All Saints Catholic Church, Greenwood in Greenwood | Catholic Church

All Saints Catholic Church, Greenwood

Locality: Greenwood

Phone: +61 466 604 754

Address: 7 Liwara Place 6024 Greenwood, WA, Australia

Website: http://www.allsaintsgreenwoodwa.org.au

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24.01.2022 Celebrated October 6 SAINT BRUNO Priest (c. 1030-1101)... St. Bruno was born at Cologne to an illustrious family. He was endowed with rare natural gifts, which he cultivated at Paris. He became canon of Cologne, and then of Rheims, where he had the direction of theological studies. On the death of the bishop, the see fell for a time into evil hands, and St. Bruno retired with a few friends into the country. There, he resolved to forsake the world, and to live a life of retirement and penance. With six companions, he applied to Hugh, Bishop of Grenoble, who led them into a wild solitude called the Chartreuse. In the wilderness, they lived in poverty, self-denial, and silence, each apart in his own cell, meeting only for the worship of God, and employing themselves in copying books. From the name of the place, the Order of St. Bruno was called the Carthusians. Six years later, Urban II called St. Bruno to Rome to avail of his guidance. St. Bruno tried to live there as he had in the desert, but the echoes of the great city disturbed his solitude. After refusing high dignities, he wrung from the Pope permission to resume his monastic life in Calabria. He lived there in humility, mortification and peace until passing away in 1101.

23.01.2022 From 'The Ascent of Mt Carmel' by St John of the Cross True self-denial means carrying Christ's cross If anyone wishes to follow my way, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For he who would save his soul shall lose it, but he who loses it for me shall gain it.’ Oh, who can make this counsel of Our Saviour understandable and practicable and attractive, that spiritual persons might become aware of the difference between the method many of them think is go...od and that which ought to be used in travelling this road! They are of the opinion that any kind of withdrawal from the world or reformation of life suffices. Some are content with a certain degree of virtue, perseverance in prayer, and mortification, but never achieve the nakedness, poverty, selflessness, or spiritual purity (which are all the same) that the Lord counsels us here. For they still feed and clothe their natural selves with spiritual feelings and consolations rather than divesting and denying themselves of these for God’s sake. Through this kind of conduct they become, spiritually speaking, enemies of the cross of Christ. A genuine spirit seeks the distasteful in God rather than the delectable, leans more toward suffering than toward consolation, more toward going without everything for God rather than toward possession. It prefers dryness and affliction to sweet consolation. It knows that this is the significance of following Christ and denying self, that the other method is perhaps a seeking of self in God something entirely contrary to love. If a man resolutely submits to the carrying of this cross, if he decidedly wants to find and endure trial in all things for God, he will discover in all of them great relief and sweetness. A man makes progress only through imitation of Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one goes to the Father but through him. This way is nothing other than a death to our natural selves. See more

23.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS 1st Sunday of Advent FIRST READING Isaiah 63:16-17,64:1,3-8...Continue reading

23.01.2022 A book on Christian life by St Gregory of Nyssa Fight the good fight of faith Whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old has passed away. Now by the new creation Paul means the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a heart that is pure and blameless, free of all malice, wickedness or shamefulness. For when a soul has come to hate sin and has delivered itself as far as it can to the power of virtue, it undergoes a transformation by receiving the grace of the Spirit. Then it ...Continue reading

22.01.2022 Celebrated October 1 Saint Therese of Lisieux Virgin and Doctor of the Church (1873-1897)...Continue reading

22.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: Friday of week 34 in Ordinary Time FIRST READING Apocalypse 20:1-4,11-21:2...Continue reading

21.01.2022 Celebrated November 28 SAINT JAMES OF THE MARCHES OF ANCONA Franciscan Priest (1394-1476)... St. James was born in the small town of Montbrandon, in the Marches of Ancona. While a boy, he was sent to the University of Perugia, where his progress in learning soon qualified him as preceptor. Fearing he might be engulfed in the whirlpools of materialism and hedonism, St. James used the proper means receive graces and reject evils. When travelling near Assisium, St. James went into the great Church of the Portiuncula to pray. After apprehending the spirit of fervor of St. Francis of Assisi's brothers, St. James petitioned for the Order. He prayed, fasted and kept Holy Vigil. Forty years without missing the Sacraments grew him into a man transcendent of natural limitation. As a penniless Franciscan, St. James was unable to bear the luxuries afforded the Archbishop of Milan. He could not be prevailed upon to accept the office. He wrought several miracles at Venice and at other places, and raised from dangerous sicknesses the Duke of Calabria and the King of Naples. St. James died in the convent of the Holy Trinity of his Order, near Naples, on the 28th of November, 1476, being ninety years old, spending seventy in a religious state.

