All Souls' Day: Praying for those in Purgatory

Today is the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (or All Souls' Day) when we remeber and pray for those in purgatory.

The Vatican recently published a decree in which it stated that plenary indulgences can be obtained in favour of the faithful departed throughout the entire month of November.

Vatican News reportes that the decree  allows the faithful to gain plenary indulgences for the souls in purgatory by visiting a cemetery on any day in November and praying for those who have died; normally, the indulgence is limited to the first eight days of the month.

A second plenary indulgence is also established for the day of the commemoration of the faithful departed, All Souls’ Day. The current decree allows the faithful to obtain that indulgence for the benefit of the deceased on any day of November, at their choice.

Indulgence

An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment one deserves for one’s sins; people often will seek the indulgence on behalf of a loved one who has died or, especially in early November, for an unknown soul in purgatory.

The Church teaches that prayer, particularly the Mass, and sacrifices may be offered on behalf of the souls in purgatory. The feast of All Souls differs from the feast of All Saints (1 Nov) because it offers prayers for the eternal peace and heavenly rest of all those who died in a state of grace, but not totally purified.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”

Read the Vatican News article here. Also see this article. Archbishop Cushley offers Mass today for the dead at Mount Vernon Catholic Cemetery in Edinburgh.

Schedule for the 40 Hours' Devotion

Here is the parish schedule for the 40 Hours' Devotion in the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh in 2022

09/01/22 Our Lady of Loretto & St Michael, Musselburgh

16/01/22 St Peter’s/St Columba’s, Edinburgh

23/01/22 St Mary Magdalene, Glenrothes

30/01/22 St Mary’s, Stirling

06/02/22 Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackburn/Our Lady's, Stoneyburn

13/02/22 Star of the Sea, North Berwick and St Margaret’s, Davidson's Mains

20/02/22 St John’s, Portobello

27/02/22 St James’, St Andrews and St John the Baptist's, Fauldhouse

06/03/22 Rite of Election at the Cathedral - No 40 Hours’

13/03/22 St Alexander’s, Denny and St John Ogilvie, Wester Hailes

20/03/22 St Mary’s, Bo’ness and St John & St Kentigern's, Corstorphine

27/03/22 Our Lady Immaculate & St Margaret’s, Duns

03/04/22 St Catherine’s, Gracemount

10/04/22 Passion Sunday and Easter Octave - No 40 Hours'

01/05/22 SS Mary & David's, Hawick

08/05/22 St Margaret’s, Dunfermline

15/05/22 St Machan’s, Lennoxtown

22/05/22 St Mary’s, Bathgate and St Joseph’s, Broomhouse

29/05/22 St David’s, Dalkeith

05/06/22 St Margaret’s, South Queensferry

12/06/22 The Most Holy Trinity, West Fife and St Matthew’s, Rosewell

19/06/22 St Francis Xavier’s, Falkirk (Corpus Christi Procession)

26/06/22 St Peter’s, Livingston

03/07/22 Our Lady & St Andrew’s, Galashiels

10/07/22 St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh

17/07/22 St Agatha’s, Leven and Star of the Sea, Leith

24/07/22 Our Lady & St Ninian’s, Bannockburn

31/07/22 Our Lady & St Bridget’s, West Calder

07/08/22 St Joseph’s, Peebles and The Sacred Heart, Lauriston

14/08/22 SS Ninian & Triduana’s, Restalrig

21/08/22 The Holy Family, Cowdenbeath

28/08/22 St Joseph’s, Bonnybridge

04/09/22 St Michael’s, Linlithgow

11/09/22 The Sacred Heart & St Margaret’s, Penicuik

18/09/22 St Thérèse of Lisieux, Craigmillar

25/09/22 St Kessog’s, Blanefield and St Patrick’s, the Cowgate

02/10/22 St Theresa’s/St Andrew’s/St Philip’s, East Calder/Livingston

09/10/22 Our Lady of the Waves, Dunbar

16/10/22 The Holy Cross, Trinity

23/10/22 Holy Land Retreat for Clergy (tbc) - No 40 Hours'

30/10/22 St Joseph’s, Burntisland and St Albert’s, Edinburgh

06/11/22 Our Lady & St Bernadette, Larbert

13/11/22 St Barbara's, Whitburn

20/11/22 The Sacred Heart, Grangemouth

 

Children's Liturgy Guide for Sunday

Here is the Children's Liturgy guide for this Sunday.

