As we approach the Feast of Our Lord’s Nativity I  extend to you my good wishes and prayer. I do so in gratitude for your own prayers and support for me during my first year as Bishop of Argyll and the Isles. It has been a pleasure and privilege to meet you during my pastoral visits earlier in the year and to celebrate the sacrament of confirmation in many of the parishes in more recent weeks. Thank you for the warm welcome I have received and for your hospitality and kindness.

 I have been conscious in this Year of Homecoming in Scotland that it has been a blessing for me to come back home and to serve Christ and his people as Bishop of the Diocese to which I belong. It has been a great help to already know all the priests and many of the faithful, and to feel that there is such a strong bond of faith and unity as we strive to serve the Lord in our particular vocations.

I hope and pray that we can continue to proclaim the Good News and build up the Church in all our little communities spread across the coastal towns, and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. It is good also for us also to promote a sense of homecoming within the Church and to strive to welcome those who return to the practice of the faith and those who have come to join us from other countries.

 One sad Homecoming I have been very aware of over the past year is the return of dead soldiers from Afghanistan. The weekly arrival of the coffins and the outpouring of grief on the part of the bereaved families and the people who gather to show their respect bring home to us all the cost of war, and the great need to work and pray for peace. The message of the angels rings out for us each Christmas – “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favour” – and we renew our prayerful petition that God’s peace will reign among us and bring an end to all wars and hatred among the peoples of our world.

 Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, in his message for the World Day of Peace on 1^st January 2010 exhorts us to promote peace by caring more attentively for the world we have been gifted by God. He begins by saying If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation, and he ends his very strong message as follows:

 “Protecting the natural environment in order to build a world of peace is thus a duty incumbent upon each and all. It is an urgent challenge, one to be faced with renewed and concerted commitment; it is also a providential opportunity to hand down to coming generations the prospect of a better future for all. May it be clear to our leaders and all concerned for the future of humanity that the protection of creation and peacemaking are profoundly linked. I invite all believers to raise a fervent prayer to God, the all-powerful Creator and the Father of mercies, so that all men and women may take to heart the urgent appeal: If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.” 

  As we look ahead to 2010, we hope to welcome the Holy Father to Scotland. It seems likely that he will be coming to Britain next autumn and it is hoped that a visit to Scotland will be part of his itinerary. Perhaps a number of us will also visit him in Rome, thinking especially now of the recently announced canonization of Blessed Mary MacKillop and the joy we share with the Church in Australia as we look forward to this happy celebration. The Scottish Bishops will also be making our Ad Limina Visit to Rome in February, during which we will celebrate Mass at the tombs of the great apostles Peter and Paul, visit Pope Benedict and the various Congregations of the Roman Curia giving a reports on the life and mission of our various dioceses and of the Catholic Church in Scotland today.

 The most important aspect of the Church’s life is the celebration of the Eucharist and over the last number of years a new English translation of the Roman Missal has been prepared and is now almost ready for publication and use across the English-speaking world. The new missal includes some changes in the peoples’ responses at Mass, as well as new translations of most of the priests’ prayers. The introduction of the new texts will give us an opportunity to reflect upon the Mystery of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, and how we express and celebrate our faith in the elements and signs, the words and actions, the prayer and silence which make up our great act of worship of Our heavenly Father, through the Lord Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit. It will be a time therefore for renewal of faith in the Eucharist, as well as learning the new responses.

 As you know we recently launched an appeal, Faith in the Future, seeking support for the work of the Bishop and the Diocese in the many responsibilities we face. A good number of people have already responded very generously, and I am very grateful for, and will acknowledge, this additional support you have kindly offered. Having spent quite a lot of time recently in parishes I am very conscious of the needs of our parishes, particularly the smaller ones, and their dependence on the weekly, and special, contributions of the parishioners. People need to be very conscious today of the costs of maintaining the local Church, and be very orderly (gift-aiding, putting in your contributions for Sundays you are away, and taking out standing-orders) and generous in your support.

I have encouraged the parish priests to make accountability and transparency the foundation of the economic management of the parishes, and to this end each parish needs to have a functioning finance committee and produce an annual statement of income and expenditure. At the same time we will continue to support the needy in the world, and, once again, I thank you for your exceptional generosity to the Church’s Missions and Missionaries (Fr Colin MacInnes and a number of Religious Sisters among others), to SCIAF, Mary’s Meals and other charities assisting the world’s poor. For a little Diocese there is a great deal of charitable activity and we thank the Lord that we have been blessed with this ability to see the needs of others and to respond so generously..      

 I wish you, therefore, a happy and peace-filled Christmas, in which the blessing of the Lord Jesus will be upon you and yours, and upon the Church in our homes and parishes, in our Diocese and throughout the world. May the prayers of Mary, his Mother and ours, accompany you all and keep you close to Him.

 Yours in the Lord Jesus,

 Rt Rev Joseph Toal

Bishop of Argyll and the Isles