The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

🇻🇦On the Feast Day of St John Paul II, his teaching from the encyclical Centesimus Annus reminds us that our faith is not a private matter; it must be lived out by concrete action in our communities and throughout the world.

✝️Jesus calls us to this way of living in the Gospels: in the Sermon on the Mount, He instructs us to be peacemakers and to hunger and thirst for what is right. And in the Parable of the Last Judgment, Christ identifies Himself with the most vulnerable, declaring that we are close to Him when we respond to their needs: “whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for me.”

🙏May St John Paul II inspire us to take up active discipleship by living the Gospel not only in word, but in deeds of compassion, courage, justice and hope. St John Paul II, pray for us!

https://catholicphilly.com/2025/10/vatican/marriage-is-a-noble-exalted-vocation-path-to-holiness-pope-says/


Sacramental marriage and traditional family life increase joy in the good times, give strength during hard times and are a path to true holiness, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has published its Second Annual Report, reaffirming the Church’s commitment to placing victims and survivors of abuse at the centre of its safeguarding mission and expanding the evidence base that guides reform. CLICK HERE: https://www.tutelaminorum.org/annual-report/

The Liturgical Commission of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland has organised a Day Conference on "The Psalms and a Life of Prayer" on 28 October (Stirling Univeristy) and 29 October (Christ the King Church, Glasgow) for laity and clergy (10.30 am – 4 pm). A workshop for parish musicians takes place in Glasgow on Wednesday evening at 7 pm. The presenter, Abbot Gregory Polan OSB, is a Benedictine of Conception Abbey, Missouri, and a Scripture scholar, liturgist and musician. Abbot Gregory led the translation project of the Abbey Psalms which have been used in the new Lectionary for Mass in Scotland, England and Wales. If you would like to attend, please register by emailing [email protected] by Friday 24 October.

From Universalis today
Prayer
Luke 18:1-8
‘God will give justice to his elect, who cry to him.’

At that time: Jesus told his disciples a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, “Give me justice against my adversary.” For a while he refused, but afterwards he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.” ’
And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’

Commentary

We often think of prayer as mere asking, and this parable encourages us to pester God as the wronged widow pestered the Unjust Judge. Luke’s parables are always lively, and the characters like to talk and explain themselves! The judge’s fear of the widow can be translated that she will come and ‘outface me’, but it could also be translated ‘hit me in the face’. But such persistence is only one aspect of Luke’s teaching on prayer. He also shows us what our attitude in prayer should be, by the parable immediately following in the gospel, the Pharisee and the Tax-Collector: the tax-collector wins approval because he just stands there, admitting his sins. Most instructive, however, is Luke’s teaching on Jesus at prayer: he reminds us that Jesus is always quietly at prayer to his Father. He needs to slip away to spend the night in prayer. Especially he prays at the most important moments of his life, at his Baptism, when he chooses his team, before he teaches them to pray, at the approach of his Passion, finally forgiving and comforting others at his death. Paul tells us we should pray continually. The prayer of asking must be built on a relationship of love and dependence, just as the request of child to parents is built on that loving relationship. It does not matter if the child is naughty, as long as the relationship is one of love; so we do not need to be perfect to make our requests to our Father.
HW