Collect for Palm Sunday

COLLECT SERIES

 

The Mass: Collect Series Icon.

COLLECT

Almighty ever-living God, who as an example of humility for the human race to follow 

caused our Saviour to take flesh and submit to the Cross,

 graciously grant that we may heed his lesson of patient suffering

and so merit a share in his Resurrection.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever

 REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. 1.    What does humility mean to me?
2. 2.    How important is humility to me?  What is the difference between true humility and false humility?
3. 3.    What does Jesus submitting to His Father’s will to suffer and die for me really mean for me?
4. 4.    What lessons of patient suffering this coming week will I learn?
5. 5.    What does it mean to have a share in His Resurrection?

GOSPEL REFLECTION

Today is Palm Sunday which is the commencement of Holy Week. Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphant ride of Jesus on the donkey into Jerusalem.  The crowds shout Hosanna in joyful acclaim, and yet a few days later call out Crucify Him.

There are so many aspects to explore from Matthew’s Gospel of the Passion.   Why not read the Homily given by Pope Francis here.

The question we need to ask ourselves as we meditate on the Passion of Our Lord according to Matthew is where do we fit in? What character do we play today or this coming week?

I encourage you to find a live stream Mass in your country or if not find one in some other country to be able to celebrate Palm Sunday and to read and meditate on His Passion and death according to Matthew.

Remember that even though the doors of the Church may be closed, God is never silent.  We can show the world by attending a live stream Mass that Catholicism is not dead and Jesus matters. In fact, it is essential not optional for us.  

The Church lives through the crisis

Coping with Covid 19 Series.

Eucharist- Divine Mercy:
Image by David Eucaristía from Pixabay 

No social distancing from God.

•  How are you coping through the pandemic?  
•  What challenges are you experiencing?
•  Are you missing being able to go to your parish for Mass and to pray?  
•  Are you wanting to receive Jesus and are making a spiritual communion?
  
  
  The whole world is in this together but as Catholics, we should not be over fearful as Jesus is with us in this situation. God is greater than the virus. We need our faith strengthened and need to be solidarity in prayer for a better world after this crisis has ended.  It would be a crying shame if at the end of the crisis, we go back to our lives and the world has not changed its ways or never learned anything from it.

         So how have you adjusted to the situation?  

The first thing I did was made a spiritual stock take.  I started looking for live stream Masses.  I have provided a link  here   I live in Australia so attending Mass in UK was an obvious choice because I have been friends with the Parish priest there for a long time.  Yes, there are live stream Masses in Australia too.  It was a good starting point for me- something I had experienced when I was in hospital last year.

However, there is no Mass there on a Friday- there is another recommendation.  However yesterday being a first Friday, I searched the schedule on the same site only to discover a whole range of services live streamed- literally opened up the world to me. So, I attended Mass in Ireland yesterday. Here is the schedule page.

The other thing I have learned so far from this situation is to be in the right mind set for Mass just as you would be or even more so.  This is why I have deliberately used the word attending Mass rather than watching Mass.  When we watch a live stream Mass, we must remember we are at Mass and need to attend/participate fully. We are not enjoying ourselves as if we are watching a TV programme. It can be easy to fall into this trap.  Have the right mind set.

The most important thing to remember of course is that Jesus promised to be with us until the end of time. We know He always keeps His promises. 

No 116 Did Jesus contradict Israel's faith in the one true God and Saviour?

COMPENDIUM SERIES

JESUS THE TEACHER:  Compendium Series Icon.

No 116.  Did Jesus contradict Israel’s faith in the one God and Saviour? (CCC 587-591,594)

WHAT DOES THE COMPENDIUM SAY?

Compendium states:

‘Jesus never contradicted faith in the one true God, not even when He performed the stupendous divine work which fulfilled the messianic promises and revealed Himself as equal to God, the pardoning of sins.  However, the call of Jesus to believe in Him and to be converted makes it possible to understand the tragic misunderstanding of the Sanhedrin which judged Jesu to be worthy of death as a blasphemer.

What does this mean for me?

1.  I can thank God every day for His faithfulness to never contradicting the faith of the one
    true God even when He knew by revealing Himself as equal to God that it would cost Him
    His life.

