The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Please join us in prayer following the distressing news from Medjugorje, where two statues of Our Lady were vandalised and the outdoor altar at St James’ Church was set on fire.

We pray for the parish of St James, for all those who make pilgrimage to Medjugorje, and for everyone affected by this act of desecration. We also pray for the people responsible, that their heart may be touched by God’s mercy and led to repentance and peace.

May Our Lady, Queen of Peace, continue to watch over Medjugorje and all who seek her Son through prayer.

It's time to build a fairer world and remove the hurdles to justice.

Commonwealth countries face the constant hurdle of debt and it’s getting worse every year. They need to pay debts back at a much higher rate, meaning there’s little left to spend on things like health and education.

These hurdles represent unjust debt. And it’s not hard to imagine what happened: higher hurdles for many of SCIAF’s partner countries made it impossible to run a fair race.

Cancel debt. Please watch and share this video today.

To find out more, visit: sciaf.org.uk/debt

Gospel
Matthew 13:31-35
‘The mustard seed becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

At that time: Jesus put another parable before the crowd, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’
He told them another parable. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.’
All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.’

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke trace Jesus’ family line through his legal ancestry, showing that he is the fulfilment of God’s promises. Yet we know very little about Mary’s own parents. Apart from the fact that they existed, there are no historical details about them. Even the names Joachim and Anne come from an early Christian writing composed more than a century after Jesus’ death, rather than from Scripture itself.

Even so, we can glimpse the holiness of Mary’s family through the person she became. Whether we consider the later traditions about her childhood or simply reflect on what the Bible tells us about her, Mary stands out as the fruit of generations of faithful people who lived lives of prayer and were deeply rooted in the faith of Israel.

Mary’s courage, her life of prayer, her obedience to God’s will, her faith in times of uncertainty, and her loving care for others all point to a close, faithful family. It was a family that treasured its traditions while preparing the next generation to serve God.

In this way, Joachim and Anne represent the countless ordinary men and women who quietly lived out their faith, fulfilled their responsibilities, and created the conditions in which the Messiah could come into the world. Though history remembers little about them, their hidden faithfulness played a vital part in God’s plan.

Saint James the Greater was one of the first disciples called by Jesus and belonged to the inner circle of the Apostles. He was the brother of Saint John the Evangelist and the son of Zebedee. While working as a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee alongside his father and brother, James heard Christ’s call and immediately left everything behind to follow Him.

Together with Peter and John, James enjoyed a unique closeness to Jesus. He was present at some of the most significant moments of the Lord’s ministry, including the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the Transfiguration, and Jesus’ prayer and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The Gospels reveal James as a man of great enthusiasm and strong character. Along with his brother John, he sought a place of honour in Christ’s kingdom, demonstrating both ambition and a limited understanding of the nature of discipleship. Jesus used this moment to teach that true greatness is found not in power or status, but in humble service and self-sacrifice.

James and John were also given the nickname *“Sons of Thunder,”* reflecting their passionate and sometimes impulsive nature. On one occasion, when a Samaritan village refused to welcome Jesus, they suggested calling down fire from heaven upon it. Christ gently rebuked them, teaching them the way of mercy and patience.

Over time, James grew in faith and understanding, learning what it truly meant to follow Christ. Jesus had foretold that he would share in His suffering, and this prophecy was fulfilled when James became the first of the Apostles to give his life for the Gospel.

According to the Acts of the Apostles, King Herod Agrippa ordered James to be executed by the sword around the year 44 AD. His martyrdom made him the first of the Twelve Apostles to die for his faith in Christ.

Known as *James the Greater* to distinguish him from James the Lesser, Saint James is honoured as a courageous witness to the Gospel. He is also closely associated with the great pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, where tradition holds that his relics are enshrined, drawing pilgrims from around the world for centuries.