Our Weekend Masses
For details see the section in this week's news and go to
our dedicated page.
Sisters and brothers,
On this last Sunday before we enter Holy Week, after the fig tree and the Prodigal Son, we hear a third gospel of someone being given a second chance. Jesus may be wanting to make a point ....
Do we recognise the situations in our lives where compassion and mercy will do more to open up new life than strict adherence to the letter of the law?
Fr Alex
Prayer Resources:
5th Sunday of Lent C
Children's Resources:
5th Sunday of Lent C
Communion Services will resume at St Gregory's every Wednesday at 9.30 am. Details will be taken for Test & Protect.
Prayer for Peace in the World
As part of the diocesan 40 hours' devotion in the Cluster, we will pray especially for our sisters and brothers caught up in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the effects on the surrounding countries. The Rabbi in Ukraine requested that Christians and Jews unite in praying
Psalm 31. You are warmly invited to join us for however long you can manage.
Sat 2 April 2-5pm @ St Gregory's
We will have 3 hours of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament for peace in the world, starting our prayer time together reciting Psalm 31. There will be a prayer or poem intermittently for you to reflect on if you so wish with 6 x 30 minute intervals of silent prayer.
Sun 3 April 1.30-4.30pm @ St Catherine's
We will have the usual Prayer Foundation format of (8 x 20 minute slots of silent prayer). Psalms of protection and safeguarding will be read at 20 minute intervals, including Psalm 31.
St John Vianney’s
Parishioners are warmly invited to participate in the prayer afternoons at St Gregory’s and St Catherine’s.
Cluster Reconciliation Service
There will be a Reconciliation Service for the cluster on Tuesday 5th April at 6 pm in St Catherine's.
Parishioners from all three parishes are warmly invited to participate in this service.
Cluster Holy Week services
Holy Thursday : St John Vianney's at 7pm
Good Friday : St Catherine's at 7pm
Holy Saturday : St Gregory's at
8.30pm,
Easter Sunday : SJV 9.30am, SC at 11am.
St Catherine's Easter Fair Trade Stall
We are holding a FT stall after Mass, in the hall on
Sunday 10th April. Alongside our normal array of FT goods we plan to have Easter eggs and other Easter gifts for sale. Please come and see what is on offer - no obligation to buy and we are always very happy to try and source requests from the shop.
St John Vianney's Easter Raffle
St John Vianney’s are having a raffle for 2 Easter hampers, one for children and one for adults. Tickets will be on sale from
next weekend priced 50p and £1 respectively. The draw will take place
Sunday 24 April in the hall with tea, coffee and Easter nibbles.
All monies raised will go to our Fabric Fund’
Bereavement Service
Sat 9 April @ 9.30am @ St Gregory's.
Candles are lit for family & friends of the Cluster who have died in the last month. If there’s an anniversary of a loved one, please say when you arrive.
Teas and coffees will be available after the service.
For more information, email Jacinta or phone her on 664 5581.
Cluster Stations of the Cross
There are two opportunities each week to make the Stations of the Cross:
* each Monday at St Catherine's Church at 2pm
* each Tuesday at St Gregory's Church at 7pm.
All are welcome.
Cluster Lenten Sessions
Our cluster Connect groups warmly invite you to a time of fellowship every Monday evening at 7pm when we can listen to God’s Word, reflect, share and praise together. These sessions are produced by our own parishioners. If you would like to join us or to know more contact us on cluster.alpha@outlook.com If you missed any, here they are: Week 1; Week 2; Week 3; Week 4; Week 5
As of Monday 4th April, the wearing of face coverings in church buildings will be considered advisable rather than mandatory. The numbers of those infected remains relatively high.
People are urged to be cautious and respectful of others whilst at services or events. The report on the archdiocesan website can be found here.
SEECAT Holy Week Events
Monday 11 April
Passover Meal at Liberton Kirk halls at 7pm. Tickets are £5 and will be available from your church’s SEECAT Rep. Admission to the meal will be by ticket only.
Wednesday 13 April Ecumenical ‘Stations of the Cross’ at St John Vianney’s at 7:30pm. The script will be based on environmental issues.
Good Friday morning Prayer Walk. This will, as on previous years, start from St Catherine’s at 10am and walk the usual route to outside Morrison’s.
