St Mary's and St Peter's Church, Montrose

31/08/2026

Fr Paul writes: Romans 11:1–2a, 29–32 • Matthew 15:21–28
16 August 2026, St. Mary’s & St. Peter’s

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Have you ever felt abandoned by God, that you are too unworthy for Him to care about you, that your prayers go unheard? St Paul begins today's first reading with that very question, a question that has echoed through every generation of believers: “Has God rejected His people?” It is a question born of fear—fear that our failures might finally exhaust God’s patience, fear that our disobedience might undo His promises. And Paul answers with absolute certainty: “By no means.” God’s gifts and His calling, he says, are irrevocable. They are not fragile. They do not depend on our consistency. They do not waver when we waver. Even our disobedience becomes the very place where His mercy is revealed most clearly.

Paul is speaking about Israel, but he is also speaking about the whole human condition. We fall, we wander, we resist grace—and yet God remains faithful. His mercy is not a reward for good behaviour; it is His nature. He is faithful because He is faithful. And that truth steadies us. It means that no failure, no
weakness, no season of dryness places us beyond His reach.

Then the Gospel gives us a living picture of that mercy. We meet the Canaanite woman—an outsider, a foreigner, a mother carrying anguish in her heart. She cries out, “Lord, have mercy.” At first, Jesus is silent. Then His words seem hard, even discouraging. But she does not turn away. She kneels before Him and says simply, “Lord, help me.” Her faith is not born from privilege or religious heritage. It is born from need—from the desperate conviction that Christ is her only hope.

And in that moment, Jesus reveals what was true all along: “Great is your faith.” Her daughter is healed. The outsider is welcomed. The boundary is broken. Mercy triumphs.

These two readings—Paul’s assurance and the woman’s persistence—proclaim the same truth: God’s mercy breaks every boundary we draw. Israel is not rejected. The Gentile woman is not excluded. The sinner is not abandoned. The outsider is not forgotten. God’s mercy is wider than our imagination, deeper than our fears, stronger than our failures.

And this speaks directly to us. When we feel our failures keenly—Paul says, God has not rejected you. When prayer feels desperate—Jesus shows that honest need is the doorway to grace. When we are tempted to narrow our compassion—this woman reminds us that faith may be strongest in those we least expect.

Today, we kneel beside her. We bring our need, our longing, our poverty of spirit. We bring the places where we feel unworthy, the prayers that feel unanswered, the hopes we barely dare to voice. And with her we say: “Lord, have mercy.” And Christ—who healed her daughter, who upheld Israel, who gathers Jew and Gentile, saint and sinner—meets us with the same steadfast love. His mercy is not fragile. His calling is not revoked. His compassion is not rationed. It is poured out, again and again, upon all who come to Him.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

22/08/2026

Great to have Montrose Town Band playing in the church this afternoon as part of the Montrose Horticultural Society's 200th Flower Show. The town band played at the 1st Flower Show 200 years ago.

18/08/2026

Come along to see the
200th Montrose Flower Show
on Sat 22nd August
10am - 3pm
at St Mary's & St Peter's Church

09/08/2026

200 Years of Montrose Flower Show!
Sat 22nd August
St Mary's & St Peter's Church
Public viewing 10am - 3pm
Presentation of Prizes 3.30pm by Angus' Lord Lieutenant

09/08/2026

Father Paul writes:
Genesis 32:22–31, Romans 9:1–5, Matthew 14:13–21)
2 August 2026, St Andrew’s.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
There are moments in the Scriptures when God meets His people in ways that are both bewildering and transformative. Today’s readings place before us three such moments: Jacob wrestling through the night, St Paul grieving for his own people, and Our Lord feeding the multitude in the wilderness. Each of these moments reveals something essential about the life of faith: that God meets us in our hunger, our struggle, and our longing — and in meeting us, He changes us.

1. Jacob: The Man Who Wrestles
In Genesis, Jacob is on the threshold of a new life. He is returning home after years of exile, years of deceit, years of running from the consequences of his own actions. He is about to meet Esau — the brother he wronged. And on the night before that meeting, Jacob finds himself alone. Or so he thinks. A mysterious figure wrestles with him until daybreak. Jacob does not know who this stranger is, but he refuses to let go. He clings with all his strength, saying, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And in 1 that moment, Jacob receives both a wound and a blessing. His hip is put out of joint, and yet he is given a new name: Israel — the one who strives with God.

