AD SENSE

Dec 31: Christmas Octave

1 John 2:18-21 / John 1:1-18

Antichrists have appeared; They came from our ranks

 Renegade Christians were spreading heresy within the early Church. Influenced by Gnosticism (which derived its name from the Greek word for “knowledge”), they preached the doctrine that “knowledge” or faith sufficed for salvation. One’s moral conduct had little or nothing to do with it. John identifies these teachers as “antichrists,” “enemies of Christ.”

30th December, Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas

1 John 2 : 12-17; Luke 2 : 36-40

Shun the world’s attractions: The world passes; God alone remains.

 

Photographer David Crocket of KOMO-TV, Seattle, was caught at the foot of Mt. St. Helens when it exploded on May 18, 1980. He was nearly buried in the falling ash. Ten hours later he was miraculously spotted, picked up by a helicopter, and rushed to a hospital.

29th December, St. Thomas Becket

1 John 2:3-11 / Luke 2:22-35  

A light for all the nations; The light is shining

 

If we don’t love, we are in darkness. Gnosticism was a thorn in the side of the early Church. This heresy derived its name from the Greek word for “knowledge.” Gnosticism took many twists and is difficult to define.

Epiphany - Jan 03, Shorter Reflection

Jan 1: Mary, Mother of God and New Year

Jan 1: Mary, Mother of God: Stories and Illustrations

 From the Collection of Fr. Tony Kadavil and Others

1: Smiling child and his mother: There is a beautiful little story about a long, tedious train journey, made one Christmas day by some elderly residents of a nursing home who were on their way to a vacation spot.  At one station, a young mother with a small child entered the train.  The child smiled at all the grim faces around him and began moving from one lap to another talking, shouting with joy and chatting with everyone.    Instantly, the grim and silent atmosphere in the train was changed to one of joy and happiness.  Today we remember with joy and gratitude, how Mary and her Divine Son Jesus transformed a hopeless, joyless and sinful world into a place of joy and happiness. 

Dec 28-Jan 2: Christmas Season

Dec 28 Monday (Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/holy-innocents/   Mt 2:13-18: 13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

New Year: Quotes, Prayers, etc

NewYearFourbar.gif (5289 bytes)
Here is a collection of assorted quotations, stories and prayers to welcome in the new year.


What’s in a Name?. . . . . . . . . . . . .Complete Speaker’s Almanac, p. 22
    "Here we are in a month named after the Roman god Janus, an appropriate personification of the start of the new year. This particular Roman god had two faces so that he could look ahead toward the future and back at the past at the same time. As we get rid of an old year and look forward to a new one, we all try to be a little like Janus. We know through experience what we did wrong and what we did right, and hope to do better this year. Some people make ambitious new year’s resolutions; others just take a deep breath and hope for the best.…"

December 28, Monday, Holy Innocents

1 John 1:5 - 2:2 / Matthew 2:13-18

We have been redeemed: Jesus’ blood purifies us.

Advent, 24th December, Thursday

 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 / Luke 1:67-79 

Nathan prophesies about David: “Your kingdom will last forever. ”

Advent, December 23, Wednesday

 
Malachi 3: 1-4, 23-24; Luke 1: 5-25

I will send my messenger; “He will prepare the way for me.”

Holy Family - Dec 27

 Introduction by the Celebrant
(Liturgical Prayers of the day are included at the end)

A. In The House Of The Father

It may come as a real surprise to us to hear Jesus ask Mary and Joseph: "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be where my Father is?" Even Joseph and Mary had still to learn and to grow in their faith. Like the Holy Family, our families and each of us have also to grow in the faith. Perhaps it is through painful trials like the one of Mary and Joseph that our faith may become mature. We too are asked: Did you not know...?

Holy Family - Dec 27 - Short Reflection

Christmas - Liturgical Prayers

Greeting (See Second Reading)
    In our own time God has spoken to us
    through his own Son,
    the radiant light of God's glory
    through whom he made everything.
    May this Son, Jesus the Lord, be with you.
    R/ And also with you.