Read the latest news in our November update

Our November news and events update is now available. Read it here.

To receive our monthly update in your inbox, please subscribe on our news-events section on this website (click here).

Event: Dementia - Hope on a Difficult Journey

Those who care for friends or family with dementia are invited to Dementia - Hope on a Difficult Journey.

The free event will be led by Dr Adrian Treloar, a consultant and former senior lecturer in Old Age Psychiatry and takes place from 2-4pm on Saturday 6 November. Register here. We well be streaming Dr Treloar's talk on our YouTube channel.

The event will:

Dr Adrian runs a memory clinic in London and has over 20 years' experience in the field.

He said: "This event is part of improving the care of people with dementia. The spiritual care of dementia is reallly important and knowing how to support people in their faith is an important too.

"As Catholics, we should think through what we can do to support people to deepen that faith."

Dementia: Hope on a Difficult journey takes place from 2-4pm on Saturday 6 November at the Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB. Free parking onsite (limited), light refreshments served. Register now at bit.ly/DementiaEvent2021. The book of the same title is available from Redemptorist Press. 

Organised by the Archdiocesan Commission for Marriage & Families.

Synod 2021-2023: Pastoral letter from Archbishop Cushley

Archbishop Cushley has written the below letter to parishioners on the subject of the Synod 2021-2023.

Pastoral letter to all the faithful of our Archdiocese
Edinburgh, 26 October 2021

My dear friends,

Renewing the Bonds of Communion

Synod 2021-23
A Synod of Bishops takes place in 2023 on the subject of Synodality. Pope Francis has asked each diocese across the world to prepare for that Synod through a period of discussion and discernment.

Our Archdiocese
We now begin that synodal process here in our Archdiocese. There are three themes to discuss and discern in the coming months: communion, participation and mission. This comes at a time when we face several important considerations in the Church and in the world:

• A growing hostility to the message of Christ in all its richness;
• The problem of the present pandemic, which touches the life of all;
• The threat to God’s good earth caused by human economic activity.

Communion
Against this backdrop, we have been asked by the Holy Father first to consider what brings us together as a community, and as Catholics, as a communion. Christians believe that what binds us together as human beings, and as daughters and sons in the Son (cf. Gal 3:25-28), is far greater and far more important than what keeps us apart. In the last years, however, this sense of community has weakened. The Catholic reply to this dilemma is a more profound and meaningful communion that is a sharing of faith, life and love in the knowledge of the risen and redeeming Christ.

Participation
The second theme is participation. No one who is familiar with the history of our land can fail to recall how Catholics were excluded from the political, social and economic life until comparatively recently. In our lifetimes, a great deal has changed for the better in this regard, but we can learn from that experience as a community, that was once on the margins, to see afresh what that means for others now, and to learn again to be true Christian neighbours to all with whom we share our towns and villages.

Mission
Thirdly, the Holy Father has asked us to consider the theme of mission. The meaning of mission is essentially the task of being sent out by one in authority. The risen Lord sent the Apostles to preach the good news to all creation (cf. Mk 16:15), baptising in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (cf. Mt 28:19). We too must live our faith as authentic witnesses in union with the local church. Placing ourselves humbly before God, and through formation, prayer and penance, let us rediscover how to make our lives and actions speak more eloquently than any words of the reasons for our hope in Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Peter 3:15).

Your parish
In the light of the above, I invite you to get involved in any discussions that take place in your parish community. A guide for parishes on how to host meetings has been sent to all the clergy. Sister Anna Marie McGuan RSM and Fr John Deighan will help to lead discussion at various levels in the diocese and will be in touch with parishes and deaneries shortly. Details will also be available on the Archdiocesan website at archedinburgh.org/news-events and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Renewing the Bonds of Communion
A local church that walks the synodal path together, will surely embrace Jesus, who alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Lord is always calling us to be His disciples and to invite others along that same path. Our personal conversion will become an invitation to others to that same path of self-renunciation for the sake of communion with God and others.

As Catholic Christians, we are already heirs to a profound communion with Christ, with the Successor of Peter, with our bishop and with each other. This communion in Christ is a treasure beyond price (cf. Matthew 13:46), and it is one I invite you all to rediscover and to renew in our exchanges with each other over the coming months.

