Sunday of Week 2 in Ordinary Time (Yr C)
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
There are echoes of the Christmas season in today’s liturgy, particularly in the Gospel story of the wedding feast of Cana, in which God’s glory becomes visible in Jesus, as it did at his Epiphany and Baptism.
Alternative Opening Prayer (from 1998 ICEL Missal)
God of wonders, at Cana in Galilee you revealed your glory in Jesus Christ and summoned all humanity to life in him.
Show to your people gathered on this day your transforming power and give us a foretaste of the wine you keep for the age to come. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
Fr Basil
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Annual Safeguarding Announcement
My name is Julie Roberts and I am the safeguarding co-ordinator in this parish.
Safeguarding concerns every one of us
It is the responsibility of clergy and lay people to ensure that the church is a safe and welcoming place for everyone and to ensure that children and vulnerable adults are protected. Pope Francis has asked that families are made aware that they have a right to expect to be safe and secure in “our Father’s house”. The Bishops of Scotland are committed to ensuring this. Safeguarding in the Catholic Church means doing everything we can to protect our children and vulnerable adults.
Firstly, we have a safe system of recruitment for clergy, religious, employees and all our volunteers. This includes PVG checks, references and safeguarding training.
Secondly, we have a reporting system so people can come forward with any concerns, be listened to and have those concerns acted upon. Safeguarding also includes care and support for survivors.
In this Archdiocese, we have a dedicated safeguarding team.
This includes Monsignor Allan Chambers, the Vicar General for Safeguarding, Emma Boothroyd, our Safeguarding Advisor, as well as a Safeguarding Officer and Administrator.
The Safeguarding team is based at the Gillis Centre in Edinburgh and can be contacted by e-mail or phone to advise on any safeguarding matter. I have details or you can find them on the Safeguarding page of the Archdiocesan website.
Every parish has trained safeguarding co-ordinators. Alongside the Parish Priest, they ensure the safe recruitment of volunteers working with children and vulnerable adults in the church.
There is a poster at the back of this church with my details on it. Please contact me if you have any concerns about a safeguarding matter.
The Church in Scotland has a mandatory reporting policy. This means that if an allegation of abuse is received it is immediately reported to the police. It is imperative that any abuse, historic or otherwise, will be met with a listening ear, and action taken to restore people’s trust in our Church and our clergy and religious.
We do an annual safeguarding audit to assess the safeguarding work being done in every parish and diocese
Archbishop Leo Cushley, and the Safeguarding Team are grateful for all the hard work done by the parish safeguarding co-ordinators and volunteers in every parish across the Archdiocese in keeping the Church a welcoming and safe place for all.
Thank-you.
May I personally thanks Julie in Musselburgh and Bob in Tranent for continuing to carry out this vital roles in the life of our parishes Fr B
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Diploma in Catechetics 2022
Explore the richness and depth of the Catholic faith with course leader Sr Anna Marie McGuan from the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh. She and a range of guest speakers bring you online lectures each Thursday evening, guided reading, one-to-one support, retreats and supplementary courses on Zoom and YouTube. The Diploma in Catechetics lasts one year, begins this month and costs £200. Students £150. Other concessions available. Email [email protected] for information. Register at bit.ly/DiplomaCatechetics2022
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Dates for your Diary
40 Hours’ Devotion
Each parish in the Archdiocese is having 40 hours of Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament to help renew our Faith and love of Jesus Christ.
January dates:
Sun 16/01/2022 St Peter’s and St Columba’s, Edinburgh;
Sun 23/01/2022 St Mary Magdalene, Glenrothes;
Sun 30/01/2022 St Mary’s, Stirling.
See parish websites for schedule. Full programme for the Archdiocese at bit.ly/40hoursschedule. Find out more about Eucharistic Adoration: bit.ly/40HoursPlaylist
Click <<Here>> for more information about this Devotion
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Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) 18 – 25/01/2022
This takes place from 18-25 January. This year’s theme is ‘We Saw His Star In the East’. Material and meditations available in the resources section at archedinburgh.org/pastoral-governance/catechetics/
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Mass of Thanksgiving – Rutilio Grande SJ 22/01/2022
To mark the news that Rutilio Grande SJ of El Salvador will soon be declared a ‘Blessed’, Archbishop Leo will join the Jesuits for a Mass of Thanksgiving at Sacred Heart Church, Lauriston, Edinburgh, at 6:30pm on Sunday 22 January. Rutilio Grande was a Jesuit priest assassinated alongside two parish workers, he was also a friend of St Oscar Romero. All welcome.
