Archive for category: General Thoughts & Reflections

Prayer for Pope Emeritas Benedict XVI

St Joseph

Another beautiful painting depicting the death of Saint Joseph. Remember to implore Saint Joseph in all your daily trials 🙏 and that he is also the patron of a happy death.

Some feast days

Feast day of our Guardian Angel – 2nd October 2022

Feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux – 1st October 2022

The feast day of Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael occured recently

Are we aware of Lost Sheep in our lives?

Pope Francis: Reach out to a friend who needs to hear that God loves them

Pope Francis speaks at the Angelus address on Sept. 11, 2022. | Vatican Media

The pope’s Angelus address on Sept. 11, 2022. | Vatican Media

By Courtney Mares

Vatican City, Sep 11, 2022 / 05:05 am

Pope Francis urged Catholics Sunday to imitate the Lord’s dedicated search “for the lost sheep” by reaching out to friends and family who have drifted away from the faith.

“The Father asks us to be attentive to the children he misses the most. Let us think of someone we know, who is close to us and has perhaps never heard anyone say, ‘You know, you are important to God,’” Pope Francis said on Sept. 11.

Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace, the pope reflected on Jesus’ parables of mercy in the Gospel of Luke, particularly the parable of a shepherd who leaves 99 sheep in the desert to search for one who was lost.

“One who loves is concerned about the one who is missing, longs for who is absent, seeks who is lost, awaits those who have gone astray. For he wants no one to be lost,” the pope said in his Angelus address.

“Brothers and sisters, God is like this: he does not “take it easy” if we stray from him, he is grieved, he trembles in his innermost being; and he sets out to look for us until he takes us back into his arms.”

Pope Francis asked Catholics to reflect upon whether they imitate the Lord in seeking out those who are missing from their communities or whether they are content to be comfortable and calm within their own groups.

He said: “Let us then reflect on our relationships: do I pray for those who do not believe, who have drifted away?”

“Let us be troubled by these questions, and pray to Our Lady, mother who never tires of searching for and taking care of us, her children,” he added.

At the end of his Angelus address, the pope asked for people to continue to pray for the people of Ukraine that the Lord will be close to them and bring them hope. He announced that Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, will soon be heading back to Ukraine again to “give concrete witness of the closeness of the pope and the Church.”

Pope Francis asked for prayers for his upcoming trip to Kazakhstan, where he will participate in the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions during his visit to the capital city of Nur-Sultan from Sept. 13–15.

The pope also remembered the life of an Italian missionary sister, Sister Maria De Coppi, who was murdered by Islamist terrorists in Mozambique last week.

“May her witness give strength and courage to Christians and to all the people of Mozambique,” he said.

Pope Francis underlined in his Angelus message that God excludes no one and “loves everyone as his children.” Therefore, he said, the Lord “comes in search of us whenever we are lost.”

“Remember: God always awaits us with open arms, whatever the situation in life in which we are lost may be,” he said

Mother Teresa – thought and reflection

Sample of prayers following a death

We pray for those of our parish and indeed those connected to our Parish who have died. We pray God’s mercy upon their soul. We ask our deceased to pray for us, as we pray for them.

Gospel, Readings and Reflection 7th August 2022

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 117

Reading 1

Wis 18:6-9

The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers,
that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,
they might have courage.
Your people awaited the salvation of the just
and the destruction of their foes.
For when you punished our adversaries,
in this you glorified us whom you had summoned.
For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice
and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22

R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Reading 2

Heb 11:1-2, 8-19

Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
—and Sarah herself was sterile—
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was
trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.All these died in faith.
They did not receive what had been promised
but saw it and greeted it from afar
and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,
for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come,
they would have had opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them.

Or

Heb 11:1-2, 8-12

Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
—and Sarah herself was sterile—
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was
trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

Alleluia

Mt 24;42a, 44

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake and be ready!
For you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 12:32-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,
for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your belongings and give alms.
Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven
that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come.”Then Peter said,
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied,
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
‘My master is delayed in coming,’
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant’s master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”REFLECTION:-This short statement from Jesus reveals three things to us.

First of all, we hear Jesus offer the familiar reminder that we ought not allow fear to take hold of our lives. There are so many things in life that can have the effect of causing fear, worry, anxiety and the like. Overcoming fear is a matter of humility, in that humility enables us to turn our eyes from ourselves and the problems we face and to put our eyes upon our Lord. When we put our eyes on Him, fear dissipates and trust takes its place.

Second, this is also a very tender statement from Jesus in that He calls His disciples, and all of us, His “little flock.” This is a term of endearment and reveals our Lord’s gentle and compassionate heart. This term of endearment reveals not only that we belong to Jesus, it also reveals how His love for us is intimate and heartfelt. If we understand this love of His we will be compelled to love Him back with the same depth of intimacy.

Lastly, this line points us to the Kingdom of our Father in Heaven. The Father, whom we must trust and with whom we must have an intimate relationship, invites us to share in His most glorious Kingdom. His Kingdom becomes ours, and when we can see and understand how glorious this calling is, we will be filled with hope and excitement as we seek to obtain it.

Reflect, today, upon the heartfelt invitation of our compassionate Lord Jesus to put your eyes upon His Kingdom. As you do so, allow this revelation to cast out fear from your life, strengthening you to overcome that burden. Put your trust in God and allow Him to transform you.

Prayer:-

My Divine Shepherd, I accept Your invitation to put my trust in You. Please free me from the many fears that I am tempted with in life. Help me to have confidence in You and Your grace as I seek to put my eyes on the glory of Your Kingdom. Jesus, I trust in You.

From Catholic daily reflections.com

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Verse of the Day

May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us.

1 Kings 8:57

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