2. I can be thankful that Jesus invites me each day to the call of conversion and to grow
    deeper in Him.”.

3. I can nourish my faith by reciting Nicene or Apostle’s Creed each day..

Questions to consider.

      1   How can I appreciate the saving plan of God- the Paschal Mystery in my life every
    day?
 2. How do I build up my own faith each day in Jesus?

        3. In what areas of my life do I need conversion of heart?

 4. How do I contribute to my parish?

 5. What is my attitude to blasphemy in speech, on the TV, in the media?

 6. In the light of Coronavirus and our parish churches closed, how can I continue to stay
     close to Jesus and remain faithful? 

      7. How can we be converted in our hearts and re-evaluate my relationship with God?

      

Introduction Gospel of Matthew Series

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW SERIES.

Bible Study (Image: Dirk Vetter Pixabay)

Welcome to my Gospel of Matthew Series. During 2020, each week, I will write a post about the Gospel of Matthew as I review and explore each of the 28 chapters and how it may be applied in our daily lives. My goal is to understand and pray the Gospel of Matthew.  I hope you will join me on this journey as we travel through the liturgical season of Year A.

Every time we attend Mass, we hear the Gospel read according to either Matthew, Matthew, Luke or John.  These writers were divinely inspired to write by the Holy Spirit. These writers received their final formulation as a result of 35-50 years of Church reflection on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Their writings have similarities and differences, some leave out some events, whilst other focus on other events in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

This is not surprising, as we all see and perceive the same event differently.  Why not test it for yourself with a family event. Get a piece of paper and draw 2 columns. Recall a family event together.  Note the similarities and note the differences in each column.  I am sure you will be surprised to see what each family member recalls and perceives.

The first three Gospels (Matthew, Matthew and Luke) are often referred to as 'synoptic' gospels. If you place them side by side, you can see with (syn) your eyes (optics) that there are clear similarities and obvious differences in them. The similarities indicated their common traditions.  The differences show that the meaning of some of Jesus encounters, healing and teachings were treasured differently.  In many places it seems that Matthew and Luke are directly dependent on Matthew. Matthew and Luke also include things that are absent from Matthew.  Finally, each gospel has some stories with no parallel in the other two gospels.  However, inspired by the Holy Spirit each of them individually, and all of them together, are of inestimable value to us as we learn to understand more deeply and pray the gospels.

The word gospel comes from the greek "eu" meaning good and "angelion" meaning message or news. Culturally, the Roman Empire used the term to announce the good news of a military victory or the succession or a new emperor.  However, Matthew used the word not only to change the cultural context, but to introduce his hearers to the Saviour, Messiah and Lord in the new and radical different way in the person of Jesus.

What is the Good News?  When you are asked what is essentially the Good News of the Gospel, it is essentially as follows:

1.  God took on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of
     mankind.

2.  Jesus is the full revelation of God in Jesus' own person, teachings and healings and
     it is we can encounter the living God.

3.  God vindicates mankind through the obedience of His Son through His death. 
     Jesus shows us that He is Messiah and has the power to save through His suffering
     and death on a cross at Calvary. The tree of Adam ( sin) is now transformed on the
     tree of the Cross.

4. Jesus' resurrection points to the promise of our breaking the chains of sin and death,
     and we are invited to enter fully into a graced-filled life.

5. God provides His people a meeting place through His Church where we are nurtured
    and nourished by His love in the Sacraments so that one day we will meet our

    Saviour face to face in our homeland of Heaven.

Next week we will continue to explore the Gospel of Matthew’s examining the purpose of Matthew’s writing and its style and structure.

Do you not want to wait for next week?  Prepare yourself for the journey and get a journal (exercise book/notebook) During the week, why not read a few chapters each day, or if you have some extra time, why not read the whole 28 chapters in one sitting.

May the inspired writing of St Matthew’s Gospel bless you during this year.

Collect for 5th Sunday Lent- Raising of Lazarus.

COLLECT SERIES

The Mass: Collect Series Icon.

 COLLECT

By Your help, we beseech You Lord our God,

May we walk eagerly in that same charity

 with which, out of love for the world,

Your Son handed Himself over to death.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God for ever and ever.

