Please welcome Fr Simon Hughes who will celebrate the Vigil Mass this weekend.

Sunday Missal:  2^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A – Page 695.

Teas and Coffees available after Mass on Sunday and Thursday.

Sacraments of Reconciliation, Holy Communion and Confirmation: If you have a child eligible to celebrate the Sacraments and would like them to participate in our parish preparation, please see Fr James as soon as possible. 

Date for the Diary: Burntisland and Kinghorn Churches Together Quiz Night, Friday 27^th February, Erskine Church Hall, 7:00pm.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 18-25 January: This Sunday marks the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Archbishop Cushley is Bishop President for Ecumenism in Scotland and shares the following message: "In Scotland we are blessed to share friendships with Christians of other traditions, friendships rooted not in convenience but in a genuine desire to follow Christ more faithfully. The Catholic Church in Scotland has officially acknowledged friendship with the Scottish Episcopal Church; The St Ninian Declaration reminds us of our shared witness, charity and service. The St Margaret Declaration, meanwhile, encourages honest and warm dialogue grounded in truth with our friends in the Church of Scotland. These commitments do not gloss over sincerely held differences of the past or the present. Rather, we endeavour to see in each other a fellow disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, and to grow together in charity as brothers and sisters in Christ. We acknowledge real differences between our Churches, and we do so without fear, because friendship among Christians is not a threat to faith but a fruit of it. So, we pray for unity by placing ourselves before Christ, asking that He deepen our love for His Church, strengthen our respect for one another, and lead us, in His time and by His grace, closer to the unity He desires.”

Job vacancy: The Archdiocese is seeking to appoint an Administrator to provide support to the Property Director and general administrative support within the Archdiocesan offices. Job description at bit.ly/adminarchdiocese. To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter detailing how your skills and experience make you suitable for this role to recruitment@staned.org.uk by Friday 23 January 2026. 

Explore: Thinking about a vocation to the religious life? Join other young Catholic women to chat and explore God's will for you. Monthly gatherings will be hosted by the Archdiocese at St Columba’s Church, 9 Upper Gray Street, Edinburgh, EH9 1SN. The first one takes place from 4pm to 7pm on Sunday 25 January 2026. To register, email Sr Mirjam Hugens FSO at religiousvocations@staned.org.uk

 Catholic Conversations for Women: All women are welcome to this event with the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma on Saturday 31 January, 3:45pm-4:45pm in St Andrew’s Parish rooms (77 Belford Rd, Edinburgh, EH4 3DS) for refreshments and faith-focused discussion on preparing for Lent. A Holy Hour will follow with Adoration & Vespers from 5:10pm. Register at edinburgh@almamercy.org or call 0131 343 3380.

Anecdote: “But I just want to leave a committed life behind.” Two months before his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to his congregation at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta about his death in what would oddly enough become his eulogy. “Every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral,” Dr. King told his congregation. “If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize; that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards; that is not important. I’d like someone to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr.  tried to give his life serving others. I’d like someone to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr.  tried to love somebody. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to be able to say that I did try to visit those in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.” Dr. King concluded with these words: “I won’t have any money left behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind.” [Henry Hampton and Steve Fayer with Sarah Flynn, Voices of Freedom (New York: Bantam Books, 1990), pp. 470-471.] — Did Martin Luther King, Jr., have that level of commitment when he first began his ministry? It is doubtful. He had youthful enthusiasm to be sure. He had strong convictions. He was well brought up, with an outstanding Baptist preacher as a father. But people who are truly captured by the spirit of Christ become so generally after years of walking in Christ’s footsteps. Our Faith is validated and grows as we “come and see.” (Rev. King Duncan). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)