’ behaviour did not fit into most people’s scheme of things. She was a crafty old so-and-so. Many housewives complained of their unexpected visitor. “I put the food on the table, went into the next room for a few seconds and when I came out, she was in the house, beside the table and had eaten the whole lot!”

Leave a door or a gate only slightly ajar. Somehow, Jane would squeeze through the gap, into the house and into the kitchen, only agreeing to leave when her ancient, blackened saucepan could hold no more food… and then she would select a banana (always the best!) on her way out.

Nothing was safe when Jane was around. Sister Jean had long given up looking for her missing dress when, one morning, Jane arrived wearing it. By that stage the dress, stolen from the washing-line, was filthy and barely recognisable. Sister Jean did not ask for its return!

Jane’s nuisance-value was enormous. Yet there was something endearing about her grin and peculiar run as she escaped from her latest venture. Illness never troubled her. She had no worries, was never hungry and never put on weight. It was useless to scold her because Jane merely grinned and laughed aloud as she walked away, leaving the frustrated individual even more frustrated… and minus whatever it was that Jane had stolen in the first place.

Jane’s good health ensured she would probably outlive most people and she was probably one of the happiest women that most of us had ever seen. Someone wryly remarked that she would probably succeed in driving everybody else to an early grave!

Every so often, Jane vanished for a few days. People breathed a sigh of relief and then, just as they were enjoying their peace and quiet, she would reappear and the whole sequence would start all over again. Yet however much she exasperated people, nobody lifted a finger to hurt her. She was a fact of life.

One of Jane’s outstanding characteristics was that she refused to be ignored and, even if her behaviour was always directed by self-interest, nobody escaped her attention. In her own peculiar way, she was a community builder, partly because she demanded help from others and partly because, when she had temporarily disappeared from sight, people came together to talk about her latest escapades.

Matthew 10:30

Jane was totally free. She belonged to everyone and to no-one.

She received care from everybody, asked or unasked, but at the same time, nobody cared. They responded to her immediate request and then happily escorted her from their premises. She was unrestrained, walking and doing wherever she wanted.

There was no local police station at that time, so her thefts were unchallenged, and, in any case, what court could have produced a lasting effect for her betterment?

Contrast Jane with some of those whom our ‘enlightened society’ allows to have ‘care in the community’. What would happen if they were to wander in and out of people’s houses, helping themselves to food or to the occasional item of clothing as it hung on the washing line? What would happen if someone like Jane were to stand outside a house, banging on the door or the window until the householder supplied food?

My memory of Jane is of an elderly woman who laughed and never seemed to mind that she had no home. How many of the homeless men and women in our streets are smiling and enjoying life?

Jane’s conversation was not very sensible. A sentence always ended with a toothy grin and a burst of laughter. There was not an atom of malice in her, a small child within the body of an adult. So it was that even her greatest misdemeanours were never evil. Mischief-maker that she was, being caught out and yet still escaping with her ill-gotten goods was all part of the game. …but doesn’t it also say something about the innate goodness of the village that, with kindness and a great deal of patient forgiveness, accepted Jane as part of its daily life? Her counterpart in Britain would probably receive some form of medical diagnosis, treatment and perhaps at least an ASBO or two. Social Services might grudgingly accept her onto their books but would find great difficulty in placing someone who belonged everywhere and nowhere. Restrain her and Jane’s laughter would turn to tears. She was the child of whom Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me for of such is the kingdom of Heaven”.

Not long ago, four celebrities chose to become homeless for

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several days, their paths carefully monitored by television cameras and members of an organisation which cares for the destitute around London. None found it a pleasant experience. One man described his unhappiness as he found himself lonely and ‘invisible’, with everybody passing him by, looking past him lest he ask for money. They were wrong on a few counts: he is a Sikh and Sikhs don’t beg, but also they were, unconsciously, part of a real life re-enactment of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

I once found myself in conversation with an elderly man. “I’ve actually got a home”, he said, “but my wife died and I’m so lonely that I come down to the shelter every day, to talk to the tramps and then, at the end of the day, I go home again.”

Then there was a tramp, in hospital with severe cellulitis on both legs. “When my wife died, I sold the house and took to

Light of the North the road”, he declared. “I have two sisters, one in Kent and the other in the West Country. I spend my days walking between their houses. When I reach the home of one sister, I stay for a few days and then start walking again until I reach the other.”

Jane was unique: she was homeless, happy and constantly receiving the care of the community, even if reluctantly and almost blackmailed into responding to her needs.

Some people don’t even receive a greeting.

Jesus said, “As long as you did it to the least of my little ones, you did it to me”.

Sr Janet Fearns is a Book Editor with Redemptorist Publications and a regular contributor to the Catholic press.

A Post—Reformation Spirituality Canon Alistair Doyle

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n his 1872 edition of “Memoirs of the Scottish catholic Mission after the Reformation” the Rev. J. Gordon tells us that from 1580 the Jesuits established a mission based in stately homes especially in the North and North East where many of the Lairds under the leadership of the Earls of Huntly remained loyal to the Catholic Faith.

The Islands and North-West Highlands were served by Irish Gaelic speaking Franciscans and Vincentians. On the other hand he describes the secular clergy as a disorganised rabble who, few in number, roamed the country aimlessly.” The need for a Superior to organise was obvious, and in 1598, Rome appointed an Archpriest, based in London, to control the clergy in Scotland and England.

The Scots clergy rejected his authority and petitioned Rome for a Scottish Prefect but it was not until 1653 that Propaganda established the Scottish Secular Clergy as a Mission under the prefecture of Rev. Wm. Ballantyne.

Educated in Paris, Rev Ballantyne was familiar with St Francis de Sales "La Vie Devote" and deeply drawn to its spirituality.

Ironically, Salesian spirituality was to have a major impact on English Catholics through the writings of Bishops Smith and Challoner. "The Devout Life" was translated into English in 1613 and Bishop Smith recommended its use and spirit to his clergy and laity, as did Rev. Ballantyne in 1653.

The basic premise of "The Devout Life" is that whilst every life must be Christocentric, the manner of Christ's presence has to be adapted to each vocation. The monk, the secular priest, the professional, the manual worker, the retired, all reach holiness by

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living with Christ according to their status. St. Francis recognises that a busy layperson will not have the same time or opportunity for meditation as a monk, so, he says, set aside what time you can whether it is 5 minutes or 15 minutes to consider some aspect of the Gospel or the Faith. Prayer is not a luxury and being busy is not an excuse to neglect it. It needs no special ritual or posture; if you are unable to kneel physically, kneel in your heart. Very useful advice in a country where Catholic ritual is forbidden.

In the "Devout Life". St Francis gives a series of meditations, very similar in format to the Ignatian Exercises. St Francis had been educated by the Jesuits. Meditation begins by placing oneself in the presence of God, then using one's imagination to form a mental picture of the topic e.g. the Last Judgement. Having considered the topic, resolutions are formed and the person expresses one's feelings in prayer. St Francis recommends a mantra-he calls it a nosegay- to be recalled during the day, insisting that prayer must always come from the heart.

