Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish - Weekly Parish Mass - podcast of Eucharist, including readings, prayers, homily)
Greetings from Surfers Catholic parish!
Please find linked below the latest edition of the Parish weekly Homily and link to the (audio) podcast of the mass, especially produced for those who are unable to be with us at mass.
https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-20c-ordinary-time-2022-episode-378/s-eQEsX9Wsmth
Many thanks,
The Parish Team
Twentieth Sunday of the Year.. Year C - Sunday, August 14, 2022
(EPISODE-378)
Readings for Sunday, August 14, 2022 - Twentieth Sunday of the Year.. Year C
FIRST READING: Jer 38:1-2ab, 4-6, 8-10
Ps 40:1, 2, 3, 17. "Lord, come to my aid"
SECOND READING: Heb 12:1-4
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Luke 12:49-53). Alleluia, alleluia! My sheep listen to my voice, says the Lord. I know them, and they follow me.
GOSPEL: Luke 12:49-53
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed.Stock Illustration ID: 1946673763- A depiction of the events in the prophecy of Daniel chapter 9, a religious illustration. Messianic New Testament fulfillment on the baptism and crucifixion of Jesus, with the gospel to the Gentiles. Illustration Contributor - joshimerbin
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for the Twentieth Sunday of the Year.. Year C - Sunday, August 14, 2022, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-20c-ordinary-time-2022-episode-378/s-eQEsX9Wsmth (EPISODE-378 )
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We believe that the Lord is the King of Peace... the Lord of Love.... His Kingdom values are about compassion, service, self-forgetting love, mercy and inclusion. which is why the readings this weekend seem more than a little jarring...
Our Lord says, he has come to start a fire... and wishes it were blazing already... he warns of divisions in even the closest relations...
But of course, it is not Our Lord who desires divisions and strife... yet, he needs to warn his followers that the conflict in values will lead to terrible persecution and estrangements - (The price of peace would be watering down God's message... and telling people what they want to hear instead of the truth, and that is unacceptable). But the values Christ represents are life-giving and beautiful and well worth the cost... +++
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Poor Jeremiah, the prophet! It could not get any worse for him. The enemy is holding his people to siege. There is no way out. God tells his faithful prophet Jeremiah: "This is what you must tell the people// and also tell the King - Surrender! Leave the city, or you will surely perish !"
This is definitely NOT what the King and his people want to hear. They want to keep resisting. They want to win. But Jeremiah will not tell them what they want to hear. there are plenty of others who will tell them what they want to hear, if not to save their skin and so as not to annoy, but to climb up the ladder of influence, or so they think.
Jeremiah, however, only speaks God's word, and he does so at a great cost. So, what do they say about him for doing his job faithfully? "Let Jeremiah be put to death: he is unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city, and all the people too, by talking like this. The fellow does not have the welfare of these people at heart so much as its ruin." // It makes one wonder how often people have been accused of disloyalty and lack of care for the welfare of others just because they see a major disaster resulting. The problem for poor Jeremiah is that he can do nothing else but speak the truth, irrespective of the response. And so, he gets thrown down a muddy well for his troubles, sinks deep into the mud and becomes hopelessly stuck. he will die there unless someone helps him. As it is, someone who feels sorry for him manages to drag him out of the muddy well.
There is a name in the Bible for people who tell others only what they want to hear: They are called "false prophets." False prophets get pretty short shrift from God.
Then, by contrast, we see the likes of Jeremiah, who steadfastly and devoutly speaks God's word, in and out of season, irrespective of popularity or whether or not people want to hear it. he simply MUST speak the truth…//
But just as there are "false prophets" who tell people things they want to hear even when the truth is quite different, there are also "false critics." These people go around telling people unpleasant things and "telling things like it is" in a way that divides and hurts. These are not necessarily real prophets because they are getting rejected and causing divisions. That would be a grave mistake too.
There may be people walking around with a 'kick me' sign on them whose words and behaviour almost provoke or invites rejection or uproar. The test of whether a person is speaking prophetically is not that they are causing trouble and having to hire security guards, nor merely because they have ruffled others' feathers. Such people may be self-defeating stirrers.
The true test of a prophetic person is the consistency of their words and behaviour with that of Christ and his Kingdom and the whole picture, not just selectively chosen elements. Jeremiah spoke what God asked him to speak, not just for his hobby horse or for his adulation (or for his rejection, for that matter). That is a major difference.
I also think that if we are tempted to be challenging, we ought to start with ourselves and challenge and unsettle the deep-seated pride, selfishness and enmeshment that we find in our hearts before starting to change the world and getting others offside.
