The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God will be celebrated in the Cathedral and in St Andrew’s Church, Ravelston on Wednesday, 1st January at 11am. This is a lovely way to mark the beginning of the new year with your family and the parish community and we hope to see you there.
As we approach the great feast of Christmas, I am very conscious that many of our regular parishioners will be departing Edinburgh today or tomorrow to spend time with their families. I would like, therefore, to take this opportunity to wish all of you who will be going away a truly happy and holy Christmas. I would also like to thank the many people who have handed in cards and gifts at Cathedral House over the last few days. Your generosity and kindness are, as ever, overwhelming and much appreciated. It has been a lovely Advent. We have been very impressed by the huge numbers who have turned out each week to attend our special Advent Rorate Masses and by the large numbers who have been at confession. I am sure that this spiritual preparation will bear fruit in a joyful and peaceful Christmas. Check the Christmas Mass times on the website.
A warm thank you to Sir Tom Farmer who very generously donated the Christmas trees in the Cathedral.
As you know, we will be hosting two fantastic concerts in the Cathedral on Friday 6 March with Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham, and Saturday 7 March with our own Barbara Dickson. These will be lovely occasions and will also help to raise funds for the Cathedral. Tickets are a giveaway at £25 per person and can be bought through Eventbrite bit.ly/concertsinthecathedral-alyandphil and bit.ly/concertsinthecathedral-barbaradickson. If you are stuck for a last minute Christmas present – why not buy someone a great night out with some of Scotland’s finest musicians?
Whether you are a regular parishioner or here for the holidays, you can stay in touch with the Cathedral through the weekly e-newsletter. Sign up at the bottom of any page of this website and the latest parish news will be delivered straight to your inbox every weekend.
We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting two fantastic fundraising evening concerts to be held uniquely in the Cathedral on Friday 6 March and Saturday 7 March 2020.
We are extremely fortunate to have secured the musical talents of some very special singers and musicians. On the Friday evening, we have Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham, two of Scotland’s acclaimed traditional musicians who have been delighting audiences across Scotland with their masterful, versatile and amusing performances. ‘Aly & Phil' are recipients of The Sunday Mail Great Scots’ “Lifetime Achievement” Award.
The Saturday evening will see our very own parishioner and Scotland’s bestselling female album artist Barbara Dickson OBE perform along with Nick Holland and supported by Anthony Toner. Barbara has earned 6 platinum, 11 gold and 7 silver albums for her recordings and it will be a privilege to have her perform.
Tickets are keenly priced at £25 per person and can be bought through Eventbrite: Aly & Phil and Barbara Dickson.
We anticipate tickets will sell fast, so we have ensured our parishioners have advance notice of their release. They would make excellent Christmas presents for your family and friends.
The clergy will visit the sick and housebound in both parishes this coming Friday (those who are on our Sick List). If you know any of the housebound, perhaps you could let them know that we will be visiting. If you know of anyone who is sick and is not receiving regular visits from the clergy and from Eucharistic Ministers, please let us know by contacting the Parish Office.
Ravelston, Monday at 7pm
The Cathedral, Thursday at 7pm
This week, we will have the last two of our beautiful candlelit Advent Rorate Masses. If you have not yet had the opportunity to come along, we look forward to seeing you on Monday night at 7pm in Ravelston or on Thursday night at 7pm in the Cathedral. And if you already have been, we look forward to seeing you again for this very special opportunity to prepare your family spiritually for Christmas.
As we go deeper into the season of Advent, John the Baptist calls us to a renewed spirit of conversion. There are lots of ways of doing this: perhaps by setting aside a little more time for prayer and spiritual reading, by trying to get to Mass more often and especially by going to confession in preparation for the great feast. Please think today about how you and your family are going to prepare spiritually for Christmas this year.
St Andrew’s, Ravelston, every Monday at 7pm; The Cathedral, every Thursday at 7pm
Thanks to all those who came along to our first Advent Rorate Masses, in spite of the inclement weather. Our churches looked especially beautiful by candlelight. They continue this coming week in Ravelston on Monday night at 7pm and in the Cathedral on Thursday night at 7pm. These are lovely occasions – do bring your children and come along to prepare well for Christmas.
