Fifth Sunday of Lent. Year B. - Sunday, March 21, 2021 (EPISODE: 286)

Fifth Sunday of Lent. Year B.  - Sunday, March 21, 2021
(EPISODE: 286)

Readings for Fifth Sunday of Lent. Year B.
FIRST READING: Jer 31: 31-34
Ps 51: 3-4, 12-13, 14-15. "Create a clean heart in me, O God. "
SECOND READING: Heb 5: 7-9
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 12: 26). Glory to you, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ. If you serve me, follow me, says the Lord. And where I am, my servant will also be.
GOSPEL: John 12: 20-33

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. image:  photo ID:1901084980-  Jesus teaches from a boat on the sea of Galilee, in front of a large crowd- By Annalisa Jones
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Year B.  - Sunday, March 21, 2021, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-ep-286-lent-5-b-2021  
(EPISODE: 286)
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* (Prologue:  Fr Paul Kelly)
The Greeks, in today's gospel, ask to 'see Jesus'. They were foreigners, and had heard about Jesus and were curious to meet him…. but the reply they get is unexpected….. do you want to see Jesus??? well, unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains a single grain….but if it dies… it produces a rich harvest…
 
We are asking the same thing….. let us see Jesus…. and Jesus gives us a cryptic reply too….. if you want to see me…. I am to be found in the suffering…. in the broken….. in the act of self-sacrificing service…..in self-emptying love……
 
Also, why do some Greeks, (foreigners, Gentiles most likely), asking to see Jesus signal that the hour has come and that the Son of Man will be handed over and lifted up?  Probably because the message of Jesus has now reached the ears of foreigners and people outside of the Jewish community...   do, it is now inevitable that all nations have begun to hear of his message and that this kind of attention will most certainly lead to his arrest and crucifixion.  The hour has come.   

The opening prayer for this weekend is revealing.. it picks up on the theme of loving, sacrificing, service. today…
may we walk eagerly in that same charity (THAT SAME LOVE) with which, out of love for the world, your Son handed himself over to death.
 
WE ARE ASKING THE LORD TO Change our selfishness into self-giving. //
Help us, Lord,  to embrace the world you have given us, that we may transform the darkness of its pain into life and joy of Easter.
 
How difficult it can be to die to one's selfishness so that others might benefit..... to make the difficult step... to sacrifice oneself for one's own self-interests for the good of others... it can be the hardest thing in the world...... but it is the way of Christ.. the way of the Cross, but also the way of the fullness of life and grace...
 One of the greatest gifts that can be given to this tired world we live in…. if the gift of unselfishness…. or self-giving…… or generosity and love…. where so many others keep asking 'what's in it for me' what's it worth???
 
Our following of Jesus has a cost, but it is not suffering for the sake of suffering. Rather, it is suffering because of what we believe in. It is suffering because we are living the values of Jesus. Jesus gives us an example of how we can react when faced with the cost of our values: 'Father… should I say, save me from this hour….but no…. for this is why I came……'
 
To live a life of service, love, self-forgetting and self-giving; This is why Jesus came, and this is why we follow him.
 
In these dying days of Lent… let us ask God to kindle in us all a deeper charity, a deeper, unselfish love…… to live the values of "service, self-emptying and compassion no matter what the cost"…. knowing the cost… and trusting that Jesus went before us in this and all things….

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Homily:  Fr Peter Dillon: 
5th Sunday of Lent Year B 2021

Life begins in loss. In the act of birth we were pushed out from the warm womb of our mother, then dragged helplessly into the big world of watching adults. Disconnected from our mother, we screamed and protested as we were held upside down in the hands of a stranger who slapped us. Some welcome! Our new separateness was frightening. Even though we were returned to our mother, we inhabited a space that was different from her's. To gain a place in the new world, we first had to lose our place in the old one. The act of birth is inseparable from the pain of letting go. That was our first education.

When we think of loss we usually have in mind the loss of some loved one in death. But the experience of loss plays a larger part in our lives than we might think: we lose not only by someone's death but by leaving and being left, by letting go and moving on, by relinquishing our false dreams. Throughout our lives, we have to face a whole series of necessary losses, people and relationships and attachments we have to give up if we are to grow. Our gradual development is marked by renunciation, for it is only through losses that we learn to change and adapt and make new gains. No pain, no gain.

As we grow older we have to let go of our youthful good health, our perfect vision, our waistlines, our earnestness to save the world, our unreal expectations of others, our naive belief in the progress of the earth. The time comes when we have to let go of life itself, and that final act can be as painful a leave-taking as the act of birth. But in the midst of this litany of loss, there can be new growth and new life. As Jesus says in today's Gospel: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

The way of the cross Jesus' death is ahead of him. The hour has come. The pilgrims are arriving in Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, including some Greek converts who want to see Jesus. At this Passover feast, the sacrificial lamb will be Jesus himself. Now the time has come for Jesus when there is no more time. He must face the loss of freedom, the loss of friends, the loss of support, and the loss of his own life. Not surprisingly, all this loss troubles him.