Much earlier spiritual writing had a deep distrust of friendships, especially with women. St. Francis writes "Love everyone with a deep love based on charity but form friendships only with those who can share virtuous things with you". He says that whilst religious in a community do not need particular friendships, people in the world need the strength of friendship and he cites the examples of Jesus’ friendship with Martha and Mary and St Francis of Assisi’s friendship with St. Clare.

The devout life is living Baptism by renouncing the devil and his works and being loyal to the Faith of the Apostles; repenting

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post-baptismal sin by seeking God’s grace in Confession and, above all, by receiving Communion as often as one can. In an age when communion was received infrequently, St Francis advises reception of the Lord’s Body, every Sunday and “if your spiritual director thinks it profitable, more often." He calls the Mass "the centre of the Christian religion, the mystery through which God communicates His gifts and favours”. It could be argued that this Salesian spirituality initiated by the Scottish Prefect and English Bishops of a sober piety, grounded in basic instruction of the Faith and personal prayer, kept the Catholic Faith alive in a hostile world with few priests and ever present danger of arrest and exile. During the reigns of the Stuart kings, books of devotion and instruction were printed in London and Edinburgh. It is interesting to note the co-operation between George Hay in Edinburgh and Richard Challoner in London. When Bishop Hay ran out of money, Bishop Challoner organised an appeal among his Catholic friends and sent £1000 to Edinburgh.

Since Vatican II, it has become fashionable in some circles to decry "Garden of the Soul" devotion with its Salesian emphasis on a prayerful and patient attention to God’s will as indicated by the circumstances of one's daily life. In a discourteous world, St Francis de Sales' emphasis on gentle respect for each one is to be admired.

He wrote, "We must reconquer Christianity by charity, love of God and neighbour, prayer, penance and the care of the humble and the poor." These words could have been written five hundred years later by our present Pope Francis.

"Heart to Heart" A Meditation by C. M. Maccabe O Sacred Heart, my Jesus, Lord, By all of Heaven’s hosts adored, Create in me a simple heart, Pure, crystal clean in every part.

O LORD, no heart’s as poor as mine, Please strengthen me with Life Divine, The Bread and Wine, God’s matchless Feast, Let me receive though last and least.

Renew in me the Spirit’s fire, Humility my great desire, As softly spring the tears that flow, A contrite heart on me bestow.

My broken heart I trust You’ll mend, With Sovereign touch Your Spirit send, To fill with ever cheerful song, My thankful heart, a heart at one.

With loving Heart You took my blame, Stretched on the Cross You bore my shame, Now guide me to the Cross in prayer, In Blessed Mary’s work to share.

So let me praise and hope my heart, To make on earth a heavenly start, Each day to flow with clearer light, Till faith becomes absorbed in sight.

The Words of Wisdom from Your Heart, In Truth, You called "the better part", Then let me listen, Sacred Heart, And never more from Truth depart.

From all our earthly sorrows free, In wondrous visions blest we’ll see, The Sacred Heart — O LORD sublime! — Yet dwelling in a heart like mine.

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In communion with the saints

In the first part of a double instalment Clare Benedict takes a look at the two lists of saints commemorated in the Roman Canon of the Mass who, we are assured, constantly intercede for us.

Clare asks the question why some saints are included and others not and the answers make fascinating reading.

Clare Benedict

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“In communion … with all your saints; we ask that through their merits and prayers, in all things we may be defended by your protecting help.”

he Church teaches us that “by reason of the fact that those in heaven are more closely united with Christ, they establish the whole Church more firmly in holiness … For after they have been received into their heavenly home and are present to the Lord, through him and with him and in him they do not cease to intercede with the Father for us … Thus by their brotherly interest our weakness is greatly strengthened” (Lumen Gentium 49). So, since at least the 4th century, the Roman Canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer I) has included two lists of saints who, we are assured, are constantly interceding in heaven for those of us still on earth.

It is no longer obligatory for the celebrant to recite the whole list, but it is good on occasion to be reminded of that “treasury of grace”, of those who witnessed to the Lord right up to their deaths and received their eternal reward. The list is quite lengthy and it’s easy to miss some of the names, especially those who seem more obscure than others. Who is included, and why?

The first list, the Communicantes, comes near the beginning of the prayer and first place is accorded to “the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord”, that title of Mother of God being sanctioned at the Council of Ephesus in 431, the Mother who was Jesus’ first and most faithful disciple, the one most closely

Light of the North conformed to him and who did the will of God without hesitation, and who is now our prime Intercessor with the Lord. In 1962, Pope John XXIII added the name of her spouse St Joseph immediately after Mary’s name (in May Pope Francis added St Joseph to the other Eucharistic Prayers). The list then includes the Apostles who knew Jesus personally, beginning with Peter, who acknowledged Jesus as “the Christ, Son of the living God” and was the “rock” on whom Jesus founded his Church. Perhaps surprisingly, he is coupled with Paul who, though not one of the original “Twelve”, was later called by Christ to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. The other Apostles, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude, possibly added by St Gregory in the 6th century, are all well known. A Basilica of the Apostles had been erected in Rome in thanksgiving for liberation from the Goths and some churches would celebrate a feast of the Apostles on the day after that of SS Peter and Paul.

The Apostles are followed by 12 martyrs from the Early Church, beginning with 5 Popes: Linus, a convert and immediate successor of Peter, was Pope for 12 years. He was consecrated auxiliary bishop to Peter and when, under Emperor Claudius all Jews were banished from Rome in AD49, Linus, being an Italian and therefore not included in the banishment, ruled the See of Rome until Peter returned. Linus was beheaded by Saturninus the Consul c.78 and was buried close to Peter’s grave. Cletus succeeded as the third Pope. and was martyred c.90. Tradition has it that Cletus was a slave, suggesting that the Church’s teaching on the spiritual equality of all men, slaves or free, was put into practice within the first century of her history. Clement, mentioned in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, became Pope next, was banished by Trajan to the Crimea where he ministered to Christian slaves in the marble quarries, and was martyred by drowning c.100. “This man, as he had seen the Apostles and conferred with them, might be said to have the preaching of the Apostles still in his ears and their traditions before his eyes” (St Irenaeus). Sixtus was a Greek who became Pope in 257, during the persecutions of Valerian. The following year, he was arrested while celebrating the liturgy in the catacombs and was beheaded with four of his deacons near the Appian Way, where today there still stands an ancient church in his honour. Cornelius, a Roman, was very briefly Pope a few years before Sixtus and died in exile. He is mentioned after Sixtus, as he is linked with his friend Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, a rich nobleman and famous lawyer before his conversion in 246. He was bishop for 10 years, during a time of vicious persecution and was put to death by the sword in 258. He shares a feast day on September 16 with Cornelius.

St Lawrence was another of Pope Sixtus’ deacons, renowned for his merciful works for the poor. The story goes that when Sixtus was being dragged to execution on August 6th, Lawrence cried out to him: “Whither goest thou, Father, without thy son? Where art thou hastening, holy priest, without thy deacon?” And Sixtus replied: “I am not forsaking thee, my son; greater combats await thee. Cease to weep; after three days thou wilt follow me.” On August 10th, after being tortured and threatened with a whole night of worse torture, Lawrence exclaimed: “For me this night has no darkness, but breaks forth into the bright light of day”, whereupon he was martyred by being roasted on a grid-iron. His feast has been celebrated since the 4th century and the Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls was built by Constantine over his grave. It ranks fifth among the churches of Rome.

