Lenten Packs to Be Delivered This Week
A team of (incredible) parish volunteers will this week be delivering to you (or sending by post) a packet of Lenten materials including a prayer book (St. Joseph’s Family Prayer Book) prepared by the Archdiocese, and one of the 2021 SCIAF Wee Boxes to collect your contributions to help children with disabilities in South Sudan access the education and support they need. This year £1 = £2 for Wee Box contributions because from 12 February to 11 May, all donations to the Wee Box Appeal will be doubled by the UK government. Please be generous!
Lenten Preparation
Schedule a Time for the Sacrament of Confession
Make time this Lent to participate in the Sacrament of Confession and receive God’s healing forgiveness. A Cathedral priest is available every day to hear confessions. Contact the Cathedral Office: 0131 556 1798, cathedralhouse@stmaryscathedral.co.uk. A guide for “How to Go to Confession” is available on the website.
12noon Fridays – Online Stations of the Cross
Fr. Jamie has done an incredible job over the last week preparing an online version of the Stations of the Cross from St. Mary’s Cathedral that will be available on our website and Facebook page and in this week’s newsletter.
The video recording features voices of readers and singers from the parish, together with images from the Cathedral’s Stations of the Cross. These are posted on the website https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/filming and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/edinburghcathedral/ as well as on the Cathedral podcast page. This beautiful Lenten tradition is to follow the footsteps of the Lord on the way to Calvary, meditating on his suffering and death for our salvation. Please consider praying the Stations of the Cross with us!
Final Talk in the Series “Faith in the Time of Covid” – Sunday, 21st February, 5pm
Archbishop Cushley invites you the 4th and final talk in the “Faith in the Time of Covid” series of online 30-minute talks.
Sunday, 21st February, 5:00pm-5:30pm — Rt Hon Gordon Brown, United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and former Prime Minister. Register at bit.ly/FaithCovid-Brown
A recording of all the talks in the series will be published on the Archdiocesan YouTube channel the day following the talk at bit.ly/ArchYouTube
INSPIRE - Lent Talks – Tuesdays, 2nd, 16th, 23rd March – 7:00pm-8:00pm
Register now for the Archdiocese’s INSPIRE talk series for Lent. Guest speakers will guide you prayerfully through the season. All talks on Zoom, 7-8pm.
Songs of the Redemption: The Benedictine Liturgy of the Hours
with Brother Joseph Carron, OSB. 7pm, Tue 02 Mar. Register at bit.ly/LentCarron
Prayer as a Relationship Reflected in St Teresa of Avila
with Sister Sally Rollo, OCD. 7pm, Tue 16 March. Register at bit.ly/LentRollo
Praying the Passion According to St Mark
with Archbishop Leo Cushley. 7pm, Tue 23 March. Register at bit.ly/LentCushley
Daily Mass Livestreamed from Cathedral House
Livestreamed Mass from Cathedral House is available at 10am Monday-Saturday on our Facebook page and website https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/filming
Sunday Mass available on the website on Sunday from 10am.
Cathedral Chandeliers!!
A huge thank you to those very generous parishioners who have already contributed to the effort to repair the winching system which raises and lowers the Cathedral chandeliers. We have made quite a lot of progress collecting tenders for this remarkably niche problem – and it looks very much like we will be moving to a mechanical (non-electrical) system which is both cheaper and less likely to break down. I will keep you informed of progress. If you would like to Donate: https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/donate
World Day of Prayer
This annual ecumenical event takes place on Friday, 5 March 2021 and the theme is “Build on a Strong Foundation” (Matthew 7: 24-27). For more information please visit: http://www.wdpscotland.org.uk/ or contact Marjorie Paton at marjoriepaton.wdp@btinternet.com for details.
Marriage Preparation Courses
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
Thomistic Institute at the University of Edinburgh Events
Monday 22nd Feb, 7:30pm
Aquinas Reading Group – The Thomistic Institute is starting up an Aquinas Reading Group starting on and led by Fr. Samuel Burke, OP. We'll be reading three articles of the Summa Theologiae (“Summary of Theology”) by St. Thomas Aquinas each fortnight on the theme of the theological virtues (Faith, Hope and Charity). The reading group is open to people who are under 35. The first meeting will be an introductory session about the format of the group. To register, visit http://tiny.cc/aquinasgroup
Tuesday, 2nd March, 7:30pm
Lecture “Christian Politics in the Public Sphere - The View from St Augustine" by Fr. Robert Dodaro, OSA: To register, visit www.tinyurl.com/25j8b8co
Fr. Dodaro is a specialist in the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo. Until 2016, he served as the president of the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome, where he was also on faculty as professor of theology until 2018. He was also a professor of Patristic theology at the Pontifical Lateran University.
