Archbishop Cushley gave his thoughts on representing the Catholic Church at the Thanksgiving Service held in remembrance of HM The Queen at St Giles' in Edinburgh. Watch below or on our YouTube channel.
The National Pilgrimage for young people 16-30 takes place on Saturday 24 September in Dunkeld, Perthshire.
It includes walks to holy sites, talks and Holy Mass. A bus will leave from the Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh at 9:30am (£10). To book your place email yi@staned.org.uk.
Archbishop Leo Cushley today (Sunday 11 September) celebrated a Requiem Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
He said her life of duty and service was guided principally by her belief in God: "I believe that she took her Christian faith as seriously as any part of her life, and it was surely a great encouragement to us all."
Requiem Mass for HM The Queen, St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh 11 September 2022
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Thank you for joining me for this Mass, offered for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty The Queen.
Although my brother bishops are presently absent from Scotland, in their name I have the honour, here in our capital city, to offer our sincere condolences to His Majesty the King at this sad moment, and to assure him of our prayers for his late mother and for his own intentions.
We also offer him, the Queen Consort and the Royal Family congratulations on the King's ascension, our prayerful good wishes for their future, and indeed for the future of our nation.
All of us under around 75 years of age have no memory, no precedent, to fall back upon to help us know what to expect with the death of the Head of State.
It is something that happens to other people, in other countries. Even pontiffs come and go with greater frequency.
But The Queen has been so much part of our lives for the last seven decades, that it is more than fair to describe them as another Elizabethan era. And, no matter our politics or religion or sentiments, there will be consequences for everyone, and as a nation, many will feel bereft.
As we have all noticed down these years, and as many commentators have underlined, The Queen demonstrated to us all a wonderful sense of duty.
We admired it greatly in her, but as a principle of living one’s own life, it has become unfashionable in our self-absorbed times. And yet it is a lesson all strata of society would do well to imitate in our lives.
Pledge
In his first address to us, King Charles has drawn attention to his mother’s sense of duty, and to that famous speech in Cape Town, when she was only 21, dedicating herself to service of the nation and the commonwealth, no matter how long or short her life might be.
She remained so evidently faithful to that pledge that it practically defines her life and her reign.
Her own father, King George VI, was the unlooked for and unexpected successor to his own brother after a severe crisis, and I wonder if it wasn’t through her father’s example in particular that the young Princess Elizabeth of York learned a life-lesson, watching him as he mounted the throne in a time of crisis and world war, a manner of acting nobly, with self-sacrifice, that would define her own reign and service, until the very last days of her life.
Just like that other great exemplar of Christian duty, the great Pope Saint John Paul II, she worked until the very last week of her life, and we are grateful for such examples.
We can all learn from that sense of service to other people that does not count the cost to oneself, that sees the bigger picture, that treats oneself much more humbly than we are accustomed to seeing promoted in our self-regarding times.
A second thing that sets The Queen apart from much of her generation and her times was her Christian faith. This is something that, in its own quiet way, also helped to define her, inform her and inspire her.
In spite of her high public profile, she didn’t wear her faith noisily, but assumed her duties as the head of the Church of England with great grace and simplicity, a task that is more easily described than lived.
We are all the poorer for the passing of her example of faith in the public square. She was also respectful of others, but there is no doubt that her Christian faith defined and shaped her.
At the funeral of The late Duke of Edinburgh, I for one was deeply moved to see her as she sat alone in the pews of St George’s Chapel, Windsor, a lone figure, due in part to Covid restrictions, but no less eloquent an image for all that.
But the point I wish to make is that I recall the images of her with her head bowed, recollected, at prayer, taking that moment as seriously as any state occasion, and yet also in a moment of personal grief, a moment of life and death, when, no matter how great and important you are, you must face your human reality, there alone, before almighty God.
In these unvarnished moments between life and death, we often see the true mettle of the individual, and in that moment, I believe we had a glimpse of the woman of faith who has led not only us and other nations, but also the woman of faith who has been the head of a church for seventy years.
Encouragement
I believe that she took her Christian faith as seriously as any part of her life, and it was surely a great encouragement to us all.
