Page 2 - LOTN Advent issue 57

DIOCESE

Contents Patience a virtue, or

DIOCESE just a waste of time?
News from around the Diocese including:
Letter from Bishop Hugh Gilbert ...................................... 3 he first half of the Advent season is all about
Stella Maris Mass ......................................................................4 preparation for Christ's final return at the end of
Praise for dedicated SSVP president .................................... 5 Ttime, while the second half focuses on Christ's first
Completion of St Joseph's guest house .......................... 6 coming and preparing for Christmas. In this way the
Pluscarden abbatial election................................ 7 Church shows us that the end of the liturgical year and
Praying for creation ............................................................... 8 the beginning are really not so different: both are about
Rome Jubilee Pilgrimage ......................................................9 expectant and engaged waiting for Christ.
Aberdeen diocesan synod development .......................10 Unfortunately, waiting is not something that we do
Youth pilgrimage to Austria and Germany .....................11 particularly well. Indeed, the virtue of patience, of waiting,
is one which is increasingly less valued in a society where
Jubilee 2025 programme ...................................................15 are demands are expected to be met straightaway and
OBITUARY delivered by Amazon within 24 hours!
Fr Chris Brannan RIP .............................................................16 However, God does seem to make a habit of making us
FAITH IN ACTION wait, and when we look back on our lives we often find
Carlo, a saint for the 21st century ....................................17 that those periods of trial and waiting have been those
LITURGY which have produced the greatest personal growth: “Count
Advent or Christmas? .......................................................... 18 it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various
Bishop Hugh journeys through liturgical year........... 19 kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces
EDUCATION AND FORMATION steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”
Adoration: a moment of peace ........................................20 (James 1:2-4, ESV).
Birds in legend and symbol ............................................... 21 So God assures us that our waiting is not in vain, and we
FAITH AND CULTURE can have full confidence that he is at work to accomplish his
'Gregorian Chant' a misnomer? ....................................... 23 good purposes in us by his grace. We might also discover
A Bridgettine Mass ...................................................................... 24 that in that silent, prayerful waiting we may discover that,
Monastic Lessons from the Beeatitudes ..................... 25 far from us waiting for Him, the Lord has been waiting for
The enchanted Island of Egilsay ..................................... 26 you and for me. And from all eternity.
Priest who saved Lerwick from smallpox ........................ 27 And while we wait, we hope you'll find plenty in this
Witold Pilecki - A Hero for our Times........................ 30 issue to help you enter more fully into the Advent season
including Bishop Hugh's Letter (p3) where, in spite of the
Autumn reflection ................................................................ 33 dire situation of world affairs, he issues a clarion call for
Dishes from the Diocese - Graeme's Roast Venison .. 35 Advent-hope. Also, be inspired by Carlo Acutis, the young
MISCELLANY Italian boy who died at the age of fifteen from leukemia, and
ALLSORTS of Everything .................................................... 36 who will become the first millennial saint next year (p17).
CROSSWORD AND SUDOKU ............................................ 37 In addition, Kirsten Schouwenaars-Harms warns about the
pitfalls of merging the Advent and Christmas seasons (p18),
up Our cover features "The Census at Bethlehem" Fr Benedict Hardy OSB of Pluscarden Abbey reflects on the
occurance of bees and their honey in scripture (p25), and
by the Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel
front the Elder, painted in 1566. In the foreground are Hilde Bardell reacalls the remarkable priest, Fr Theophilus
Verstraeten, who saved Lerwick from smallpox (p27). And
Joseph and Mary who have come to Bethlehem
to be registered. Aside from being a religious painting the artist also there's lots more ...
provides us with a snapshot of everyday life in a 16th century village. A very blessed Advent.
It may also be one of the first paintings of a white Christmas! Cowan

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Deacon Tony Schmitz 07816344241
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Editor
Cowan Watson The Light of the North
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ABERDEEN
Editorial Advisor AB10 1SH
Dr Glen Reynolds www.lightofthenorth.org

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