New Outdoor Stations of the Cross at St. Andrew’s, Ravelston
An outdoors Stations of the Cross has been newly installed along the walking path at St. Andrew’s, Ravelston (77 Belford Road). In this holy season of Lent, please take the opportunity to come and walk with our Lord along the Stations of the Cross, viewing the 14 images of Jesus on the day of His crucifixion and death. “For it was not a mere man who died for us,…but the Son of God, God made man.” (Catechism of St. Cyril of Jerusalem)
Clinic for Application Assistance for EU Settlement Scheme: Saturday, 27 February, 11am - 6pm
For EU, EEA or Swiss citizens, there are less than 5 months left to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme to legally reside in the UK after 30 June 2021. Feniks, Citizens Rights Project and the Scottish Precariat Office have joined forces to deliver application assistance in English, Romanian, Spanish and Polish: Saturday, 27 February, 11am - 6pm: Edinburgh, St Margaret's House, 151 London Road EH7 6AE. Register in advance on this link: Register for Appointment for Applying for EU Settlement Scheme. For questions, contact euss@feniks.org.uk
Twice a Week Free Meals to Over 65s in North Edinburgh - LifeCare’s Meals on Wheels
LifeCare’s Meals on Wheels service is delivering fresh, nutritious meals, hot and ready to eat to over 65s in North Edinburgh, twice a week. If you know of anyone who would benefit from the service please do get in touch 0131 343 0940, www.lifecare-edinburgh.org.uk/services/meals-on-wheels
Free of charge, this project is currently fully funded thanks to Barclays 100x100 UK Covid-19 Community Relief Programme.
Ask your MP to Support an Amendment to Help Stop Forced Abortion in Xinjiang, China
There is extensive evidence that many women in the Uyghur Muslim community in Xinjiang, China are being subjected to forced abortions. If you would like to email your MP asking them to support the amendment, you can do this using a tool which has been set up on the Genocide Response campaign website https://genocideresponse.org/
Pray for Persecuted Christians in China
While the Uyghur Muslim community endures persecution in China, the Chinese Communist Party is also targeting Christians in a number of ways. If you want to know why the regime in China is repressing Christianity you might be interested in the following article: Why China is terrified of Christianity.
Open Doors, a non-denominational mission supporting persecuted Christians, has noted that in 2021, for the first time in a decade, China re-entered the World Watch List Top 20 due to systemic persecution of Christians.
Mary’s Meals: Emergency Appeal for Aid for Displaced People in Ethiopia
Mary’s Meals has launched an emergency appeal for aid for Ethiopia where millions of people have been displaced as a result of civil. A video message on the crisis from Magnus MacFarlane-Burrow, founder of Mary's Meals, is available at https://youtu.be/Vk03Mi4m32M
He says, “The city of Mekelle is being overwhelmed by displaced people arriving with nothing at all. Many of them are unaccompanied children who have lost their parents.” Please donate at https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/crisis-in-ethiopia
Fairtrade Fortnight from 22 February to 7 March 2021
For two weeks each year at the end of February and start of March, thousands of individuals, companies and groups across the UK come together to learn more about Fair Trade matters during a Fairtrade Fortnight. As Fairtrade stalls cannot take place now, one option to buy Fair Trade goods is from the One World Shop here in Edinburgh: https://www.oneworldshop.co.uk/ delivered to your door
Aid to the Church in Need Online Event to Help Christians in Lebanon – Sunday, 21st March, 1:00pm
You are invited to join Aid to the Church in Need benefactors and parishes all across the UK for a virtual Sunday Lunch, on 21 March 2021, 1:00pm, in aid of the St. John the Merciful Table, an initiative that serves daily meals to over 1,500 struggling Christians in Lebanon. You will have an opportunity to make a donation to support the life-changing work of the St John the Merciful Table. All you need to attend this event is an internet connection and a device on which you can access YouTube. For more info, visit https://acnuk.org/event/acn-virtual-sunday-lunch/