24 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Transcription

1 PARISH BULLETIN St Kieran Catholic Church in Campbeltown and Islay 16 th September 2018 Take up your cross and follow me. 24 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalm response I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living. Gospel acclamation Alleluia, alleluia! I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord; No one can come to the Father except through me. Alleluia! Communion Antiphon How precious is your mercy, O God! The children of men seek shelter in the shadow of your wings. St. Kieran s Tuesday Holy Mass am Wednesday Holy Mass am Friday (Day of fasting and prayer) Holy Hour Blessed are your eyes 5.30 pm Holy Mass 6.30 pm Saturday Vigil Mass 6.00 pm Sunday Holy Mass am Islay (St.Columba s Church, Bridgend) Sunday, 16 th September, 4.00 pm Holy Mass Sunday, 7 th October, 4.00 pm Holy Mass Sunday, 14 th October, 4.00 pm Liturgy of the Word

2 Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow a day at a time. Monday, Sep 17, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINT ROBERT BELLARMINE, BISHOP, DOCTOR Make care for the poor a cardinal virtue The Italian Jesuit Robert Bellarmine (d. 1621) is rightly remembered for his brilliance he was made a cardinal by Pope Clement VIII on the grounds that he had not his equal for learning. But while Bellarmine wore the red hat and had an apartment in the Vatican, he refused to live the high life. He maintained his austere disciplines, spending the bare minimum on his own needs and eating only the food available to the poor. It is said that he even used the tapestries he found in his Vatican apartment to clothe poor people, remarking, The walls won t catch cold. Pray that all the leaders of the church share Bellarmine s vision of what it means to be a servant of God. TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33; Luke 7:1-10. I did not consider myself worthy to come to you, but say the word and let my servant be healed. Tuesday, Sep 18, 2018 What you do for the least helps the most One of Jesus greatest gifts was his ability to comfort people who were suffering. He did that by performing miracles, of course, but also by simply accepting each person He encountered. Jesus method was simple, but 2,000 years later it is apparent that we still have much to learn about how to treat the most fragile and vulnerable among us. The French geophysicist Xavier Le Pichon, in a profoundly personal and moving essay titled Ecce Homo ( Behold Humanity ), writes that when people turn toward the suffering ones in their midst, the entire community is transformed. TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31a; Luke 7: When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, Do not weep. " Wednesday, Sep 19, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINT JANUARIUS, BISHOP, MARTYR They re there when you need them The bishop Saint Januarius, who died near the beginning of the fourth century, is known primarily for the San Gennaro festival named after him and for a famous phenomenon: the liquefying of a vial said to be his blood that has been going on several times a year in Naples, Italy for centuries. Apparently, he was an inspiring presence even before that. When Saint Paulinus of Nola was dying in 431, he called out to Saints Januarius and Martin of Tours, who a little while ago were speaking to me and promising me that soon I would join them, a biography says. Saints are always available. Pray to them for help and let them serve as examples of love and service in your life. TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Corinthians 12:31 13:13; Luke 7: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

3 Thursday, Sep 20, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINTS ANDREW KIM TAE-GŎN, PRIEST, PAUL CHŎNG HA-SANG, AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS What they did for love Love makes the whole difference between an execution and martyrdom, Evelyn Underhill once said. As one of Christianity s renowned commentators on mysticism, she should know. The saints we call mystics are hailed for their utmost trust in God s love, their sheer abandonment to its power. But martyrs take it one step further abandonment to even the point of death. Such devotion is not an affair of red cassocks and authorized hymnbooks, Underhill wrote, but a burning and consuming fire. As we remember today nearly 10,000 Korean martyrs, most of them laypeople, who were tortured and killed for their love of Christ, whose blood built the church in Korea, reflect on what real love looks like and what helps it grow. TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 7: You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. Friday, Sep 21, 2018 FEAST OF SAINT MATTHEW, APOSTLE, EVANGELIST I m the tax man Before Matthew was an apostle, he was a tax collector. Tax collectors as a rule are not the most popular people to say the least, they were despised in Romanoccupied Jewish lands, where they did the dirty work of collecting the Empire s taxes. Jesus desire to mingle with such people scandalized the religious authorities, but Jesus was more interested in being with tax collectors and sinners than with the righteous, who felt they had nothing to learn from Jesus and no need to reform their lives. If we want Jesus to feel comfortable in our homes and hearts, it is good for us to guard against righteousness, the temptation to elevate ourselves by judging others. TODAY'S READINGS: Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13; Matthew 9:9-13. Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? Saturday, Sep 22, 2018 Be opened There is the prejudiced hearer who has a shut mind. Such a person is unteachable and blind to the things of God. Then there is the shallow hearer who fails to think things out or think them through; such a person lacks spiritual depth. They may initially respond with an emotional fervour; but when it wears off their mind wanders to something else. Another type of hearer is the person who has many interests or cares, but who lacks the ability to hear or comprehend what is truly important. Such a person is for ever too busy to pray or too preoccupied to study and meditate on God's word. He or she may work so hard that they are too tired to even think of anything else but their work. Then there is the one whose mind is open. Such a person is at all times willing to listen and to learn. He or she is never too proud or too busy to learn. They listen in order to understand. God