Advent: Dec 21-24

 Dec 21 Monday (St. Peter Canisius, Priest, Doctor of the Churchhttps://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-peter-canisius : Visitation of the BVM: http://cpbcomaha.org/2020/05/visitation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary/ Lk 1:39-45: 39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, …45 USCCB video reflections http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm

Advent, 22nd December, Tuesday

 1 Samuel 1: 24-28; Luke 1: 46-56 

Hannah takes Samuel to the Temple; Hannah dedicated Samuel to God. 

Samuel’s birth bears a similarity to Jesus’ birth. He too was born of a mother whose situation was such that people thought she couldn’t bear children. But Samuel’s mother, Hannah, had great faith in God. She prayed that God would give her a son, and God heard her prayer. Samuel grew up to give Israel leadership at a time when she needed it most.

Advent Reflection-3: Human Credentials and Credibility before God

Advent, 21st December, Monday

 Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18 / Luke 1:39-45 

The time is near: My lover comes leaping over the hills 

A popular film scene is an aerial view of two lovers, some distance apart, running toward each other with open arms. The length of the scene can vary, depending on how far apart the lovers are. Sometimes the director heightens the tension by doing the scene in slow motion. ’Alien the two lovers finally meet, they are swept up into each other’s arms.

Christmas 2020




Jesus sells: One never tires of Jesus as a subject. The cover stories of Time, Newsweek, and US News and World Report regularly mark His nativity. One reason for featuring Him so often is that their circulation invariably increases. Born twenty centuries ago, Jesus still sells. Mel Gibson broke all records with his DVD of The Passion of the Christ.

Advent, 17th December, Thursday

 Genesis 49:2, 8-10 / Matthew 1:1-17 

Jacob prophesies: Judah will hold the royal scepter.

 Jacob was also known as Israel. He came to Egypt at the urging of his son Joseph, during a great famine. At that time Joseph held a high office in Egypt.

3rd Week of Advent, Wednesday, Dec 16

 Isaiah 45:6-8, 18, 21-26 / Luke 7:19-23

Isaiah prophesies: Turn to me and be saved.

 

In Springfield, Illinois, February 11, 1861, dawned cold and rainy. But the weather didn’t keep the crowds from lining the streets of that town. They cheered as President-elect Lincoln passed on his way to the railroad station.

Advent Reflection -2: Fear Not, for I'm with you

Advent 4 B Homilies - Annunciation



TK Notes:
A. Any one who is into counseling knows that people come to you because of some anxiety or fear they face in life due to  a)  a relationship, b) a decision/choice or c) faith/ideology issue. They are all trying to find a way to cope with that situation. Mary too comes with, "How's this possible?"

Advent week: Dec 14-19

 Dec 14 Monday (St. John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor of the Church)

 https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-of-the-cross : Matt: 21: 23-27: 23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said,

3rd Week of Advent, Tuesday, Dec 15

Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13 / Matthew 21:28-32 

Zephaniah prophesies: I will prepare a humble people. 

Charles Colson was a top Nixon aide. He went to prison in the Watergate scandal. Later he underwent a religious conversion. Today he spends all his time preaching the Gospel, especially to prisoners. Colson was deeply influenced by C. S. Lewis’s book Mere Christianity. One passage, especially, touched him. “Pride leads to every other vice. . . .As long as you are proud you cannot know God.

4th Sunday Advent B - Shorter Version - Annunciation

3rd Week of Advent, Monday, Dec 14

Numbers 26:2-7, 15-17 / Matthew 21:23-27 

Balaam prophesies: A star shall advance from Jacob. 

Douglas Hyde was an English journalist who disliked the Catholic Church. One day he bought an anti-Catholic book to use in his attacks against the Church. The book had just the opposite effect on him. It led him into the Church. Something similar to this happened to Balaam in today’s reading. He set out to curse Israel, but ended up blessing her instead. Early church writers considered the words about the star in today’s reading as a prophetic reference to the star that directed the Magi to Jesus.

2nd Week of Advent, Saturday, Dec 12

Ecclesiasticus 48:1-4, 9-11 / Matthew 17:10-13

 Great are you, Elijah: You are destined to return. 

Elijah is described as parting life in a fiery chariot. (2 Kings 2:11) Symbolic or not, the description gave rise to the popular belief that Elijah would return to prepare the way for the “Day of the Lord.” To this very day, Orthodox Jews put an empty chair at the seder table for Elijah. Reform Jews put a “cup of Elijah” at the table. They hope this will be the year he’ll return.

