Chaplaincy Update
Our chaplaincy program continues at a pace with S3 confessions, the Teresa House Mass and most of all, our Whole School Mission! (More to follow!)
We were disappointed that a number of events could not go ahead. The Aid to the Church in Need Rally was cancelled due to RACC being discovered at the venue and the S3 vocations event has had to be postposed because of strikes but we keep on growing and learning together as we move through the liturgical year.
Coming up in November:
Annual Requiem Mass on All Souls Day
November services in class
S2 Class Masses in November
Patronal Feast Day- 21st November
St Andrew House Mass
Ongoing:
Daily Decade, 8.30am, Holy Mass on Wednesdays at 8.30am, Prayers for Peace on Fridays at 1pm.
Rosary Drama Workshops
It Turnbull High School we have a devotion to the Holy Rosary. Rooted in our devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary as our patron and spurred on by our commitment to our school consecration, we foster our love of Jesus through this powerful prayer.
In addition to praying the rosary in RE, some classes had the opportunity to participate in Rosary Drama Workshops offered by Stephen Callaghan from the Archdiocese of Glasgow Arts Project. Fresh from his success at the Fringe, Stephen led the young people through the mysteries of the rosary before they worked in groups to produce a short drama depicting a chosen mystery and its application to life.
Sung Mass for the Solemnity of All Saints
On the 1st of November, our school community participated in a beautiful Mass for the Solemnity of All Saints. In his homily, Fr Alex reminded us that we are made in God’s image and becoming more like Him leads us to become Saints.
The liturgy was enhanced by the leadership of our young people. Our excellent S1 altar boys helped the Mass flow smoothly, our readers proclaimed the word of God with clarity and Orla (S3) accompanied the hymns. The young people, fresh from hymn practice, sang out the parts of the Mass using the Missa Simplex chants and the hymns were sung with enthusiasm.
May we continue to offer worthy worship to God through the Sacred Liturgy and in our daily lives as we strive to become, as Pope Benedict XVI put it, Saints of the 21st Century!
Chaplaincy Update
S6 Vocations Conference 2023
A wonderful day at our S6 #Vocations conference! So inspiring to hear from priests and religious about how God has worked in their lives and the joy that serving Jesus brings! Thanks to our partner @SerraVocations for helping to organise the day. #Love #Faith #Community #Service
An RE-Treat for effort in RE!
An RE-Treat for most improved pupils!
Week in and week out, we are impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm of so many of our young people. We are especially proud when pupils try their hardest and make improvements to their learning habits, behaviour or engagement with the faith life of our school. So we have decided that it is time that these young people received an RE-Treat! Miss Morrison has kindly invested in a CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN and young people who have been really trying hard in RE can expect to receive a golden ticket to attend one of our RE-Treat lunchtimes starting very soon.
Margaret Sinclair Pilgrimage 2023
2023 Margaret Sinclair Pilgrimage
For the first time since Covid, The feast of St Mark saw a group of 30 S1 pupils travel to St Patrick’s in Edinburgh.
The home of Hibs is also home to the shrine of Venerable Margret Sinclair who’s life in early 20th century Cowgate and holy example are becoming an inspiration to many.
Joined by the Margaret Sinclair Education Adviser, our former PTRE, Mr Hughes, our young people learned about this ordinary girl who is on the path to sainthood and how they can follow Christ in their everyday lives too. Fun activities and times of prayer made for an uplifting day and a chance to seek the intercession of Venerable Margaret for all members of the Turnbull family.
We are very grateful to the volunteers at St Patrick’s for making us so welcome and to Fr Monaghan for offering the Mass so beautifully at the shrine altar.
Mid-term update
Lenten Almsgiving: Give us this day our daily bread.
Building on the immense generosity of those who donated to the Advent foodbank collection, Miss Morrison and her Leadership class launched a Lenten effort to support those who are in need. When we pray the Our Father, we say ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ Inspired by the self-gift of Our Lord in the supersubstantial daily bread of the Eucharist, all who contributed enabled the group to provide daily sustenance to those who are in need. This is faith put into action.
Well done also to our S1 pupils who undertook a sponsored silence during RE and raised a substantial sum for Mary’s Meals.
Sacraments at Turnbull High School
This month we completed our programme of Class Masses and Confessions. Every class in the school has had the opportunity to receive the sacraments throughout the year. Please keep them in your prayers and encourage them to nourish their faith in this way in their parishes. Our thanks go to Fr Monaghan, Canon Hill, Fr Alex and Fr Mackle for their support of such an extensive programme. Without their ministry, we would be unable to celebrate the sacraments.
Caritas 2023, in their own words
Overall, Caritas has had a big impact on me and aided in strengthening my faith. It has given me the chance to reflect more on my own life and discover new ways of thinking that help me to grow closer to God. It has enhanced my understanding of scripture and the teachings of the Church and even caused me to make new friends. So ultimately, Caritas has been and will continue to be an extraordinary force in my life.
True loving mercy requires complete self-sacrifice, the ability to halt your own life and desires completely in order to help someone else, just as the Samaritan did in the parable. And we have not only to do this with people that we find it easy to love.
The “decisive direction” that the late pope speaks of is of course towards Heaven, and I think that the word “decisive” does give a very accurate description. We can have no hesitancy or doubt in our Faith if we wish to truly live the lives that God wants us to and must have complete trust in God, confident that He will guide us perfectly through the trials of this life and into the next.
“Love and truth are inseparable. Without love, truth becomes cold, impersonal and oppressive for people’s day-to-day lives.” (Pope Benedict XVI) Pope Benedict taught us that in order for truth to be valuable, it must be founded in love – a two-way relationship. Furthermore, the pursuit of truth must always be guided by a spirit of love and compassion. Without love, truth can become unnecessary, harsh or dogmatic, lacking the kindness and humanity that is needed for it to be truly meaningful and positive in people’s lives. The depth added to this idea by things I learned through Caritas is just one of many ways the award has impacted my outlook on things fundamental to my faith.
As Pope Benedict says in Deus Caritas Est: “Love is an act of the will, and it can survive even when the feelings have disappeared.” This can make loving difficult and may even require us to make sacrifices or compromise. The ultimate example of love is the sacrificial love of Jesus, who died on the cross for the sins of humanity. Similarly, we are called to love others without prejudice and even when it doesn’t suit us – even, most radically, to love our enemies.
Knowing myself more deeply has allowed me to consider what I want and what is important in my life, something valuable beyond words at this stage in my life, where I will soon be leaving school and becoming an adult. I know the regular chance provided by Caritas to think not just academically or scientifically but spiritually has helped me tremendously through such a transitory stage in my life.
We may have opinions and perspectives that differ from others to the point that we may consider them enemies, but we need to remember that God created us all in His Own Likeness, which means that we are all Children of God. God has a place for us all in the world, and loves us all unconditionally. If we are to be true followers of Christ, we need to listen to His words and follow His example.
“The expression of love of neighbour is not just an individual responsibility, but something for the whole Church” Pope Benedict
This Deus Caritas Est quote has guided me along my Caritas year to explore the importance of love. It is first and foremost that the obligation of each individual believer is to love their neighbour as themselves, but it is also the responsibility of the entire Christian community at every level, from the local neighbourhood to the specific Church and to the Church universal as a whole. The Church must practise love as a group.
When we love our brother we also love God. We cannot love God and not love our brother because he is the love that God has given us. We love our neighbours because as Christians we follow God. It is crucial to emphasise that the greatest Commandment is to love God with all my heart since, without doing so, I cannot love my neighbour. The ability to love my neighbour as myself depends on how much I love God. Only when I love God is the only relationship that can spill over into other relationships.
I feel we live in a world just now which is extremely materialistic and some people have lost a focus on looking out for others and appear to have a more selfish outlook on life, concentrating on their own needs rather than the needs of others. I feel the Pope’s teaching (Deus Caritas Est) should be taken on board by more people as this would make the world a better place.
“Love grows through love.” This is a quote directly from Pope Benedict XVI and seems simple at first glance when you take it literally….the more I think about it the more amazing it is to me. I interpret it as God saying how he will always love us as we are his children and in order for his light to shine in our lives, we need to open the door and let him in so he can spread his love to us.
With Caritas, I have somewhat put aside the writings of Camus and Sartre and come to more greatly enjoy the Holy Scriptures and writings of Catholic philosophers and theologians. Love may be irrational to our meagre human minds but given the context of God – from whom it comes, by whom we may enjoy it – the Mystery of Love becomes much more perceptible to me. I have come to realise, the call to Love is a calling to be closer to God and to know Him more fully (1 John 4:16). Our love is but a manifestation of God and His love (1 John 4:19).