4 gives grace to those who hunger for his word that they may understand his will and have the strength to live according to it. TODAY'S READINGS: 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49; Luke 8:4-15. "Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. READINGS FOR 24 th Sunday Isaiah 50:5-9 The Lord s servant stands firm under enemy assault. Psalm 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 Even in the snare of death, the lover of the Lord is free and alive. James 2:14-18 Faith without works cannot save the one who professes it. Mark 8:27-35 We may know Jesus is the Christ, but do we also accept his cross. Some thoughts on the readings for the 24 th Sunday Isaiah 50:5-9 Say to all faint hearts, Courage! Do not be afraid. Look your God is here. Around us there are many people of faint heart, frightened, uncertain, of weak faith. They only have to be troubled by what s going on in the world or in their own lives for their faith to easily and quickly fade. Maybe it s like that among people because they have no one who could give them courage, cheer or lift their spirits. Maybe there is no one who is able to show them God s constant action in the history of the world as well as their own lives. The discovery of this reality of Divine activity is often able to start an incredible creativity and energy in the life of a person. How capable are we to bring comfort to people, to impart courage? Are we able to reveal to others the presence and action of God? To open them to the world as it is, and awaken the freedom that faith gives? Psalm 116 It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind, who raises up those who are bowed down. It is the Lord who loves the just, the Lord, who protects the stranger. The Lord upholds the widow and orphan but thwarts the path of the wicked. God in very many ways acts in the lives of people. His desire is to be everything for everyone, this means to enter into a relationship with each person in a singular and unique way, appropriate to the situation and

5 state of the person. God doesn t have some universal key, a single action scheme, according to which in some measure goes automatically into a variety of human stories. The special care of God, Divine Providence, is revealed rather in what is unique for a given person. For God, our diversity is of great value to Him. James 2:14-18 My brothers, do not try to combine faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord, with the making of distinctions between classes of people. Christianity should express, particularly in its fundamental action, that is the Eucharist, the basic equality of all people. The faith of a Christian should reinforce the awareness of equality before God, yet valuing each person and to guard against division of culture, society or religion. If however our gathering does this in an inadequate way, if, and what s worse, the people participating give the impression that there are better and worse, more worthy and less worthy, those close and those distant from God (the gold rings and beautifully dressed of which James talks further can symbolise a variety of things), then we need to ask ourselves, have we got lost, and maybe even, haven t we lost the single most important dimensions of mission, which is our faith in the world community. Mark 8:27-35 If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. These words of Jesus are sharp, uncompromising, demanding, associated with being a victim, sacrifice and maybe even martyrdom. So, it s easy to disregard them, to subconsciously convince ourselves that we don t have the time to commit to their realisation. After all, don t we need strength, energy, resourcefulness, liveliness, being sure of ourselves, to put ourselves and our lives in order, here and now! We can t encumber and weaken ourselves with such an arduous life! But to take up the cross can be a very simple exercise (that doesn t mean easy). For example, it could be about listening to someone who s speaking to me to the end, not trying to work out some counterattack while they talk, not demeaning what they say, not ignoring or trivialising it. Or to put it another way: we need to to baulk at the image of the other person we have created, which blocks out something new, anything which prevents us seeing who the other person really is. These are simple exercises

