VIEW A LETTER FROM RT.REV JOSEPH TOAL, BISHOP OF MOTHERWELL HERE  On the Season of Christmas and the Restoration of the Mass Obligation in the Dioceses of Scotland Dear Brothers and Sisters, Christ is born for us, come let us adore him. Christmas is approaching. It is an occasion to renew our family life, to reach out to the lonely and to celebrate the core of our faith: Emmanuel, God with us. We have all experienced the negative impact the pandemic has had on our common liturgical celebrations and our access to the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Now that more people are attending church, the Bishops of Scotland want to encourage all the Catholic faithful to renew their covenant with the Church and her worship. Christmas seems the right time to do this. We remember how the shepherds said to each other: “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing which has happened, which the Lord has made known to us” (Lk 2:15). The Child in the manger calls to us to go with them. Christmas Day this year falls on a Saturday. It will be followed immediately by the feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday. We therefore strongly encourage you to take advantage of the celebrations of that weekend by attending Mass on both days, or at least once. We have often been asked about reinstating the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holydays of obligation. In our fluid situation, this is not an easy judgment to make. Thanks, however, to the effort and good sense of so many, our churches have proven to be safe places. So, saving any serious worsening of the situation, we believe that Christmastide provides an opportune moment to restore the obligation. The obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holydays of Obligation will therefore be reinstated from Sunday 2nd January, the first of the new year. That Sunday coincides with the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. It will be an occasion for us to join the wise men in offering worship to the Infant Jesus. In accordance with the common teaching of the Church this obligation does not bind those in ill health or those otherwise impeded from attending Mass. Nor, in the context of Covid, does it bind those showing symptoms of the virus or with underlying health conditions, or those with responsibilities for people in need of special care. The obligation to keep the Lord’s Day holy by attending Mass should not be seen as a burden. It is a summons addressed to our human freedom and to the heart of every baptised member of the Church. “There is within me”, said St Ignatius of Antioch, “a murmur of living water which says, ‘Come to the Father’”. The obligation calls us to come to the Father together with our fellow-believers, to “listen to the word of God and to take part in the Eucharist, calling to mind the passion, resurrection and glory of the Lord Jesus, and giving thanks to God who ‘has begotten [us] to a living hope, through the resurrection of Christ from the dead’” ( Sacrosanctum Concilium , 106; 1 Pt 1:3). Sunday Mass can reinvigorate and refresh our Christian faith, our sense of community and our desire to live as missionary disciples in the world. This is why the Church takes this obligation seriously. It has been good to have access to the Sacred Liturgy online, and we encourage those unable to attend Mass on Sundays and Holydays to continue making use of this. Of itself, though, online participation does not fulfil the obligation. Nothing can adequately replace actual presence. At the heart of our Christian life is the event of the Word becoming flesh and our incorporation through the Sacraments into his Body. It’s to experience this that we come to church. Our current reflection on synodality points us in the same direction: we are a people who meet together because we journey together. Let us therefore use the coming Christian season to return, with purified hearts and fresh fervour, to our sacramental and liturgical life. During Advent and beyond, there will be opportunities to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And Christmas itself is more than a Day. It is a Season. Beyond Christmas Day, it includes the beautiful feasts of the Holy Family, of Mary, Mother of God, of the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord. In the northern hemisphere, this season falls at a dark and low time of the year. This is not by chance. It’s precisely at this time, made darker still by so many current uncertainties, that we are offered divine energy and the joy of the human birth of a divine child. Christ’s birth means the forgiveness of our sins and our rebirth as children of God. We sense how Mary’s motherhood embraces us as well and, at the Epiphany, the star of faith lights up our hearts. As the Lord is immersed in the River Jordan the waters of our own baptism can flow in our lives with new force. We are given light and strength to live a new year in the power of the Holy Spirit. In his Letter of the 9th of November to the Catholics of Scotland, written in the midst of CoP26, the Holy Father said, “In these challenging times, may all Christ’s followers in Scotland renew their commitment to be convincing witnesses to the joy of the Gospel and its power to bring light and hope to every effort to build a future of justice, fraternity and prosperity, both material and spiritual.” We echo these words as we seek together to follow God’s ways and open our hearts to the gift of his Son. Yours devotedly in Christ, + Hugh Gilbert Bishop of Aberdeen, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland + Leo Cushley Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh + Joseph Toal Bishop of Motherwell + Stephen Robson Bishop of Dunkeld + John Keenan Bishop of Paisley + William Nolan Bishop of Galloway + Brian McGee Bishop of Argyll and the Isles Monsignor Hugh Canon Bradley Diocesan Administrator, Archdiocese of Glasgow