2nd Week of Advent, Friday, Dec 11

Isaiah 48:17-19 / Matthew 11:16-19 

I am your God: I will show you the path to follow.

 

In The Upper Room, David McIntosh tells this story about a dream his uncle had. In the dream, his uncle’s four-year-old son had grown up to be a teenager. The boy was walking down a road when, suddenly, he disappeared down a dark path. As he did, he called back, “Daddy, you never showed me the right path to follow.”

The dream was so vivid that his uncle woke up from a sound sleep. He was so disturbed by the dream that he woke his wife and told her about it. Together they knelt down on the spot and prayed for their young son. They also resolved to teach their son how to walk always in the light of God’s Word.

2nd Week of Advent, Thursday, Dec 10

Isaiah 41:13-20 / Matthew 11:11-15

 I am the Lord your God: I will turn deserts into marshes. 

Before child labor laws were enacted, a ten-year-old boy was working in a factory in Naples, Italy. He wanted to earn money for music lessons. After singing for a schoolteacher, however, he was told to save his time and money. “Forget about singing,” the teacher said;

Advent 3rd Sunday B - Gaudate - Short Version

2nd Week of Advent: Dec 7-12

Dec 7 Monday (St. Ambrose, Bishop, Doctor of the Church): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-ambrose Lk 5: 17-26: 17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.  18 And behold, men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.  20 ……. 26 .. (Cfr. Mt 9: 1-8). USCCB reflections https://youtu.be/1aqVBJogCY4  Daily Catholic reflections: https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/ 

Advent Sunday 3 B: Rejoice

Advent is a time of joy – joy in the waiting and this Sunday we wear the joyful rose-coloured vestment. The messenger in the first reading is the ‘joyful messenger’, and his joy is that God is near and God is coming. This would be the message of Jesus –that he was the joyful messenger of his Father’s love. He would be the shepherd – the one who cares, knows and actively looks after the sheep. John the Baptist is the voice of joy and energy, preaching the new message.

 

Rejoice Sunday in Advent

Gospel text :   John 1:6-8, 19-28 


2nd Week, Advent, Monday Dec 7

2nd Week of Advent, Monday, Dec 7

Isaiah 35:1-10 / Luke 5:17-26

 Our God is coming: He will save us.

 In God of the Oppressed James Cone describes what Sunday worship meant for black slaves in pre-Civil War days: “How could black slaves know they were human beings when they were treated like cattle? How could they know that they were somebody when everything in their environment said that they were nobody?” Cone answers: “Only because they knew that Christ was present with them and that presence included the divine promise to come again to take them to the ‘New Jerusalem.’”

1st Week of Advent, Saturday, Dec 5

 Isaiah 30:19-21, 25-26 / Matthew 9:35 - 10:1, 6-8

 When you cry out, he will answer you. The harvest is great, "Send workers to gather it in. "

Kate Drexel came from a wealthy Philadelphia family. While riding about the city, she saw the tragic plight of black children living in hideous slum conditions. In her reading she learned about the plight black children in the South and of Native American children in the West. Moved to pity, Kate founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to work among these children. Before Mother Katherine Drexel died at age 97, she spent nearly $20 million of her own personal fortune to care for and educate blacks and Indians. Today, her order continues her work.

1st Week of Advent, Friday, Dec 4


Isaiah 29:17-24 / Matthew 9:27-31 

Isaiah talks about messianic times: Then the eyes of the blind will see.

Bob Evans had been blind since birth. When he was 50 years old, an operation gave him eyesight for the first time in his life. Suddenly his world changed beyond belief. He said in a Chicago Sun-Times interview: “It’s the most amazing thing in the world. ... I can’t wait to get up each day to see what I can see. . . .“And at night I look at the stars. . . . Everything is a constant high. You could never know how wonderful everything is.” This story gives us an insight into Isaiah’s prophecy in today’s reading, about how life will be changed for people when the Messiah comes.

Advent Sunday 2 B - Liturgical Prayers

Introduction and Litany of Praise
Option A
In today's liturgy we hear again the lonely voice
of John the Baptist urging us to prepare a way
for the Lord. Let us create a space in our minds
and hearts so that the Lord can come
to us in this Eucharist. [pause]

John began his mission with a call to repentance.
Jesus repeats his call to us today. [pause]

1st Week of Advent, Wednesday, Dec 2

Isaiah 25:6-10 / Matthew 15:29-37

The Lord will feast his people: He will wipe away all tears.

