Feasts & Holy Days

A tiny fragment of Mark's gospel known as Papyrus 5345 – the earliest known fragment – dates from between AD 150-250. The papyrus was found in an ancient Egyptian rubbish dump excavated south of Cairo.

The Feast of St. Mark

25th April

Another great example and patron for us here in our town, St. Mark was a young man who lived in Jerusalem and became a companion of Paul and of Peter in their missionary ventures. We read in Acts chapter 12 that his mother hosted prayer meetings of the Early Church in her house. In fact, they met together to pray for Peter when Herod had him arrested and it was to this house that Peter came when he miraculously escaped.

These stories of the Early Church are dramatic and exciting and perhaps that inspired Mark to go on his own missionary adventures with his cousin Barnabas and Saint Paul. However, he found this hard and had to return home, causing Paul and Barnabas to disagree about whether he was cut out to be a missionary at all.

It's encouraging to think that one of the greatest saints of that time, one of the men who became a trusted companion of St. Peter and St. Paul, one of the four men who wrote down the most important story ever told in the Gospel, started off with people doubting him, perhaps even doubting himself.

In Mark's Gospel he tells the story of a desperate father who brings his son to Jesus for healing. He asks Jesus "if you can do anything, take pity and help us." Jesus replies "If you can?" as though he is surprised. Then he says an unforgettable line, "Everything is possible for one who believes."

Let us pray with St. Mark that we may be a people filled with absolute faith in God's love and mercy even when we find it difficult to be his missionary servant.

The Feast of St. Luke

18th October

Here in our school oratory, we are reminded of our patron's Gospel every time we read the inscription on our 40th Anniversary Altar: "For nothing is impossible to God." The quotation is taken from the words of the Angel Gabriel to Mary as he announces the coming birth of Jesus and the promise of forgiveness, healing and life!

In fact, St. Luke, as a good historian, has carefully researched the story of Mary and of her experiences as the Mother of Jesus. Above all the other gospel writers he pays careful attention to her story and to her role in God's plan for salvation. It is clear how much he admires her.

Luke is also known to be a friend of St. Paul who refers to him as his "beloved physician" and who clearly values his support. Perhaps Luke even cared for Paul as he was imprisoned and as he suffered for his faith.

Luke's gospel contains some of Jesus' most popular teaching. The story of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son both tell of the merciful love and compassion of God and call us to the same.

Perhaps the very best way to celebrate the feast day of our patron St. Luke is to practise this same mercy for all around us, caring for our neighbours, friends, family and even for strangers in such a way that truly reflects the heart of God.

Happy feast of St. Luke!

Our School Prayer

God our father,

We the pupils and staff gathered in St. Luke's ask you to help us this day to respect others, do your will and work to the best of our ability.

Help us to remember those in need of your love here and in the outside world.

May we, like St. Luke our patron, heal any hurt in those around us and be a source of comfort to those in need.

St. Luke, pray for us.

Amen.

Our Prayer WallAdd your prayer intentions. Intercession is a way of showing support for one another as a school community.

The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul

25th January

Paul's letters and work in the early church are instrumental in our understanding of Jesus and his teaching even to this day. He travelled all over the Roman Empire teaching in synagogues, temples or market places and telling people about Jesus Christ and his message of mercy.

Yet he wasn't always like this. He had become famous for persecuting and even killing many Christians. One of these was St. Stephen, the first martyr. As he died, Stephen prayed for Paul, that he could find mercy! Later, Paul experienced a powerful conversion as Jesus spoke to him. Paul realised how wrong he had been and how evil it was to persecute people because of their faith. Overwhelmed that even he could find forgiveness in Jesus, he dedicated his life to spreading this message of acceptance, mercy and love.

To this day, many are persecuted because of their faith. Let's pray that all people could know the mercy and love that Paul experienced and taught about. Let's also pray that we too could show the mercy and love of Christ to others.

St. Mungo's cathedral where after many years of caring for his people, the dear saint was buried.

The Feast of St. Kentigern

13th January

A special saint for us in the west of Scotland, St. Kentigern, or St. Mungo as he is more commonly known, wasn't originally from here. He is thought to have been from Lothian. Kentigern was brought up by the monks who cared for him and his mother after they were cruelly thrown out of their home. As he was only a very young child, the Abbot used to refer to Kentigern as Mungo, which means dear one, and the name stuck.

Aged 25 he began to work in a small church beside the River Clyde where he eventually became dear to the people of the town that would become Glasgow.

