Schedule a Time for Confession, View Livestream Masses
A priest of the Cathedral is available every day to hear confessions. Please schedule a time for confession by contacting the Cathedral Office, 0131 556 1987, cathedralhouse@stmaryscathedral.co.uk
Live-streamed Mass from Cathedral House is available at 10am Monday-Saturday on our Facebook page and website https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/filming. Sunday Mass is available on the website on Sunday from 10am.
Video Tour of St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral by Deacons Bobby Taylor and Martin Eckersley
Deacons Bobby Taylor and Martin Eckersley take you on a video tour around St Mary's Catholic Cathedral. The video was organized by the Archdiocese's Catechetics Commission. Please keep Bobby and Martin in your prayers ahead of their ordination to the priesthood later this year!
A Big Thank You…
…to all who helped with the Christmas Gift Collection for children of prisoners in Edinburgh Prison. Colin O'Flaherty from the Scottish Prison Service expressed gratitude in a thank you letter to all who were involved: “Through your kindness and generosity, we were able to help eighty-eight families and one hundred and seventy-eight children. Arranging gift collections in the middle of a pandemic was I know not easy and I appreciate the extra work by everyone that went into making this year a success.” The letter is printed in full at the bottom of the newsletter.
Eucharistic Adoration Every Sunday - Stop by the Convent Chapel Window in Ravelston!
The Religious Sisters of Mercy invite you to stop by their Convent Chapel window every Sunday afternoon 1:00pm to 3:45pm at St. Andrew’s, Ravelston (77 Belford Road) to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The monstrance with the Most Blessed Sacrament can be seen through the window during the Sisters’ hours of Eucharistic Adoration.
Archbishop Cushley Invites You to a Series of 30-Minute Sunday Talks: “Faith in the Time of Covid”
Archbishop Cushley invites you to a series of free, online 30-minute Sunday talks from distinguished speakers who will offer their thoughts and approach to the Covid pandemic.
Sunday Talks — 5:00pm-5:30pm
31st January — Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth, “The Role of Faith in Response to Covid”
(SOLD OUT: Webinar registration for Sunday's talk with Bishop Philip Egan has sold out, but
you can still watch the event live on the Archdiocese’s YouTube channel: bit.ly/ArchYouTube).
7th February — Dr Mary Rice Hasson, Director, Catholic Women's Forum,
Ethics & Public Policy Center, Washington, D.C. Register — bit.ly/FaithCovid-Hasson
14th February —Professor John Haldane, Emeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy, University of St Andrews, “Finding Faith, Hope & Charity in Times of Desperation”
Register bit.ly/FaithCovid-Haldane
21st February — Rt Hon Gordon Brown, United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Register bit.ly/FaithCovid-Brown
A recording of each talk will be published on the Archdiocesan YouTube channel the day following the talk at bit.ly/ArchYouTube
Retreat for Engaged and Married Couples Saturday, 13th February, 3pm-4:30pm
Engaged and married couples are invited to a Valentine’s retreat Saturday, 13th February, 3:00pm- 4:30pm on Zoom, organised by the Archdiocesan Commission for Marriage and Family Life. It will be a time for couples to reflect together on the gift and blessing of their call from God in marriage. Canon John Udris, Spiritual Director at St Mary’s College, Oscott, has specially prepared two video reflections for the event. Register at bit.ly/CouplesRetreat2021
Marriage Preparation Courses in the Archdiocese
If you are getting married at a church in the Archdiocese, you must give the parish priest at least six months’ notice and attend a marriage preparation course, currently taking place on Zoom: March - Friday/Saturday 26/27. April - Friday/Saturday 23/24 May - Friday/Saturday 21/22. Spaces are filling up fast, so please register now in consultation with the parish priest. Download an application. Alternatively, email irene.furlong@staned.org.uk, tel: 0131 623 8900
Vocations Mass from St. David’s, Dalkeith on Monday, 1st February, 6:30pm
Ahead of the World Day of Consecrated Life on Tuesday (2nd February) please join the monthly Vocations Mass from St. David’s Parish in Dalkeith, which will be posted on the Archdiocesan Facebook at 6:30pm on Monday, 1st February. If you are interested in the priesthood or religious life, you can have a chat with one of the Archdiocese’s vocation directors: Father Andrew Garden: 0131 663 4286 or vocations@staned.org.uk or Sr Mirjam Hugens, FSO: 0131 623 8902 or religiousvocations@staned.org.uk
Heriot-Watt University Chaplaincy Lecture
Monday, 8th Feb., 7:30pm-9pm: “Science, Faith & the Meaning of Life: Comparing Richard Dawkins and Albert Einstein”
Heriot-Watt University Chaplaincy’s 2021 Annual Public Lecture on the topic “Science, Faith & the Meaning of Life: Comparing Richard Dawkins and Albert Einstein” will be given by Professor Alister McGrath via livestream on Monday 8th February at 7.30pm-9:00pm. Professor McGrath, an Anglican priest, is the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion and Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at the University of Oxford. This lecture will be based on his current unpublished research. Please register on Eventbrite at Science, Faith and the Meaning of Life (Heriot-Watt University Chaplaincy) If you are unable to access Eventbrite please email: chaplaincy@hw.ac.uk before Wednesday 3rd February.
