RC Diocese of Argyll & the Isles

The Parish Priest of St. Margaret’s, Roy Bridge, Mgr Thomas Wynne, after many years of honing his literally skills on the weekly parish bulletin, recently published a little book entitled  “The Forgotten Cameron of the ’45 – The Life and Times of Alexander Cameron S.J.”  Since the life of this Scottish Jesuit priest coincided with Scalan’s seminary life I read Mgr Wynne’s book over the last few days with an eye on what I might say today.

The story of Fr Cameron is interesting in itself – he was a member of the family of the Chief of the Camerons of Locheil, Episcopalians and strong Jacobites. After spending a number of years on the continent in France and Italy, sometimes in the service of the exiled Stuarts, he converted to Catholicism, joined the Jesuits, and after his ordination as priest in 1741 returned to Scotland to minister in the Strathglass Mission along with his fellow Jesuits John and Charles Farquharson under Bishop Hugh MacDonald. His work on the Mission was curtailed with the arrival of Bonne Prince Charlie in Scotland and the raising of the Jacobite Standard at Glenfinnan. The Camerons rallied to the Prince’s cause and Fr Alexander joined their ranks, along with the Bishop and a good of number of his priests. As chaplains to the Jacobite army they accompanied the clansmen through the whole campaign, ending as it did with the defeat at Culloden and all its terrible consequences.

In the aftermath many who had fought or supported the Jacobite cause were rounded up and taken on prison ships to the Thames, including Bishop MacDonald and 12 priests – we recall also that Scalan was eventually attacked and burnt to the ground. One of the priest prisoners was Alexander Cameron, who because of his family connections and the brutality of the captain of HMS Furnace, on which he was kept a prisoner, was particularly ill-treated and died because of this  on 19^th October 1746. A sad story therefore of a time when Catholics could still be persecuted for their faith and priests ran the risk of imprisonment, ill-treatment, and perhaps death.

 It has to be admitted at the same time that to rebel against the state at any time is likely to bring down heavy punishment on those whose rebellion fails and this was certainly the case for the Highland Jacobites – it is not surprising that some priests were among those who died as prisoners  in such terrible conditions or, having survived imprisonment, were banished from Scotland. For the small Catholic community in Scotland, particularly in the Highlands, the disruption after the failed rebellion, and the loss of some of its priests, must have been truly severe, and the repression which followed changed many communities forever.

Those who were left though did not give up, and indeed the Catholic Church continued to survive, and in fact to grow again, even in such adverse times – the rebuilding of Scalan in the next decade and the steady increase of students studying here for the priesthood is testimony to that, as also were the attempts to keep a small seminary running through the remainder of the 18^th century in the Highland District. In these moments of trial and repression people are quite resilient in regard to holding on to what is dear to them, particularly their religious faith, and are prepared to make great sacrifices in the face of enforced hardships.

Such has been the history of the Church through the centuries and in many different places – indeed from the time of the apostles Peter and Paul, and the first martyrs of the Church of Rome, whose feast-days we celebrated in recent days, up until our own times. We often hear or read today of places where there is some element of persecution suffered by those who wish to remain faithful to their Catholic faith, and are discouraged or prevented from doing so, or even imprisoned and tortured if they dare to insist on their right to religious freedom.

Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has reminded us on occasions of the sufferings of the underground Catholics in China, who wish to remain in communion with the Bishop of Rome; the difficulties of Catholics in Pakistan, and some other countries with oppressive laws, were highlighted earlier this year when their most prominent Catholic politician was gunned down for seeking some change in the blasphemy laws; it is not uncommon to hear of violence against Christians erupting in different parts of the world, sometimes due to religious tensions, sometimes due to corrupt and oppressive regimes, who resent any criticism of their unjust practices. Wherever persecution exists we abhor it and we pray for an end to all religious discrimination and for those who suffer today for their faith. We continue to admire their courage and steadfastness, especially when violence erupts and deaths ensue. For those in such circumstances Our Lord’s words in today’s gospel must surely bring some comfort:

“Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

What about ourselves here in Scotland?  Some debate in recent times has focused on the issue of sectarianism and the need to eradicate it completely from Scottish society. It is likely that where it does exist it retains an element of anti-Catholicism, but I think must of us feel now that as Catholics we are very much part of Scottish society and that our contribution, particularly in education, is more valued rather than criticised or seen as a source of division. Probably though there may still be some sense that you are tolerated as long as you don’t rock the boat, or say too much, but perhaps that applies more and more to other Christians as well in our more secular society of today.

