Bhileag 21st December

Sunday & Weekday Masses: to attend any Mass you must contact Canon John Paul –for track & trace purposes- to see if there is availability at Mass. Please phone, text or email Canon John Paul.

Face Coverings: must be worn at every Mass. If you forget to bring a mask –there will be some available in the church.

Fr. Eric Studt: on Monday 21st December Fr. Eric will arrive by boat and will bring his own car so that he can be independent in getting about the island. He will stay until Wednesday 30th December and he will help out at the Christmas Masses and also next weekend’s Masses. He will also be available for Confession.  At the moment Fr. Eric is doing Doctoral studies at St Andrew University here in Scotland. We look forward to welcoming Fr. Eric to the island. He will be staying over in the Chapel house on Vatersay- he also a very keen walker and is looking forward to walking the beaches of our islands and to climbing the local hills.

Christmas Masses: Canon John wishes to thank all those who have made an early contact to reserve a seat at one of the Christmas Masses. Christmas Eve Mass at Northbay at 7pm is full; Castlebay at 7pm has a couple of seats available, Vatersay at 9pm has a couple of spaces. Craigston has a space available. On Christmas Day Eoligarry at 10 am is full; the 11.30am in Castlebay has spaces available-which will be your best option if you have not booked a seat. Please get in contact with Canon John Paul if you wish to go to one of the Masses. At this present moment there is no need for any more additional Christmas Masses.

Holy Mass on line: Of course there is no obligation to go to Mass just now during the Pandemic. Many parishioners are still watching Mass on-line. There are many parishes around Scotland that offer Mass by live streaming. If you are not going to Mass this Christmas then please watch the Holy Mass on-line.

Sacrament of Confession: Fr Eric will be available on Wednesday for Confession in Northbay Church from 2pm-3pm & then in Vatersay church from 5pm-6pm. On Thursday he will be available from 10am-10.45am in Vatersay church.

No Carol Services: Sadly this year there will be no carol services before the Christmas Masses.  Instead we plan to get some parishioners to sing some carols which will be recorded and played at the Christmas Masses.

Scottish Bishops Conference: the bishops of Scotland have written a  Pastoral letter called “Light Shines in darkness”- which is about the Covid-19 Pandemic. Please go on-line to read the letter. The Bishops write “concerns have been raised about vaccines, we reassure our Catholic population that, in accordance with longstanding guidance from the Pontifical Academy for Life, it is ethical to take any of  the Covid-19 Vaccines purchased by the UK”.

Church cleaning and Christmas Decorations:  Canon John Paul wishes to thank those who have quietly helped behind the scenes to clean and decorate our churches for Christmas. Moran Taing!

Canon John Paul wishes everyone a happy, holy & safe Christmas. May the Lord Jesus bless you and your families and our islands this Christmas and keep us all safe from the Coronavirus.

WEEKDAY  MASSES:

Mon 21st Dec………  No Mass               

Tues 22nd Dec……..10.00am EOLIGARRY

Wed 23rd Dec……. 12 Noon  CRAIGSTON

Christmas Eve…….. 7.00pm  NORTHBAY

                                        7.00pm  CASTLEBAY

                                        9.00pm VATERSAY

                                       11.00pm CRAIGSTON

Christmas Day ……10.00am EOLIGARRY

                                        11.30am CASTLEBAY

Sat 26th Dec……….11.00am VATERSAY                          

NEXT WEEKEND

26th & 27th December  2020

Feast of the Holy Family

Saturday Vigil Masses… 4pm  &  6pm CRAIGSTON

Sunday Masses…………….9.30am   NORTHBAY

                                                  11.30am  CASTLEBAY