FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH YEAR C

Transcription

1 Since October 30, Christ the KING Kampala UG PARISH PRIEST Msgr. Gerard Kalumba ASSISTING PRIESTS Msgr. Joseph Mugambe Rev. Fr. John Bosco Ssembatya Rev. Fr. Richard Arthur Muwonge LEAD CATECHIST Evaristo Mary Baguma CHAIRPERSON LAITY Rogers Semakula SECRETARY LAITY John Baptist Ssemitego PARISH EXEC. SECRETARY Mrs. Euphemia Kiwuwa SUNDAY MASSES 07.00am: Luganda 08.00am: English 09.00am: Luganda 10.00am: English 11.00am: English 12.00pm: English 05.00pm: English (Charismatic) Sunday, 30th December 2018 Hold firmly that our faith is identical with the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church. -- St. Thomas Aquinas FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH YEAR C PARISH PRIEST S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE Msgr. Gerard Kalumba Christ the King Parish Kampala Last Christmas it was our hope that the Christmas of this year would find us in our rehabilitated Church, but it has not been possible. Instead, we have been appealing to you to give a Christmas gift to the completion of the Construction of our Church. We gave out envelopes for this purpose and you have been very generous in returning them with a contribution for the construction THANK YOU SO MUCH, you love your Church sincerely. It has become a little difficult to predict when the Church will be ready, but before God, everything has a purpose even painful elements in life. May we look at this delay in a positive way as we put together our funds to assist us to get out of this uncomfortable situation. We wish each one of you a Merry Christmas and may you be blessed together with your families and all friends. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2019! DAILY MASSES: Monday to Friday: 06.30am; 07.00am; 01.00pm Saturday: 07.00am; 06.00pm (for Sunday)

2 FIRST READING 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28; Samuel, as long as he lives, is lent to the LORD. A reading from the First Book of Samuel And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, I have asked him of the LORD. And the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him that he may appear in the presence of the LORD, and abide there forever. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-yearold bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine; and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh; and the child was young. Then they slew the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. And she said, Oh, my LORD! As you live, my LORD, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD. For this child I prayed; and the LORD has granted me my petition, which I made to him. Therefore, I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD. The Word of the LORD. RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Psalms 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-11 (R. 5a); R. Blessed are they who dwell in Your House, O LORD. How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul is longing and yearning for the Courts of the LORD. My heart and my flesh cry out to the living God. R. O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Turn Your eyes, O God, our shield; look on the face of Your anointed! R. Blessed are they who dwell in Your House, forever singing Your praise! Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrim ways. R. One day within Your Courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. The threshold of the House of God I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked. R. SECOND READING: 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24; We are called children of God, and so we are. A reading from the First Letter of Saint John Beloved: See what love the Father and do what has given us that we should be called pleases Him. children of God; and so we are. The And this is His reason why the world does not know commandment that we should believe us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ we are God s children now; it does not and love one another, just as He has yet appear what we shall be, but we commanded us. All who keep His know that when He appears, we shall commandments abide in Him, and He be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. in them. And by this we know that He Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, abides in us, by the Spirit which He has we have confidence before God; and given us. we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments The Word of the LORD. 2 Remember, Rejoice, Renew; Starting afresh from Christ

3 ALLELUIA: Cf. Acts 16:14b V. Alleluia, R. Alleluia. V. Open our hearts, O LORD, that we may give heed to the words of Your Son. R. Alleluia GOSPEL: Luke 2:41-52; They found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke The parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing Him to be in the company they went a day s journey, and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. And when they saw Him they were astonished; and His Mother said to Him, Son, why have You treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for You anxiously. And He said to them, How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father s house? And they did not understand the saying, which He spoke to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and His Mother kept all these things in Her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man. The Gospel of the LORD Remember, Rejoice, Renew; Starting afresh from Christ 3

4 The Sunday, which occurs in the 8 days after Christmas is dedicated to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary Msgr. Gerard Kalumba and Joseph. And this year it is this Sunday of the 30th December, It is very indicative that after the birth of the child Jesus, the Church celebrates the Family. A Family is a very basic and important institution of human society. It is in the Family that we are formed or unfortunately sometimes deformed. What and how elders do in the Family greatly influence the growth of the children and formation of their personalities. In the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we have a great model of a family that collaborates. Our Gospel today, clearly states that Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. They were together in prayers that they even travelled distances to go for a major feast like the Passover in Jerusalem. The Passover was celebrated to commemorate the Liberation from the Slavery in Egypt. This Feast is very pivotal in the life of Jesus Christ, because it was at this Feast that Jesus initiated the Passover of Liberation from slavery to sin later at the end of His mission. It is intriguing that at twelve years, when Jesus went with His parents to Jerusalem and was there for about 3 days; because it was after 3 days that they found Him in the temple, even on a social level, Mary and Joseph collaborated to find out where Jesus was lost. It is interesting that He was in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 4 THE PARISH PRIEST S REFLECTION 1 Samuel 1:20-22, John 3:1-2, Luke 2:41-52 THEME: JESUS STAYED BEHIND IN JERUSALEM FOR 3 DAYS AND HE WAS IN HIS FATHER S HOUSE Remember, Rejoice, Renew; Starting afresh from Christ Jesus was in the temple and He says He was in His Father s house: Did you not know that I must be in My Father s house? It is this same city and around the temple that Jesus was condemned to death at the time of the celebration of the Passover and He spent 3 days in the tomb. And when His friends were looking for Him at the place of His burial, they were told that He was not in the tomb, but He was in His Father s house already. He was risen from the dead and was with God the Father. Mary and Joseph did not understand the saying of Christ that it was pointing to His death and resurrection. But Mary and Joseph teach us the common concern of good parents that work together to bring up their children. They did not complain, but solved the problem together. They may not have been aware of Jesus destiny. The pain of missing the child for 3 days is similar to the pain of being in the tomb for three days. In Jesus Christ, Families must work together to seek liberation from slavery to sin and assist the children to develop a culture that drives them to liberation and unity. The First Reading is a good example also of a family that stays through all challenges of life together as a family. For example the challenge of lack of children and so on. God has loved us so much that He has manifested Himself in the family. That is why we call God Father. Let us collaborate in such a way that we are children of God and so we are if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and we receive from Him whatever we ask. Let us stick to Christ Who unites us in our Families. LORD BLESS ALL OUR FAMILIES WITH JOY, PEACE, UNITY AND LOVE. Msgr. Gerard Kalumba Christ the King Parish, Kampala

