Showing posts with label StAgnes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label StAgnes. Show all posts

Wednesday, 10 December 2025

Sermon Sunday November 2nd 2025 All Souls Day Father Jeff Bergsma

Sermon Sunday November 2nd 2025 All Souls Day 
Father Jeff Bergsma


First Reading: Wisdom 3:1-9.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23.
Second Reading:  Romans 5:5-11 or Romans 6:3-9.
Verse Before the Gospel: Matthew 4: 4b.
Gospel: John 6:37-40.

A sculpture of souls in purgatory at the back of the church. 

(Note: This sermon really struck me. It was an excellent sermon. It is posted here with permission.)

Yesterday we celebrated All Saints Day. Those were for the saints that are in heaven. Today we celebrate all souls.

And All Souls Day is for those saints, or those who have died, who are in purgatory, who have not yet made the journey to heaven. And it's a day we come to, yes, as we know, we mourn for the dead. And we also know that when we celebrate funeral masses, it's mourning for the dead as well.

So there is that part of mourning, where we mourn for their loved ones that have gone before us, but there's also something else that we do on All Souls Day and during funerals. It's not just mourning, but rather All Souls Day and funerals are about hope. It's about hope that we have in Jesus Christ.

It is a day, especially today, All Souls Day, where we remember those who we are mourning for. We remember those who had influence in our lives that have gone before us, and we help and support those who mourn for the death of a loved one. That is what we do at funerals.

That is what we do at All Souls Day, is we mourn. We are there for each other and to help each other. But there's more to that, as I said.

Hope. This feast is about hope. It is about the hope we have in the promises of Jesus Christ.

It is about the hope we have in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Paschal Mystery, that our hope is that Jesus died for us so we may be with him in heaven. This is what this day is about. It is about the victory of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

His victory over death. That death is not the last word, that life is. And this is what we celebrate on All Souls Day, and this is what we celebrate at funerals.

Yes, at funerals, yes, we mourn for the dead, there's no doubt about that. But if we ever really noticed what the funeral liturgy is about, it's about hope. It's about the resurrection of the dead.

It's about understanding that life is changed, not ended. That when someone dies, life is changed, not ended. And this is that hope we have in the promises of Jesus Christ.

The hope we have as Christians, as Catholics, is that Jesus' victory over sin and death has given us the gift of heaven. And that is the great hope we have in the gift of heaven. So as I said, we pray today for those souls in purgatory that they may finish their journey to be with God in heaven.

And that would this is what prayer is about. As we talked a little about, the Mass is the greatest prayer we have as Christians, as Catholics. And we pray for the dead, not only in the Eucharistic prayer, but we pray for the dead in the prayers of the faithful.

We pray that those who've gone before us may be ready to see the face of God. Those souls in purgatory who are waiting to be with God in heaven. And purgatory is an interesting thing, right? It's an interesting thing to try and explain.

So what is purgatory? This is how I usually explain purgatory to students and that. Who here knows what summer school is? Why do you go to summer school? You go to summer school either because you failed, or you go to summer school because you've passed, but you need your grades to get up. So you need higher grades.

This is purgatory. You haven't failed. You haven't failed, but you haven't loved.

We haven't loved perfectly. So like summer school to get our grades up, what happens in purgatory, we remove all those things that stop us from loving each other perfectly, from loving God perfectly. All those things are removed so we can be with God in heaven.

And the second way I explain that only as with summer school is, how many here have gone to the doctor's office? What's the first thing you do when you go to the doctor's office? You go to the reception and say, I'm here. And then you go get to sit down. For how long? Who knows? But you will see the doctor that day.

This is purgatory. You have checked in. We'll use St. Peter at the gates.

Why not? And he goes, okay, just hold on a sec. We will be with God in heaven. We just need to wait to be purified.

And this is what purgatory is. Learning to love perfectly, taking away those things that stopped us from loving perfectly. We will be able to see God.

We'll get into heaven. We just need to wait a little bit. And it's through ancient times that's been prayers for the deceased.

Where do we as Christian Catholics, where do we get this notion of purgatory? We get it from the Old Testament, from the second book of Maccabees chapter 12 44 to 46. For if we were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that was laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.

Therefore he made atonement for the dead so that they may be delivered from their sin. This is why we pray for the deceased. This is where our hope lies.

In praying for the deceased so they may be with God in heaven. Some of you may have heard of Dante and the Divine Comedy. And the Divine Comedy is the Aferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

What Dante says about Purgatorio, he meets one of his friends or better yet frenemies. They were good at doing that in the Middle Ages. They would put their frenemies or enemies in interesting places.