The five names which end this list are those of the titular holders, all laymen, of three basilicas erected at the Trastevere (Chrysogonus), at Coelius (John and Paul) and the Forum (Cosmas and Damian).

Chrysogonus is sometimes identified with a Greek, living in Rome, who instructed St Anastasia and was subsequently martyred in

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Aquileia in 304 under the Diocletian persecutions. The church dates from the 4th century, believed to have been founded by one Chrysogonus and it quickly became associated with the martyr.

Although doubt has been raised as to the existence of John and Paul, the popular story is that they were two noble soldier brothers known for their charitable acts during the reign of Julian the Apostate and who, refusing to sacrifice to Jupiter, were secretly executed in their own home. The Roman church of Saints John and Paul, in which their relics lie under the high altar, is said to have been built on the site of their home. Cosmas and Damian

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were doctors in the East who worked without fees. Under the Diocletian persecutions they were arrested, tortured and beheaded c.287. Their tomb at Cyr, in northern Syria, was very popular because of the miracles that occurred there. Pope Felix IV (526530) erected a Basilica in their honour at the Forum.

“For just as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace and the life of the People of God itself ” (LG 50).

God’s works will never be finished; and from him health spreads over all the earth” (38:4-5, 7-8).

Plants in the Bible “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food” Gen 1: 29). “And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food … Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing” (Ez 47:12).

Eileen Grant

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lants were the main source of healing remedies in biblical times and many different plants are mentioned throughout the Scriptures. We know that herbal and plant-based medicines were used in ancient Egypt as far back as 10,000 B.C. and it is likely that the Hebrew people would have carried prescriptions and recipes along with their own folk traditions with them to the Promised Land. In early times disease was often seen as a punishment from God for disobedience, to be cured only by God: “The Lord will smite you with consumption, fever, inflammation … they shall pursue you until you perish” (Deut. 28:22). There were no physicians and so people relied on simple herbal remedies.

The Hellenistic period (332-152 B. C.) saw the gradual development of the Jewish medical profession and so we read in Ecclesiasticus (c.180 B.C.): “The Lord created medicines out of the earth, and the sensible will not despise them. Was not water made sweet with a tree in order that its power might be known? By them the physician heals and takes away pain; the pharmacist makes a mixture from them.

The Talmud, written during this time, identifies around 70 herbs and other plants as having medicinal properties, some for cures, others preventative. These included olives, dates, pomegranates, garlic, hyssop, cumin and other plants used usually for food. There were remedies for intestinal ailments, blood pressure, skin and liver complaints, haemorrhage, eye problems and scurvy. However, because healing was believed to come from God, medicines are rarely mentioned as such in the Bible, though Isaiah prescribes a “cake of figs” to treat Hezekiah’s boil (Is. 38:21); and we recall Jeremiah’s anguished cry “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” (8:22) This serves to remind us that, in ancient times and certainly in the New Testament, both sickness and healing were regarded as affecting the whole person, body and spirit. “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and bleeding wounds; they have not been pressed out, or bound up, or softened with oil” (Is. 1:6).

Many of the plants mentioned in the Bible have a symbolic significance along with their actual use in everyday life, as for example the “bitter herbs” eaten with the lamb at the Passover supper, still placed on the table by Jews at Passover, symbolising the pain of long exile and suffering. These might have included lettuce, horehound, tansy, horseradish, endive and coriander seeds. Today, many are used also as diuretics, to aid ailments such as urinary tract infections, kidney stones, fluid retention, swollen joints and gout, and were probably used for the same purposes in Biblical times.

A great many plants we read about in both Old and New Testaments were used to produce incense mixtures or ointments for perfumes, anointing and embalming. Most people, including almost every primary age child, know about frankincense and myrrh, two of the (strange) gifts brought by the Magi to the Infant King in the manger at Bethlehem. Frankincense is prescribed by the Lord in Exodus 30, as one of the ingredients for a holy incense mixture, to be used in the tent of meeting, along with stacte (possibly the resin of balm-of-Gilead), onycha (perhaps resin from a rockrose), galbanum (resin from a stem of the parsley family) and other sweet spices. The gift of frankincense to Jesus symbolises his divinity and priestly status; the myrrh, referred to in numerous places in the OT as a perfume, is probably a foretaste of his death and burial in the tomb, when Nicodemus is recorded by John as bringing “myrrh and aloes” for embalming the body. Aloe was used also for perfume and medicinal purposes, as it is today, for burns, wounds, skin complaints and digestive problems.

Other aromatic plants of the Bible still in herbal use today include cassia and cinnamon, the ground bark being used in holy oil for anointing priests; hyssop, of the mint family, employed in ritual cleansing (Lev. 14) and the sprinkling of blood in the Tabernacle

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(Ex. 12); myrtle (a common plant here in Scotland), popular for temporary shelters at the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:40; Neh. 8:15); rue, a herb with pungent smelling leaves, is referred to by Jesus as being “tithed” (Luke 11:42). Perhaps best known in today’s liturgical use is the “balsam” mixed with olive oil and consecrated as chrism by the bishop at the Chrism Mass each year. In the West this is usually a sweet-scented balm but in the Eastern Church, with access to a greater variety of such plants, up to 36 perfumes may be extracted, allowing for an oil of “exquisite fragrance”. The sweet scent of the chrism conveys “the good odour of Christ”: “your anointing oils are fragrant, your name is oil poured out” (Song 1:3).

Perhaps the most evocative herb recorded in Scripture is the spikenard plant, the “costly ointment of pure nard” used by Mary of Bethany to anoint the feet of Jesus “and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment” – in anticipation of his burial.

Spikenard is also listed with other fragrances in the Song of Songs,

Light of the North believed to be a Himalayan plant of the valerian family, still used in Ayurvedic medicine as an aid to relaxation (and grown in a herb garden in the Black Isle!). This may be the same oil poured over Jesus’ feet by Mary; or it may be from a a variety of lavender, also exquisitely fragrant, known to the ancient Greeks as nardos.

In Spanish iconography, St Joseph is represented with a spikenard plant, with its associations of self-sacrifice and humility and has been incorporated into the coat of arms of Pope Francis.

“You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden man’s heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart” (Ps. 104:14-15).

Eileen Grant works as a freelance editor and RCIA catechist and has written for the Tablet, the Sower, the Magnificat and the Catholic Truth Society.

Fra Angelico’s Annunciation: A Reflection for Advent Fr Domenico Zanrè

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n his famous work The Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, first published in 1550, the Florentine artist and art historian Giorgio Vasari (15111574) made the following declaration: ‘it is impossible to bestow too much praise on this holy father, who was so humble and modest in all that he did and said and whose pictures were painted with such facility and piety.’ The subject in question was the Dominican friar known as Brother Giovanni of Fiesole (c.

1395-1455). This devout, humble cleric gained such a following, both for his artistic accomplishments and for his spiritual ardour, that he earned the appellation ‘angelico’ (‘the angelic one’).

According to Vasari, Fra Angelico never picked up a brush without first saying a prayer, and he would begin weeping whenever he began to paint the Crucifixion of Christ.