On Sunday we welcome in a very special way David Edwardson together with his friends and family. The Archbishop will ordain Deacon David Edwardson (a former Anglican clergyman) to the priesthood during the 12 noon Mass. We are very honoured by the presence at this Mass of Bishop Nicholas Chamberlain, the Anglican Bishop of Grantham. Please keep David and his family in your prayers as he takes this new step in his journey with the Lord.
There will be Divine Mercy Devotions with Adoration and opportunity for confessions and veneration of the relics of St Faustina will be held in the Cathedral at 3pm on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the Archbishop will come to the Cathedral to celebrate the Chapter Mass together with the Chapter of Canons. All are welcome!
Advent is once again upon us. This Sunday we begin our annual period of preparation for the great feast of Christmas. Although it is difficult to be recollected during this period, the Church asks us to try. We do this by trying to set aside a little more time for prayer and spiritual reading, by trying to get to Mass more often and especially by going to confession in preparation for the great feast. Please think today about how you and your family are going to prepare spiritually for Christmas this year.
Ravelston- every Monday at 7pm – The Cathedral – Every Thursday at 7pm
This week we will begin our beautiful and popular candlelit Advent Masses. They will be in Ravelston on Monday nights at 7pm and in the Cathedral on Thursday nights at 7pm. These are lovely occasions – do bring your children and come along to prepare well for Christmas.
On Sunday 8th December during the 12noon Mass the Archbishop will ordain David Edwardson (a former Anglican clergyman) to the priesthood. Obviously, all parishioners are warmly invited to the ordination.
The Archbishop is again inviting all young Adults in the Archdiocese to join him at 5pm on the Sundays of Advent at the Gillis Centre. The theme this year is about getting to know ‘The Real Jesus’. All young adults aged 16-30 are welcome.
The newsletter has a new format that combines St Mary’s Cathedral and St Andrew’s, Ravelston parish news and contains the readings and the hymns for the Sunday Mass. We hope you like it!
Beginning on Thursday the 5th December, we will have our beautiful and popular candlelit masses every Thursday of Advent at 7pm. These are lovely occasions – do put them in your diary now and come along to prepare well for Christmas. The Rorate Masses in St Andrew’s Ravelston are on Mondays at 7pm.
The Archbishop will celebrate Mass in the Cathedral at 10am in honour of our National Patron. All are welcome!
On Sunday 8th December during the 12 noon Mass the Archbishop will ordain David Edwardson (a former Anglican clergyman) to the priesthood. Obviously, all parishioners are warmly invited to the ordination.
If you would like to donate gifts for children of prisoners in Edinburgh Prison, please wrap a new gift in Christmas Gift wrap and put on a label stating if the gift is suitable for a boy or a girl and for what age of the child. Gifts for older children from 11 years onwards would be most appreciated.
The annual ‘Scots College Magazine’ is for sale in the porch. A bargain at only £5, which supports the College!
God bless you all,
Fr Patrick, Fr Jamie, Sr. Mary Simone and Deacon Peter
The City of Edinburgh Council is proposing to introduce parking restrictions on Sundays from 12.30pm to 6.30pm in 2020. This is going to have a very disruptive effect on all city centre churches. The churches would prefer a later start time - perhaps 1.30pm or 2pm and possibly finishing at 6pm. It is important that the Council receives as many individual letters and emails as possible if it is to re-consider the timings of these restrictions. Objections to the proposal must be made by letter or email by 26 November 2019 quoting notice reference number TRO/19/29. Please take time to write to: City of Edinburgh Council, Traffic Orders, 3.3 Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh EH8 8BG or email at trafficorders@edinburgh.gov.uk, find out more here.
Due to the road work that are being undertaken in the area, there will be no car access to the Cathedral until the 1st December. You can still access the Cathedral by foot and LOR will do their best to accommodate blue badge holders during Sunday Masses. Please talk to their representatives on Elder Street for more details.
The response for this Pilgrimage has been very positive but numbers are limited. So, if you are interested in coming, it is imperative that you register interest as soon as possible. The Pilgrimage will be 16-27 June 2021. The indicative cost for 11 days is £2,155. We will have a preliminary meeting with the tour operator once we have an idea of numbers interested. There is no commitment until the time to pay a deposit.
