PARISH BULLETIN St Kieran Catholic Church in Campbeltown and Islay 4 th February 2018

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1 I HAD A CHOICE: TO BE ANGRY WITH GOD FOR WHAT I DON T HAVE OR TO BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I HAVE. Nick Vujicic PARISH BULLETIN St Kieran Catholic Church in Campbeltown and Islay 4 th February 2018 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalm response Bless the Lord my soul who heals the broken-hearted. Gospel acclamation Alleluia, alleluia! He took our sickness away, and carried our diseases for us. Alleluia! Communion Antiphon Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, his wonders for the children of men, for he satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things. St. Kieran s Tuesday Wednesday Holy Mass am Thursday No Mass Friday Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 6.00 pm Holy Mass 6.30 pm Saturday Vigil Mass 6.00 pm Sunday Holy Mass am Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturday pm Islay Ash Wednesday: Liturgy of the Word and the distribution of Ashes, 6.30 pm frtony@stkieransrc.org A Parish of the R.C. Diocese of Argyll and the Isles; Charitable Trust, a registered Scottish Charity, SC Parish Priest: Fr. A. Wood, St. Kieran s, Campbeltown; Tel

2 Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow a day at a time. Monday, Feb 05, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINT AGATHA, VIRGIN, MARTYR Inner peace be with you It s stories like that of Agatha, a young virgin from Sicily (d. 251) who was tortured by having her breasts cut off, that make following in the footsteps of the saints seem so, well, horrible. But what s often missing from popular accounts of the lives of saints is their ability to find God, and therefore joy, in all things including those experiences that an observer might consider unbearable. Today as we contemplate our own voluntary deprivations during the quickly approaching season of Lent, we can glimpse the inner peace that conquers hardship when our intention is, as Agatha put it, that Christ possess alone all that I am. TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13; Mark 6: They... began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Tuesday, Feb 06, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINTS PAUL MIKI AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS Give your all Japanese-born Paul Miki ( ) was baptized at the age of 5. A man of his culture with a profound knowledge of Buddhism, he made an effective and affectionate preacher among the Japanese. When his fellow Jesuits were expelled from Japan, he remained and was eventually crucified with 25 others in Nagasaki. For each generation of Christians the demands of faith and the promises of Christ remain the same: Love God and love one another and you will live in love eternally. TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30; Mark 7:1-13. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition. Wednesday, Feb 07, 2018 What s for break-fast? With the season of Lent and its practice of fasting arriving next week, it s a little puzzling to remember that Jesus was a great breaker of fasts and violator of religious food rules that was one thing that got him into trouble with the authorities. His followers gathered grain on the Sabbath because they were hungry. He ate with sinners and outcasts. He did not simply follow the rules, but for a purpose: to show how the rules should not control but rather serve to bring a person into a more loving relationship with God and neighbour. What makes a person holy is not external observance but internal faith and love, which leads to right behaviour. TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Kings 10:1-10; Mark 7: Everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile.... But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles. Thursday, Feb 08, 2018

3 MEMORIAL OF SAINT JEROME EMILIANI Let the children come Born into a noble family, Jerome Emiliani ( ) led the life of a carefree and dissolute soldier. After being captured and imprisoned, however, he underwent a conversion. Upon release he began devoting his resources to overseeing the educations of his nephews and caring for the sick and poor. Eventually he dedicated himself to abandoned children, of whom he is now the patron saint. Jerome helps us to remember that unwanted children are all around us, and that all children need care and support. TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Kings 11:4-13; Mark 7: Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children s crumbs. Friday, Feb 09, 2018 Embody mercy Abraham Maslow s hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology that proposes that human beings must have their basic physical and emotional needs met before they can realize their fullest potential. Catholics are expected to help others satisfy those needs through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, which include feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and visiting the sick as well as teaching those who lack education, forgiving offenses willingly, and comforting the afflicted. Through works of mercy the world gets closer to reaching its fullest potential. Let s all get to work! TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19; Mark 7: He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. Saturday, Feb 10, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINT SCHOLASTICA, VIRGIN Devote yourself from beginning to end We know few facts about Saint Scholastica: She lived in Italy in the fifth and sixth centuries, was the sister of Saint Benedict, became a nun and a prioress, and helped found Benedictine monasticism. Yet, thanks to two brief comments by Saint Gregory the Great, we know volumes about how she lived her life. Of her childhood Gregory wrote: She was devoted to God from a very early age, and a few paragraphs later he added that when she died her soul ascended into heaven in the likeness of a dove. Though seemingly innocuous, these comments are like bookends of Scholastica s existence and give us a sense of the rich content of her biography. As you think about your life s journey, what do your bookends look like? TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34; Mark 8:1-10. My heart is moved with pity for the crowd.

