FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 26th MAY – 2nd JUNE 2024
Last Sunday I celebrated the 1st Holy Communion Mass in St Mungo’s. The previous Saturday I celebrated the 1st Holy Communion Mass in St Roch’s. While there is always a certain amount of chaos around these Masses, both were lovely occasions, and I appreciated the work of those who had helped prepare the children, whether at home, at school, or in church, to ensure that the celebrations would go well. Also last Sunday, my grand-nephew was celebrating his 1st Holy Communion. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get to the Mass, as I had been able to do for his brother a couple of years previously, but I was able to join the family afterwards for the final hour of the party, and it was good to see them all and have a good catch-up. There were, apparently, 42 children in my grand-nephew’s group in an outlying part of the city. However, between the two sets of Holy Communions that I celebrated, involving three schools – St Roch’s, St Mungo’s and St Martin’s – there were only 25 children, which has a lot to do with the demographic in this part of the city, and I believe that next year the numbers will be significantly fewer. I don’t usually get into the numbers game, but I have been conscious this week of the results of the 2022 census being released, and the decline in the number of people, including Catholics, who consider themselves as being religious. For the first time, less than half of Scotland considers itself as having any kind of religion. So, who knows how this is all going to play out in the years ahead. All we can do is keep the faith, live the faith, and spread the faith as best we can, and leave the rest to God.
I have recently, on a few occasions, spent the night in St Roch’s presbytery. It’s not nearly ready yet for moving into, and there’s a fair bit of a journey to go yet until it becomes the new residence for the Passionists. The reason for my occupancy was that the house, church and hall were due to get an electrical and gas inspection, and on each occasion the contractors were going to be coming early in the morning. So, rather than having to travel in from Bishopbriggs in the early morning traffic, I brought down a few things, did a bit of basic food shopping, and made up a bed, in what will mostly likely be my own room once the renovations are done, and was well prepared to be on site for the workers’ dawn arrival. It gave me a feel for what it might be like living there, and it was fine. One noticeable difference, though, was the sound of traffic travelling along the Royston Road. In Bishopbriggs the only sounds we tend to hear are the twittering of birds in the wooded area out back, and the croaking of a rare breed of frogs that inhabits the pond just beyond my bedroom window. However, having been raised in Partick and Drumchapel, the sound of traffic is something that am well used to, and I find it easy to settle into the rhythm of the cars as being almost like a prayer mantra.
Next weekend I will be heading down to Selly Park in Birmingham to celebrate the Golden Jubilee Mass of a sister who used to be part of the retreat team in Minsteracres when I was novice master there back in the early 1990’s. I am looking forward to seeing a few of the sisters there whom I worked with during that time, having retained a great affection for them, and great memories of what they brought to Minsteracres during that period. I haven’t in fact seen them since 2010, when I was invited over from Dublin to give a retreat to the big, but mostly elderly community. I remember that when the retreat was over, I wasn’t able to fly back to Dublin, because a volcano had erupted in Iceland, sending an ash cloud into the air and halting air traffic throughout Europe. I stayed on a couple of days, indulged in a bit of city sightseeing in Birmingham, took a train up to Glasgow to visit the family, and then made my way back to Dublin by bus, ferry and train. Hopefully, there will be no such dramas next weekend. I didn’t fancy the drive, the train was too expensive, and so I am going by bus.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
Last Sunday I celebrated the 1st Holy Communion Mass in St Mungo’s. The previous Saturday I celebrated the 1st Holy Communion Mass in St Roch’s. While there is always a certain amount of chaos around these Masses, both were lovely occasions, and I appreciated the work of those who had helped prepare the children, whether at home, at school, or in church, to ensure that the celebrations would go well. Also last Sunday, my grand-nephew was celebrating his 1st Holy Communion. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get to the Mass, as I had been able to do for his brother a couple of years previously, but I was able to join the family afterwards for the final hour of the party, and it was good to see them all and have a good catch-up. There were, apparently, 42 children in my grand-nephew’s group in an outlying part of the city. However, between the two sets of Holy Communions that I celebrated, involving three schools – St Roch’s, St Mungo’s and St Martin’s – there were only 25 children, which has a lot to do with the demographic in this part of the city, and I believe that next year the numbers will be significantly fewer. I don’t usually get into the numbers game, but I have been conscious this week of the results of the 2022 census being released, and the decline in the number of people, including Catholics, who consider themselves as being religious. For the first time, less than half of Scotland considers itself as having any kind of religion. So, who knows how this is all going to play out in the years ahead. All we can do is keep the faith, live the faith, and spread the faith as best we can, and leave the rest to God.
I have recently, on a few occasions, spent the night in St Roch’s presbytery. It’s not nearly ready yet for moving into, and there’s a fair bit of a journey to go yet until it becomes the new residence for the Passionists. The reason for my occupancy was that the house, church and hall were due to get an electrical and gas inspection, and on each occasion the contractors were going to be coming early in the morning. So, rather than having to travel in from Bishopbriggs in the early morning traffic, I brought down a few things, did a bit of basic food shopping, and made up a bed, in what will mostly likely be my own room once the renovations are done, and was well prepared to be on site for the workers’ dawn arrival. It gave me a feel for what it might be like living there, and it was fine. One noticeable difference, though, was the sound of traffic travelling along the Royston Road. In Bishopbriggs the only sounds we tend to hear are the twittering of birds in the wooded area out back, and the croaking of a rare breed of frogs that inhabits the pond just beyond my bedroom window. However, having been raised in Partick and Drumchapel, the sound of traffic is something that am well used to, and I find it easy to settle into the rhythm of the cars as being almost like a prayer mantra.
Next weekend I will be heading down to Selly Park in Birmingham to celebrate the Golden Jubilee Mass of a sister who used to be part of the retreat team in Minsteracres when I was novice master there back in the early 1990’s. I am looking forward to seeing a few of the sisters there whom I worked with during that time, having retained a great affection for them, and great memories of what they brought to Minsteracres during that period. I haven’t in fact seen them since 2010, when I was invited over from Dublin to give a retreat to the big, but mostly elderly community. I remember that when the retreat was over, I wasn’t able to fly back to Dublin, because a volcano had erupted in Iceland, sending an ash cloud into the air and halting air traffic throughout Europe. I stayed on a couple of days, indulged in a bit of city sightseeing in Birmingham, took a train up to Glasgow to visit the family, and then made my way back to Dublin by bus, ferry and train. Hopefully, there will be no such dramas next weekend. I didn’t fancy the drive, the train was too expensive, and so I am going by bus.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
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