If you ever go to Sistine Chapel, there's a couple of cardinals that Michelangelo put in hell. But what Dante was saying is he met his frenemy and he was surprised that he was progressing so quickly through purgatory to be with God in heaven. So he asked his friend, how are you progressing so much in this? And he just said, I think it's my wife praying for me to get me to heaven.

Now, the Divine Comedy is not scripture. It is not this is how it happens. But in many ways this is how it happens.

It is through our prayers for the deceased, through our hope in the promise of Jesus Christ that all those who have died may be with God in heaven. That is why we pray. Yes, we mourn.

But we mourn with hope. We mourn with trust. And that what Jesus Christ did in his mission to die for us so we may have life in heaven, that is what we're celebrating today.

We are celebrating that hope, that certainty. But those who have done their best to live in the light of the gospel, live out their faith in life, may be with God in heaven. They may need a little bit of our prayers to get through.

I know I'm going to need a lot of your prayers when I get the purgatory. But as we help each other, that is community. That is the community of saints, if you will.

That is the community of our faith. So we trust that Jesus is the atonement for our sins. And Jesus is.

It is through Jesus' atonement by dying on the cross that we have life with God in heaven. It is through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection through the Paschal mystery that we have the certainty of the promise of heaven. And that, as I said, life is changed not ended.

Our bonds with those who have deceased have changed not ended. They've entered a new version, if you will, a new way. For us, it's praying for them to be with God in heaven.

And God willing, there with God in heaven, they pray for us here on earth to help us to say yes to the hope that we have in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That indeed, death is not the end, but the beginning of new life. That indeed, through Jesus' death on the cross, death has been conquered and life for us with God in heaven has been given to us because of the love of God.

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Wednesday, 30 April 2025

Sermon First Week of Lent 2025 Father Aleks Mazur, SAC

Sermon Sermon First Week of Lent 2025 
Father Aleks Mazur, SAC

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26: 4-10.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 91: 1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15.
Second Reading: Romans 10: 8-13.
Verse Before the Gospel: Matthew 4: 4b.
Gospel: Luke 4: 1-13.

Sermon Sermon First Week of Lent 2025 Father Aleks Mazur, SAC St. Agnes Waterloo

(Note: This sermon really struck me. It was an excellent sermon. It is posted here with permission.)

We know from the Book of Exodus that the Israelites, after leaving Egypt, spent 40 years in the desert on way to their Promised Land. Thank God, we have this AI nowadays. Today I asked my computer: How long it would take to walk through the Sinai desert? The answer I got was: Walking across the entire Sinai Trail, a 550 km route, can take approximately 42 days. Wow, 42 days! How come it took 40 years for the chosen people of God to cross the distance? 

Some people say, the Israelites needed all that time to reform themselves, to abandon their slave-like mentality. They were supposed to enter their promised land as free people. During all those 40 long years they were tempted and their failed, several times. 

They complained: the life was better off in Egypt. Yes, we were slaves but we had plenty of food there.

Because of that only the second generation of Israelites, born free in the desert, could walk into the Promised Land. 

In our Gospel today the devil is tempting Jesus. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert to get ready for His mission. The devil tried 3 times and failed. Jesus won.

In each of the three temptations what the devil is saying to Jesus is, "Come on, use what you have to get what you want." And in each case Jesus overcomes the temptation by replying, "No, we can only use godly means to satisfy our God-approved needs."

Note that people are tempted only with what they need or want. And nowadays there are more and more things we want. And many of the things we want are those we really don’t need. And that’s a great opportunity for devil. They are also things we need but not always determent to get them in a decent way. And that’s another great chance for the devil. 

I would like to expand today the meaning of the first temptation. So, now let’s mention just briefly the second and the third temptation.

In the second temptation the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and promises to give him authority over them if only Jesus would worship him. In a way, the devil is telling Jesus: I am offering you a prime time to reach the world-wide audience where you can publicize your message, almost for free. Remember that Jesus was about to begin his public life and was looking for a way to get the whole world to know him and accept his message. 

Look, I am offering you a great help, be loyal to me, says the devil. Jesus says no. The end does not justify the means. "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him'".

In the third temptation the devil asks Jesus to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple as a way to prove that he was the Son of God. Jesus wanted to convince the people that he was the one. The devil suggested this sensational sky jump. 