And also, no matter how "true' something is, no matter how much we might want to "fix up" a situation or a person, if we do not act with love, or speak with love, it will (as Saint Paul says) "do me no good whatsoever." I doubt our words would affect us if we spoke the truth without love.
True prophets are not self-proclaimed, nor are they self-appointed. And really, I think we need to live the gospel more than go around pointing out errors. Putting the gospel values into action in our lives is one of the greatest acts of discipleship: proclaiming the Gospel by our actions.
It has always struck me that Jesus went around doing good and living the gospel, and it was most often, others followed behind him, saying, "why did you do that?" or "stop doing that." Meanwhile, Our Lord had already moved on to the next project for building the Kingdom and the next set of good work and actions. He indeed preached, but even more, he acted, and mostly it was others doing the questioning and the finger-wagging.
Jesus warns his followers to know what they are getting into. Jesus is not encouraging and desiring conflict, opposition, and division, but he KNOWS that there are no "fence-sitters" in the Kingdom of God. You are either with him or against him. Jesus is declaring the sad reality that he and the Good news he is proclaiming and the Kingdom of God he establishes will become like a "lightning rod" to all who hate what the Kingdom represents. Despite deeply desiring peace and love, he KNOWS that people will line up on one side or another. This division (based on conflicting values) will cut through traditional political, religious or even filial (family) lines.
As the great scripture commentator William Barclay writes: "Jesus' coming would inevitably mean division; --- in point of fact it did!! That was one of the great reasons why the Romans hated Christianity--it tore families in two. Over and over again, a person had to decide whether he loved his kith and kin better or Christ and his Gospel. The essence of Christianity is that loyalty to Christ has to take precedence over the dearest loyalties of this earth. One must be prepared to count all things as loss, but for the excellence of Jesus Christ."
Do you know the irony of all this? The divisions were over values we cherish so deeply. The divisions occurred because Jesus taught us to be gentle, to reach out to the outcast and offer the hand of forgiveness to the sinner and the outcast. The conflict and division occurred because Jesus was LIVING the message of true peace… and the fullness of the new image of God's Kingdom, which included all people. This led to the most violent opposition by those whose interests were not served by Our Lord's Kingdom worldview. Jesus turned on its head the unjust and "un-Kingdom-like" standards which kept some on the 'inner' and many people hopelessly left on the 'outer,' with no way of inclusion. Those few who were the 'inside' wanted things to stay as they were. It was very cosy and profitable for them as things were. No wonder Jesus went to great lengths to prepare his disciples for trouble. He taught them to be "wise as serpents but as gentle as lambs."
As Jesus reminds us in the Gospel, neither family ties nor fear of submitting to rejection, ridicule or persecution should stand in the way of salvation which comes from an uncompromising and costly proclamation of the good news and of standing up for the truth as taught by Christ. **
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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.
**Joel Schorn: PrepareTheWord.com. PrepareTheWord.com, ©2012, TrueQuest Communications, LLC. 20th Sunday of the Year. - C. 18th August 2013.
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed.Stock Illustration ID: 1946673763- A depiction of the events in the prophecy of Daniel chapter 9, a religious illustration. Messianic New Testament fulfillment on the baptism and crucifixion of Jesus, with the gospel to the Gentiles. Illustration Contributor - joshimerbin
Twentieth Sunday of the Year.. Year C (Sunday, August 14, 2022) (EPISODE- 378)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
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{{May Our Lord's gift of dignity and community enliven you.}}
My brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins.
Lord Jesus, you were lifted up to draw all people to yourself: Lord, have mercy//You shouldered the cross, to bear our suffering and sinfulness: Christ, have mercy// You open for your people the way from death into life: 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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Ps 40:1, 2, 3, 17. "Lord, come to my aid"
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Luke 12:49-53). Alleluia, alleluia! My sheep listen to my voice, says the Lord. I know them, and they follow me.
Memorial Acclamation
2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
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PREFACE: Sundays Ordinary III
Eucharistic Prayer II
(pre+post variation: v2-short)
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{Many thanks for participating in this time of praise and reflection upon our loving 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: 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: Subscribe to mailing list to keep up-to-date
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.
- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John Kelly - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.
"Quiet Time." Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.
- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.
Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.
Microphones: - Shure MV5 Digital Condenser (USB)
Editing equipment: NCH software - MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software
NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 12.44
Sound Processing: iZotope RX 6 Audio Editor
[Production - KER - 2022]
May God bless and keep you.
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[ Production - KER - 2022]
May God bless and keep you.
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