St John Ogilvie's RC Church, Edinburgh

Welcome to St John Ogilvie's.
This week we celebrate
the 7th Sunday of Easter

A wee reminder: Masses next week are on Saturday at 6.30pm and Sunday at 10.00am. Booking is still necessary and bookings should be made by Wednesday 19th May 2021. Booking requests to .

Mgr. Tony Duffy

On Wednesday last we received the sad news o f the death of Mgr. Duffy at the Western General Hospital. Ordained in 1973, Mgr. Duffy served in a number of parishes in Edinburgh. He was assistant at both St Paul’s Muirhouse and St Cuthbert’s before his appointment as Parish Priest to St Cuthbert’s, Currie and Ratho. He also served as Chaplain to St Augustine’s High School, director of the Lourdes Pilgrimage and Treasurer of the Archdiocese. He gave his all. May he Rest in Peace and enjoy his reward as a good and Faithful Servant.

Please click the button below to see tributes to Mgr Duffy on the Archdiocesan website.

Over the past few months, five of our young people have been involved in the Sacratmental programme preparing for First Holy Communion. We now plan to have First Communion on Sunday 20th June 2021 (subject to any Covid restrictions).

To learn more about the Sacramental Programme generally, click the button below.

Welcome

We welcome to God’s Family Mneka Anthonia Linda Odiokpu who was Baptised this week at St. John Ogilvie’s. Congratulations to her parents Emmanuel and Aimee of Hailesland Grove on the birth of their first child. May she bring you much joy and happiness in the years ahead.

Sponsor a White Flower for the Unborn

On Saturday, 22 May 2021, at Carfin Grotto, SPUC Scotland will display 14,000 white flower images, one for every child lost to abortion in Scotland in one year, to create a ‘carpet of flowers for the unborn’. Bishop Toal will bless the physical display at 2pm. If you would like to sponsor a virtual flower, please visit www.whiteflower.org.uk or call SPUC Scotland (0141 221 2094) to make a donation.

Hello Everyone!

Father Tony will once again deliver his homily live now that the church has reopened for public worship. But you can still read it on this website. This week Father Tony gives us a reflection for the 7th Sunday of Easter. It can be found immediately below the Readings panel.

And just in case you've forgotten what Fr Tony looks like, here is a picture of him.

News from the Archdiocese

St Mary’s University:
Masters courses in Theology and Education will begin in September at the Gillis Centre Campus in Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, run by St Mary’s University in partnership with the Archdiocese. All information is available on the St Mary's University website: click here.

Marian Month of May:
Pope Francis is encouraging Catholics across the world to dedicate the Marian month of May to invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the end of the pandemic.

Laudato Si’ week:
This takes place from 16-24 May as part of the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical on caring for our common home. Resources and more information available by clicking here.

YouTube:
Archdiocesan online events are recorded and posted on YouTube - click here.

Offertory Collection

A number of parishioners have asked how they can support the parish at this time. Bank transfer is a simple and safe way to make a donation, either one-off or on a regular basis through standing order.

If you wish to use this method, here are the bank details:
Sort code: 80:02:27
Account: 00126337
Name: ST JOHN OGILVIES (use block capitals)
Bank: Bank of Scotland, Corstorphine.

Parishioners can set up the arrangements themselves whether it’s a one-off donation or a monthly standing order. The standing order can be cancelled at any time.

St. Andrew’s Children’s Society
Foster Care Fortnight
10th -23rd May 2021

There are many children across Scotland who need stable, loving families to care for them because their birth families are not able to provide the nurturing or safe environment that would allow them to flourish and become confident and well balanced adults. Could you provide the stability and love these children deserve? Would you like to hear more about whether fostering a child could be an option for you?

Contact us on 0131 454 3370 or info@standrews-children.org.uk St. Andrew’s Children’s Society

Mass Readings for 7th Sunday of Easter
(16 May 2021)

1st Reading

Acts 1:15-17,20-26 - "Let someone else take his office."

