12th Sunday of the Year Collect Year A

The Collect for the 12th Sunday of Year A reads as follows"

Grant O Lord

that we may revere and love Your Holy name,

for You never deprive Your guidance

 those who You set firm on the foundation of love.

 

In making this prayer tangible for during the week the following reflection questions emerged:

 

1. How do I communicate my reverence for God's Holy name?
2. What do I do/say when others misuse God's name?
3. What might I like to do/say when others misuse God's name in the future?
4. What is the foundation of love?
5. What areas of my life are deprived of Your guidance?
6. What does the image for the phrase "set firm" evoke?

 

Today's  readings remind us of the importance of being spiritually prepared for battle.  Not everyone believes in Christ and some that used to, enjoy the conquest of knocking us out spiritually.  We, as Christians must be prepared for battle and remain strong in the fight.  We know that God is on our side and we must remain close to Him. 

 

We might feel depressed by today's first reading at first hearing/reading but read it again and feel the certainty of God's help and support.  It outlines what we are likely to experience and do experience on a daily basis.  We may wipe off some of it and say oh I am just tired or perhaps use phrases like I am not in a good emotional space or perhaps even overlook the  acts of others who are trying to prod and poke you.  Make no mistake, every day is a battle of the soul, but as we battle, we have God on our side. As the Collect says: God never deprives His guidance  on those He sets firm in the foundation of love.

 

The Gospel too reminds us too that ''it is not those who can kill the body that we need to fear but those who kill the soul''.  Without a healthy soul, our body is in fact dead regardless of how healthy we might eat, how many times we exercise or go to the gmn, regardless of how many steps/kms we walk per day.  A healthy body is good and necessary, but more importantly is the soul. It is this that we should give priority. 
 

Looking after and nurturing our soul through regular prayer, receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation and Holy Mass helps to strengthen our soul, so that we become strong enough to cope and take on the battle.   Once we let these slip, we are in a weakened state and then, those who wish to kill the soul have an opening- we have given them the opening. There is no fight since we have nothing to fight for or no inner weapons to use.

 

The battle has many forms. Make no mistake Satan is clever and knows how to get to our Achilles heel. Many people these days don't believe Satan exists.  With that premise, they are no longer in the battle. They have surrendered. Satan in his own way has control over them because they are no longer even aware of his subtle devious ways.  Hopefully this is not your belief, but if it is, then become aware again.

 

So with God's help, let us continue to strengthen our souls so that we can take on the battle enthusiastically. God is on our side. We do not fight the enemy alone.

 

May God give you the courage to face the fight and live in His guidance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Feast of Body and Blood of Christ. Year A

The Collect for the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ Year A reads as follows:

 

O God who in this wondrous Sacrament

have left us a memorial of Your Passion

Grant us we pray,

so to revere the sacred mysteries of Your body and Blood

that we may always experience in ourselves

the fruits of Your redemption.

 

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflections questions emerged.

 

 

1. What is my attitude towards receiving the body and blood of Christ?

2. Is it still a wondrous sacrament every time I receive Christ in the Eucharist?

3. What do you experience when you receive Christ in the Eucharist?

4.  Why is the Eucharist a memorial of Christ's Passion?

5   What are the fruits of redemption in the Eucharist?

6. How will today's feast change me this coming week?

The Feast of the Body and blood of Christ is a wonderful feast as it focuses on the unique gift of Himself given for us in the Eucharist.  On this wonderful feast we have a chance to renew our love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. As Catholics we believe that when we receive Holy Communion, Christ is truly present because of the words of consecration said by the priest at Mass although the appearance of the bread and wine  remains. This is not something the Church implemented by itself for practical purposes. No, Jesus Himself in the Gospel tells us that He is offering Himself to us as ''real food and real drink''.

 

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church no 292 when explaining what the fruits of Holy Communion tells us:

 

''Holy Communion increases our union with Christ and with his Church.

It preserves and renews the life of grace received at Baptism and Confirmation

and makes us grow in love for our neighbour.

