Friday 3rd June 2011 - St Margaret’s Cathedral Church, Ayr
St Margaret’s Cathedral Church was built in 1926-7 in Neo-Gothic style, and became Cathedral Church of the diocese in 2007, replacing the Good Shepherd which closed in 2007. The church was refurbished at the end of last century, one of its principal features being spectacular stained glass windows. The most notable of these is the Lockerbie Memorial Window which commemorates the tragic air crash. Canon Patrick Keegans, Administrator, was parish priest resident in Lockerbie at the time.
I had decided that the pilgrimage should begin at the Cathedral Church of St Margaret in Ayr. I didn’t have a plan. I felt that a plan would unfold as I made each journey. I headed off to Ayr and arrived at St Margaret’s, thirty minutes before Mass started. Canon Keegans was speaking to a parishioner as I entered the church. I had a good feeling as I remembered the times he visited my husband in Ayr hospital and felt sadness at the memory of the last time.
I was delighted to have that special time with God when I told him what I was doing there and asking his help for cancer sufferers and also for my family. I felt a bit nervous and wanted to slip into church and back out again without really speaking to anyone apart from a courteous “Good Morning”.
As people started to arrive for Mass I saw that Michael was the Sacristan and his wife Margaret was sitting at the front of the church. Michael’s brother James was a curate in our church here in Cumnock many years ago and when we lived in Galston I knew some of Margaret’s family. Her brother was a priest too and her sister Elizabeth and I were good friends. So here I was in St Margaret’s Church praying for the repose of the souls of Father James McHugh, Father Tom Leverage and Elizabeth Murphy. This led me in prayers for Margaret’s Mother and her Aunt Lizzie, all good people who are now with God. I quietly walked from church with God by my side. Life is a wonderful gift.
St Margaret of Scotland; Feast Day November 16th; Died 1093
Margaret was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Born in exile in Hungary c1045. Margaret and her family returned to England in 1057 and fled to Scotland during the Norman conquest of 1066. Around 1070 she married Malcolm III of Scotland, becoming his queen consort. Margaret was a pious woman and a blessing for the people of Scotland. When Malcolm saw how wise his beloved wife was he listened to her good advice and this led him to practice great virtue. The King and Queen gave a wonderful example to everyone by the way they prayed together and fed the poor. In her last illness, she learned that both her husband and her son, Edward, had been killed in battle. Yet she prayed, “I thank you, Almighty God, for sending me so great a sorrow to purify me from my sins.
St Margaret’s Cathedral Church was built in 1926-7 in Neo-Gothic style, and became Cathedral Church of the diocese in 2007, replacing the Good Shepherd which closed in 2007. The church was refurbished at the end of last century, one of its principal features being spectacular stained glass windows. The most notable of these is the Lockerbie Memorial Window which commemorates the tragic air crash. Canon Patrick Keegans, Administrator, was parish priest resident in Lockerbie at the time.
I had decided that the pilgrimage should begin at the Cathedral Church of St Margaret in Ayr. I didn’t have a plan. I felt that a plan would unfold as I made each journey. I headed off to Ayr and arrived at St Margaret’s, thirty minutes before Mass started. Canon Keegans was speaking to a parishioner as I entered the church. I had a good feeling as I remembered the times he visited my husband in Ayr hospital and felt sadness at the memory of the last time.
I was delighted to have that special time with God when I told him what I was doing there and asking his help for cancer sufferers and also for my family. I felt a bit nervous and wanted to slip into church and back out again without really speaking to anyone apart from a courteous “Good Morning”.
As people started to arrive for Mass I saw that Michael was the Sacristan and his wife Margaret was sitting at the front of the church. Michael’s brother James was a curate in our church here in Cumnock many years ago and when we lived in Galston I knew some of Margaret’s family. Her brother was a priest too and her sister Elizabeth and I were good friends. So here I was in St Margaret’s Church praying for the repose of the souls of Father James McHugh, Father Tom Leverage and Elizabeth Murphy. This led me in prayers for Margaret’s Mother and her Aunt Lizzie, all good people who are now with God. I quietly walked from church with God by my side. Life is a wonderful gift.