2nd Reading

1 John 4:7-10 - Anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him.

Gospel

John 17:11-19 - Father, keep those you have given me true to your name.

We cannot publish the readings here for copyright reasons but they can be found in full on Universalis.
Click button to go to Universalis.

A Homily from Fr Tony

Today is the Seventh Sunday of Easter

Jesus prays for us and sends us into the world.

The gospel for today is one in which it seems that Jesus is "doing" nothing. He is not healing anyone or working a miracle. He is not in the temple, synagogue or market place teaching or speaking to the crowds. He may not even be with his disciples; it seems that he is on his own. What he is doing is talking to God – Jesus is praying.

A friend of mine named Lito is a bishop in the Philippines. He shared with me one of his learning experiences. The Philippines has about 7,000 islands. The people on some islands are 100% Moslem, others 100% Christian and in others, mixed. Part of the Bishop’s pastoral care was to navigate his boat among these islands.

He arrived at an island where 3 men were mending their fishing nets. They greeted him and assured him he was welcome and that they were Christians. He asked them what prayers they say.

The bishop is impressed; but he is saddened when he learns that they do not know the Lord’s Prayer. He asks them what they say when they pray. The men replied saying the lift rtheir eyes to heaven and pray: "We are three, you are three, have mercy on us.” Appalled by the primitive nature of their prayer, my friend Lito the bishop set about teaching the fishermen the Lord’s Prayer. Though slow learners, the fishermen give it all they have. The following day he was happy to hear them go through the formula faultlessly.

Months later, as his boat passed by those islands again, the bishop recalled with pleasure the three fishermen, who are now able to pray, thanks to his patient efforts. Suddenly he sees three figures coming towards the boat. “Bishop,” they exclaim, “we hear your boat go past and come hurry, hurry to meet you.” “What is it you want?” asks the awestricken bishop.

“Bishop, we are so sorry. We forget lovely prayer. We say: ‘Our Father in heaven, holy be your name, your kingdom come…’ then we forget. Tell us prayer again.”

The chastened bishop replied, “Go back to your homes, my friends, and each time you pray, say, ‘We are three, you are three, have mercy on us!’”

Application
Today in bookshops there are numerous books telling us how to pray. These are written by men and women who try to teach a way to pray that blesses their own bias and suggesting that there is a particular way to pray. Indeed, there are some that might lead us to believe that it is a set of words that makes prayer valid. Yet, as my friend the Bishop learned, what’s important is not how or what we say but that we do pray. Prayer is our way of relating to God. It is about developing trust and faith in the One who longs to be close to us and who is there for us.

Prayer is not always easy and sometimes it can feel as if we are talking to ourselves or a brick wall. Jesus, in his prayer, shows his desire for us to be faithful and for us to persevere even when faced with great difficulty. Sometimes a formula for prayer can help us, and within our liturgy it is good that we know what the formula is so that we can all participate. What also matters, however, is that in our personal prayer we find the words that mean something to us, that make sense to us and enable us to grow in faith and in our relationship with our loving God.

To take time to be quiet, to collect together what is happening in our life and in our world and listen to God as he helps us to reflect on our Personal, Family, Community and World situation to discern what is the next right thing to do or not to do.

Faith is an enterprise which needs support of the past but also the willingness to take risks in the present. The past cannot provide solutions to all our needs. The time comes when the disciples must go through the door into the dark, without being sure if the future will confirm their choice to be the right one.

We are not called to be successful. We are called to be faithful.

Prayers

We pray for all those in our country and throughout the world suffering from the Coronavirus. May its victims and their families be strengthened by the support of our community of faith and restored soon to full health. We also pray for our leaders and medical personnel who deal with the virus. May we keep calm and may we join together in solidarity with care and compassion to tackle this scare. This we ask in confidence though Christ our Lord.

Please continue to pray The Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known
that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help,
or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother;
to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions,
but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.