Open Air Service This will take place outside Morrison’s and will commence at 11am
Good Friday afternoon A service will be held at Gracemount High School at 3pm. The Very Revd Dr Susan Brown (a former Moderator of the Church of Scotland), will give the talk.
Stations of the Cross
Tue 5 April @ 6.30pm by Zoom. Led by Fr John Convery sx, chaplain of Pax Christi Scotland and Dr Arianna Andreangeli-Clark, Senior Lecturer in European Law at Edinburgh University. Register here.
Go here for a recording of last week's conference on the 40th anniversary of the Scottish Bishops’ Conference statement on weapons of mass destruction which asks ‘What next?'. Speakers are Archbishop Nolan and Daniel Högsta, Campaign Coordinator of the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons.
SCIAF
Wee Box Appeal: Malawi
In January, Cyclone Ana hit Malawi and caused widespread devastation, affecting almost one million people and killing 46. Crops and animals were washed away in an instant, destroying livelihoods.
This Lent we need your love and generosity, to prevent families from going hungry, help people grow more food, and heal their local environment. Families urgently need your help today.
Read Bishop Toal's letter and watch the short prayer video. You can donate online, by phone 0141 354 5555, or send a cheque to SCIAF, 7 West Nile St, Glasgow, G1 2PR.
SCIAF Lenten Challenge
Reuse in Hope
Why not try giving up single-use items such as coffee cups, or go further and avoid buying any new non-essential items, such as clothes or electronics. By not buying new, not only will you save money which you can donate to the Wee Box Appeal, but you’ll produce less waste and lessen demand on manufacturing and logistics which all contribute to climate change.
Offer up Acts of Hope as part of your Lenten practice. These are any actions to show your solidarity with those living at the forefront of the Climate Emergency, and protect our Common Home here in Scotland.
Justice Matters:
It feels we are surrounded by news, none of it good. To concentrate on hopelessness is not helpful and neither is it Jesus’ message. In the readings today I was struck by Paul writing “All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come…” Pope Francis, in his book “Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future” (London: Simon & Schuster, 2020) looks at both what needs to change in our culture and how such change might be enabled and sustained.
SEE: The book begins with the question of what and how we see. Francis says we must be affected by the way things are. ‘You have to go to the edges of existence if you want to see the world as it is’, he writes. It is difficult to look outside our own comfort zone as evidenced by our refusal to share the vaccine equitably or our reaction to refugees. A response from some in the face of both a climate and a cost of living crisis has been to give a false dichotomy. Two choices are presented and the claim is made that one is acceptable and the other is not. We are told that we hurt the poor when we insist on addressing climate as an immediate emergency. In fact, the sooner we lower reliance on fossil fuels the better it will be for the poorest among us.
REFLECT: “Let us dream” gives much to reflect upon. Francis writes “the dominant culture tends to reduce us to consumers and disconnect us from each other. This is what allows for the indifference and blindness that keeps the ‘system’ in place. If we really want a different sociality, therefore, we need to be reminded who we truly are and empowered to belong to one another in new ways.” He wants us to ask ourselves “what is human life really about?” “How are we related to one another?” Francis insists that a truly just and free society will only be brought into being by those who have reclaimed their identity and dignity as a ‘people’ and know they share a ‘common good’. He reminds us we are never alone and grace permeates our efforts.
ACT: The book is very short and perhaps you might like to read it – please ask if you would like to borrow a copy.
The book’s message is that we are all connected and we need to increase that sense of connectedness. There are many ways we can help ourselves to see others in Christ. For example by joining organisations which look at the common good for all including those not yet born - Greenpeace, Christian Aid, Laudate Si. Voicing concern about how our fellows are housed, employed and fed, be they citizens, refugees or asylum seekers. In essence the pope says we need to learn how to look at the world as it affects us all and not just ourselves as individuals.
