Fifth Sunday of Easter 13/14 May 2017
Fr Frank writes:
My Dear Friends,
Last Sunday we celebrated the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The theme of Vocation is followed in this week’s readings too. We shouldn’t be too surprised at this as vocations arise from the Easter experience, and we are still in the season of Easter.
Our first reading introduces us to the Order of Deacon. The new Deacons were ordained by the Apostles through the laying on of hands for a ministry of service. The very word ‘Deacon’ points to servanthood; it is a ministry of charity.
In our second reading St Peter reminds us, however, that vocation/ministry is not confined to those in Holy Orders. We are all members of a holy priesthood. We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God.
Our Gospel reading begins with an assurance of God’s mercy: “There are many rooms in my Father’s house.” It is reassuring to contemplate that there might even be room for me. But how do we get there? How do we (as it were) book a room there? In this reading, St John gives us another of Jesus’ “I AM” sayings.: “I AM THE WAY..” We get there by following the example of Jesus – by modelling our lives on him – this is the vocation of each one of us.
May our good and merciful God bless you now and always.
Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
A certain Trappist Order (which kept strict silence) only allowed one brother to speak each year, on the anniversary of the founding of the Abbey. The anniversary came round and the Abbot duly invited comments as the community ate their breakfast in the refectory. One brother complained: “the porridge is too lumpy.” The following year, another brother said: “I quite like the porridge.” Later, the Abbot, answering a knock at his door, invited in a brother who asked if he could leave the Order. “Why?” asked the Abbot “Because,” he replied, “I can’t stand all this arguing about the porridge.”
Epiphany of the Lord 7/8 January 2017
Fr Frank writes:
My Dear Friends,
The account of the journey of the magi searching for Jesus is an opportunity for us to reflect on our own faith journey. As the magi were guided by a star on their journey, we also have received guidance along the way. We can use this day to recall with gratitude the ‘stars’ we have followed. Who were the people whose example and advice helped us along the way? Who were our companions on the journey? Perhaps we have had experiences that changed us and opened us up to a deeper understanding of the value of faith. We might even be able to say that there was a time in our lives when, like the magi, we found Jesus. Yet, is it not also true that this discovery is never complete? There is always more we can learn about Jesus. We find him again and again each day. We discover him anew in the Mass, in our daily prayer, in one another and in reading the bible. Perhaps there have been times when we have lost our sense of direction in life – when we lost sight of the ‘guiding star’. The magi lost sight of the star too, then found it again after consulting Holy Scripture, and they were ‘filled with delight’ as they were led to Jesus.
Perhaps you could use today as an opportunity to bring to mind the benefits you have experienced from having the Spirit of Jesus as part of your life, and give thanks.
On a personal note, Anne and I would like to thank you all for your greetings, kind words and many gifts received at Christmas. Thank you too for the generous Christmas Offering. You are truly generous people and we are so fortunate to be able to live among you and serve you.
With every blessing.
Fr Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
How did Mary and Joseph know that Jesus was 7lb 6oz when he was born?
They had a weigh in a manger!
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 14/15 January 2017
Fr Frank writes:
My Dear Friends,
Today we begin a new cycle of readings for what the Church calls ‘Ordinary Time’. Ordinary Time begins after Advent and Christmas and continues to the end of the year – interrupted by Lent and Easter, and recommencing after Pentecost and the Feast of the Holy Trinity.
It is in a real sense a new beginning. This is emphasised by the Gospel in which St John the Baptist points to Jesus and says: ‘Look, there is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world’. Familiar words as they have been used as part of the Mass for centuries: Words that point to Jesus, the one who takes our sins upon himself.
It is good to think about the forgiveness that Jesus won for us, because this causes us to look to the future (contemplating new beginnings). True, we need to look back, but only in order to learn from our individual mistakes. We need to be aware of the danger of becoming weighed down or oppressed by guilt, this should have no place in our lives. The whole purpose of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is to remind us that through the death and resurrection of Christ (the Lamb of God), the Eternal Father has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins. The truth is that our past sins, once confessed, are forgiven so that we can put them where they belong – in the past. The Sacrament promotes a reflective attitude, but so that we can learn and thus be set free. It is rightly focussed on our future, on making a new beginning.