The other three Gospels speak of Jesus' agony on the Mount of Olives, how Jesus anguished over his approaching death, hoping and praying that it might be the Father's will to avoid the violent consequences of the mission. In John's Gospel there is no agony scene. Jesus is troubled, but he rejects the temptation to ask the Father to save him from what is to come: "What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." In this portrayal, Jesus is aware that the pain and the loss cannot be avoided if the Father's name is to be glorified. There is going to be gain from the pain; there is going to be glory from the way of the cross. For Jesus to imagine that his suffering is avoidable is a false hope that has to be relinquished. The losing of his life is a necessary loss. The way of the cross, which appeared as a possibility at the beginning of the ministry, now presents itself as inevitable. The hour has come. His decision is to go through the humiliation and agony of the cross and be put to death. This, as John admits, does not mean that Jesus is untroubled about what is ahead. The pain will still be acute; the loss will still be crushing. But the Father's solidarity with his Son will keep Jesus going to the end. Only that gives a point to it all.

Jesus' loss is our gain. His radical act of self-forgetfulness stands at the centre of the Christian story. He is the grain of wheat that died in order to bear much fruit. That is why the cross has such a position of prominence wherever Christians gather. The great loss of Jesus' life — and the loss was great — has become in time the ground of our hope. It points us beyond the reality of suffering to the reality of Easter.

 In the midst of our own loss, however, it is difficult to imagine what good can emerge from the pain. Sometimes the pain can reduce us to silence so that we become dumb witnesses preoccupied with our own affliction. Few of us can see any point to pain at the time — often the pain is the fact that it all seems pointless. The Christian community needed time to make sense of the death of Jesus, they needed help to see that their immense loss was more than a terrible accident. We too need time and help. Only then can we look back, like the Gospel does, and cherish what good has been achieved.
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References:

Homily – Fr Peter Dillon
Prologue - Fr Paul W. Kelly

PREACHING TO THE CONVERTED. BY FR. RICHARD LEONARD.S.J.,
SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAY LITURGIES. YEAR B. FLOR MCCARTHY S.D.B.,  · SHARING THE WORD THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR. GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ}.
 
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. image:  photo ID:1901084980-  Jesus teaches from a boat on the sea of Galilee, in front of a large crowd- By Annalisa Jones }


Fifth Sunday of Lent. Year B.   (Sunday, March 21, 2021)  (EPISODE: 286 )
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
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{{Goodness and kindness  to you all}} welcome everyone, we gather -  To Pray, listen and reflect upon God and God's Kingdom.

As one family in Christ, let us prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries by calling to mind our sins. 
Lord Jesus, you have revealed yourself as the way to the Father: Lord, have mercy//You have poured out on your people the Spirit of truth: Christ, have mercy//You are the Good Shepherd, leading us to eternal 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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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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Ps 51: 3-4, 12-13, 14-15. "Create a clean heart in me, O God. "

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 12: 26). Glory to you, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ. If you serve me, follow me, says the Lord. And where I am, my servant will also be.
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PREFACE: Lent I  (Or Lazarus, which may still be suitable even when the gospel of raising Lazarus is not proclaimed this year)

EP III or Reco I

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{Thanks everyone, and have a grace-filled and compassion-filled week. }

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: 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).

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

Lenten Hymn: "Have Mercy"  inspired by Psalm 50(51). Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2020.

[ Production -  KER -  2021]

May God bless and keep you.
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The Solemnity of Saint Joseph - 19thMarch 2021 (EPISODE:285) weekday Solemnity

 The Solemnity of Saint Joseph -  19^th March 2021

(EPISODE:285)

Readings
2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16;
Psalm 88:2-5, 27, 29 R. "The son of David will live forever."
Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22;
Gospel Acclamation: (Ps 83:5). "Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! How happy they who dwell in your house, O Lord; continually they sing your praise! Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ!"
**Luke 2:41-51

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. ID: 1914790318 Saint Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus - By Marco Sete
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph -  19th March 2021 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-ep-285-feast-of-saint-joseph-2021-weekday-solemnity/s-BsxGg1A0aKx  
(EPISODE: 285)
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Saint Joseph  

(this is an updated homily below, which varies from the text featured in the podcast)-   

150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To mark the occasion, the Holy Father has proclaimed a "Year of Saint Joseph" from today, 8 December 2020, to 8 December 2021.

A beloved, tender, obedient father
Pope Francis has declared this year,  2021 to be the year of dedication to Saint Joseph, the stepfather of Our Lord….   And the patron saint of the universal church……

Because  of his role at "the crossroads between the Old and New Testament," St Joseph "has always been venerated as a father by the Christian people" (PC, 1).

His other wonderful qualities include….

Welcoming the will of God
At the same time, Joseph is "an accepting Father," because he "accepted Mary unconditionally" — and  also the one who, trusting in the Lord, accepts in his life even the events that he does not understand, "setting aside his own ideas" and reconciling himself with his own history.

For this reason, "he encourages us to accept and welcome others as they are, without exception, and to show special concern for the weak" (4).

A creatively courageous father, example of love

"the creative courage" of St. Joseph, which "emerges especially in the way we deal with difficulties." "The carpenter of Nazareth," explains the Pope, was able to turn a problem into a possibility by trusting in divine providence." He had to deal with "the concrete problems" his Family faced, problems faced by other families in the world, and especially those of migrants.

