 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.
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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.
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