Bhileag 22nd July 2018

Warm Welcome: a warm welcome to all visitors to the island and to our parishes. We wish all our visitors happy Summer holidays.

Canon Angus MacQueen: we remember in our prayers Canon Angus, who today, Sunday 22nd July celebrates his 67th anniversary of Priesthood. Canon Angus was ordained on the 22nd July 1951 in St. Columba’s Cathedral in Oban. As we know Canon Angus now lives in St. Brendan’s Home here on Barra and is very well looked after there. Let us pray that God may continue to bless Canon Angus with many more years of health and strength. Ad multos annos!

Fr. Emmanuel Alagbaoso: Fr. John Paul will head away tomorrow (Monday 23rd July) and head for Dunoon to collect Fr. Emmanuel who is staying in the Chapel house in Dunoon. They will return on Wednesday evening’s boat. We look forward to welcoming Fr. Emmanuel during next weekend’s Masses.

Peter’s Pence: today we will take up a second collection for Peter’s Pence which is a special charity in the church looked after by Pope Francis.

Mary’s Meals: recently we sold raffle tickets for Mary’s Meals at the end of the Sunday Masses. The total raised from the sale of Raffle tickets was £800 which is a truly generous amount. The £800 raised will feed 58 Children for a year. For every £1 given 93p goes directly to the work of Mary’s Meals. Thank you. Moran Taing!

Fr. John MacMillan Mass: on Friday 17th August Fr. John Paul will celebrate a Gaelic Mass in thanksgiving for the life, works and Priesthood of Fr. John MacMillan. The Mass will be at 12 Noon in St. Brendan’s in Craigston. This year a Gaelic book will be published (hopefully for October this year) on the life of Fr. John MacMillan- so it will be a lovely opportunity to remember Fr. John in a special Mass of thanksgiving. After the Mass there will be a walk to the grave of Fr. John in the old graveyard in Borve. Later that day there will be a ceilidh in the Heritage Centre. All Welcome.

St. Brendan’s Church: Fr. John Paul would like to get the outside of Craigston Church painted this Summer. We have had a such a good dry spell of weather it’s a shame to miss the opportunity of painting the church (which is very much needed) especially with the special Mass planned for Friday 17th August in memory of Fr. John MacMillan. We will hopefully get a group together to look at how best to approach painting the church and possible dates to do it. As the old Hebridean saying goes “many hands with paint rollers and paint brushes in them will quicken the job”.