It is important though that we do witness to our Christian beliefs and uphold them in our own way of living and in the public forum – the protection of human life from its first moments to its natural end, the honouring of marriage and stable family life, the necessity of structured education in the Christian faith, being part of a worshipping Christian community in which we hear the Gospel proclaimed and are in communion with the Father through Christ Our Lord, the need to care for our neighbour and to show our Christian faith in deeds as well as in words. Some words from Pope Benedict’s homily at Bellahouston last September highlight our responsibilities in Scotland today:

“I appeal in particular to you, the lay faithful, in accordance with your baptismal calling and mission, not only to be examples of faith in public, but also to put the case for the promotion of faith’s wisdom and vision in the public forum. Society today needs clear voices which propose our right to live, not in a jungle of self-destructive and arbitrary freedoms, but in a society which works for the true welfare of its citizens and offers them guidance and protection in the face of their weakness and fragility. Do not be afraid to take up this service to your brothers and sisters, and to the future of your beloved nation.”

In serving God well, and in living our Christian faith to the full, we are also bringing his goodness to our neighbour and keeping the flame of Christian life and service alive in our country. We need to value this and hold on to this sense of serving our society, our country, our world, through Christian commitment and the full use of our God-given talents to do good works. St. Paul’s words today reflect on this working of the Spirit of Christ in each of us. Through openness to the Spirit and spiritual realities we are made capable of bringing the spiritual to every aspect of life and all that we do, so that the whole of our lives become a spiritual offering to the Father. Listen again to St. Paul’s thoughts:

“Your interests are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him, and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.”

The Spirit of Christ is living in each one of us – our bodies, our hearts, our souls are alive with his grace, and we are thus empowered to do the work of Christ in our homes, in our work-places, in our community activities, in our interest and concern for our country and our world today. We gather here at Scalan, honouring the purpose this building served in fostering and rebuilding the Catholic presence in Scotland in very challenging times, and the people who lived, worked and studied here, so enthused with Christ’s Spirit as they rebuilt after failure and destruction, showing such strong application and determination to provide new generations of priests to serve in the Scottish Mission. That was their particular task, and in one sense it was very focused on the students who came here, as indeed seminaries still have to be, but what was being done in this quiet corner of Glenlivet was to benefit others, and in particular the still barely tolerated groups of Catholics sparsely spread across Scotland.

Each of us in our own small environment serves the Lord in a similar spirit-filled way, and we pray and trust that we in our turn will produce good fruit for the Church and Scotland of today.

It is particularly important that we pray here at Scalan for vocations to the priesthood. In our Diocese of Argyll and the Isles we celebrated the ordination of a new priest recently – Fr. David Connor – and last week a new priest – Fr Domenico Zavre – was ordained for Aberdeen Diocese. For both of them and for the seminaries and parishes and communities who have supported them on the way to priesthood it has been a big effort to get to priesthood, and it is the same with each person who presents themselves as a possible candidates for the priesthood. We need to be very aware of this, that it is not an easy thing to become a priest – it wasn’t two or three centuries ago and it isn’t now.

Each person who comes forward needs all the support of prayer and encouragement which we can muster and in our parishes and ecclesial gatherings we need to pray constantly for vocations and for those who are preparing for priesthood. Let us make that one of our purposes then in attending this yearly Mass at Scalan but let us not forget to continue our prayer when we leave here, and if we know somebody studying to be a priest let us offer him every assurance of our appreciation and the support of our prayers. The same support is equally necessary also for those who are priests, and especially those who have given many long years in parish ministry and caring for their people in all their spiritual, and sometimes material, needs.

Looking back to the priest I started talking about – Fr Alexander Cameron – in a sense it was a waste that he was lost to the Scottish Mission after only four years of ministry in Scotland. The circumstances of the day brought about his “early” death, but these circumstances too have brought his memory alive for us once more. The call of Christ that he heard and responded to so willingly is still alive in the Church today, and it is our fervent prayer that the call will continue to be heard in Scotland  and that many other young men will respond as did Alexander Cameron and those who came to study here at Scalan.  May the Lord truly bless us in this way and keep us all faithful in his service.