Here are all our bargaining prayers. I change my life, if you God do this to me, I will go to church, I will do this or that, if you grant this…  Jesus said no to this temptation. "Do not put the Lord your God to the test". The God of Jesus Christ is not a business partner. He wants your unconditional trust and love and He will give what He knows is best for you. 

And now let’s go back the first temptation. In the first temptation, Jesus had fasted for forty days in the wilderness and at the end of it he was very hungry. The devil puts an idea into his head: "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread" . Notice that the first thing the devil does is sow a doubt in his mind: "if you are the Son of God." "Are you really sure God is with you?" 

The same thing happened in the garden of Eden. The first thing the Tempter said to Eve was, "Did God really say you should not eat of any fruit of the garden". Temptation often begins with a doubting thought. Did God really say this or is it one of those Sunday school fairy tales? Jesus overcame the temptations by refusing to entertain such doubts and by standing on the word of God.

After his fasting Jesus needed to eat. So, the devil tempted him with food. It is not a sin for Jesus to eat after fasting. The sin may lie in how the food, and everything else for that matter, is obtained. Jesus refuses to take the devil's shortcut. The means we employ to satisfy our needs must be in accordance with the word of God. Feeding on God's word is ultimately more important than feeding on bread. "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone'".

Fasting is a great school of character. Fasting is also one of the main Lenten observances. But what is this fasting exactly about? I think we need some clarification. There are practically 2 things regarding fasting: no meat and less food. 

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops mandates abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. This abstinence from meat applies to those age14 and older. In addition to that there is also an obligatory eating less on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday for Catholics aged 18 to 59. 

We are talking here about eating only one full meal and two smaller meals, practically a snack. 

Please know that several people are exempt from fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday: those who are ill, including individuals suffering from chronic illnesses. Diabetics and pregnant women and those nursing are also exempt.

What about other Fridays? In the past Catholics used to abstain from meat every Friday. Friday was and is still considered a penitential day. We are supposed to reflect that in one way or another. The bishops in Canada give us here an option: first, we can give up meat on Fridays. This is the first option which can be substituted by other practices, like visiting the elderly, giving to the poor, helping the marginalized, praying extra, and so on. 

We like to have an option, right? But, generally speaking, we don’t like to be told what to do, especially what to eat and what not to eat. I know some people struggle with that. You, may ask, why do we have to follow such rules, first place. Wouldn’t be better to let people be free and they can decide what to do? In a perfect world and an ideal church, that would be better. But the world is not perfect and we are not ideal.

We are creatures of habits… If we knew how to use our freedom, there will be no need for rules, commandments and precepts. But freedom is a hard job, it requires a lot of responsibility. It is much easier to dream about good food in Egypt, than to face the hardships of freedom in the desert.

That’s why we have those precepts in the Church, like Sunday obligation and fasting.

I know many people who decide, by their own initiative, to give up certain food on Fridays during Lent. As a matter of fact, some do that all Fridays during the whole year. There are even those who try to eat only bread with water. on certain days. These however are their own, personal choices. 

My Brothers and Sisters, whatever we do special during Lent, like fasting for example, may it help us to be strong and to stay away from temptations. Jesus shows us that we should never trade off our faith in God or our moral principles for other things, because what we get by following devil is at the end only shame, disappointment and bitterness. Instead, the faithfulness to God is more precious than anything in this world.
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Monday, 14 April 2025

Sermon Seventh Sunday Ordinary Time 2025 Joonbin Lim

Sermon Seventh Sunday Ordinary Time 2025
Joonbin Lim

1St Reading: 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-25
2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 
Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

Sermon Sermon Seventh Sunday Ordinary Time

(Note: This sermon really struck me. It was an excellent sermon from our transitional deacon. It is posted here with permission.)

If there is anyone who thinks that living according to today’s Gospel is easy, please let me know… If someone were to slap me on one cheek, I would probably slap them on both cheeks.

Today’s readings talk about this difficult teaching of Jesus about loving our enemy. This is the most difficult teaching that all of us would have difficulty to live it out. About 25 years ago, I served in the military. While I learned many things during my service, the most difficult part was having to obey the orders of my superiors. At that time, there were incidents in the military caused by such harassment and beatings. some of them would harass or physically abuse their subordinates for no reason. It was an unhealthy military culture.

Among my superiors, there was one in particular who frequently tormented my comrades and me. As privates, my fellow soldiers and I were beaten almost every night in the boiler room or restroom. There was no justifiable reason for the abuse. Then, one day, a close comrade of mine was beaten so badly that he lost consciousness. When we went on perimeter guard duty, we carried rifles, bullets, and grenades. 

From that day on, I constantly harbored thoughts of revenge against that superior. However, I carried a rosary that my father had given me. Whenever thoughts of revenge arose, I prayed. Over time, many things began to change. That superior also changed, and I, too, was transformed. The beatings and harassment gradually decreased. When I eventually became a superior myself, I made sure that such abuse did not happen under my command. It wasn’t that I did anything special, but in my pain and hardship, I earnestly prayed to the Lord. I also endured those difficult times by thinking of my parents at home and the people I loved. 

My anger and desire for revenge did not suddenly turn into prayer overnight. It took a very long time of inner conflict and painful moments.

We live in a world that is so divided. Our individual differences have created pillars of biases and prejudices within us that often make us intolerant to each other. Instead of celebrating unity amidst our diversity, it even fosters division and continuously creating our own niche which leads to aversion to those whom we label as the “others.” 

Loving someone is only possible when that person meets our expectation. Loving someone is only possible when that person reciprocates everything that we do. Loving someone became so limited only to those who belong to our family, friends, peers, group and community. The rest especially to those whom we don’t like and those who have hurt us becomes our enemy. As much as possible we want to get rid of them. 

How can we love those people who caused us so much pain, brokenness and mental anguish? How can we love those people who are the reason of all our pain and suffering? 

“Loving the way God loves us is what makes us His children” which is the theme of our reflection today. God loves us very much without conditions. As His children we are ought to love the way he loves us. We are loved even we are sinners. This is how God loves us. Even how many times we disobey him and reject His will, God will never surrender on loving us. 

There is no such thing as category when we truly love. Everyone is worthy of our love for it is in loving like God loves reflects of who we really are as his children. But how can we really love like God does. 

First, we can only love like what God does if we recognize the goodness in every person. This is the most basic that we need to remember. There is an innate goodness within us because we are created by God in his own image and likeness. Second, we can only love like what God does if we believe that every person is redeemed by God through Jesus Christ. Our innate goodness is ruined by the bondage of sin and this is the reason why we cannot love like God does. It’s not the gravity of our sins that he sees on us but that innate goodness and this can only be restored by his pure and unconditional love through the works of his Son, Jesus Christ. 

Lastly, only Jesus in his spirit who can animate and inspire us to love like God does even our enemies. We can only love like what God does if we live out everything what Jesus Christ has done. Jesus gave us something that stretches us from the things that we are used to. He gave us an extra challenge to love not just our friends but even our enemies. This is the heart of Luke’s gospel today when Jesus reminded his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” This is the most difficult teaching of Jesus but once we do it we will experience what true love is and how it feels to be God’s children. This teaching is not just inscribed by Jesus on stone tablets but he engraved it in our heart. We can only love like God does if we follow the teachings of Christ and let it be the standard of what loving is.
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Thursday, 2 November 2023

Prayer of the Day Prayer for the Forgotten Dead

Prayer for the Forgotten Dead 

O merciful God, take pity on those souls who have no particular friends and intercessors to recommend them to Thee, who, either through the negligence of those that are alive, or through the length of time are forgotten by their friends and by all. Spare them O Lord, and remember Thine own mercy, when others forget to appeal to it. Let not the souls which Thou hast created be parted from Thee, their Creator. They are Thy work, and though they have sinned, they have been redeemed by Thee. Vouchsafe, therefore, to look upon them and to deliver them from the intolerable pain of absence from Thee; the light and love of all Thy creatures. Oh! Place them in the number of Thy blessed Saints and citizens through Jesus Christ their Saviour.  
Amen.  

Eternal Father! I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus in Satisfaction for my sins, and for the wants of the Holy Church.  

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home, and within my family.  
Amen.  

Prayer for the Forgotten Dead

This prayer came across my FB timeline. I really struck me. I saved the image and started looking online for a text version of it. I Ended up finding several similar prayers. I have prayed this one fore a few months now. And Find it fitting to post it on All Souls Day.


A sculpture of souls in purgatory at the back of my church. 

Note: Link to all posts about St. Agnes Parish.

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Friday, 11 September 2020

Prayer of the Day Prayer to Saint Agnes

Prayer to Saint Agnes 

St. Agnes, although you were only a child, you believed that Jesus was always with you; help us to remember that he is also with us, and to remain true to his presence. 

