20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

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 Sunday, 20th August 2017 Guard says St Paul, what has been committed. What does it mean? It is what has been faithfully entrusted to you, not what has been discovered by you; what you have received, not what you have thought up; be not the leader but the follower! -- St. Vincent of Lerins 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A The optional memorial of St. Bernard is not celebrated this year. FIRST READING: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; And the foreigners will bring to my holy mountain. PARISH EXEC. SECRETARY Mrs. Euphemia Kiwuwa SUNDAY MASSES 07.00am: Luganda 08.00am: English 09.00am: Luganda 10.00am: English 11.15am: English 05.00pm: English (Charismatic) SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Monday - Friday 07.45am (after 7.00am Mass) 12.15pm (before 01.00pm Mass) 01.45pm (after 1.00pm Mass) Saturday 07.45am (after 7.00am Mass) 05.15pm (before 06.00pm Mass) First Saturday of the Month (dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary) Additional Mass: 09.00am A reading from the Book of Isaiah Thus says the LORD: Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon My salvation will come, and My deliverance be revealed. And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, to love the Name of the LORD, and to be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast My covenant these I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt offerings and DAILY MASSES: Monday to Friday: 06.30am; 07.00am; 01.00pm Saturday: 07.00am; 06.00pm (for Sunday)

2 their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. The Word of the LORD. RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Ps 67:2-3, 5-6, 8 R. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! O God be gracious and bless us and let Your face shade its light upon us, so will Your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn Your salvation. R. Let the nations be glad and shout for joy, with uprightness, You rule the peoples; You guide the nations on earth. R. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You, may God still give us His blessing, that all the ends of the earth may revere Him. R. SECOND READING: Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans. Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive 2 Remember, Rejoice, Renew mercy. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that He may have mercy upon all. The Word of the LORD.

3 GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: V. Alleluia R. Alleluia V. Jesus was preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing every infirmity among the people. R. Alleluia GOSPEL: Matthew 15:21-28; O woman, great is your faith! A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew. At that time, Jesus went away and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon and behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, Have mercy on me, O LORD, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon. But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and begged Him, saying, Send her away, for she is crying after us. He answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But she came and knelt before Him, saying, LORD, help me. And He answered, It is not fair to take the children s bread and throw it to the dogs. She said, Yes, LORD, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters table. Then Jesus answered her, O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed instantly. The Gospel of the LORD Remember, Rejoice, Renew 3

4 THE PARISH PRIEST S REFLECTION Isaiah 56:1; 6-7 Romans 11:13-15; Matthew 15:21-28 LORD HELP ME, EVEN THE DOGS EAT THE CRUMBS THAT FALL FROM THEIR MASTER S TABLE : SO THE CHURCH MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE. Human beings have strong tendencies to discrimination based on Msgr. Gerard Kalumba family ties, tribes, race, colour (black or white) social status, social groupings, physical appearances, political affiliations and small and closed divisive groups (cocoons) which turn individuals against one another and any discrimination that causes offence to human dignity such as discriminating against children or the old and elderly, the sinners, the physically weak, gender (women or men), the sick people, the disabled, the blind and the deaf etc. Discrimination has caused millions of deaths, social injustices including enslaving fellow human beings, degrading people and creating classes in communities (e.g. apartheid and slavery). Jesus uses the Canaanite woman in today s Gospel as a testing case. A Canaanite woman was a foreigner and when she makes a request to Christ that He relieves her daughter of a demon, Jesus keeps quiet! The Disciples, somehow representing our human tendency to discriminate, ask Jesus to send her away, because they said, she was crying after them (making noise for them). Intriguingly, Jesus says to her, that He was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. In a way, Jesus discriminates against the so-called good people in favour of those who are discriminated. In other words, He says that He came for those who are discriminated against or those who have fallen out of favour in the community. The Canaanite woman asks Jesus to treat her as the least of those for whom He comes (i.e. the lost sheep of the House of Israel): Treat me as dogs that eat the crumbs that fall from their masters table. Jesus reaction is: O woman, great is your Faith! Let it be done for you as you desire Jesus duty is to restore those discriminated against back to the community and that is the Ministry of the Church. With this attitude, we turn to the First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah: Keep justice and do righteousness for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed and even the foreigners who call upon Me, I will bring to My Holy Mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Discrimination is a type of injustice and keeping justice is to avoid discrimination and it is to build community. Then Paul concludes our reflection in the Second Reading from his Letter to the Romans: I am speaking to you foreigners. Inasmuch then, as I am an Apostle to Foreigners, may my work among foreigners help the Jews who are the Chosen People be saved and then create one community without discrimination. Restoring those who are discriminated will assist the chosen ones who are now lost to recover and be part of the Community of the House of God. LORD HELP US TO AVOID ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION. Msgr. Gerard Kalumba Christ the King Parish, Kampala 4 Remember, Rejoice, Renew

5 Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon My salvation will come, and My deliverance be revealed... their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Isaiah 56:1,7 Remember, Rejoice, Renew 5

