11th Sunday - Parable of the Mustard Seed

 Michel DeVerteuil Textual Comments

We see Jesus in this passage searching for the right metaphors to illustrate the concept of the kingdom of God, and we are reminded that today we need to find new images to illustrate our own vision of God’s kingdom.

11 Sunday B - Liturgical Prayers

Greeting

Glory to him whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more
than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to him in the church
and in Christ Jesus.
May the Lord Jesus be with you. R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

A. Patience: These Are Only Seeds (Option 1)
We live in a time that expects efficiency and immediate results. But a plant or a tree needs time to grow; and human relations cannot be built nor our problems solved overnight. People too need time to grow and change. Fortunately, God is patient with us. But we must become patient with one another and, with God's help, give people and the Church and God's Kingdom of justice, peace, and love the time needed to grow. We can just sow the seed and then wait in hope. If it is a good seed we sow, it will certainly grow. Jesus assures us that it will sprout and bear fruit.

9th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, June 3

  9th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, June 3

Tobit 6:10-11; 7:1, 9-14; 8:4-9 / Mark 11:5-17

Tobiah and Sarah pray together: They asked God to bless their marriage. 

A young man married a lovely young lady. A friend of the family said to him, "You're lucky to get a girl like Maria." "What do you mean, lucky?" said the youth.

Corpus Christi - Feast

 Understand the difference: Trans-substantiation; Trans-signification; trans-finalization; Catholic belief in Real Presence and transubstantiation (Term from St. Thomas Aquinas).

9th Week: May 31- June 5

 9^th Week: May 31- June 5: 

May 3 Monday: Visitation of Blessed Virgin Mary

The context: The mystery of the Incarnation comes to ordinary people living ordinary lives, who have the willingness to respond to God’s call and the openness and generosity to do God’s will.

8th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, May 25

  8th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, May 25

Ecclesiasticus 35:1-12 / Mark 10:28-31 

The just man's sacrifice is most pleasing: It will never be forgotten.

A new ministry is arising among shut-ins and retired people.

Holy Trinity 2021

From Fr. Jude Botelho:

He recalled the husband, who said when he became a father, he better understood the Trinity. When he and his wife had their son, they had evidence of their love for each other. There was the lover, the beloved, and the love, each distinct and yet one.

8th Week: May 24-29:

 8^th Week: May 24-29: 

May 24 Monday (Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church) 

One of the most recent architectural additions to Saint Peter’s Square is the mosaic of Mary “Mother of the Church,”

8th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, May 29

 8th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, May 29

Ecclesiasticus 51:12-20 / Mark 11:27-33

I sought wisdom in my youth; She came to me in all her beauty. 

We sometimes think of wisdom as being reserved for people with grey hair. There is indeed a wisdom that comes from years of living.

8th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, May 28

 8th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, May 28

Ecclesiasticus 44:1. 9-13 / Mark 11:11-26

The memory of the good endures: Their glory will never be blotted out. 

Africans have a far deeper appreciation of their ancestors and forefathers than we do. There is even a form of ancestor worship that has developed within some African tribes.