In this sense, St. Joseph is "the special patron of all those forced to leave their native lands because of war, hatred, persecution and poverty." As the guardian of Jesus and Mary, Joseph cannot "be other than the guardian of the Church," "Consequently, every poor, needy, suffering or dying person, every stranger, every prisoner, every infirm person is 'the child' whom Joseph continues to protect." From St Joseph, writes Pope Francis, "we must learn… to love the Church and the poor" (5).

A father who teaches the value, dignity and joy of work
"A carpenter who earned an honest living to provide for his family," St Joseph also teaches us "the value, the dignity and the joy of what it means to eat bread that is the fruit of one's own labour." Work, he says, "is a means of participating in the work of salvation, an opportunity to hasten the coming of the Kingdom, to develop our talents and abilities, and to put them at the service of society and fraternal communion." Those who work, he explains, "are cooperating with God himself, and in some way become creators of the world around us."

A father "in the shadows," centred on Mary and Jesus
Taking a cue from The Shadow of the Father — a book by Polish writer Jan Dobraczyński — Pope Francis describes Joseph's fatherhood of Jesus as "the earthly shadow of the heavenly Father."
"Fathers are not born, but made," says Pope Francis. "A man does not become a father simply by bringing a child into the world, but by taking up the responsibility to care for that child."
Joseph, says Pope Francis, "knew how to love with extraordinary freedom.  He never made himself the centre of things.  He did not think of himself, but focused instead on the lives of Mary and Jesus."
Happiness for Joseph involved a true gift of self:

A daily prayer to St Joseph… and a challenge
In his letter, Pope Francis notes how, "Every day, for over forty years, following Lauds [Morning Prayer]" he has "recited a prayer to Saint Joseph taken from a nineteenth-century French prayer book of the Congregation of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary."

This prayer, he says, expresses devotion and trust, and even poses a certain challenge to Saint Joseph," on account of its closing words: "My beloved father, all my trust is in you.  Let it not be said that I invoked you in vain, and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary, show me that your goodness is as great as your power."

At the conclusion of his Letter, he adds another prayer to St Joseph, which he encourages all of us to pray together:

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil.  Amen.

Source: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-12/pope-francis-proclaims-year-of-st-joseph.html  
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References:

Fr Paul W. Kelly

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-12/pope-francis-proclaims-year-of-st-joseph.html


Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. ID: 1914790318 Saint Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus - By Marco Sete


 
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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 our 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: 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.

- "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.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

[ Production -  KER -  2021]

May God bless and keep you.
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St Patrick, Bishop. 17March. Solemnity (This is a weekday Feast) (episode 284)

St Patrick, Bishop. 17 March. Solemnity
(This is a weekday Feast)  (episode 284)

ST PATRICK, bishop (Seasonal colour- white). Mass of the Solemnity.   Gloria, Creed, Preface of Holy Pastors.  (JB Lectionary, vol. 1, p. 979)

Readings:

Jeremiah 1:4-9;

Ps 116. R. "Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News."

Acts 13:46-49;

Gospel Acclamation. (Luke 4:18-19). "Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus Christ! The Lord sent me to bring Good News to the poor, and freedom to prisoners. Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus Christ!"

Luke 10:1-12,17-20

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed  stock illustration ID: 385542565 St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Vector illustration. By Thoom
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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Saint Patrick's Solemnity by clicking this link here https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-ep-284-feast-of-saint-patrick-2021/s-muiVygIpLbV    (EPISODE: 284)
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Today we commemorate Saint Patrick of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain around the end of the fourth century. He Died in Ireland about the middle of the fifth century. Faced hardship as a missionary bishop in Ireland, and opposition even from his friends and fellow Christians. Yet worked to unite and reconcile people, to evangelise, and to educate local chieftains and their families. Remembered for his simplicity and pastoral care, for his humble trust in God, and for his fearless preaching of the gospel to those who had enslaved him in his youth. Specially honoured in Australia because the many Irish people who came to settle here brought with them the faith and zeal of St Patrick. fittingly we now hear a hymn inspired by SAINT Patrick's prayer...  today I arise ....  and a happy feast day to my mum Patricia and all whose patron is St Patrick. Faith hope and love —-  
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Qualities:   
Listening - Empathy - Healing - Awareness – He was clearly aware of his own weaknesses and the culture of the Celtic Irish. Persuasion - His ability to convert strong leaders, Chieftains and Kings. Conceptualization – The use of the shamrock to articulate the Trinity. Foresight - The strategy he employed in charting his mission throughout Ireland, carefully choosing each step. Stewardship - He saw the future of Ireland and the care of its people as the core of his mission. Commitment to the growth of people - He trained clergy and so sustained and consolidated each location before moving on to the next.  Building community - The sites he used as Churches were at or near the seats of Chieftains and Kings, many were founded as monastic settlements and became population centres at a time when few existed.
 (taken from https://www.probuilder.com/blog/st-patrick-10-lessons-leadership) 
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Listening - The time he took to listen, talk and answer questions was a recurring theme.
Empathy - Based the trials of his own life his empathy was displayed when he encountered the trials of others. This was especially clear in his letter to Coroticus.
Healing - At the end of his Letter to Coroticus he offers the opportunity for them to repent, even after what they had done, the chance for healing.
Awareness – He was clearly aware of his own weaknesses and the culture of the Celtic Irish.
Persuasion - His ability to convert strong leaders, Chieftains and Kings.
Conceptualization – The use of the shamrock to articulate the Trinity.
Foresight - The strategy he employed in charting his mission throughout Ireland, carefully choosing each step.
Stewardship - He saw the future of Ireland and the care of its people as the core of his mission.
Commitment to the growth of people - He trained clergy and so sustained and consolidated each location before moving on to the next.
Building community - The sites he used as Churches were at or near the seats of Chieftains and Kings, many were founded as monastic settlements and became population centres at a time when few existed.
 (taken from https://www.probuilder.com/blog/st-patrick-10-lessons-leadership) 
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QUOTES:   

