St. Catherine Convent, Edinburgh, Mercy Centre 'Working with Homeless People'

Email from William:

 

God's cathedral in the park Sept14

        Fw: Cathedral in the park!

Sancta Maria Abbey: http://www.nunraw.com.uk (Website)   Blogspot :http://www.nunraw.blogspot.co.uk, domdonald.org.uk 

On Sunday, 14 September 2014, 14:43, William > wrote:

Dear Father Donald,

(Please see attached from my walk in the local park by the river)

... as the branches hold up their arches to our Creator..

... high above my seat in the cloister in the middle distance..

William.
From Donald:

Thank you William, your enlarging the presence of your walk in all dimensions.

Likewise my viewing of the Convent of Mercy opens every corner in the Church, (Virtual Tour).

Sisters A and C had the more details, and I worked about the photos and following questions.

Brief words to the pictures will  serve for the moment in the Blogspot draft.

.............

Life abundantly

Vocations

Sister Aelred of Homeless Project  

  http://www.mercycentre.org.uk/downloads/mercy_newsletter_2014.pdf  

Sisters of MercyWorking With Homeless People

'The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly', Jn. 10:10, (King James Bible). 

In the Church of St. Catherine's Convent of Mercy (4 Lauriston Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 9HH), the stained glass window on side above the Choir. I could not decipher the dedication and donor at that hight. In fact the success of the small camera reveals the details.

 Apse above the Tabernacle, Magdalene at the Cross painting.

 Choir-stalls - etching the set wood panels.

And the Church! superb etching on those panels - very intricate marquetry, and glorious colours on the stained glass. (William)

 Sr. Mary Aquin founder of the Convent.

 Enlarging t.he dedication and donor details

 I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly', Jn. 10:10, (KJB). 
Francis Mary Douglas Dick April 14 1898, convert, daughter of the Edinburgh Dick Veterinary Institute.

 Painting of artist commissioned by the builder. The artist saw the origial in Rome at St. Triduana church.
Question: hardly been the Crowned Madonna and Child?
The crowned woman raised the CROSS perhaps, St. Helen who found the Cross, Holy Sepulchre..

Medallion was at the foot of the altar on the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, 15 September. The image of the Visitation contains the embroidery made by one of the Sisters

++++++++++++++

This is where the rest of the story may continue after night sleep.

Dear Father Donald,

Thank you - I am so pleased for you that you enjoy opportunities of freedom-behind-the-wheel on such excursions! I am delighted to hear that all went well for Fr T. at the Eye Pavilion.
...

I wonder what your camera produced! Every excursion opens the eye of our lens. I walked down to the river yesterday and the vista, whilst not 'photographic', was a delight to behold: God's cathedral, with high vaulted ceiling between the avenue of trees!

...

I am taking so much delight from the OCSO postings from Assisi that you share with me. Thank you - most especially - for staying in touch with me, for including me in your view of life's horizon.

With much love in Our Lord,

William

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 Hide message history

----Original message----
From : Donald ....
Date : 13/09/2014 - 20:44 (GMTDT)
To : william ....
Subject : Alexandra Eye Pavilion

Dear William,

Another exciting chauffeur experience on Friday.

The patient, and Infirmarian were ferried to the Centre of Edinburgh.

Next to the Eye Pavilion, Sisters of St. Catherine's gave us access of parking.

A resident invited me for tea. In fact I was lead to the dining of the centre of Homeless People.

It was to take some time but I already had other exploration. I took a camera to do a virtual tour of the Church.

The Mercy Centre pictures need Power Point presentation, possibly by Sr. Aeled at times.

 ....... Donald

.

   From: William ...

 Dear Father Donald, 

Thank you for sharing your most enjoyable visit to the Convent.

The Convent is a fine building - and the work they do tremendous, reading the link you provided.

And the Church! superb etching on those panels - very intricate marquetry, and glorious colours on the stained glass. 

Many fascinating items to discover!

