 I will use this medium to thank God and Archbishop Leo Cushley for appointing me to the parish of St Joseph's. It is unfortunate that we find ourselves in the situation we are in. However, we continue to pray and put our trust in God, who is the one to bring an end to the present situation. I would also like to thank the Augustinian community who have worked in this parish for a long time; most especially my immediate predecessors Fr Ian Wilson OSA and Fr Sean Quinlan OSA. I remain eternally grateful to them and I pray that God will continue to guide them in their new assignments. It is important to let you know that the Archbishop has sent Fr Isaac Oshomah to stay with us in this parish for the meantime. We are lucky to have 2 priests ministering in this parish at the moment. We are grateful to the Archbishop for this. On behalf of Fr Isaac and myself, thank you to all the parishioners who have helped us to feel at home and given us a sense of belonging since our arrival 2 weeks ago . We look forward to meeting everyone when the present situation is over. It is important also to let you know that we have been praying for you in all our Masses. We are trying also to reach as many people as possible by airing our services/Masses online, as we did this morning. However, I appeal to anyone who has a special Mass intention to contact me by telephone at the parish house. Many people have asked how to continue supporting the parish financially while everyone is unable to physically attend Mass. The Archdiocesan finance team have advised the best way to do this is by setting up a standing order to the parish. Therefore if you are willing and able to do so, the details are: Sort code: 80-02-27 Account number: 00126361 Account name: Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh - St Joseph's (Please remember to include your name as the payment reference) Holy Week ServicesServices will be streamed live on Facebook and posted afterwards on our website. To follow live, follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/stjosephsbroomhouse.
From Monday until Wednesday of this Holy Week, we will air Mass at 9.30am. On Holy Thursday we will air Mass of the Lord's Supper at 6pm. On Good Friday, Veneration of the Cross will take place at 3pm. On Holy Saturday, we will air our Easter Vigil at 7pm. On Easter Sunday, we will air morning Mass at 10am. N.B. Baptisms and other Sacraments are currently on hold until after the current pandemic.
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The recorded version of our Palm Sunday mass is now available to view below.  Greetings to you all from Clare Priory. Fr. Emmanuel, your new Parish Priest, arrived on Monday morning and with the announcing of a UK lockdown in the evening, it was agreed by all parties concerned that Fr. Sean and myself leave early the next day. Fr. Sean is now at the Augustinian parish in Birmingham and I am with the Augustinian Community, at Clare Priory, Clare. The speed of our departure meant there was no possibility of any form of fair well. So I am taking this opportunity together with Fr. Sean to say Thank You for happy and fruitful years at St. Joseph’s. Thank you for your prayers and good wishes. This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of Lent. The Gospel is Jesus raising his dear friend Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-45). Like Lazarus’s sister Martha, we too respond to Jesus with simple and profound faith. In her sadness and distress at the loss of her brother she was aware of the presence of Jesus. Likewise, in the these worrying and distressing times we too acknowledge that Jesus is always near us, especially during the difficult times. Finally, as we get ever closer to Easter we like Martha are to be consoled for Jesus is indeed ‘the resurrection and life eternal.’ Blessings.......... Fr. Ian o.s.a.
This page will be updated regularly so please keep checking back for announcements. Saturday 4th April 2020 Mass for Palm Sunday will be streamed live on our Facebook page from 10am. A recording will be available on the website and Facebook page afterwards. We tested the live stream with Stations of the Cross on Friday 3rd April. See the results below. Thursday 26th March 2020
We are currently exploring options for live streaming Masses from the church, via our Facebook page. It may be that this will only be on Sunday mornings for the time being. Fr Emmanuel feels it's important we have something like this in place in time for Easter. Watch this space! See the test video here. Tuesday 24th March 2020 Following the government announcement last night, we regret to say the church is now closed indefinitely. This means there will be no prayer, confession, adoration or Mass until further notice. I had a brief meeting at the parish house this morning. Unfortunately, Fr Ian and Fr Sean have decided to leave the parish earlier than anticipated. They left this morning for their new parishes. We thank them for their service in St Joseph's and look forward to welcoming them back for a proper goodbye when the time is right. We welcome Fr Emanuel who arrived in the parish last night. Understandably, he is a little lost at the moment but we pray he will settle in well and look forward to him working with us. I will be meeting him later in the week to discuss how best to keep in touch with parishioners during this time, be it with some kind of newsletter or by other means. Earlier today, we drew the £Club for March. Congratulations to Pat Ford, no 132, who is our winner for this month. Please note that there will be no more draws until further notice. Once our church is open again, we can do the draws which have been missed. It is a tradition that the Fourth Sunday is called Laetare Sunday. The word Laetare means ‘a day for joy’. Given the world crisis because of the Coronavirus, there will be very few if any of us in a joyful mood. But Laetare Sunday does remind us that we are getting closer and closer to Easter and that should raise our spirits. As Christians we have to be people of hope, and our hope comes from a God in whom we can trust, for he is a God that saves his people. So let us continue to pray and ask our heavenly Father to help us resolve this worldwide crisis, sooner rather than later. As a Parish our church is open for prayer each day of the week from 8:30 to 10:00 with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Morning Prayer and Private Devotion. Likewise, on Sunday mornings the church will be open for Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Private Prayer between the hours of 8:30 to 9:30 and then again from 10:30 to 12:00 noon. In the meantime, let us all be particularly aware of the various needs of our neighbours. If you think Fr. Sean or myself can be of some help please do not hesitate to call on us at the Parish House or to ring us on 0131 443 3777 or on my mobile number, which is as follows 07554 329 398. Also Mrs Pauline Davies, the chairperson of our Parish Council is happy to be contacted should she be able to help. Her telephone numbers are 0131 476 6044 and 07954417226. There is no disguising the impact this crisis is having on our world, but together we will overcome this terrible event that is affecting to a greater or lesser degree all our lives. Our parish Patron St. Joseph, protected Mary and the child Jesus during many trials, may he also protect all of us. Blessings........Fr. Ian o.s.a. Please share this note with any parishioners who do not have internet access or who you feel may be in need of assistance at this time.
