Find the “pilgrim road” in your heart and set aside the separated time each week where life is transformed in every way — Give it as a gift to your family. Imagine how our understanding of God’s will would be transformed if we dedicated 1,248 hours a year to the task!
"Look to your covenant, O Lord, and forget not the life of your poor ones for ever: Arise, O God, and defend your cause; and forget not the cries of those who seek you." - Cf. Psalm 74: 20,19,22,23
God invites us to begin mass today considering our need for Him. How surely God responds most eloquently and magnificently in Holy Eucharist! Turning to God in prayer is essential. Our prayer need not be perfect. We know, indeed, that God does not need to be urged to help us. God does not disdain our urgent prayer, however.
The invitation today is to seek continued understanding of what it means to have God present among us and to continue in amazement and solemnity. We are solemn because we know we need God to help us in our quest for understanding.
"See, I have God for my help. The Lord sustains my soul. I will sacrifice to you with willing heart, And praise your name, O Lord, for it is good." - Cf. Psalm 54: 6,8
Today we are reminded that our relationship with God and our hope of heaven is the most important concern of our lives. All else pales in comparison with this and all else is in vain without the knowledge of the presence of God.
When we think of pilgrims and pilgrimages we think of travelling with a specific (often spiritual) purpose. It helps sometimes to get away and return to our routines with fresh awareness. Every mass can be a pilgrimage with our fellow pilgrims, right here at St Ann.
Special thanks to the Family Life Office in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas for publishing this newsletter. Enjoy reading the July 2022 issue.
All peoples, clap your hands,Cry to God with shouts of joy! (Cf. Psalm 47: 2) When we get an invitation that causes us to clap our hands and to shout with joy we can’t think of anything more wonderful! This is what is happening this Sunday the 13th Sunday in Ordinary time. There simply isn’t anything more wonderful.
He fed them with the finest wheat and satisfied them with honey from the Rock. {Cf. Ps 81: 17} Corpus Christi is another solemnity that was introduced into the calendar of the Latin Church in the Middle Ages – in the middle of the 13th century. Unlike on Trinity Sunday no new introit was created. Instead the Church used the introit from Pentecost Monday, and still does so in our time.
Today we celebrate a truth, a Catholic doctrine, that God is three persons, one God. Although it wasn’t until 1334 that Pope John XXII officially established the feast for universal observance in the Western Church, the mystery of the Holy Trinity has been the pulse of the Church’s life since the very beginning.
The Ascension of the Lord is – like Pentecost – the fulfillment of Jesus’ vocation for us. Heaven is open. There is a promise for our lives that shall never be taken back again. The New Covenant has begun!
Our invitation to this Sunday and its celebration is inspired by the words of the prophet Isaiah about the coming end of the Babylonian exile: Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea! With shouts of joy declare this, announce it; Make it known to the ends of the earth, say: “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob”.
Sing a new song to the Lord; for he has worked wonders: In the sight of the nations he has shown his deliverance, alleluia! {Psalm 98:1-2} Psalm 98, like Psalm 96, speaks of praise to God for His work of salvation. What is the new song? Can we imagine a new song?
Psalm 33 is a hymn in which all are invited to praise God, who by a mere word created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the waters, and the earth. What a contrast to what is so often wrought by human words!
Psalm 66, a thanksgiving psalm, summons the whole earth to “come and see” what God has done in an act of corporate praise. It acknowledges the unseen work of God during crises. The psalmist both honors God and thanks God for specific answers to prayer.
The animated camaraderie at St. Ann Parish here on April 7 made the parish hall gathering feel more like a family reunion. Click here to read the story.