It strengthens us in charity, wipes away venial sins and preserves us from mortal sin in the future.''

 

Jesus uses the ordinary items of bread and wine and makes them Himself. These ordinary items of bread and wine look the same but after the consecration have changed- but not just changed, changed into Jesus Himself. We know this to be called transubstantiation. By using ordinary items,  they are available to us easily. Yet, we must never forget that after the consecration, they have been changed to Jesus Himself under the form of bread and wine.  How truly awesome is that.

 

We can receive Holy Communion every day if we wish. Certainly we need to receive Jesus in this sacrament every Sunday at Mass.  We may wish to ponder: 

• What is my attitude to this sacrament?
• What difference does receiving Christ in the Eucharist make in my daily life?
• What hindrances do I experience which prevent me from entering into deeply this mystery?

 

Today in our parish, First Holy Communion is being celebrated. We see the young children at Mass with their families, all dressed up in their white dresses and the young boys looking more like young men in a special outfit.  Some people wonder and perhaps even criticise the children in their white dresses highlighting the expense aspect.  However, it seems to me that by preparing for First Holy Communion spiritually as well as their clothing, they have captured something of the importance of the Sacrament. It is definitely highlighted in their minds that this is an important day in their lives.  May they continue on their journey of faith. Please pray for these  children so that they will become strong in their faith and practise it daily.

 

You might like to reflect upon your own first Holy Communion.  I remember my own vividly as  mine was in a different country than my country of origin and therefore had different traditions.  During the Communion Breakfast, I had my first cup of tea as well. I never had another cup of tea for another 20 years after that.!!!

 

May we, like them always consider receiving Christ in the Eucharist an ''event'' to be revered,

and benefit from the fruits of Christ's redemption.

 

I hope that you will be able to spend some extra time with Jesus

to reflect on this wonderful gift of Himself to each of us personally.  

 

 

 

 





Trinity Sunday Year A

The Collect of the Mass for Trinity Sunday reads  as follows:

 

Father,

You sent Your Word to bring us truth
and Your Spirit to make us holy
Through them we come to know the mystery of your life 
Help us to worship You, one God in three Persons,
by proclaiming and living our faith in You.

In making this prayer tangible for my life during this week,the following reflection questions emerged: 

1. How I do worship the One True God yet Three Persons?.
2. How does the Trinity work in my life?
3  How do I know the mystery of Your life through the Trinity this week ?
4  What commitment am I prepared to make to know one God yet three persons in my life?
5. What relationship do I have with each of the Three Persons of the One God?
6. How might I proclaim and live my faith in the mystery of the Trinity?

This feast highlights the relationship nature of God in that there is Fatherhood, Sonship and from that love issues the Holy Spirit. . We can spend time trying to explain it, as St Patrick did using the shamrock and many others since, but in essence it is a mystery that we will never truly understand until we reach Heaven. 

 

However, we do not need to wait until then to develop a relationship with  each Person of the Blessed Trinity- we are still praying to God, but each Person of the Trinity can help us as we draw close in our lives.  Jesus helps us to know the Father, since as Jesus Himself said" to know Me is to know the Father since the Father and I are One''.  The Holy Spirit provides all the gifts and fruits to help us be holy. I don't know about you, but I need to be close to the Holy Spirit to increase my level of activation of the gifts and the fruits in my life. I want to be holy but I need the Holy Spirit to guide and support me in this journey towards Heaven. Remember Jesus at the Ascension told us He would not leave us orphans- He would send the Advocate and that He would be with us until the end of time.

The other interesting point to note is that the vestments for Trinity is white. Why is this interesting? It is interesting because white is made up of all the colours to make white.  It lines up well with the feast because although there are 3 persons, there is only one God.  So although there are many colours to make up the colour white, the colour white then is one colour.

