PARISH BULLETIN

St Kieran’s, the Catholic Church in

Campbeltown and Islay Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain

7th March 2021

St. Kieran’s Current restrictions announced by the Scottish Government mean it is necessary to close places of worship. Therefore, Holy Mass will regrettably only be celebrated without people present and will be broadcast on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/campbeltownrcchurch) and Zoom (Meeting (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6593787274?pwd=Um9HeDVoWFhJRWR4Y3dNZDN6N3Bqdz09) passcode is fXQ9F5. Anyone requiring pastoral care should contact Fr. Wood: 01586 552160 or campbeltown@rcdai.org.uk

Holy Mass, 10.00am Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: Holy Mass 10am Friday before Mass: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, 09.40 am

Holy Mass, 10.00am Psalm response

You, Lord, have the message of eternal life. Gospel acclamation

Praise to you O Christ, king of eternal glory. God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:

everyone who believes in him has eternal life. Praise to you O Christ, king of eternal glory.

Communion Antiphon The sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for her young: by your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

Blessed are they who dwell in your house, for ever singing your praise.

Take Five Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow — a day at a time.

Monday, Mar 08, 2021 LENTEN WEEKDAY Good News The word "gospel" literally means "good news". Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would come in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring freedom to those oppressed by sin and evil (see Isaiah 61:1-2). Jesus came to set people free from the worst tyranny possible – the tyranny of slavery to sin and the fear of death, and the destruction of both body and soul. God's power alone can save us from emptiness and poverty of spirit, from confusion and error, and from the fear of death and hopelessness. But when people reject this liberation, they are choosing confusion, error and hopelessness. Only the gospel of salvation is "good news" for us today. Knowing the joy and freedom of the gospel is knowing Jesus.

TODAY'S READINGS: 2 Kings 5:1-15ab; Luke 4:24-30. “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.”

Tuesday, Mar 09, 2021 LENTEN WEEKDAY A religious life for all If we do not forgive our fellow man we cannot expect God to forgive us. James says that judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy (James 2:13). Mercy is truly a gift and it is offered in such a way that justice is not negated. Mercy "seasons" justice as "salt" seasons meat and gives it flavour. Mercy follows justice and perfects it. To pardon the unrepentant is not mercy but license. C.S. Lewis, a contemporary Christian author wrote: "Mercy will flower only when it grows in the crannies of the rock of Justice: transplanted to the marshlands of mere Humanitarianism, it becomes a man-eating weed, all the more dangerous because it is still called by the same name as the mountain variety." If we want mercy shown to us, we must be ready to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Is there any grudge or resentment you hold towards anyone?

TODAY'S READINGS: Daniel 3:25, 34-43; Matthew 18:21-35. “Let our sacrifice be in your presence today as we follow you unreservedly.”

Wednesday, Mar 10, 2021 FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OGILVIE, PRIEST, MARTYR Fast with a light heart The image of the grain of wheat dying in the earth in order to grow and bear a harvest can be seen as a metaphor of Jesus' own death and burial in the tomb and his resurrection. Jesus knew that the only way to victory over the power of sin and death was through the cross. Jesus reversed the curse of our first parents' disobedience through his obedience to the Father's will – his willingness to go to the cross to pay the just penalty for our sins and to defeat death once and for all. His obedience and death on the cross obtain for us freedom and new life in the Holy Spirit. His cross frees us from the tyranny of sin and death and shows us the way of perfect love

TODAY’S READINGS: Isaiah 50:5-9; 1 Cor 1:3-7; John 12:24-26. “If a man serves me, he must follow me.”

Thursday, Mar 11, 2021 LENTEN WEEKDAY Stretch your heart One year ago this week, COVID-19 began to seriously disrupt lives in the UK. During this tumultuous year, everyone has suffered, whether from isolation, illness, unemployment, or another pandemic related problem. Pope Francis has urged us to grow from these experiences: “If we are to come out of this crisis less selfish than when we went in, we have to let ourselves be touched by others’ pain,” he wrote. Has COVID-19 stretched your patience or compassion? Whether you give to a food bank or call a housebound person, act on your compassion today.

