In the 2nd reading, St Paul says that what was written in the past in Scripture (our Old Testament) was written “that we might have hope”. The stories and the prophecies are there so we might have hope – and persevere. We can add: Advent is here so we might have hope. When Christ is born, when there is a baby in the crib, it’s faith that’s asked of us: this baby is Emmanuel. But in Advent it’s hope. And all life is Advent. The whole Christian life is one of hopeful waiting, and so is the whole Church’s life: “as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Every Mass, every Eucharist is a cry for the Kingdom to come. Continue reading

Today we’re celebrating an individual, a fisherman from Lake Galilee, a chosen disciple of Jesus, a 1st century Jew with a Greek name, Andrew (meaning “manly”). With time, he’s become patron of our country, and of others too. But he wasn’t an isolated individual. He was an Apostle. He was one of the Twelve. Jesus formed a core group around him: his gang, if you like, his circle, his set, his band, his mates. They went about together. They were “all together” in one place when the Holy Spirit came on them at Pentecost. The Liturgy of the Church calls them a company or a choir. “College” is another word. They are important as individuals, but they’re important as a group. Continue reading

Today is the last great feast of the liturgical year.

At the Annunciation, the angel tells Mary that her son will be given the throne of his father David. At the Epiphany, we see him seated on his mother’s lap receiving the homage of wise men. Then, when he begins to preach, Jesus sits down on the hill, with his immediate disciples around him like courtiers and beyond them the wider group of the crowd. There Jesus, as it were, promulgates his manifesto: the beatitudes – the royal way to happiness. Continue reading

There’s so much “seeing” in today’s readings.

First of all, in the Apocalypse, John sees – “I John saw”. He sees into heaven. He sees an angel stamping a seal on the 144,000 servants of God, “out of all the tribes of Israel”. Then “after that, I saw”. He sees again a number impossible to count “out of every nation”. Continue reading

On this day in 1976, in St Peter’s, Rome, John Ogilvie was canonized. There’s a full account in the Scottish Catholic Directory of 1978, pp. 432-437. Andrew Mann read the 1st reading and Colin Stewart, here tonight as Dean, was there too, a new student in the Scots College. Last Sunday, 13 October 2019, in Rome, another John was canonized, John Henry Newman – the first canonization of a Brit since our local hero, 43 years ago. It was good to be there. Tonight, rather than speak about either John directly, let me say something about the Catholic practice of canonization. What’s it about? Continue reading

Today we keep the anniversary of the dedication of this Cathedral. It’s great to have Sunday for this. In the Gospel, Jesus clears the temple. He’s asked for a sign. He replies: ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will rebuild it.’ He was speaking, says St John, of the temple of his body. The sign was his resurrection on the third day. The sign was his victory over death. Continue reading