6 JESUS ASCENSION AND MARY S ASSUMPTION on Solemnity of the Assumption-15th Aug 2017 As the Solemnity of the Assumption was celebrated on Tuesday, let us reflect on the following:- What is the difference between Jesus Ascension and Mary s Assumption? There is a huge difference in the Church s teaching about Jesus Ascension and Mary s Assumption. The biggest difference is that Jesus raised himself up. The Assumption of Mary was carried out by Jesus. Jesus lifted Mary up. Jesus was her personal Saviour. The doctrine of Mary s Assumption states that Mary:...having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. - Pope Pius XII, 1950 Heaven and that her Son Jesus brought her there. They think Jesus is quite capable of bringing Mary into Heaven. The doctrine of the Assumption stands on the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. If Mary was preserved from sin, at the instance of her conception, it follows that she would be preserved from the effects of sin, which is the deterioration of the body after death or at the instance of her death. Catholics believe it is Jesus who did this for her. This clearly shows that Mary did not raise herself up. Yes, she needed a Saviour. The founder of the reform, Martin Luther said: There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in Heaven. How it happened we do not know. - Martin Luther s Works, vol. 10, pg. 268 Some Evangelicals say, the Pope declared this dogma in 1950, it s too late, you can t just make stuff up as you go along! In the section on Mary and the early Church there are quotes of early Church fathers. This belief of Catholics dates back to at least the 6th century. There were also feasts in memory of Mary in Antioch dating back to 380 A.D. In 451, when the bishops gathered at Constantinople, Emperor Marcian asked the Patriarch of Jerusalem to bring the relics (bones) of Mary to Constantinople, from Jerusalem. The patriarch explained that there were no relics of Mary: Mary had died in the presence of the apostles; but her tomb, when opened later...was found empty... the apostleconcluded that the body was taken up to heaven. John of Damascene, PG (96:1)(A.D ) Catholics have no trouble believing Mary is in 6 Remember, Rejoice, Renew On the cross, Jesus says to the poor thief, This day you will be with me in Paradise! (Lk. 23:43). Catholics feel that if Jesus would take the thief to Paradise he would also take his beloved faithful mother. We must remember especially that, since the second century, the Virgin Mary has been designated by the holy Fathers as the new Eve, who, although subject to the new Adam, is most intimately associated with him in that struggle against the infernal foe which, as foretold in the protoevangelium, would finally result in that most complete victory over the sin and death which are always mentioned together in the writings of the Apostle of the Gentiles. Consequently, just as the glorious resurrection of Christ was an essential part and the final sign of this victory, so that struggle which was common to the Blessed Virgin and her divine Son should be brought to a close by the glorification of her virginal body, for the same Apostle says: When this mortal thing hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. - Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, 1950 Michael Nuwagaba for Communications office

7 ON TUESDAY 15TH AUGUST 2017 WE CELEBRATED THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN LARGE NUMBERS. WE BLESS GOD. PARISH UPDATE (REMINDER): THE RENOVATION & EXTENTION The progress of our Church Project is visible to us and it is selfevident as well, that Phase 1 cannot be handed on to us by the 21st August, To allow faster progress of the works, we will hand over the rest of the Church on 22nd August, 2017 as proposed in the Contract. We will use the Cardinal Wamala Hall and the Parking space under the Nursery School assisted by Loud Speakers and live Video feeds possibly. We encourage everyone to be patient and we are about to overcome. Thanks so much for the financial support. WE STILL APPEAL FOR MORE TO FURNISH THE CHURCH. Remember, Rejoice, Renew 7

8 WEEKDAY Monday 21st August 2017 Tuesday 22nd August 2017 Wednesday 23rd August 2017 Thursday 24th August 2017 Friday 25th August 2017 Saturday 26th August 2017 SAINTS AND READING OF THE WEEK READINGS St. Pius X, pope, (Mass of the memorial): First Reading: Judges 2:11-19; Responsorial Psalm: Ps 106:34-37, , 44; Gospel: Matthew 19: THE QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (Mass of the memorial): First Reading: Judges 6:11-24a; Responsorial Psalm: Ps 85:9, 11-14; Gospel: Matthew 19: Ordinary Weekday (Mass of choice): or: St. Rose of Lima, virgin (optional memorial): First Reading: Judges 9:6-15; Responsorial Psalm: Ps 21:2-7; Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16a. St. Bartholomew, Apostle, feast: First Reading: Revelation 21:9-14; Responsorial Psalm: Ps 145:10-13, 17-18; Gospel: John 1: Other Masses are not permitted, except funeral Masses Ordinary Weekday (Mass of choice): or: St. Louis of France (optional memorial) or: St. Joseph Calasanz, priest (optional memorial) First Reading: Ruth 1:1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22; Responsorial Psalm: Ps 146:5-10; Gospel: Matthew 22: Ordinary Weekday (Mass of choice): or: Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary First Reading: Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17; Responsorial Psalm: Ps 128:1-5; Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12. Vigil Mass of the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A. Sunday 27th August 2017 TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A: First Reading: Isaiah 22: 19-23; Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 138:1-3, 6, 8bc; Second Reading: Roman:11:33-36; Gospel: Matthew 16: Other Masses are not permitted, except funeral Masses The optional memorial of St. Monica is not celebrated this year. ANNOUNCEMENT: UGANDA MARTYRS DAY DVDs Complete DVDs on the Uganda Martyrs Day Celebration 2017 are available with the Daughters of St. Paul at the Paulines Book and Media Centre on Kampala Road opp. King Fahd Plaza & also and at the Parish Book-shop. Come and get yourself a copy and for a friend. Thank you and be blessed. Christ the King Parish, Kampala Tel: Plot 3 Colville Street, P. O. Box 2551, Kampala - Uganda info@christthekingkampala.org