24 Feb 2024 – Saturday of Week 1 of Lent (1) Deuteronomy 26:16-19 Walking in the way of the Lord This very day the Lord your God is commanding you to observe these statutes and ordinances; so observe them diligently with all your heart and with all your soul. Today you have obtained the Lord’s…
23 Feb 2024 – Friday of Week 1 of Lent Optional Memorial: St Polycarp, bishop (Smyrna-Izmir in modern Turkey) and martyr, born c 69, disciple of St John, martyred in 155 (1) Ezekiel 18:21-28 Personal responsibility to replace the idea of shared guilt But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they…
22 Feb 2024 – Chair of St Peter the Apostle 1st Reading: 1 Pet 5:1-4 Peter’s advice to his fellow Church leaders: feed God’s flock with loving respect Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort…
21 Feb 2024 – Wednesday of Week 1 of Lent Optional Memorial: St Peter Damian, 1007-72, a hermit, later Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, a church reformer. (1) Jonah 3:1-10 When Jonah’s preaching bears fruit, God has mercy on Nineveh The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to…
Presider’s Page for 25 February (Second Sunday of Lent) As we continue to celebrate Lent, we keep the goal of our journey before us. The gospel of the transfiguration is read on this lenten Sunday each year, to remind us to hold firm to a vision of glory, on dark days. Easter and its joy…
20 Feb 2024 – Tuesday of Week 1 of Lent (1) Isaiah 55:10-11 God’s word comes down from heaven like rain, to make the earth fruitful For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving…
19 Feb 2024 – Monday of Week 1 of Lent (1) Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 Practical guidance for worship and for social compassion The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. You…
18 Feb 2024 – Lent, 1st Sunday, Year B (1) Genesis 9:8-15 The rainbow as the sign of God’s covenant with mankind Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is…
17 Feb 2024 – Sat after Ash Wednesday (1) Isaiah 58:9-14 If they are converted, they are blessed, with waters that never fail Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.” If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of…
16 Feb 2024 – Fri after Ash Wednesday (1) Isaiah 58:1-9 True religion differs from merely external observance Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know…
Presider’s Page for 18 February (First Sunday of Lent) Today we celebrate the first Sunday of Lent. All over the world today, children and adults alike are beginning their preparation for baptism at the Easter Vigil. Like them, we begin our own preparations, looking forward to renewing our baptismal vows and being blessed with Easter…
15 Feb 2024 – Thurs after Ash Wednesday (1) Deuteronomy 30:15-20 A warm call to fidelity. Choose life, that you and your offspring may live! Keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and…
14 Feb 2024 – Ash Wednesday (1) Joel 2:12-18 Return to me with all your heart. Spare your people, Lord “Now, now,” says the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord, your God, for he…
13 Feb 2024 – Tuesday of Week 6 1st Reading: James 1:12-18 God tempts no one, but is the giver of every good gift Blessed is the one who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him….
12 Feb 2024 – Monday of Week 6 1st Reading: James 1:1-11 The testing of your faith produces endurance My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that…
11 Feb 2024 – 6th Sunday (Year B) (1) Leviticus (13:1-2, 44-46 Lepers had to live apart. Only if a priest pronounced a leper cured could he or she come back into normal life The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: “When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or…
10 Feb 2024 – Saturday of Week 5 Memorial: St Scholastica, died c 543, sister of St Benedict. Patron of convulsive children. 1st Reading: 1 Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34 Jeroboam, the rebel king of the north, provides his own sanctuaries and priests Jeroboam said to himself, “Now the kingdom may well revert to the house of…
09 Feb 2024 – Friday of Week 5 1st Reading: 1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19 The prophet Ahijah announces the breakup of David’s kingdom When Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Ahijah had clothed himself with a new garment. The two of them were alone in the open…
08 Feb 2024 – Thursday of Week 5 International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking. Optional Memorials: St Jerome Emiliani, d 1537, founder of The Clerks Regular of Somaschi for the care of orphans and the poor. Patron saint of orphans. St Josephine Bakhita, 1868-1947, native of Sudan, reared a slave in Italy,…
Presider’s Page for 11 February (Ordinary Time 6 / World Day of the Sick) ‘Whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God.’ The words are St Paul’s, from today’s second reading. We gather here to give glory to God, praying for the sick, marking the Day of Prayer for Temperance and…
