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Day: March 20 2020

The Sacrament of Reconciliation in the current pandemic

March 20 2020 Blog

Note from the Apostolic Penitentiary on the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the current pandemic.

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08 Sept 2024 – 23rd Sunday (Year B)
September 8 2024
Thara Benedicta
Key Message: Can we resemble our Mamma Mary in our lives? Homily: Mamma Mary's Birthday: Testimony: I was suffering from gyno issues which had no remedy apart from the removal of my uterus. I was undergoing continuous pain and was not able to lead a normal life. Though the removal was a simple procedure, I was not able to undergo this procedure. So my only hope was Mother Mary. I was not even able to pray, because my pain did not allow me to think and pray. But I knew Mary was my mother and she would not allow me to continue suffering like this. One day when I was crying in my room, I heard Mother Mary telling me, "God will not allow anyone to suffer for long". Then I realised that my pain ceased and I was able to lead a normal life. I knew my Mother Mary was always pleading for me with her little Son in her hand. There are lots of testimonies attributed to the love and intercession of Mamma Mary in each one of our lives. Whenever Mamma Mary sees her loving Son, our Mother whispers our names to Him. Let us whisper "Mamma Mary" with joy!! The takeaway from the first reading: Testimony of a dad: We moved into a new apartment, far from our native place due to work. Our apartment was a corner apartment, where children used to play. But after we moved in, the apartment management told the parents of the kids that the newcomers who have come in have complained that the kids are disturbing them and asked them to stop playing near our apartment. Now the other families have started ignoring and also hating us, though we never complained. There are a couple of other issues also that people misinterpreted and started to avoid us. Few turn their faces as soon as they see us in front of them. Through no fault of ours, people are avoiding us. Though people reject us, we know that our Lord Jesus Christ loves us. He is our elder brother. He is our only source of strength and comfort. We believe that our Lord will show our innocence to everyone and make us be friends with everyone. We know that our redeemer lives. There is pain in the words of the father, but they are combined with hope. Our redeemer will certainly redeem this family from the state of rejection. The first reading tells us about the beautiful recompense that our God gives for all our suffering. We are not orphans not having anyone to talk to against the injustice done to us. God talks loudly without any usage of words. When we look back to each of our individual pasts, we will be able to analyse that God has recompensed us in a beautiful way for the injustice we have undergone too. We concentrate too much on the suffering we have endured, not focussing on God’s recompensation in some way or the other, hence we miss God’s part in it. God is looking both at the sufferings we endure and the sufferings we cause others. Jesus was taking care of the poor because they were undergoing injustice and was against the Pharisees because they were unjust. Let us be careful in all our thoughts, words, and deeds not to cause suffering to His children. God will happily work for us and through us. The takeaway from the second reading: Testimony after a school performance: The fairer kids were looking cute in their performance attire. I was feeling bad that I was not looking cute like them. With lots of inner longing I said to Jesus, "They are looking so cute." Immediately I heard an inner voice, "Colour stays only till the grave". There is no distinction based on richness, caste, creed, colour, educational or political status in front of God. He is the Father of everyone. God searches for a person who yearns for Him. He enjoys being with that person. Let us take a small example. I know about a working lady, who is a mother of a four-year-old, and runs to her house from the office at 2 pm sharp. I asked her why she did this every day. Her answer was, “My little one comes home searching for me, calling ‘Mamma, Mamma’. I do not want to miss that. So I want to be at home when he comes”. This is the same way God our Father will be waiting for us at home (in Church). He wants to listen to His little ones crying out, “Pappa” or “Daddy” or “Our Father”. His heart is yearning for it. The takeaway from Gospel reading: In today’s Gospel reading, we read about Jesus curing the deaf and the dumb. When people pleaded, Jesus cured. The heart of Jesus easily moves on hearing the pleas of His children. There is also a promise in the Bible to cater to all our requirements, even without us asking. Mathew 6:33: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. In the Bible, we see many proofs of this. The shepherd boy David “after God’s own heart” becomes a king. When taking care of the sheep, David the shepherd boy was well connected with God by singing His praises alone. King Solomon is blessed as the wisest person in the world after his praises to Almighty God!! Both King David and King Solomon focussed solely on God and were blessed by Him. Tips to implement the takeaways: 1. God’s initiatives to make us closer to Him: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have all come independently to walk with us, His children. God our loving Father came to walk with Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden. Then sin took us away from His presence and the Garden of Eden, God came down on earth as “our Loving Lord Jesus” and restored our relationship. As Jesus cannot be with us all at all times in human form, so God came down as the Holy Spirit and is living with us. God has made a beautiful plan to be with us, all the time. After creating humans, we see that God our Father longs for us to be in His Holy presence. Can we long for His presence and spend the first hour of our life daily at the feet of Jesus? 