St Margaret of Scotland; Feast Day November 16th; Died 1093
Margaret was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Born in exile in Hungary c1045. Margaret and her family returned to England in 1057 and fled to Scotland during the Norman conquest of 1066. Around 1070 she married Malcolm III of Scotland, becoming his queen consort. Margaret was a pious woman and a blessing for the people of Scotland. When Malcolm saw how wise his beloved wife was he listened to her good advice and this led him to practice great virtue. The King and Queen gave a wonderful example to everyone by the way they prayed together and fed the poor. In her last illness, she learned that both her husband and her son, Edward, had been killed in battle. Yet she prayed, “I thank you, Almighty God, for sending me so great a sorrow to purify me from my sins.
Tuesday 7th June 2011 - St Paul’s Church, Ayr http://www.ayrstpauls.com/
A modern church, with a light and airy interior. The dedication stone was laid in 1966 and the church was opened in 1967. Wall hanging by members of the parish depicts St Paul's meeting on the road to Damascus. Altar, lectern and baptismal font in Creetown granite.
A modern church, with a light and airy interior. The dedication stone was laid in 1966 and the church was opened in 1967. Wall hanging by members of the parish depicts St Paul's meeting on the road to Damascus. Altar, lectern and baptismal font in Creetown granite.
My next port of call was St Paul’s in Ayr. Now where was this church? I had a vague idea where it was but used the technology of the Internet for directions. It’s a kind of age thing, I suppose, that had me up and out for the 7.45am bus to Ayr. I thought I would walk to the church so this would give me plenty of time. I found myself at St Paul’s locked doors at 9.00. I smiled to myself knowing full well that with the 8.15 bus I would have arrived to an open church, but the Holy Spirit works in special ways.
Because I was early I walked around the streets then back to St Paul’s around 9.20. I noticed a light in the church hall so I opened the door and found Jean. She was preparing for a Toddler’s Group and invited me to have a seat.
I told her I was from Cumnock and she told me that she was originally from Cumnock too. What a coincidence and what a lovely person she was. Matt arrived from the door leading to the church. He welcomed me warmly and was keen to show me the new stained glass windows and the carpet fitted a few days earlier. He told me that Father Wilson* was away for a few days and it would be Bishop Taylor celebrating Mass. Matt was Sacristan and very proud of his church and left me to quietly pray as he went about his duty with reverence. I always enjoy Bishop Taylor’s Masses because he prepares the parishioners in advance of each reading with some reflections.
After Mass I called in to the Sacristy to speak to Bishop Taylor and I shared my story with him. I said that I thought I could reach most parishes with my bus pass but there could be a few I would find difficult like Langholm in the Borders for instance. He then informed me that Langholm was closed so that’s one less on the list. I felt sorry because I would like to have visited this border town.
I noticed Ann and Evans at Mass and didn’t get a chance to talk to them so later in the evening I spoke to Ann on the phone. They had had a busy day with friends and family visiting as it was the fifth anniversary of their daughter’s death. I said a little prayer for her.
Do you know Lord, I’m praying for the living and also for those who have died. We are all on a journey.
Here I am, only two Masses celebrated and already I see the need for more prayer life. Jesus is our Good Shepherd and to follow in his footsteps I too need to be a good shepherd to my fellow man, as should we all.
* Sadly, Fr Alan Wilson has since passed away. May he Rest in Peace.
St Paul; Feast Day January 25th; Born c AD 5 in Tarsus
St Paul the indefatigable apostle of the gentiles was converted from Judaism on the road to Damascus. This turned his life inside out. He spent the next ten years meditating on the unexpected fulfilment of Judaism in Christ. These years prepared him for the amazing career that was to follow. Within a dozen years he had covered nearly 8000 miles setting up thriving centres of Christianity in Cyprus, Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece. His copious correspondence fills over a third of the New Testament. Paul’s true greatness lies in the vital part he played in the formation of the infant church.