St. Margaret of Scotland Lecture by Sister Catherine Droste, O.P.Wednesday, 10th February
Sister Catherine Droste, O.P., Professor of Theology and Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, Rome, will give this year's St Margaret of Scotland Lecture, ‘Catherine of Siena: A Message for Today’, on Wednesday, 10th February, 4:00pm-5:30pm. Register at https://events.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/st-margaret-of-scotland-lecture-2021/
Pro-Life Stations of the Cross 7:45pm Every Monday of Lent Starting 22nd February
Stations of the Cross, organised by the Archdiocesan Pro-Life Office, will take place each Monday evening of Lent at 7:45pm. The Stations will be followed by a short reflection by one of our priests. You can register on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/archdiocese-of-st-andrews-amp-edinburgh-18333988801
Day of Recollection for Women (Ages 18-35) – Online Saturday, 13th February
Women ages 18-35 are invited for a free, online Day of Recollection with the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan, Saturday, 13th February:
11:30am A HEART FOR THE GLORY OF GOD – Sister Edith Mary, RSM
11:50am-12:15pm Guided reflection with questions – Sister Miriam Fidelis, RSM
12:15pm-1:00pm Quiet time/Fresh air
1:00pm Lunch with discussion (possibly breaking up into 2-4 groups)
1:45pm Clean up and stretch
2:00pm GETTING THE MOST OUT OF LENT – Sister Anna Marie, RSM
2:30pm Rosary led by Sister Mary Pierre Jean, RSM
For more information and to join, please email rsm.alma.edinburgh@gmail.com
Mary’s Meals - Double the Love: Donate now and your gift will go twice as far!
Through Mary’s Meals “Double The Love” campaign, donations will be doubled by the UK government, up to £2 million, until 31 January 2021. For just £15.90, two children in impoverished countries will be fed for a whole school year! To donate, please visit https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/donate
Free Online Courses: Job Seeking and Budgeting Skills
Are you looking to find work? The Mustard Seed Scottish Episcopal community in Edinburgh is sponsoring the Christians Against Poverty (CAP) Job Club course with practical help seeking employment and 1 to 1 coaching tailored to each person's needs. The course is free and will be on Zoom each Monday, 1st Feb-8th March, 1.00pm-2:30pm. Do you want to learn how to take control of your spending? Mustard Seed will also offer the first half of the CAP Life Skills course, including how to manage spending and build a simple budget, on Zoom each Monday, 1st Feb-15th, 10.00am-11.30am. The Life Skill course will be a smaller group, with just five places available. To register for either course or for more information, contact Mark Harris, markharris@capuk.org, 07519 268800 or David Strang, davidstrang@capjobclubs.org tel: 07735 513536.
Virtual Audience Seats Available for BBC's The Big Questions: Show Recording on Saturday 6th February
BBC's The Big Questions ethical and religious debate programme is inviting applications from Edinburgh and Lothians to join the virtual audience for a show recording on Saturday 6th February. At the moment, the programme expects to be debating matters of equality and poverty. Anyone interested in taking part should email audiencetbq@mentorn.tv for application instructions or call 0141 611 9634.
Thank you letter for participation in the Christmas Gift Collection for children of prisoners in HMP Edinburgh
I will begin with thanking you all personally for your help and support.
The difference the gift collection makes is impossible to measure in words. But believe me when I say, it makes a difference to the lives of so many children. Children that without your kindness and generosity, may not have had any gifts to open on Christmas morning.
That is how important the gift collection is.
The thirty fifth Edinburgh Prison Christmas gift collection, has to have been the strangest collection I have had to organise. I have to say it has to be the most satisfying collection.
Last September-October, I was not even sure if we would be able to have a gift collection.
Through your kindness and generosity, we were able to help eighty-eight families and one hundred and seventy-eight children. My thanks go to you and your congregations for the wonderful gifts that were donated. Arranging gift collections in the middle of a pandemic was.
I know not easy and I appreciate the extra work by everyone that went into making this year a success.
The gift collection was perhaps more important this year, due to the circumstance’s we all find ourselves living in. The contact between prisoners and their families has been difficult. At times visits at the prison have had to be cancelled. Virtual visits are taking place, when families cannot travel to the prison due to covid restrictions.
My very special thanks go to the staff in the visitors centre at the prison. Without their help I would not be able to organise the gift collection. They took the gifts that you very kindly donated and distributed them to the partner’s and children of those in the care of Her Majesties Prison Edinburgh. When required the visitors centre staff delivered the gifts themselves.
I would like to thank the Governor of Edinburgh Prison David Abernethy and Deputy Governor Morag Stirling for their support.
I hope you all had as pleasant a Christmas as was possible in the circumstances. I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very prosperous new year.
Kindest Regards
Colin O’Flaherty, Scottish Prison Service