SOME THOUGHTS FOR SUNDAY
“The Gospel reading this week is focused on death. In it, Jesus tells his disciples not to be afraid of those who can kill them. Those people are not to be feared, because death itself is not to be feared.
No doubt, there is always something sorrowful about dying, because death separates the dying person from his family and his friends; and they still have to slog through their lives in this world without their companion. But Jesus is not telling people to accept death without sorrow. He is telling them not to fear death.
If you were walking alone down a dark street late at night, and you saw a small knot of strangers gathered menacingly at a corner, wouldn’t you be afraid? Shouldn’t you be afraid? If the cancer doctor tells you that you have only months to live, wouldn’t you—shouldn’t you—be afraid?
How can Jesus tell us—actually, command us—not to be afraid of death?
Well, think about it this way. If you are surprised when you discover that you are dying, you just haven’t been paying attention. None of us is getting out of this alive. Everyone of us will die. It is just a question of when. Or maybe better: it is just a question of how.
Here is how it will be if you love the Lord. In dying, you will move through the veil that separates you, in this world of sorrow and suffering, from the Lord’s own presence. There, on the other side, you will find all tears wiped away—the tears you have already wept and the ones that are stuck in your heart right now. All those tears will be wiped away by your Creator with a tenderness so great that you will think you must be dreaming. The beauty and the goodness of that new world will surpass your every desire. And you yourself will be something lovelier than you ever imagined you could be. Surrounded by beauty and goodness, bathed in the love of the Lord, transformed, yourself, in the beauty of holiness, you will join the angels in singing for joy at what the Lord has done.
Are you afraid now? Is this scary to you?
What is worth fearing is losing all of this beauty and goodness on the other side of death because you will not now surrender to the love of the Lord who calls you to himself. But this is a kind of death that comes only from sin, as the Second Reading says. No one else can force it on you; only you can cause this death in yourself.
And that is why the Lord tells his disciples not to fear those who can kill the body.”
- Eleonore Stump
Our Churches are Re-Opening for Private Prayer
Following the First Minister’s announcement on Thursday, both our churches will open for private prayer this week. From Monday, the Cathedral will be open every day from 12noon-6pm. St Andrew’s Church in Ravelston will open on Tuesday the 23rd, and will then be open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 10am-12noon. Welcome back!
Resuming Daily Confessions in the Cathedral
Beginning on Monday, we will once again resume regular times for confessions in the Cathedral. To provide better ventilation, the Sacristy has been set up as a confessional with a screen to ensure anonymity. Confessions will be available in English Monday-Friday at 1pm-2pm, and on Saturdays from 12noon-2pm. There will also be confessions in Polish from 5pm-6pm.
What will look different when we come back to Church?
Because of the coronavirus, some things will look different when you come back to Church again:
1. Facemasks: Everyone over the age of 5 must wear a face covering while in the Church.
2. Hand Sanitising Stations: We ask everyone to please sanitise their hands upon entering and before leaving the Church.
3. One-Way-System: There will be a one-way-system in place in both Churches. Please enter the Cathedral through the porch and leave through the main doors at the back on the Church. In Ravelston, please enter through the main doors and leave through the fire exit by the Sacristy.
4. Physical Distancing: You will note that some pews have been corded off. This is to help everyone to ensure 2m physical distancing at all times.
5. Volunteers: We will have volunteers in the Church during the opening hours to help ensure that the Church is not filled beyond the new maximum capacity. Please talk to them if you have any questions and concerns.
6. No toilets: Since it is impossible for us to disinfect the toilets between each visit, please note that there will be no toilet facilities available.
Click here for more information or for pictures of what this will look like.
Volunteers can now be over the age of 70
The Government have changed their regulations and we are very happy to now also be able to register our parishioners who are over the age of 70 (and in good health) as volunteers to help keep the churches open.
As you know, one of the things that is mandated by the guidelines for reopening the Churches are volunteers to act as Church Attendants during the opening hours. The role of these attendants will just be to ensure that people are wearing a face mask before entering the Churches, that they maintain physical distancing while in the Church and that they observe the “one-way system” in and out of the Church.
If you would like to help, please contact Sr. Mary Simone at the Parish Office either by phone (Mon-Fri 11am-4pm) or by email cathedralhouse@stmaryscathedral.co.uk. Thank you!
“Rediscovering Catholicism” – A Short Course in Theology on Zoom, Wednesdays at 7pm
There has been a huge response to this initiative – so I look forward to “seeing” you on Zoom on Wednesday. Find out more here. There is an upper limit to the numbers attending – so if you want to participate you need to contact Fr. Jamie as soon as possible on frjamie@stmaryscathedral.co.uk.
New - Cathedral Podcasts!
You can now listen to sermons, talks and messages from the Cathedral as you jog, drive or do the dishes with our new podcast. You can download mp3 files here: https://stmaryscathedral.podbean.com/. You can also subscribe to receive updates automatically on Apple podcasts. Do you get your podcasts from another source? Let us know and we'll try to make ours available there too.
Young Adults’ Reading Group
The lockdown reading group is now coming to the end of our three month journey through Introduction to Christianity, and next week will move on to our next challenge: 'The Splendour of the Church' by Ratzinger's friend and collaborator Henri de Lubac, who was one of the architects of the Second Vatican Council. If you'd like to join, please email frjamie@stmaryscathedral.co.uk.
Daily Mass livestreamed from Cathedral House
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 please visit our Facebook page, or watch a recording of the Mass at www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/filming.
Why Faith and Science Belong Together - Faraday Institute Summer Course June 2020
Faith and science are often seen as uncomfortable bed-fellows. However, this has not always been so. In this series of webinars we examine the ways in which Faith and Science speak to each other in contemporary society and explore the theological and ethical issues which this dialogue raises. We aim to show that there is a better story to be told about faith and science than the prevalent one of conflict and mutual distrust.
Each day, from Monday 29th June to Friday to 3rd July we shall be hosting two or three webinars each day given by an array of international speakers highly qualified in their individual fields. There will also be some opportunity for on-line discussion.
It is completely free to attend and open to anyone, anywhere, who is interested. You are free to join us for as much or as little of our programme as you wish. Book here.