Learning both her faith and her sense of duty from her father and mother, she was a leader who led a life of genuine Christian service. May God grant her rest from her many cares, and eternal repose in the Father’s House.
As the new King takes up his duties, may the Lord bless his endeavours, and may he follow his mother’s example of duty and faith, and constancy towards his people.
And may we who have lived in this latter Elizabethan age learn the good lessons of The Queen’s reign: lessons of mutual respect, of duty, of self-sacrifice, and of a well-lived Christian faith that may well be her greatest legacy to the nation.
Eternal rest, grant unto her O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.
Holy Mass was celebrated at St David's Parish in Dalkeith on Monday to launch Vocations Awareness week
It was celebrated by Fr Andrew Garden, parish priest of St David's and our Director of Vocations, who was joined by Fr Paul Lee, of St Agatha's in Methil.
Aso there were several seminarians from the Archdiocese who are preparing to return to Rome later this month to continue their studies at The Pontifical Scots College.
Every year, the Church in Scotland sets aside a week in which we are all asked to reflect on our vocation within the Christian family, a vocation which flows from our shared Baptismal vocation to grow in holiness and in service of others.
This year we are asked to reflect on the meaning and importance of the Eucharist.
We pray that we will always have sufficient priests to offer Holy Mass for and with us and parish communities rooted in the Eucharist and in the faith that Jesus is with us, really present, when we come together.
Sr Mirjam Hugens FSO, our Director of Religious Vocations, said: "I would like to encourage you to take some time this week to think and pray about your future.
"You might be busy studying or working right now, but where is the Lord leading you to? What plan does He have in store for you?
"Do you find it scary to think that the Lord might be calling you to follow Him more closely as a priest, or as a religious sister or brother? The founder of the order I am part of, Mother Julia Verhaeghe, said, ‘The Lord wants your happiness and we do too!”
"Feel free to contact me or Fr Andrew Garden if you like to chat about your plans, your questions or worries. Discerning what the Lord might be saying to you is not so easy, so we are here to help. It is worth exploring an we are here to help.
Interested in the priesthood? Contact Fr Andrew Garden on 0131 663 4286 or at vocations@staned.org.uk. For the religious life contact Sr Mirjam Hugens on 0131 623 8902 or at religiousvocations@staned.org.uk
The Bishops' Conference of Scotland (BCOS) has offered prayers following the death of Her Majesty The Queen.
Bishop Hugh Gilbert, President of BCOS, said: “It was with great sadness, that we learned today of the death of Her Majesty The Queen.
"Her life of outstanding service during a reign of seventy years stands as an example of dedicated public service in our own country, across the Commonwealth and around the world.
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland reacts to the death of Queen Elizabeth II https://t.co/NFIPcR3XYv pic.twitter.com/QuAmT4adle
— RC Politics (@rcpoliticsuk) September 8, 2022
"Her determination to remain active to the end of her long life, has been an example of Christian leadership, which demonstrated her great stoicism and commitment to duty and was undoubtedly a source of stability and continuity in times of great change.
"Scotland’s Catholic bishops will remember her in our prayers and pray for all those who mourn her loss."
Bishop Gilbert added: “On behalf of Scotland’s Catholic Bishops, I offer our congratulations and the promise of our prayers to King Charles as he becomes King.
"We pray for the repose of the soul of his mother Queen Elizabeth and for him and his family as he begins his reign."
Archbishop Cushley said: "On behalf of the faithful of St Andrews & Edinburgh I offer respectful condolences to His Majesty The King, The Queen Consort and their family on the death of Her Majesty The Queen.
"She was an extraordinary example of Christian leadership. We offer our prayers for the repose of her soul and thank God for her many years of service to the nation. May she rest in peace."
Prayers for the late Monarch for use in parishes are available here.
Scottish politicians are being urged to care for the terminally ill instead of allowing them to be killed following moves at Holyrood to legalise assisted dying.
A proposed Members' Bill by Orkney MSP Liam McArthur would "enable competent adults who are terminally ill to be provided at their request with assistance to end their life".
Anthony Horan, Director of the Catholic Parliamentary Office said: “Liam McArthur's final proposal for a bill on assisted suicide is frankly dangerous."
