Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

We are now officially into Holy Week. We have entered the city and are rejoicing that our King has arrive. ***Spoiler Alert*** things take a different turn, but the Good News is that by the same time next Sunday we will be rejoicing again.

This Palm Sunday was a first for me, as a Deacon, as well as taking on the role of narrator for the reading of the Passion of our Lord. I must say that reading through the Passion within the celebration of Holy Mass, four times in a short amount of time, became a meditation. It was like entering into a Lectio Divina with hundreds of people looking at you.

It was a beautiful experience and I am looking forward to next year.

Wishing you all a blessed Holy Week.

Palm Sunday 2021

Put the PASSION … Back in EASTER

It started with these Ministry Cards and has now grown into something bigger … that will be unveiled next week just before Easter.
Working hard with the team at the Pastoral Centre here in Cornwall.

I am looking to offset the overall cost of the project, so it you are interested and able to help with a donation.

Please send me an email if you would like to donate or receive some Ministry Cards.

Peace,
DG

So how is Lent going to be different this year?

Like everyone else, I feel as though we have not stopped living Lent since March 2020, but we have. The liturgical year has carried on despite not being in step with the calendar year, or school & work year.
That is what makes it even more important that we are more intentional about Lent this year.
So if you have not really thought about entering into the Lenten season this year, take it to prayer this weekend, as we go into the last Sunday before Lent begins the Responsorial Psalm reflects on ‘Turning back to the Lord in our time of trouble, he fills us with the joy of salvation.’

Below I have added some resources from the Archdiocese of Toronto …

What are you presenting to people?…

Today the Church is celebrating ‘The Presentation of the Lord’ where Mary and Joseph arrive at the temple to present Jesus, check our Monseigneur Kevin’s homily from this morning’s mass on Facebook. “Kevin Maloney”

There is a tradition in the church (on Candlemas), that a candle light procession held, that symbolizes that like Mary and Joseph we are all called to ‘Be the light of Christ’ in the world. It is our duty to allow Christ to be so present in us that we radiant his light as we go about our days.
As Catholics we experience the Body & Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist, it is the summit of our Faith, and while it may be an intimate personal encounter, the impact and expression that the Eucharist has on us needs to be public.
So this feast day, 40 days after Christmas day, this is a good time to reflect on how you are presenting Christ, in your smile, with your family and with the people you connect with.

Are you presenting Christ with the same joy that was present on Christmas Day?

By our Baptism we are called to be presenters of Christ,
but even more, we are “Called to be Joyful Presenters of Christ”

What are you listening to…?

Most of us have had this experience, you are driving along, maybe trying to find a sign that will give you an indication of what direction that you need to go.
Typically if there are other people in the car you ask them to be quiet and you turn the radio off so you are able to better concentrate at the pressing task at hand.

It is important to reduce distractions so that we can better focus, that would be a good reason why libraries are typically a quiet zone.

We have a fear of silence … maybe we are nervous that we may hear something that will cause us to change direction or focus. So instead we keep a constant connection to our newsfeeds, notifications, music and phone calls so that we control that fear.

We are heading into the Lenten season so if we take the time now to listen so that we are going into Lent with the focus on God.

In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus say, ” Quiet, Come out of him.” … Jesus is looking to speak to our heart … he wants us to have peace. To do that we need to get rid of the noise.

Find a quiet place and for 10 minutes, close your eyes and focus on listening to your heart beat. That is how Jesus speaks to you …
That is what you need to listen to…

Faithful Fisherman (song)

All the way back in 1998, we were up in the snowy wonderland of Timmins, Ontario. During that time I was in Music Ministry and listening to Steve Bell, I kept playing his ‘story’ cassette, and was quite inspired by his ministry journey.
It seems that this may have been the beginning, maybe the initial spark of the Holy Spirit.

I decided to write this line in a notebook:
‘We must be like faithful fisherman, lay down our nets and follow you.’

It is also the inspiration for the ‘Fisherman’s Cross’ Logo

Over the next few years, it sat there in the book, waiting patiently. A few years later I became fascinated with songwriting and the flames of faith were burning a little brighter and I came up with more words, and put together some chords.
Finally I came up or maybe I was given the courage to show it to a friend. She helped make it more of a song, eventually some friends asked it they could record it for their CD.