21.01.2022 The treatise of St Cyprian on mortality Let us shut out the fear of death and meditate upon immortality Our obligation is to do God’s will, and not our own. We must remember this if the prayer that our Lord commanded us to say daily is to have any meaning on our lips. How unreasonable it is to pray that God’s will be done, and then not promptly obey it when he calls us from this world! Instead we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and are brought into the Lord’s pres...Continue reading

20.01.2022 Celebrated November 26 Saint Sylvester Abbot ( 1267)... St. Sylvester, born of a noble family at Osimo, in Picenum, was remarkable, even as a boy, for his keen intelligence and upright conduct. Being duly instructed in sacred learning and made a canon, he benefited his people by his example and his sermons. At the funeral of a relative, who was also a nobleman and very handsome, on seeing the disfigured corpse in the open tomb, said: "What this man was, I am now; and what he is now, I shall be." St. Sylvester went to a deserted place to seek perfection in conforming his will to the Divine. There, he held vigils, prayers and fasts. To live his vocation as solitary and mystic, St. Sylvester continually changed his dwelling place. At length, he arrived at Monte Fano, at the time a removed place, and built a church in honor of St. Benedict. In doing so, St. Sylvester laid the foundations of the Congregation of Sylvestrines. At his Church in Monte Fano, St. Sylvester guided his monks with wonderful prudence and God-given graces. He possessed the gift of prophecy, and had power over demons; as well as other gifts, which were never put on exhibition. He passed away in 1267 to join the Church Triumphant in heaven.

20.01.2022 Pseudo-Ambrosius on the Letter to the Philippians Be joyful in the Lord always Beloved brethren, you have heard in the present reading how St Paul says I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord. For the salvation of our souls God in his goodness calls us to the joys of everlasting blessedness. The joys of this world lead to eternal sorrow; but those who persevere in following the joys that are to be found in the will of the Lord will find themselves led to an enduring,... an eternal world. So St Paul says again, I repeat, what I want is your happiness. He is urging us to grow in the joy that leads to God and to the fulfilment of God’s commandments. The more we strive to obey the precepts of our Lord God in this world, the more blessed we shall be in the life to come and the greater will be the glory that we receive in God’s presence. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: that is, the holiness of your behaviour should not only be clear to God but also to men. It should be an example of modesty and self-discipline to all who share this earth with you. It should leave nothing but good memories, both for God and for man. The Lord is very near, there is no need to worry: the Lord is always near to anyone who calls on him in truth, with right faith, with firm hope, with perfect love. He himself knows what you need before you ask it of him: he is always ready to give his faithful servants whatever help they need. When bad things happen to us we should not be greatly worried, because we should know that we have God close to us as our defender. The Lord is close to those with contrite hearts; those with a broken spirit he will save. Many are the tribulations of the just; the Lord will free them of all their troubles. If we fight to fulfil and keep his precepts, he will not be slow to give us the aid he has promised. If there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving: when we are afflicted with tribulations let us not bear them sadly or grumble about them certainly not! but let us be patient and cheerful, giving thanks to God always, in all circumstances. See more

16.01.2022 A letter from St Francis of Assisi to all the faithful We must be simple, humble and pure It was through his archangel, Saint Gabriel, that the Father above made known to the holy and glorious Virgin Mary that the worthy, holy and glorious Word of the Father would come from heaven and take from her womb the real flesh of our human frailty. Though he was wealthy beyond reckoning, he still willingly chose to be poor with his blessed mother. And shortly before his passion he cel...ebrated the Passover with his disciples. Then he prayed to his Father saying: Father, if it be possible, let this cup be taken from me. Nevertheless, he reposed his will in the will of his Father. The Father willed that his blessed and glorious Son, whom he gave to us and who was born for us, should through his own blood offer himself as a sacrificial victim on the altar of the cross. This was to be done not for himself through whom all things were made, but for our sins. It was intended to leave us an example of how to follow in his footsteps. And he desires all of us to be saved through him, and to receive him with pure heart and chaste body. O how happy and blessed are those who love the Lord and do as the Lord himself said in the gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul; and your neighbour as yourself. Therefore, let us love God and adore him with pure heart and mind. This is his particular desire when he says: True worshippers adore the Father in spirit and truth. For all who adore him must do so in the spirit of truth. Let us also direct to him our praises and prayers saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, since we must always pray and never grow slack. Furthermore, let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neighbours as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. Men lose all the material things they leave behind them in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve. We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God’s sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father’s children who do his work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ. See more

16.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: Wednesday of the 1st week of Advent FIRST READING Isaiah 25:6-10...Continue reading