TODAY'S READINGS: Jeremiah 7:23-28; Luke 11:14-23. “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.”

Friday, Mar 12, 2021 LENTEN WEEKDAY Fasting makes the heart grow fonder As we practice Lenten fasting, we might keep in mind these words from fourth-century Saint Basil the Great: “True fast is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood, and perjury. Privation of these is true

fasting.” Being mindful of what goes into our mouths is important today, but being mindful of what comes out of them, even more so. Striving to abstain from the unkind, false, or hostile word today is for a pure heart tomorrow. And if you find you have broken the fast, make amends as best you can. Let this be your spiritual discipline today.

TODAY'S READINGS: Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34. “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Saturday, Mar 13, 2021 LENTEN WEEKDAY Pray the mercy mantra Gregory Palamas, a saint of the Eastern Orthodox, Melkite, and Ukrainian Catholic

Churches, taught that the use of the Jesus Prayer — “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner” — prepares the person to receive the grace-filled light of the Lord. This short, formulaic prayer has its roots in today’s parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Saint John Paul II repeatedly cited Palamas as one of the great spiritual writers of history. Today, join with John Paul II and Palamas in heaven and the multitude of Catholics throughout the world who recite this spiritual mantra over and over again seeking the Lord’s mercy.

TODAY'S READINGS: Hosea 6:1-6; Luke 18:9-14. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Readings for the Third Sunday in Lent Exodus 20:1-17

Moses receives the law governing the lives of God’s faithful ones. Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11

God’s law refreshes the soul, gives joy to the heart, and illumines our sight. 1 Corinthians 1:22-25

Some want signs and others seek philosophy. We have the cross. John 2:13-25

Zeal claims Jesus, and He claims the Temple.

Words on the Word: John 2:13-25 The Gospel of Jesus Christ is intended for me. Especially during the season of Lent it opens my eyes to the love of God and my ingratitude – because it’s easy to get used to evil. In the temples in the times of Jesus, as today in our places of pilgrimage, there was a good trade. This is why in the domain of the temple in Jerusalem the use of Roman coins was forbidden, and everyone had to exchange their money. The income from this activity belonged to the high priests. Everyone was used to this. Such also is the nature of evil and sin in people – when we become used to it, it seems normal to us. The prophet Ezekiel calls for a sort of spiritual heart transplant. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh (Ez 11:19). This is done only by God Himself, if we see our own mistakes and want to change. To be a trader, or to be the temple of God – such are the alternatives. In each of these two symbols a different understanding of the person is expressed. The symbol of the trader brings to mind turmoil and futile attempts to tame the chaos. It’s tight for space in the market, everything is constricted and awkward. The marketplace symbolises people, who are internally stressed, in their souls disorder reigns. We are often ruled by our noisy thoughts, often our attention is drawn to the question, how are we treated in this public market, what is our “exchange value”? human life is turned into a market, in which traders make noise, in which what is most important are the oxen, lambs and pigeons. We are dealing with symbols here. There are in us oxen – the symbol of domination over our vitality and sensualism. In us there are lambs – the symbol of our enslavement. Within us are pigeons – symbol of our flights of fancy which don’t give a

moment’s peace. We will again become the temple of God, if we allow Jesus to drive out all this that defiles and holds us captive, in other words: the constant feeling of guilt, animal urges, the desire for possessions, the tendency to compare ourselves with others. We need to develop the feeling in us that we are the dwelling place of God, His temple. Today Christ calls us to look at ourselves and ask how far we have become used to evil. That which is above all present in ourselves. He can liberate us and purify us, only if we want it. Yesterday there was another Good Friday in my life Dry and black. Suddenly I met him And as always happens I didn’t recognise him Although he had the beginnings of bloody scars on his hands Neither did he need to talk Where I behaved like a swine, drooled, choked Wake up – he whispered – suddenly I woke up If you want, (Bryll) – tomorrow will be the Resurrection (Ernest Bryll)

A Lenten Series: The eight types of evil thoughts How do you cope with them?

