My Family Prayer Book

  October 1: Feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux       October 1st is the feast day of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, the patron saint of missionaries, priests and florists.       Thérèse died when she was only 24, after having lived but 10 years as a cloistered Carmelite nun. She never went on missions, never founded a religious order, nor performed great works. The only book of hers, published after her death, was a brief edited version of her journal called " Story of a Soul ." Yet, generations of Catholics have admired this young saint, calling her the "Little Flower" and the Church honoured her with the prestigious title of 'Doctor of the Church".       Like a soldier kitted for war, she was ready for battle: humility was her armour and love was her only weapon. She had a faith of truly mustard seed proportions (Matt. 17:20) enabling her to perf...

  Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary time  Opening prayer In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O Lord, our rock and redeemer, you have the words of eternal life. Grant us the wisdom to meditate on your words and take them to heart, so that your light may always guide our thoughts, words and actions. Open our eyes to see clearly your wonderful truths, and fill us with the Spirit of understanding, so that day and night we may rejoice as we ponder your sacred mysteries, for the praise and glory of your name. Amen. Mother Mary, full of grace, pray for us. Saint Joseph, faithful guardian of Our Lord Jesus, watch over us. Saint Jerome, Lover of Sacred Scripture, pray for us. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today we are on page 132 - 26th Sunday in ordinary times. Let us pause for a moment to pray for those who cannot be with us today. Jean, Mary Jane and others who are in Greece and Turkey on a pilgrimage ...

 Seventeenth Sunday in ordinary time   2 Kings 4:42-44 The “food from the first fruits” is a holy offering (Leviticus 23:20) brought on the last day of the harvest. According to the festival instructions, it is to be delivered to the priest who is to offer it before the LORD.  In 2 Kings 4, however, it is brought to the prophet Elisha who instructs that it be offered to the people who number in their hundreds, saying that it will not only be enough but there will be leftovers. The abundance is made possible by  God’s grace of a bountiful harvest. It was initiated by the generosity of an anonymous giver from the village of Baal-shalishah, the modern village of Kafr Thulth near present-day Lod about 15 miles SE of Tel Aviv.  It is shared with others because of the recipient’s (Isiah) generosity. All are included because an administrator is concerned about equity. Through this sharing the community becomes holy. The passage depicts the miracle of daily existence: h...

 Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Jeremiah 23:1-6 Jeremiah prophesied in the final years of the Kingdom of Judah, through the reign of the final king, Zedekiah. Shepherds are responsible for protecting and providing sustenance for their flocks, keeping peace within the flock, defending against attackers, searching for sheep that have gone astray, and rescuing those in danger. Yet the opening verse of Jeremiah 23 accuses the shepherds of destroying and scattering God’s sheep! Shepherds in Jeremiah 23:1, are the kings — specifically the kings of Judah. God’s anger is aroused by the “evil doings” of the descendants of good King Josiah (640-609 BCE) who “judged the cause of the poor and the needy”, unfortunately, ruled Judah for dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practising oppression and violence Shallum/Jehoahaz (ruled 3 months in 609 BCE) Jehoiakim (ruled for 11 years from 609-598 BCE) Jehoiachin (ruled 3 months in 597 BCE) Zedekiah (ruled for 10 years from 597-587 BCE...

   2024-Mar-31: Easter Sunday Acts 10:34-43 The book of Acts is an epic tale of how a small group of Jesus followers develops into “the church.” In a book that describes miracle after miracle and takes its readers on adventure after adventure, it is in these few verses that Peter declares the complete gospel. Jesus of Nazareth was anointed and chosen by God. He received the Holy Spirit and with its power he goes around doing good and healing those who were oppressed. He was put to death, dying on a tree. God raised him on the third day and he appeared to a chosen few. Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins. The good news or gospel is simple: it is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  But it is the context of this declaration that is important. Peter begins his homily by saying: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God.” If we read this declaration with...

  2024-Mar-24: Palm Sunday of the Passion of Our Lord Isaiah 50:4-7 Isaiah 50:4-9a is part of the third of four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah 40-55 (a section of the book commonly called Second Isaiah). We can see that the servant of God fits into a familiar pattern, as that of many messengers of God who suffer in their mission - they are given words to hearten the disheartened when their ears were open to hearing the voice of God but their message was not well received.  Instead they faced ridicule and abuse from the people. Through it all the messenger of God has to persist in his mission to the very end knowing that the hand of the Lord is with him, he has nothing to fear. Source: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/sunday-of-the-passion-palm-sunday/commentary-on-isaiah-504-9a-17 Philippians 2:6-11 The name Jesus, of course, is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “he saves.” Christ Jesus “emptied himself" means while both ...