16.01.2022 A commentary on Isaiah by St Jerome Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ I interpret as I should, following the command of Christ: Search the Scriptures, and Seek and you shall find. Christ will not say to me what he said to the Jews: You erred, not knowing the Scriptures and not knowing the power of God. For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then i...gnorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. Therefore, I will imitate the head of a household who brings out of his storehouse things both new and old, and says to his spouse in the Song of Songs: I have kept for you things new and old, my beloved. In this way permit me to explain Isaiah, showing that he was not only a prophet, but an evangelist and an apostle as well. For he says about himself and the other evangelists: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news, of those who announce peace. And God speaks to him as if he were an apostle: Whom shall I send, who will go to my people? And he answers: Here I am; send me. No one should think that I mean to explain the entire subject matter of this great book of Scripture in one brief sermon, since it contains all the mysteries of the Lord. It prophesies that Emmanuel is to be born of a virgin and accomplish marvellous works and signs. It predicts his death, burial and resurrection from the dead as the Saviour of all men. I need say nothing about the natural sciences, ethics and logic. Whatever is proper to holy Scripture, whatever can be expressed in human language and understood by the human mind, is contained in the book of Isaiah. Of these mysteries the author himself testifies when he writes: You will be given a vision of all things, like words in a sealed scroll. When they give the writings to a wise man, they will say: Read this. And he will reply: I cannot, for it is sealed. And when the scroll is given to an uneducated man and he is told: Read this, he will reply: I do not know how to read. Should this argument appear weak to anyone, let him listen to the Apostle: Let two or three prophets speak, and let others interpret; if, however, a revelation should come to one of those who are seated there, let the first one be quiet. How can they be silent, since it depends on the Spirit who speaks through his prophets whether they remain silent or speak? If they understood what they were saying, all things would be full of wisdom and knowledge. But it was not the air vibrating with the human voice that reached their ears, but rather it was God speaking within the soul of the prophets, just as another prophet says: It is an angel who spoke in me; and again, Crying out in our hearts, Abba, Father’, and I shall listen to what the Lord God says within me. See more

16.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: Saturday of week 34 in Ordinary Time or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary FIRST READING ... Apocalypse 22:1-7 The Lord God will shine on them; it will never be night again The angel showed me, John, the river of life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowing crystal-clear down the middle of the city street. On either side of the river were the trees of life, which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year, one in each month, and the leaves of which are the cure for the pagans. The ban will be lifted. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in its place in the city; his servants will worship him, they will see him face to face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. It will never be night again and they will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining on them. They will reign for ever and ever. The angel said to me, ‘All that you have written is sure and will come true: the Lord God who gives the spirit to the prophets has sent his angel to reveal to his servants what is soon to take place. Very soon now, I shall be with you again.’ Happy are those who treasure the prophetic message of this book. RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 94(95):1-7 Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the rock who saves us. Let us come before him, giving thanks, with songs let us hail the Lord. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! A mighty God is the Lord, a great king above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his. To him belongs the sea, for he made it and the dry land shaped by his hands. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! Come in; let us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us: for he is our God and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his hand. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! GOSPEL Luke 21:34-36 That day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’

15.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: Tuesday of the 1st week of Advent FIRST READING Isaiah 11:1-10...Continue reading

14.01.2022 Celebrated November 29 SAINT SATURNINUS Bishop and Martyr ( 250)... Saturninus went from Rome, by direction of Pope Fabian, about the year 245, to preach the faith in Gaul. He fixed his episcopal see at Toulouse, and thus became the first Christian bishop of that city. There were but few Christians in the place. However, their number grew fast after the coming of the Saint; and his power was felt by the evil spirits receiving pagan worship. Daily, he passed by capitol's high place of pagan worship on the way to his church. One day, a great multitude was gathered by an altar, where a bull was ready the sacrifice. A man in the crowd pointed out Saturninus, who was passing by, and the people tried forcing him to idolatry. Saturninus only offered praise to Jesus Christ, the One True God. At this, a lynch mob fastened Saturninus to a bull, which was driven down the capitol. His destroyed body was dignified and buried by two devout women.

13.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: Thursday of week 34 in Ordinary Time FIRST READING Apocalypse 18:1-2,21-23,19:1-3,9...Continue reading

12.01.2022 From a sermon by Saint Gregory Nazianzen The wonder of the Incarnation The very Son of God, older than the ages, the invisible, the incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the beginning of beginning, the light of light, the fountain of life and immortality, the image of the archetype, the immovable seal, the perfect likeness, the definition and word of the Father: he it is who comes to his own image and takes our nature for the good of our nature, and unites himself to an intellig...ent soul for the good of my soul, to purify like by like. He takes to himself all that is human, except for sin. He was conceived by the Virgin Mary, who had been first prepared in soul and body by the Spirit; his coming to birth had to be treated with honour, virginity had to receive new honour. He comes forth as God, in the human nature he has taken, one being, made of two contrary elements, flesh and spirit. Spirit gave divinity, flesh received it. He who makes rich is made poor; he takes on the poverty of my flesh, that I may gain the riches of his divinity. He who is full is made empty; he is emptied for a brief space of his glory, that I may share in his fullness. What is this wealth of goodness? What is this mystery that surrounds me? I received the likeness of God, but failed to keep it. He takes on my flesh, to bring salvation to the image, immortality to the flesh. He enters into a second union with us, a union far more wonderful than the first. Holiness had to be brought to man by the humanity assumed by one who was God, so that God might overcome the tyrant by force and so deliver us and lead us back to himself through the mediation of his Son. The Son arranged this for the honour of the Father, to whom the Son is clearly obedient in all things. The Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, came in search of the straying sheep to the mountains and hills on which you used to offer sacrifice. When he found it, he took it on the shoulders that bore the wood of the cross, and led it back to the life of heaven. Christ, the light of all lights, follows John, the lamp that goes before him. The Word of God follows the voice in the wilderness; the bridegroom follows the bridegroom’s friend, who prepares a worthy people for the Lord by cleansing them by water in preparation for the Spirit. We needed God to take our flesh and die, that we might live. We have died with him, that we may be purified. We have risen again with him, because we have died with him. We have been glorified with him, because we have risen again with him. See more