Presents .....

'CANNONBALL CONVERSIONS'

The Edinburgh Jesuit Centre is delighted to announce a series of talks to mark the 500th anniversary of the 'Cannonball Moment during the Battle of Pamplona in 1521' resulting in the conversion of St Ignatius of Loyola. On the 18th May we welcome The Jesuit Superior General's Secretary for the Service of the Faith, James Hanvey SJ to discuss what the conversion of Ignatius means for us. Our final talk takes place on the 25th of May and we are pleased to welcome the British Ambassador to the Holy See, Sally Axworthy MBE.

"St Ignatius of Loyola's conversion following the Battle of Pamplona",
James Hanvey, SJ
(The Jesuit General's Secretary for the Service of the Faith)

Tuesday 18th May at 7.30pm on Zoom

"Ecological Conversion Co-operation between the UK & the Vatican"
Ambassador Sally Axworthy MBE
(British Ambassador to the Holy See)

Tuesday 25th May at 7.00pm on Zoom

For more details and information about how to join on Zoom please click here.

Special Prayers to use
when you cannot attend a funeral

These Special Prayers can dowloaded as a PDF document by - clicking here.

Please also visit the Archdiocesan website for up-to-date information from the Archbishop.

We support these organisations. You can help too.
Click the buttons to learn more.

St John Ogilvie's

Website Privacy Statement

St John Ogilvie's is a Roman Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The parish owns, manages and is responsible for this website.

We do not use cookies on this website and we do not use any analytical services to collect statistical information. At the present time we do not collect any personal information through the site via contact forms, registration forms or the like. We may, however, from time to time wish to collect personal information through these means and in that event we will extend the privacy statement to cover how we process any personal information so collected.

This website provides links to other websites. While on these sites, the operators of the linked websites may collect information about you. Because we do not control the information policies or practices of these third parties, you should review their privacy policies to learn more about how they collect and use personally identifiable information.

This website also includes embedded material - videos from YouTube. Embedded content from other websites behaves in exactly the same way as if the visitor had visited the other website. We do not receive any information from these other websites.

Any search engine you have used to find St John Ogilvie's website and the browser you use to visit the site will doubtless use cookies and/or analytical tools. We do not control the information policies or practices of these third parties and we do not receive any information from them when you access St John Ogilvie's website.

In short, St John Ogilvie's does not presently collect any personal or anonymous information from or about visitors to this site.

Scottish Parliamentary Elections 2021

Putting Human Life and Dignity at the Centre

A letter from the Catholic Bishops of Scotland

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This election presents us with an opportunity to play our part in putting human life and the inviolable dignity of the human person at the centre of Scotland’s political discourse.

We often see politics through a party prism, which can create a divisive, and occasionally fractious, political environment. Whilst party politics can be an important consideration, particularly in the Scottish Parliament list system, it is individuals who will make up the parliament and form a government; and some of the most important issues, including abortion and assisted suicide, are commonly decided by a conscience, or free, vote. Therefore, it is critical to ascertain candidates’ personal values and opinions and not concentrate solely on party policies.

As Catholics we have a duty: to share the Gospel and to help form the public conscience on key moral issues. It is a duty of both faith and citizenship. This election is an opportunity to be the effective witness our Baptism calls us to be. The new parliament and government will be tasked with leading the recovery from the damage wrought by the current health crisis and to tackle the significant impact it has had on many aspects of life including health care, mental health and wellbeing, religious freedom, and care for the poor. It must also build on the positives arising from the Pandemic, including caring for the most vulnerable, and a renewed sense of respect for human life, human dignity, and the value of community.

These are some of the issues you may want to consider in the forthcoming election:

Beginning and end of life
It is the duty of parliamentarians to uphold the most basic and fundamental human right to life. Elected representatives ought to recognise the existence of human life from the moment of conception and be committed to the protection of human life at every stage. Caring for the unborn and their mothers is a fundamental measure of a caring and compassionate society; a society which puts human dignity at the centre.