2. Waiting in prayer for our needs, especially for wayward children: We see that the disciples of Jesus were not closer to the standards of relationship with God, with respect to what Jesus had. When Jesus did His morning prayers, did He complain to God that “My disciples are not at all improving, no matter how much I explain them. They are still not learning well, even though I have been with them”? But He would have been confident that with His prayers, God would set them on track. All that Jesus had to do is to continue praying for them. (Which Jesus very well did, as quoted in the scriptures). When our children are not on the right track, all we need to do is to pray for them.) When Saint Monica was worried because of Saint Augustine’s sins, Saint Ambrose advised her “Speak less to Augustine about God and more to God about Augustine”. Saint Monica’s prayers, spiritually gave birth to “Saint Augustine”. 3. The better part that makes our day better: When Jesus went to Martha and Mary’s house, Martha was troubled about many things while Mary sat at the feet of our Lord Jesus listening to Him. Jesus was filled with satisfaction on Mary’s part of sitting at His feet and listening to Him like a little child. We should not allow our minds to wander like Martha (doing all the chores mentally). But we should try to focus only on Jesus like Mary (we can listen to Gospel songs or read prayer books and the Word of God if we are not able to concentrate). When we sit at the feet of our loving Lord Jesus, the longing heart of our Lord Jesus will get satisfied. He will say to us like He said to Mary, “You have chosen the better part!!” Jesus will make our day better by fighting all our battles. 4. Getting emotionally healed by Jesus: When we have our one-on-one with Jesus, we can share all our troubles, wants, etc. If yesterday’s wounds are burdening us when we wake up in the morning, we can share the pain we undergo with our dear Jesus. Sometimes our Lord Jesus will provide the clarity during the prayer time itself, sometimes we will be able to see that the problems are automatically getting solved or sometimes we will have to pass through the refiner’s fire. Then God’s grace will take us through it. 5. Mother Teresa’s tip to heal the world: Mother Teresa said, “The way you help heal the world is you start with your family”. In the current world, we see a huge insurgence of wounds caused by internal family feuds. Since there is less patience there is an increase in divorces. People expect their spouse to be perfect. The real issue is that there are no perfect beings in the world. When people switch their spouse for a better one, they are choosing a person from one type of imperfection to another type of imperfection. Prayers are more powerful than our words. If we point out the other’s mistakes, then it will enlarge them. We can pray to God to guide all of us and do the changes in our minds as needed. An elderly father's last words were, “My spouse made me suffer terribly, by shouting at me all my life.” It is too painful to hear isn't it. Can we watch our words before they come out? 6. All of us are God’s children: We may feel that we are insufficient anywhere in the world, but not in the place of worship, the house of God. We may find ourselves not having beautiful clothes to wear to any marriage or to any socialising function. We worry about what others will think about us. But we should enter the house of God confidently with boldness because we have come to church to enjoy God’s awesome presence. There is God waiting to see us. He is not willing to see the dress we wear but only a heart to worship. 7. Mamma Mary and Martha: Our Lord Jesus was not happy with Martha's cooking tasks but was happily enjoying food cooked by our Mamma Mary. What were the differences? Mamma Mary was not overly solicitious in cooking but Martha was. When cooking, Mamma Mary was talking with Lord Jesus and enjoying His Holy presence while Martha couldn't realise the importance of the hour. Mamma Mary did not have her parents (lost them when She was only three), did not have big degrees behind Her name, did not earn any money, did not have friends, was not very wealthy, was not influential, but Mamma Mary still completely fulfilled the plans our Almighty God had made for her. Nothing came easy for Her. She was suffering for most part of her life. Even when she carried her child Jesus in her womb, she knew that one day the child in her womb would be crucified on the cross. This knowing itself is carrying a big crucifix, isn't it? We know that our Mamma Mary will walk with us when we carry our crucifix. But what are the crucifixes carried by our Mamma Mary to save us? No one knows!!
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Letter from John J Shea, OSA, to Bishops of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
September 4 2024
Soline Humbert
A Synodal prayer : "Make us equals O Lord, but not yet". https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/ncr-voices/enough-already-it-time-ordain-women-diaconate And why stop with the diaconate? Because it's as much as a patriarchal hierarchical system can tolerate?
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2 comments
Sean Walsh: In The Wings
September 4 2024
Martin Hogan
A lovely memory shared of the future playwright lurking within the curious and amazed child.
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2 comments
Sean Walsh: In The Wings
September 4 2024
sean walsh
A small town in Ireland in the second half of the 40's... No mobiles, TV, videos, internet... rationing still in place... brown bread only... two, three cinemas known as picture houses... a first house at 7, a second at nine pm... a matinee or two at the weekend... So when the Fitups arrived some of us - including me - were fit to be tied!
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