In 1436, Fra Angelico moved to the newly renovated Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence, together with a number of other friars from nearby Fiesole. This move brought the artistic talents of the pious painter to the attention of Cosimo de’ Medici, the fabulously wealthy and politically influential patriarch of arguably the most famous Florentine family of the day, and certainly one of the city’s greatest cultural patrons. Fra Angelico was commissioned

by Cosimo de’ Medici to decorate the walls of the monastery with suitably religious subject-matter, to assist the resident friars in directing their hearts and minds to divine contemplation.

Surely no example of Fra Angelico’s artistic oeuvre epitomises the union of the creative and the divine more readily than his famous fresco of the Annunciation. This was one of the most popular subjects in Christian art. A representation of the meeting between Mary and the archangel Gabriel has been found on a wall in the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome, which was used for Christian burials from the late second century until the fourth century. Fra Angelico is known to have painted no fewer than five different variations of this same subject. The version under consideration

is located at the top of the stairs in the Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence, on the upper north corridor leading to the monks’ cells. It is thought to have been painted some time between 1443 and 1450, several years after the majority of his other frescoes in the convent.

Mary and the angel Gabriel are placed within a loggia of arches

Filippo Brunelleschi’s Foundling Hospital in Piazza Santissima Annunziata and columns, reminiscent of Filippo Brunelleschi’s Foundling Hospital in Piazza Santissima Annunziata, a stone’s throw from the Convent of San Marco. Fra Angelico’s use of linear perspective, to create an illusionistic depth of space, was influenced by Masaccio’s fresco of the Trinity (c. 1427), in the other great Dominican church in Florence, Santa Maria Novella. The central Corinthian column in Fra Angelico’s painting effectively separates the two

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Fra Angelico’s fresco of the Annunciation in the Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence figures, demarcating the supernatural, spiritual world of the angelic messenger with the natural, down-to-earth environment of the young virgin. Mary is seated on a wooden stool, and she appears to have been roused from contemplation by the arrival of Gabriel. The protagonists are linked by means of their shared body language: each of them leans forward, with a serene countenance, and with arms folded over chest in a sign of reverential prayer. At this very moment, the divine and human worlds come together in a sublime encounter that will forever change the course of history and the destiny of all humanity.

“There is nothing lavish or superfluous in this encounter between the human and the spiritual; nothing distracts us from the profound experience that takes place before our eyes.”

In her spiritual classic The Reed of God, Caryll Houselander has described Advent as a liturgical season that is characterised by humility, silence, and purposeful emptiness. Mary has emptied herself completely of all her desires and future plans, and willingly surrendered herself to Infinite Love, just as her son was to surrender himself on the cross in a gesture of total self-giving. Fra Angelico’s subtle use of muted, pastel colours helps to denote these themes.

Mary’s garments are the same colour as the walls around her; in her lowliness, she almost disappears into the background, into the monk’s cell that we see through the open doorframe. It is as if Mary is coming into our world to teach us of the true value of humility and of total trust in the will of God. Only her blue mantle hints at her regal position as the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven. There is nothing lavish or superfluous in this encounter between the human and the spiritual; nothing distracts us from the profound experience that we are witnessing. The hushed hues

of the fresco have a quieting, meditative quality that leads us as spectators into a natural prayerful state, which beautifully reflects the attitude of Mary at the moment of the Annunciation.

On the left side of the fresco is a garden, and its inclusion in the scene is significant. The garden is well-ordered and is enclosed by a wooden fence from the outside world. It may represent the actual garden of the convent of San Marco, but it is much more likely to have a figurative meaning. The garden is representative of Eden, the Earthly Paradise where balance, harmony, and beauty prevail (the Greek word παράδεισος, or paradeisos, means ‘garden’ or ‘park’). This is an allusion to the world of Adam and Eve before their fall from grace. Indeed, in his earlier, much more extravagant painted panel of the Annunciation (c. 1425-1428, Prado Museum, Madrid), Fra Angelico depicted their expulsion from Eden. Mary is implicitly identified with this paradisiacal setting. Just as Eve’s disobedience caused Original Sin to enter into the world, so Mary’s obedience to the will of God led to the coming of salvation and redemption for humankind. To paraphrase the twelfth-century Cistercian Abbot, Blessed Guerric of Igny, Eve’s transgression marked her out as murderer of the living, whilst Mary’s gracefilled acceptance of the divine plan defined her for all eternity as the mother of the living. Medieval scholars made much play of the angelic salutation ‘Ave’, and saw it as an inversion of the name ‘Eva’ (Eve). The role-reversal of Eve and Mary is made explicit in a homily of St John Chrysostom (c. 347-407), the ‘golden-mouthed’ Archbishop of Constantinople, and Doctor of the Church: “A virgin, a tree and a death were the symbols of our defeat. The virgin was Eve: she had not yet known man; the tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; the death was Adam’s penalty.

But behold again a Virgin and a tree and a death, those symbols

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of defeat, become the symbols of his victory. For in place of Eve there is Mary; in place of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of the Cross; in place of the death of Adam, the death of Christ.”

In one sense, Mary is the garden. One of her many titles in Medieval and Renaissance poetry is hortus conclusus, a term deriving from the Song of Songs (4:12). The doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary, and the Immaculate Conception, were often represented in visual terms by an enclosed garden. The sealed-off garden is an evocation of Mary’s untouched, virginal state, whilst the protective fence recalls her own protection from the stain of sin.

Light of the North It should be clear that Fra Angelico’s Annunciation is anything but a simple work. Its clever composition, its subtle use of gesture to heighten the drama, and its strong theological underpinnings, all contribute to the profoundly spiritual experience that takes place before our eyes. It is a work of art that leads us into the very mystery of our salvation, and it is an eminently suitable vehicle for contemplative prayer during the season of Advent. It also teaches us a valuable lesson: ‘Our Lady said yes for the human race. Each one of us must echo that yes for our own lives. We are all asked if we will surrender what we are, our humanity, our flesh and blood, to the Holy Spirit and allow Christ to fill the emptiness formed by the particular shape of our life’ (Caryll Houselander).

Pluscarden Abbey- Where God speaks Joyce Davies

T

he reputations of individual members of clergy, of churches, and of other religious institutions have been hugely damaged in Scotland in recent months.

Disclosures of damaging experiences seem to have been filling our television screens and newspapers. It has been a sad time for the Catholic Church and a period during which many of us may have been reflecting on our experiences and our faith. Over recent years my own life has been challenging and visiting and finding the peace of Pluscarden Abbey has been such an enormous blessing, I feel duty-bound to share it with you.

Entering the church building at Pluscarden I became aware of its ancient walls and sounds, its absolute glory in its search to magnify our Lord. The great expanse of the roof, the beautiful windows that seem to stretch skywards, the intimacy of the Our Lady’s Chapel. The haunting sound of the monks and priests singing the daily offices and the sound of footsteps in unison walking to and from the choir stalls for each of the services. But what I loved most of all was the silence. It is as if everybody around you is in deep conversation with God and therefore unaware of other human beings. Pluscarden is certainly a place where God speaks.

Pluscarden is in the world but seems not part of the world. A place hard to enter but even harder to leave. If it isn't a place you have entered, even though it is in our own diocese, I suggest you find the time to do so.