 

Pulitzer prize winning author Thornton Wilder wrote a novel called The Eighth Day. It’s about a good and decent family whose lives are filled with pain, sorrow, and hardship—caused by evil people. Wilder ends his novel without alleviating or resolving the family’s tragic situation.

Advent 2 B - Prepare the Way

A school principal called the house of one of his teachers to find out why he was not in school. He was greeted by a small child who whisper: “Hello?”

Advent 2nd Sunday B: Prepare the Way - Shorter Homily

1st Week of Advent, Tuesday, Nov 30

 1st Week of Advent, Tuesday, Nov 30

Isaiah 11:1-10 / Luke 10:21-24

The Spirit rests upon him; He will defend the rights of the helpless.

Stories for Sermons: B Cycle: Advent to Easter

Advent Sunday 2 B: John the Baptist: Prepare the Way


A school principal called the house of one of his teachers to find out why he was not in school. He was greeted by a small child who whisper: “Hello?”


1st Week of Advent: Nov 30-Dec 5

Nov 30 Monday: St. Andrew, the Apostle

 (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-andrew) 

Mt 4: 18-22: 18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea;  for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.  22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. (Mark 1: 14-20) USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm

Advent Sunday 1 B - Liturgical Prayers

Greeting 
I welcome you with the greeting of St Paul:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant

THANKSGIVING - US

A Prayer of Thanks

God, You are good, and Your steadfast love endures forever! Even in the hardest seasons, I always have a reason to worship You.

34th Week: Nov 23- 28:

Nov 23 Monday (St. Clement I Pope & Martyr

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-clement/) ,  St. Columban, Abbot 

(https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-columban/) , Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro, Priest, Martyr (U.S.A.) 

(https://www.franciscanmedia.org/blessed-miguel-agusaint-iacute-n-pro/ ) : Luke 21: 1-4: He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. 3 And he said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4 for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had.” USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm

Advent 1st Sunday B: Be Alert and Watchful




Presentation of the B.V. Mary, Saturday, Nov 21

 Revelation 11:4-12; Lk 20:27-40 

The two prophets heard a voice: "Come up here—to heaven!" 

The Book of Revelation is a paradoxical book. On the one hand it's utterly confusing. On the other hand, it's utterly clear. Take today's description of the two witnesses. It seems to fit Moses and Elijah, who tradition said would return to earth before the final Day of the lord.

34 Sunday A: Christ the King


1) Who's king in today's world? The one judged by: the Size of the car, house, iPhone, number of likes in social media, position, title, pay packet, employees under....?
2) Who's the King of the Kingdom of God? Each one gets 1 denarius, look after the vineyard, talents to invest and  multiply, come to the wedding feast, beloved son...., shepherd and servant leadership....
3) King who is a judge and our accountability. Reckoning day. We are forgiven by mercy and condemned by judgment. Health, wealth, responsibility, talents, wedding garment, shepherd, vineyard responsibility ......
4) Our baptism, confirmation, Eucharist does not matter at the end of the day, we wonder...? Mt 25 means these are foundations to look after the children of God. These give us the strength, inspiration, direction to do that.  They are not titles, positions or entitlements for salvation...
T.K.
*********

33rd Week, Monday, Nov 16

33rd Week: Nov 16-21: Reflections

Nov 16 Monday: St. Margaret of Scotland: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-margaret-of-scotland/ Lk 18: 35-43: 35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging; 36 and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more,

33rd Sunday A - Talents - Liturgy

 Sunday November 15 

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 

1. Much Is Entrusted to Us

2. Take the Risks of Faith 

 Greeting (See Second Reading) 

We do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping but stay wide awake and sober. May the Lord Jesus be your light and stay with you. R/ And also with you. 

32nd Week, Wednesday, Nov 11

St. Martin of Tours

Titus 3:1-7 / Luke 17:11-19

 COURAGE, GRATITUDE AND LOUD VOICES   

St. Martin of Tours, like other soldiers-to-become-saints, had a flair for courage, generosity and the flashy gesture. In his case, he famously used his sword to slash in half his cape, giving one part to a beggar. Presumably he kept the other half.