Because I was early I walked around the streets then back to St Paul’s around 9.20. I noticed a light in the church hall so I opened the door and found Jean. She was preparing for a Toddler’s Group and invited me to have a seat.
I told her I was from Cumnock and she told me that she was originally from Cumnock too. What a coincidence and what a lovely person she was. Matt arrived from the door leading to the church. He welcomed me warmly and was keen to show me the new stained glass windows and the carpet fitted a few days earlier. He told me that Father Wilson* was away for a few days and it would be Bishop Taylor celebrating Mass. Matt was Sacristan and very proud of his church and left me to quietly pray as he went about his duty with reverence. I always enjoy Bishop Taylor’s Masses because he prepares the parishioners in advance of each reading with some reflections.
After Mass I called in to the Sacristy to speak to Bishop Taylor and I shared my story with him. I said that I thought I could reach most parishes with my bus pass but there could be a few I would find difficult like Langholm in the Borders for instance. He then informed me that Langholm was closed so that’s one less on the list. I felt sorry because I would like to have visited this border town.
I noticed Ann and Evans at Mass and didn’t get a chance to talk to them so later in the evening I spoke to Ann on the phone. They had had a busy day with friends and family visiting as it was the fifth anniversary of their daughter’s death. I said a little prayer for her.
Do you know Lord, I’m praying for the living and also for those who have died. We are all on a journey.
Here I am, only two Masses celebrated and already I see the need for more prayer life. Jesus is our Good Shepherd and to follow in his footsteps I too need to be a good shepherd to my fellow man, as should we all.
* Sadly, Fr Alan Wilson has since passed away. May he Rest in Peace.
St Paul; Feast Day January 25th; Born c AD 5 in Tarsus
St Paul the indefatigable apostle of the gentiles was converted from Judaism on the road to Damascus. This turned his life inside out. He spent the next ten years meditating on the unexpected fulfilment of Judaism in Christ. These years prepared him for the amazing career that was to follow. Within a dozen years he had covered nearly 8000 miles setting up thriving centres of Christianity in Cyprus, Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece. His copious correspondence fills over a third of the New Testament. Paul’s true greatness lies in the vital part he played in the formation of the infant church.
Tuesday 14th June 2011 - Our Lady of the Assumption and St Meddan’s Church, Troon
http://www.rctroon.org.uk/
An A-listed building, the work of the famous architect Reginald Fairlie, and one of the finest churches not just in the diocese but in the whole country. Church and presbytery were built between 1910-1914.
Exactly a week later I set out with Troon as my destination. I had originally chosen Prestwick but discovered there was no Mass on that particular Tuesday morning.
I was even earlier that morning, as I stepped on the 6.55am bus to Ayr, then the no.14 to Troon, arriving there about 8.30. I really am becoming Auntie Maggie who was always ready for weddings hours before she needed to be.
Again I had used my computer to find the location of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Meddan’s, so had an idea where I was going. I spotted the Railway Station and knew the church was nearby. It was a sunny morning and being early, I sat on the station platform seats and watched the commuters. People-watching can be interesting.
I found in St Meddan’s a beautiful church, a people at prayer. Nobody chatted before Mass. I had stepped back in time to the way it used to be. There were no distractions as I prayed for my litany of cancer sufferers. Thank you Lord for this oasis of peace and to Father Archie Brown for his beautiful Mass. I quietly left the church and made my way to town and to the seafront where I shared a sandwich with a magnificent seagull. It stood before me in majestic white. It was a special moment. I was so happy to be alive and thankful for the health to be on this pilgrimage. Where to next, Lord?
Our Lady of the Assumption Feast Day August 15th
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, informally known as The Assumption, was the bodily taken up of The Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. The Roman Catholic Church teaches as dogma that the Virgin Mary “having completes the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”. This doctrine was dogmatically and infallibly defined by Pope Pius X11 on November 1st. 1950 in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissi mus Deus.
