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 saints. All 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 wholesomeness. We 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.

Saint Andre Bessette - 10th Anniversary of Canonization

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

5 Keys in Understanding the New Encyclical - Fratelli Tutti

 

"Fratelli tutti" calls for fraternity and "social friendship"; this relatively long magisterial document is a summary of Pope Francis's thoughts

28th Sunday A: Wedding Feast

 

Starter Stories:

Post-World War II Banquet:

At the end of World War II, the Russian head-of-state gave an elaborate banquet to honor the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.  The Russians arrived in their best formal wear -- military dress uniforms -- but their honored guest did not.  Churchill arrived wearing his famous zipper coveralls that he had worn during the German bomb attack in London.  He thought it would provide a nostalgic touch the Russians would appreciate.  They didn’t.  They were humiliated and insulted that their prominent guest-of-honor had not considered their banquet worthy of his best clothes.  Wearing the right clothing to a formal dinner honors the host and the occasion; neglecting to wear the right clothing is an insult.  Weddings were such an important occasion in Palestine in Christ’s days that people were expected to wear the proper clothing to show appreciation and respect for the invitation.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus demands the wedding garment of righteousness from his followers. (Fr. Tony Kadavil)

27th Week, Oct 5-10

 October 5-10:

Oct 5 Monday (Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Priest, U.S. A.) https://www.franciscanmedia.org/blessed-francis-xavier-seelos/ : Lk 10: 25-37: 25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

STEWARDSHIP AWARENESS SUNDAY

 From Father Tony Kadavil:

synopsis  

(TIME, TALENTS & TREASURE IN THE SERVICE OF THE LORD) 

Introduction: A word of thanks to all the parishioners who are actively involved in the various ministries in our parish which impact the lives of many people. Special thanks to those parishioners who sacrificially and regularly make their financial contribution to our parish by tithing. Who is a steward? He is somebody’s manager. We are all stewards of God because, as Psalm 24 reminds us, God is the sole owner of everything we have: “The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness” (Ps 24:1). St. Peter reminds us of our duty of stewardship: “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1Peter 4:10). The New Testament refers to our stewardship to God 87 times. Paul claims that he is the steward of Christ’s Gospel. The good steward never forgets that God is the Source of all he possesses and that all his possessions are given to him in trust, so he handles them accordingly.

27 Sunday A - Liturgical Prayers

Greeting (See Second Reading)

May the peace of God,
which is so much greater than we can understand,
guard your hearts and your thoughts
in Christ Jesus.
May his peace be always with you.
R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant