Welcome to your November Edition,
The History of St. Anne’s in Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in the county of East Lothian situated five miles east of Edinburgh city centre. It is a coastal town that offers a panoramic vista of the Firth of Forth and is steeped in history. After the Romans invaded Scotland in AD80, they decided to settle in Musselburgh and utilise the land for their building operations whil…
In Remembrance
The month of September has an association which sits deeply in my nervous system. The war began brutally, almost in an instant. At around 4.40 in the morning the Luftwaffe was already bombing Wieluń, a small provincial town, minutes later Westerplatte was under fire, and by the middle of the day the German attack was unfolding on a vast scale from sever…
St Margaret - Queen of Scotland
To celebrate the 933rd anniversary of Queen Margaret’s death this year, Ron Smith writes about her life and continuing influence in Scotland.
The Life of Mary Antoinette
Grace Marshall examines the life and death of the French Queen who was born on the 2nd November 1755.
November Saints
November is of course the month of Holy Souls and a time in which we remember and pray for those who have passed on before us. In Scotland November has two big hitters so to speak - St Margaret (16th November) and St Andrew (30th November). Both speak to the origins and formation of the country we now call Scotland. Click their names to find out more.
In the rest of November we have two Pictish Saints - Machar and Devenick - both Saints of the North East and whose names, like many, give their names to the places they worked. It is worth looking around your own area and asking why it is named as such?
November also records the names of some of the Saints whose deeds and life have all but fallen out of memory and leave us with more questions than answers. Chief among those this month is St Englat/Murdebar another Saint of the North east of Scotland. He may have been a Pict, may have been Irish - quite possibly confused with another. What do we make of this? How many Saints are in the holy of holies as we speak, and few to none us of us would know? All these Saints are a watermark of sanctity which is in the very bones of this country, men and women, relied upon and acknowledged by ordinary people across centuries. Whether St Englat or indeed St Methven (Perthshire) have true historicity can be debated- what is true however is how they inspired people to turn to God; ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’. (Zechariah 1:2)
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About
St Moluag’s Coracle is an online Catholic magazine focused on and about faith in Scotland today. We have two aims; bringing you writing that will build and inform your faith and secondly, to bring to light Scotland’s hidden Catholic history.
Our writers come from all walks of life, some are Religious or in the Priesthood. Most are lay people with excellent knowledge and insight.
St Moluag’s Coracle was begun in a kitchen in Nairn by Eric Hanna; with the help of Dominican Sisters, Bishops and the many wonderful and talented writers who have contributed to making this magazine a thoughtful and thought-provoking place for Catholic writing in Scotland.
St Moluag’s Coracle is part of the registered Scottish charity and apostolate Mary’s Well. In addition to publishing this magazine, Mary’s Well also oversees the Association of King James VII and II - a group dedicated to promoting the Cause of this Servant of God. Please find out more here, or email admin@kingjamesviiandii.org. We also put on retreats from time-to-time which we publicise here as well.