I hope and pray that we will use the opportunity to realise what we hold in common, to appreciate it afresh and to propose it to others. In this way, we will build and renew our communion in Christ, to the greater glory of God.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Archbishop Leo Cushley

40 Days for Life vigil in Edinburgh: peaceful and prayerful

Police Scotland has confirmed there are no records of anti-social behavior by pro-life groups at vigils in Edinburgh.

The peaceful 40 Days for Life vigil, which has been held next to the Chalmers abortion clinic, comes to an end tomorrow (Sunday) with a candlelight prayer vigil.

In a response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, Police Scotland states “there were no incidents”, while NHS Lothian confirms there were “no adverse events” relating to any groups at the Chalmers Sexual Health Centre in Chalmers Street.

This response is consistent with multiple FOI responses by the Police and NHS Lothian who have repeatedly confirmed they have no records of any intimidation or harassment at pro-life vigils. Those taking part in the 40 Days for Life vigil must sign a peace statement. to take part.

Recently, local MP Tommy Sheppard tweeted that two people attending a 40 Days for Life vigil at Chalmers Street were "attempting to intimidate woman (sic)". An image in the tweet shows a woman holding a placard with 'Bye baby' written on it. The tweet (below) has since been deleted.

Paul Atkin, of the Archdiocesan Pro-Life Office said: "Vigils are peaceful, prayerful and helpful to women facing unexpected pregnancy.

"Police and NHS incident management systems are reliable and credible sources of information which have, again, confirmed there are no records of any incidents relating to pro-life vigils.

"A prayer vigil is a very restrained response to Edinburgh’s Chalmers clinic which last year,was responsible for over 2,000 abortions, a 25% increase on the previous year."

Alternative

He added: "Now is not the time to ban offers of help to vulnerable women, many of whom are from the most deprived areas of Scotland. Women in difficult circumstances may feel that abortion is the only choice available to them.

"Pro-Life vigils offer alternatives including help with baby equipment, materials, benefits advice, accommodation and whatever a woman needs, for as long as she needs it, including after birth.

"Scotland doesn’t need more abortion – we need a proper national debate about how to humanely support women with unexpected pregnancies."

Pope Francis' BBC message ahead of COP26 in Glasgow

Have a listen to Pope Francis' 'Thought for the Day' broadcast on BBC Radio 4 this morning, specially recorded ahead of COP26. Click the image below or here to watch the video.

Transcript

Dear BBC listeners, good morning!

Climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic have exposed our deep vulnerability and raised numerous doubts and concerns about our economic systems and the way we organize our societies.

We have lost our sense of security, and are experiencing a sense of powerlessness and loss of control over our lives.

We find ourselves increasingly frail and even fearful, caught up in a succession of “crises” in the areas of health care, the environment, food supplies and the economy, to say nothing of social, humanitarian and ethical crises. All these crises are profoundly interconnected.

They also forecast a “perfect storm” that could rupture the bonds holding our society together within the greater gift of God’s creation. Every crisis calls for vision, the ability to formulate plans and put them rapidly into action, to rethink the future of the world, our common home, and to reassess our common purpose. These crises present us with the need to take decisions, radical decisions that are not always easy. At the same time, moments of difficulty like these also present opportunities, opportunities that we must not waste.

We can confront these crises by retreating into isolationism, protectionism and exploitation. Or we can see in them a real chance for change, a genuine moment of conversion, and not simply in a spiritual sense. This last approach alone can guide us towards a brighter horizon.

Yet it can only be pursued through a renewed sense of shared responsibility for our world, and an effective solidarity based on justice, a sense of our common destiny and a recognition of the unity of our human family in God’s plan for the world. All this represents an immense cultural challenge.

It means giving priority to the common good, and it calls for a change in perspective, a new outlook, in which the dignity of every human being, now and in the future, will guide our ways of thinking and acting. The most important lesson we can take from these crises is our need to build together, so that there will no longer be any borders, barriers or political walls for us to hide behind.

Some days ago, on 4 October, I met with religious leaders and scientists to sign a Joint Appeal in which we called upon ourselves and our political leaders to act in a more responsible and consistent manner.

I was impressed by something said by one of the scientists present at that meeting. He told us: “If things continue as they are, in fifty years’ time my baby granddaughter will have to live in an unliveable world”. We cannot allow this to happen!