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Lunchtime talks 08/2/2022 & 08/03/2022
The Archdiocese’s mini-series of lunchtime talks on the Pope’s encyclicalAmoris Laetitia(‘The Joy of Love) continues this Monday (17 January) at 1:30pm on Zoom.Register at bit.ly/AmorisTalks. The talks will also be uploaded to the Archdiocesan YouTube channel bit.ly/ArchYouTubeSynod Meetings
Please attend the Synod meeting for our Deanery and make your voice heard.
Schedule:
Edinburgh City Deanery – 7pm, 26 Jan at St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh;
West Lothian Deanery – 7pm, 8 Feb at St Mary’s, Bathgate;
Borders, Mid and East Lothian Deaneryc- 7pm, 23 Feb at St David’s, Dalkeith;
Fife Deanery – 7pm, 8 March at St Margaret’s, Dunfermline.
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SPUC Youth Conference 27/2/2022
The largest UK pro-life youth conference takes place 25-27 February 2022 in Stone, Staffordshire. It’s open to people aged 16-35 and a chance to meet fellow young pro-life leaders, be inspired and have fun. Register at https://www.spuc.org.uk/youthconference2022 Sponsorship available to young people in our Archdiocese. Please contact the Archdiocesan Pro-Life Office: [email protected]
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Sacramental Preparation 2022
I am in discussion with the head teachers of both of our primary schools to establish dates for the various sacraments to be celebrated in 2022. Confirmations are on Tuesday 6th June 2022 and so ideally I would wish to have both sets of First Holy Communions celebrated before the Edinburgh marathon on the 29th May 2022. We must aslo encourage families back to Mass, therefor Children’s Liturgy is an essential component of that. I hope to provide you with various dates in the next couple of weeks.
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Holy Mass
Please check the Newsletter for details of Mass Times at Tranent and Musselburgh. Sunday Mass, from both parishes, will continue to be streames live, recorded and available to the sick and housebound on our YouTube channel
Click here for the Parish Communities YouTube channel
About You Tube
If you press the “subscribe” button You Tube will put all the Mass videos in your subscription list on You Tube so that you can find them easily. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the “Subscribed” button and clicking “Unsubscribe”. If you also click the “Bell” icon then you will be notified when the next Mass stream / video is available. Please note there is no charge for this service.
ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
My Jesus, I Believe that You are in the Blessed Sacrament.
love You above all things,
and I long for You in my soul.
Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
Although You have already come,
I embrace You & unite myself entirely to You;
never permit me to be separated from You. Amen
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OTHER NEWS AND EVENTS (SEE ALSO ARCHEDINBURGH.ORG)
The Catholic Church in Scotland is creating a new safeguarding agency. The Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (SCSSA) will operate entirely independently of the Church. Find out more at www.bcos.org.uk. The latest edition of the Safeguarding Matters magazine from the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland is available at bcos.org.uk/safeguarding
The Catholic App
The Catholic App” is your smart Catholic companion that helps you find Mass, Confession, churches and more in Scotland and London. Download the app for iPhone/iPad or Android by searching for “The Catholic App, Musemantik” in the Apple App Store or Google Play
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For a Synodal Church Communion,
Participation Mission
Synodality!
Sometimes old words fine new prominence in the life of the Church. So, it is with the old word Synod normally a gathering of bishops. In October 2023 the Holy Father has called such a synod where bishops will gather with him to discuss how we form Church. Synodality is therefore the theme.
“Synodality,” literally means “walking together,” and encompasses communion, participation, and mission. Papal biographer, Austen Ivereigh, defines synodality as “a method and process of discussion and participation in which the whole people of God can listen to the Holy Spirit and take part in the life and mission of the Church.”. There is more to come…
Ahead of the action in our Archdiocese in October, the General Secretariat for the Synod has published the Preparatory Document, along with a Vademecum (or handbook) to indicate the guiding principles that will direct the path of the Synod on Synodality. It is intended to facilitate the first phase of listening and consultation of the People of God in the particular Churches, which will take place from October 2021 to April 2022. The preparatory document indicates ten ways that “articulate different facets of ‘lived synodality’”:
* The Journeying Companions
* Listening
* Speaking Out
* Celebrating
* Co-responsible in the Mission
* Dialogue in Church and Society
* With the Other Christian Denominations
* Authority and Participation
* Discerning and Deciding
* Forming Ourselves in Synodality
The 2023 Synod
We have also to respond positively to the Holy Father’s invitation to influence the Synod of Bishops to meet in 2023. Our parish response needs to be completed and returned by Jan 31st. Not a lot of time given Advent and Christmas. I am however determined that we do so. He is encouraging us to Communion. Participation and Mission. Three thing we need to deepen for ourselves. However much or little we influence the Universal Church his call to us to walk together, listening for the Lord’s voice is what we need to do here in Musselburgh and Tranent. The PPC’s of both parishes have a vital role to play in this journey. Material and questions to consider should be available soon. Once I have it it will come out to the parish.
We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name.
With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions.
Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right. All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen
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