GLUTTONY

Evagrius shows us a person dominated by the thought of gluttony as someone comatose, who can’t see the consequences of his decisions: gluttony brings lethargy and foolishness – and the consequent disaster. For a better understanding of what the nature of gluttony is it's worth recalling our author’s experience of resisting it, which he calls "the imitation of the resurrection" and "vigilant eyes which know no sleep." Evagrius calls gluttony “unbridled madness” and “a leaky fortified wall”, which “inextricably linked to impurity, makes the mind unclean, weakens the body, brings languid sleep and a sad death”. Those who succumb to thoughts of gluttony, perceive the world they live in as a great dish for consumption. For them the world is not a help on the road to salvation, a sign of the Lord’s existence, but rather a thing, that must be consumed, something belonging to them and can rightly be “eaten” by them; in short, these are people who are always unsatisfied, never having enough. There also exists emotional gluttony, when we expect only appreciation and applause from other people, when there is never enough praise about how great and special we are. It is a predatory approach to reality; it is an attitude which tells us to only seek ways to satisfy sick desires originating from our complexes and wounds. This concludes in danger – such gluttony leads to a totally devastated life at all levels. A person, succumbing to the evil thought of gluttony, is someone who is incapable of giving up anything, a person deprived of the capacity for self-denial.

Ways of fighting gluttony As an instrument to fight it, Evagrius proposes setting appropriate goals for fasting and self-denial, not rebelling from them under any circumstances, to put a limit on sleep time, and to use a method preventing knee-jerk reactions – i.e. oppose emotional thoughts that arouse fear with pertinent scripture passages you’ve learned.

LUST

As a result of becoming entangled in this thought, a person ceases to look at the other person as someone who can be endowed with love, trust, friendship, and increasingly begins see them and treat them as an object. Increasingly seeing them as an object to be conquered and subdued. Therefore, lust is not necessarily associated with the erotic sphere and with sex, although the sexual dimension is of course one aspect of lust; however, it is much more about a person bringing another person to the level of a thing. The growth dissatisfaction, because of unrealistic desires towards other people – is the essence of lust. Lust tempts us with memories of the past, lust wants to show us possible sensations, which are at your fingertips, often based on benefits in the past, – it’s enough for a person to just step out of their home. No wonder it leads straight to frustration and sadness. Lust, contrary to appearances, is not the primarily a danger for young people, but above all, for those who begin to feel their lives are ever more pouring away between their fingers – so, now is the last moment to experience something. Perhaps you can imagine lust as a loudly ticking clock. And all this leads to a rapid loss of prudence and to decision-making based on impulses – biological drives. The greedy person does not believe: his needs cannot be satisfied in this world –because that’s an attribute of the Christian – rather he behaves as if his hunger had to be satisfied here and now – and at all costs, even if he has to “walk over corpses”. This is the moment when a person begins to lose control of himself and can’t set boundaries for himself. It's not about the subsequent desires of the greedy, of not being satisfied. Rather, the point is that every lustful desire fulfilled is like the doorman who opens the door to the next, even stronger desire, that in turn leads to the next, and so on.

Ways of fighting lust When a person is overwhelmed by the temptation to seek the praise of people or to boast of his virtue, he shouldn’t be unwise enough to waken in his imagination new erotic ideas, but instead, Evagrius encourages recalling his earlier sins of lust. Remembering earlier downfalls tempers vanity and indirectly protects against subsequent attacks of the demon of lust. When, on the other hand, the demon of lust attacks the person, trying to arouse in him anxiety and fear, Evagrius encourages him to remember the moments of victory and his perseverance in virtue. This method of battling with passionate thoughts is based on the principle of opposing demons against each other, in this case vanity and lust. (next week: Greed and Sadness)