1.) "So I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God, and he looked down on my lowliness and had mercy on my youthful ignorance. He guarded me before I knew him, and before I came to wisdom and could distinguish between good and evil. He protected me and consoled me as a father does for his son." (Confessio, 2)
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2.) "This is how we can repay such blessings when our lives change and we come to know God, to praise and bear witness to his great wonders before every nation under heaven." (Confessio, 3)
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"This is the one we acknowledge and adore – one God in a Trinity of the sacred name." (Confessio, 4)

6.) "In the knowledge of this faith in the Trinity, and without letting the dangers prevent it, it is right to make known the gift of God and his eternal consolation. It is right to spread abroad the name of God faithfully and without fear, so that even after my death I may leave something of value to the many thousands of my brothers and sisters – the children whom I baptized in the Lord." (Confessio, 14)
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7.) "I didn't deserve at all that the Lord would grant such great grace, after hardships and troubles, after the captivity, and after so many years among that people. It was something which, when I was young, I never hoped for or even thought of." (Confessio, 15)
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 9.) "It was in the strength of God that I went – God who turned the direction of my life to good." (Confessio, 17)
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10.) "For that reason, I give thanks to the one who strengthened me in all things, so that he would not impede me in the course I had undertaken and from the works also which I had learned from Christ my Lord." (Confessio, 30)
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8.) "More and more the love of God increased, and my sense of awe before God." (Confessio, 16)
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15.) "So I want to give thanks to God without ceasing." (Confessio, 46)________
Before I was humiliated I was like a stone that lies in deep mud, and he who is mighty came and in his compassion raised me up and exalted me very high and placed me on the top of the wall.
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I am Patrick, a sinner, most uncultivated and least of all the faithful and despised in the eyes of many.
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if I did or showed forth anything however small according to God's good pleasure; let this be your conclusion and let it so be thought, that - as is the perfect truth - it was the gift of God.
________________
Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.
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The Lord discovered to me a sense of my unbelief that, though late, I should remember my transgressions and that I should be converted with my whole heart to the Lord my God.
________
I only seek in my old age to perfect that which I had not before thoroughly learned in my youth, because my sins were a hindrance to me.
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I plainly told them, 'Be ye sincerely converted, and with your whole heart, to the Lord our God, for nothing is impossible to Him, that He may today send you food on your road, even until you are satisfied, because He has everywhere abundance.' And, with God's help, it was so done: Behold! A herd of swine appeared on the road before our eyes.
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I have a Creator who knew all things, even before they were made - even me, his poor little child.
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I partly know why I have not led a perfect life like other believers. But I avow to my Lord, and I do not lie, that from the time when I first knew him, the love of God and the fear of him has grown in me from my youth so that I have, by the power of God, always till now kept the faith.
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Let who will scoff and revile - I will not remain silent; neither will I conceal the signs and wonders which have been shown to me by the Lord, who knew all things even before the time of this world, many years before, just as they happened.
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Sufficient for me is that honour which is not seen of men but is felt in the heart, as faithful is He who hath promised and who never lies.
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I have had the good fortune through my God that I should never abandon his people whom I have acquired in the extremities of the earth. 
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I most certainly believe that it is the gift of God that I am what I am. And so I dwell amongst barbarians, a proselyte and an exile, for the love of God.
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Believe Avarice is a deadly sin.
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I was freeborn according to the flesh; I am born of a father who was a decurion, (Roman cavalry officer in command of a squadron (turma)), but I sold my noble rank - I blush not to state it, nor am I sorry - for the profit of others. In short, I am a slave in Christ to a foreign nation for the unspeakable glory of the eternal life which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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It was not any grace in me, but God that put this earnest care into my heart, that I should be one of the hunters or fishers whom long ago God foreshowed would come in the last days.
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I see that already in this present world I am exalted above measure by the Lord. And I was not worthy nor such a one as that he should grant this to me since I know most surely that poverty and affliction become me better than delights and riches.
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I have vowed to my God to teach the heathen, though I am despised by some.
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 The Lord is greater than all: I have said enough.

(taken from https://epicpew.com/17-breathtaking-quotes-saint-patricks-confessio/  and https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/saint-patrick-quotes)

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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

(taken from https://epicpew.com/17-breathtaking-quotes-saint-patricks-confessio/  and https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/saint-patrick-quotes)

(taken from https://www.probuilder.com/blog/st-patrick-10-lessons-leadership   ) 

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed  stock illustration ID: 385542565 St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Vector illustration. By Thoom
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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. } 

"Today I Arise" - For Patricia 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. 

