28 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Transcription

1 PARISH BULLETIN St Kieran Catholic Church in Campbeltown and Islay 14 th October th Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalm response Fill us with your love so that we may rejoice. Gospel acclamation Alleluia, alleluia! How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Alleluia! Communion Antiphon The rich suffer want and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing. St. Kieran s Wednesday - Thursday Holy Mass am Friday Holy Mass 6.30 pm Saturday Vigil Mass 6.00 pm Sunday Holy Mass am Islay (St.Columba s Church, Bridgend) Sunday, 21 st October, 4.00 pm Liturgy of the Word Sunday, 4 th November, 4.00 pm Holy Mass Sunday, 18 th November, 4.00 pm Holy Mass 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

2 Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow a day at a time. Monday, Oct 15, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINT TERESA OF JESUS, VIRGIN, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH Be bold in prayer A dip into Saint Teresa of Ávila s autobiography (completed in 1565) reveals her bold, brilliant, and utterly endearing approach to prayer: I had quite lost trust in myself and was placing all my confidence in God. I believe I told Him then that I would not rise from that spot until He had granted me what I was beseeching. I feel sure that this did me good, for from that time onward I began to improve. Teresa was fearless in her demand for God s attention as she worked her way toward divine union. Be brave today and let the Holy Spirit with Teresa s aid teach you what to say as you pray. TODAY'S READINGS: Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31 5:1; Luke 11: At the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here. Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINT MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE, VIRGIN Set your heart on fire Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque had a deep and abiding devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is often depicted as a heart on fire and pierced with a crown of thorns. For Margaret Mary, this image was a reminder of the very real suffering and sacrifices Jesus made out of unending love for us. Call to mind the Sacred Heart the next time you are having a difficult day and need a reminder of the intensity of God s love for you. There is nothing that can keep you from receiving God s healing embrace except your own will to do so. TODAY'S READINGS: Galatians 5:1-6; Luke 11: Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. Wednesday, Oct 17, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINT IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, BISHOP, MARTYR Everyone is welcome If it weren t for Saint Ignatius of Antioch (c ), who way back in the first century used the word catholic in his description of the early church, what might our church be called today? Catholic works because it speaks of the unity and the diversity that continues to make the church universal for all people of all times and all places. That ours is the Church of the apostles and those who followed them, like Ignatius, is both reassuring and challenging. Today savour the richness of our universal Church. TODAY'S READINGS: Galatians 5:18-25; Luke 11: You impose on

3 people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them." Thursday, Oct 18, 2018 FEAST OF SAINT LUKE, EVANGELIST Shared words Jesus encourages His disciples, and He also warns. If people reject God s invitation and refuse His word, then they bring condemnation on themselves. When God gives us His word there comes with it the great responsibility to respond. Indifference will not do. We are either for or against God in how we respond to His word. God gives us His word that we may have life in Him. He wills to work through and in each of us for his glory. God shares His word with us and He commissions us to speak it boldly and simply to others. Do you witness the truth and joy of the gospel by word and example to those around you? TODAY'S READINGS: 2 Timothy 4:10-17b; Luke 10:1-9. "Remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Friday, Oct 19, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINTS JOHN DE BRÉBEUF AND ISAAC JOGUES, PRIESTS, AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS Give your all The Jesuit Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues came to North America largely to convert as many members of the Huron tribe to the Catholic faith as possible. The story of the encounter of these men with the indigenous people had consequences for both sides. But their lives and deaths watered the seeds of faith, as the blood of martyrs often does, and helped bring Catholicism to this continent. Remember their courage and perseverance the next time you are called upon to make a sacrifice. TODAY'S READINGS: Ephesians 1:11-14; Luke 12:1-7. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. Saturday, Oct 20, 2018 MEMORIAL OF SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS, PRIEST Wait for your answer While a young man, Saint Paul of the Cross was unsure which direction his life should take a military or business career? Marriage? Then one day he was listening to a homily on the sufferings of Jesus, and it all made sense to him: He would redirect his life to bring others the message of God s love expressed in Christ s Passion. He desired to form a community of the likeminded to pursue this mission, but he had to wait more than two decades years he spent as a hospital chaplain and travelling preacher before the

4 Church officially gave him permission to found a religious order, the Passionists. It can take time to find one s calling and be confirmed in it. But the satisfaction is worth the wait. TODAY'S READINGS: Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 12:8-12. The Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say." READINGS FOR 28 th Sunday Wisdom 7:7-11 The splendour of wisdom never sleeps. Psalm 90:12-13, 14-15, Those full of God s love have reason to sing. Hebrews 4:12-13 God s word is alive and penetrates the heart. Mark 10:17-30 The requirements to inherit eternal life are hard on the rich. Some thoughts on the readings for the 28 th Sunday Wisdom 7:7-11 I prayed, and understanding was given me; I entreated, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. (...) In her company all good things came to me, at her hands riches not to be numbered. A person needs to possess great wisdom so as to know how to best use what he has at his disposition: abilities, fortune, authority, health, beauty. That which we possess is not given so as to achieve what is important for great success. Rather, thanks to it, we have to unfold in ourselves the humanity of Jesus as well as find our own place in society. In the realisation of this work wisdom is needed. But even with great wisdom, you can fall into a lot of ambiguity and into boastfulness. A person doesn t know their own secrets. He must always stand before them in humility. Solomon received wisdom from God, and in addition great wealth. Even so, the older he was, the more he lost control over his own life. Wisdom alone is not enough in the face of the passion aroused in his heart by wealth. He lacked humility and constantly placing God above all in his life God s wisdom.