Whatever the truth of this ancient story, let's pray for the people of Glasgow. Pray especially for those who, like St. Kentigern, have lost homes or are in need of shelter at this time. Pray also that the people of our city would always care for those in need and be known for our generosity and our charity.

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

The third Sunday after Christmas

This great feast brings the season of Christmas to an end. It's probably long gone in most of our houses with trees and tinsel packed away until next year. However, perhaps it is good to consider how the season actually keeps going beyond our celebrations. Jesus continues to work with us and in us long after Christmas. He doesn't just appear one day a year, or even one day a week- he is with us every day. In his baptism, it is clear that he is like us: on earth with all the worries, joys and hopes that come with being human.

So let us offer our worries, joys and hopes to him. If you have been baptised, find out when it was and who the priest was and say a prayer for him.

The Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist

24th June

John is an incredibly important saint, yet one we don't always hear about. He is a sign that Jesus is coming and that God is at work to save his people. He has a job to do.

When he is born, (Luke 1) his father prophesies that John will make known to God's people that their sins are forgiven. He calls this forgiveness the "loving-kindness of the heart of our God that visits us like the dawn from on high." Even this beautiful line reminds us of Jesus and his Sacred Heart that we reflect on during June. Throughout his life, John prepared the way for Jesus by telling people to repent of their sins, to say sorry for their past failings and to look to Jesus, the "Lamb of God."

As he completes this task, he adopts an attitude of great humility. People come to tell him that Jesus is gaining more followers, including some of his own. He explains to them: "he must increase and I must decrease." John 3; 30

In saying this, John doesn't put himself down but he recognises that he wants to increase someone else's glory. In this case, the glory of Jesus. Perhaps today we could consider ways we could do this for those we live and work with. Look at someone else and see their talent and value then pray for them and maybe even tell them how much you appreciate them.

Link to The Feasts of June (Sacred Heart Novena)

If you would like to join us in praying a Novena to the Sacred Heart, you will find one by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

The Feast of Saint Columba

9th June

Saint Columba is, of course, one of our school patrons, a special intercessor and friend to our school community and especially to those of Columba house.

He is originally from Donegal as some of you may know. So, like so many others in the West of Scotland, he moved to our country from that beautiful part of the North of Ireland. He is from a wealthy family in Ireland but gave all of that up to spread the Good News and Joy of Christ to a people called the "Scots" who lived among the Hebridean Islands of Scotland. However, he took his message all the way up the Great Glen to Inverness where he helped the Picts also find faith, paving the way for the creation of the Scotland that we know today.

Life wasn't easy for the monks of Iona but they believed that, in Jesus, they had found a treasure for which it was worth giving everything else up. Today we should ask for this same treasure in our lives. That we would have the wisdom to see what is of true value.

We can also ask Columba to pray for our school, for the people in Columba house and for the head of house, Mr. Toal (who has his own connections to Donegal, maybe he's a distant relative of Columba!)

The people of Iona loved nature, let's also pray for our environment and that we would learn to be better stewards of it. Let's pray for peace and justice in our world, especially in Ukraine and in counties like Nigeria where many are killed for their faith.

Finally, we pray today that we might share the "Good News" of Jesus, who never turned anyone away, by our words and our actions towards one another.

The Ascension of the Lord

This year, Ascension Thursday is the 21st May. It's not always the same date but it is one of those feasts that is always on a specific day: the Thursday that is 40 days after Easter.

In the Bible, 40 days normally means we are getting ready for something new, some big change. In this case, Jesus returns to be with God and instead of being with the disciples physically so that they could hug him, eat supper with him and speak to him face to face, he is with them in a new spiritual way.

God has always been with his people, even before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Jesus coming to earth has done something new. He has become far more real and understandable to his people and he has made all of humanity holy! Now, by the King of Kings becoming human, he has made humanity into royalty!

For the next 9 days, until the feast of Pentecost, we should pray. We pray that he will be close to us in a new, special way and that we would be so filled with his Holy Spirit that we would understand, as St Paul says, "how wide, how long, how high, and how deep God's love is. His love for us." (Eph 3; 18)

18th May 2020

Today is the feast of St. John who was a Pope in the 6th Century. However, it is also the birthday of another Pope, St. John Paul II. He would have been 100 years old today! He has many great sayings and encouraged people to be courageous in their faith and especially in their suffering.

One of my favourite sayings of his though is something he wrote about Mary. "To serve is to reign." Because of her great obedience she is the Queen! Think about how you can serve others today. You won't lose out.

For this reflection I chose a picture of JPII giving first Holy Communion to two little children from Glasgow back when he visited in 1982. Find someone old enough and ask them about that day.