[ Production -  KER -  2021] 

May God bless and keep you. 
St Patrick, Bishop. 17 March. Solemnity  (EPISODE: 284)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{May Our Lord's empathy abide in you.}}

My brothers and sisters, we have gathered to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, - so let us pause and reflect upon our sins, so as to rejoice in Gods loving mercy.

Lord Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of God's kingdom: Lord, have mercy// You come in word and in sacrament to strengthen us and make us holy: Christ, have mercy//You will come again in glory with salvation for your people: Lord, have

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

Preface of Holy Pastors

Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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Pastors
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Go and Announce the Gospel of the Lord.

 

Fourth Sunday of Lent. Year B - Sunday, March 14, 2021 (EPISODE:283)

Fourth Sunday of Lent. Year B - Sunday, March 14, 2021

(EPISODE:283)

Readings for Fourth Sunday of Lent. Year B
FIRST READING: 2 Chr 36: 14-16, 19-23 (diff)
Ps 137: 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6. "Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you! "
SECOND READING: Eph 2: 4-10
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 3: 16). Glory and Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. God loved the world so much, he gave his only Son. That all who believe in him might have eternal life.
GOSPEL: John 3: 14-21

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. stock photo ID: 1191951055. hiding in the dark. By ozrimoz

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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Fourth Sunday of Lent. Year B - Sunday, March 14, 2021 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-ep-282-lent-4-b-2021/s-LwHNGU47WJF  
(EPISODE: 283)
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* (Prologue:  Fr Paul Kelly)
We are now at the three-quarter mark of Lent…..   our Lenten journey does not have long to go, before Holy Week is upon us……

So, during this week, it is a good time to take stock and see how we have been going in the area of  "Prayer, Penance and acts of kindness and works of loving and practical charity…."

The gospel this weekend gives us a very helpful test to assist us in our taking stock of ourselves… ……. "The daylight test"…. How do our actions, our behaviours, and our priorities stand up to the bright light of day; -  to the searching light of clarity…..  

To see how closely we are really adhering to the values of the gospel….   Just let us ask ourselves… how would it really appear, if my secret words, actions and behaviours were revealed in plain sight…  In other words, would we be peaceful if our words, actions and priorities ended up on the front page of the Gold Coast Bulletin this weekend? 

In the clear glare of the bright light of day…  would I be at peace with what I have done..?? 

As I said last week…   take a look at any difference between how we drive when people can recognize us, and how we might drive if we believe we are anonymous, in the dark…   unrecognized. or when no one seems to be looking… How do we act when no one can see us…? Are we consistent?  
I was visiting the hospital the other day, and I was parking my car and walking up to the hospital, humming a little tune.  I noticed a pedestrian just in front of me, walking quietly and calmly back to his car and getting into it..  perfectly sedately, but then I was surprised;  because as soon as he got into it. It is like he turned into something else… he reversed quickly…  revved the car loudly and sped out of the 40km carpark area at a really fast rate…   it is as if merely getting into that car turned him into a completely different (and a lot crazier) person….//   I could not believe the difference or the transformation!!  Is it possible that most of those revving, impatient, impulsive, aggressive, angry drivers we see on the road… get out of their cars and turn back from crazy Mr Hyde… into mild-mannered and friendly Dr Jekyll ??…  I think, sometimes YES. 

 

The thing about that is, even if being a crazy and impulsive driver is not who we are 99 % of the time; it is still, according to the scriptures today, a really important test of how integrated we are, as a whole person…    and those acts of craziness when we are not identified or fairly anonymous"  say more about the true state of our inner hearts and dispositions than we might care to admit.   But lent is a time for seeing admitting and submitting these contradictions, to our merciful, loving God.

 

It's the same in those situations where we all gather for a beautiful mass and we sing and we pray and we greet each other, as brothers and sisters in Christ….  And then we go back to our cars and the next minute we hear beeping and yelling and abuse…   whoops??  What's happened there…   peace be with you indeed!!   These are the contradictions we must lay before the Lord, and ask him to pour his healing love upon…  to make us more and more consistent and loving and compassionate inside and out…  in public and private..   a holy person is a whole person, who is consistent inside and out…   this is what Our Lord is calling us towards…  and we need his mercy and love to attain it. Slowly but surely.   

God invites us to be always and everywhere strive to be people of the light..  whose behaviour and choices are wrought in the light…  and not in the shadows of darkness, concealment or double-standards.

All we have to do is respond in faith, humility and trust to Jesus invitation… how we respond to Jesus is decisive… 
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Homily – Fr Peter Dillon.   4th Sunday Lent Year B 2021

 

T.S. Eliot in the third of his 'Four Quartets' writes, 'We had the experience but missed the meaning'. He was referring to the struggle we have to grasp the significance of what happens in life, particularly its important moments. He admits that even for the poet, whose task it is to be a wordsmith and elicit such meaning, 'words strain, crack, and sometimes break asunder under the burden'. Profound experiences leave us speechless, or reduced to banalities, or even frustrated and angry by our ineffective attempts to put such happenings into language.