4 Readings for the 5 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Job 7:1-4, 6-7 Job laments the futility of human existence. Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 God heals the broken-hearted and sustains the poor. 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, Paul describes the passionate role of the preacher. Mark 1:29-39 Jesus is ever on the move, proclaiming the Good News from town to town. Anointing sacramental therapy for the sick The principle aim for the anointing of the sick is not preparation for death, nor healing, nor forgiveness, neither is it sanctifying illness as we sometimes think. This sacrament is to lead those who are ill to an authentic meeting with Christ in suffering. Disease and death, as the effects of sin, remain inseparable from earthly life. However, imitating the behaviour of Christ, the sick can accept the pain and suffering of illness and give it a supernatural meaning. The sacramental life helps in this. A Sacrament for the living, and not the dead Extreme unction, the last rites sound like a death sentence. It is no surprise that the sick and their families fear this term. In serious cases they delay calling the priest until death is confirmed, so as to not upset the person as it is often explained later. And in this way we deprive a sick, and often dying person, the greatest comfort and strength in this difficult stage of life. Generally a sick person is aware of their condition and wants comfort and hope, and not to be cheated. Whereas it is most often the healthy who are most afraid of thinking about suffering and eventual death and therefore don t want to hear or talk about the priest and the sacrament of anointing. The proper name of this rite is the anointing of sick, and not the last rites. The sacrament for the dying is called VIATICUM and is actually given in the last stage before death, while anointing of the sick can be received

5 many times, even regularly a few times a year, over years. The principle aim for the anointing of the sick is not preparation for death, nor healing, nor forgiveness, neither is it sanctifying illness as we sometimes think. Yes, of course, these effects may appear at the celebration of the sacrament, but they are in a way side effects of the work of grace, and not a primary or independent aim. The real aim of the sacrament of the sick is to lead the sick to an authentic meeting with Christ in their suffering, so this suffering is brought to a union with the suffering of Christ and gives it a supernatural meaning. Only by the light of faith and the saving work of the cross may illness and death be accepted. By themselves they have no power nor any sanctifying or saving value. Quite the opposite: they are the most painful effects of sin and should not be extolled or glorified, but fought and overpowered. And this can only be done by Christ and this is why those who are ill need to entrust themselves to Christ. In the administration of the sacrament of the sick the most important thing is to overcome fear and reluctance in the face of serious illness, and especially death. The sacraments are for the living, and not for the dead. After confirmation of death, the sacrament can no longer be given. A priest can then, just as anyone else, only pray for the deceased, nothing more. This is why we do not wait for the last breath of our loved ones. So, it is best to ensure in the instance of a serious illness or a deterioration in health of a sick person, that they receive anointing immediately, and the elderly regularly, e.g. on the world day of prayer for the sick, or when the priest periodically visits with Holy Communion. Oil is not a wonder ointment At the other extreme of misunderstanding, the sacrament of anointing is treated as a healing ointment of miraculous action a wonder oil. Miraculous actions are only found in medications advertised in magazines, but sometimes we bring this blissful notion to the action of the sacrament of the sick. It can seem to us that the visit from the priest should result in an immediate improvement in the state of health, if not the complete healing of the sick person. We expect that anointing will immediately and certainly help. Anointing cannot be treated as an alternative or in competition to medical means. It is not one more remedy to be applied to achieve a cure or even just an improvement in health.