You can visit just for a couple of hours or, if you wish to make a longer retreat you can stay for a week. Men stay in the main Abbey building itself and women stay in the women's retreat house which is just outside the main Abbey gate.

Pluscarden is set in beautiful countryside near Elgin. It is a setting which somehow surrounds the Abbey and makes you seek it out.

The beautiful trees look over the land where the monks keep their livestock and farm their crops. It’s not unusual to see a monk on a tractor - being close to the land is important to the Benedictines.

They live a very self-sufficient life and dress and eat simply. Their lifelong vows make them very much a close family and no doubt, like all families, they have their difficulties. However, on meeting a monk and having the opportunity to chat, you can feel the peace which they experience and you become aware of the prayerfulness of their life and yet they balance this with hospitality for the stranger. They welcome the stranger, feed the stranger, provide a

Pluscarden Abbey near Elgin roof for the stranger and invite the stranger into the very holy place at the centre of their lives, that of the Eucharist.

The celebration of Mass takes place early each morning, before work, study or caring for visitors. It is the priority and a beautiful experience at the Abbey. The experience of Jesus being there at the heart of it makes it is a privilege to be a part of it. It is a joy to hear the sung Latin Mass and yet at the same time be allowed the quiet to listen to God and to leave that place with a sense that one has been truly blessed.

When I was last there to stay there were guests in the women's retreat house, all from the south of England. The men were from all over the world including China. Isn't is true how we do not appreciate or even notice what is on our own doorstep? Leading such busy lives, we rarely seem to find the time to stop and think.

I do hope this little article will make you consider making a visit to Pluscarden Abbey. Perhaps you might join the Diocesan Youth Retreat to Pluscarden or a parish retreat to the Abbey. Small steps in that direction may make big changes in your life and a closer relationship with God. I hope so.

Joyce Davies is a parishioner of St Margaret’s and the Sacred Heart, Lerwick, Shetland Isles

faithandculture

Light of the North

Shelagh Noden’s Musical Memories of the North-East Searching for hidden gems in the choir loft

O

ne way of carrying out research into old church music is to visit choir lofts and see what is there. This can reveal a lot about changing tastes and styles.

When Catholic church music was revived in early nineteenth-century Scotland the first singers were all members of the clergy, who seemed to favour the Spanish Misa de Trompas for celebrations of High Mass. Copies of this piece have been found at Braemar, Dufftown, Buckie, Aberdeen and other places in the North East. Once choirs of lay people were formed, from about 1814 onwards, the Masses of Samuel Webbe, who also composed a much-loved version of Regina Coeli (or Caeli) still heard today, became favourites. These were simple, tuneful — and short! — works, ideally suited to the needs of small amateur choirs.

But as choirs became more confident their tastes changed. They wanted to sing the grand Masses of Mozart, Haydn and others, which the firm of Novello had begun to publish from about 1819. Later the Masses of Gounod also became popular. Copies of these turn up quite regularly in choir lofts, and significantly they often contain pencil markings showing that large sections (invariably the most difficult) have been omitted. Even so, these Masses were still inordinately long. The choir would have struck up with the Kyrie (opening hymns or introits were not usually sung at this date) as soon as the priest emerged from the sacristy, and the marking ‘segue’ shows that the Gloria would have followed on seamlessly, irrespective of what the priest was doing. The Sanctus was regularly split in two, with the Benedictus being sung after the Consecration. No wonder these types of Masses came to be known as ‘holy concerts’. One also wonders what sort of attempts small choirs would have made at this highly complex music. There must have been many less than perfect performances.

Pendulums have a habit of swinging back, and one sees evidence for a return to a simpler style of church music in the second half of the nineteenth century. The impetus for this was the influence of the Cecilian Movement, an organisation founded in Italy in 1830, with the aim of restoring simplicity and dignity to music in Catholic worship. One of their aims was the revival of plainchant, which had largely fallen out of use. Reports in the Scottish Catholic Directory show that they had some success: in 1854 at the funeral of a young priest, Fr John Reid, held at St Peter’s, Aberdeen, the whole of the service was sung in Gregorian chant by a choir of students from Blairs College.

The Cecilians also advocated a return to the polyphonic style of Palestrina, and encouraged contemporary composers of church

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music to write in that style. This endeavour had rather less satisfactory results; evidence from choir lofts shows that a great deal of well-meaning but rather dull church music was produced.

Masses and motets by composers whose names are long-forgotten can be found mouldering away in cupboards. Who now remembers the work of Gassmann, or even Battmann, or the Mass in honour of Our Lady of Pompeii? Some might certainly be worth reviving, but it would take a careful search through great quantities of indifferent material.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century the work of British Catholic church musicians such as Fr J E Turner, Alphonse Cary and Richard Terry came into use, and the large quantity of surviving music by these composers testifies to their popularity. Older readers of Light of the North may remember the Mass of Saint Cecilia, Mass of St John the Baptist or the Mass of the Good Shepherd, which, along with several others, remained in use right up to the Second Vatican Council. Like the Masses by Samuel Webbe, these are tuneful, short and easy to sing, and movements from them could well be used today. An Agnus Dei, for instance, could make an attractive choral piece to be sung during Communion.

Short motets can also be found. Fr de Zulueta’s Adoro te devote seems to have been a popular choice, as does a very exuberant motet for Easter, Haec Dies, by Caspar Ett. At Pentecost, Vogler’s setting of Veni, Sancte Spiritus appears often to have been sung. Samuel Webbe wrote some attractive settings of Marian antiphons; as well as the Regina Coeli mentioned earlier, his Alma Redemptoris Mater and Ave Regina Coelorum can still be discovered in church cupboards, and are easily learned.

Have a look in your choir loft; you might be surprised at what you find. ( If it’s really interesting I’d love to hear about it.)

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Light of the North

The enduring legacy of the inspirational St. Niklaus von Flüe Ron Smith

M

any years ago a priest came to Keith as holiday relief for our Monsignor. He came from Switzerland, and we have been friends ever since. Switzerland has become a favourite destination and their public transport system is unparalleled. You can buy a “Swiss Pass” from the Swiss Travel Centre (www.stc.co.uk) that gives you unlimited travel on trains, buses, boats, and cable cars. It makes life so easy and it is so well organised. During one of our trips over there our friend, Father Andreas Bitzi, mentioned Bruder Klaus. We have Saint John Ogilvie as Scotland’s only post-reformation saint, so it was an obvious place to visit to find out more about their saint.

The Confederation of Switzerland has only one saint – St. Niklaus von Flüe, known as Bruder Klaus, or Brother Klaus in English, who lived from 1417 to 1487. He was born in the Parish of Sachseln, in the Canton of Obwalden, in Central Switzerland.

This is a beautiful part of a beautiful country, on the route from Lucerne over the Brunig Pass to Interlaken. At that time, Switzerland was going through a turbulent period of wars, development and upheaval. There were no church services or priest in Sachseln at all from 1415 to 1446, and no schools. Bruder Klaus was self-educated.

Most people were small farmers, as were his parents, and Klaus also became a farmer.

