This week's Mass: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Thought for the Week
‘Repent and believe the Good News’, that is the call with which Jesus began his ministry and that is the key to our faith in Jesus, that we repent and believe in the Good News, the wonderful message that he proclaimed. The two go hand in hand, repentance and belief, one’s no use without the other.
So, we repent, we change our hearts, we turn to God acknowledging we are sinners and make a new start. We can’t do that in the right way though unless we believe the Good News, believe that God loves us, that he forgives us and that he has in heaven a place for us with him.
Some may feel they have nothing to repent of but that isn’t the case for we are sinners by nature. I was struck by a line in a hymn in the Breviary, our daily prayer book, the other day, ‘Because my body craves to sin’. How true I thought, that’s certainly my experience, but because of that we recognise our need for God, we can’t get by without him. We can’t save ourselves by our own efforts, we need a Saviour. We’ve had this world thousands of years, we’ve advanced greatly in science and technology and yet we are still making a mess of it, still hurting each other, still wreaking havoc, for all the progress we have made.
However, there’s no cause for despair, no reason to give up, whatever the disasters human sin brings, for we have a Saviour, Jesus Christ. He’s showed us how to make this world a better place when he lived among us, by love, forgiveness and sacrifice but much more than that he also showed us that this world is only a passing phase, there’s an eternity of love and joy to look forward to with him.
We need to keep this world in perspective, as St Paul said in our second reading, ‘don’t become engrossed in it… the world as we know it is passing away’. No one can argue with that, one day this world as we know it will be gone and us with it. However, as we are reminded in the final words of the Nicene creed, ‘I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come’. We’ve much to look forward to, don’t forget that. The free gift of salvation is offered to all through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
‘Repent and believe the Good News’, that is the call with which Jesus began his ministry and that is the key to our faith in Jesus, that we repent and believe in the Good News, the wonderful message that he proclaimed. The two go hand in hand, repentance and belief, one’s no use without the other.
So, we repent, we change our hearts, we turn to God acknowledging we are sinners and make a new start. We can’t do that in the right way though unless we believe the Good News, believe that God loves us, that he forgives us and that he has in heaven a place for us with him.
Some may feel they have nothing to repent of but that isn’t the case for we are sinners by nature. I was struck by a line in a hymn in the Breviary, our daily prayer book, the other day, ‘Because my body craves to sin’. How true I thought, that’s certainly my experience, but because of that we recognise our need for God, we can’t get by without him. We can’t save ourselves by our own efforts, we need a Saviour. We’ve had this world thousands of years, we’ve advanced greatly in science and technology and yet we are still making a mess of it, still hurting each other, still wreaking havoc, for all the progress we have made.
However, there’s no cause for despair, no reason to give up, whatever the disasters human sin brings, for we have a Saviour, Jesus Christ. He’s showed us how to make this world a better place when he lived among us, by love, forgiveness and sacrifice but much more than that he also showed us that this world is only a passing phase, there’s an eternity of love and joy to look forward to with him.
We need to keep this world in perspective, as St Paul said in our second reading, ‘don’t become engrossed in it… the world as we know it is passing away’. No one can argue with that, one day this world as we know it will be gone and us with it. However, as we are reminded in the final words of the Nicene creed, ‘I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come’. We’ve much to look forward to, don’t forget that. The free gift of salvation is offered to all through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
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This week's newsletter and Mass Sheets (click on the small images at the side to view the next page)
The Order of the Mass
In a new series of videos, Father Michael explains more about the Order of the Mass, covering the Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist and Concluding Rites.
In a new series of videos, Father Michael explains more about the Order of the Mass, covering the Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist and Concluding Rites.
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To watch other videos about St Catherine's please see our Parish YouTube channel