28th July 2021 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I wish you all well, and hope you are enjoying the Scottish summer. As we follow Liturgical Year B this summer, we listen to Chapter 6 of St John’s Gospel at Mass through successive Sundays. Last Sunday we heard the Gospel of the Miracle of the Loaves and the Fish, when Jesus fed the multitude gathered around him with the five barley loaves and two fish – “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted”. Hearing of the Lord’s abundant blessing on the hungry people we are encouraged to place our faith in the Lord’s generosity when he feeds us with his Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. We also are hungry for the Lord’s love and protection, and particularly for the sustenance he offers to us in Holy Communion. We come, therefore, to each Celebration of Mass in anticipation and thanksgiving for such a wonderful gift. In the forthcoming Sundays we will hear Jesus’ teaching about himself as the Bread of Life that has come down from heaven – “I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world”. Our firm faith in the miracle of the Eucharist, that the Lord’s Body and Blood become truly present in the consecrated bread and wine, is strengthened and renewed by the Lord’s own words and our participation in the holy mysteries of his passion, death and resurrection renewed for us in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I invite you to listen attentively to the Lord’s words and to renew your faith in the salvation made present for us in each Mass celebrated. At the end of his discourse in John 6, Jesus asked the apostles if they wished to go away as others were doing, and Simon Peter answered, “Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; you are the Holy One of God”. When present at Mass may this profession of faith be ours and may the Lord reassure us of its truth and of all the goodness he bestows upon us. We continue to experience some effects from the coronavirus and, while we hope life can become more “normal” again, we are aware that some threats to our health and well-being remain and will require continuing caution and willingness to make decisions and accept sacrifices for the benefit of others as well as ourselves. We do hope though that more of the faithful will now feel able to return to our Catholic practice of attending Sunday Mass, recognising that we will continue to make every effort to ensure everybody’s safety as more restrictions are lifted and larger congregations can gather in our churches. I would like to extend a special invitation to families to come to Sunday Mass, wishing especially to welcome parents and children, teenagers, and young adults, to revitalise the great Catholic tradition of attending Mass each week, thus acknowledging the gift of faith received from the Lord and sustained by his abiding presence in the Holy Eucharist. It may be true that the forced separation of recent months has lessened the desire of some to participate in the Church’s worship, but there comes a time to take stock and hopefully to decide on a path of renewed interest and participation. Hopefully this can be a time of new life and hope, not something forced upon us, but rather an invitation from the Lord to come and listen and be feed with the beautiful gift he gives us of himself in the Eucharist. I take this opportunity also to encourage you to attend Mass in your own parishes on Sundays (including, of course, Saturday Vigil Masses). It is quite easy for people to chose to attend Mass in other parishes when churches are so close to one another but we do all live within the boundaries of a particular parish, which we therefore belong to. We are clearly going to face a period of readjustment of some sort in the postpandemic period and I would think that the loyalty of the local Catholic community to their own parish church, and participation in its worship, sacramental and social life, will very much determine its viability and vitality. Every parish will need the commitment of the present and future generations as well remembering the great deeds of the past. With grateful thanks to the Lord for the wonderful gift of the Eucharist, I thank you for your own prayers and for your support for the Church . May the Lord be close to each one of us and our families as we look to him in our present need and in our hope for the future. Yours in Christ,  With my prayers and best wishes,

From: Deacon Bill McMillan Diocesan Covid Coordinator Dear All, Following on from today’s announcement from the First Minister, please note the follow changes that will take place from one minute past midnight on Monday 19th July 2021. All of Scotland will move to level 0 which will allow the following to take place in ‘Places of Worship’. Physical distancing will reduce from 2 metres to one metre between household groups and/or individuals which will allow more people to attend masses.( That means we now be able to hold 75 ) Congregational singing is allowed in level 0, however face coverings must still be worn.( We will now be able to join in with the music, this will continue until we do not have to wear face masks .) Up to 200 people are permitted to attend weddings and funerals subject to the size of the church and the 1 metre physical distance rule and how many we can realistically cope with in terms of stewarding, name checking, etc. ( Our Numbers will be 75 ) Please remember that the wearing of face coverings will continue to be mandatory and also the sanitising of churches after each use. The collecting of names and contact details are still required. It is important to remember that vigilance against the virus is still of the utmost importance. Hope this helps. Deacon Bill McMillan DiocesanCovid Coordinator

Scotland’s Catholic bishops have welcomed the prospect of a meeting with Pope Francis when he attends the COP26 Conference in Glasgow in November. A spokesperson for the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland said: “Scotland’s bishops express their prayerful support for Pope Francis as he recovers from his recent surgery. Having written to the Holy Father to assure him of a warm welcome, should he attend the Conference, they are delighted to hear that he does hope to attend and would be glad to meet with them in Glasgow.” The spokesperson added; “The Pope will be in Scotland for a very short time, most of which will be spent participating in the COP26 Conference. While many pastoral, ecumenical and inter faith gatherings would be desirable while he is with us, time constraints, sadly mean such a full programme will not be possible.” Peter Kearney : Director Catholic Media Office 0141 221 1168 07968 122291 pk@scmo.org www.scmo.org

Hello I’m Sister Catherine Egan and I send very best wishes to you and your family from all of us here at St Andrew’s Hospice. I hope you’re looking forward to the easing of restrictions and the freedoms that will bring – even though we’re all having to wait a wee bit longer than we’d hoped! Today I have the honour of inviting you and your family to be part of a very special celebration event at St Andrew’s Hospice this summer – Thanksgiving Thistles. Firstly, we invite you to dedicate a Thanksgiving Thistle to your loved one. Each name will be inscribed on a special thistle, planted at the Hospice to create a display of many hundreds of thistles, all coming together to create a beautiful, vibrant scene. Secondly, we would like to invite you and your family and friends to attend a warm, celebratory thanksgiving service outside St Andrew’s Hospice on Thursday 19 August at 7pm. After the service, you will be invited to collect your dedicated thistle from the display and take it home to keep. Please note: numbers attending the service may be restricted depending on COVID restrictions in place at the time. The thanksgiving service will also be live streamed online. We know for some this will be the first chance to properly remember and celebrate the life of someone who has passed away. You can make your dedication online here or, if you like, you can call us on 01236 766951. There’s no cost to these Thanksgiving Thistles, or for attending the service, but of course we would be very grateful if you were able to make a donation towards hospice care costs over the summer. It is an exceptionally busy and challenging time here at St Andrew’s Hospice – and we do need your support, especially as our fundraising programme ‘restart’ has had to be pushed back so many times! You can keep in touch with us on social media for all the latest news and goings on over the summer; please follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . Thank you for your ongoing support. I send you all best wishes for a happy and healthy summer. Sister Catherine Egan Director of Mission

For safety reasons we have had to cancell confessions for the current time. We will update you on when we can re-commence as soon as we are able.