Sunday Readings: FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT READINGS YR A

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Give me justice, O God, and defend my cause against the wicked; rescue me from deceitful and unjust men. You, O God, are my refuge.   OPENING PRAYER Father, help us to be like Christ your Son, who loved the world and died for our salvation. Inspire us by his love, guide us by his example, who lives and reigns.   FIRST READING A reading from the Prophet Ezekiel 37:12-14 Theme: I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live. The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel….

Sunday Readings: FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT YR. ‘A’ 30/03/2014

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breasts   OPENING PRAYER Father of peace, we are joyful in your Word, your Son Jesus Christ, who reconciles us to you.  Let us hasten towards Easter with the eagerness of faith and love.   FIRST READING A reading from the first book of Samuel   16: 1, 6-7, 10-13 Theme: David is anointed king of Israel. The Lord said to Samuel: “Fill your horn with oil and go, I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.” When…

Sunday Readings: 3rd Sunday of lent – March 23, 2014

First reading : Exodus 17:3-7 Tormented by thirst, the people complained against Moses. ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt?’ they said. ‘Was it so that I should die of thirst, my children too, and my cattle?’ Moses appealed to the Lord. ‘How am I to deal with this people?” he said. ‘A little more and they will stone me!’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take with you some of the elders of Israel and move on to the forefront of the people; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the river, and go. I shall be standing before you there on the rock, at Horeb. You must strike the rock,…

Sunday Readings: SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON                        Ps. 24:6, 3, 22 Remember your mercies, Lord, your tenderness from ages past. Do not let our enemies triumph over us; O God, deliver Israel from all her distress.   OPENING PRAYER God our Father, help us to hear your Son. Enlighten us with your word, that we may find the way to your glory.   FIRST READING A reading from the Book of Genesis                                    12:-4a The call of Abraham, the father of God’s people The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous…

Lent, a verification of our Baptism

Lent is verification of our baptism.  With God or against Him?  It is not an abstract verification but is based on concrete choices.  Lent is the time the church puts at our disposal in order to verify if baptism for us is a burden, a religious cloak, a corruption or the joy of a choice and the reception of a gift.  Lent is in fact preparation for Easter and in the “big” Easter Vigil we shall be asked to renew before the risen Christ our baptismal promises.   TEMPTATION: THE RESPONSE OF ADAM The liturgy of the first Sunday of lent is dominated by temptation.  There are two ways of confronting it: the way of…

Sunday Readings: FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT “A” (9/3/2014)

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON When he calls to me, I will answer; I will rescue him and give him honour. Long life and contentment will be his.   OPENING PRAYER Father, through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the meaning of your Son’s death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect it in our lives.   FIRST READING A reading from the book of Genesis 2, 7-9, 3, 1-7 Theme: The creation and fall of our first parents. The Lord God fashioned man of dust from the soil. Then he breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden in Eden which is…

Sunday Readings: SIXTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR “A” (9/2/2014)

ENTRANCE  ANTIPHON Lord, be my rock of safety, the stronghold that save me. For the honour of your name, lead me and guide me.   OPENING PRAYER God our Father, you have promised to remain for ever with those who do what is just and right.  Help us to live in your presence.   FIRST READING A reading from the book of Ecclesiasticus   15: 15-20 Theme: He never commanded anyone to be godless. If you wish, you can keep the commandments; to behave faithfully is within your power.  He has set fire and water before you; put out your hand to which ever you prefer.  Man has life and death before him; whichever a man…

Follow Your Star!

Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord – the revelation of God the Son to the Gentiles. We sing and rejoice in celebration of God’s faithfulness throughout the ages.  He has not only kept his promise to send us the Messiah but also his commitment to make him the rallying point for all of humanity. Some five centuries before Christ, the Lord promised through Isaiah to lead all the nations to Jerusalem to share in the light of salvation: “everyone in Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing the praises of the Lord.”(Isaiah 60:6) This promise is echoed in the Responsorial Psalm: “The kings of Tarshish and the sea coasts shall pay…

WE ARE FAMILY

Today we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The feast is a continuation of Christmas, given that Christ came to us through the family – the basic unit of human society, the domestic church. We thank God for the gift of family and we pray for the family institution as it faces very serious challenges in our time. The family as God designed it – man, woman and children – is being fundamentally redefined by politicians and extreme left-wing pressure groups intent on changing the structure of society. These dangerous moves hold grave implications for human society and civilization. In the beginning God made humanity, “male and female” (Gen.5:2); and in due…

OUR GOD IS A PROMISE KEEPER

In his book, A Father Who Keeps His Promises, Scott Hahn recalls the earthquake in Armenia which killed 25,000 people in 1998. There was a traumatized father rushing to his son’s school. On the way he kept thinking of the promise he made to his son many times: “No matter what happens, son, I’ll always be there.” On getting there the school had been reduced to a pile of rubble. He just stood there at first fighting back tears, and then dashed across to where his son’s classroom had been. With nothing but bare hands he started digging, desperately pulling bricks and pieces of wall plaster. One of the bystanders said, “Forget it, mister, they’re…