12.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: Monday of week 27 in Ordinary Time FIRST READING Galatians 1:6-12...Continue reading

11.01.2022 From a sermon by Saint Augustine Let us sing Alleluia to God, who is good and frees us from evil Let us sing alleluia here on earth, while we are still anxious and worrying, so that we may one day be able to sing it there in heaven, without any worry or care. Why anxious and worrying here? You must want me to be anxious, Lord, when I read, Is not man’s life on earth a trial and a temptation? You must want me to worry when temptation is so plentiful that the Prayer itself tell...Continue reading

10.01.2022 Celebrated November 30 SAINT ANDREW Apostle (1st century)... St. Andrew was one of the fishermen of Bethsaida and perhaps St. Peter's elder brother. He was also a disciple of St. John the Baptist. One of St. Andrew's characteristics is bringing others to notice. When he was called by Christ on the banks of the Jordan, his first act was to go in search of his brother. "We have found the Messiah," he told St. Peter. It was also St. Andrew who pointed out the boy with five loaves and fishes before Christ fed five thousand in the desert. St. Andrew went to plant the Faith in Scythia and Greece, where he gained a martyr's crown after years of toil. He suffered a cruel scourging at Patræ in Achaia before getting crucified. For 2 days, he preached and glorified God before dying on the cross. St. Andrew's heroic life connects us to the past and the Church. He is our perpetual intercessor - shining forth the light of God.

10.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin, Doctor on Thursday of week 26 in Ordinary Time... FIRST READING Job 19:21-27 My Avenger lives and will set me close to him when I awake Job said: Pity me, pity me, you, my friends, for the hand of God has struck me. Why do you hound me down like God, will you never have enough of my flesh? Ah, would that these words of mine were written down, inscribed on some monument with iron chisel and engraving tool, cut into the rock for ever. This I know: that my Avenger lives, and he, the Last, will take his stand on earth. After my awaking, he will set me close to him, and from my flesh I shall look on God. He whom I shall see will take my part: these eyes will gaze on him and find him not aloof. RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 26(27):7-9,13-14 I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. O Lord, hear my voice when I call; have mercy and answer. Of you my heart has spoken: ‘Seek his face.’ I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face. Dismiss not your servant in anger; you have been my help. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord! I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. GOSPEL Luke 10:1-12 Your peace will rest on that man The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, Peace to this house! And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, The kingdom of God is very near to you. But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near. I tell you, on that day it will not go as hard with Sodom as with that town.’

10.01.2022 A homily by St John Chrysostom If we are sheep, we overcome; if wolves, we are overcome As long as we are sheep, we overcome and, though surrounded by countless wolves, we emerge victorious; but if we turn into wolves, we are overcome, for we lose the shepherd’s help. He, after all, feeds the sheep, not wolves, and will abandon you if you do not let him show his power in you. What he says is this: Do not be upset that, as I send you out among the wolves, I bid you be as ...sheep and doves. I could have managed things quite differently and sent you, not to suffer evil nor to yield like sheep to the wolves, but to be fiercer than lions. But the way I have chosen is right. It will bring you greater praise and at the same time manifest my power. That is what he told Paul: My grace is enough for you, for in weakness my power is made perfect. I intend, he says, to deal in the same way with you. For, when he says, I am sending you out like sheep, he implies: But do not therefore lose heart, for I know and am certain that no one will be able to overcome you. The Lord, however, does want them to contribute something, lest everything seem to be the work of grace, and they seem to win their reward without deserving it. Therefore he adds: You must be clever as snakes and innocent as doves. But, they may object, what good is our cleverness amid so many dangers? How can we be clever when tossed about by so many waves? However great the cleverness of the sheep as he stands among the wolves so many wolves! what can it accomplish? However great the innocence of the dove, what good does it do him, with so many hawks swooping upon him? To all this I say: cleverness and innocence admittedly do these irrational creatures no good, but they can help you greatly. What cleverness is the Lord requiring here? The cleverness of a snake. A snake will surrender everything and will put up no great resistance even if its body is being cut in pieces, provided it can save its head. So you, the Lord is saying, must surrender everything but your faith: money, body, even life itself. For faith is the head and the root; keep that, and though you lose all else, you will get it back in abundance. The Lord therefore counselled the disciples to be not simply clever or innocent; rather he joined the two qualities so that they become a genuine virtue. He insisted on the cleverness of the snake so that deadly wounds might be avoided, and he insisted on the innocence of the dove so that revenge might not be taken on those who injure or lay traps for you. Cleverness is useless without innocence. Do not believe that this precept is beyond your power. More than anyone else, the Lord knows the true natures of created things; he knows that moderation, not a fierce defence, beats back a fierce attack. See more

09.01.2022 Celebrated September 30 SAINT JEROME Priest & Doctor of the Church (c. 340-c.420)... St. Jerome was born in Dalmatia in the year 347; and attended school at Rome. His boyhood was not free from fault. His thirst for knowledge was excessive, and his love for books a passion. He studied under the best masters, visited foreign cities, and devoted himself to the pursuit of science. But Christ had need of his strong will and active intellect. St. Jerome felt and responded to a calling by Jesus, made a vow of celibacy, fled from Rome to the wild Syrian desert, and there, for four years, learnt in solitude: penance, prayer, and new lessons of divine wisdom. The Pope summoned him to Rome, and there put upon the Hebrew scholar the task of revising the Latin Bible. The revision was St. Jerome's magnum opus and a blessing of the Holy Spirit. Retiring after to his beloved Bethlehem, the eloquent hermit illuminated our Christian faith for the next thirty years.

09.01.2022 St Ambrose on Cain and Abel Above all, we should pray for the whole body of the Church Offer to God a sacrifice of praise and pay your vows to the Most High. To praise God is both to make your vow and to fulfil it. That is why the Samaritan in the story is placed above his companions: with nine other lepers he was cured of his leprosy by the command of the Lord, but he alone came back to Christ, praised the greatness of God and gave thanks. Jesus said of him: There was none o...f these who returned and thanked God, except this foreigner. And he said to him: Rise up and go on your way, for your faith has made you whole. The Lord Jesus also taught you about the goodness of the Father, who knows how to give good things: and so you should ask for good things from the One who is good. Jesus told us to pray urgently and often, so that our prayers should not be long and tedious but short, earnest and frequent. Long elaborate prayers overflow with pointless phrases, and long gaps between prayers eventually stretch out into complete neglect. Next he advises that when you ask forgiveness for yourself then you must take special care to grant it also to others. In that way your action can add its voice to yours as you pray. The apostle also teaches that when you pray you must be free from anger and from disagreement with anyone, so that your prayer is not disturbed or broken into. The apostle teaches us to pray anywhere, while the Saviour says Go into your room but you must understand that this room is not the room with four walls that confines your body when you are in it, but the secret space within you in which your thoughts are enclosed and where your sensations arrive. That is your prayer-room, always with you wherever you are, always secret wherever you are, with your only witness being God. Above all, you must pray for the whole people: that is, for the whole body, for every part of your mother the Church, whose distinguishing feature is mutual love. If you ask for something for yourself then you will be praying for yourself only and you must remember that more grace comes to one who prays for others than to any ordinary sinner. If each person prays for all people, then all people are effectively praying for each. In conclusion, if you ask for something for yourself alone, you will be the only one asking for it; but if you ask for benefits for all, all in their turn will be asking for them for you. For you are in fact one of the all. Thus it is a great reward, as each person’s prayers acquire the weight of the prayers of everyone. There is nothing presumptuous about thinking like this: on the contrary, it is a sign of greater humility and more abundant fruitfulness. See more

09.01.2022 Celebrated October 4 SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI (1182-1226) St. Francis of Assisi was the living embodiment of Jesus Christ. He left home, riches and family to be with the poor and the destitute. In all creation he saw the image of God. In imitating Jesus Christ, his self-denial led to the foundation of orders and movements of evangelical poverty. Not to mention, his love was so total that - when he had nothing left to give - but gave more, he received the stigmata....Continue reading

08.01.2022 A sermon of St John Chrysostom on St John's gospel We have found the Messiah After Andrew had stayed with Jesus and had learned much from him, he did not keep this treasure to himself, but hastened to share it with his brother. Notice what Andrew said to him: We have found the Messiah, that is to say, the Christ. Notice how his words reveal what he has learned in so short a time. They show the power of the master who has convinced them of this truth. They reveal the zeal and ...concern of men preoccupied with this question from the very beginning. Andrew’s words reveal a soul waiting with the utmost longing for the coming of the Messiah, looking forward to his appearing from heaven, rejoicing when he does appear, and hastening to announce so great an event to others. To support one another in the things of the spirit is the true sign of good will between brothers, of loving kinship and sincere affection. Notice, too, how, even from the beginning, Peter is docile and receptive in spirit. He hastens to Jesus without delay. He brought him to Jesus, says the evangelist. But Peter must not be condemned for his readiness to accept Andrew’s word without much weighing of it. It is probable that his brother had given him, and many others, a careful account of the event; the evangelists, in the interest of brevity, regularly summarise a lengthy narrative. Saint John does not say that Peter believed immediately, but that he brought him to Jesus. Andrew was to hand him over to Jesus, to learn everything for himself. There was also another disciple present, and he hastened with them for the same purpose. When John the Baptist said: This is the Lamb, and he baptizes in the Spirit, he left the deeper understanding of these things to be received from Christ. All the more so would Andrew act in the same way, since he did not think himself able to give a complete explanation. He brought his brother to the very source of light, and Peter was so joyful and eager that he would not delay even for a moment. See more

08.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: Saint Andrew, Apostle - Feast FIRST READING Romans 10:9-18... Faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of Christ If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved. When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But they will not ask his help unless they believe in him, and they will not believe in him unless they have heard of him, and they will not hear of him unless they get a preacher, and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent, but as scripture says: The footsteps of those who bring good news are a welcome sound. Not everyone, of course, listens to the Good News. As Isaiah says: Lord, how many believed what we proclaimed? So faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of Christ. Let me put the question: is it possible that they did not hear? Indeed they did; in the words of the psalm, their voice has gone out through all the earth, and their message to the ends of the world. RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 18(19):2-5 Their message goes out through all the earth. or Alleluia. The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. Day unto day takes up the story and night unto night makes known the message. Their message goes out through all the earth. or Alleluia. No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends through all the earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world. Their message goes out through all the earth. or Alleluia. GOSPEL Matthew 4:18-22 'I will make you fishers of men' As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ And they left their nets at once and followed him. Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.

07.01.2022 Celebrated December 1 SAINT ELIGIUS Bishop ( 665)... Eligius, a goldsmith at Paris, was commissioned by King Clotaire to make a throne. The gold and precious stones given him were so many that he made two instead. Struck by Eligius' rare honesty, King Clotaire gave Eligius a position at Royal court. Upon entering court, Eligius mortified his senses and prayed routinely. He had a marvellous zeal for redeeming captives, and for their deliverance would sell his jewels, food, clothes and his very shoes. Through prayers and acts of mercy, Eligius broke the chains binding prisoners, "leading captives in his train" (Eph 4:8, Ps 68:18). For all his ardent works, Eligius' one delight was making shrines for relics. His striking virtue caused him, a layman and a goldsmith, to be made Bishop of Noyon. He possessed gifts of miracles and prophecy.

07.01.2022 From a sermon of St Bernard of Clairvaux That they might guard you in all your ways He has given his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways. Let them thank the Lord for his mercy; his wonderful works are for the children of men. Let them give thanks and say among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them. O Lord, what is man that you have made yourself known to him, or why do you incline your heart to him? And you do incline your heart to him; you sho...w him your care and your concern. Finally, you send your only Son and the grace of your Spirit, and promise him a vision of your countenance. And so, that nothing in heaven should be wanting in your concern for us, you send those blessed spirits to serve us, assigning them as our guardians and our teachers. He has given his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways. These words should fill you with respect, inspire devotion and instil confidence; respect for the presence of angels, devotion because of their loving service, and confidence because of their protection. And so the angels are here; they are at your side, they are with you, present on your behalf. They are here to protect you and to serve you. But even if it is God who has given them this charge, we must nonetheless be grateful to them for the great love with which they obey and come to help us in our great need. So let us be devoted and grateful to such great protectors; let us return their love and honour them as much as we can and should. Yet all our love and honour must go to him, for it is from him that they receive all that makes them worthy of our love and respect. We should then, my brothers, show our affection for the angels, for one day they will be our co-heirs just as here below they are our guardians and trustees appointed and set over us by the Father. We are God’s children although it does not seem so, because we are still but small children under guardians and trustees, and for the present little better than slaves. Even though we are children and have a long, a very long and dangerous way to go, with such protectors what have we to fear? They who keep us in all our ways cannot be overpowered or led astray, much less lead us astray. They are loyal, prudent, powerful. Why then are we afraid? We have only to follow them, stay close to them, and we shall dwell under the protection of God’s heaven. See more

06.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time FIRST READING Isaiah 5:1-7...Continue reading

05.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: Saturday of week 26 in Ordinary Time or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary FIRST READING ...Continue reading

05.01.2022 St Thérèse’s autobiography In the heart of the church I will be love Since my longing for martyrdom was powerful and unsettling, I turned to the epistles of St Paul in the hope of finally finding an answer. By chance the 12th and 13th chapters of the 1st epistle to the Corinthians caught my attention, and in the first section I read that not everyone can be an apostle, prophet or teacher, that the Church is composed of a variety of members, and that the eye cannot be the hand.... Even with such an answer revealed before me, I was not satisfied and did not find peace. I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander until I found this encouraging theme: Set your desires on the greater gifts. And I will show you the way which surpasses all others. For the Apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God. At length I had found peace of mind. When I had looked upon the mystical body of the Church, I recognised myself in none of the members which St Paul described, and what is more, I desired to distinguish myself more favourably within the whole body. Love appeared to me to be the hinge for my vocation. Indeed I knew that the Church had a body composed of various members, but in this body the necessary and more noble member was not lacking; I knew that the Church had a heart and that such a heart appeared to be aflame with love. I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action, that if this love were extinguished, the apostles would have proclaimed the Gospel no longer, the martyrs would have shed their blood no more. I saw and realised that love sets off the bounds of all vocations, that love is everything, that this same love embraces every time and every place. In one word, that love is everlasting. Then, nearly ecstatic with the supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed: O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love. Certainly I have found my place in the Church, and you gave me that very place, my God. In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction. See more

03.01.2022 Celebrated October 5 Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos Priest (1819-1867)... Bl. Francis was born in Füssen, Bavaria, Germany on January 11, 1819. He was one of 12 children born to Mang and Frances Schwarzenbach Seelos, and was baptized the same day in the parish church. Having expressed a desire for the priesthood since childhood, he studied philosophy and theology in Munich. In Munich, Seelos was touched by letters published in the Catholic newspaper Sion describing the lack of spiritual care for German-speaking immigrants. After visiting the Redemptorists in Altötting, Seelos decided to enter the Congregation, asking to be allowed to work as a missionary in the United States. On December 22, 1844, Seelos was ordained a priest in Baltimore, Maryland. He was assigned for six years to St. Philomena’s Parish in Pittsburgh as an assistant to St. John Neumann. Regarding their relationship, Seelos said, "He has introduced me to the active life" and "has guided me as a spiritual director and confessor." Several years in parish ministry in Maryland followed, along with responsibility for training Redemptorist students. His availability and innate kindness in understanding and responding to the needs of the faithful quickly made him well known as an expert confessor and spiritual director, so much so that people came to him even from neighboring towns. His confessional was open to all: "I hear confessions in German, English, French, of Whites and of Blacks". He practiced a simple lifestyle and a simple manner of expressing himself. The themes of his preaching, rich in Biblical content, were always understood even by the simplest people. Father Seelos is described a man with a constant smile and a generous heart, especially towards the needy and marginalized. For several years he preached in English and German throughout the Midwest and in the Middle Atlantic states. Assigned to St. Mary of the Assumption Church community in New Orleans, he served his Redemptorist confreres and parishioners with great zeal. In 1867, he passed away from yellow fever, having contracted that disease while visiting the sick.

03.01.2022 Celebrated October 3 St. Mother Théodore Guérin (1798-1856) With trust in God’s providence, St. Mother Théodore left her homeland, sailed halfway around the world, and founded a new religious congregation.... Born in Etables, France, Anne-Thérèse Guerin’s life was shattered by her father’s murder when she was 15. For several years, she cared for her mother and younger sister. She entered the Sisters of Providence in 1823, taking the name Sister St. Théodore. An illness during novitiate left her with lifelong fragile health, but that did not keep her from becoming an accomplished teacher. In 1840, at the invitation of the bishop of Vincennes, Sister St. Théodore and five sisters were sent to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana to teach and care for the poor. There, she established a motherhouse and novitiate. For several months, the sisters and their hosts lived packed into a small frontier farmhouse. Only later did they learn that their French superiors wanted them to form a new religious congregation. Despite their humble resources, in July 1841 Sister St. Théodore and the sisters opened St. Mary's Academy for Young Ladies, which later became Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. She did have doubts concerning the success of the institution. She wrote in her journal, "It is astonishing that this remote solitude has been chosen for a novitiate and especially for an academy. All appearances are against it." For more than a decade, from 1841 to 1852, this Academy was the only Catholic boarding school for girls in Indiana. Sister St. Théodore and her community persevered despite fires, crop failures, prejudice against Catholic women religious, misunderstandings and separation from their original religious congregation. She once told her sisters, Have confidence in the Providence that so far has never failed us. The way is not yet clear. Grope along slowly. Do not press matters; be patient, be trustful. Another time, she asked, With Jesus, what shall we have to fear? Sister St. Théodore proved to be a skilled businesswoman and leader as well as a beloved general superior. St. Mother Théodore is buried in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. She is known for her advancement of education by founding numerous parish schools. She was beatified by St. Pope John Paul II in October 1998 and canonized a saint of the Roman Catholic church on October 15, 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.

