Through the desert, God leads us to freedom

Pollok salutes young faith graduates

By Brian Swanson

The gowns, mortar boards and happy faces are familiar, but for these young members of the St Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic community in Glasgow this was a graduation with a difference, as they marked the completion of an incredible 13 years of faith formation.

Such devotion to their faith will come as no surprise to those who know the Glasgow Kerala Christian Community who settled into a permanent place of worship and residence in St Conval’s Pollok in 2018 after several years of using other buildings for their worship.

Now 400-strong and with a firm focus on family, Mass, scripture, community, the catechism and the importance of marriage and faith development of children, they gather every Sunday to celebrate Mass in their native Malayalam language.

The new graduates began studying catechism at a young age, helped by twelve catechists, and have to pass two written exams a year.

Monsignor Hugh Bradley, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese was on hand to preside at the graduation. He said: “What an amazing witness of faith these young people give.

“Their commitment to study, their infectious enthusiasm, their deep faith and their boundless joy are truly remarkable.

“They are a great credit to their families and parish and a treasure for the Archdiocese of Glasgow which we are so glad they have made their home.”

There are currently 159 children who regularly attend the classes helped by 26 trained volunteer catechists.

The graduation ceremony took place in St Conval’s Hall and was presided over by Father Martin Kane, Parish Priest of St. Conval’s, a strong supporter of the Syro-Malabar community who, along with the late Archbishop Tartaglia, was instrumental in making the church their permanent place of worship.

Father Kane said:”We were delighted to welcome the new community and remain grateful for their presence, vibrancy, and contribution to the parish. Under the care of Fr Binu, the mission director, the community continues to flourish in both faith and numbers.”

Father Binu said: “We are proud of our students for showing such commitment on their faith journey. We will always have gratitude for the help and encouragement from the community of St Conval’s and all our friends in Glasgow and throughout Scotland.”

Wee Box – big challenge for Lent

By Ronnie Convery

SCIAF supporters Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh took to the streets of Glasgow to ask people to show their care for some of the world’s poorest people this Lent.

The couple helped SCIAF launch its annual WEE BOX, BIG CHANGE appeal, which raises vital funds for its life-changing work in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 

Each year generous Scots up and down the country give up a favourite treat such as coffee, chocolate, wine or crisps during Lent and put the money they save into a SCIAF WEE BOX.

They then donate it at Easter to provide a hand-up to vulnerable communities worldwide, struggling to survive due to hunger, poverty and the climate emergency.

This year, SCIAF’s appeal focusses on the people of Rwanda, 30 years on from the genocide which left around one million people dead.

Ricky said: “Having seen first-hand some of the programmes that SCIAF are involved in made us realise how important it is to support the ongoing work of SCIAF.

 “We are continually amazed at the difference that the WEE BOX makes – even tiny amounts make a huge change.”

Lorraine Currie, SCIAF’s Chief Executive said: “Our Lent appeal this year is so important.  There are so many wars and tragic things happening all over our world, which we witness every day on our television screens. But there are also ongoing struggles and injustices in countries across the world that we don’t hear much about, like in Rwanda. 

“SCIAF’s work across Rwanda, driven by donations from the people of Scotland, focuses on supporting women and girls who have suffered abuse and discrimination. Working through local Rwandan organisations, SCIAF is supporting projects which help women and girls rebuild their lives, change social attitudes, and build a better future for themselves and their families.”

For more details on how to donate, please visit www.sciaf.org.uk/weebox Or, to donate £5, you can text SCIAF to 70480.

Light shines afresh on St Gabriel’s

By Brian Swanson

A set of historic stained-glass windows, newly installed in St Gabriel’s church in Merrylee and now flooding the building with light, have become the symbol of a remarkable parishioner-led revival of faith in the south side parish.

Kept in storage after being removed from the old Our Lady and St Margaret’s church in Kinning Park which closed 40 years ago, the fitting of the 120-year-old windows is the culmination of a project which has not only transformed the church artistically but led to increased attendances at Masses.

Like so many other parishes numbers fell dramatically after Covid until a group of parishioners got together vowing to revitalise their community, restore confidence and rebuild relationships.

Parish Priest Father Michael Woodford said: “When I look around the church and see the changes – the windows, the repainting of the church and so on - I can’t help but be extremely proud of the parishioners who threw themselves into it all with such enthusiasm.

“In turn, and this is what is important, we are seeing greatly increased attendances, more young families and people returning – especially after we took the decision to change Mass times.”