St Medan
St Medan was a saint apparently of the early British or Irish period whose existence and name are inferred from the name Kirkmaiden in Wigtownshire. There is a Kirkmaiden both in the Rinns of Galloway and also on the other side of Luce Bay in the parish of Glasserton both in Wigtownshire. The name may be a version of Modwena who was Abbess of Cill Sliebe Cuilin in Killevy near Slieve Gullion who died in 517or 519. She founded a number of churches in Scotland and there is a 1901 dedication to a female St Medan in Troon.
http://www.rctroon.org.uk/
An A-listed building, the work of the famous architect Reginald Fairlie, and one of the finest churches not just in the diocese but in the whole country. Church and presbytery were built between 1910-1914.
Exactly a week later I set out with Troon as my destination. I had originally chosen Prestwick but discovered there was no Mass on that particular Tuesday morning.
I was even earlier that morning, as I stepped on the 6.55am bus to Ayr, then the no.14 to Troon, arriving there about 8.30. I really am becoming Auntie Maggie who was always ready for weddings hours before she needed to be.
Again I had used my computer to find the location of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Meddan’s, so had an idea where I was going. I spotted the Railway Station and knew the church was nearby. It was a sunny morning and being early, I sat on the station platform seats and watched the commuters. People-watching can be interesting.
I found in St Meddan’s a beautiful church, a people at prayer. Nobody chatted before Mass. I had stepped back in time to the way it used to be. There were no distractions as I prayed for my litany of cancer sufferers. Thank you Lord for this oasis of peace and to Father Archie Brown for his beautiful Mass. I quietly left the church and made my way to town and to the seafront where I shared a sandwich with a magnificent seagull. It stood before me in majestic white. It was a special moment. I was so happy to be alive and thankful for the health to be on this pilgrimage. Where to next, Lord?
Our Lady of the Assumption Feast Day August 15th
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, informally known as The Assumption, was the bodily taken up of The Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. The Roman Catholic Church teaches as dogma that the Virgin Mary “having completes the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”. This doctrine was dogmatically and infallibly defined by Pope Pius X11 on November 1st. 1950 in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissi mus Deus.
St Medan
St Medan was a saint apparently of the early British or Irish period whose existence and name are inferred from the name Kirkmaiden in Wigtownshire. There is a Kirkmaiden both in the Rinns of Galloway and also on the other side of Luce Bay in the parish of Glasserton both in Wigtownshire. The name may be a version of Modwena who was Abbess of Cill Sliebe Cuilin in Killevy near Slieve Gullion who died in 517or 519. She founded a number of churches in Scotland and there is a 1901 dedication to a female St Medan in Troon.
Saturday 18th June 2011 - St Teresa’s Church, Dumfries http://www.stteresaschurch.com/
Large and very spacious modern white church built in 1958. A second parish had been planned since the expansion of Dumfries in the 1930’s although the Second World War and its aftermath postponed building till the fifties.
I planned to go to Dumfries to take part in the Diocesan Adult Faith Formation at St Teresa’s Church so thought that if I headed there on an earlier bus I could go to Mass at 10.00am.
I set off on the 7.45am bus for the ninety-minute journey. I have so many lovely memories of trips to Dumfries so as I settled in my comfortable seat at the front of the bus I thanked God for them.
St Teresa’s was closed when I arrived but soon Elizabeth arrived to open up. Thank you Elizabeth for your friendly welcome and to Father Jim Hayes for a gentle prayerful Mass.
I then walked over to the church hall where Father Willie McFadden and Father Mark Kelly greeted me with a warm welcome.
Father Mark gave a wonderful presentation on Pope John Paul II and his contribution to the Catholic Church. It’s good to meet up with our brothers and sisters from around our diocese and share our faith, especially since Pope Benedict XVI has asked for a Year of Faith beginning in October 2012, so that we can rediscover the journey of faith, to shed light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of an encounter with Christ. Dave from St Thomas’s, Muirkirk was at the meeting and kindly offered me a lift home. Thank you Dave.
St Teresa, Therese of Lisieux- 1873- 1897 Feast Day October 1st
Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint, called her the “Little Flower”, and found in her short life more inspiration for their own lives than in volumes by theologians. Yet Therese died when she was 24, after having lived as a cloistered Carmelite for less than ten years. She never went on missions, never founded a religious order, never performed great works. The only book of hers, published after her death, was a brief edited version of her journal called “Story of a Soul” . (Collections of her letters and restored versions of her journals have been published recently). Within 28 years of her death, the public demand was so great that she was canonized.
