Advent 2021
Rorate Mass by Candlelight at the Cathedral: Thursdays 16th & 23rd December
We continue our beautiful and popular candlelit Advent Masses at the Cathedral on Thursday nights at 7:00pm. With sacred music to help us sing praise to God and joining together at Mass celebrated by flickering candlelight this is a beautiful way to prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord. Do bring your children and come along to pray well and make your hearts ready for the Lord at Christmas.
Limited Supply of 2022 Cathedral Diaries— Shop Online by 18th December!
We’ve only a limited supply left for the 2022 Cathedral Diaries -- don’t miss your chance to purchase this spiritual and practical gift for Christmas! All proceeds support the Cathedral. With all the holy days marked, and prayers and quotes from saints included in each month, as well as lovely artwork and meditations, the diary is thoughtful and meaningful present which anyone would be pleased to receive. Priced at a very reasonable £10 each. Buy online by Saturday, 18 December to arrive in time for Christmas. There will be no in-person sales at the Cathedral this weekend so make sure you get your copy online instead. Hurry while stocks last!
Kathedral Knits Christmas Gifts to Support the Cathedral
On Sunday morning, knitted goods for Christmas will be available for sale in the Octagon until after Noon Mass by our own wonderful parishioner Joanna Kopystynska. The items are also available at
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KathedralKnits
All the profits from these sales are generously donated by Joanna to the Cathedral. These will make wonderful stocking fillers for that special someone in your life! (Especially when combined with a Cathedral diary!)
Third in a Series of Advent Talks on Faith, Hope & Love – Monday, 13th December
Find out more about the season of Advent and the virtues of Faith, Hope and Love in a series of online talks held each Monday in Advent. Hosted by the Archdiocese, the third talk is on Monday 13 December 7:30pm-8:00pm, with Sr Anna Marie McGuan RSM. No registration required, simply use this link each week to join: bit.ly/AdventTalk (or webinar ID: 891 8951 4801).
Advent Rosary for Life with Fr Martin Eckersley – Tuesday, 14th December
Join parishioners and clergy from across the Archdiocese each Tuesday throughout Advent to pray for unborn children, their mothers and all Pro-Life intentions. It continues at 7:45pm this Tuesday (14 December) and includes a reflection from Fr Martin Eckersley of St Francis Xavier in Falkirk. Event on Zoom, register at bit.ly/14DecRosary
Christmas Masses 2021
St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral
Christmas Eve, Friday 24th December: 9am Mass (Polish), 10am Mass, 6pm Mass, 9pm Mass (Polish),
11.15pm Carols and Readings, followed by midnight Mass
Christmas Day, Saturday 25th December: 10.30am Mass, 12noon (Polish) Mass
6pm (Polish) Mass
St Andrew’s Church, Ravelston
Christmas Eve, Friday 24th December: 6pm Mass
Christmas Day, Saturday 25th December: 10.30am Mass
The Christmas Mass schedule is available here
Welcome to Graham Burnett, New Engagement Officer for Over 60s Community
Together with the Grassmarket Project, we are delighted to announce the appointment of a new ‘Engagement Officer’ for St Mary’s Coffee Saints café to work with the over 60’s community here. His name is Graham Burnett. His background is Occupational Therapy & from New Year onwards he will be based in Coffee Saints most days (times to be confirmed). He will be running small group activities & trips (Covid permitting). To contact Graham: graham@grassmarket.org, 07568 202 547.
2022 Children’s Catechism Classes for First Communion and Confirmation
This term's catechism classes finish today - thank you to all who attended so faithfully! In 2022, the First Confession class returns on 9th January. The First Holy Communion class (P4 & above) starts on 27th Feb at 9:30am, with its parents’ meeting on 21st Feb. The parents meeting for the Confirmation class (P7 & above) is on 24th Jan with classes starting 30th January. If you have not already done so, please register your child for First Holy Communion (P4 and above): https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/first-communion or Confirmation (P7 and above): https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/confirmation
2022 Marriage Preparation Courses
If you’re planning to get married next year, please contact Fr Jamie, frjamie@stmaryscathedral.co.uk as soon as possible to book onto our upcoming Marriage Preparation courses 29th January and 18th June.