He added: "It risks undermining the provision of palliative care and undermining efforts to prevent suicide it will make the most vulnerable people, including the elderly and disabled, feel like a burden and its safeguards will prove futile.
"The current law is the safeguard. We should be caring for people, not killing them.”
“It is understandable that most people responding to the consultation supported the idea of a dignified death – we all do, but killing someone who is ill, is never dignified.
"The fact that a letter signed by 175 health care professionals from a variety of specialities has already outlined numerous concerns, highlights how dangerous this proposal is.
"The Catholic church would urge Scottish politicians to learn of the dangers that have already been seen abroad, particularly intolerable pressure on the vulnerable, disabled or elderly to end their lives prematurely.”
View the Proposed Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill here.
Clergy were joined by people from across the Archdiocese for the annual Caritas, Justice & Peace Mass on Monday evening (5 September).
It took place at St Columba's in Upper Gray Street, Edinburgh, and this year's theme was poverty and serving the poor.
In his homily (see below) Fr David Stewart SJ said: "St Vincent de Paul apparently said that he felt it better to give unworthily, that is, to an undeserving person, than not give at all.
"That’s a more subtle statement than it first appears, because it gently foregrounds that we don’t have the right to judge or decide whether the person in need is deserving or not; leave that to God!"
He was joined at the Mass by principal celebrant Fr Tony Lappin, Canon Kenneth Owens, Fr Albert Robertson OP, Fr Matthew Jarvis OP, Fr Binu Palakapally, Fr Kingsley Ekeocha and Deacon John Smith.
Sociology teaches us that it’s helpful to subdivide poverty into absolute and relative poverty.
Theology and spirituality teach us that we should subdivide also – and distinguish between material poverty and spiritual poverty.
Put simply, the first should be abhorred and resisted and the second should be desired and cultivated.
Then there is another subdivision, this time linguistically. Spiritual poverty can refer to two quite different states.
There is what one might call the evangelical counsel of spiritual poverty, an ideal, a striving towards self-abnegation, the surrender of one’s own will and desires to God, or at least the disposition to do so; yet the term also denotes a very different reality in our times.
Our culture suffers, one may say, from a spiritual poverty of another kind, meaning, broadly, a lack of depth, a lack of gravitas, a love of the trivial, probably a blurring of the distinction between good and evil, and, of course, the loss of a sense of transcendence – or, knowledge of God. We who have gathered here this evening are given as our theme, poverty.
While it’s probably pretty obvious what kind, what manifestation of poverty we mean, it helps to know.
Just like when one is trying to make a good discernment – which itself is a word of multiple meanings and frequent misuse in different circumstances – if we are concerned about poverty it helps to know what we mean.
Not only does it help but such awareness provides a certain defence against feeling powerless in the face of something that could be overwhelming.
Imitating Christ's love for the poor
I wrote a wee piece last week for the new Scottish Catholic magazine, in which I suggested that Christ’s followers don’t get to choose to ignore poverty and economic misery.
Poverty is a religious and moral issue just as it is an economic or political matter. We believe and profess that we are to imitate Christ’s love for the poor.
It’s in our catechism: “those who are oppressed by poverty are the object of a preferential love on the part of the Church” (2448).
We are to advocate for a society where, mindful of the Common Good, the poorest are always considered first.
As the Young Christian Workers put it, following Cardinal Cardijn, we must see, judge and act. We often talk about the Reign of God; the Preface at Mass, on the Solemnity of Christ the King, says “a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace”.
These attributes are fundamentally interdependent; holiness and grace can’t be separated from justice, love and peace. Pope St.Paul VI starkly asserted in 1972: “if you want peace, work for justice.”.
Here's Pope Saint John Paul II on this, from 1991. He wrote these hard-hitting words then, “It is not merely a matter of ‘giving from one’s surplus, but of helping entire peoples which are presently excluded or marginalised to enter into the sphere of economic and human development.
"It is not enough to draw on the surplus goods which in fact our world abundantly produces; it requires above all a change of lifestyles, of models of production and consumption, and of the established structures of power which today govern societies” 1991.
This is 2022. We have just begun the Season of Creation where those words of John Paul fit right into our consideration of the climate emergency, in which we really must look at our models of production and consumption.