The Feast of Saint John Ogilvie

Eldest son of Walter Ogilvie, of Drum, near Keith, Scotland, b. 1580; d. 10th March, 1615. Educated as a Calvinist, he was received into the Church at Louvain by Father Cornelius a Lapide. Becoming a Jesuit at the age of seventeen he was ordained priest in 1613, and at his own request was sent on the perilous Scottish mission. He landed in Scotland in November, 1613, and during nine months reconciled many with the Church in Edinburgh and Glasgow. He was betrayed in the latter city, but, during a long imprisonment, no tortures could force him to name any Catholics. Though his legs were cruelly crushed, and he was kept awake for nine nights by being continually

pricked by needles, scarcely a sigh escaped him. Under searching examinations, his patience, courage, and gaiety won the admiration of his very judges – especially of the Protestant Archbishop Spottiswood – but he was condemned as a traitor and hanged at Glasgow. The customary beheading and quartering were omitted owing to undisguised popular sympathy, and his body was hurriedly buried in the churchyard of Glasgow cathedral. He was declared venerable in the seventeenth century.

Authentic account of Imprisonment and Martyrdom of Fr. John Ogilvie, S.J., translated from a Latin pamphlet (Douai, 1615; London, 1877).

The Spirituality of Liturgy?!

A question mark and exclamation mark in the title. Doubt and discovery. Can that be done? I think the answer is yes. Both signs are warranted. The first comes from the fact that this area of spirituality is rarely an area of study. Most of the time there are discussions of different schools of liturgy which are well-known and recognised, and generally associated with different religious orders and their founders. The second has a chance or even should be, if the Eucharist is to be the “source and summit” of Christian life, as the Council wanted. This necessity was frequently pointed out by our elder pope back in the days when he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. When asked by Peter Seewald about the need for a new reform he said: “We need a new awareness of the liturgy” and that this should consist of “once again adopting forms which we received as a gift, that penetrate interiorly […] I think that we must once more learn to listen – ‘listen, my son’ says Saint Benedict – to recognise that we ourselves are not so much constructors as recipients”.

What this doesn’t mean, that between liturgical spirituality and other schools of spirituality, there aren’t any specific similarities. Benedict XVI said that: “we must learn to listen”. This turns our attention to the fact that every spirituality is about learning something. And it is learning, adapting, and assimilating that forms my relationship with God. Makes it fruitful. This depends on spirituality: the bonds and fruit of this relationship. So, if there is some similarity on which a spirituality of the liturgy with other schools of spiritualities depends, it is in precisely this need for forming certain attitudes allowing a deeper entry into exercise of the Mysteries. In Ignatian Spirituality for example they would be points of meditation or a specific form of examination of conscience. But what are these specific aspects of liturgical spirituality? They are indicated by the individual parts of the Holy Mass. If we look at it from the beginning, that is the introductory rites, through which we discover that first attribute of liturgical spirituality is the ability of being together. Since the liturgy depends on this. It’s Greek origin – leiton ergon – common work, indicates the action of the community. This is why the Catechism of the Catholic Church, referring to Saint Justin Martyr, sees the beginning of the celebration in the gathering of all the participants (1346). Therefore, if someone comes to Mass with the approach of “turning off” and building their own nest on their own with God, they have already departed from the essence of the Eucharist – an action of the Head and the Body. The consequence is an absence to the words of prayer, of the responses, of the hymns, and even more so a difficulty with the attitude of witnessing to the unity of the assembly in the gestures and postures of the whole Body. The next attitude of liturgical spirituality is the ability of listening. Starting with what our contemporary generation has most difficulty with. Concentration – attention span. The Liturgy of the Word is not watching a video on YouTube, having a larger viewership, the shorter the individual sections are. And so, it can’t be limited to the 27 seconds recommended by communication experts, therefore, we have to develop the ability to focus for at least several minutes (more for the homily). There are many ways. Here, each has to find the method which suits them. This doesn’t mean that concentration alone is sufficient. Also important, or possibly most important is the belief, that in this moment the Lord is speaking to me. Not the reader, not the priest, but God Himself. In Lent we often sing of recite the refrain/antiphon “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God”. This is why need Saint Peter’s prayer: “Lord, increase my faith” and a cry for the Holy Spirit, so that the voice heard externally reaches the mind and heart. If it doesn’t get there, is not received with faith, it will not take root, will remain fruitless, and the listener becomes like that fig tree in the parable of Jesus. Dug around and watered, it gave no fruit. The liturgy of the Eucharist – that is thanksgiving and sacrifice. Or else: a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Hence, the two next attributes of a liturgical spirituality – gratitude and the ability to sacrifice, and to offer something, above all oneself. Together with Jesus. Let’s return for a moment to what was mentioned in the interview with Benedict XVI. Not to treat the Holy Mass as something that belongs to me, but as receiving a gift. The person who knows how to accept a gift with humility, knows how to be grateful. And not only from the hand of God. But also, from the hand of another person. As it is with accepting a gift, so it is with love. Whoever doesn’t learn to receive gifts with gratitude from others, will not be able to receive gifts from God. Whoever can’t manage to say thank you to someone, will not be able to truly thank God. A paradox of the Holy Mass, among others, is that we make an offering the One who is the Gift of the Father – Jesus Christ. Empty hands express the preparedness to accept and to give, to share what we have received. This is why in one Eucharistic Prayer we first ask the Father to accept the sacrifice of the Son and then “make of us an eternal offering to you”. And so, another attribute of the Eucharistic spirituality is the ability of offering, giving, sharing oneself – with God and neighbour. Without it there is not interior participation with the Mass. There is also no specific understanding of love of neighbour and its resulting concern for the poor and suffering. These attributes are not about giving away what is disposable, but sharing what I have. It’s easy to see that the higher attributes (not all) of liturgical spirituality have nothing in common with a sense of well-being in Mass, nor – even more so – with the emotional experience within it. As far as the