 

 By the time John was writing his gospel, he was well aware of the difficulties which lay in the paths of early Christians in the following of Christ. The new communities faced persecution and misunderstanding from the outside. They also faced internal conflict as they came up with different interpretations of the story of Jesus and his message. John's response was to try to focus the eye of the believer on the person of Jesus as the unique cause of salvation, He tries to raise Jesus up so that we can see him clearly.

 

The initial image of the bronze serpent today comes from the Book of Exodus and from a story of healing. Moses erects a bronze serpent, and all who have been bitten by the plague of serpents may look on it and be healed. John relates this image to Jesus on the Cross. Once again the seeming source of destruction becomes the fount of healing and life. The difference is that we are asked to look on Jesus with the eyes of faith. John is well aware that his readers are no longer in the situation of the first disciples, who saw Jesus in the flesh. In John's vision of things, when we look at Jesus on the cross with the eyes of faith, we are not just healed, we receive the gift of eternal life. We enter into a different way of being, for Jesus brings us the life that is his with the Father.

 

If we refuse to believe, if we refuse to receive this gift, then we place ourselves outside the beam of his light, and our actions reflect this. The sun still shines, but we have placed ourselves in the darkness and behave accordingly. It is as though, because of the narrowness of our vision, we resist, and even reject, both the experience and the meaning. But John wants us to give ourselves up to the moment of vision and allow ourselves to see clearly - to have both the moment and the meaning.

 

Most of us have areas of concern that have not been brought fully into the vision of new life described by John. We have our doubts, our downtimes, broken relationships, misunderstandings, prejudices, blind spots. Sins. We sometimes feel that God does not want to know us because of such blocks on our part.

 

God's love, however, is not conditional. His love is always there. The question is how we bring our sins into the sphere of his influence so that they may be healed, resolved and transformed. Our sacramental life offers us the ever-flowing fount of Christ's love. We might even say that the sacraments make God's love too liberally available to us. We think it cannot be that easy, and so, resistant to change, we fail to allow the contact to be made between our brokenness and the healing brokenness of Christ on the Cross. It is the risk of faith that frees us to try out the alternative approach. Once we raise our eyes to Christ on the Cross, it is his magnetism that persuades us to hand over all that we hang on to of our evil and despair. It is the risk of faith we allow ourselves to be seduced by his love.

 

Emerging from the darkness into light does take some adjustment and brings with it a certain amount of risk and fear. Perhaps we would come into the light more readily if we believed the light we are entering is not the light of condemnation or judgment.  What we now know is that the purpose of Christ's light is to enlighten, not blind us. God wants to see us in the light, clearly and honestly, since "we are God's work of art, created in Christ to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live".

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References:

HOMILY – FR PETER DILLON 

PROLOGUE - Fr Paul W. Kelly

**Barclay, W. (1975). The Gospel of John. Part I. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press.

DeBona, G. (2014). Between the Ambo and the altar. Year B. 1st ed. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press.

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. stock photo ID: stock photo ID: 1191951055. hiding in the dark. By ozrimoz

Fourth Sunday of Lent. Year B  (Sunday, March 14, 2021)  (EPISODE: 283 )
The Lord be with you.
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{{Kindness and grace  to you all}} welcome everyone, we gather -  To take time to reflect upon the meaning of God's word for our everyday lives

Coming together as brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pause and reflect upon our sins, in order to celebrate the Holy Eucharist.
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 137: 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6. "Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you! "

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 3: 16). Glory and Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. God loved the world so much, he gave his only Son. That all who believe in him might have eternal life.

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Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PREFACE: Lent I

EP II   or reco

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{I pray this week brings you an ever-deeper experience of Our Lord's compassion and love}

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: 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).

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

Lenten Hymn: "Have Mercy"  inspired by Psalm 50(51). Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2020.

[ Production -  KER -  2021]

May God bless and keep you.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Third Sunday of Lent. Year B - Sunday, March 7, 2021 (EPISODE: 282)

Third Sunday of Lent. Year B - Sunday, March 7, 2021
(EPISODE: 282)

Readings for Third Sunday of Lent. Year B
FIRST READING: Exod 20: 1-17
Ps 19: 8, 9, 10, 11. "Lord, you have the words of everlasting life."
SECOND READING: 1 Cor 1: 22-25
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 3: 16). Glory and Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. God loved the world so much, he gave his only Son. That all who believe in him might have eternal life.
GOSPEL: John 2: 13-25

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. image: stock vector ID: 1212390121 Biblical vector. illustration series, Jesus cleanses the temple. By rudall30
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for The Third Sunday of Lent. Year B - Sunday, March 7, 2021, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-ep-282-lent-3b-2021/s-AAQ5VvwfEOk  
(EPISODE: 282)

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* (Prologue: Fr Paul Kelly)

The lines of the First reading, today set the scene for everything that follows. That first sentence is the key to the understanding of the ten commandments that follow.

God gives the Law to Moses saying, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery in Egypt." The "Words" from God that follow, which we know as the commandments are given to God's people in order to free them, to protect them and keep them in a good relationship with the Lord. (God is declaring to us that he is the God of liberation; God gives us this law to make us free).

God's law is not an onerous duty or a burden. it frees us to be everything we are created to be.

