July 29 2019 - Association Of Catholic Priests

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29 July. Saint Martha

There is a fine appraisal of Martha and Mary by Saint Augustine, in today’s Liturgy of the Hours…

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1 comments
Brendan Hoban: Gratuitous violence is at the heart of the ‘Banshees’
March 26 2023
Sean O’Conaill
The miniature donkey deserved an oscar - for patient self-sacrifice in the service of a miserable plot. No one could ever believe it had choked on Brendan Gleeson’s fingers, dedicated vegetarian that it obviously was. It was faking it, to bring the whole impossible enterprise to an end, so that the film crew could get out of the rain and into the pub. The Quiet Girl towered above that nonsense, attentive as it was to the deepest poignancies of family life in rural Ireland. Catherine Clinch, the wee girl who out-acted the big-budget actors of the ‘Banshees’, should at least have been awarded the recovered miniature donkey. They were obviously made for one another.
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3 comments
26 Mar 2023 – 5th Sunday of Lent, Year A
March 26 2023
Patricia Gamgort
A couple of comments on T Benedicta’s reflection: So often, Mary of Bethany is mistaken for Mary Magdalene. Yes, Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus, did anoint Jesus in preparation for his burial. Yes, seven demons were cast out of Mary Magdalene. Also, I think a little clarification as to why Jesus waited 4 days. In Jewish tradition in Jesus’ time, the body was not truly dead until the fourth day. The belief was that the spirit hovered around the body for three days. Lazarus was indeed dead, thus more credence for Jesus’ miracle.
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3 comments
Brendan Hoban: Ten reasons why Francis became my hero
March 17 2023
Soline Humbert
And WOMEN?... No mention of them... Happy Feast of the Annunciation and world day of prayer for women's ordination.
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3 comments
26 Mar 2023 – 5th Sunday of Lent, Year A
March 26 2023
Thara Benedicta
Key Message: The greater the waiting time, greater will be the miracle!! Homily: There are a good number of teachings in today's Gospel. Let us go over the scripture verses and analyse them: Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair: Mary was a repentant sinner. She was not a proven saint who had always pleased God. She was proof that our Lord Jesus loves sinners, not only saints. Jesus loves us too, irrespective of our sins. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”: The sisters prayed. They were confident that our Lord Jesus would come and cure Lazarus. They had witnessed many miracles from Jesus, and so they knew that curing the sick is part of a daily routine for our Lord Jesus. They were also confident of the love that Jesus had for their brother Lazarus. Yes, Jesus loved Lazarus, but that did not stop Lazarus from getting ill. Illness or any major suffering does not mean that God does not love us. But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”: When we suffer without a cause, it is for God's glory. In the garden of Gethsemane, our Lord Jesus prayed, "Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me". To see His only Son suffer on the cross was a huge cross for God our Father. It was a big suffering for God our Father too. God the Father would have cried seeing His Son Jesus suffer on the cross. How many times, our Father witnessed "Jesus is my beloved Son". How much would his heart have suffered to see His beloved Son hanging from three nails on the cross? Still God the Father would have to make such hard decisions for our good. ".......... he stayed two days longer in the place where he was": Our Lord Jesus gives us a tough teaching here. 1. Our Lord Jesus knew that Lazarus was sick. They are in need of Him. 2. The sisters prayed. Their only hope was Jesus. Their prayers reached Jesus. 3. Our Lord Jesus wanted to go and help them immediately, but He waited. Though Mary and Martha did all that could have been done, Lazarus still died. "Why did our Lord Jesus not come and help us on time?" was a bigger question for the sisters than the question, "In spite of following all that was taught by our Lord Jesus, why did our brother still die?" The sisters were thinking that they were waiting for Lord Jesus, but actually our Lord Jesus waited on purpose for them. Why does our Lord Jesus allow a waiting period? 1. For God's glory: When you complete the waiting period allowed by God, your life will tell a story of God's power and it will be the cause of resurrection for many lives. Our Lord Jesus waited till nothing short of a miracle could save Lazarus. There was a big crowd gathered to mourn for the death of Lazarus. The crowd which was there with Mary at home also came with her and witnessed the miracle. The Bible says "Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him". So their life was a testimony for many to believe in our Lord Jesus. I read about this true incident a long time back, I forget from where, but I am not able to forget this incident. A widowed mother had a young daughter who was well placed in her career. The daughter wanted to preach the Gospel throughout the world. One day before leaving the office, she called up her mother and informed that she was coming back home. When she went to the car garage, there she was raped and killed. The culprit was found and put in prison. The old mother was shaken and living her life all alone in great agony. She could not believe that while her daughter was longing to preach the Gospel, why such a thing happened to her. After a few years, a priest visited the mother and gave her a Bible. He said this Bible is for the culprit who murdered your daughter. Please bless and sign this Bible for him. Initially the mother got angry but later she got the Bible, signed it as "From your mother ... " When the priest gave the Bible to the culprit and explained who it was, he cried and cried. After his release the first person whom he visited was this mother. On looking at the face of the mother, he said, "If I had a mother like you, I would not have been the person whom I am now". He asked for forgiveness and they both preached the Gospel travelling around. The daughter preached the Gospel to more people through her life even after her death. God turned her ashes into beauty. 2. For moulding us: The Bible says that God led the Israelites in the wilderness since they were not ready for war. Though God was taking the Israelites to the land flowing with milk and honey, they had to fight and win over the existing occupants. The wilderness was their waiting period and it served as their training period too. After exiting the wilderness, they won every war under the leadership of Joshua. In our lives, sometimes we have to cross our wilderness too. Better taking the test and passing the first time rather than retaking the test again and again till we pass. If God is moulding us, then our time in the wilderness is directly impacted by how quickly we undergo the change that God is working in us. God does not change us all at once, but He works on each change little by little. And between every change, He gives a time gap too. Since we are spending our time mostly in undergoing changes, we should learn to be happy while we undergo the change too. We need to learn to be happy while we are waiting more than when we are getting. The way our good God trains us by allowing us to get through the problems, we need to allow our children also to get through their problems. If we keep solving their problems, when will they learn to solve on their own? Like God, we also need to be good trainers. “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?”: Our Lord Jesus teaches us not to back out when we face challenges in attaining our goals. One of the most important tools the enemy uses to keep us from any kind of progression in life is "fear". If there is a certainty in your task, do not step back. Keep moving slowly. From somewhere God will help us. Thomas said "Lets all go and die with him": God speaks and reveals His plans only to the concerned persons. So apart from him, others will not know of the big plans. They will not have faith or bigger visions. When God reveals to us the big mission we need to do, we cannot expect others to appreciate or encourage us. Since they are not hopeful, they will try to bring us down. We should not worry in such scenarios. The way Jesus ignored the comments of Thomas, we also need to ignore these comments and move on. Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”: Think big. Our Lord Jesus was happily sharing a big blessing, but Martha interpreted only a routine life out of it. Since God is Almighty, He would have prepared a big plan for us. But since we do not imagine such big plans for our lives, we do not take any step forward, when the opportunity knocks too. Jesus began to weep: Though our Lord Jesus knew that He was going to raise Lazarus, He was moved when He saw His beloved ones weeping. When we are weeping in sorrow, Our Lord Jesus and Mamma Mary also are weeping along with us. They are not able to bear to see us in tears. "And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I know that you always hear me": What a confident prayer! Our Lord Jesus prays with childlike confidence to His Father. And he always asks for great things. Though God has greater blessings we sometimes pray for greater blessings.
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