Tricia Kaminski
You are held in prayer
Those who are unwell
and in need of our prayers:
Carolyn Larter, Christine Knox, Ellen Salvona,
Patrick Phelan, Fiona Scott, Sheila Ross,
Nilsa de Rodriguez, Belén Rodriguez, Rudy Deras, Dawn Adams, Aileen Paulin, Helen Haddow,
Bill and Marlene Bonnar, Stevie Donald,
Kathy Duffy, Mary, Verdiana and Donati Kweka (Tanzania), Mary Thomson, Eammon McKelvey, Nancy Barta, Alex McGinnity, Patricia Simmons,
Elizabeth Napier, George Pringle,, Sr. Veronica, Katharine, John, Jennifer, Christopher Mackinnon, Maureen Lawson, Bailey Bruce McCann,
Betty Dickinson, Annette, Catherine Hart,
Karen Devlin, Scott Fraser, Anne Doig, Sr May Lewis, Jessie & George Ritchie, John Skinner, Fr Eugen,
James Duffy, Ronan Boyle, Hazel Martin, Mary Boyle, Mary Dias, Catriona McAuley, Elaine Hepburn, Marie, Roney Fernandes, Christopher Browne, Xaverina Rodrigues, Anne and Helen,
Sacred Heart sisters in Uganda
I am the Resurrection and the Life
We remember in love
Those who have died recently:
Betty (Elisabeth) McNally
Anniversaries
St Gregory's:
Bridget Metcalf. Terry Gilhooly
St Catherine's:
Tom & Eleanor Gorman, Alan Watt
St John Vianney's:
James McPartlin, Philip Erasmuson, Richard Bull, Bridget Stoodley, Jim McGuire, Madge Healy, Marion Milne, Thomas McGrath, Patrick McKelvey, James Crawford, Anne Fielding, Rose Fawcett, Edward Calvey, Patrick Taylor,
Winnifred Julia Cummings, John Mahon,
Ella Green, Alasdair Fagan.
Our Remembrance Gallery is in memory of the loved ones we have lost during the pandemic. If you wish a loved one to be included, go here to find out how. You will also find information on what help our Cluster Bereavement Group offer for anyone who has been bereaved.
Please join us in Contemplative prayer
on Tuesday afternoons 2.40 to 3.45 at Liberton Northfield 280 Gilmerton Road EH16 5TT
Entrance through Red side door. Buses 3, 8, 29 stop right outside. The format is:
If you prefer you can join us on Zoom or just pray with us while you are at home. Contact
Clare Roller
Boxes for our local foodbank
Please bring items listed below to any of our church buildings or either of our Catholic Primary Schools for the foodbank - or take them to:
Items requested for this week:
New opening hours for the Food Bank are
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10am until 1.30pm
Are you struggling? We are here to help
If you, or anyone you know, is in need of financial support or a friendly telephone chat, call our SSVP in the Cluster:
St John Vianney's 07922 675196,
St Gregory's 07455 306607
St Catherine's 07539 266411.
If you would like to make a donation go here
Entitlements Page
There are many benefits and grants to which people are entitled. Please check our entitlements page. Let us also know of others.
(Duration approx. 90 mins) Online
Saturday 7 May at 10am with Scott MacKenzie
To register email Scott.Mackenzie@staned.org.uk, with your name, parish and role.
St Catherine's Primary School News
Dressing down for Ukraine and Baking for SCIAF
With all the doom and gloom going on in world affairs at the moment. It is lovely to get some good news to digest. The school is actively engaged in our Lenten mission for this year. We continue to gather goods for the food bank in our ’40 items in 40 days’ class campaign. Friday 1st saw a very popular dress down day to raise money for the DEC and the Ukraine crisis. Closer to home, our amazing P7 class thought up, organised, planned, publicised and staffed a beautiful bake sale last Friday. Even Fr. Alex chipped in I believe! The money raised in this will be given to SCIAF for their work in Africa. Writing this makes me so proud of what our school community is capable of and where its heart lies. I know that you, as our Parish will be proud of them too. Well done to you all. You are just amazing!
God bless, Mr Hunter
St John Vianney's Primary School
Stations of the Cross
Our P6 pupils visited St Gregory’s again this week. This time they took part in the Stations of the Cross. We are looking forward to our whole school Stations of the Cross next week here in school with Fr Alex.
Global Celebration
Our Global Celebration carried over into this week and we were very lucky to have P2 perform a song in Igbo and P5 perform a song in Shona at our Assembly. Well done to both our P2 and P5 classes!
P6 Show
Congratulations to our P6 pupils who put on a fantastic show for us all this week. The show was called Claws, it was about a dinosaur in a school. It was fantastic, full of great acting and songs. We have some very talented pupils here at St John Vianney. Watch out Hollywood!
Aisling Christie