03.01.2022 From the letters of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Place nothing ahead of God's love This desire to bring a sacrifice to God again and again extends to everything that I ever loved in this life, and upon which my heart was set. When I think of the beauties of nature, these do not stir up longing and melancholy, but I am filled with the greatest joy, because, since I am not giving God any real and true gifts, I can give him imagined and pretended ones. At the same time, in ...the overflowing of my good fortune, I cannot at all get away from the thought that in heaven God will give me those that, for him, I have forsaken in the world, and for this I also constantly pray. And so, the novitiate and its completion, the taking of vows, the life with confrères of the Order, and above all, the insight to cherish these goods to the best of my ability, so that there is nothing left for me to desire, except to fulfil my duties better these were the first blessings of divine mercy. Everything was completely against my nature. But precisely the joyful acceptance of them, in God’s boundless grace, made so clear to me the mystery of renunciation and patience in this world that I feel that I am much too fortunate in the possession of my religious confrères and all the spiritual and temporal blessings that are bound together with it. And what is still more, that God has exalted me so high as to announce the Gospel to the poor, and to teach, and share with them his treasures. Every offering has value only insofar as one snatches it away from one’s own benefit and dedicates it to God through this self-conquest. One loves and gives precisely because one loves, and because one considers what is given as a good, as a treasure. Love of creatures must be subordinated to the love of God, whom one is pledged to love above all things. Time, in which we have found nothing to offer up to God, is lost for eternity. If it is only the duties of our vocation that we fulfil with dedication to the will of God; if it is the sweat of our faces that, in resignation, we wipe from our brow without murmuring; if it is suffering, temptations, difficulties with our fellow-men everything we can present to God as an offering and can, through them, become like Jesus his Son. Where the sacrifice is great and manifold, there, in the same proportion, is the hope of glory more deeply and more securely grounded in the heart of him who makes it. See more

02.01.2022 From the diary of St Faustina The mission of proclaiming and begging divine mercy for the world O my God, I am conscious of my mission in the Holy Church. It is my constant endeavour to plead for mercy for the world. I unite myself closely with Jesus and stand before him as an atoning sacrifice on behalf of the world. God will refuse me nothing when I entreat him with the voice of his Son. My sacrifice is nothing in itself, but when I join it to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,... it becomes all-powerful and has the power to appease divine wrath. God loves us in his Son; the painful Passion of the Son of God constantly turns aside the wrath of God. O God, how I desire that souls come to know you and to see that you have created them because of your unfathomable love. O my Creator and Lord, I feel that I am going to remove the veil of heaven so that earth will not doubt your goodness. Make of me, Jesus, a pure and agreeable offering before the face of your Father. Jesus, transform me, miserable and sinful as I am, into your own self (for you can do all things), and give me to your eternal Father. I want to become a sacrificial host before you, but an ordinary wafer to people. I want the fragrance of my sacrifice to be known to you alone. O eternal God, an unquenchable fire of supplication for your mercy burns within me. I know and understand that this is my task, here and in eternity. You yourself have told me to speak about this great mercy and about your goodness. See more

02.01.2022 From St Ignatius of Antioch's letter to the Trallians I wish to forewarn you, for you are my dearest children Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the holy church at Tralles in the province of Asia, dear to God the Father of Jesus Christ, elect and worthy of God, enjoying peace in body and in the Spirit through the passion of Jesus Christ, who is our hope through our resurrection when we rise to him. In the manner of the apostles, I too send greetings to you with the fullness...Continue reading

01.01.2022 DAILY MASS READINGS: The Holy Guardian Angels on Friday of week 26 in Ordinary Time FIRST READING ... Job 38:1,12-21,40:3-5 The immeasurable greatness of God From the heart of the tempest the Lord gave Job his answer. He said: Have you ever in your life given orders to the morning or sent the dawn to its post, telling it to grasp the earth by its edges and shake the wicked out of it, when it changes the earth to sealing clay and dyes it as a man dyes clothes; stealing the light from wicked men and breaking the arm raised to strike? Have you journeyed all the way to the sources of the sea, or walked where the Abyss is deepest? Have you been shown the gates of Death or met the janitors of Shadowland? Have you an inkling of the extent of the earth? Tell me all about it if you have! Which is the way to the home of the light, and where does darkness live? You could then show them the way to their proper places, or put them on the path to where they live! If you know all this, you must have been born with them, you must be very old by now! Job replied to the Lord: My words have been frivolous: what can I reply? I had better lay my finger on my lips. I have spoken once... I will not speak again; more than once... I will add nothing. RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 138(139):1-3,7-10,13-14 Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising, you discern my purpose from afar. You mark when I walk or lie down, all my ways lie open to you. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. O where can I go from your spirit, or where can I flee from your face? If I climb the heavens, you are there. If I lie in the grave, you are there. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell at the sea’s furthest end, even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would hold me fast. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. For it was you who created my being, knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank you for the wonder of my being, for the wonders of all your creation. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. GOSPEL Matthew 18:1-5,10 Anyone who welcomes a little child in my name welcomes me The disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ So he called a little child to him and set the child in front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.’