Saint Matthias: 14th May 2020

One of the incredible things about this saint is that he is the very first one to ever be elected. Just think, we have been electing and choosing men to serve as priests, bishops, cardinals and popes ever since! He is chosen to replace Judas as the 12th Apostle.

Ever wondered what an "Apostle" actually is? The word comes from the same origins as the verb "to post." That means an Apostle is someone who is sent out with a message. In the early church, these men had all been eyewitnesses to what Jesus did and how he rose from the dead.

Now, 2000 years later, we are still being sent out to tell people about how much we have been loved by God. In Matthias' experience Jesus' message was one of mercy, peace and, above all, love. It still is today. How do we bring our message of mercy, peace and love to others? By living it out. By being merciful, slow to get angry and genuinely seeking the best for those around us. It's this message that changed the world in the time of Jesus and it is still this message that changes the world today.

Reflection: 13th May 2020

This is the feast of Our Lady of Fátima. The commemorates the first of five apparitions of Our Lady to three young children in Portugal during the 1st World War. She asked them to pray for peace and encouraged them to pray The Rosary. One interesting fact is that the young people were asked to pray especially for Russia which, in 1917, had just become a communist country. 65 years later, as the Communist regime was beginning to crumble and fall apart in Russia, someone tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II. This took place on 13th May 1981. He survived and he went to Fátima in 1991 just after Russia became a free country again and held elections.

He always thanked Our Lady for protecting him and for looking after a man from Communist Poland who became Pope and helped to end communism in Europe. Let us always remember to pray for those who don't have religious freedom, for those who are poor and for those who suffer inequality. Join us this month, as we offer daily rosaries for our school intentions.

Reflection: 1st May 2020

Today is another feast day in honour of St. Joseph called St. Joseph the Worker. He would have taught his trade to Jesus his son. That would have been common practice. Many people have enjoyed thinking about the two of them working together on projects in a shop somewhere in ancient Israel. Some people wonder if they lived in Nazareth because there was so much building work going on there at the time! Whatever they did, we know that it was a life of prayer, work and family. What could be more normal than that? For this reason, St. Joseph is a saint many people can relate to. His life and his witness show us a very human side of God the creator.

We especially pray for work and for fairness in work. Organisations such as fair trade or charities like SCIAF who develop work overseas are very important to many people. However, let's also remember all who are struggling for work during this lock down. Through the prayers of St. Joseph, may our work be a source of dignity and pride.

Reflection: 3rd April 2020

Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the death of a man called Karol Wojtyla. He was a well known Polish priest who became Archbishop of Krakow before being asked in 1978 to become Pope. He took the name John Paul II and he went on to become a saint!

When he was a young man, his beloved mother died and when his big brother died not long later he was left with only his father. The two of them lived through the War which was particularly hard in Poland and he had to study to become a priest (get ordained) in secret because of the Nazis. He used to have to work in the quarry during the time of Communism in Poland where the other workers loved him and helped him study because they knew that the Communists hated the idea of God and the Catholic Faith.

As Pope, he travelled all over the world (including a trip to Bellahouston Park, in Glasgow in 1982!) and he inspired many people by his life. He would encourage people to not be afraid of living their faith, which meant a lot coming from someone who lived under the Nazis (who killed many of his Catholic and Jewish friends) and the Communists, who placed many priests like him in prisons.

In his later years he suffered from Parkinson's disease which made it very hard for him, but he continued to serve. Today, let's think about his words and what they mean to us: “I plead with you–never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.” Pope St. John Paul II.

Reflection: 2nd April 2020

"I make you the father of a multitude of nations... and I will be your God." This is what God says to Abraham in the readings for today. That forever God will be faithful to Abraham and to his children and his descendants. Forever!

So centuries later, when John the Baptist is born, John's father says: "So his love for our fathers is fulfilled and his Holy Covenant remembered." He understands that John's birth marks the beginning of something special. God is on the move and at work. "The Lord" is coming for his people, as he promised Abraham he would.

In today's gospel Jesus says that this is exactly what He is doing. He is "The Lord" and his work is to bring healing, forgiveness and freedom from fear.

God is faithful and never lets his children down. If Abraham was a great father, how much more can we believe in God the Father?

Let's pray the "Our Father" today and let's also pray for fathers, especially during these challenging times.

Reflection: 1st April 2020

Today we hear a question asked of three men who are faithful to God, even although they have been taken hostage by a foreign king. He asks, "where is the god who can save you from my power?"