Today we welcome the participants in our RCIA program for the Rite of Acceptance. I know you will make them feel very welcome. Please also keep them in your prayers as they continue to learn about our Catholic faith.
Representatives from the charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) will be speaking at all Masses this weekend about “Red Wednesday” on 27th November when buildings across the UK will be lit up in red in solidarity with persecuted Christians throughout the world. ACN Christmas Cards will be on sale after Mass.
God bless you all,
Fr Patrick, Fr Jamie, Sr. Mary Simone and Deacon Peter
Please remember that we on Friday will celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, which is a Holy Day of Obligation – which means that all Catholics are obliged to come to Mass on Friday. There will be Mass in the Cathedral at 8am, 10am (School Mass), 11am (Polish), 12.45pm, 6pm (Polish) and 7.30pm and in Ravelston at 9.30am and 6.15pm (Extraordinary Form)
We are very happy to welcome Fr Martins Enegumba from Nigeria who will be staying with us in the parish for a few months. I know you will make him feel welcome.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) will be coming to the Cathedral on the weekend of 16/17th November to talk briefly about Red Wednesday when buildings across the UK will be lit up red in solidarity with persecuted Christians throughout the world. ACN Christmas cards will be on sale.
It is a beautiful Catholic tradition to pray for our deceased family members and friends during the month of November. If you would like to have a Mass offered for the repose of their souls, Mass Intention envelopes are available at the back of the church. We will also have a special ‘Book of Remembrance’ which will be placed before the altar. If you’d like your loved ones to be remembered in this way, write down their names on the purple sheets available at the back and hand them in to the sacristy or the parish office.
God bless you all,
Fr Patrick, Fr Jamie, Sr. Mary Simone and Deacon Peter
This Tuesday, there is no talk but there will instead be an Italian social night. Tickets cost £5 for three courses and a free glass of wine. Please purchase these after Mass this weekend! Talks will resume next week.
We’re putting the finishing touches on plans for our new parish youth group and will be ready to start after the October holidays, on Sunday 27th October at 6pm at Ravelston! Speak to Fr Jamie for more information.
Together with the Cambodia Project, the Cathedral is raising funds to help support the poorest people of Cambodia by organizing a Quiz Night. So please brush up your general knowledge, message all your family and friends, put a team together (or join up with others) and come along for a fun evening for a worthy cause. Tickets are £10 per adult, including pizza, email Kate on togetherwithcambodia.twc@gmail.com.
We are now taking quotes for installing a Fire Detection system in the Cathedral – which we have never had! The kneelers in the St Andrew’s aisle are being repaired and a roof inspection has recently been carried out. Thank you for your generous support in caring for our Cathedral!
God bless you all,
Fr Patrick, Fr Jamie, Sr. Mary Simone and Deacon Peter
This Tuesday, Fr Patrick will lead the Young Adults’ Group in ‘A Meditation on John 6’, exploring what this key passage of St John’s Gospel can teach us about the Church’s Eucharistic faith. It should be a great night! Don’t forget also that this will be one of the last chances to buy tickets for the Italian Night on 22nd October.
We’re putting the finishing touches on plans for our new parish youth group and will be ready to start after the October holidays, on Sunday 27th October at 6pm at Ravelston! Speak to Fr Jamie for more information.
If your child will be five years of age before 28th February 2021, he or she is due to start school in August 2020. Parents who wish to enroll their child in St Mary’s RC Primary are asked to attend (if possible) the drop-in enrolment sessions at 9.45am-10.30am on Wednesday the 6th November and Thursday the 7th November. You will need to bring your child’s birth certificate, baptismal certificate, council tax letter/book, a utility bill (gas, electricity, passport) and your passport/work permit/visa if you are not from the EEC. For questions or concerns, please contact the Head Teacher Mrs Nicola Kehoe on 0131 556 7128.
To raise more funds to reduce homelessness in Scotland, Social Bite, the Edinburgh-based charity, have organised a Sleep Out in Princes Street Gardens (Sleep in the Park) during the night of Saturday 7th December. The Cathedral is planning to have its own team – please speak to James Walker if you would like to join in or email him at cathedralhouse@stmaryscathedral.co.uk
God bless you all,
Fr Patrick, Fr Jamie, Sr. Mary Simone and Deacon Peter