 REFLECTION QUESTIONS

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

1.    1. How can I contemplate the love of Jesus by dying on the cross?
2.    How far does my love go? Does it have conditions/demands attached to it?
3.    How can I let go of any conditions/demands that my love might have this coming week?
What can I do to let go?
4.    How will I extend my love to replicate in some way the love of Jesus this coming week?

 GOSPEL REFLECTION.

In the first reading we hear (through live streamed Mass) and/or read the story of Lazarus who died and whose death and raising to life ended up being the final straw for the pharisees who decided that Jesus must go. 

The important thing to remember is that Jesus is the first person to be risen from the dead, not Lazarus, since Jesus is the first in all things.  Why do the Church teach this?  Lazarus, although Jesus did bring him back to life had to die again like any other human being.

However, there are some interesting points of the story which we should note.

1.    When Jesus first hears that Lazarus is ill, He did not go to him straightaway. This does not mean Jesus did not care. He showed His disciples to face the fear of going to Jerusalem and with Martha and Mary to stir their faith.

2.    Both Martha and Mary in their own way let Jesus know that if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died. In other words, they knew Jesus could have healed him.  Yet they did not know what He would do that was far greater.  We too have our dreams/goals/desires and Jesus does not mind if we, like Martha and Mary tell Him how we feel. After all Martha and Mary were disappointed with Jesus. They had sent the message 2 days before and yet Jesus waited. We too have to share our dreams, desires and hopes with Jesus. Sometimes we too have to wait for God’s time not our own. It can be a hard lesson because we often need it now. God’s timing is always perfect even if we do not have enough faith to believe. Martha and Mary believed in Jesus but they were not backward in coming forward in sharing their disappointment with Him.

3.    From the raising of Lazarus, a greater good came to pass.  From the waiting until he had died and bringing him back to life, many more people came to believe in Him and also, the trigger for His own death was finally put into place as a result.

In this current epidemic, we earnestly ask God for a cure, for and end to the crisis. Yes, we should do this. It is urgent. Yet, we do not know what good God will bring from it. Some people have already died and many grieve for them. We pray for their salvation of their souls.   However, let us also have faith in God that He will bring good from this epidemic- bringing the world to its knees- 

• ·        has it made you rethink your priorities- what is really important in your life? 
• ·         Has it made you love Jesus more and long for Him now that we cannot attend Mass in person and receive Him sacramentally?
• ·         Has it caused you to pray more for the world- for one another?

I am not suggesting that having this epidemic is a great thing. No, it has brought so much suffering.  However, let us also remember it brings with it many blessings in different forms if we look out for it.

 It has the potential to restore our dry bones and help us to live again.  I encourage you to look for the blessings. I have started a blessing book where I note down the blessings, I have received each day through this lock down. It has certainly helped me to

• ·         refocus on prayer,
• ·          value the Mass even more and to long for Jesus to receive Him sacramentally.
• ·       think of times I received Jesus and took communion for granted- made little thanksgiving or a poor thanksgiving for such a great gift.
• ·         understand the value of a spiritual communion.
• ·         think of times when I could have gone to Mass during the week and chose to watch TV instead. 
• ·         to open my bible more regularly and take time to dwell on God’s word.
• ·         Appreciate the gift of the Sacrament of reconciliation.
• ·         Stir my faith and say yes- I am not going to let my faith die during this crisis.
• ·         Appreciated the gift of my parish community.

What has the lockdown done for you so far?  What blessings have you received from God?  

How has Jesus raised you to life through this experience?

thank you God for this blessing.

Coping with Covid 19 Series.

Eucharist- Divine Mercy 

Image by David Eucaristía from Pixabay 

PLENARY INDULGENCE  BLESSING 

On Friday 27th March at 6pm in Rome, Pope Francis had a holy hour. During that time, he asked us to join him in praying for the end of the corona virus.  The miraculous crucifix which the popes have signed  was there too. He spent some time in prayer before this miraculous crucifix.  He finished  the holy hour with Benediction blessing us with the monstrance.

There was also a blessing which attached to it is a plenary indulgence.