5 Psalm 90 Fill us with your love so that we may rejoice. Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart. You can meet people who live as though they were able to live on earth without end. I think everyone (especially in younger years) evades to prospect of death. This why a good spiritual practice is to look at life with the prospect of death or even the last judgement (as St. Ignatius Loyola advises). In such a frame of mind making choices and decisions today takes on a new significance and deeper meaning. We can therefore ask ourselves moving into the imagination of the time of leaving this world: will there not be a cry or embarrassment at this or that decision at the end of life? Which choice will give me the feeling of most joy at the end of life? With which choices would we be able with peace in the heart to look into the eyes of Jesus? Awareness of a limited life should cause us to take seriously specific daily matters, to analyse them, to anticipate consequences each day to learn wisdom. Hebrews 2:9-11 No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves. The word of God is filled with the truth, it carries the truth about God and about us. This means above all that it shows us and heals us of all ambivalence and ambiguity in our lives. We often have the impression that there is no black and white, and that everything is grey: a bit like this, a bit like that. This leads some to be convinced that in essence whatever decision we make has no meaning, when its value lies only from the point of view taken. God, however, before whom everything stands naked in the whole truth, gives us help His word. So that we can see reality from His point of view, in a pure way, that is reality without veils and coverings. And we can see it precisely when we allow the Word to penetrate, separate, compare and assess, when we give the Word the freedom of forming our hearts and conscience. Mark 10:17-30 Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the

6 poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. Jesus sets the condition for entering the kingdom of God as a person having learnt the art of giving up. Aspects of asceticism, subduing desires, depriving oneself of something are immensely important in the formation of the spiritual life. However, there are here two conditions on which their effective practice depends. Above all it s about the ability to give up wealth, that is everything that tempts a person, so as to seek safety and certainty in what is of God. The other is about giving up for the sake of Christ and the Gospel, this means giving up under the influence of the impulse of love and for the delight of the evangelical ideal. Giving up undertaken in such a spirit enriches a person a hundredfold. It is not therefore about material goods (and also certain spiritual) being bad, but experiencing the fact that they are the means, and not the aim, that they are not what life is about. They are only a help, they merely can (but do not have to) become an opportunity to a deeper and better life. A Tale About: A ladder In a very distant land in the mountains, there stood a wooden ladder among the trees. It was very long but very ramshackle. It had decayed over a long time and the paint had long since flaked off. The ladder had stood there for so long that no one now knew what its purpose was. Its abandoned state was emphasised when you looked at the trees around it, at the beautiful oaks, ash and birch. Very beautiful, very fine, very vigorous true trees. Against them this ladder looked really miserable, if not an eyesore. One day, from the mountains there came two lumberjacks. They saw this ladder and thought it was strange that it should be there. They went across to it and examined it and one said: Oh my, what a pitiful state this ladder is in. It s of no use, it has no purpose standing here, and only spoils the

7 beautiful view among these trees. It would probably be best to chop it up and get rid of it. The one with broad shoulders, took his axe and chopped the ladder up. There remained only small pieces, no use for anything. The two lumberjacks pleased with what they had done, left and went home. They were very surprised when they come out of their homes, that in the very dark clear night they could see nothing shining in the sky. They thought something strange had happened. They were even more surprised on the next night, that though very dark and clear, there was no moon and no stars. Something came into their minds to return to the place where the ladder had stood. When they got there they met an inconspicuous small man, who stood among the pieces of the ladder and said: I have no way of lighting the stars, because someone has chopped up my ladder. It can never be said enough that small things, unnoticed things, unimportant things and above all things that receive little admiration, all those things in you which you don t embrace, which you recognise as weakness, that don t shine; they very often, if not always, are the most important. It is likely that because of them you can get so high as to reach the stars, as long as you don t behave by chance as those lumberjacks. Prayers Please pray for all those who are in need or have asked for our prayers: Willy Robertson, Russell Carroll, Canon Angus McQueen and May Dumigan (Islay). Please remember in your prayers all whose anniversaries occur at his time.

8 News and Events All are welcome to Tea and coffee especially our visitors. See you in the hall after Sunday Mass. Fr. Tony away on the 15 and 16 October in Glasgow, and October on Retreat. Special collection for Missio Scotland. Next weekend, at His Holiness Pope Francis invitation, Catholics in parishes all over the world will be asked to contribute to a special collection for the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) his official charity for overseas mission during World Mission Sunday. This year, Missio Scotland the Scottish branch of the PMS is following the Holy Father s lead and focusing on young Catholics and exploring how we can support them here in our schools and parishes, so that they are able to live out their mission and support their brothers and sisters in faith throughout the world. By supporting the Church today, you will ensure that it continues to grow in the future, so please give generously.