At around the age of thirty he married sixteen year old Dorothee Wyss, and they had five boys and five girls, which must have been hard to support on a small farm in the mountains. Klaus also became a soldier and an officer in the Swiss army, and a judge. His reputation for giving wise counsel spread far and wide. He was known for frugal living and despising the greed and self interest that characterised all the many disputes that he resolved between people. Klaus became increasingly disillusioned with the world of greed, avarice and sinfulness. He gradually became more and more convinced that his mission on earth was to serve God by becoming a hermit. This was a big decision to make, with a wife, so many children and a farm to support.

After two years of soul searching and discussion, Dorothee agreed to him leaving the family and becoming a hermit. On the 6th of October 1467 dressed in a simple brown robe, he left Sachseln and set off towards Basel. At Liestal, close to Basel, he had a vision of the town in flames and stopped. A passing peasant told him to go back to Sachseln. He was then struck by lightning! All this was enough to convince him that he was heading in the wrong direction, so he returned to Central Switzerland. It is said that four lights showed him where to go, and this was a small field only a few hundred metres from his own farmhouse, on the bank of the stream in the Ranft

St. Niklaus von Flüe, from an altar piece formerly in the parish church of Sachseln, today in the ‘Bruder Klaus’ Museum gorge. He spent a miserable winter here, in the open, and so the following year the local peasants built him a small house and a chapel. It is said that during his twenty years as a hermit he ate nothing other than the Eucharist at Mass.

People came from far and wide with their disputes for his wise counsel, and his fame spread. This simple man in his brown robe, self-educated, living an austere life in a small gorge, had knowledge and sagacity that could clearly sort out all matters and disputes. In 1481 the Swiss people came close to a civil war over the spoils of winning the war with Burgundy – greed again – there was a council at Stans to try to sort the matter out, Klaus was called upon, and his wise counsel settled the matter and avoided the war. He was also known to advise the Dukes of Austria, Milan and Venice, his fame was so widespread.

After he died in 1487, friends, neighbours and local people wrote down their experiences and memories of him in the Parish book in the church in Sachseln. This has left an important testimony to this great saint’s work and wisdom. In Sachseln today there is a museum to Bruder Klaus (www.museumbruderklaus.ch). It is housed in a beautiful building that dates from 1784. The exhibition includes many artefacts, many exhibits representing his many visions, and an altar wing from 1492. You can still follow the path up the Ranft gorge to the chapel and see his house.

The enduring fame of Bruder Klaus led to him being beatified by Pope Clement IX in 1669, and to being canonised in 1947 by Pope Pius XII. His fame is so widespread that in many countries today you can find hundreds of churches, chapels, schools and monuments dedicated to St. Niklaus von Flüe. In our world where greed, avarice and the pursuit of worldly things is ever growing, many people are finding inspiration in the words and vision of this saint. His special prayer is: My Lord and my God, Take everything from me, That keeps me from Thee.

My Lord and my God, Give everything to me, That brings me near to Thee.

My Lord and my God, Take me away from myself, And give me completely to Thee.

The hermitage of St. Niklaus at Sachseln

It is sad that the wise counsel of Bruder Klaus is not available to today’s politicians and even sadder that greed, vice and corruption that so wearied him are still prevalent in our world.

Light of the North

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The Auchintoul Connection In our last issue Alasdair Roberts told the fascinating tale of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries who became the righthand man of Russia’s Peter the Great. But Patrick Gordon was by no means the only Scottish mercenary in the service of the the Tsar. There were also other adventurers not least Sir Alexander Leslie of Auchintoul and Patrick Gordon’s son-in-law, the fiery Alexander Gordon.

T

Alasdair Roberts Ann Dean

he thick-walled tower of Auchintoul – field of the byre, rhyming with ‘owl’ - was raised at the end of the 16th century near the Foggieloan farm which was later transformed into the village of Aberchirder.

The man who built it belonged to a cadet branch of the Leslies of Balquhain, proud of their ancient heritage and their castle east of Bennachie. His son Sir Alexander Leslie of Auchintoul played an important role in reorganising the Russian army along western lines, and was the first foreigner to achieve the rank of general. Like Patrick Gordon he fought against the Muscovites in a Polish siege of Smolensk before changing sides to besiege the same frontier town in command of mercenary and Russian troops. Failure to take the place led to dismissal of all foreign soldiers, but on the accession to power of Tsar Alexei (Peter the Great’s father) he was invited back and soldiered to better effect, becoming governor of Smolensk.

The Balquhain family had been made responsible for the bishop of Aberdeen’s palace of Fetternear at the Reformation, and John Leslie Bishop of Ross (who remained Mary Stuart’s most loyal supporter after she lost her throne) was a son of Balquhain. Sir Alexander was close to the Catholics of North-east Scotland during difficult times which saw the martyrdom of St John Ogilvie.

Resented for his connection with Counter-Reformation Poland, however, Leslie converted to the Orthodox faith in Moscow after accusations (put about by the city’s clergy) of his men using the

Sir Alexander Leslie

A fine watercolour by Ann Dean of the Castle of Auchintoul which dates back to the 16th century crosses above churches for target practice. He never returned to Scotland.

At some point in the middle of the 17th century Auchintoul came into Gordon hands by marriage. Alexander Gordon who became the third laird of Auchintoul was the son-in-law of Patrick Gordon and became a captain in Russia through the influence of his Auchleuchries kinsman. Promotion came in dramatic circumstances when he took on six drunken nobles with bare fists for insulting Scots incomers. Tsar Peter heard about it and summoned the young officer. He feared a flogging or Siberia but was handed a major’s commission. Gordon married his majorgeneral’s daughter, the widow of a German colonel in the Russian service.

At the start of the Great Northern War – its greatness extending through the first twenty-one years of the 18th century – he was captured in battle by the Swedish forces of Charles XII. A blizzard helped to determine the outcome when a crushing defeat was inflicted on Tsar Peter’s army at Narva in the Gulf of Finland.

Many died, snow in their faces, but Gordon survived and was later exchanged for a Swedish officer. Back in service, he was promoted to brigadier-general. Alexander Gordon wrote a two-volume Life of Peter the Great, published at Aberdeen after his death, and added a memoir of his own exploits. One of the most significant was when he deployed cannons to prevent the Swedes crossing a river near Vilnius in Lithuania. In the following year he played his part in the battle of Poltava which signalled the end of Sweden as a powerful Baltic nation.

Poland was also involved in the war and Gordon commanded the infantry when a larger force of Russians caught up with their

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old enemy. The flags which he captured were sent home with a Scots merchant, one of the many successors to Danzig Willie Forbes of Craigievar. Gordon’s last campaign was in Transylvania supporting Prince Ragotzky against the Austrians. This time the booty included barrels of sweet Hungarian wine – Tokay – which he also sent to his father in Scotland. Alexander Gordon père was a lawyer who had been made a Lord of Session during the short reign of the Catholic James II and VII. When the son heard of Lord Gordon’s death he made his own return in 1711 and set about adding a wing to the tower-house.

There he might have remained at peace with his second wife

Light of the North Margaret Moncreiff, but when the Elector of Hanover was invited to the throne of three kingdoms as George I the ’Fifteen Jacobite Rising roused him to action along with many others. At the indecisive battle of Sheriffmuir, when ‘we ran and they ran and they ran and we ran,’ Gordon commanded the centre of the front line. His Highland clansmen ran forward and carried the enemy Whigs before their charge. Afterwards Gordon conducted a faultless withdrawal to Aberdeen before going to France by way of the Hebrides. During his exile he was offered military employment

by Spain but chose to make a quiet return to Auchintoul, where he died in his bed at the good old age of eighty-two.