We could cite many more passages, from the tradition, encyclicals, Scripture, the prophets. A personal favourite for me is Populorum Progressio, of Paul VI; a wonderful text, but like the one I’ve just cited, it can be depressing to read again because what Paul VI said in 1968 mostly still applies today.
Charity
There is always room for charity. There is always room for giving and not counting the cost.
Jesus, in our reading from Matthew’s Gospel, clearly forecast that we will be judged on how we treat the poorest and most vulnerable.
Matthew presents this as a future reality, an eschatological prediction. Yet that judgement on us is a present reality, one that can’t be put off or watered down.
We agreed with that, didn’t we, when we sang the response to the Psalm that happy - or blessed – is the one who gives to the poor! St.Vincent de Paul apparently said that he felt it better to give unworthily, that is, to an undeserving person, than not give at all.
That’s a more subtle statement than it first appears, because it gently foregrounds that we don’t have the right to judge or decide whether the person in need is deserving or not; leave that to God!
Not to do so, or not to encourage others to exercise Christian charity, will very quickly corrode and erode our spiritual poverty, will undermine our other-centredness which should be an essential attribute of every follower of Christ.
Yet at the same time when material poverty, relative or absolute, looks like it is caused by deliberate actions and policy decisions of those who have position and power, and where there is a justified suspicion that the pain and suffering of some is avoidable were other decisions made, we not only exercise charity, Christian service of the poor, but we ask why we need to.
Our proper spiritual poverty, our rejection of self-interest and our embrace of the suffering other, demands no less.
Fr David Stewart is a Jesuit priest based at Sacred Heart Parish in Lauriston, Edinburgh. Find out more about the Archdiocese's Caritas, Justice & Peace Commission here.
A dedicated parishioner who has contributed music to Mass in Edinburgh for decades has been awarded the Archdiocesan medal.
Mina Brown, a parishioner at St Andrew's in Ravelston, was presented with the award by Archbishop Cushley at the 10:30am Mass, attended by family and friends.
Inspired by a music teacher while a pupil at Holycross Academy, Mina started playing the piano and organ in her early teens.
Her dad was a passkeeper at St Andrew's so it was not long before she began playing music at various church services.
Mina went on to become a music teacher in primary schools – mainly the Catholic primaries of St Joseph's in Broomhouse and Holycross at Trinity.
With her musical ability and generous personality, she was in great demand in St Joseph’s, St Andrew's and St Margaret’s in Davidson's Mains, for Sunday Mass, weddings, and special occasions.
She arranged and conducted choirs in schools and churches across the city and was passionate about music and the joy it brings.
For those who know her, a summary of Mina’s contribution to the church would be incomplete without mention of her late husband, Ronnie Brown, who was also active in the Catholic church, especially latterly in St Andrew's.
Ronnie died in 2013 and he is remembered particularly for a beautiful watercolour of the church, which he drew as part of the parish’s centenary celebrations in 2001.
Mina retired as organist in her mid-eighties in 2019 to spend more time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
In total, Mina has provided music services to Catholic schools and churches in Edinburgh for around 70 years. Thank you, Mina!
The Archdiocesan Medal for Outstanding Service to the Church was established in 1975 by Cardinal Gordon Joseph Gray, then Archbishop of St Andrews & Edinburgh.
Since then, just over 100 or so medals have been awarded for “outstanding voluntary service” to the Church at a local level.
Children's Liturgy resources are available from the 'resources' in the Catechetics section of this website. Click here.
Altar servers from across the Archdiocese came together at the Gillis Centre in Edinburgh today (3 September) for a day of games, talks, and instruction.
The day ended with Mass celebrated by Archbishop Leo Cushley, who also presented serves with the medal of the Guild of St Cuthbert, the club for altar servers in the Archdiocese.
He thanked them for their service to their parish, saying:"Servers have been important in the history of the Church and when you put the cross of The Guild of St Cuthbert on it's a sign of your service. You do this on the altar discreetly and prayerfully.
The day was run by Fr Jamie McMorrin, along with Fr Martin Eckersley and Fr Robert Taylor along with senior servers from St James' Parish in St Andrews.
