Page 2 - LOTN Spring Issue 46 2021

DIOCESE

Contents

DIOCESE
News from around the Diocese including: ver the past year we've become used to the phrase
"the new normal" to describe what life may be like
A letter from Bishop Hugh OSB.......................................... 3 Oafter the Covid pandemic. While there are plenty
OBITUARY of differing opinions as to what shape the "new normal"
Very Rev. Canon Raymond Coyle RIP might take, no one is in any doubt that life is never going
Sr Moira Donnelly RIP ..........................................................10 to be quite the same again.
WITNESS While it may be natural to want to return to regular routines
Trainee priests, Quynh Tran and Anh Nguyen ....................11 and living habits, do we really want to get back to our former
EDUCATION AND FORMATION understanding of what normal is? Surely we have to hope that we
have learnt something from this pandemic? I am sure that many
Pluscarden Abbey's "Sleeping Joseph".............................12 people have used these enforced periods of lockdown to reassess
Seeking the Face of the Lord ............................................ 14 their lifestyle and to re-evaluate their priorities. Amidst all the
Praying the Rosary ............................................................... 15 fear and anxiety with which we have been living under during
FAITH AND CULTURE this last year, and all the suffering and heartache that Covid has
Wiara ratunkiem w czasie pandemii...................................17 unleashed, there have also been times for reflection; moments
Saving grace of faith during a pandemic ..................... 18 which, in our frenetic pre-Covid existence, sometimes seemed
hard to come by. There have been times when we have been
Ogłoszenia/ Polish Announcements ................................ 19 able to reflect on our real needs as human beings: our precious
Christ is Risen! Alleluia, Alleluia! ...................................... 20 relationships; the importance of fulfilling and meaningful
Holy Stones and St Nathalan ............................................ 21 work; the need to care for others and for our environment;
Dante: a prophet of hope .................................................. 23 the recognition of the inevitably hopeless task of attempting to
Churches of the Diocese of Aberdeen ........................... 25 fill that "God shaped hole" in the human heart with heaps of
Oratories of the Valais ......................................................... 28 consumer clutter.
No, we don't really want to return to life as we knew it.
Thomas Tallis: The greatest composer of his age ....... 30 Rather, we must value this opportunity which we have, through
A lesson from a little tomato plant ................................. 31 our faith in Jesus Christ, to fully realise the "new normal" which
Erse Verse in Strathglass ..................................................... 32 he brought into the world over 2,000 years ago, and which we
Lighting a candle for the men of the Cabrach ........... 33 are celebrating this Easter.
The Cockatiel’s Story ........................................................... 34 And, to help you celebrate this, the most important feast in
Thinking out loud ................................................................. 35 the Church's year, the Light of the North has 39 pages of news
and features by contributors from all over the Diocese. Bishop
Food and Faith - Mangalorean Chicken Curry ............ 36 Hugh Gilbert OSB strikes a positive note on "The Road back
HUMOUR ................................................................................. 38 from Emmaus" (p3) and Br Joseph Carron OSB reflects on
CROSSWORD ......................................................................... 39 what we can learn from the dreams of St Joseph (p12). Also,
in this issue, Lidia Konar has interviewed some of our Polish
This vibrant stained glass window illustrates
up the scene from the Gospel of Matthew when parishioners on the "Saving grace of faith during a pandemic"
(p17). Eileen Grant shows how Mary Magdalene’s encounter
front an angel confronts Mary Magdalene and with the Risen Lord takes on a new, immediate significance
'the other Mary' at the empty tomb of Jesus.
in this time of Covid (p20) and Fr Domenico Zanrè on this,
the 700th anniversary of Dante's death, demonstrates how the
The window can be found in the English
Chapel of the Church of Christ the King poet's Divine Comedy continues to prove capable of instilling
in Bloomsbury, London. It was designed by the stained glass courage and hope (p23).
artist Lilian Pocock (1883-1974) who was also a theatrical
costume designer, book illustrator and watercolourist. A very happy Easter!
The photograph was taken by Fr Lawrence Lew OP.
Cowan

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