Cruise to the enchanted islands Sr Moira Donnelly rscj

H

aving read that St Margaret and Sacred Heart Parish in Lerwick is the most Northerly Catholic parish in the British Isles, Sister Margaret Pope and myself chose to visit this remote outpost of our diocese for our holiday this summer. It proved to be a delightful, affordable and stress-free excursion which we can highly recommend. We had only to board the Northlink Ferry at Aberdeen harbour, enjoy the view of the receding Scottish coast-line as we ate our evening meal, then have a good sleep and awake at our destination, Lerwick, chief town of the Shetland Islands, of which there are over a hundred!

Lying over 200 miles north of Aberdeen, the Shetlands are now in this diocese but were once administered by the province of the Arctic! Father Anil, the parish priest, who was known to us from when he was in the Cathedral in Aberdeen, very kindly met us at the harbour and put his time and his car at our disposal during our stay. Learning from him about the Church in Shetland and seeing the extent of his widespread parish was very enlightening.

The church was opened only in 1911 but the history of Catholic missionary activity goes back to penal times and contains some heroic stories. Shetland took on the reformed faith after the Reformation and today the vast majority of Catholics in the parish are not Shetlanders. The oil industry has attracted people from all over the world and there are many others who have chosen to live and work there. In all, there are about 400 Catholics in the parish.

After Mass on our first morning, we spent time at the superb museum in Lerwick then set out on the first of several fascinating sight-seeing tours. St Ninian’s Isle, our first stop, lies in a setting of stunning natural beauty where the longest tombola (sand-bar), in

Grazing Shetland ponies

St Ninian’s Isle and the tombolo connecting it to the Shetland mainland Europe joins the little islet to the larger one. When we reached the ruins of St Ninian’s Chapel, we sat there in silence for some time just savouring the loveliness of the sunlight on the white sands and blue sea and the atmosphere of simplicity and deep peace.

Indeed, the other-worldly atmosphere of many of the places we visited seemed to unite us both with nature and with the long Christian heritage of these isles. Though this was most marked out in the grandeur of vast seascapes and silent hills, even in the big town of Lerwick we were aware of a strong Christian presence. For one thing, there is the large number of churches of many traditions.

And indeed, on the first morning when we arrived at our B&B, Jamie, the man of the house, greeted Anil warmly as he was a minister and knew him from attending inter-church Fraternals.

During our stay we heard about Jamie and Christine’s church work and got the impression that the Christian people of Shetland live and work together in harmony.

Perhaps the beauty of nature made the biggest visual impact on us: the varieties of seabirds, tiny Shetland ponies, peacefully grazing sheep and, at every turn of the road, rolling waves breaking on shining sands, all brought delight to the eye. And the fantastic rock formations, towering cliffs and ancient brochs were a source of wonder. Then, witnessing the spectacular combinations of glorious sunset and a double rainbow over the sea on the voyage home was the grand finale of nature’s display! But at an even deeper level we will remember the friendliness of the people we met and, very specially, the kindness of Father Anil and our hosts, Jamie and Christine. And with the fine weather with which we were blessed, Shetland is as lovely a holiday place as you would wish for. Looking back, it is hard to believe that all these rich experiences happened in four days.

faithandculture

Light of the North

Margaret Bradley’s FOOD AND FAITH

in life. It is too easy to give up the solid upbringing and good values we received from our parents for the sake of cheap thrills. By prayerfully taking stock of our lives from time to time we can ask for guidance to protect us from making rash and ill thought out choices which appear to offer quick solutions to our problems. Prayerful reflection helps us determine how to overcome hardships, worries and fears, how to cope with the demands of work or how to let go of damaging feelings of envy and hate. By this means we can be assured of attaining a better more worthy life.

So, if you should come across someone preparing a pot of tasty lentil soup, perhaps using this traditional Scottish Lentil Soup recipe (using a ham joint rather than vegetable or chicken stock) be very careful - don’t be tempted to ‘sell your soul’ for a bowl of it!

Scottish Lentil Soup

I

n Genesis 25:29-34 there is a story about two brothers, Esau and Jacob, and a pot of lentil stew. The story goes like this:

“When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, ‘Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished’…

But Jacob said, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ Esau said, ‘Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?’

And Jacob said, ‘First swear to me’; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. “ The story of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob is a tale about rivalry and greed, rash judgements and about the need to hold on to good, God-given values in life. Esau and Jacob were twins. Esau was the first born son and as such inherited the responsibility of being the spiritual leader of the family, officiating at worship, building the family altar, transmitting God’s word. In selling his birthright, Esau made a rash judgement. He gave up something of great value, for a simple bowl of stew. He didn’t understand the spiritual value of his birthright. He lacked insight and wasn’t able to see beyond his immediate needs.

The message for us is to think about what is really important

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Ingredients: 1 onion 2 or 3 carrots Small turnip 2 medium potatoes 11/2 cup lentils 1 Ham Shank Salt and Pepper 2 pints water Cooking oil • Heat some oil in a large soup pan.

• Chop the onion and add to the pan.

• Rinse the lentils and add to the pan.

• Cook the onion-lentil mixture until the onion is soft. (Watch the mixture doesn’t burn.)

• Peel and dice the carrot, turnip and potato and add to the pan.

• Add the Ham Shank to the pan and cover with boiling water.

• Bring this to the boil and simmer until the meat and vegetables are cooked.

• Remove the Ham Shank from the pan.

• Remove the Ham from the bone and flake it.

• Liquidise the soup in the pan with a hand blender.

• Return some of the flaked Ham to the pot and check the seasoning.

• Serve at once with crusty bread.

‘Esau sells his birthright for a mess of pottage’ by Israeli artist Adi Nes

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Light of the North

P oetic Licence Canon Bill Anderson delves into some of his favourite inspirational verse.

C

hristina Rossetti (1830-1894) whose two brothers were also literary figures, never enjoyed good health and was educated at home. In the course of her quiet life she wrote much verse and prose, mostly devotional. Yet despite her Christian convictions (for she was a High Anglican), she manifests a kind of melancholy in some of her work. There are recurring themes of frustrated or unhappy love arising perhaps out of unrequited affection. Indeed her poetry has been compared to Emily Bronte's limited output in that genre.

To many, however, she may be best remembered for two lyrical gems: "In the bleak mid-winter" about which one noted commentator observes: "It has the apparent simplicity and artlessness of a medieval carol: in fact, such verses are only possible with the highest art." Gustav Holst's music is a perfect match.

Our second gem is set in the following poem, "Uphill", one of the author's earliest published works. It seems just to be a whimsical dialogue about the progress of the soul after death. However, there is great technical virtuosity in the arrangement of the words, and a disarming originality in the use of imagery and in the maintaining of the question-and-answer scheme. We cannot but call it Victorian verse, but how successfully it avoids that era’s pitfalls of preciosity and sentimentality!

Uphill Does the road wind uphill all the way?

Yes, to the very end.

Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?

From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?