Jacob’s encounter teaches us that faith is not always serene. Sometimes faith is a struggle — a wrestling with God in the dark, in the uncertainty, in the fear of what tomorrow may bring. And yet, it is precisely in the struggle that God blesses us. Jacob limps away from that encounter, but he limps as a changed man. His wound becomes a sign of grace. Many of us carry such wounds — the marks of battles fought in prayer, in repentance, in perseverance. And God does not despise these wounds. He uses them. He sanctifies them. He turns them into the very places where His blessing rests.

2. Paul: The Apostle Who Grieves
In Romans, St Paul speaks with a raw honesty that is almost painful to hear. He says he carries “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” for his own people, Israel. He longs for them to recognise the Messiah, to receive the fullness of the promise that belongs to them. Paul’s grief is not despair; it is love. It is the love of one who knows that God’s purposes are larger than our understanding. Paul reminds us that God’s covenant with Israel is not erased; it is fulfilled in Christ. The promises, the adoption, the glory — all find their completion in the One who is “God over all, blessed forever.”

Paul’s longing teaches us something vital: that Christian faith is never indifferent. It is never cold. It is never detached. To follow Christ is to carry the burdens of others, to pray for those who do not yet see, to hope for those who have wandered far, to love even when love costs us tears.

3. Jesus: The Lord Who Feeds
And then we come to the Gospel — the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus has just received news of John the Baptist’s death. He withdraws to a lonely place, seeking solitude. But the crowds follow Him. They come with their hunger, their sickness, their need. And Jesus, even in His own grief, has compassion. He heals. He teaches. And when evening comes, He feeds them — not symbolically, not metaphorically, but truly. Five loaves, two fish, and a multitude fed until they are satisfied. And twelve baskets left over.

This miracle reveals the heart of God: a heart that gives, a heart that provides, a heart that meets us in our hunger and fills us with abundance. Jesus does not send the people away. He welcomes them. He feeds them. He gives Himself to them.

4. Three Stories, One Truth
Jacob wrestles. Paul grieves. Jesus feeds.
Three stories, one truth: God meets us where we are, and in meeting us, He transforms us. Jacob meets God in the struggle — and is changed. Paul meets God in the sorrow — and is strengthened. The crowds meet God in their hunger — and are fed. And so it is with us.

5. For Us Today
Some of us come today wrestling with God — wrestling with unanswered prayers, with fears, with uncertainties. Some of us come grieving — for loved ones, for situations that seem beyond our control, for hopes that feel fragile. Some of us come hungry — for meaning, for comfort, for reassurance, for the Bread of Life Himself. And Christ meets us here.

He meets us in the Sacrament of the Altar, where He feeds us not with loaves and fish, but with His own Body and Blood. He meets us in the Scriptures, where His voice speaks into our darkness. He meets us in the fellowship of the Church, where His love binds us together. He meets us in our wounds, our longing, our hunger — and He blesses us.

6. A Final Word
Jacob walked away limping but blessed. Paul wrote with tears, but with hope. The crowds ate until they were satisfied, and still there was more. So may it be with us. May we wrestle faithfully. May we grieve lovingly. May we hunger for Christ and be fed abundantly. And may the God who met Jacob in the night, who met Paul in his sorrow, and who met the crowds in their hunger — meet us today, transform us today, and bless us today.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

01/08/2026

What a wonderful organ recital today by Mark Spalding in memory of Harold Jack who's birthday it would have been. Happy heavenly birthday Harold.

11/07/2026

There will be an organ recital in memory of Harold Jack on 1st Aug (his birthday) at 3pm. All welcome.

01/07/2026

01/07/2026

Hello all. Just to let you know the hog roast planned for Sat 11th July has been CANCELLED.

30/06/2026

** Update - unfortunately we have had to cancel this event**
Community Hog Roast
St Mary’s and St Peter’s
Sat 11th July 1.30pm
Entry by donation. Raffle.
Everyone Welcome
Please come along and enjoy.