Sunday Missal:  Palm Sunday Year A – Page 234; Gospel Page 236; Passion Page 252

 

Teas and Coffees available after Mass on Sunday.

 

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week:

·         Burntisland and Kinghorn Churches Together Palm Sunday Walk of Witness will start from Burntisland Church at the Kirkgate at 2.00pm, finishing at the Erskine Church, where there will be a short service. All welcome.

·         No Mass on Tuesday because of Chrism Mass (see below).

·         Good Friday is a day of Fast and Abstinence.

·         The Easter Vigil Mass will be at 8.00pm, followed by refreshments in the hall.

 

 

 

Chrism Mass: The Chrism Mass takes place at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh at 7:00pm on Tuesday 31 March. Archbishop Cushley will consecrate/bless the holy oils that will be used in parishes throughout the coming year and priests from across the Archdiocese will renew their priestly promises to serve God & His people.

 

The Paschal Triduum:  The Three Days (Triduum) from Holy Thursday evening to Easter Sunday are the holiest days of the year and form a three-part celebration of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. We are invited to participate in the ceremonies of these days, that Holy Week may indeed be a holy time in our parish and our homes. On Holy Thursday we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, commemorating the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood, as well as Jesus’ command of love and service. Afterwards we are invited to watch and pray at the Altar of repose, recalling Christ’s agony in Gethsemane. On Good Friday the Solemn Liturgy of the Passion enables us to contemplate the loving sacrifice of Jesus. We wait, then, throughout Holy Saturday until, with the lighting of the Easter fire at the beginning of the Easter Vigil, we celebrate the resurrection and, in the liturgy, recall the history of our salvation and are drawn into the joy of the whole Church as she celebrates her Risen Lord.

 

SCIAF Wee Boxes should be returned as soon as possible.

 

New Offertory Envelopes are available in the porch. If you can give your contributions through the bank, please consider setting up a Standing Order (RBS - Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh St Josephs Parish – Account: 10417077 - Sort Code: 83 06 08). If you are a UK Taxpayer and are willing to Gift Aid your offerings, please see Fr James.

 

Diocesan structures in Scotland: Statement from the Bishops Conference of Scotland

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Following a request from the Holy See, the Bishops of Scotland have been invited to reflect on how the structures of the Church in our country can best serve her mission in the years ahead, specifically whether the present situation of eight dioceses is suitable. We are all aware of the challenges before us — fewer clergy, changing patterns of practice, and increasing pressures on our diocesan resources, among other things. Yet our mission remains unchanged: to proclaim the Gospel and to lead our people to Christ.
Two possible pathways are being proposed for careful discernment: developing deeper cooperation and the sharing of resources across dioceses within our present structures, or the merging of some dioceses. In order to best inform ourselves and the Holy See, each bishop will engage with his diocese over the coming months for the first part of this process. Everyone will be given the opportunity to pray, reflect, and contribute. Following on from the presentation of a discussion paper, responses from each diocese will contribute to the initial findings which will be given to the Holy See in the Autumn. This is not simply an administrative exercise. It is a pastoral and missionary response to our changing landscape. This process will ensure our Church in Scotland will continue to grow ever more missionary, more Christ-centred, and more collaborative in the service of God’s people. Entrusting this work to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to the intercession of Our Lady, we move forward together with confidence and renewed hope.

Anecdote:  Hurray to  Marconi!: When the ‘Unsinkable’ Titanic sank in the abyss of the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, 1517 people lost their lives. However, 705 people escaped death thanks to the radio communication established between Titanic and Carpathia. When the radio message was received by RMS Carpathia, a transatlantic passenger steamship, it raced at high speeds to pick up the survivors in lifeboats. When Carpathia arrived in New York, Marconi who had invented and introduced radio communication, was at the port to receive the survivors. When the survivors heard that Marconi was there, they sang his praises saying he was their ‘saviour’ and they thronged to see him. — Two thousand years ago people sang the praises of Jesus in Jerusalem, and they thronged to see him when they found out he had come to save them from their sins and give them new life. (Fr. Jose. P, CMI).  (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)