It is essential that each of us be committed to this urgent change of direction, sustained by our own faith and spirituality. In the Joint Appeal, we spoke of the need to work responsibly towards a “culture of care” for our common home, but also for ourselves, and the need to work tirelessly to eliminate “the seeds of conflicts: greed, indifference, ignorance, fear, injustice, insecurity and violence”.

Humanity has never before had at its disposal so many means for achieving this goal. The political decision makers who will meet at COP26 in Glasgow are urgently summoned to provide effective responses to the present ecological crisis and in this way to offer concrete hope to future generations.

And it is worth repeating that each of us – whoever and wherever we may be – can play our own part in changing our collective response to the unprecedented threat of climate change and the degradation of our common home.

Synod: guide for parishes now available

Parishes are being encouraged to host 'spiritual conversations' so people can contribute their voice to the Synod 2021-2023.

The Archdiocese has made available a booklet titled Hosting a Parish Synod Meeting, which offers practical advice, resource material and tips.

It was compiled by Sr Anna Marie McGuan, the Diocesan Synod Delegate, and Fr John Deighan who is assisting her.

She said: "The booklet is a simple guide to help your parish make the most of this current diocesan stage.

"While parish-level synod meetings are optional we encourage all parishes to consider having one and giving us their feedback by 31 January 2022  31 March. If they can't, there will be an opportunity for delegates from the parish to attend a forthcoming deanery level meeting, meaning all parish voices will be heard."

Pastoral letter

In a pastoral letter to be made available in all parishes in the Archdiocese this weekend, Archbishop Cushley outlines his thoughts on the Synod themes of participation, communion and mission.

He adds: "I invite you to get involved in any discussions that take place in your parish community. Sister Anna Marie and Fr John will help to lead discussion at various levels in the diocese and will be in touch with parishes and deaneries shortly.

"A local church that walks the synodal path together, will surely embrace Jesus, who alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

The Archdiocese has also made available a Holy Hour Prayer Service guide for parishes to help them spiritually prepare using Jesus in the Eucharist as the focus.

Read and download the Parish Meeting Guide here. Synod resources can be found on this website (Menu>Governance>Catechetics). The official website for the Synod is synod.va

Fife Furniture Project: helping those in need

In the lead up to World Day of the Poor on Sunday 14 November, we're highlighting the work of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SSVP) in our Archdiocese. Volunteers David Hunter and Moira McCrae (above pic, right) from the SSVP Furniture Project in Fife explain how it works.

Generosity

"We took over responsibility for the running and management of the Furniture Project from John Barrett in 2012. The Project has grown exponentially since this time; however, it continues to be sustained by the kindness and generosity of parishioners, community volunteers, family and friends. This ethos remains central to its success."

Helping all

"The Furniture Project operates on a non-denominational basis (we help everyone, not just Catholics) and works in collaboration with other charitable and community organisations.

"Our furniture storage facilities are provided free of charge by a local business owner. The Project has also provided opportunities for young people to undertake volunteering as part of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme."

Delivering the goods

"We have two vans which are used to uplift and the deliver donated furniture and other household goods. In-demand tems include beds, settees and white goods and we have also fully furnished homes.

"We have also been involved in supplying more uncommon items such as a mobility scooter, which helped a man's independence and integration into his community."

Supporting refugees

"We also provided sewing machines which are sought after and used by the refugee community. We have recently supported RE: ACT, a charity supporting refugees with resettlement and integration in Scotland. We work closely with S.H.I.E.L.D. which supports vulnerable people and families with food and financial issues."

An all-round approach

"The remit of the Project has expanded beyond supplying furniture. For example, we established links with local food banks when food poverty is identified, clothes banks where shortage of clothing is identified and where fuel poverty is identified clients are signposted/referred to an energy/debt advice service called Cosy Kingdom. This helps alleviate some of the day-to-day stresses that many vulnerable people experience."

Pandemic

"During the pandemic we were successful in securing a government grant for £6,000 from the Cora Project. These funds were used to purchase white goods, food and fuel vouchers, which were then distributed to members of the community.

"How do we find out about the people we help? Most referrals come from Social Work services as well as Housing Support Services, Criminal Justice Services and Mental Health Projects. Due to the close working relationship established with some of these agencies, a few of the recipients of our help have gone on to volunteer for the project!"

The Fife Furniture Project can be contacted on 07939 223680 or at moirammccrae@gmail.com The annual SSVP Archdiocesan Mass takes place at 11am in St Patrick's, Cowgate, Edinburgh, on Saturday 20 November.