The project began with that most cherished of institutions – the church coffee morning.

Over the weeks several initiatives were put in place included producing a regular newsletter asking for ideas which initially included a plan to build benches outside the church to allow people to gather after Mass in good weather.

Next, they looked at church refurbishment and after being told by retired parish Father Brian McNaught, who is resident in St Gabriel’s, that the OLSM windows were in storage and could be available, the parish group set about making plans to acquire them.

They noted that replacing the windows would be done not only for aesthetic reasons but, in the spirit of Laudato Si, energy saving as well.

They approached Archbishop Nolan who readily gave his permission for them to be used in St Gabriel’s which first opened for worship almost 70 years ago.

Father Woodford said: ”We were given eight full windows divided into sections – so 24 in all with the largest being a representation of St Therese of Lisieux.

“We invited people to sponsor each one at £500 for a large section and £250 for a smaller one to defray costs and they were snapped up very quickly.

“We were fortunate that a parishioner has a double glazing company so that was a big help.

“But before they were out in place they had to be thoroughly and carefully cleaned so we had teams of volunteers spending days removing generations of dirt from them and the result is quite magnificent”.

St Gabriel’s is not the only church to have OLSM windows – some have been installed in Ayr Cathedral in the Diocese of Galloway while others have been gifted to Motherwell diocese.

Through the desert, God leads us to freedom

By Pope Francis

Dear brothers and sisters,

When our God reveals himself, his message is always one of freedom: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

The exodus from slavery to freedom is no abstract journey. If our celebration of Lent is to be concrete, the first step is to desire to open our eyes to reality.

When the Lord calls out to Moses from the burning bush, he immediately shows that he is a God who sees and, above all, hears…

Today too, the cry of so many of our oppressed brothers and sisters rises to heaven.

Let us ask ourselves: Do we hear that cry? Does it trouble us? Does it move us? All too many things keep us apart from each other, denying the fraternity that, from the beginning, binds us to one another…

Earth, air and water are polluted, but so are our souls. True, Baptism has begun our process of liberation, yet there remains in us an inexplicable longing for slavery. A kind of attraction to the security of familiar things, to the detriment of our freedom.

Let us ask: Do I want a new world? Am I ready to leave behind my compromises with the old? The witness of many of my brother bishops and a great number of those who work for peace and justice has increasingly convinced me that we need to combat a deficit of hope that stifles dreams and the silent cry that reaches to heaven and moves the heart of God.

This “deficit of hope” is not unlike the nostalgia for slavery that paralysed Israel in the desert and prevented it from moving forward.

An exodus can be interrupted: how else can we explain the fact that humanity has arrived at the threshold of universal fraternity and at levels of scientific, technical, cultural, and juridical development capable of guaranteeing dignity to all, yet gropes about in the darkness of inequality and conflict.

God has not grown weary of us. Let us welcome Lent as the great season in which he reminds us: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

This, however, entails a struggle… We can become attached to money, to certain projects, ideas or goals, to our position, to a tradition, even to certain individuals. Instead of making us move forward, they paralyse us. Instead of encounter, they create conflict…

It is time to act, and in Lent, to act also means to pause. To pause in prayer, in order to receive the word of God, to pause like the Samaritan in the presence of a wounded brother or sister…

Slow down, then, and pause! The contemplative dimension of life that Lent helps us to rediscover will release new energies. In the presence of God, we become brothers and sisters, more sensitive to one another: in place of threats and enemies, we discover companions and fellow travelers. This is God’s dream, the promised land to which we journey once we have left our slavery behind…

I invite every Christian community to do just this: to offer its members moments set aside to rethink their lifestyles, times to examine their presence in society and the contribution they make to its betterment.

Woe to us if our Christian penance were to resemble the kind of penance that so dismayed Jesus. To us too, he says: “Whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting”.

Instead, let others see joyful faces, catch the scent of freedom and experience the love that makes all things new, beginning with the smallest and those nearest to us. This can happen in every one of our Christian communities.

Allow me to repeat what I told the young people whom I met in Lisbon last summer: “Keep seeking and be ready to take risks. At this moment in time, we face enormous risks; we hear the painful plea of so many people. Indeed, we are experiencing a third world war fought piecemeal.

“Yet let us find the courage to see our world, not as being in its death throes but in a process of giving birth, not at the end but at the beginning of a great new chapter of history. We need courage to think like this.”

I bless all of you and your Lenten journey.

Franciscus