6 All the more reason not to equate the sacrament of anointing with a magical action or therapy, and an automatic effect. Only Jesus can heal and most often He does through natural means or the normal use of medical treatment and medicines, which have to be accompanied by our faith and prayer. The sacrament is a sign that Jesus is with the sick, that He stands at their side and wants their good, that the spirit is healed and the whole person is saved which is not always equate to an external cure. Because sometimes there are no external or immediate effects, we therefore doubt the effectiveness of anointing. These doubts we can also transfer to God. We think He could and should help us, and since a cure has not occurred we come to the conclusion that it appears God is powerless, and the sacrament does nothing. Both conclusions are false and are evidence of a mistaken understanding of the intentions and actions of God. God never promised man that He would cure all illness. Even Jesus who miraculously healed so many people did not eliminate disease form the world. It is only through His resurrection that He has accomplished the final victory, but the full fruits of this victory will be revealed in the life to come. Disease and death, as the result of sin, remain an inseparable attribute of earthly life. As long as there is sin, there is a broken world. The sacrament of victory over fear Not only as a minister of the sacrament of the sick, but also as a recipient, there is one thing I can be sure of: spiritual healing and its specific effects. Trying to imitate the attitude of Christ as a sick person I am able in some way to accept whatever pain, physical or mental, there is and transform it into saving suffering, that is a sacrifice freely offered to God. I then leave behind the disheartening mindset that focuses on my misfortune in favour of reaching out to and clinging to Christ Crucified and Raised. This helps me to be liberated from loneliness, despair and discouragement, seeing life from the perspective of the eternal. Probably the worst thing in illness is fear for myself, the future, and the fear of what comes before death. This fear affects not only me, the sick person, but also encompasses those closest to me, and affects them more than the illness itself. In this way every serious illness, and especially lifethreatening ones, are infectious and can cause an epidemic of fear and uncertainty in family and friends. The feeling of my own powerlessness, the awareness that the illness marks the beginning of an end, uncertainty

7 about the future (in this life and the next!), gives rise to an unobserved, subjective pain, which those closest also experience. For this type of pain medicine does know of any remedy. Whereas faith has such a remedy. This remedy is hope in life eternal. The limitations of illness and death do not limit human life. Illness becomes merely another way to experience the closeness of Christ, and death is merely the way we access another way of existing, the start of a new stage eternity, the eternal love of God. God loves us with an unlimited love and in this love He wants to give us a dwelling place. Here on earth everything ends conclusively, sometimes in very tragic circumstances, but only so as to begin in a totally new way with God. Being anointed with oil is a sign that Christ takes me as it were in to His own possession, under His care. From then nothing evil can reach me, because I am His. But so that I receive this blessing provided through anointing I have to receive and experience it with faith. And it is not just about faith in its practical effects, but faith in Christ, in entrusting my whole self into His hands. The active substance of anointing is faith Once again I want to underline, that it is not illness which saves, neither does the sacrament, but Christ, and the salvation, which we receive and become participants in, is through faith. Sacraments are essentially sacraments of faith and only in the spirit of faith is their action effective. Faith enriches and provides for a person, not only in reaching eternity, but also in our worldly lives. It provides the environment for the action of the sacrament, like a psychological background for the fruitful celebration of anointing. Such faith Jesus needed when He had someone to heal. Rites and formulas alone, that is the sacramental ritual, must be complemented with the spiritual commitment of the participants, and the primary commitment belongs to the priest as dispenser and spiritual guide. So, his attitude has to clearly confirm what is happening and what is set out in the form of the sacrament: may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up. If we truly believe in the reality which is in these words, they become a perceived fact. This reality does not necessarily mean miraculous healing, but it will consist of support, redemption, forgiveness and raising the sick person s spirits.

8 Such an atmosphere of prayer full of faith can accomplish real healing of the sick. How it specifically looks from the external side, will depend on what God decides. But it would be an unforgivable mistake if our pettiness was an obstacle to God s action and sacramental efficacy. The Holy Father s prayer intention for February A. Wood Universal: Say No to Corruption. That those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption. Prayers Please pray for all those who are in need or have asked for our prayers: Willy Robertson, Russell Carroll, Robert Boyce, Maureen McLaughlin, Mary Wareham. Please remember in your prayers all whose anniversaries occur at his time. News and Events Nancy Glen: anyone who wishes to donate to the fund held by the Clyde Fishermen s Trust to raise the Nancy Glen and support the families can do so via their JustGiving page - or if you do not have internet access, donate in an envelop labelled Nancy Glen and put it in the collection. Family Retreat 16 th 18 th March, based at Craig Lodge. Contact , mail@craiglodge.org. See poster in porch. Tea and coffee in the hall after Sunday Mass. Next Sunday: will be the World Day of the Sick. The sacrament of anointing will available for anyone who has a serious illness, a chronic illness, whose health is deteriorating, who is elderly, during Mass (Vigil and Sunday). Those who wish to be anointed at home should let Fr. Tony of the Sick 2018 know.