We ought to be mindful of a further attempt to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland, likely to happen in this parliament. Legalising assisted suicide or euthanasia suggests that some lives are not worth living, contrary to the Christian belief that every life has equal dignity and value. It is incumbent upon our parliamentarians to show compassion for the sick and dying. This is not achieved by assisted suicide or euthanasia but by ensuring support is provided through caring and attentive politics, including investment in palliative care.

Family and Work
Society relies on the building block of the family to exist and flourish. The love of man and woman in marriage and openness to new life is the basic, fundamental cell upon which every society is built. The wellbeing of Scotland and its future depends on the flourishing of family life and government should respond to this reality with policies creating economic and fiscal advantages for families with children.

The pandemic has placed immeasurable pressure on businesses and many people have lost their livelihood. The state has a duty to sustain business activities by creating conditions which will ensure job opportunities, especially in times of crisis. This must be accompanied by a just wage to provide a dignified livelihood for the worker and their family.

Poverty, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery
Sadly, poverty remains a scourge for too many people. The marginalised, the homeless, and the lonely and isolated have been cast further adrift because of the pandemic. And poverty now affects 24% of children in Scotland. We need elected representatives who respect a preferential option for the poor, who are willing to prioritise their need and respect their human dignity.

Our government must also work with the international community to adopt an even more effective strategy against human trafficking and modern slavery, so that in every part of the world, men and women may no longer be used as a means to an end, and that their inviolable dignity will always be respected.

Environment
The next group of MSPs will be tasked with protecting our neighbours at home and abroad from the poverty and climate crises which continue to rage on. In November Glasgow will play host to the COP26 international climate change summit. We should listen to Pope Francis’ call to ‘hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ by lifting up the voices of the global south and coming together to rebuild our Common Home in a way that leaves no-one behind. Scotland can also demonstrate global leadership by strengthening its commitment to becoming a carbon neutral country.

Free speech, free expression, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion
If Scotland is to be a tolerant, open, diverse country then we must be free to discuss and debate ideas, even those which are deemed by some to be controversial. Whilst being mindful of the need to protect citizens from hate, government must not overstep into the realm of unjust restrictions on free speech, free expression and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This must include, among others, the freedom to express belief in the biological reality of sex and gender.

Catholic schools
The right of parents to choose a school for their children which corresponds to their own convictions is fundamental. Public authorities have a duty to guarantee this parental right and to ensure the concrete conditions for its exercise. Thus, parliamentarians ought to continue to support an open and diverse state education system which includes Catholic schools.

We pray that this election will put human life and the dignity of the human person at the centre, and that candidates will ensure debate is respectful and courteous.

We urge you to visit the website rcpolitics.org and to use the resources there to help you in your consideration of election issues and to use the tools available to question candidates.

+ Hugh Gilbert, President, Bishop of Aberdeen
+ John Keenan, Vice President, Bishop of Paisley
+ Brian McGee, Episcopal Secretary, Bishop of Argyll and the Isles
+ Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh
+ Joseph Toal, Bishop of Motherwell
+ Stephen Robson, Bishop of Dunkeld
+ William Nolan, Bishop of Galloway
Monsignor Hugh Bradley, Archdiocesan Administrator, Archdiocese of Glasgow

Contact Us

The church is located on Murrayburn Drive, Edinburgh.

The parish house is next to the church at:-

159 Sighthill Drive
Edinburgh
EH11 4PY.

Telephone: 0131 453 5035

Email:

Click here for MAP of area.

Welcome to St John Ogilvie's.This week we celebratethe 7th Sunday of Easter

A wee reminder: Masses next week are on Saturday at 6.30pm and Sunday at 10.00am. Booking is still necessary and bookings should be made by Wednesday 19th May 2021. Booking requests to document.write('<a href="mailto:'+first + '@' + last+'">'+first + '@' + last+'<\/a>'); .