32nd Week, Nov 9-14:

 Nov 9 Monday (Dedication of the Lateran Basilica) (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/dedication-of-saint-john-lateran/):Jn 2.13-22 Historical note: Today the Church celebrates the anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral Church of Rome by Pope Sylvester I (AD 314-335), in AD 324. This Church serves as the Episcopal seat of the Pope as the Bishop of Rome and, hence, is called “the mother and head of all Churches of Rome and the world.” The basilica and baptistery were built originally by the Emperor Constantine and called Basilica Constantinia.

33 Sunday A: Talents: Gifted for Service


It's not only what you have got, but it's how we use what we have got - with love- that matters!


Feast of the Dedication of Lateran Basilica

3 Readings talk about God's presence in three areas: Nature (water & Herb) or creation. This is first temple. Second human persons, second temple. Third: social, civil and ecclesial structures. God first created time, space and context. Then created human beings. Sin and grace take place at a particular, location and context. Paradise had everything for grace and growth. Also the apple tree that caused sin. 

DEDICATION OF ST. JOHN OF LATERAN (FEAST) -Liturgy

You, the Temple of God, Are Sacred 

Greeting

Know that this place is holy because the Lord is here among us. Know that we ourselves are called to be holy for we are God’s temple. May the Lord Jesus always stay with you. R/ And also with you.

31st Week: Nov 3-7

 Nov 3 Tuesday: Lk 14:15-24: 15 When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; 17 and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, `Come; for all is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, `I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.’ 19 And another said,

31st Week, Tuesday, Nov 3

Philippians 2:5-11 / Luke 14:15-24

Jesus became one of us: He took the form of a servant. 

An Islamic parable tells of a traveller who strayed into the "Land of the Fools." There he saw a mob shouting hysterically.   "A monster is in our field," they cried. The traveller drew nearer and saw that the monster was only a watermelon, a fruit the fools had never seen before.

32 Sunday A: 10 Virgins: 5 Wise and 5 Foolish

 
Michel DeVerteuil
General Comments
Today’s passage is a teaching on “what the kingdom of heaven will be like” (verse 1). This biblical expression means the coming of grace into the world. The passage therefore is a teaching on grace, inviting us to recognise and celebrate our experiences of grace, and to prepare ourselves for future comings.
“Will be” is a reminder that the final and definitive coming of grace lies in the future, but the teaching also refers to the many partial but real comings of grace that we and our communities (including the worldwide human family) have experienced.

All Souls Day - Nov 2

From Fr. Tony Kadavil:

All Souls’ Day is a day specially set apart that we may remember and pray for our dear ones who have gone for their eternal reward and who are currently in a state of ongoing purification.

Ancient belief: 1) People of all religions have believed in the immortality of the soul, and have prayed for the dead.

All Souls Day - Nov 2- Liturgical Prayers

Greeting
Neither death nor life,
nothing that exists, nothing still to come,
nor any created thing
can ever come between us and the love of God
made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
May this risen Lord be always with you. R/ And also with you.

30th Week, Friday, Oct 30


Philippians 1:1-11 / Luke 14:1-6

God is at work in our lives: He’ll finish what he began in us.

 

A group of people was touring a factory where expensive pianos were made. First, the guide showed the people a large room where workers were sawing and shaping rough wood. Next, the guide took them to a room where workers were working on frames. Then, the guide took them to a room where metal strings and ivory keys were being assembled inside the frames of the pianos.

Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles, Oct 28

Ephesians 2:19-22 / Luke 6:12-19 

We are being built into a temple

Charles Schulz, author of the Peanuts cartoon, once said, "How can you go to something that you are already a part of? If you are a Christian, you are the 'Church.' " Someone else said, "That's precisely my problem with the Church. How can I believe that Christ founded it, 

All Saints - Nov 1

From Fr. Tony Kadavil:

NOVEMBER 1, 2017 ALL SAINTS DAY (L-17)

One-page synopsis: The feast and its objectives: All baptized Christians who have died and are now with God in glory are considered saintsAll Saints Day is intended to honor the memory of countless unknown and uncanonized saints who have no feast days. Today we thank God for giving ordinary men and women a share in His holiness and Heavenly glory as a reward for their Faith. This feast is observed to teach us to honor the saints, both by imitating their lives and by seeking their intercession for us before Christ, the only mediator between God and man (I Tim. 2:5). The Church reminds us today that God's call for holiness is universal, that all of us are called to live in His love and to make His love real in the lives of those around us. Holiness is related to the word wholesomenessWe grow in holiness when we live wholesome lives of integrity truth, justice, charity, mercy and compassion, sharing our blessings with others.

