The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Easter with St Gregory Nazianzen , the faith of George Mackay Brown and Bishop Hugh Gilbert OSB on the Eucharist.
Yesterday I was crucified with Him; today I am glorified with Him; yesterday I died with Him; today I am quickened with Him; yesterday I was buried with Him; today I rise with Him. But let us offer to Him Who suffered and rose again for us— you will think perhaps that I am going to say gold, or silver, or woven work or transparent and costly stones, the mere passing material of earth, that remains here below, and is for the most part always possessed by bad men, slaves of the world and of the Prince of the world. Let us offer ourselves, the possession most precious to God, and most fitting; let us give back to the Image what is made after the Image. Let us recognize our Dignity; let us honour our Archetype; let us know the power of the Mystery, and for what Christ died.
Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. Let us become God’s for His sake, since He for ours became Man. He assumed the worse that He might give us the better; He became poor that we through His poverty might be rich. He took upon Him the form of a servant that we might receive back our liberty; He came down that we might be exalted; He was tempted that we might conquer; He was dishonoured that He might glorify us; He died that He might save us; He ascended that He might draw to Himself us, who were lying low in the Fall of sin. Let us give all, offer all, to Him Who gave Himself a Ransom and a Reconciliation for us. But one can give nothing like oneself, understanding the Mystery, and becoming for His sake all that He became for ours.
St Gregory Nazianzen
The Images in the banner include, the Harrowing of Hell, The Risen Jesus from Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna and; He is not Here from the same Church.
As we enter into the joy of the ressurection of Christ, and ultimately looking forward to our own, it is fitting to secure ourselves once more in the mystery of the Eucharist. Bishop Hugh Gilbert OSB speaks of the Eucharist from his book; Living the Mystery, published by Gracewing, who gave us permission to reproduce it here. Author, Maggie Fergusson, biographer of the Orcadian Poet and Catholic, George Mackay Brown looks forward to the fifteenth anniversary of his death on the 13th of April. Just days before his death he completed his famous ‘Harrowing of Hell’. Finally Ruairidh Maclennan writes about hope in hopelessness - Church re-opening, Josef Pieper and a feeling of hopelessness in our general culture.
Hope is not found on the Horizon
By Ruairidh Maclennan
One of the most prominent paradoxes of the last year has been that the silence of the streets has been accompanied by a chaotic cacophony in what we might loosely term ‘the culture’.
Living the Mystery: There we must Stand: Reflections on the Eucharistic Action.
By Bishop Hugh Gilbert OSB
[W]e go to the table. This is the perfection of the life in Christ; for those who attain it there is nothing lacking for the blessedness which they seek. It is not longer death and the tomb and a participation in the better life which we receive, but the risen One Himself…
Clothed In His Five Wounds
By Maggie Fergusson
Tuesday 13 April this year will mark the fifteenth anniversary of the death of George Mackay Brown. Just a few days before he died, he had completed “The Harrowing of Hell”, perhaps the most beautiful religious poem he ever wrote.
The newsletter is taking a holiday over Easter. I have two small children who are off now and I begin a new full-time job on Monday, so lots going on! However expect your next newsletter on the 16th April. I am also pleased to announce that the team has grown, with my friend and colleague Emanuela Todea joining us with her role being to run the social media for the newsletters. Social media is now a vital element in being able to reach out to people in modern Scotland with the teachings of the Catholic Church. St Paul in his preaching went to Synagogues and market places because that is where ideas and thoughts were articulated and dissemintated to the people he was targeting. Twitter, Facebook and the like are the modern day equivalents and so we must be there to. I welcome Emanuela to the team!
God Bless, from Eric and the Team.