5 Remember, Rejoice, Renew; Starting afresh from Christ 5

6 6 MARY, MOTHER OF JESUS: GROWING UP IN NAZARETH In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. -- Luke 1:26-27 Who was the young woman, Mary, who became the Mother of Jesus? What would it have been like growing up in Nazareth in the years before becoming Jesus mother? The name Mary means wise woman or lady. As a Jewish peasant girl in Nazareth, a conservative Jewish town, Mary probably knew almost everyone, since the population of Nazareth at that time totaled to only about 400 people. Mary s Childhood in Nazareth Mary would have spoken Aramaic. She probably couldn t have been able to read, since reading wasn t something that girls and women of that era needed to be able to do. Mary could have been well-versed in the Jewish scriptures however, and could have known the stories and prayers by heart. In Mary s time, these stories were not only used as religious Remember, Rejoice, Renew; Starting afresh from Christ teachings, but also were performed by the people as entertainment for their friends and families. As a teenager, Mary was most likely around five feet tall, with black hair. The girls of this time often had a purple or red stripe of dye down the centre part of their long dark hair. There s no reason to think that Mary would have been different from the other girls as far as the styles of the time. Life as a Woman of Nazareth Women of Nazareth usually wore loose-fitting garments that they crafted themselves from homespun linen or wool. Weaving and making garments was one of the tasks that women did for their families, along with cooking and working in the fields. Olives were the major crops of the area where Mary grew up, so pressing the oil from the olives could have been part of women s work. In the years before becoming Mary,

7 Mother of Jesus, there were generally three social levels in Mary s area of Nazareth. These levels included: The rich, who were landowners and/or entrepreneurs. The poor, who worked on the land or in the trades of the time (Mary and her family fit into this level). The destitute, who had neither land nor job and were essentially beggars. Housing in Nazareth Homes in the area were generally made of mud-brick and included a courtyard, a public room in the front and a more private room in the back. Most houses had an outside stairway that led to the building s flat roof where the women spent time working on their daily tasks under a protective awning of goats hair. Mary as the Mother of Jesus Mary, the mother of Jesus, was probably in her late 40 s at the time of Christ s crucifixion. During Her life She was always faithful and cooperative with what God asked of Her. Today She is revered as the most important woman in the Christian Bible and in the Islamic Qur an. As Jesus, Mary and Joseph make their way to Egypt, connect the dots... Remember, Rejoice, Renew; Starting afresh from Christ 7

8 WEEKDAY Celebrations to be planned and organised: WORLD DAY OF PEACE (JANUARY 1) EPIPHANY BAPTISM OF THE LORD WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY (18-25) Monday 31st December 2018 Tuesday 01st January 2019 Wednesday 02nd January 2019 READINGS The Seventh Day within the Octave of (Christmas) The Nativity of the Lord: First reading: 1 John 2:18-21; Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 96:1-2, (R.11a); Gospel: John 1:1-18. Other Masses are not permitted, except funeral Masses. SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD: First reading: Numbers 6:22-27; Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 67:2-3, 5-6, 8 (R. 2a); Second reading: Galatians 4:4-7; Gospel: Luke 2: Other Masses are not permitted, including funeral Masses Sts Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, bishops & doctors, (Mass of the Memorial): First reading: 1 John 2:22-28; Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 98:1-4 (R..3cd); Gospel: John 1: Other Masses are not permitted, except funeral Masses. Thursday 03rd January 2019 Christmas Weekday: (Mass of the Choice): First reading: 1 John 2:29-3:6; Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 98:1, 3-6 (R..3cd); Gospel: John 1: or: proper readings of The Most Holy Name of Jesus, optional memorial: First reading: Philippians 2:1-11; Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 8:4-9; Gospel: Luke 2: Friday 04th January 2019 Christmas Weekday: (Mass of the Choice): First reading: 1 John 3:7-10; Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 98:1, 7-9 (R. 3cd); Gospel: John 1: Other Masses are not permitted, except funeral Masses. Saturday 05th January 2019 Christmas Weekday: (Mass of the Choice): First reading: 1 John 3:11-21; Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 100:1-5 (R. 1); Gospel: John 1: Sunday 06th January 2019 SAINTS AND READING OF THE WEEK Vigil Mass of The Solemnity Of The Epiphany. THE SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY: First reading: Isaiah 60:1-6; Responsorial Psalms: Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, (R. cf.11); Second reading: Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12. Other Masses are not permitted, not even funeral Masses Christ the King Parish, Kampala Tel: Plot 3 Colville Street, P. O. Box 2551, Kampala - Uganda info@christthekingkampala.org