William

---Original message----

From : nunrawdonald@yahoo.com

          

  The link to the Blog of the General Chapter 2014 at Assisi:  http://o-c-s-o-gc-2014-assisi7.webnode.es/

A bumper issue for the General Chapter - Breath about fragility     

St. Bernard COMMENT: Vocations Crisis?

Fw: Vocation Crisis? WHAT Vocation Crisis? 8/19/14

 

Sancta Maria Abbey: http://www.nunraw.com.uk (Website)    
Blogspot :http://www.nunraw.blogspot.co.uk |

domdonald.org.uk 

On Tuesday, 19 August 2014, 8:42, Marcellino D'Ambrosio <info@crossroadsinitiative.com> wrote:

What Vocation Crisis? Ever hear of St. Bernard of Clairvaux?  We can’t afford to forget this incredible man whose feast is this Wednesday, August 20 (Which is also the birthday of our own Dr. Italy!).  After all, when he decided to enter religious life, he brought 35 relatives along with him, arriving at the door of the monastery all together on horseback.  If you’d like to see that kind of vocations surge, seek the intercession of St. Bernard and read this piece that reveals the passion that drove him to found over 40 monasteries full of new priests and brothers. (if the links don't work, just cut and paste www.dritaly.com into your browser) Love of Bridegroom and Bride - St. Bernard of Clairvaux Love of Bridegroom and Bride   St. Bernard of Clairvaux     This excerpt from a sermon of St. Bernard (Sermo 83, 4-6; Opera omnia, Edit. Cisterc 2 [1958], 300-302) treats of one of his favorite themes, the love relationship between God as bridegroom and the individual soul as bride, according the Song of Songs (otherwise known as the Canticle of Canticles or Song of Solomon).  It is used in the Roman Office of Readings for the memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux on Aug 20.  St. Bernard of  Clairvaux was clearly one of the greatest preachers of all time.  He was one of the early heroes of the Cistercian order of monks and, as abbot, founded over 40 monasteries and personally attracted hundreds to monastic life, including many of his relatives.  His magnetic preaching and exemplary character changed the lives of thousands and his writing continues today to inspire Christians everywhere.  His words were so sweet that he came to be known as the Melifluous ("full of honey") Doctor.  St. Bernard died in 1153 and was later proclaimed a saint and a Doctor of the Church.  His feast day in the Roman Calendar is August 20.   Love is sufficient of itself, it gives pleasure by itself and because of itself. It is its own merit, its own reward. Love looks for no cause outside itself, no effect beyond itself. Its profit lies in its practice. I love because I love, I love that I may love. Love is a great thing so long as it continually returns to its fountainhead, flows back to its source, always drawing from there the water which constantly replenishes it.

Archbishop. Good Shepherd Sunday

COMMENT: Vocations

 

Good Shepherd Sunday, 11 May 2014

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Every day I pray for priests who may be reading his letter to you at Mass. I pray that he will be the priest that he wished to be, and that he promised to be on the day of his ordination.

The priests of this Archdiocese are some of the hardest-working and most courageous priests I have met in my years of priesthood. While abroad, I personally knew an archbishop, two priests, a brother and a sister who were murdered as they lived and worked quietly among their people for the love of Jesus Christ. They had a certain kind of courage, and one which I hope may not be needed in our country. But our own priests, here today, also need a certain kind of courage, to proclaim the beauty of the Gospel with a pure heart, in a world that is inclined to consider most of 'what we do in a negative and even hostile light.

That is why I am writing to you today, on Good Shepherd Sunday, to ask you to join me in praying for the priest you see before you, for the priests you don't see working in the other parishes around you, and for the priests who have yet to come.

Our Lord says that the "fields are white" with the harvest of those who could believe and be saved. There is so much to be done, here and now, to proclaim the Good News of salvation to each other and to those around us. But it can only be achieved if the Lord sends us priests. They don't need to be very many, but they need to be good.

And so I ask you today to 'join me and my priests in praying tor priests. Every day I set aside a short time to pray to Our Lady for them, and I invite you to do the same, even the simplest prayer said once a clay, every day. Pray for them and pray that the Lord will send us good priests to help them.