latter is concerned, it’s worth looking and trying to understand this question from the perspective of the sacrifice of the cross present in the Eucharist. That which occurred of Golgotha was not exciting or interesting. Even more so, it had nothing do with beautiful feelings. There was rawness, dirt, insults and cursing, and in the end immense suffering and loneliness. And in all this appeared the love of God for us. Love gathering in one person. In this perspective the ability of being in community, to listen with faith, gratitude and the capacity to offer without exaggeration can be called the greatest attribute of liturgical spirituality. To possess it you don’t have be a priest, religious, live in isolation from the world, or someone exceptional. This is a spirituality for anyone.

Prayer Please pray for those who are in need or have asked for our prayers: Catherine Walker and Russell Carroll. Remember all those who are vulnerable to the severe effects of the current pandemic and the doctors, nurses, First Responders, carers who continue to aid the sick and vulnerable, as well as key workers who help us all. Please remember in your prayers all whose anniversaries occur at his time.

News and Events Devotions during Lent: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and meditation, Fridays 09.40 am. Islay: currently there is no Mass celebrated on Islay. In pastoral need contact Fr. Tony, 01586 552160. Hopefully, we will be able to worship together in Campbeltown and Islay at Easter this year. Details will be given when we receive clarification of the dates from the Scottish Government. Bulletins and SCIAF Boxes can be picked up from the Chapel House porch. New bulletins on each Friday. A message from Right to Life: Ask your MP to support a NEW amendment to help stop forced abortion in Xinjiang, China. There is extensive evidence that many women in the Uyghur Muslim community in Xinjiang, China are being subjected to forced abortions. Lord Alton is currently championing a new amendment to the Trade Bill, to help put international pressure on the Chinese Communist Party to stop the practice of forced abortions and wider human rights abuses that evidence shows is being perpetuated against the Uyghur community. The amendment passed in the Lords on 23 February by 367 votes to 214, and is likely to be voted on in the Commons shortly. If you would like to email your MP asking them to support the amendment, you can do this easily using a tool which has been set up on the Genocide Response campaign website, which can be accessed by visiting the link below: https://genocideresponse.org/

Right To Life UK

campbeltown@rcdai.org.uk www.stkieransrc.org https://www.facebook.com/campbeltownrcchurch/ A Parish of the R.C. Diocese of Argyll and the Isles; Charitable Trust, a registered Scottish Charity, SC002876

Parish Priest: Fr. A. Wood, St. Kieran’s, Campbeltown; Tel. 01586 552160