This is the first song I wrote and that was recorded for a CD: (this is my own demo of the song)

Faithful Fisherman demo

Faithful Fisherman

Just another day, out on the open water
The days catch a week away
Time to pull the nets up
Row the boat ashore

Yesterday I met a Man from Galilee
Asked me what I was looking for
He set my mind a ease
But left me wanting more

We must be like faithful fisherman
Lay down our nets and follow you
Trust the one, who set my spirit free
I am free

I know the journey will be hard at times
But I know it will bring my joy
And the message that I heard
Was go and spread the word

The Call of the Disciples

Hello, Beloved child of God.

As we begin Ordinary Time this liturgical year, The Gospel for the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time we read John’s telling of Jesus calling the first disciples. On the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, we read Mark’s recount of the event.

From John’s telling, I have taken five important quotes that we can use to guide of journey of faith.

  • “Behold the Lamb of God!” – John the Baptist
  • “What are you looking for?” – Jesus the Christ
  • “Where are you staying?” – the disciples
  • “Come, and you will see!” – Jesus Christ
  • “We have found the Messiah!” – the disciples

The conversation between John the Baptist and his two disciples is not written down, we simply read the proclamation from John, ‘Behold the Lamb of God’ and the reaction from James and the other disciple.  

Now John had been speaking of the ‘one who is coming after me’, so through his teachings and example, these two disciples would have placed John as someone who could be trusted, respected and they could listen to.

In the words, ‘Behold the Lamb of God’ John transferred the trust, respect, & authority of his disciples from himself to Jesus.

James and the other disciple must have felt pretty good about following Jesus, embarking on this new journey.
 
It must have been like the times when we are asked to show up at a particular time & place, maybe we are given some hints on what to wear or bring but for the most part we are asked to trust whoever extended the invitation.

It really depends on who is asking for our trust. If it is a loved one or a close friend, your trust level is high, so you most probably depending on their tone and manner you will expect that whatever the outcome, it will be a pleasant surprise.
If it is a person of authority, like a police officer, teacher or boss, it really does not manner what their tone or manner is, your trust is a little less, and you become cautious in your expectation.
You being to prepare yourself for a less than positive surprise. 

How would you feel if Jesus asked you the question,
“What are you looking for?”
James would have heard the stories of Jesus and so would feel that he needed to respond by giving the answer Jesus wanted to hear.   

At this point in the Gospel, Jesus not a close friend, he is a teacher. So, like all students when asked a question under pressure, and they may not be sure of the answer they ask answer the question with another question.
“Where are you staying?”, not sure why they would have asked this, but it may be an attempt to find out what their future may hold. They just wanted to know more.

So Jesus’ reply, ‘Come and you will see’ was an invitation to trust him and John the Baptist as well, in a way it was Jesus reaching out and giving them what they were looking for Faith, Hope and Love.

Finally, we read the disciple’s reaction and excitement as they shared what they have experienced to their friends.
“We have found the Messiah!”, their realization would have been written all over their faces and in their actions.

They did not need to ‘shout it from the rooftops’ but they did because they wanted to make sure that everyone knew where the Joy came from.
They wanted to ensure that no one could assume that the reason for the hope was because of any other reason but because they have found the Messiah.  

Our Journey of Faith can be summarized in the quotes from John’s Gospel.
Take a moment, reflect on these in prayer, let the Holy Spirit guide your answers, guide your actions.

“Behold the Lamb of God!”
– Who is Jesus?

“What are you looking for?”
– What are the reasons to follow?   

“Where are you staying?”
– Where are you placing him in your life?

“Come, and you will see!”
 – When will you follow?

“We have found the Messiah!”
– Why are you waiting to tell people, Why do people need to hear?

   

Here I Am…

This Sunday always holds a special meaning when I look back on my own faith journey.
Back in 2005, this would have been the first Sunday that I would have led Music Ministry in our little parish in Pendleton, Our Lady of Divine Love.
This is where I met the group of people that were instrumental in forming my faith into what it is today; actually not only mine but also the faith of my family.

It was here that I encountered people from all walks of life and faith journeys, and through them I encountered Christ.
See that is what we forget, or maybe we overlook.
We get caught up in knowing and learning the facts about our faith and we forget to listen to the stories of the people in our parishes and how they encountered Christ.

No matter how much we learn about Christ, we cannot go back 2,000 years.
We need to be open to allowing Christ to be present in us,
so that we can present Christ to others,
this is how Christ is in the present.

My own Journey of Faith was reinitiated by this song, which was used as the Responsorial Psalm for today’s Mass, 15 years ago.