The Gospel reading tells us that God came into the world to save us. However we need to want to be saved.  It is our choice. God has given us free will to choose Him or not, but if we choose to reject God, then it has consequences- the consequence is that we have condemned ourselves by rejecting God, not God rejecting us. If we do choose Him, we may suffer or go through some difficult times as part of normal life, but we will be happy because despite the difficulties we encounter, we walk our journey with God.  We have chosen God as a friend, companion, guide.  However, this is a choice we need to make every day. It is not just a one off decision.  It is an every day decision, so that we can live according to God's commandments.  In times of doubt or fear or in happiness, we can say a profound yet very simple prayer: 

                      Glory Be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
                      as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be
                      world without end.

I find that even when I say the first line of this prayer in times of stress and anxiety brings relief and courage.

May we come to worship a Trinity of Persons , one eternal God in our prayer and in our lives.

Pentecost Sunday: The Birthday of the Church

Pentecost Sunday- Happy Birthday to all believers

 Happy Birthday to all believers.

This feast marks the 50 days of Easter and the closing of Eastertide as a liturgical season, and the birth of the Church.  So Pentecost is the Church's birthday- ours too as Christians.

God is three persons- Father, Son and Holy Spirit yet one God.  This is a mystery.  However we can in our prayer life tap into all three persons. Most of us tend to  communicate with God as Father or Jesus as His Son. 

 

However, this feast reminds us that Jesus did not leave us orphans when He ascended to Heaven- He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to be with us until the end of time.  Yet, sadly, the Holy Spirit can be forgotten and/or ignored in our spiritual lives.  Yet, He has many special gifts to offer us.  We can have a very special intimate relationship with Him, just as we do with Jesus and with Father God.

So we might like to take some time to reflect on my relationship with the Holy Spirit.  Some reflective questions may include:

1. What is my relationship with the Holy Spirit? 

2. How does the  Holy Spirit work in my life?  
3. How will I use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to bring Christ to the world this week?  
4. Do I know my faith adequately to be able to teach the gospel to one other person? If not, what steps might I take to change this?  
5. What areas in my life has the risen Christ  renewed during Eastertide and how might the Spirit assist you to continue this renewal for the remainder of the year?  
6. How might I live in the power of the Holy Spirit in my life?

We may also want to reflect on the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit and how they operate in our lives. 

Traditions/customs associated with Pentecost Sunday 

Fruit Salad is often used as a dessert for Pentecost Sunday. It is made from 12 fruits to represent the 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit which are: Charity, Generosity, Joy, Gentleness, Peace, Faithfulness, Patience, Modesty, Kindness, Self-Control, Goodness and Chasity.

The fruit salad can be made using both dried fruits such as currants, raisins, dates and tinned fruits as well as fresh fruits. These are then combined with a syrup made with sugar and water and perhaps a dash of your favorite liqueur.

 

Another name for Pentecost Sunday is its traditional name' Whitsunday' which commemorated the white robes worn by the newly baptized on this day.  Two other traditional desserts served therefore are white food-meringues or a sponge cake topped with white icing to represent the white robes worn by newly baptized.

Regardless of whether you choose these traditional Pentecost desserts or not, it is important to remember that a new chapter began at Pentecost, and the Apostles started to take the Gospel of salvation to the whole world.  This is also our task.  Pentecost ends the liturgical season of Eastertide, but it marks the birthday of the Church.  

We may wish to pause and say a prayer of thanks in gratitude for the person/people who taught us our faith and have helped us on our spiritual journey.  We may wish to reflect on how we came into the Church.  I was baptized as a young baby- a cradle catholic.  I thank my parents and godparents for bringing me into the family of the Church. However, at some point, we have to make our own decision to follow Christ and take our faith seriously.  This is the journey we all make each in our unique way.  The Holy Spirit is in this journey with us too.

The message of Easter and of the Church is not something meant to be kept to ourselves, rather it is the glorious news that we must take to everyone : the love of God, the forgiveness of sins, and the redemption of the human race.    

As we celebrate the feast of  Pentecost, let us be filled and renewed by the Holy Spirit.  We may wish to make the commitment to deepen our relationship with the Holy Spirit and to pray each day at least one prayer to the Holy Spirit such as:

''Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful 

and enkindle in them the fire of Your love".

May the Holy Spirit bless you abundantly.