Now I wish to share something very personal.   I went to bed later than usual last night and I did not think I would wake up in time to watch the live holy hour with the Pope since it was 4am in my country's time zone.  I did not set my alarm but I woke up at 3.45am- so I thought I would get up and try to find the link  so that I would be ready to watch it.  I thought that with so many people watching it, that there would be freezing moments or that I would not be able to watch it.  Not only was that not the case, it only buffered for a few moments  once for the whole time.  I also had no trouble finding the link and be able to watch it.  All of these were God's blessings- new blessings for the day. Yet, as appreciative as I was for these blessings, God had more in store for me.

However, there was more.  Because of the changed conditions to receiving a plenary indulgence, I wanted to find out more.  I had asked some priest friends of mine who were unable to provide the information.  That did not stop me.  I reached out to a seminarian friend of mine to ask him.

He provided me with the information which I will now share.  Since then, I have found the link which I have provided also.

Normally, to receive a plenary indulgence, it is the condition to attend Mass and receive communion and go to confession ( within a week).  As  public Masses are suspended and in my country, confessions are not offered right now because of the corona virus, these conditions have been waived.

The conditions for receiving the plenary indulgence attached to the Pope's blessing for the end of the corona virus are

1. Participate(via communications) the papal holy hour live.

2. Read the scripture for 30 minutes. or

3. Pray the Rosary or

4. Pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy. or

5. Pray the Way of the Cross.

The intention to receive the plenary indulgence of course needs to be to implore God  to end the epidemic, relief for all those afflicted and for the salvation of the souls who have died.

It was such a beautiful time at that time of the morning- quiet and still. It was an opportune moment to re-examine my priorities and to ask God for His mercy too, as  my last time receiving the Sacrament of Penance was too long- something I regret letting slip off my priority with my relationship with God and something I am resolved not let slip again.  At this point, I could legitimately give you a range of reasons for this state of affairs but despite the validity of these reasons, it does not change the fact that I have lost great opportunities to grow through the grace of this sacrament. I am resolved not to allow these reasons to get in the way again because in the end, Jesus is far greater than my reasons.

I believe that I have been blessed. I know I feel different after this hour - lighter and I feel like i can breathe again. My heart feels like it is bubbling like a fountain or stream of water.

Now why am I sharing this with you. I wanted to share it with you because I feel that I can start again and that God has forgiven me. I feel that the slate has been wiped clean and that my sins are ''as far as from the east as to the west.'  I am so very thankful that I have had this opportunity. I can start again because I believe in faith that I have received the plenary indulgence.  I certainly have received something worthwhile. I know I feel different and this change occurred during the Holy hour. It was as though a big lump was removed as I felt my chest initially tighten and then there was such a release along with some tears too.

God is good and if you were not able to participate at the time, why not watch it any way. God's time is flexible so make the effort and spend this holy hour with Him for the good of the world. 

The other reason is that if you look at the conditions given above,  none of these prayers/devotions are burdensome. Notice that each one of them is OR.  The church is not asking of us much really.  However, this is an opportunity to pray in this way.   Maybe choose 1 of these prayer devotions each day or maybe you can pray more especially for those who yet to believe or cannot pray.

I remember when I had a mini stroke last year that it was difficult to pray during my illness. My prayers were in fact one big jumble really until the medication became less and I could start to think again.  Pray for those who are sick especially with the virus. I know I really relied on the prayers of others when I was sick last year. 

Although public Masses are suspended at the moment and with that the condition to attend Mass as an obligation has been waived because of the epidemic, we can still attend Mass via a streamed Mass and make a spiritual communion. Make it a priority and do not let your faith disappear during this time. It is a time to long for God more and remember there is never any social distancing from God.

I will look back on this day as a huge blessing.  I am forgiven and God loves me totally.

I hope by sharing my experience that you too will be blessed and encouraged during this time of crisis.

For the mercy I could never deserve

REFLECTION AND PRAYER SERIES.

My reflection and prayer series is about sharing reflections and Prayers which have impacted upon me and have provided food for thought. I hope that they will also nurture your soul and spirit.

My Scripture reflection is 

''It is by grace you have been saved through faith-
and this not from yourselves. It is the gift of God”’ 
(Ephesians 2:8)

Christ The Redeemer.

My post is called:

For mercy I could never deserve.

For the mercy I could never deserve,

The debt I could never repay,

the love I could never earn

I thank God every day.