Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
This week's Mass
|
|
This week's newsletter and Mass Sheets (click on the small images at the side to view the next page)
Thought for the week from Father John
A nice short Gospel today but within it is the essence of our faith – Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbour as yourself. Familiar words, words worth pondering and reflecting upon. We’re called to love God, but what exactly do we mean by love. Love is a word much used but not always understood. Jesus says we must love God with all our heart, soul and mind, in other words we must give of ourselves, give from our depths when we love. True love brings blessings, but it also costs. When you make a commitment to marry, you gain but you also have to let go of things, you limit yourself.
God limits himself by giving us free will, he respects our freedom, even our freedom to sin. Freedom is an essential aspect of love, you must respect the other’s freedom, when possessiveness comes in it is no longer love. There’s always a balance to be struck, neither expect to much or too little. In our frail humanity we get it wrong at times but then another essential aspect of love comes in – forgiveness and sorrow – no relationship can survive without them.
Loving God is integral with loving our neighbour, we show our love for God in our love for our neighbour. Loving our neighbour can be a real challenge for our neighbour can be obnoxious and difficult. However, we need to remember that loving is not the same as liking. We can’t like everyone, it’s not humanly possible, but we can love everyone, for to love is to want the best for them, which will sometimes mean challenging them or even stopping them doing certain things, that applies particularly with children.
I’ve been aware of the difference between loving and liking for some time. I once preached about it as a deacon and I remember a mother telling me that one of her daughters turned to one of her sons and said, ‘That’s like you and me, I can’t stand you, but I love you.’ How do you show your love for someone you can’t stand? Something to think about.
A nice short Gospel today but within it is the essence of our faith – Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbour as yourself. Familiar words, words worth pondering and reflecting upon. We’re called to love God, but what exactly do we mean by love. Love is a word much used but not always understood. Jesus says we must love God with all our heart, soul and mind, in other words we must give of ourselves, give from our depths when we love. True love brings blessings, but it also costs. When you make a commitment to marry, you gain but you also have to let go of things, you limit yourself.
God limits himself by giving us free will, he respects our freedom, even our freedom to sin. Freedom is an essential aspect of love, you must respect the other’s freedom, when possessiveness comes in it is no longer love. There’s always a balance to be struck, neither expect to much or too little. In our frail humanity we get it wrong at times but then another essential aspect of love comes in – forgiveness and sorrow – no relationship can survive without them.
Loving God is integral with loving our neighbour, we show our love for God in our love for our neighbour. Loving our neighbour can be a real challenge for our neighbour can be obnoxious and difficult. However, we need to remember that loving is not the same as liking. We can’t like everyone, it’s not humanly possible, but we can love everyone, for to love is to want the best for them, which will sometimes mean challenging them or even stopping them doing certain things, that applies particularly with children.
I’ve been aware of the difference between loving and liking for some time. I once preached about it as a deacon and I remember a mother telling me that one of her daughters turned to one of her sons and said, ‘That’s like you and me, I can’t stand you, but I love you.’ How do you show your love for someone you can’t stand? Something to think about.
|
|
Watch this video about celebrating public Masses in the current restricted circumstances.
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Videos to watch (see also our Parish YouTube channel):
|
|
|