SOME THOUGHTS FOR THIS EASTER
“Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is” says St Paul in today’s Second Reading.
Many of us in these days are hoping that our lives will soon “return to normal.” But is normal life the same as true life?
We have the opportunity during this period of lockdown to stop and survey our normal life. What is it like when society is running as it usually does? What are we like as people when things are normal? Are we at peace with ourselves or with others or with God? Or are we just swept along by the normal turbulent flow of daily living, rarely stopping to wonder if we are going in the right direction? Are we just flowing with everything else in one direction, not really aware of where we are going?
At the Easter Vigil, we heard the great reading from the Book of Exodus of how God rescued the People of Israel from the pursuing Egyptian army led by Pharaoh. This was the first Passover. He led them out of slavery, where they could not be at all free but had to live at the whims of their masters. It is significant that God leads the people through the Red Sea. The whole event is given as a pattern for how God will deal with His people: being overpowered by some form of slavery, the sudden realisation that we are powerless, realising that God is the one who is truly in charge, and being led through turbulent waters to freedom. They pass over from slavery to the freedom of the Spirit.
This pattern appears again and again in the Bible. Take Psalm 17 for example, written many years after the events of the Exodus, probably by King David. He uses the template of the Exodus to describe how God has saved him:
The waves of death rose about me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
the snares of the grave entangled me;
the traps of death confronted me. (vv.5-6)
The psalmist then goes on to describe how God saves him from his dire situation:
From on high He reached down and seized me;
He drew me forth from the mighty waters.
He snatched me from my powerful foe,
from my enemies whose strength I could not match. (vv.17-18)He brought me forth into freedom,
He saved me because He loved me. (v20)
This same template was employed when we were baptised: through the waters poured upon us we moved from being merely children of nature to being children of God. At Easter, Christ passed through the deep and turbulent waters of suffering and death and sin to the new and utterly free life of Resurrection. He is now the new and eternal Passover. This same pattern has been engraved upon our souls: if we wish to call upon its saving power to move us out of our slavery to sin or fear then we can – and the Lord will bring us forth into freedom. The only reason He does this is because He loves us – He loves you, He loves me, utterly and absolutely, and nothing we may do can limit His power to love.
This Easter, locked down as we are, is an opportunity to reflect: in my normal life, what are the good things? What enslaves me? What do I do automatically and even selfishly? What are the blessings that I have? Do I realise and use the infinite spiritual potential that is within my heart since I was joined to Christ the new Passover at my baptism? When things get back to normal, do I want to live the “normal” life - or the true life?
Yes, Christ is risen. He goes before us. To follow Him where He leads us as our Good Shepherd, we have to hold on to Him. If we don’t, we will just drift aimlessly in the normal flow. Life is about more than drifting. It has an aim. Following Christ each day means that our life has a real goal. He gives us the grace to live and experience life with freedom and not just let it happen to us. We can count on Christ to help us find the way: He is risen with an eternal, indestructible and unfailing life. And He is with us always, yes, to the end of time.
On behalf of all of us here at Cathedral House, I wish you and your loved ones a Truly Blessed Easter, Fr. Patrick
Update from Deacon Peter on the Telephone Apostolate
Having launched our telephone apostolate on the 1st of April, I would just like to update you all with how we are getting on.
The biggest issue we have faced as a team has been that due to the current "lockdown" we are all working from home! This means that all of the lovely information which can usually be found at my fingertips in the Cathedral office, now has to be accessed on-line and communication conducted by either telephone or email or indeed by video conferencing. Let me tell you that this has proven to be something of a challenge for the less technically minded amongst us, including me, but everyone is trying their best and achieving great results. Thankfully we have some very gifted people on our Parish Councils, and we have all pulled together with our volunteers to make the outreach programme work.
We now have over 40 active volunteers who have been in contact with over 50 parishioners from both St Andrews and the Cathedral and our volunteers will continue to keep in touch with them over the coming weeks and months. Some people would like a call once a month, others weekly, and yet some others twice a week. Social distancing, self-isolation and anxiety about the epidemic can take their toll in different ways, in different people and at different times as this phase of the Government's response has lengthened from days into weeks and its impact may well affect us for much longer that we think . If you know someone who would benefit from a friendly chat from our volunteers then please let us know using the website, Facebook or by email. We are here for you!
Watch Daily Mass from Cathedral House Online
Each day, we publish one of the private Masses in Cathedral House, where we pray for our parishioners, mass intentions and an end to the spread of coronavirus. To participate spiritually in the Mass, please visit our Facebook page or www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/filming.
Mass Intentions
Although all public Masses are currently suspended, Fr. Patrick, Fr. Jamie and Fr. Tadeusz continue to offer Mass for the parishioners’ intentions. If you would like to schedule a Mass for someone who has recently died, for the anniversary of a loved one or for a special intention, please contact the Parish Office and we will help you to arrange a Mass.
The Parish Office can be contacted on 0131 556 1798 or cathedralhouse@stmaryscathedral.co.uk. In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, please do not visit the office in person at the moment.
Young Adults – Ratzinger Reading Group
To continue to “grow on the inside”, some people from the Young Adults Group have started an online theology book club together with Fr. Jamie. Each week, we read twenty pages or so of Cardinal Ratzinger’s ‘Introduction to Christianity’ and then we meet talk together about what we have read. If you are between 18-35 years and would like to join, please email here.
Vincent Wallace, RIP
We were informed over the weekend of the recent death of Vincent Wallace, Director of Music at the Cathedral from 1992 - 1997. The choir he founded, the St Andrew Camerata, recently celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary here at the Cathedral late last year. Vincent passed away on Friday the 3rd of April, aged only 59. The former Cathedral parishioner who informed us remembered him as "a dear friend who loved the Church." One of the Masses on Easter Sunday will be offered for the repose of his soul. May he rest in peace.
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