St. Agnes, you refused to give up your faith; help us to be proved of our faith, to love it, to be strong in it, and to give witness to it daily. 

St. Agnes, patron saint of children, watch over the children of the world; keep them safe from harm; be with them in their hour of need; and always pray for them. 

St. Pray for us. 
Amen 

Note: Feast January 21st  


(The artwork is oil on canvas, in the backstairs at our parish.)



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Wednesday, 25 December 2019

Merry Christmas 2019

Merry Christmas 2019

Merry Christmas from our family to you and yours.









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Sunday, 27 January 2019

The Third Sunday In Ordinary Time 2019

The Third Sunday In Ordinary Time 2019

 Our readings this week are:

 First Reading Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10 
Responsorial Psalm 19:7, 8, 9, 14 Response John 6:63
Second Reading 1 Corinthians 12:12-30
Gospel Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21

 Our first reading this week is from the time of Israel’s return from exile. After the law is read, they mourn. They recognized that they had not been living the law. But Ezra and Nehemiah tell them:

 “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then Ezra said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength”

 I think of those today who celebrate sin, who flaunt the laws of God and the laws of nature. I doubt if they had the word of God read to them, they would immediately mourn and convert. I think about the new law in New York State, allowing abortion up to the moment of birth. And the celebrations and rejoicing over this ‘progressive’ law. I think about the vote last year on abortion in Ireland. And I think about the mistakes in my own life. Both what I have done, and what I have failed to do. What I have said and what I have failed to say. And I think about the joy and peace after a good confession. And to be honest I struggle there are some sins I confess regularly. But I am trying. I am striving. I think about this meme from a friend who writes at The Cordial Catholic. 


 I also think about a new book ‘Remember Your Death: Lenten Devotional’ by Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble FSP. How many people today live their whole life without thinking about their death. About the four last things, Death Judgement, Heaven, and Hell? 


The response this week is an answer to all of those questions and reflections:

 “Your words, Lord, are spirit and life.”

 But in order to know that life, we need to be interacting with those words of life. Like the Israelites we need to listen to the word as community. We also need to be studying the word personally. And we need to try and live it. It cannot just be an intellectual activity, it needs to have an impact on our life. 

 The reading from Corinthians speaks about the many parts one body. The older I get the more I understand and appreciate this passage. I also believe that God the Father through the Spirit is still giving the gifts of:

 Apostles
Prophets
Teachers
Power
Healing
Assistance
Leadership
Tongues

 I have seen different gifts in my life at different phases. And I have seen them in the lives of friends, family, and fellow parishioners. But one of the things that has served me over the years if persistence, and prayer. Between these two God has brought me through so many things. And I believe he will bring us through what we are facing as a family. And all that comes our way in the future. And then we come to this weeks Gospel.  Jesus declaring the day of the Lord. He publicly claims to fulfill the scriptures. Me trust in that claim is central to my life and trying to live out that belief. And so, I encourage you, if you are a believe grow that knowledge, grow in the faith and in living it out. If you are not, I challenge you to read the gospels with an open heart. For one day we will all die and be called to give an account.



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Sunday, 20 January 2019

The Second Sunday In Ordinary Time 2019

The Second Sunday In Ordinary Time 2019

 It is interesting that we have no First Sunday of Ordinary Time, the readings go from the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord 2019 to Monday of the first week of ordinary Time. So, this is the first Sunday after the season of Christmas. Our readings this week are:

 First Reading Isaiah 62:1-5 
Responsorial Psalm -Psalm 96:1-4, 7-10 Response 3
Second Reading 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Gospel John 2:1-12

 This year is year C in the cycle of readings. After this year the weekend readings circle back to year 1. But because of the shifting seasons, seldom do the weekends end up on the same day especially at this point in the calendar. Just this week I reviewed, The Church's Year Unfolding the Mysteries of Christ by David W. Fagerberg from the CTS Deeper Christianity Series. And I posted pictures of Church from last weekend, mentioning the end of the Christmas Season. It caused quite the controversy in a specific Catholic Facebook group. And I for the most part just watched the comments. My understanding is Christmas ended last week, and ordinary time began. Some more traditional parishes, especially those that follow the extraordinary form argue Candlemas ends on February 2nd. I did not want to get in the middle of it, and it is splitting hairs. So, for those who follow the ordinary form, the default since 1969 Christmas ended last weekend. Candlemas is 40 days from Christmas day and the 40 days of Lent, 40 years of wandering in the desert both have meaning. But from where I sit it is not worth fighting over. Personally, having been born after Vatican II, and being a revert to the Catholic faith, I know what I grew up with, and do not long for the Latin mass of either variation. But I can respect and appreciate those who appreciate it. But enough about when Christmas ends and let us look at this week’s readings.