6 we can perform at any time. Of course, they are connected to suffering, because you have to renounce yourself, that means to work out a reaction to your own comfortable stereotypes. Still, accepting this suffering and this cross means that we follow the way of Jesus, we imitate Him and are led to freedom. Jesus had this freedom in mind for Peter. And He did it in strong words, so as to awaken his sleeping heart! A Tale About: The crane Long, long ago far away in China, because this a Chinese tale, there lived a certain Mr. Lee. He was the owner of a small tearoom in a certain small town. It wasn t a terribly well known tearoom, it had its own regulars which gave him a reasonable but not too substantial income. Then one time there came to this tearoom a young man named Mikko, as it happened he was adept in the art of beauty and wanted to practice painting so that he would become a famous artist. He had no money, but Mr. Lee liked this young man a great deal and allowed him to live with him over the tearoom totally free. He fed him too and gave him lots of tea, and supported him in his plans for the future. One day, when the young man was convinced he was ready to begin at the Great Academy of Beautiful Arts, as he left the house of Mr. Lee, he told him the following: I have no money to pay you for all these days and months I have lived with you, but I want to leave you with one special thing. He quickly took out coloured chalks and created on the wall of the tearoom a picture of a large crane. He then told Mr. Lee the following: This is an extraordinary crane, an enchanted crane. If you only have a few guests in your tearoom, then clap three times and this crane will come down from the wall, come alive, and will dance and amuse your guests. Remember though that this only works when you have a few guests.

7 Never clap if there is only one guest, there must be a few, otherwise the crane will never again come down from the wall, and never again dance. As long as you keep this rule, you will see how you will become a very rich and very well known man, because everyone will want to visit your tearoom. The young man packed and went on his way. Mr. Lee thought that perhaps this young disciple, this young student of the art of beauty was a little mad. But after several days on a certain Saturday there gathered in his tearoom quite a few people. So he thought what harm will it do to try it, and he clapped three times. To his surprise and the immense surprise of his guests there came from the wall a yellow, brown, red and blue crane and began to dance. Everyone was ecstatic, clapped and cheered. As it turned out this always happened when there were a few guests in his tearoom and Mr. Lee clapped three times. The tearoom became well known and attracted people from all over China. In short, Mr. Lee became a very rich man. On one occasion, attracted by the fame of his tearoom, there came the Emperor of China. His servants threw out everyone in the tearoom, because the Emperor could not mix with ordinary people. He told Mr. Lee he wanted to see the performance. Mr. Lee told the Emperor that for the performance there has to be many people, he couldn t do this for one person. But the Emperor told him: I will pay you a lot. You will be a happy man. Unfortunately, he gave in. When the Emperor was the only person there, Mr. Lee clapped three times. The crane unwillingly, and as though he was a little ill, came down from the wall, performed a few movements and returned to the wall and moved no more. The performance was hopeless. Mr. Lee clapped and clapped, but the crane didn t want to come down anymore. The Emperor, of course was not pleased but angry, left the tearoom and never appeared there again, nor did the other visitors to the tearoom. One day, after many years, when the tearoom was once again unknown, sad, and unvisited, Mikko returned now a great artist. He played on a strange flute, and the crane left the wall went with Mikko and they never came back. I think that Chinese tales may not be all that straightforward like ours.

8 They are not happy-enders because it ends quite sadly. But in this tale there is great wisdom. When you have some good, have some talent, then it is for everyone, for the greatest number of people. If you keep it for yourself, or for some eminent person, or someone who wants to pay you a lot because they want it only for themselves, you lose it. A talent, what s good, everything you have is so as to share with the greatest number of people. Prayers Please pray for all those who are in need or have asked for our prayers: Willy Robertson, Russell Carroll and Canon Angus McQueen. Please remember in your prayers Gordon Clark, Margaret Brannigan, Mary Mahon, Oliver Jones, Balbino Otie Jnr and all whose anniversaries occur at his time. Remember in your prayers Betty Westcott who died in Kintyre Care Home and whose funeral is on 25 th September. News and Events All are welcome to Tea and coffee especially our visitors. See you in the hall after Sunday Mass. Coffee Morning: on 22 nd September in St. Kieran s Hall, 10am-12pm. Donations and offers of help very welcome. Please come along and support the parish fundraiser. Please help to prepare the hall after Mass on the Friday. Please pray for the children receiving their first Holy Communion next Sunday. The next Holy Hour will be on Friday 21 st September. Silent adoration pm, hymns and meditation on Blessed are your eyes pm. Special collection: for Sick and Retired priests this weekend. If you were not aware then please place it in an envelope in next Sunday s collection. 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 campbeltown@rcdai.org.uk