Large and very spacious modern white church built in 1958. A second parish had been planned since the expansion of Dumfries in the 1930’s although the Second World War and its aftermath postponed building till the fifties.
I planned to go to Dumfries to take part in the Diocesan Adult Faith Formation at St Teresa’s Church so thought that if I headed there on an earlier bus I could go to Mass at 10.00am.
I set off on the 7.45am bus for the ninety-minute journey. I have so many lovely memories of trips to Dumfries so as I settled in my comfortable seat at the front of the bus I thanked God for them.
St Teresa’s was closed when I arrived but soon Elizabeth arrived to open up. Thank you Elizabeth for your friendly welcome and to Father Jim Hayes for a gentle prayerful Mass.
I then walked over to the church hall where Father Willie McFadden and Father Mark Kelly greeted me with a warm welcome.
Father Mark gave a wonderful presentation on Pope John Paul II and his contribution to the Catholic Church. It’s good to meet up with our brothers and sisters from around our diocese and share our faith, especially since Pope Benedict XVI has asked for a Year of Faith beginning in October 2012, so that we can rediscover the journey of faith, to shed light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of an encounter with Christ. Dave from St Thomas’s, Muirkirk was at the meeting and kindly offered me a lift home. Thank you Dave.
St Teresa, Therese of Lisieux- 1873- 1897 Feast Day October 1st
Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint, called her the “Little Flower”, and found in her short life more inspiration for their own lives than in volumes by theologians. Yet Therese died when she was 24, after having lived as a cloistered Carmelite for less than ten years. She never went on missions, never founded a religious order, never performed great works. The only book of hers, published after her death, was a brief edited version of her journal called “Story of a Soul” . (Collections of her letters and restored versions of her journals have been published recently). Within 28 years of her death, the public demand was so great that she was canonized.
Tuesday 21st June 2012 - St Joseph’s Church, Kilmarnock http://www.stjosephschurch.co.uk/
One of the largest churches in the diocese, the Gothic style church and its presbytery are listed buildings of pink sandstone. The interior is bright and simple, with cast iron pillars. The building was hidden for most of the 20th.century by the old Kilmarnock infirmary but since the latter was demolished its fine exterior can be appreciated again.
The heavens had opened as I set off for the Glasgow bus to take me as far as Kilmarnock for the fifth of my pilgrimage Masses. I did think to myself, what am I doing travelling on a morning like this but when I thought of all my friends and family with cancer I thought, ‘What’s a bit of rain?’
St. Joseph’s is a beautiful church, it’s a few years since I had been here and I realised as soon as I entered the church that there was to be a requiem Mass. It was for Mrs Mary Kelly, and I was privileged to be at this 89 year-old lady’s Mass. Father Stephen warmly shared Mary’s life with us and I felt myself smiling as he told us about a young Mary in Ireland sitting on the handlebars of her soon to be husband’s bicycle on their way to church to be married. I was here to pray for the living but just like my Mass at St. Margaret’s I found myself praying for the dead. We are born, we live, we die; all part of the journey to God.
St Joseph; Feast Day March 19th; Patron of the Universal Church
Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scriptures. We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the sceptical Nazarenes asked about Jesus, “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” He wasn’t rich, for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified, he offered the sacrifice of two turtle doves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb. We know Joseph was a man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him. When the angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately and without question or concern for gossip, took Mary as his wife. We don’t know much about Joseph, where and when he was born and where he died, but Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge - who he was - “a righteous man”. [Matthew 1:8]
By the following week I had left my beloved Galloway for a few days to visit my son and daughter in law in Dundalk, Ireland. It was a time to meet family and friends. Thank you Lord for all the blessings of this visit.
Sadly I returned home to the death of the first of my friends who had cancer. My dear young neighbour and friend Hugh Penrose died at the age of forty-one years. He was a very special person. Rest in peace dear friend.