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks to the Pharisees about sin and again it is as if sin is seen as an evil ruler that takes people hostage and enslaves them. So we might ask the same question: where is the god who can save us from the power of sin? Sin makes us unhappy, it makes us see things less clearly, it causes division between people and even in our own lives between the people we want to be and the people we are. It tells us we are never good enough.

So what sets us free? Jesus says it is the truth that sets you free! He says, "if you make my word your home... you will know the truth and the truth will make you free."

So let's make his word our home. Here is what his 'Word' says:

"I love you." (John 15) "I have called you by name." (Isaiah 43) "when you pass through deep waters, I will be with you." (Isaiah 43) In fact "I am always with you" (Matthew 28) "I know the plans I have for you... plans to give you hope." (Jer 29) "do not let your hearts be troubled." (John 15) "My peace surpasses understanding." (Phil 4) "Do not worry." (Luke 12) "Nothing can separate you from my love." (Romans 8) "I will give you rest." (Matthew 11) "I will keep my promise and you will know me as never before. I am the Lord your God." (Hosea 13)

That is the Truth!

31st March 2020

In the old testament reading today the people of Israel are dying in the desert due to poisonous snake bites. Moses prays for them and God gives them an image to look at for healing. It's a strange idea, especially given the people of God don't make images normally. But the Church puts this reading with the Gospel where Jesus talks about himself being "lifted up." Suddenly we realise that the first story was a foreshadowing of Jesus being lifted up on the cross. The people lost in the desert is us, the poison is sin and the image lifted up is Jesus lifted up on the cross.

So we look at Him on his cross and we see the face of love and mercy!

He has another great line in this Gospel: "he has not left me alone..." Jesus is talking about God the Father and he knows that even in the suffering to come, he is not alone. We are never alone and abandoned by God. Even if we feel lost in the desert, we are never alone and abandoned by God.

Say a prayer today for people who feel alone.

30th March 2020

In today's gospel Jesus teaches one of his most memorable lessons. A woman, who is being very publicly shamed by the Rabbis of the time, is brought to Jesus. They want to use her example, you see she is guilty of "adultery." The gospel doesn't go into details but what it says is striking: "making her stand there in full view of everybody..." Not only is she guilty of doing something wrong, she is now being humiliated for doing it in full view of everybody!

Jesus looks down. You should always pay attention to the things Jesus looks at. He never focusses on our faults and failings. He doesn't want to humiliate or to judge and condemn; he wants mercy. But they keep at him until eventually he says to them, "if one of you has never sinned, you can throw the first stone."

Imagine that! In one sentence he turns everything around. The people who were acting as judges and executioners now realise they are guilty, while the woman who was made to feel the weight of her guilt now feels the lightness of forgiveness and mercy!

In a way, this is like a reading about examining your conscience and being reconciled in confession. Let's do that today. Are you ever sinful, sorrowful and humiliated like the woman? Are you ever judgemental and guilty like the Rabbis? Ask forgiveness, then listen to Jesus: "neither do I condemn you, go and do not sin anymore."

27th March 2020

The readings today show how God has come searching for his people. Jesus speaks to the people about how they know Him and how he is sent from God to be among them. Maybe that is why we also read psalm 34 today with its hopeful line: "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted."

The fact that He is "near" to us doesn't just mean he is physically near, but that he understands and cares about us. We learn that whatever the reason for sorrow, God understands and is always generous in His love. After all, Jesus lived and walked on earth and knew sorrow and suffering too!

So let's try to be generous and be there for one another. Many of us like to give to charity during Lent. One very practical way to give (since we can't do our normal fundraising) is to give up our time for someone else; to give up what we want for what someone else wants. In what ways can we be near to others during this time?

26th March 2020

The 26th March is not a specific feast day. However, the readings today talk a lot about Moses and how he pleaded with God for mercy for his people as he came down from the mountain.

Moses truly loved the people that God had given him. With all of their faults and flaws he still prayed for them. Even when we don't see immediate answers, praying for others is an important way to strengthen our faith in God and our love for one another.

Mercy seems to be a theme for this week. Let's continue to pray for forgiveness and to ask for mercy but let us also show mercy to one another (especially if we're living so close to one another that we're really getting on some nerves!)

Today is the 25th March, the Feast of the Annunciation.

The feast has been celebrated since the early centuries of the Church. It is obviously 9 months until Christmas and is considered to be the day when Mary conceived Jesus in her womb. Her response is one of great faith in God and in her trust she says, "let it be to me as you have said."

She must have been unsure about what would happen to her and about how things would work out, but she knew that God was using her to be part of his great plan to send the Messiah and save his people from sin. And so she said 'yes!'

And nothing was ever the same again...

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