We must wonder why these saints are still so fascinating these days. The
priest in charge of the Basilica thinks, that the veneration of them must help
many people to approach God. He says that “while God can be for many
beyond their imagination, these saints, who were once human beings, could
bring something godly down to earth”. St Christopher and St Blaise, St
Barbara and St Catherine are ambassadors of heaven on earth, represent a
kind of opposite world, and in calling on them we could trust in God without
fear.
And there is something else which makes them special; their story of
martyrdom made them into ‘wounded healers’, to whom psychologists
attribute a special power. C.G. Jung wrote:” Only when the doctor has
himself been hit, he could be efficient.” The Benedictine monk Anselm Grün
thinks, that these saints are helping people to confront their hurts, showing
them that pain and suffering are part of life. Anxieties have not been
diminished by progress in medicine, despite cures for many ailments, and
these days mental health is particularly afflicted by anxieties, maybe that is
the reason why so many young people call upon the fourteen helpers in
need.
Although the saints’ days for the fourteen helpers are found all over the year,
the second Sunday in May is considered special, because on the spot where
the Basilica stands, the fourteen are said to have appeared to a shepherd
and had asked for a church to be built there, telling him:” If you will be our
servant, we will be your helpers”. The Priest in charge of the pilgrimage has
found that the experience can be as powerful as ever, many are coming and
are overwhelmed by it:
“Not many eyes remain dry!”
Brigitte Williams
Dear Congregation,
At the Glasgow and Galloway 2017 Diocesan Synod it was announced that
in 2018 there will be a pilgrimage to the Holy Land organized by Scottish
Episcopal Church (see over).
Small bursaries are available for low income families that wish to join the
Pilgrimage.
Priest in Charge of St. Oswald’s Lesley-ann Craddock, would like to point
out the importance of a living wage and that St Oswald’s do pay a living
wage to employees.
Linda Hardie
StOM Page 8