Today is also Peace Day. Our history (the history of our world) appears so often to be one of conflict. It is a history whose ‘milestones’ are wars and conflict: we talk, do we not, about ‘Pre-War’ and ‘Post-War’? The world needs all sorts of things as a prelude to peace. It needs justice and greater equality of opportunity, for example. But none of these things goes to the root of the problem. What the world really needs is Christ, the Prince of Peace. ‘Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.’
May the Peace of the Lord be with you always.
Fr Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
Parishioners arrived at their local church for Morning Worship to discover the doors locked and bolted. There was a note from the Minister: ‘You have been coming here long enough. Now go and do it.’
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Racial Justice Sunday 21/22 January 2017
Fr Frank writes:
My Dear Friends,
The gospel today is St Matthew’s description of the start of the ministry of Jesus. In order to get across the significance of the change that was taking place he describes it as akin to switching on a light. ‘The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light.’
People who lived in fear were introduced to a God of love. People who were full of guilt for past sins were introduced to a God of forgiveness. People who were oppressed and weighed down were introduced to a God of hope. This is the path travelled by all who hear the call of Jesus to repent – something which isn’t just a change of mind, but a change of mind and heart, a complete turning around of a person’s life, their outlook and their attitude to God and to others.
If we truly repent (and allow the light into our lives) we not only become specially blessed, but also become a blessing to those around us. We truly become a Christ in our own time.
May the Lord grant you peace,
Fr Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
Church member to minister: ‘You’ll never know what your sermon meant to me. It was like water to a drowning man.’
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) 28/29 January 2017
Fr Frank writes:
My Dear Friends,
In our quest for happiness we seek all sorts of things, some more worthy than others. This search can lead us to explore such things as greed, drugs, alcohol, casual sex, personal possessions. Our first reading today makes a specific suggestion as to what we, as Catholic Christians, should be seeking. We are to ‘seek the Lord.’ It is in this that we find all we truly need.
All well and good, but where do we begin looking? We begin, the reading tells us, by looking at our own lives. He is to be found in integrity and humility – we find him by living a certain way.
Humility is clearly important. Our second reading is addressed to those who are humble, and, in our Gospel reading, we hear Jesus commend those who live good lives. Not those who are fortunate in the eyes of the world, but those who are truly humble and Godly.
May the Lord give you peace,
Fr Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
One chap joined a Trappist Order where the rule was that only four words could be spoken every five years to the abbot, on the anniversary of joining the monastery.
On the first occasion, the monk said: ‘I hate the food.’ The second time he said: ‘My bed is uncomfortable.’ The third time, after 15 years, he said: ‘I want to leave.’
The Abbot said: ‘Thank God for that. You’ve done nothing but moan ever since you got here.
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) 4/5 February 2017
Fr Frank writes:
My Dear Friends,
At all Masses next weekend I will read a letter from Pope Francis, in which he speaks of the 11th February being the 25th World Day of the Sick. This ‘day’ was instituted by Pope St John Paul II in 1992, and first celebrated in Lourdes on 11 February 1993. It is a day when we can pray with special fervour for the sick, for those who suffer and for those who work to alleviate suffering – families, health workers and volunteers. The Pope goes on to remind us that this celebration also gives the Church renewed spiritual energy for carrying out ever more fully that fundamental part of her mission which includes serving the poor, the infirm, the suffering, the outcast and the marginalized.
This coming Saturday, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the principal patron of our Diocese, is also the beginning of the diocese’s centenary year. To mark this significant day, the bishop is asking each parish to hold a period of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Accordingly, in both parishes there will be a period of Adoration following the Saturday morning Mass (at which there will be anointing of the sick). This Mass will be that of Our Lady of Lourdes. Please come along and unite yourself in prayer, together with all the other parishes, for our diocese and for all the sick and those who work to alleviate pain and suffering.
May God bless you, and may Our Lady of Lourdes pray for you.
Fr Frank ofs
Sunday Smile:
A young priest, trying to wake up his sleepy congregation, suddenly interrupted his homily with the words, ‘I remember the time when I was in the arms of another man’s wife!’ Everyone sat up. ‘She was the wife of my father,’ he added to chuckles from the congregation.
His elderly bishop heard of this, and decided the joke would make an excellent introduction to his next homily. He stood up in a packed cathedral; ‘I remember the time when I was in the arms of another man’s wife,’ he began, with great aplomb. Then there was a long pause. The bishop stammered, ‘Just for the moment, I can’t remember whose wife she was!’