|
Dear friends,
Happy and Holy Easter to everybody. We all thank Our Lord for the beautiful Easter Liturgies and especially all the generous people from our two parish secretaries, Collette and Lisa, to our generous Parish Council members and the wonderful sacristans, altar servers, musicians, all the readers and all who helped in the preparations. Joy is the gift of Easter. It is a spiritual gift that we receive from the Holy Spirit. Even in the midst of sorrow, joy cannot be extinguished. The joy of St Thomas seeing and touching Our Lord, made him exclaim as we do at every mass, My Lord and My God. The fact is Jesus appears to us at every Mass. He touches us and becomes one with us in the Word and the Bread and Wine, His body and blood. Jesus truly exists. He is one of us. His blood destroys our fears. He understands our doubts and He sees and knows all our difficulties. We are not alone. His mercy and compassion can pass through any barrier. His peace offers us real hope. We are challenged to overcome our fears. As Jesus says “Do not be afraid.” Whatever we are going through, Jesus understands. He wants us to realise that nothing can happen to us that He does not know about beforehand. Grace follows suffering. Joy is the gift of God’s presence, always with us. Let us take the courage to give a helping hand to those who are afraid and realise it is the same Jesus we touch in our brothers and sisters. His gift to us it his joy and peace. God love you Fr Frank
0 Comments
Dear friends
Happy and Holy Easter to all of you. Especially at this time of Easter we keep in mind, in prayer and active charity, all those in our families and parish who have suffered the loss of loved ones. This season is the time of hope. We place all our desires and Hope in Jesus, Risen from the dead. Life is changed, not ended when we die. Dying, as Christ did for you and me, is His surrender to love. Jesus teaches us about the importance of patience and trust in God our Father, who will always shine through the darkness of suffering and by His light, Jesus, create new life and a new beginning. There is no obstacle that prayer cannot overcome. The stone in front of the tomb has been rolled away. So too, all forms of sufferings united with Christ, will roll away to transform us into an enlightened person of grace. Grace always follows suffering. In fact, the longer we live, the easier it is to understand the words of Therese de Lisieux “All is grace”. Whatever happens to us is known beforehand by God our Father. We can be assured that He is waiting for us, to embrace us and affectionately pick us up when we fall. “Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ”. The kingdom of God is within us, every morning “He awakens my ear” so that I may hear His voice. “Today you will be with me in Paradise”. We joyfully welcome our RCIA Candidate, Kerry Daley, to our Easter celebrations. Please pray for Kerry as she progresses on her journey. In conclusion, Jesus has given us a taste of heaven, in every person, in every communion. Our response is to live our lives in joy, never missing an opportunity to help another in need and being grateful for our families and parish. God love you Fr Frank Dear friends Holy week has begun. Our Lord comes to us in procession with palms, hailing Him as “Blessed is He, who comes in the name of the Lord”. However amidst all the fanfare given to Jesus, we hear the sadness of Our Lord’s Passion. So many surrounding Him on every side, taking up arms against Him, and insulting him. Jesus is assaulted by so many who wish to tear Him to pieces. How fickle is the praise given to Him as he enters Jerusalem for within the week He hears the cruel words “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”. Jesus is alone in the middle of a horde that hemmed Him in on every side. They were armed with spears and swords, daggers and vile weapons of torture. Alone, without anyone to take His part. In His distress, He lifted up His eyes to heaven “Father, why have you abandoned me”. Amidst a multitude of hate stand Mary His Mother, Mary of Magdala and John. They hold out their hands to Him in prayer and their hearts with love. These three give the Lord Jesus the courage to faces His passion. Their love protects Him from dying alone. They hear and feel His pain and sorrow. The Passion of Jesus humbles us all. He died for me. He suffered all this for me. How can I respond? We remember that no one can be relied upon, other than God. In all our trials, Our Lord will always send someone to help me. Surrounded by evil or the assault of people against me. I too will find myself surrounded on every side, so that I can do nothing else but lift up my eyes to heaven and cry out to God. Remember the words of Jesus as He died on the cross “Here is your mother.” “Father forgive them.” “This day you will be with me in Paradise.” Let us attach ourselves to Jesus, the most surest of friends, the most loyal. God love you Fr Frank Holy Week
Dear friends
This weekend in our two parishes, the 40 hours of Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Manly. I am very grateful for the generous offering of so many parishioners to sacrifice their time to keep watch and spend “one hour with me” as Our Lord pleaded in Gethsemane. I know that Jesus will bless us with the grace which flows from this generous love towards God. God love you Fr Frank My Day Begins “Learn from me,” Jesus said, “for I am meek and humble of heart.” “Learn from me,” he was saying, “to be patient and gentle with your neighbour, and humble before my Father.” “Learn from me,” he was saying, “to be patient and gentle with everyone, but especially with yourself.” Don’t be anxious to condemn yourself every time you fall. Instead, patiently, gently, pick yourself up and start all over again. There is no better way to grow toward perfection than to be willing- and patient enough- to start over again and again. To follow this simple advice is to discover the secret of a truly devout life. God will give you an inward peace and all the patience you need, but you must sincerely ask him for it. And you must put it to work day by day. Use every opportunity to perform acts of patient gentleness, no matter how small they may seem at the time,’for our Lord has promised: “To the person who is faithful in little things, greater ones will be given.” |
Categories |
RSS Feed