1 also invite you to pray that the Lord will send us good and holy religious men and women from our families, not from elsewhere; and that he will foster in the hearts of more mature men the calling to become permanent deacons in our diocese.

Thirdly, I ask for your ongoing financial support for those training for the priesthood in our seminaries. The training of seminarians incurs a significant cost to the diocese, which is why we have the second collection today, but it is a cost that is worth it. Your generosity today is essential to the quality of the preparation they receive.

Above all, the Church is nothing without the Eucharist, and we have far too few priests for our present needs. Very shortly it will become necessary to amalgamate parishes throughout Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, partly for lack of priests, and we all know it will not be easy. However, if we keep our gaze fixed upon the Eucharist, and upon the necessity of gathering around it to celebrate the risen Lord in our midst, then we will pray more earnestly for our present and future priests, and we will surely encourage our priests in their important task.

With the heartfelt good wishes to you for Easter, I willingly impart to you and your loved

ones my Blessing.

+ Leo Cushley

Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh 

National Vocations Commission. PASTORAL LETTER FOR GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, 11th May 2014

Christ has no body but yours,

no hands, no feet on earth but yours,

yours are the eyes with which he looks

 compassion on this world.

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good:

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the

world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

yours are the eyes with which he looks

 compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Sr. Teresa of Avila

We are aJl members of the Body of Christ.

Are you being caJled by our Lord to service in his Church?

Call your Diocesan Director of Priestly Vocations, or visit www.priestsforscotland.org.uk

  

Bishop President of the National Vocations Commission.

PASTORAL LETTER FOR GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, 11th May 2014

My Dear People

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, named after the fact that traditionally today we have proclaimed to us the Gospel of the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd theme is a rich one throughout the Sacred Scriptures and none more so than when Jesus himself is spoken of as the Pastor. The adjective used in the Bible is 'kalon in Greek, which can mean good, faithful or beautiful. Personally I love the description of Jesus as the beautiful shepherd because beauty denotes attractiveness and perhaps that best sums up Jesus success in gathering together the 12. All the Gospel texts tell us that the fisher­disciples left their nets (some even say immediately) and follow him. Their call was a response to the Jesus whose personality had attracted them and they in turn were faithful in responding to him. True, often they would fail Jesus and not understand what he was trying to teach them. But their encounters with the Lord deepened their friendship with him and from being called in the fullness of time they were also sent. Having known him, having witnessed his deeds and his love-in-action he gradually formed them into Apostles, sent out to proclaim the Good Shepherd's truth and love to the world.

Today is also World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Pope Francis has this to say to us:

A vocation is a fruit that ripens in a well-cultivated field of mutual love that becomes mutual service, in the context of an authentic ecclesial life. No vocation is born of itself or lives for itself. A vocation flows from the heart of God and blossoms in the good soil of faithful people, in the experience of fraternal love. Did not Jesus say:

''By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (In 13:35)?

In other words the Call of Jesus requires a response. Also, the call is not for me alone, but so that I may be sent by the Lord. The call to be a priest, for example, is not for the individual who is called but so that this man, chosen by Christ can be sent to his brothers and sisters in the Church to love and serve them: to 'wash their feet', as the Lord has taught us.

Christ, the Good Shepherd, never ceases to call. But the filters and barriers and attractions and life-styles that young hearts sometimes experience can drown out the call of Jesus. So listening is necessary and listening, not just with the ears, but also with the heart. Listening with our heart is what we call prayer. And it is prayer that brings us to encounter Jesus again and again; it is prayer that enables us to show our fidelity and love for the Lord.

The call to priesthood and religious life is one call among many. But it is never a call to selfishness and self-indulgence. If service and self-offering love are not at the heart of it, then it will not be a genuine vocation. To answer a genuine vocation also needs courage and generosity and perseverance.

Do you have the capacity to love and serve others? Do you have the courage to try to follow Jesus in this dedicated way? Could Jesus the Good Shepherd possibly be calling you to follow him? You won't know the possibility is there until you consider it.

Yours devotedly in Christ

+ Stephen Robson

+ Bishop Stephen Robson

Bishop President of the National Vocations Commission.

