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Celebrate!
It's Pentecost!
6th Week of Ordinary
Time -
Use your
green candle!
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Sunday, May 11th is Pentecost, the
birthday of our Church! |
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Start with the
Basics
(Click
here to learn more) |
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Prayer of the Week
Ordinary Time if ideal for reviewing our spiritual lives and
taking quiet time to grow closer to God. This week we're
not going to add another prayer to your repertoire. Instead, we are
going to ask you to take a few minutes to consider HOW and WHY you pray.
Click here for some
questions to get you started. |
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Living Our Faith
May is the month devoted to Mary, so we're going
to enjoy our home May Procession this week. We keep ours very
simple. The children make sure our Mary's Garden is weeded and neat,
then use a crown of flowers made by our son to crown the statue of
our Blessed Mother. This Saturday will still be the Easter season,
so we will recite the
Regina Caeli.
If your procession takes place after Pentecost, use the
Angelus. Sing a song
to Mary, such as "Hail, Holy Queen" and enjoy the delights of
spring!
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Celebrate All Year Long!
(Click here to learn more) |
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Saints to Celebrate
Use your
green candle Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
and Saturday
to celebrate Ordinary
Time.
A solemnity is a day of greatest
importance. The celebration starts the evening before the actual
solemnity. Easter is our most important solemnity. A feast is
the next most important day. It commemorates Mary, the apostles,
martyrs and other saints, and the events associated with them. Mass
readings often reflect the special feast day. A memorial is a
special day, but often an optional celebration. The scripture
readings for Mass may or may not be specially selected for the
memorial.
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Devotion of the Month
We are completing our Pentecost
Novena, so now it's time to start our Pentecost
party preparations.
Click here - it's a perfect day for a party!!
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Keep Building that Faith!!
(click
here to learn more) |
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Start the Week off Right
(prepare for the Sunday Scriptures)
| Acts
2:1-11 |
1
Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 |
John
20:19-23 |
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Pentecost - A Time to Celebrate!
It is Pentecost, the birthday of our universal Church. Just as the
Holy Spirit had been with Jesus throughout His earthly life, the
Holy Spirit is given to every one of us in Baptism and Confirmation
so we can live and be a witness to the joy of Christian life.
In the first reading we hear of the great reversal
of the Tower of Babel, the coming of the Holy Spirit. The disorder
that sin brought to the world, shown by the division of languages,
is no longer present. Instead, we have Christian unity brought about
by the loving force of God. This force did not just come once and
leave forever; this force is with us at all times.
In the second reading from St. Paul's
letter to the Corinthians, Paul points out
that, in addition to the gifts of the Spirit we all receive in
Baptism and Confirmation, we also receive special gifts intended for
our personal acceptance. None of these special gifts, or charisms,
is any better than any other charism. They are all intended to work
together to benefit the community in the glory of God.
The Gospel according to John
relates the origin of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus, Himself, breathes
the Spirit into the disciples. This is reminiscent of the Father
breathing life into Adam in the Book of Genesis (Gn 2:7). In John 20, Jesus
breathes life into His Church and authorizes his Apostles, as well
as their successors, to forgive sins. The Sacrament of
Reconciliation is as important as life itself.
Today is definitely a time
of celebration!
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Daily Dose of Scripture (our
picks of the week)
Lectionary
readings for the 6th Week of Ordinary Time:
| Monday |
James 1:1-11 |
Mk 8:11-13 |
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| Tuesday |
James 1:12-18 |
Mk 8:14-21 |
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| Wednesday |
Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 |
Jn 15:9-17 |
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| Thursday |
James 2:1-9 |
Mk 8:27-33 |
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| Friday |
James 2:14-24, 26 |
Mk 8:34-9:1 |
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| Saturday |
James 3:1-10 |
Mk 9:2-13 |
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James 2:1-9
The letter of James is actually very similar to the
Wisdom literature of the Old Testament, such as Sirach and Proverbs.
It's focus is apostolic teaching, conversion of heart, and ethical
behavior.
Thursday's reading presents us with quite a challenge - avoid treating
people differently. Do not show partiality to one person over another
person. How contrary to human nature that is.
We had a chance to witness, and experience, the difficulty of this
teaching just last week. Our bishop visited our parish to confer the
Sacrament of Confirmation. Everyone was respectful and eager to have
their pictures taken with him. Several people even gave him gifts.
Three days later, at the end of Sunday Mass, a mentally ill
parishioner caused a disruptive scene. She stopped within a few
minutes, but the outburst made everyone feel uncomfortable. It was
amazing how quickly people left the building and avoided eye contact
with this poor woman. She was soon alone.
Our family was still inside the church. It's not that we did not to
run out also, but the children were altar servers that day and they
had to change back into their regular clothes. The woman approached us
and asked for money for food. The temptation to come up with an excuse
to say "no" was overwhelming. Thankfully, we did not sink that low. We
actually did not give her money, but instead took her to get a meal.
How sad that it was so difficult for us to do the right thing. How
different our behavior was with the bishop. Nevertheless, James
reminds us that Jesus taught us that we must treat each and every
person with respect and love. We all need to work on this.
- Mk 8:22-26
We're back to the fast and furious Gospel of Mark. This week
we'll finish chapter 8 and begin chapter 9. Our pick of
the week is a story that has converted scientists, which is often
quite a challenge!
We know a number of biologists who are so enamored of the scientific
method they cannot seem to accept faith. This story of Jesus' curing
the blind man has made a huge difference to a few of them because it
is written in a scientifically accurate way. Jesus had to cure the
blind man twice. First he allowed the man to see, then He allowed the
man to understand what he was seeing. This is exactly what happens
when a modern blind person has a medical treatment which allows him to
see. The treatment allows sight, but it takes some time for the
person's brain to learn what he is seeing. The biblical account is
consistent with scientific observations.
Of course the same is true of our spiritual lives. We open our hearts
a little and see the Lord. It takes a while for the enormity of the
glory to sink in. Then we open a little more, and life becomes even
more incredible. Jesus willingly cures us as we, bit by bit, allow
ourselves to accept Him.
Open that Catechism!
We needed to review the principle that each and every
person is made in the image of God. Read the teachings of our Church in
the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1928-1932.
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