28 February 2010 – Second Sunday of Lent
Gospel : Luke 9 : 28 – 36 Year C He went up the mountain to pray ….. The mountain is a place of meeting with God, in the Bible. Moses climbed Sinai in order to receive the tablets of the Law, of the Covenant…. The Prophet Elijah when persecuted fled to Horeb, the mountain, to rediscover there, close to God, the strength and courage to continue his mission. Yes, there they are, these two great personalities of the first Covenant. They surround You, Lord Jesus; they were speaking to You; they were speaking of Your passing which would take place at Jerusalem. They come to encourage You to see through to the end what they had announced about You. Your “passing” to the Father is near. You will ascend to Him, as You have just climbed this mountain ….. like You will go up to Jerusalem…. You will ascend to the Father bringing with You the entire humanity. The ascent will be rough, more than that of Tabor; You will have to pass through death to arrive in the light of the resurrection…. The companions that You bring with You to-day will leave You on Your own then; they will again be overcome by sleep. For us also, the ascent is often more difficult, Lord. Increase our faith, our love. You invite us to follow You up the mountain of the Eucharistic celebration. There, You want to reveal Yourself to us like You did for the disciples on Tabor. His face was changed…. You allow Peter and his companions a little insight into Your divinity. You will strengthen their faith, prepare them to share Your trials …. Peter in the joy of seeing Your “glory”, would want to remain up there ….This is sometimes our temptation also! Let us hear the voice which says to us : This is My Son … listen to Him! Let us follow You faithfully, not only when everything is bright, but also in the night and the fog….. In our trials, the Father shows us the sure Guide: Listen to Him! Lord Jesus, so that I may listen to You, give me Your Spirit! Photo credit: H....
Read MoreSuper Raffle 2010
The Blessed Sacrament Chapel invites everyone to join this year’s Super Raffle. With a total prize fund of 100,000.00 Euro, there are four monthly draws starting in March, with 25 attractive and valuable prizes each month, ranging from cars and holidays to cash prizes. Our participation in this annual Raffle is a major source of funding for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, and we trust in your on-going support as we bring Christ’s Presence to the heart of the City of Dublin. For details, please contact the Blessed Sacrament...
Read MoreThank You
Thank you for your generous response to two recent weekend collections: Haiti – at weekend of 6/7 February, you contributed 1730 Euro for the relief of distress among Haiti earthquake victims. This money has been forwarded for inclusion in the Diocesan Fund for Haiti. Accord – last weekend you contributed 700 Euro to the annual collection for the Diocesan Agency for Marriage and the Family. Your generosity on both occasions is much appreciated. May God reward...
Read More21 February 2010 – First Sunday of Lent
Gospel : Luke 4 : 1 – 13 Year C Jesus was driven by the Spirit through the desert ….. The Spirit has shown visibly His Presence in You, at the moment of Your Baptism. You allow Yourself to be guided by Him in all things. He leads You into the desert, like Your ancestors on leaving Egypt. You come to share our journey towards the Promised Land, towards the Father’s house. The desert It is a dry place, barren, where nothing can attract our attention … It is also a place of trials. The Hebrew people had experienced this, but it is equally a place where Your Word can resound more intensely. The word “desert”, in Hebrew, returns us to “word”; it is the same root: God leads His people to the desert to talk to Him. Freed from the slavery of Egypt, alone in desert territory, the Hebrew people are free to hear the divine Word. There, they can experience that man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Deut. 8:3). But they have often lived this time of trial in the desert in a bad way. They didn’t always listen to the Word of God given by Moses …. so You have come to experience the desert for Yourself: For 40 days, He was tempted by the devil …. You resist him by referring to the Word of God. 40 days Every year, You invite us to rejoin You in the desert ….. in our consumerist society, which is so often a spiritual desert, we need to regularly come to a quiet place, near to You, to hear You in the solitude, to contemplate You, to restore our lives to harmony with the divine Word …. with You, Lord Jesus, Word of God, living Word. These 40 days of Lent are the image of our journey on earth, the image also of Your Presence with us all through our lives. Guided by Your Spirit, enlightened by Your Word and nourished by Your Bread, let us, like You, reject the tempter and follow You...
Read More14 February 2010 – Sixth Sunday
Gospel : Luke 6 : 17-26 Year C Jesus came down from the mountain and stopped on the plain … You have just spent the night on the mountain, in prayer, like Moses on Mount Sinai long ago. And like him, You come back down now to the plain to meet people, to convey to them the Father’s message. All humanity is there before You, represented by a crowd of people, who came from Judea and also from the pagan countries of Tyre and Sidon. If I want to be Your messenger for the world of to-day, I must imitate You, Lord. Firstly let me join You on the mountain, in prayer. It is not my ideas that I should convey, but Your Word, Your message. So I should listen to it on an on-going basis, be nourished by it, live by it …. You look at the crowd that surrounds You …. Through them, You see the people of the whole world. You came down from Your divine mountain to proclaim the Good News to them, the mostbeautiful richness : the love of God. What welcome will You receive? In the first place there are Your disciples who have already started to follow You. This sight gladdens Your heart and You let them share Your joy: Happy are you poor: the Kingdom of God is yours! Happy, because conscious of this poverty, you put your trust not in yourselves or in others, but in God alone. He is your refuge: the Kingdom of God is already your treasure. But You also see those who will not listen to You because they are engrossed in their worldly goods. So Your heart is saddened; You plead with them and You can’t stop Yourself saying to them: Alas for you rich: you are having your consolation now…. You don’t see the need for anything other than earthly goods, fleeting pleasures, worldly honour …. How sad to be satisfied with this when I bring you so much more! Free our hearts, Lord, from false riches. Open them to Your love, to Your...
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