 

Vocations - Novena of prayer with Saint Joseph, foster father of Jesus

Silhouette in the branches 

at Nunraw 

Each evening before Compline, in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, the Abbot leads the intercession and silent prayer for Vocations

Vocations at Nunraw Community,

Sancta Maria Abbey

+ Novena to St Joseph

11-19 March 2014m

In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

V.      Come to our aid, O God.
R.      O Lord, make haste to help us.

Almighty God, Father of mercies
and giver of all good gifts,
We honour you in your saints
and ask their help
in our many needs.

You promised that those who ask, would receive;
those who seek, would find;
those who knock,
would have the doors opened to them.

Hear the prayers of your church,
grant our requests,
and pardon our sins.
Amen.

Saint Joseph, just and true;
with a father's care
you raised your Child Jesus,
and with a husband's love
you shared your life with Mary, his mother.

We entrust ourselves to your care
and ask your intercession in our needs,
through your earthly Son,
our lord, Jesus Christ.

(Period of Silence to bring our own requests to God)

In your uncertainty in Nazareth long ago,
the Holy Spirit spoke to your heart
and, with great faith, you followed God's message.

In our own seeking of God's will,
and in the hard choices we must make,
help us to follow the Spirit's guidance
and to believe when we cannot see.

                  

(Then the prayer for each day)

Day 1
Let pray to be open to God's word in our daily lives.

(Silent pause)
O God,
guide of those who listen
and helper of those who respond to your voice,
speak to us, as you did to Saint Joseph,
and assist us to accomplish the things you give us to do.
Through Christ our Lord.

(Silent pause)

Day 2
Let us pray for those who live in uncertainty

(Silent pause)
Lord God,
in your love for your people
bless the ordinary lives of those who follow you.
As you guided Saint Joseph in his uncertainty,
bless what we do, however hidden and simple it may be,
and let all we do be done with love.
Through Christ our Lord.

(Silent pause)

Day 3
Let us pray for trust in God.
(Silent pause)
God our Father,
We believe you care for us,
that you remember us always,
and in time reveal your blessings.
Help us to trust in you,
as Saint Joseph faithfully looked to you for help.
May we never lose faith
in the great gifts
you bestow on us.
Through Christ our Lord.

(Silent pause)

Day 4

Let us pray for those who are getting ready to be married.
(Silent pause)
Father, help those who are preparing to marry.
Grant them pure love and a spirit of generous prayer.

Bless their marriage and their families,
and lead them always in your peace and  love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.   [p. 334]

(Silent pause)

Day 5

Let us pray for all who are involved in missionary work.
(Silent pause)

Father in heaven,
we thank you for calling us to be your people.
Send more workers into your harvest
to share your truth
and to lead us all to salvation.
Make your people strong
with your word and your sacraments.
We ask this grace
in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ..

(

Silent pause)

Day 6
Let us pray for more vocations to the parishes of our country,
(Silent pause)

Lord, send more priests, lay assistants and parish volunteers
that the daily needs of your people may be served
to the glory of your name and the good
and salvation of your people.  [p 334]
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

(Silent pause)

Day 7
Let us pray for fathers and mothers.

(Silent pause)

God, our Father,
give your fatherly spirit
to those who are parents.
Give them hearts of devoted love
for each other as Joseph and Mary had,
and for their children.
Give them patience and perseverance in their love
and forgiveness to each other
when they fall through misunderstanding or failings.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

(Silent pause)

Day 8
Let us pray for those who have been made homeless

(Silent pause)

Give shelter, O God,
to those who have been driven from their homes.
Bring together families who have been separated.
Give them enough to eat,
and decent work to earn to earn their bread.
Lord, care for all of us in need.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

(Silent pause)

Day 9
Let us remember all in any need
(Silent pause)

Lord, Bless all our families and friends,
especially those in need.
Remembering the life of your Son,
we pray for the poor,
for those who lack a good home,
and for those in exile.
Grant them a protector in St Joseph.

(Silent pause)

Each day conclude the novena with one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be.

http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/9days/stjoseph.html

Appreciated from - The Passionist Missionaries.  

 [Adapted]