Our World Youth Day (WYD) 2016 Pilgrims attended the Diocesan Vocations Mass on the Feast of the Assumption - One representative; Ben Smith - from the group was asked to reflect on what the experience meant to the group as a whole. Please find his touching reflection on behalf of the WYD 2016 Pilgrimage.

Rita Ora sings 'What Child Is This?', backed by the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Concert "Hymn to Mother Teresa", on the occasion of the celebrations for the canonization of Mother Teresa , from the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy.

As Mother Teresa is canonised, Bishop John Keenan, the Bishop of the Diocese of Paisley, recalls the time he met her as a young seminarian in Rome. Streaming from the BBC website.

Sunday 4th September at 9am Duration: 01:00 MASS OF CANONIZATION OF BLESSED TERESA OF CALCUTTA Pope Francis celebrates the Canonization Mass of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, live from Rome. Full coverage...

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, I am delighted to be with you this evening to bless and consecrate you in your vocation as teachers as the new academic year begins. As teachers and staff in our Catholic schools you are the most precious asset of our diocese, truly the jewel in our crown. In fact it is difficult to overestimate your place at the heart of our mission to bring Christ and His Gospel to our young. Truly our Church in the West of Scotland lives or dies by our Catholic schools so much so that as go our Catholic schools and teachers so goes our Church.

The Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative is having a Grand Sale on Saturday, 10th September from 12–4pm. There will be clothes for all ages, toys, books, shoes, bags, jewellery, bric-a-brac, new and not-so-new. It’s at 104 Albert Road, Crosshill, Glasgow G42 8DR. Please come along!

Our Paisley Synod Moving Forward Leaflets. Please take away a copy of the leaflets available in church this weekend and next. They give you a summary of our Paisley Synod so far together with news of how our full Synod Sessions in Eastertime went. Delegates produced a 10 point Charter which is in the leaflets along with proposals for moving forward with their recommendations in the year ahead. Once again a huge thanks to everyone who got involved in making this diocesan journey of ours such an inspiration.

While most expatriate aid workers left South Sudan after a brutal attack on foreigners in the capital, a group of Catholic missionaries have chosen to stay. “We stayed because we are committed to the ordinary people who are suffering so much,” La Sallian Christian Brother Bill Firman, director of Solidarity with South Sudan, said in a telephone interview on Monday from Juba, the capital. “My colleagues and I believe this is a good place for religious to be,” the Australian brother said, noting that “we know our continued presence encourages” local residents and “provides some hope.” South Sudanese troops attacked aid workers in mid-July in a Juba hotel.

Pope Francis has created a new department focussing on helping migrants and caring for the environment, and has named one of Africa’s most prominent cardinals – who some have tipped as a future Pope – to lead it. On Wednesday Francis announced a new dicastery for “Promoting Human Development” which will be led by Cardinal Peter Turkson, a 67-year-old Ghanaian who currently runs the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and is close to the Pope.

Scotland has taken in 1,000 Syrian refugees since a summit last year aimed at easing the international crisis. The Scottish government said the milestone was reached after 120 new refugees arrived in Scotland in the past week. A refugee charity thanked all of those involved in the "phenomenal response" to the new arrivals. But it said the number taken in was "tiny compared with the people in desperate need". Last September's summit was attended by representatives of all Holyrood's political parties as well as dozens of interested organisations. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said at the time that Scotland should accept 1,000 refugees "as a starting point for a meaningful discussion".

Plans to assign a state guardian to every child in Scotland will not come into force today as planned, after last month’s historic Supreme Court decision. The Scottish Government had proposed that from 31 August every person under the age of 18 would have a named person to monitor their “wellbeing”. But the Supreme Court unanimously struck down the central provisions of the scheme last month. Committed Last week, the Government officially lodged Parliamentary orders to halt the implementation of the law underpinning the Named Person scheme.

Hollywood actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson appeared as a surprise guest at SoCal Harvest at Angel Stadium Sunday night and sat down on stage with evangelist Greg Laurie to discuss recent reports that he is working on a sequel to his blockbuster reenactment film “The Passion of the Christ.” - See more at: http://aleteia.org/blogs/deacon-greg-kandra/mel-gibson-talks-up-passion-sequel-i-made-the-ultimate-superhero-film-in-the-passion-of-the-christ/#sthash.Mn1fWa1D.dpuf