 Archbishop Cushley has announced that Fr Emmanuel Chorbe, currently Assistant Priest at St Mary's, Bathgate, will become the temporary Administrator of St Joseph's, after the departure of the Augustinians. His appointment will be effective from 18th April 2020.
He hopes to visit the Parish for a week before taking up his appointment. We look forward to welcoming him to the Parish community. 2020 sees a landmark year for the Parish, as we celebrate not only the 70th anniversary of our foundation in 1950, but also the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the Augustinians to Broomhouse in 1995. A Mass of Thanksgiving will be held in the church on Thursday 19th March, the Feast of St Joseph. This will also be an opportunity for the parish to thank the Augustinians for their service, as they prepare to withdraw from the Parish after Easter. The principal celebrant will be Archbishop Leo Cushley. All friends and former parishioners are invited to attend.   In the last few weeks, the Augustinians have announced their intention to sadly withdraw from St Joseph's, the week after Easter. This will also unfortunately bring an end to the Augustinian presence in Scotland.
The community of three friars will be taking up new appointments. In fact, Fr Paul Graham has already begun his new ministry as Assistant General in Rome. The Provincial and his Council have just published the list of new appointments. Fr Ian Wilson is appointed to Clare Priory as Parish Priest; Fr Sean Quinlan is appointed to St Mary’s Harborne, Birmingham. Fr Sean and Fr Ian will take up their new appointments after Easter. The news has come as a bit of a shock to the Parish, and we are sad to see the Augustinians leave. 2020 sees the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Parish in 1950, and the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the Augustinians in 1995. Both celebrations are now tinged with sadness. However, we thank the Augustinians for their 25 years of service in Broomhouse, and we look forward in hope to a new chapter in the history of St Joseph's.  Congratulations to Fr Paul who, at the recent Augustinian General Chapter in Rome was elected as Assistant General on the Augustinian Council.
This means that he will assume responsibility for the affairs of all the Augustinian Communities in Northern Europe, including the Provinces of Ireland, England & Scotland, Poland, Germany, Austria and Slovakia. Unfortunately, this new role does mean that he will need to relocate to Rome, and will therefore no longer be able to act as Parish Priest in Broomhouse. His final Sunday Mass at St Joseph's will be on Sunday 3rd November. Fr Paul writes: "My new job as one of six assistants to the Prior General, Fr Alejandro, requires me to live in Rome for the next six years, starting in November. “The good thing is that St Joseph’s is in my new ‘parish’, which includes Britain, Ireland and much of northern Europe, with about 240 Augustinians as my ‘parishioners’. So I hope to be back for the [anniversary] celebrations next year, representing the Prior General. Next month, I’ll be away for two weekends, in London, then in Poland, on Sundays 20 and 27 October; and Sunday 3 November will be my last one in St Joseph’s. “I fully intended being with you for longer when I came here in October 2017, given the number of parish priests in quick succession since Fr John left, but God had other plans. It’s just as well I’m going before I move any more statues or shift any more seats in the church! The planning for renovating the church and the other events of the anniversary year will continue, and I look forward to seeing a freshly painted church next year. You will be in good hands with Frs Ian and Sean.” This of course is a great privilege both for Fr Paul and for the Province, and we offer our prayers for his new role. Thank you Fr Paul for all you have done for us as Parish Priest. And remember the sign above our door: "You're a stranger here, but once!" |