 The first reading is about the end of the exile. Both for Israel, and for us a followers of Christ. We are strangers in a strange land, and we look forward to a future home in heaven. Three phrases from this reading strike me:

 “You shall no more be termed Forsaken.
…
For the Lord delights in you,
…
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”

 If I am completely honest with you, for most of my life I felt and believed the opposite of these phrases. I believed I was forsaken and living under a curse. A curse of things that had been done to me, circumstances, and my own mistakes. I could not imagine God delighting in me, or rejoicing over me. Having worked through several of John Eldredge’s book a few years back, and having been through deliverance ministry, I prayed a prayer:

 “Lord Jesus Christ bring me fully alive,
Lord Jesus Christ restore me to glory.”

 Praying and trusting that as Jesus stated in John 10:10 ‘I am come that you might have life and have it abundantly.’ I prayed the above prayer like the Jesus prayer, I prayed it while walking to and from campus, I prayed it while working out, while walking to and from work. And though I still struggle at times with believe God would want me, I trust it now and strive to live it out, in my work, in my family and with my friends. And this takes us to this week’s response:

 “Declare the marvelous works of the Lord among all the people.”

 That is what I attempt to do with these weekly reflections. With reviewing Catholic books. With opening up at times about my own faults and failures. God is so good. And I sing his praise, or in my case I write in praise of him and his works. The second reading is one I have studied often, both when a student leader at Queen’s University and later at the University of Waterloo I have lead several series of bible studies on the gifts of the spirit, and on the spiritual disciplines. And in my own life different gifts have been predominant at different points in my life. I love even just listing the gifts in this passage:

 Wisdom
Knowledge
Faith
Healing
Miracles
Prophecy
Discernment of Spirits
Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues

 All from the same spirit, all for the common good, a variety of gifts, services, and activities. But we are all one body. One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church!

 And this week my prayer for you my readers is that your faith is sparked afresh, anew. That you are renewed this week and begin the fight again. Carry on, battle on, and persevere. 




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Sunday, 13 January 2019

The Baptism of the Lord 2019

The Baptism of the Lord 2019

The readings for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord 2019, note there are alternate readings for both the first and second readings, and the Responsorial Psalm:

 First Reading Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 or 
                     Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 
Responsorial  Psalm 1-4:1-4, 24-25, 27-30 Response 1a or
                     Psalm 29:1-4, 9-10 Response 11b
Second Reading Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7 or
                         Acts 10:34-38 
Gospel Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

 Including the three optional readings we have a lot of content that we can use to reflect upon this week. In fact, we could spend several weeks reflecting on these passages and still not do them justice. But I will in this short reflection, try and bring us so paints that struck me and will hopefully be of value to you. 

 From the opening of the first option for reading one we have:

 “Comfort, O Comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”

 These are the words of the good shepherd to his flock, we are that flock. God is the creator and in this case restorer of life. God is encouraging us to hope, to believe. We might me strangers in a strange land, but God is with us. And in his compassion, he promises to alleviate sadness and send forth his mercy. Jesus came to renew the people of God, he came to fulfill what the prophets had foreseen. We are God’s people. When we turn to the second option for the first reading God states:

 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him.”

 Jesus came and as God’s son he provides the redemption we need. He healed both physically and spiritually. And he can still heal us body, mind, and spirit. If we are open to him and his will. He came that we might have freedom and that we could become children of God. But we are in training, we are called to be saints. We are called to reject evil and pursue good. And we are reminded in the reading from Acts that Jesus will ultimately bring peace and justice to the earth, even if we never see it in our life time. And finally, we come to this weeks gospel reading:

 “John answered all of them saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’”

 Can you picture it, Jesus in line, awaiting his baptism and he hears these words? Then the crowd parts and it is Jesus’s turn to be baptized. After Jesus was baptized, he spent time in prayer. Do we take time after communion to pray, do we take time after mass to pray? Do we use prayer to bookmark mass, our day our week? We are called to live reconciled to God, we are called to strive to be saints. We are children of God, and our sacramental reality of communion and confession should be ever drawing us nearer to God, and to becoming the best version of ourselves. 

 And that is my prayer for you my readers this week, that you will feel the call, take up the challenge and work out becoming saints, work at becoming the best version of yourself.


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