Registration Now Open for Diploma in Catechetics 2022!
Get ready to explore the richness and depth of the Catholic faith with course leader Sr Anna Marie McGuan, RSM from the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh. She and a range of guest speakers bring you online lectures each Thursday, guided reading, one-to-one support, retreats and supplementary courses on Zoom and YouTube. The Diploma in Catechetics lasts one year, begins in January 2022 and costs £200. Registration is now open at bit.ly/DiplomaCatechetics2022
Chapter Mass with Archbishop Cushley – Tuesday 14th December
Archbishop Cushley will celebrate Mass with the Cathedral’s Chapter of Canons on Tuesday, 14th December at 12:45pm. Six priests will be inducted into the Metropolitan Chapter of Canons at the start of Mass: Fr. Jeremy Bath, Msgr. Patrick Burke, Fr. Jock Dalrymple, Fr. Brian Gowans, Fr. Kenneth Owens, and Fr. James Tracey.
Parish Volunteers – Safeguarding Training Online Saturday 18th December
Online Safeguarding Training is available for parish volunteers at 2pm on Saturday, 18th December. Safeguarding Training currently only needs to be done by volunteers who are in a regulated role requiring a Protecting Vulnerable Group form. Please book direct with Callum Timms by email at Callum.Timms@staned.org.uk. Please also provide your parish name and role when booking. For details visit, https://archedinburgh.org/administration/safeguarding-training/
Legion of Mary – Tuesdays at 11am
The parish Legion of Mary group meets on Tuesdays at 11:00am in 63 York Place. Please come along and join us! The Legion of Mary seeks to help its members grow in holiness through devotion to Our Lady.
Donations via Postal Order
We have recently received donations via postal order in the offertory collection. While we are, of course, always very grateful for all donations we receive, please be aware that we are only able to cash postal orders where they are made out to ‘St Mary’s Cathedral’. Postal orders made out to other names or other charities cannot be cashed by us without making special request to the Post Office in writing. If you wish to make a donation to a specific organization, please therefore send your payment directly to that organization to avoid unnecessary delays.
Rorate Mass by Candlelight at Ravelston: Mondays 13th & 20th December
Our beautiful and popular candlelit Advent Masses continue on Mondays at 7pm at St. Andrew’s, Ravelston. Do come along and bring your children to these beautiful liturgies of Advent!
No Thursday Masses at Ravelston until 6th January
Please note that there will be no Thursday Masses at Ravelston through end of December. The 6pm Mass will resume on Thursday 6th January.
Special Collection Today for Rewiring of the Parish House in Ravelston
The Ravelston Parish House and Rooms have an electrical circuit which is over 50 years old and which needs to be replaced urgently. The capacity of the circuit needs to be increased and we also need to install mains-wired interlinked smoke alarms (by Feb 2022). In summary, to avoid the accident which is waiting to happen and make the house and rooms safe and legally compliant we need to rewire. We have put out to tender and this will cost in the region of £19,000. In order to progress this project, therefore, we need to do some fundraising! As a first step, we will have a special collection here in Ravelston next week after Mass. Please try to be generous!
‘Beautifully Told’ Podcast: ‘To Jesus Through Mary’
Listen to the new Catholic Truth Society podcast ‘Beautifully Told’, during your morning commute, as you cook dinner, or while out for a walk. The newest episode is about how we can reflect on Mary to help us on our Advent journey and try to imitate her as we prepare for Christmas. To listen visit https://anchor.fm/beautifully-told
Mary’s Meals Double the Love
Through Mary’s Meals’ Double The Love campaign, donations will be doubled by the UK government, up to £1.6 million, until 31 January 2022! Just £15.90 is all it takes to feed two children for a whole school year! To donate, please visit https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/doublethelove
Scottish Catholic Magazine – Just £2 per copy!
Look for the next exciting edition of the new Scottish Catholic magazine in the Octagon at £2 a copy. Or subscribe at https://www.scottishcatholic.com/product/print-subscription/ (due to postage costs this is a little more expensive than getting it in the parish!)