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Gathered As Church
A couple of evenings ago, our diocese held a Synod event at Carfin Grotto. The weather wasn’t the best as there were various weather warnings in place thanks to Storm Babet. And this almost certainly reduced the numbers of people who were present that evening from across the diocese. Alongside this, there were anecdotes of some parishes not having been told anything about the synodal event taking place; and at least one parish – whose priest is perceived as being not in favour of the Synod taking place – was said to have arranged a service at the same time that evening, seemingly as a counterpoint to what was taking…
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A Mass of Thanksgiving
A Catholic parish is a funny thing; we, the people within it, look upon it not only with deep fondness, but also with a sense of ‘ownership’ of sorts. It is ‘our’ parish, our spiritual home. It matters to us. We don’t simply attend Mass there – we participate in the life of the parish; and the parish, in turn, becomes a real part of our lives. The place itself is as important as what it signifies to us. It is the setting for the Sacraments which support us in so very many of the major milestones in our lives – Baptism, first Holy Communion, Confirmation, marriage, and death. And there…
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A Golden Celebration
We had the pleasure of welcoming Bishop Joseph Toal, of the Diocese of Motherwell, yesterday for the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, one of the two Churches which make up our Parish of Saint Ambrose. As part of the celebration, we also welcomed two of the former parish priests, Monsignor John McIntyre and Fr Vivian Hayes, together with our current parish priest, Fr Tom Devlin. They were accompanied by our parish deacon, Michael Meechan, and visiting fellow deacon, Joe Gallagher. In his homily, Bishop Toal spoke about the time of the building of St Francis of Assisi Church, coming not so long…
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Pastoral Letter – Bishop Toal
Bishop Joseph Toal of the Diocese of Motherwell, my own diocese, has published a Pastoral Letter regarding the Synod on Synodality. The text of this Pastoral Letter is given on the diocesan website and it is reproduced here in full – 26th September 2023 PASTORAL LETTER FROM BISHOP TOAL Dear Brothers and Sisters, As the Assembly in Rome for the Synod on Synodality: Communion, Participation, and Mission, approaches this coming weekend, the Church everywhere prays for those present and asks the Holy Spirit to guide and bless their work on our behalf. In the Synodal journey to date, much has been said about listening, and Jesus himself often encourages…
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Letter To The Faithful
One Mass I will never forget was the one celebrated at the Cathedral in Motherwell on the feast of Saint Joseph almost three years ago, 19th March 2020. It was the last public Mass celebrated in our diocese before Scotland went into full lockdown three days later. At that point, we had no idea of what would shortly follow and so anxiety was high for many people and there was a very real fear of the unknown. People cried as the Mass came to an end. I was one of them. But that Mass was memorable for another reason, too. Just before the Mass began, the priest made an announcement.…