The Psalm sums it up so well: God's law is perfect. It is a real JOY. it gives wisdom. We are created not to be slaves, wearily doing the Lord's will as if it is a dreadful imposition and a burden. God's law is life and light. 

From the outset, God names two things that imprison and enslave us;
      - Putting other earthly things before God. and
      - Creating false idols, (making passing "things" into our 'god'),

These things lead to disaster. Our Lord wants to free us from this. Our Lord sets us on the path of God's ways being first and respecting and showing reverence to ourselves, our communities and our neighbours.

To truly understand the real meaning and purpose of the law, it can be very helpful to understand the lawmaker. and then one sees what the purpose of the law is. God is love, God has unfathomable depts. Of compassion. God is just, true and loving. To keep God's law is a delight; because it is created by our loving and compassionate God.

And Our Lord, Jesus, who embodied and perfected the law, shows us God's loving, compassionate heart.

This is why Jesus knew the purpose and meaning of the law and how to apply it in Spirit and Truth. And, it is why he occasionally seemed to bend the letter of the law, in order to keep the spirit and meaning of the Law. Only Christ (who is the Law and the compassion of God), could understand the meaning of the Law so well as to complete it.

A good symbol of this issue in a modern example would be on our roads, As you drive along the highway. how many people do you see who look like or act like the road laws are a delight; a pure joy to keep. How many do you see driving around filled with delight and peace as they observe faithfully the laws of the road?

As they cut in or tailgate or sail past others doing four times the signed limit.

Like many laws, rules or regulations: - we know that the laws of the land, are for the purpose of protecting safety, regulating competing rights and ensuring the protection of life, liberty and property. but, in this one example, I am mentioning, many seem to go through life flouting laws and treating them as a bore and a burden; a silly restriction on their "freedom," as they drive at excessive speeds, cut people off, turn and brake dangerously tailgate, abuse, and so on. Too many people seem to have taken this view on the road rules and so many other aspects of life as well.

"This law is silly and it limits me. It doesn't apply to me. I am above all that; so I ignore it." But if everyone flouted laws when they felt it was unimportant who would obey any? And what would become of it?

Too many find out by accident that they were not such a master of the situation that they believed. 

Actually, as I am sure most would agree; following the road rules can actually be a joy and a delight, because it frees us to be thoughtful and respectful to others and peaceful as we drive. Gone is the desperate effort to speed, rush, tail-gate and to rage over people who happen to be "in the way". The person who impatiently tailgates one car finally gets past them only to be pathetically stuck behind the next car. and all the while they never noticed that these cars aren't driving too slow; but rather, THEY keep getting stuck because they are going too fast!!!! Some people are slow learners. Especially when they get to their destination (not having saved any time), and with a speeding camera fine, coming in the mail. All riled up. and of course, it is always someone else's fault;

As necessary as human laws can be; God's law is so much better than this. It is true that, the more we understand the reason for laws and the purpose of a rule, the more likely we will be to follow it. Of course, as the second reading reminds us if God's ways are not like human ways, we have to obey God's wisdom even if we find it unusual. We can be more and more open to God's ways. and get deeper inside the heart of the one who makes the laws not to hold us back but for life, and life to the full.

The key to the gospel today is the first sentence too!!
            - "Just before the Jewish Passover. " -

There is nothing wrong with people coming into the temple and offering up goats or pigeons or spotless lambs in reparation for sin and for offering up one's prayer and dedication to God. In fact, it was the law of the time to do this. The temple was the house of God's presence amongst his people.

The money changers would have claimed that they were there to simply assist with the people's religious duties. There are major problems here, though. At one time, "living animals" were not permitted to be brought into the temple grounds for sale. But that had changed. The area of the temple that was supposed to be reserved for Gentiles to worship God was now a marketplace where no one could possibly hope to pray or worship amidst all the noise, and the rabble of haggling. Our Lord saw that the Gentiles were being treated with contempt, as well as everything else wrong with this scene. The fees charged for the temple services had also gotten out of hand, costing poor visitors three or more days wages to be able to perform their religious duty there The attitude with which the money changers were robotically, mechanically and business-like performing these operations was making a mockery of the sacredness of the action. This was a place of mystery and awe and not a place to turn into a circus with markets and cold-businesslike precision. It is also never meant to be a case of "put in a penny and out comes a blessing". So, Our Lord was restoring the proper awe and reverence to God.

And, since it was indeed "just before the Passover, we cannot help but notice that Jesus is the TRUE Passover lamb. He is doing away with the need for lambs, goats and pigeons. he will be the one offering once and for all the perfect sacrifice which will now be the means of forgiveness and grace and redemption. He is restoring in himself right worship and effective sacrifice in which businesslike marketplaces will not be needed.

Also, Jesus will BE THE NEW TEMPLE. Our Lord will be for us always, the presence of God and the abiding promise of God's presence amongst us always.

In and through Christ, church and the Eucharist.