A roof for when the slow, dark hours begin.

May not the darkness hide it from my face?

You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?

Those who have gone before.

Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?

They will not keep you waiting at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?

Of labour you shall find the sum.

Will there be beds for me and all who seek?

Yes, beds for all who come.

Christina Rossetti (1830-94)

The next issue of the Light of the North will be published in the Spring. If you would like to sponsor the next issue or a page of the issue, perhaps in memory of a loved one or to celebrate a special occasion, please contact our advertising manager Sandra Townsley.

Tel: 01463 831 133 or email:Sedstown@aol.com

humour

Light of the North

Humour from the Vestry Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humour to console him for what he is. ~Francis Bacon

Page 33

The Devil You Know

Two boys were walking home from church after hearing a disturbing homily about the devil. One said to the other, “What do you think about all this Satan stuff?”

The other boy replied, “Well, you know how Santa Claus turned out. It’s probably just your dad” Muldoon lived alone in the Irish countryside with only a pet dog for company. One day the dog died, and Muldoon

Notes Left in Milk Bottles

went to the parish priest and asked, “Father, me dog is dead.

For those of us who still get their milk delivered in bottles, here is a collection of notes left out for the milkman:

Father Patrick replied, “I’m afraid not; we cannot have ser-

I’ve just had a baby, please leave another one.

Please leave an extra pint of paralysed milk.

Cancel one pint after the day after today.

Please don’t leave any more milk. All they do is drink it.

Sorry not to have paid your bill before, but my wife had a baby and I’ve been carrying it around in my pocket for weeks.

Sorry about yesterday’s note. I didn’t mean one egg and a dozen pints, but the other way round.

When you leave my milk please knock on my bedroom window and wake me because I want you to give me a hand to turn the mattress.

Please knock. My TV’s broken down and I missed last night’s Coronation Street. If you saw it, will you tell me what happened over a cup of tea?

My daughter says she wants a milkshake. Do you do it before you deliver or do I have to shake the bottle?

Please send me a form for cheap milk, for I have a baby two months old and did not know about it until a neighbour told me.

From now on please leave two pints every other day and one pint on the days in between, except Wednesdays and Saturdays when I don’t want any milk.

No milk. Please do not leave milk at No. 14 either as he is dead until further notice.

Could ya’ be saying’ a Mass for the poor creature?” vices for an animal in the church. But there are some Baptists down the lane, and there’s no tellin’ what they believe.

Maybe they’ll do something for the creature.”

Muldoon said, “I’ll go right away Father. Do ya’ think £2,000 is enough to donate to them for the service?”

Father Patrick exclaimed, “Good heavens man! Why did ya’ not tell me the dog was Catholic?”

Good King Wenceslas went out to the pizza parlour and ordered a pizza. The assistant asked Do you want your usual?

Deep pan, crisp and even?

Wish I’d said that! ”The only reason that they say, ‘Women and children first’ is to test the strength of the lifeboats.” ~ Jean Kerr ”After the game, the King and the pawn go into the same box.” ~ Italian proverb ”When the white missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, ‘Let us pray.’

We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land”. ~ Desmond Tutu ”The best cure for sea sickness is to sit under a tree.” ~ Spike Milligan ”We are here on earth to do good unto others. What the others are here for, I have no idea.” ~ W.H. Auden A pastor was leaving his parish and was saying farewell to his congregation at the Church doors for the last time. He shook the hand of an elderly lady as she walked out. She said, “Your successor won’t be as good as you.” “Nonsense,” said the pastor, in a flattered tone. “No, really,” said the old lady.

“I’ve been here under five different ministers, and each new one has been worse than the last.”

crossword

WORD No. 24

Page 34

In this issue’s competition there’s an opportunity to win a copy of Henri J. M. Nouwen’s bestselling book, “ The Return of the Prodigal Son”. Just send your completed entry by the 1st February to the ‘Light of the North’, Ogilvie Centre, 16 Huntly Street, Aberdeen AB10 1SH. First correct entry drawn out of the hat is the winner.

Light of the North Answers to last issue’s crossword ACROSS 1. Charles Wesley 8. Recital 9. Hamor 10. Eli 11. Evensong 13. Engage 14. Baruch 17.Amorites 19. Sir 21. Mitre 22. Enclave 24 Good Samaritan DOWN 1. Carpeted 2. Arching 3. Lit 4. Silver 5. Ephesians 6. Lemon 7. York 11. Eagerness 12. Thirteen 15. Upstart 16. Stream 18 Motto 20. Smug 23. Car

Little Horror Sudoku No. 11 If you prefer sudoku to crosswords then you still have a chance to be a prize winner with our super tough sudoku puzzle.

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

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

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

ACROSS 1. Purse or wallet (5) 4. One of the Sacraments (7) 8. Withdraw (7) 9. Cause to happen (5) 10. Something of value (5) 11. Old Testament Prophet (7) 13. Move gently (4) 15. Inn (6) 17. Theologian and saint of 11th cent. (6) 20. Story (4) 22. Church caretaker (7) 24. Gather up (5) 26. ‘A — crying in the wilderness’ (5) 27. Prime basis (7) 28. Cuddled (7) 29. Teacher (5)

DOWN 1. Slave or bondman (7) 2. Ceremonies (5) 3. Used at Evensong, etc. (7) 4. Cleanses (6) 5. Comes before a fall (5) 6. Slope (7) 7. Virtuous (5) 12. Enthusiasm (4) 14. Small insects (4) 16. Those who suffer (7) 18. Forget about (7) 19. Church of a monastery (7) 21. Wait on (6) 22. Number of deadly sins (5) 23. Perfect (5) 25. Build (5)

Congratulations to our last competition winner, Mrs Val Dawson from Lossiemouth

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

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

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

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FOR A WIDE RANGE OF ADULT AND CHILDREN’S READING

Dornoc h B oo k s hop 1/8 page ● Stationery ● Ordnance

Light of the North

Page 35

Rainbow Glass Studio LTD is a family company, which specialise in the design, manufacture and installation of Ecclesiastical, Public and Residential stained glass. Last year we had the pleasure of installing a scheme of 8 windows in Cumnock Parish Church depicting CREATION.

Rainbow Glass FP

CREATION - the new windows in Cumnock Parish Church designed by Moira Malcolm and made by Rainbow Glass Studio.

The window was designed by Moira Malcolm of Rainbow Glass. It was a joy to have such a wonderful subject as the creation and the chance to re-glaze 8 full windows. The stained glass windows were made using traditional methods of cut glass, lead and solder. The hand blown glass is bought from France, Germany and England and is of the highest quality. Each process is carefully executed by hand, and the detail is created by a combination of glass painting and acid etching.

Rainbow Glass Studio also specialise in the conservation / restoration of historic stained glass windows. All work carried out will be of the highest standard by skilled craftsperson’s using traditional methods and high quality materials. We do not compromise the quality or finish of our work. All work carried out followed CVMA guidelines, which promotes 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 future advice regarding architectural stained glass windows. We cover all areas of Scotland but we would welcome any enquiries from further a field. **ICON ACCREDITED STUDIO

IN YOUR HOME AND EVERYWHERE Photo by Claudio Celli

IN YOUR HOME AND EVERYWHERE Photo by Claudio Celli

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