Church guide

REFLECTION b Father Antonio Gospel – JN 17:20-28 Brothers and Sisters: Do we share the wish to be fully united here at St Jude? Unity is vital if we want to live our faith seriously. Basically, our unity is modelled upon that of the Holy Trinity. Jesus in turn will share with his disciples the glory given to him by the father before the world began, “so that your love for me may live in them, and I may live in them.” Why is unity so difficult to live in the church? There are many reasons: One is immaturity. When we are not mature enough to accept others as they are, and we destroy them with bad comments. Today, some people are becoming more violent and they want to destroy their opponent, rather than seek compromise and peace. Another reason is ideology and fanaticism. Unity is only possible when we love one another. Jesus urges his disciples of every generation to love one another. And love means to accept and treat others as God’s children and not to judge them. Let us be united here at St Jude by living in love.

REFLECTION by Father Antonio Gospel – JN 17:1-11A Jesus declares, in the Gospel today, that his work on earth is now complete and he prays: “Father give me glory at your side.” Also, Jesus prays for his disciples and for all who will join them in times to come. Jesus looks serenely to the future with trust in His father because He did everything He was supposed to do while he was on earth. Jesus did not predict exactly what lies ahead; he only prays that his followers remain faithful to him and to his teaching. Brothers and Sisters: we all have work to do while we are on this earth; we have all been given some share in the Lord’s own lifegiving work. Hopefully there will come a day when, like Jesus, we too can turn to God and say, “I have finished the work you gave me to do. Now, take me to yourself.” When we are doing things we are supposed to do, we have to live serenely. The Lord works with us. He is in our midst to help us, so that we may be faithful to the work he gives us. Even when we find it a struggle to pray, we can be sure that the Lord is praying within us.

REFLECTION by Father Antonio First Reading – ACTS 20: 28-38 Gospel – JN 17:18-19 Saint Paul, in the First Reading today, tells us about what the job of a priest and clergy is in general: Our job as clergy is to “keep watch over ourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed us overseers in which we tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood.” Paul offers both advice and example. His colleagues, it means the clergy, will remember his example of manual labor and of tirelessly preaching the Gospel. Conviction and Commitment have driven him on. Just as he worked to support himself and his companions, he urges the clergy to do the same. I, Father Antonio, think that we, the clergy should work like anybody else. The human mind starts being perverted when you don’t have so many things to do. Also, another benefit of this work is that we can help people weaker than ourselves. Church leaders are appointed to serve the people, not exploit them, and to build up the community. In the Gospel today, Jesus has guided his disciples and protected them. Now He prayed for them because He loved them. Praying for others has been at the heart of the church since the time of Jesus. Paul often mentions prayers for his churches, and he called on his people to pray for him. Both Jesus and Paul teach us to pray for one another.

REFLECTION by Father Antonio Seventh Sunday of Easter: June 2, 2019 Reading 1 – ACTS 1:1-11 Gospel – LK 24:46-53 Today’s readings are about prayer. Prayer is the most effective communication we have with God. The first reading shows St. Stephen praying as he was being stoned. “Lord Jesus receive my spirit.” “Lord do not hold this sin against them.” In the second reading from the Book of Revelation, Jesus is pictured as having all the forces of heaven and earth at His disposal, standing ready to help us in our daily lives. And in the Gospel, Jesus prays, first for Himself as He faces the cross, then for His disciples that they be unified and protected in the face of opposition from the world. And finally He prayed for those in distant lands and far-off ages, including ourselves, who enter the Christian faith through the apostles and those who spread the Good News to all nations. The theme for this Sunday is prayer. We need to pray for unity and serve one another in unity. Brothers and sisters: in the eyes of God, what unites us is greater than what divides us. Jesus asks us to pray for unity. And today, I would like to invite all of you, when you have difficulties and problems, to be part of the solution and not of the problem. Such unity is ultimately a gift of the Holy Spirit. The second message of the Holy Scripture today is that we have to pray in good times as well as in bad. St. Stephen is the role model to pray when we face difficult moments. Let us pray to Our Blessed Mother, Mary, in advocacy as the Miraculous Medal, to pray for us now and at the hour of our death, Amen. I would like to end my homily today on a light note. A Catholic priest tells the story about receiving a call from a woman who was quite upset over the death of her cat, Homer. She wanted the priest to conduct the funeral service for Homer in her backyard. Imagine that?? The priest explained that this was a little out of his line, and he referred her to a friend, a Presbyterian pastor at a church down the street. Later, the priest learned that his Presbyterian friend had referred her to a Methodist minister who had referred her to a Lutheran minister. About an hour later, the woman called her Catholic pastor back and she was still upset. She said she was at her wit’s end. She couldn’t find a pastor to conduct Homer’s funeral services and didn’t know what to do. Then she said that she was planning to give $1,000 to the minister who performed this service for Homer. The pastor said it took him only a moment to mull this over and then say to her, “Well, why didn’t you tell me that Homer was a Catholic cat in the first place!” —Fr. Antonio

Happy Labor Day! The Contemporary Choir sings at the 12:00 pm Mass on Sunday, September 6, 2015.