All Saints - Liturgical Prayers

Rev 7:2-4, 9-14; Ps 24:1-2,3-4,5-6 ;1 Jn 3:1-3;  Mt 5:1-12

Greeting (Rom 1, 7)
To all of you who are God's beloved
and called to be saints,
grace and peace from God our Father
and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord's peace stay with you. R/ And also with you.


Introduction by the Celebrant
On this celebration of All Saints, we ask ourselves: What is our idea of saints? Are they to us idealistic dreamers out of touch with the world and with people, passive and joyless like their plaster statues? Today's liturgy tells us a different story. They are ordinary people like us, of the same flesh and blood as we. But they had the courage to be different, to do the ordinary things of life in the extraordinary way of Christ from whom they drew their courage. They put us to shame with their quiet but strong gentleness, their integrity, their commitment to God and to people in justice and truth and peace. Let us ask the Lord here with us for the strength to follow him the way they did.

30th Week: Oct 26-31:

Oct 26 Monday: Lk 13:10-17: 10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” 13 And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people,

31 Sunday A: Practising what we Preach



Gospel text: Matthew 23:1-12


Michel DeVerteuil

General Comments
Today’s gospel passage contains several different teachings, each of them very deep and relevant to us today, and each expressed in its own imaginative language. Since they are all so special it might be better to focus on each one individually  although we may come to see a common thread running through them all.


30 Sunday A: Liturgical Prayers

Greeting (See Second Reading)
We have become imitators of the Lord
and it was with the joy of the Spirit
that we accepted the gospel;
we have become servants of the real, living God.
May Jesus, the Lord we expect, be always with you.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant

29th Week, Tuesday, Oct 18: St. Luke

Ephesians 2:12-22 / Luke 12:35-38

Paul talks about our salvation: Christ has brought us closer to God.

Bill Wilson was a “high roller” in the 1920s. Then came the stock market crash. Bill lost everything. Like many other victims of the crash, Bill turned to drink. Soon he found himself addicted to drink. In the next two years, he made four attempts to break his addiction.

30 Sunday A: Foundations of the KOG: 2 Commandments


Why have we gathered here? One answer is to assemble together to show our love for God and for one another – because the whole of the Christian way can be summed up in these two commandments. But let us pause and recall that we do not always love God with our whole hearts nor our neighbors as ourselves.

29th Week: Oct 19-24:

Oct 19 Monday (Saints John de Brebeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests and companions, Martyrs, U. S. A.) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-isaac-jogues-jean-de-br-eacute-beuf-and-companions : Lk 12:13-21: 13 One of the multitude said to him, “Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying,

Mission Sunday - Oct 18

During the American Revolution, a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers who were busy pulling out a horse carriage stuck in deep mud. Their officer was shouting instructions to them while making no attempt to help. The stranger who witnessed the scene asked the officer why he wasn't helping. With great dignity, the officer replied, "Sir, I am a Corporal!" The stranger dismounted from his horse and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers himself.

29th Sunday A: Give to God - Give to Caesar

 Gospel reading: Matthew 22:15-22 

Michel DeVerteuil 
General Comments

Today’s passage is built around the saying in verse 21, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God”. It is a “wisdom saying” and the passage invites us to enter into it with our feelings. Its truth should touch us so deeply that we are filled with gratitude, and also with humility as we realise that do we do not live up to it – as individuals, as a Church and as communities.  The saying then becomes a call to repentance.

28th Week, Oct 12-17 Reflections

Oct 12 Monday: Lk 11:29-32: 29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. USCCB video reflections: http://www.usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm

28 Sunday A - Liturgical Prayers

A. Feasting With the Lord

Greeting
(See First Reading)
The Lord has prepared for all people
a feast of rich food,
a banquet of fine wines.
He will wipe away
the tears from every cheek.
May the Lord of our joy be always with you.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant