Thursday, December 24, 2020

Surfers Paradise Christmas Message and Christmas Mass Podcast

Christmas Mass - 2020  Faith, Hope and Love (episode: 268)
Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish, Queensland.



Today is born our saviour, Christ the Lord!

A Blessed, Happy and Healthy Christmas to you all.
And May God bless you and guide you through the coming year.

The Dawning of the Light (Christmas 2020)

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed stock vector ID: 335139557. nativity scene with the Holy Family --transparency blending effects and gradient mesh-EPS10. By www.iostephy.com

Christmas Evening and Day Readings (Same for ALL Masses)

First Reading: Isaiah 9:1-7
Psalm: Ps  95:1-3. 11-13. "Today is born our saviour, Christ the Lord."
Second Reading: Titus 2:11-14
Gospel Acclamation: Luke 2:10-11. Alleluia, alleluia!. Good News and great joy to all the world: today is born our Saviour, Christ the Lord. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 2:1-14
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To listen to the audio recording of the Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish Christmas Mass – (including readings, prayers and homily etc), The Nativity of the Lord. 2020. Please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-christmas-2020-the-nativity-of-the-lord-jesus-episode-268
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PASTORS POST -  SOLEMNITY OF CHRISTMAS
A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS REFLECTION 

BY FR PETER DILLON.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas  . . .  
A
nd all through the house there was utter chaos.

We've just found out that Friends from the Northern Beaches of Sydney just called to say that they'd got through the border without anyone catching them and could they stay for just a few days.

That the refrigerator door has been slightly ajar all night and all the ice for the margaritas has melted, not to mention the jelly for the trifle has not set and the chook looks like it has started to cook itself.

The gas bottle for the bar-b-que has been leaking for days, and so the recent humidity is really not the source of everyone's headache.

Nobody washed the novelty table cloth from last year's Christmas lunch, so we have now discovered what happens to spilt gravy and red wine when they are allowed to ferment together for a year.

The children's new action toys do not come with batteries and require a tertiary degree in engineering to assemble and the real Christmas tree we found two weeks ago has now started to shed it needles.

My brother and sister-in-law from Hervey Bay have just told us that their entire family of seven became vegan in November, so they will require only plant-based food for lunch tomorrow, and will there be space for their caravan on the front lawn as they don't want to be any trouble during their 3 week visit.

We now know why the Christmas crackers we got a last year's Boxing Day sale were so cheap. They only contain jokes but no paper hats or trinkets. 

The burglar alarm on the next door neighbour's house has been screaming for five hours and they are in Launceston.

We think our dog has eaten one of the donkeys from the Nativity set or maybe we lost it last year.

The new style ATAR results arrived yesterday for our recent year 12 graduate and we don't know whether to congratulate him or tell him "at least you tried and it has been a really difficult year".

About 10 Christmas cards arrived to day from people we hadn't expected and it's too late to send them one in return and we have just discovered that the Lotto numbers we have religiously playing for years have finally turned up the week we forgot to put them in. It was only a 2nd division loss.

Just when we thought that all was lost and this was going to be the worst Christmas ever, we recalled that we had made early bookings for Christmas Mass and that the whole family would be there together for the first time in years.

And so it was a Happy Christmas to all and to all a Good Night.

Fr Peter Dillon.

(Ps, there is no Midnight mass in the parish, and Christmas masses are not necessarily at times from previous years, due of course to Covid. Masses are by booking only.
The dispensation from attending Mass continues to apply in these times of Covid restrictions and if people are unable to book into a mass we will have the Mass for you at home audio liturgy and also other streaming options. Thank you for your cooperation at this time.)
 

CLICK HERE TO BOOK FOR MASS


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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

{{Happy Christmas to you all.    And May the Peace and joy of the Christ Child shine upon you in this special season. }}

On this wonderful  (feast of) The Nativity of the Lord Jesus…   (the Solemnity of
Christmas )
In order to worthily celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us first acknowledge our sins.

Lord Jesus, you are the Son of the Living God, Lord Have mercy .
You are the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Christ Have mercy .
Lord Jesus you are Word made flesh, the splendour o the Father. Lord, Have mercy .

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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PREFACE: Christmas I
Euch .Prayer: 1
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{I pray this Christmas Season  brings you an ever deeper Peace… and profound experience of God's overflowing love…and compassion. Bless you all this christmas season…  and may god protect you and guide you in your travels and gatherings at this special time – thanks be to god for the many acts of kindness, love and compassion experienced in so many people in these times of challenge.}


Dismissal:
Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
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Prologue: (Fr paul Kelly).

The Dawning of the Light (Christmas 2020) -

It is comforting to remember that the first Christmas, over two thousand years ago...   things were not going very well at all in the world, for countless numbers of people....   Christ was not born into a world that was going along nicely...  far from it, The people were walking in overwhelming darkness of spirit.....   suffering terrible poverty and injustice...and with many generations praying desperately that a saviour would come soon, to help them.... 

The world today, especially this year, knows all too well what that feels like.  At the end of a year where people all over the world have been plunged into the darkness of the worst  global pandemic in living memory... //. in these last few months .....  Like the words of the first reading...   "in the darkness...   a great light has begun to shine..."   - including real hope that an end to this crisis is in sight... with the development of promising vaccines... (not out of the woods yet -  but there is certainly a light at the end of the tunnel).

A profound Light of hope has also shone in the darkness  of this year, as we all offer  heartfelt thanksgiving, deep appreciation and gratitude for the precious and fragile gift of life, an even deeper cherishing  of how precious good health and well-being can be,  the irreplaceable treasure our family and friends are to us.... the value of community and church,  the pricelessness of so many people who have shown enormous reserves of kindness, generosity, compassion,  adaptability and practical assistance in the community, especially when things got very bleak...    - again, echoing the Our Lord's message and example...  "A light has shone when it was darkest..."    
Darkness and bleakness aren't usually words we would use here in Australia at this time of the year, in hot mid-summmer. But certainly after this years experience,  these words have new and powerful resonance,  symbolically.

And we keep in mind:
winter darkness and sombernness defined the location and predicament of the very first Christmas in Bethlehem: The place of the Lord's birth.
- cold,  dark,  bleak, the shortest of days,  everything seems asleep,  or lifeless or hibernating ,,,,
(the traditional shepherds field in Bethlehem is a series of caves on an exposed hill-  trees bent sideways from centuries of powerful, relentlessly freezing winds, cutting through the region)...

Gillian Bouras,  a writer who was born here in Australia, very familiar with Christmasses here: - boiling hot,  and bright-as-can-be from eleven minutes to five am on Christmas morning until sunset -  at 6.42pm, Christmas lunches with air coolers turned right up,  outdoor bbqs and picnics in the park or at the beach..    She now lives with her family in Europe,  and observes  as this particular year ends-  "I think every southerner should experience the starkness of a northern hemisphere Christmas, where one cannot help but notice and feel the Birth of Jesus being the one ray of light and hope, so much needed this year, penetrating the gloom."

Through the Birth of our Lord, wherever we are in the world ...    In summer or winter..  in light or darkness ... whether we are reunited again with family and friends or still cherishing them in our hearts and prayers from afar.... we are all truly  united in love, prayer and in spirit. Our absent friends and family are also truly one with us tonight/today.  "We carry you in our hearts." all Gods beloved children everywhere.

Two thousand years ago -  God loved us so much that God was not content to worry about us from a distance...  and so He sent his only son to be with us ,  and be born as one of us; - to truly and fully share our condition; and save us from ourselves...  (to be the model of self-forgetting love and service),  He was the ray of light that broke through, into a world of cold and darkness, selfishness, despair, injustice, and violence...   and truly shared our suffering;  experiencing with us all our joys and all our sorrows, and calling us in turn, to lift up others around us in their struggles.

Our Lord constantly gets right "in-there" - into the messiness of life and never leaves us to muddle on alone. And that is the cause of great joy.

God's miraculous decision to join-in with us, and be with-us, means that...." there is absolutely nothing too complex, too messy, or too vulnerable about our own lives into which God cannot or will not enter."

Let us rejoice, for our saviour has come...   He has been born to us...   humble and lain in a manger...  and who grew up to  offer his life as free and full self gift- to save us all...  he is the light that scatters the darkness....   He is the promise and fulfilment of all our Hopes and prayers. 
He is Christ the Lord.

{Prayer of the faithful -   For people throughout the world suffering in any way from the effects of the Covid
-19 pandemic. That the Lord will grant healing, and recovery and continue to inspire acts of compassion and generosity. And in thanksgiving for medical teams and care workers, emergency services and support groups – that they will be uplifted and strengthened in their important work} .

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HOMILY BY FR PETER DILLON.

While it might seem a relatively new practice of stringing stands of coloured lights outside our homes to signify the approaching Christmas season, we are really simply reviving a centuries old tradition that originated in Europe, when people lit fires outside their houses in their wintery climate, to let people know that that they believed the presence of Christ would bring light into their darkness, and warmth into the cold.

Ancient religions as well as modern ones have always used the themes of light and darkness as a way of speaking about religious experience. Light has always been associated with goodness, knowledge, and hope. Darkness has symbolised evil, ignorance and despair.

In my lifetime, I cannot think of a more oppressive year for the whole world, which has had to rethink the ways we live together and the way we relate to each other. Without our knowing how it happened, a dark cloud came over the globe and we were all tested as to how we would address the changes that would forever alter our fragile environment. How we endured the pandemic should be a good indicator as to how we incorporate our belief in a God of hope into how we live each day.

In the Christian tradition we interpret the light to be Jesus the Christ. Without him we are stumbling around in the dark; without him we can eventually come to prefer the darkness to the light. He is the only light that darkness cannot overpower. Yet this light does not force itself upon us, not like some bolt of lightning, but as a child born as all children are, from their mother's womb. With the birth of every child there is new life, new hope, and a new innocence which graces a world that is tired of pain and contradiction.

But this is not the birth of just any child. Luke is anxious to tell us the true identity of this child. So the angels announce to the shepherds, who represent us, the meaning of all that is happening in obscurity. Their announcement pierces the disguise of obscurity and peals out the identity of this child:

"Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

But what did the shepherds believe they were witnessing. At the time they could have had no comprehension of what it might mean for him to be "the saviour of the world". He was a mere baby who had not yet revealed himself to the world. He was not full of wisdom and authority, he performed no miracles or broke open the ancient texts of scripture. They simply had hope that this child would grow to be the fulfilment of God's promise that the Messiah would come into the world. For the moment they were just happy to be connected to this new life.

The angels proclaim at the beginning of the Gospel what Jesus' followers came to understand only after the resurrection: that Jesus was the saviour, Christ the Lord. The one prophesied by Isaiah.  Because we have been given access to his life and his words and words through the Gospels, we have to come to believe that this child grew to maturity and understanding of his mission, and that he died and rose again, so we can take the light of our faith back to the manager. 

One of the unique aspects of Christmas is that it achieves a great levelling off of society. Even people who do not have the birth of Christ as part of their faith tradition, accept that nobody feels superior to another on this day. It seems to put an end to elitism, even though it may only be for a short time. It achieves this levelling, not by lowering us all, but by lifting us up.

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References:
HOMILY BY FR PETER DILLON

PROLOGUE - Fr Paul W. Kelly


POEM:   "In the bleak midwinter." BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI. (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53216/in-the-bleak-midwinter)
 

 Gillian Bouras, "The way we were at Christmas,"  In – "Eureka Street   - A publication of Jesuit Communications Australia." © 2020. (edition 08 December 2020).  Read more: https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/the-way-we-were-at-christmas  


Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed stock vector ID: 335139557. nativity scene with the Holy Family --transparency blending effects and gradient mesh-EPS10. By www.iostephy.com
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:
paulwkelly68@gmail.com
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:
paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead:
https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address:
paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:

"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly


Roman Missal, 3rd edition, 2010, (ICEL)


Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. 



"The Psalms" by The Grail - 1963, 2009.

Prayers of the Faithful - Robert Borg "Together we pray" - (1993) .

St. Ralph Sherwin Gloria  - written and sung By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski.  2011
ccwatershed.org.

Christmas Hymn - "Word Made Flesh" by Paul W. Kelly. Based upon: John's Gospel 1:14,  1 John 4:9 , & Isaiah 9:2, 6, 7.

(Written on 8/5/20; 10/9/20).  Arranged and sung by Stefan Kelk, with adjusted lyrics.  2020. https://www.airgigs.com/user/stefankelk

Traditional hymns:
O Holy Night (Vocal Duet),
Joy to the World (Choir),  
Away in a Manger (Choir), performed by the Bobby Cole Chamber Choir, licensed via Shockwave-Sound.com
( https://www.shockwave-sound.com)

[ Production - KER - 2020]


May God bless and keep you.

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Thursday, December 17, 2020

Fourth Sunday Advent. Year B - Sunday, December 20, 2020 (EPISODE:267)

Fourth Sunday Advent. Year B - Sunday, December 20, 2020
(EPISODE:267)


Readings for 4th Sunday of Advent - B
FIRST READING: 2 Sam 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 (diff)
Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27+29. "Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord."
SECOND READING: Rom 16:25-27
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Luke 1:38). Alleluia, alleluia! I am the servant of the Lord. May his will for me be done.
GOSPEL: Luke 1:26-38

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image:  stock photo ID:  1203620218. Biblical vector illustration series, Gabriel visits Mary also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. By rudall30
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Fourth Sunday Advent. Year B - Sunday, December 20, 2020, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-advent-4b-episode-267-fourth-sunday-of-advent-year-b  (EPISODE:267)
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* Prologue – The wonderful news of the Annunciation to Mary occurred more than two thousand years ago.  The message Mary received was the start of the fulfilment of God's promise, made to King David one thousand years before that.  That timeline is so long that it is hard to comprehend.

God has a very, very long memory. The people of Israel hoped and trusted in God's promise to King David.  And as the years went on, (and there were many years); that hope was boosted, and then seemingly shattered, then rebuilt.

And now we arrive at the wonderful scene of the Annunciation.  After all this time, (in the fullness of time), God's promise is fulfilled at the home of a humble maiden.

Here we can learn our response from Mary the right response to God's message:  "Be it done to me according to your word."  If only we could all learn to respond to the Lord in such a wonderful way as Mary did!  May we more readily and with joy proclaim:  "Be it done to me according to your word!"

Mary is the model for all of us who want to follow God's ways.  She was a humble servant of God who was faithful to the Lord.  In her lowliness, God chose her for the most important role:  the mother of His Son.

This weekend's gospel, for the closing Sunday of Advent is all about the greatness of that word "YES" in Mary's life and in the lives of all of us who want to be Disciples of Christ. Mary's trust in God's promise is absolute. Mary continues to live according to God's ways, even when the events in her life are confusing and worrying and disorientating. 

It would be a tragedy if Mary's "yes" was the last "yes" in human history! In fact, Mary's YES becomes the pattern for many more "Yesses."
The Hebrew word "Amen" means "yes," --That is, "let it be so." And we say this "yes/ Amen" every time we come forward for the Communion at Eucharist. We say yes, we will be the house where God, in Jesus, makes his home.

We are saying YES. we will take the divine life of God into our bodies, - by the body and blood of Our Lord. And we too say "Let it be done to us, according to your word." So, as amazing and wonderful as it seems, one of God's last known addresses is….within YOU!

One thing I find really striking and challenging.  Mary's wonderful reply to the Angel was very down-to-earth and with no puffed-up pride. She answers: "I am God's servant !!"   Mary is saying to God, "I am your servant. I am your humble slave; let it be done to me according to your word"?

Briefly put:  We are here to do things God's way, not our way.
May this Advent bring us all closer to the Lord because He is always close to us.  God loves us and sends His Son to save us.   Mary intercedes for us as we learn from her complete trust in God's plan and learn to serve her Son, Jesus Christ the Lord.

We say  YES to God's invitation to cooperate in the constant work of building up God's Kingdom, not only in heaven but here and now, in this life. May this coming Christmas celebration be a time of incredible renewal and peace as we allow God's grace to strengthen and build upon our YES.   Inspired by Mary's great YES to God.

O Emmanuel,
king and lawgiver,
Desire of the nations,
Saviour of all people.
Come and set us free.
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Homily:  Fr Peter  -
4th Sunday - Advent – Year B – 2020
As we come to the end of the Advent time for this year, it is valuable to stop for a brief time and see if we have used this time well. It is possible that we have let the secular events of our home or work life take control and take over our good intentions to pray a little more, or try to speak more positively about others or even just take more time to spend with the people we like, rather than doing the tasks that aren't really that important. We may have learnt that in our desire to be more spiritually focussed we realise that we are not masters of our time and gifts, but rather lead by social convention and worldly expectations.

One of the great catch cries of the modern generation is to seek happiness and fulfilment by "doing your own thing". It's what I want that really matters. They believe that happiness lies in having no commitments, no one to answer to, no one whose needs or problems will ever tie us down.

It is, of course, good and necessary to find and do that which deep down we feel called to do. Nevertheless, human nature being what it is, we have to be on our guard. There can be a lot of selfishness in the "do your own thing" approach. It often means taking the easiest path, in the belief that this is where freedom and happiness lie. But this approach is more likely to lead to being swamped by choices and the unhappiness that follows having to make difficult decisions. We find out eventually that we don't have the time or energy to have and do it all, even though it may appear to be on offer.

Here is an important truth: freedom, happiness and fulfilment are more likely to be found in the acceptance of duty, rather than the avoidance of it. However, for this to happen, a grim acceptance of duty is not good enough. It has to be a loving acceptance of duty. The more difficult the task to which we devote ourselves out of love, the more it will exalt us.

In this regard, Mary gives us a great example. She didn't say to the angel,
"Sorry, but I have my own plans. I want to do my own thing". She said, "It's not what I want, but what God wants that matters. Let what God wants be done to me".

Mary made a complete gift of herself to God and accepted the task he gave her. Even though she didn't understand all the implications of it, she trusted that God would give her all the help she needed.

In effect, she was saying, "I don't understand what all this means, but I trust that good things will happen. If not for me, then for others who are important to me". She trusted so deeply in God that she was open to all possibilities. She gave up control over her future and let God define her life.

Life imposes a lot of duties on us. Besides duties to ourselves, there are duties to others and to God. Where would the world be if everyone just thought of themselves, and insisted on doing their own thing?

Some people suspect that God chose someone like Mary who would be so meek that she could do nothing else but do what was expected of her. That is some way she was not really human, not like us. Being chosen by God for such a task does not free her from the human race. Gods' choice for her does not free her from making her choice for God. She was asked to put her freedom, her whole person at the service of God.

If there is any great difference between Mary and ourselves is that she fully responded to be chosen for her role while we remain hesitant and half-hearted about responding to what God asks of us.

Just like Mary, we face God's choice for us, and like her, we are challenged to say "yes". Like all choices, it may ask us to make a sacrifice, to give up or reject one option to fully accept the other. If we could have it all then there would be no choice required at all, but in reality, we do have to make the decision and some time the cost of that decision is putting our freedom at the service of God. What Mary clearly understood was that she was so highly favoured by God, and maybe that is where we have to decide if we truly believe that God has favoured us in a similar way. Maybe we have reached the stage where we don't think we are worth anything in God's or other people's eyes. So listen again to God's word to you:

"Rejoice, highly favoured, for I have chosen you to be holy and live through love in my presence"

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References:
HOMILY:   FR PETER DILLON

PROLOGUE: Fr Paul W. Kelly

Celebrating the Gospels.

My Daily Visitor, Nov-Dec 2011.

Monastery Of Christ In The Desert. Abbot's Homily.
http://christdesert.org

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image:  stock photo ID:  1203620218. Biblical vector illustration series, Gabriel visits Mary also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. By rudall30.


Fourth Sunday Advent. Year B  (Sunday, December 20, 2020(EPISODE:267)

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4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT – YEAR B –

INTRODUCTION

In the Name of the Father (+) and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Lord be with you.

Welcome everyone, we gather -  Listen to God's Word and contemplate the sacraments. AS · We continue on our Advent journey. We now light the fourth Advent Candle. The "Angel's Candle" Reminding us of the message of the angels: "Peace on earth, to people of goodwill. .

The Presider lights the fourth candle


O Rising Sun, you are the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice. O come and enlighten those who yearn for you. Lord Have mercy.

O King of all, Come and save humanity, whom you formed from the clay. Christ Have mercy.


O Immanuel, Lord our God, Come and save us. Lord Have mercy.


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(no Gloria in Advent)

Collect

Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son
was made known by the message of an Angel, may by his Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit. God, forever and ever.

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Prayer after Communion

Having received this pledge of eternal redemption,
we pray, almighty God,
that, as the feast day of our salvation draws ever nearer,
so we may press forward all the more eagerly
to the worthy celebration of the mystery of your Son's Nativity.
Who lives and reigns forever and ever.

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Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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PREFACE: Advent II
EP II
Communion side.  pwk:  RH
(theme variation:
4 )
(pre+post variation:
4)
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{I give thanks to God for your prayers at this time of reflection upon our God.}

Go in peace (glorifying the Lord by your life). .

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

"O Come. Lord. (Advent)" - In Memory of Paolo Mario (Paul) Giacomantonio (1968-2020).
By Paul W. Kelly.  Based on the Ancient church "O Antiphons" of Advent.
Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics, By Stefan Kelk, 2020.

 [ Production - KER - 2020]

May God bless and keep you.

Extra Text : unspoken for Advent: -
             Roman Missal, 3rd edition, 2010, (ICEL)
            
             Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA.
            
             "The Psalms" by The Grail - 1963, 2009.
            
             Prayers of the Faithful - Robert Borg "Together we pray" - (1993) .
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Thursday, December 10, 2020

Third Sunday Advent. Year B - Sunday, December 13, 2020 -(EPISODE: 266)

Third Sunday Advent. Year B - Sunday, December 13, 2020
(EPISODE: 266)

Readings for 3rd Sunday of Advent - B
FIRST READING: Isa 61:1-2a, 10-11
Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54. "My soul rejoices in my God."
SECOND READING: 1 Thess 5:16-24
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Isa 61:1 (cited in Lk 4:18)). Alleluia, alleluia! The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he sent me to bring the Good news to the poor. Alleluia!
GOSPEL: John 1:6-8, 19-28

Shutterstock licensed Image:  stock photo ID: 697915306. ISTANBUL, TURKEY - OCTOBER 30, 2015: Deesis - Byzantine mosaic in Hagia Sophia church, showing Jesus Christ and John the Baptist (Ioannes Prodromos), probably dates from 1261. By Zzvet.

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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Third Sunday Advent. Year B - Sunday, December 13, 2020, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-advent-3b-episode-266-third-sunday-of-advent-year-b   (EPISODE: 266)
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*Prologue: Our Advent journey of waiting is nearing its end. Only one more Sunday after this, and then Christmas will be upon us!
 
There is a tone of increasing joy and expectation in the readings and prayers this weekend. The whole weekend is called "Rejoice Sunday," as we are filled with joy at the nearness of the Lord and the salvation he brings to us and our loved ones and friends. This offer of salvation is for all people of every time and place.
 
There is something ironic here.  John the Baptist himself illustrates in his own life, the disciple who is humble and self-forgetting, rejecting the temptation to pride, and being open to change his thinking, so as to match the ways of God. This extraordinary Prophet, who came to testify to the coming of Jesus, the Light of the World, himself practises the very word he preaches - because John the Baptist got a bit of a shock when Jesus arrived. 
 
John had been preaching the old 'fire and brimstone' model of the Old Testament prophets. He taught that the judgement of God was close at hand. He warned people that God will come in power with his threshing sword and uproot the weeds and sort out the wheat from the chaff and throw the rubbish into the fire. He warned people that Christ would bring down God's judgment upon the earth - uprooting the stubborn plants... But then, astoundingly, along comes Jesus. Our Lord announces, (in line with our first reading), a time of grace and mercy. This is a season of jubilee, including the complete and wholesale cancellation of debt, as well as freedom of prisoners, the forgiveness of sin and renewed life and favour from God.
 
John is understandably confused. It is as if he was preparing everyone to celebrate a funeral and then at the very last minute someone rushes up and says, "Actually it's a wedding feast, not a funeral." That was the dramatic revelation that probably took John the Baptist, (and many others), by surprise. We know John the Baptist was fairly surprised and confused because we are told in Matthew's Gospel (11:13) that he sends disciples to ask Jesus: "are you the one who IS to come.. or OUGHT we to wait for another????"
 
Let us instead be joyful followers, in the spirit of John. may we be ever-ready and willing to adjust course according to the sudden and unexpected commands of God. God sees the whole picture and knows best. Certainly better than our mortal perceptions.
 
We would not be a very useful instrument in God's hand unless we are open to adjusting our direction at the sudden instructions of the master-craftsman. To be truly open to those fine adjustments, we must not assume that our vision is the perfect touchstone of how everything should be. Rather, we remain open to God's word, and the wisdom of the faith community and the experiences and insights of our brothers and sisters around us.
 
We can so easily want to stretch God's ways and thoughts so that they suit our desires and expectations. We are constantly on guard against this so that we can, just like John the Baptist, "decrease," so that Christ will "increase"...

O Come, Lord Jesus and deliver us, without delay.
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Homily:  Fr Peter Dillon.
'Knowledge comes but wisdom lingers' (Tennyson)

 One of my seminary teachers, a wise old Irishman, Fr. David Hawe said: "True learning happens not by getting the right answers, but by asking the right questions!"
So many questions. Today's encounter in the gospel is full of them. Eight in all. Why are there so many questions in this brief passage? Why does Jesus not give a direct 'yes' or 'no' answer to the question asked by John's disciples? Why does Jesus use questions to answer questions?

  Jesus' response to John's disciples' question is 'hear' and 'see' - look and listen. Consider the difference. If Jesus had answered with a straight out 'YES I AM' the disciples would have rushed back to John the Baptizer with the answer and maybe have learnt nothing. How much more did they learn by having to 'look and listen'? How much more did they have to catch by osmosis? Perhaps they shifted from having a rational understanding of who Christ is to being prophets themselves - to being a sign, a sacrament of Christ's presence in the world. Perhaps they were able to live the question
  Jesus asks seven other questions - which is really one question asked in seven different ways. HOW Jesus asks these questions is perhaps more important than what is asked. It is possibly in the HOW of asking the question that Jesus does several things.

  Firstly he emphasises the importance of John the Baptizer as the one preparing the way.

  Secondly, Jesus has the people looking at themselves, at their own motivation and what drives them - what did they go out to see? Why did they go out? Did they go out to the desert because they were curious or inquisitive; because John was seen as an oddity or a rarity, somehow different; was it peer pressure, or was there a genuine longing to learn, to search for the truth, to hear what John had to preach.

 Finally Jesus was challenging the people to live the questions - did the people really want to hear and see John? Did they want to listen to him as prophet? Did they really want to hear his message and be a sacrament of Christ's presence in their world?
  What about us? Are we searching and questioning. More importantly, are we living the questions?

  Our Church today is facing a crisis which raises some difficult questions but is the church addressing the real issues? Is the decline in priests' numbers shifting the focus of the church from the real question of why the church exists, of why we are church? Are we as church, genuinely trying to search out what it means to be catholic; to witness to Christ's presence in the world; to be prophet? Are we probing for possibilities, reaching out, trying to express a deep yearning and longing or are we comfortably sitting back waiting for an influx of priests who will be and do our religion for us, who will give us answers so that we do not have to see and hear?

  A worse scenario would be when we think we already have all the answers - that we want to live our religion based on our past understanding and experience; that we have all the answers and do not need to question.
The gospel today begins with the absence of light, so John's role is akin to turning the light on or showing people where to look when the light finally arrives.
Like John we are asked to make way for the light and our role is to let the light shine through the chunks of solid darkness that litter our human landscape. This requires us to look first at ourselves and work quietly on the darkness that hides within us – the selfishness, the judgment, the lack of forgiveness, and the withholding of love that keeps the light of the Good News from so many people. 