Jesus, (who not only knows the lawmaker but us actually ONE WITH him), restores, completes and renews the ancient sacrifices and makes them effective by his own life, his teaching, his death and resurrection. And he warns us, just as he did the moneychangers, never take this for granted. Do not go through rituals with the mechanical presumption of a slot machine. Always, let us do this in awe and reverence for the saving law and sacrifice found in the temple that is the body of Christ.
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Homily: Fr Peter Dillon:

For the Jewish people, the Temple was the most sacred of places. The Temple is God among his people. The theme of the Temple is essentially that of Presence. "I shall be with you…." This was their unique relationship with God. He was their God and they were his people. God's desire to be with his people is central to all of the Scriptures. He was with them in their Exodus from Egypt. He showed them the way with a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. He was present to them in the Commandments, the Ark of the covenant and the Meeting Tent.

 

 Yes, God does want to be present to humanity, but we also have the need for localizing God in time and place. With King David and Solomon's construction of the Temple, the people of Israel found security in that Yahweh was with them. He had a place to reside among them.

But years passed and the Temple lost it's meaning as God's presence among his people. It was destroyed and the people exiled. But it was rebuilt again. And again it degenerated into a mere sign of guarantee and security. It had become now a place of business and God, through the prophets of old, had told his people to move away from the practices they had become accustomed to and to live his Word, his message of peace, integrity, holiness, justice, love. But society had moved to false worship, social injustice and insecurity.

 

Jesus witnesses what has happened to the Temple. Jesus is the new Temple of the Lord. He is the new Meeting Tent. He is the life of God among the people. And he shares that life, that presence with us. The question for us today is where do we see God's presence among us? Where is the Meeting Tent for us? Where is God's life among us? Jesus says that his Spirit lives among us and that our bodies become the Temple of the Spirit. We can meet God now in and through one another because the Spirit of God lives among us, lives within us.

Lent is a time for us to ponder how we live this presence of the Lord. How do I worship the Lord? Is it through Jesus, his teachings, his example, his commandments? How do I share with others God's life in me? Do others experience God's compassion, his love, his understanding in me and through my life's actions? Do others witness his forgiveness, his peace, his charity in me and through me? Or have I let the Temple of the Lord in me become a den of thieves and hawkers, profiteers and abusers? Have I moved to false worship; giving more of my self, time and resources to gods I create: money, status, power, control, work, sex and alcohol? Is there cleansing that is needed in me? Do I treat my body as a temple of God's spirit? Or do I abuse it by not taking care of my health, not respecting the parts of my body?

 

I need to ask also how I relate to others with and through this body. What do I need to do so that others experience God's life in me? Where do my children, my family, my friends, my co-workers see that God does live in me? How do I respect them, their dignity, their uniqueness? How do I demonstrate that I meet God through them? God has become flesh in Jesus and to love God is to love my neighbour.

 

Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to greet people in the traditional Indian style, her hands together as if in prayer. These hands are then extended in a gesture to those she would meet, and with a slight bow of the head this greeting said: "The divine in me greets the divine in you." Can others see that divine in me? Can I truly witness to others all that I have received from God so that they always receive from me, respect for their dignity as God's creation?

 

Jesus cleansed the Temple when he saw what it had become and to remind us all that it is through him, with him and in him that we meet the Father and to him give all honour and glory.

 

Let us look to the remainder of this Lent and clean whatever in us needs cleansing. Let us move into the next weeks of Lent acknowledging our need for the Messiah; for the one that is the way, the truth and the life. Let us worship him, his presence among us, by loving one another. Let us not allow our worship to become shallow, compromised or self-serving.

 

God makes his promise once again to his people, to you and to me: "I shall be with you." May we acknowledge always his presence with humility and gratitude. 

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References:
Homily – Fr Peter Dillon

 

Prologue- Fr Paul W. Kelly

D'ARCY, T., JOHNSTON, J. AND COPLEY, B. (2015). BREAK OPEN THE WORD. BRISBANE. QLD.: THE LITURGICAL COMMISSION/ LITURGY BRISBANE.

DEBONA, G. (2014). BETWEEN THE AMBO AND THE ALTAR. YEAR B. 1ST ED. COLLEGEVILLE, MINNESOTA: LITURGICAL PRESS.

JOHN J PILCH . THE CULTURAL WORLD OF JESUS/ THE APOSTLES/ THE PROPHETS SUNDAY BY SUNDAY, CYCLE B. COLLEGEVILLE, MINN. LITURGICAL PRESS .1996, 2002.

BARCLAY, W. (1975). THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. VOLUME I. 2ND ED. EDINBURGH: ST. ANDREW PRESS

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. image: stock vector ID: 1212390121 Biblical vector. illustration series, Jesus cleanses the temple. By rudall30

Third Sunday of Lent. Year B (Sunday, March 7, 2021) (EPISODE: 282 )
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
+++++++++++++
{{Peace and Patience to you all}} welcome everyone, we gather - To offer or praise, prayers and intercessions to our loving God

my brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins.
Lord Jesus, you call your people to turn away from sin: Lord, have mercy//You teach us wisdom, and write your truth in our inmost heart: Christ, have mercy//You forgive sins through the ministry of reconciliation: 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
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PREFACE: Lent II

EP III

(theme variation: 3 )

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{Thank you for giving generously of your time and prayer.}

Go forth, the Mass is ended.

++++++++
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: 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).

"Quiet Time." Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

Lenten Hymn: "Have Mercy" inspired by Psalm 50(51). Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2020.

[ Production - KER - 2021]

May God bless and keep you.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++