 It is said that:  'A community of people dies... when the questioning stops'. When the light arrives so will the answers come.
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References:
homily:  fr peter Dillon

prologue:  Fr Paul W. Kelly


Shutterstock licensed Image:  stock photo ID: 697915306. ISTANBUL, TURKEY - OCTOBER 30, 2015: Deesis - Byzantine mosaic in Hagia Sophia church, showing Jesus Christ and John the Baptist (Ioannes Prodromos), probably dates from 1261. By Zzvet


Third Sunday Advent. Year B  (Sunday, December 13, 2020(EPISODE: 266)

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INTRODUCTION
 
In the Name of the Father (+) and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
The Lord be with you.
 {{Greetings}} welcome everyone, we gather -  Ponder with reverence, God's word and sacrament. As we continue on our Advent journey. We now light the third Advent candle (the Rose Candle). Also known as the "Shepherd's Candle," it reminds us of the Joy the world experienced at the coming birth of Christ.
 
{The Presider lights the third candle}
 
O Lord and leader of Israel. Come and save us with your mighty power. Lord Have Mercy.
 
O Stock of Jesse, Come to deliver us, without delay. Christ have mercy.
 
O Key of David and sceptre of Israel, Come to free those who sit in valley and shadow of death. Lord Have mercy.
 
(no Gloria in Advent)
 
COLLECT:
 
Let us Pray:
O God, who see how your people
faithfully await the feast of the Lord's Nativity,
enable us, we pray,
to attain the joys of so great a salvation
and to celebrate them always
with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit. God, forever and ever.
 
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Prayer after Communion
 
We implore your mercy, Lord,
that this divine sustenance may cleanse us of our faults
and prepare us for the coming feasts.
Through Christ our Lord.


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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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PREFACE: Advent II
EP III
Communion side.  pwk:  LH
(theme variation:
3 )
(pre+post variation:
3)
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{Many thanks for participating in this time of praise, worship and reflection upon our God's infinite love.}

Go forth, the Mass is ended.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

"O Come. Lord. (Advent)" - In Memory of Paolo Mario (Paul) Giacomantonio (1968-2020).
By Paul W. Kelly.  Based on the Ancient church "O Antiphons" of Advent. 
Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics, By Stefan Kelk, 2020.

 [ Production - KER - 2020]

May God bless and keep you.

Extra Text : unspoken for Advent: -
             Roman Missal, 3rd edition, 2010, (ICEL)
            
             Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. 
            
             "The Psalms" by The Grail - 1963, 2009.
            
             Prayers of the Faithful - Robert Borg "Together we pray" - (1993) .
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Monday, December 07, 2020

Weekday - Solemnity of The Immaculate Conception - December 8th. (episode: 265)

Weekday Solemnity of The Immaculate Conception  - December 8th. (episode: 265)

shutterstock_416319478.jpg

Genesis 3:9-15, 20

Psalm 97:1-4. " Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous deeds."
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Gospel Acclamation: cf Luke 1:28. Alleluia, alleluia! Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women. Alleluia!
Gospel:  Luke 1:26-38

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed ID: 416319478. SALAMANCA, SPAIN, APRIL - 17, 2016: The Immaculate conception of Virgin Mary painting on the altar of Convento de las Agustinas and Iglesia de la Purisima church by Jose de Ribera 1635.By Renata Sedmakova
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To listen to the audio recording of the readings, prayers and reflections for this feast
of The Immaculate Conception  - December 8th , please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/the-feast-of-the-immaculate-conception-faith-hope-and-love-ep-265/s-XIxUskxjxd3  
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
{{Joy and peace to everyone}}

On this special (feast of)
Feast Of The Immaculate Conception
Coming together as Gods family, let us call to mind our sins.

Lord jesus, you humble the proud and exalt the lowly. Lord have mercy.

You fill the hungry with good things, and The self-sufficient you send away empty. Christ have mercy.


Your mercy reaches from age to age for those who revere you. Lord have mercy.


May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

(Gloria)

Collect (Immaculate Conception)

Let us pray.
(that we too will be admitted to the presence of God)

O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son,
grant, we pray,
that, as you preserved her from every stain
by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw,
so, through her intercession,
we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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PREFACE: Immaculate conception.
Euch .Prayer: 3
(PROPOSED THEME Marian hymns)
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{Thank you, everyone, for participating in this superb feast of the  immaculate conception…  and for giving generously to god and to our christian community, of your time  and prayerfulness.}

Dismissal:
go and announce the gospel of the lord..
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HOMILY:
The Immaculate Conception
(8 December)
Prologue:  This feast had its origin in the East as the "Conception of Mary by Saint Anne". It spread through the West during the Middle Ages as the "Immaculate Conception" and was extended to the entire Western Church in the eighteenth century. The feast celebrates Mary, preserved from sin from the moment of conception; she is the first fruits of her Son's redemption and a prophetic model of what the Church is called to be.
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(draft)
Although this is a very special feast celebrating Mary's life…  from the moment of her conception…  This Feast… as all feasts and solemnities, is really about God and what God has achieved, through the wonderful grace and blessings God has showered upon his beloved children…  And on this occasion, the superb and wondrous plan of God that envisaged and made a reality through the first moment of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary….   Whenever we pause to turn our attention to contemplate Mary  and praise God and celebrate the life of Mary, This first and most perfect disciple of Christ always humbly points us in turn towards her beloved son…  God's son..  who is the reason and cause of all our joy and hope…   

Mary, although fully human was conceived without sin and remained sinless throughout her life.

By this feast we remember the earlies beginnings of Mary's existence and also contemplate our own earliest beginning. And the love at the very heart of our origins.  

Ultimately we all belong to God. A God of the most profound and overflowing love.  God's plans of love and inclusion for his children began well before time began.
We were imagined by God long before we came to be.  We were all lovingly brought into existence, created by God, through God's loving grace…(that same source of love that brought the whole of creation into existence). ..
God's love claims Mary's entire existence. We, too, seek to allow God to envelop our whole selves now and always. (1).

The Immaculate Conception: Is defined like this…..
490 To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role. (that is, God gave her the graces and gifts needed to allow God to achieve his plan for the salvation of humanity, through her cooperation). "The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace". In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.
491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception.  as Pope Pius IX officially proclaimed in 1854:
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and the privilege from almighty God; --and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.
492 The "splendour of entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son". The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love".(2)

and a nice quote from:
Scripture Scholar and Theologian, Gustavo Gutiérrez:
 "Mary is aware of all the implications of her accepting God's will: "Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (v. 38). In the Canticle of the Magnificat, Mary will again call herself a servant. Luke has in mind the meaning of the Hebrew word which we translate by "servant." It means completely belonging to God... Servants are those who announce the Lord's message completely, and those who receive a mission (Acts 2:18).

Belonging to God is expressed by our availability, by our welcoming his plan for our lives and our world.

Mary does not ask for a sign from the Angel Gabriel… in the way that Zechariah had demanded and doubted(Lk 1:18). She shows her complete trust and confidence in the will of God. Mary makes God's will her own, in her entire self-hood….   in her whole life and in her body

We are called do the same.

The reading from Ephesians shows the deep meaning of our human existence. We have come into this world for the purpose of fully realising our full calling to be daughters and sons of God (vv. . 4-5). Being God's children is not something added from outside the human condition, instead, it is our very reason for being. The grace of God's love is the first and the last word upon everything.
However, we cannot accept God's plan of love and peace if we do not first incarnate God's plan, (that is, to make God's plan a concrete reality)……  to "enflesh" God's word, into the tangible elements of our daily lives. In order to achieve this we first need to get rid of any selfishness or wilfulness, and trust, rely and act upon the grace and vision of God, (as Mary did), and take risks in the strength of this trust and obedience, (again, As Mary did)." (3)

All Praise and blessing to our beautiful and loving God, for the wonderful things God has achieved through his extraordinary plan to utilise the free and full cooperation of the of the Blessed Virgin Mary, flowing through her, for the good of all people. Praise, indeed, be to God whose wonderful and astounding plan of salvation for the whole world, included his loving and freely cooperative plan for Mary's life, which began before her conception, and anticipated the salvation that Christ would later achieve by his Death and Resurrection, to save us all.

O Mary, The Immaculate Conception. Pray for us.
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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

1.     Quote from a pamphlet:  "Mary: God's radical daughter." Published by CATHOLIC ENQUIRY CENTRE. Copyright: The Australian Episcopal Conference of the Roman Catholic Church, 1994
2.     Vatican.va. (2019). Catechism of the Catholic Church - "Conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary". [online] Available at:  http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a3p2.htm [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019]).

3.     Gutiérrez, G. and Dees, C. (1997). Sharing the Word through the liturgical year. 1st ed. Maryknoll: Orbis Books. pp 280-281.

4.     Prologue from Liturgy Brisbane Resource.

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed ID: 416319478. SALAMANCA, SPAIN, APRIL - 17, 2016: The Immaculate conception of Virgin Mary painting on the altar of Convento de las Agustinas and Iglesia de la Purisima church by Jose de Ribera 1635.By Renata Sedmakova
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:
paulwkelly68@gmail.com
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:
paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead:
https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address:
paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria. Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org .

Marian Hymn – "Whom Earth and Sea and Sky Proclaim." Traditional 6th Century Hymn. Melody: Bartholomaus Gesius (d.1613). #376 - Brébeuf Hymnal. From https://www.ccwatershed.org/hymn/

Reflection Hymn post communion -  Salve Regina (tono simple) 450 voces coro virtual Música Católica.  https://cantocatolico.org/salve-regina/

Marian Hymn -   "Salve Regina Mater Misericordiae." (Traditional 11th Century). Melody: Mainz (1712), Hymn #783 - Brébeuf Hymnal. From https://www.ccwatershed.org/hymn/

[ Production - KER - 2020]

May God bless and keep you.

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