Parish Articles

Author: Jessica

Advent Joy

By Marcea Paul [RCL] Zephaniah 3:14-20; Canticle 9; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18 The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday. “Gaudete,”when translated from Latin, means “rejoice”. We know that Advent is a season of waiting and today we are called to be joyful as we await the coming

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A Crisis of Identity (John 1:6-8, 19-28)

From: St. Peter’s Church John 1:6-8, 19-28 Who are you? In a culture obsessed with self-actualisation, we feel the constant pressure to ask ourselves who we are and how we define ourselves. We’re pressured to identify ourselves by our jobs, financial status, successes, family, sexual orientation, gender, appearance, what other

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First Week of Advent

Advent is the Catholic liturgical season of preparation leading up to Christmas Day. The word advent is derived from the Latin word adventus, which means coming. During Advent we anticipate the coming of Jesus as a baby. It’s a penitential time full of reflection, excitement, and hope as we prepare to celebrate his birth. Advent officially begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on December 24. It marks the beginning of the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar year. This year Advent begins on Sunday, December 3, 2023. Christmas Eve is the Fourth Sunday of Advent, with Christmas falling on a Monday. Four weeks isn’t long, but that still leaves plenty of time to spend some quiet time preparing for Jesus’ coming.

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O Come, O Come, Emmanuel — A Brief History

During the season of Advent, we prepare for the coming of Christ, incarnated as a human baby. Advent is a penitential season, filled with prayer and subdued liturgy and music. One of the best loved Advent hymns is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. Its text connects the Old Testament prophesy of

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Prepare for Christmas -Mark 1:1-8

Introduction Today is December 4th. Only short while until to Christmas. Are you ready for Christmas? We are busy preparing for Christmas. Putting decorations, setting up the Christmas tree, buying gifts for each other… The church is busy preparing for Christmas. Decorations, Choirs practices, Christmas parties, outreach potlucks… Busy! Busy!

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Giving That Pleases the Lord (Luke 21:1-4)

by Steven J. Cole Back in the 1980’s, Lee Iacocca chaired the fund-raising effort to refurbish the Statue of Liberty. He told about some of the unusual gifts and givers (Newsweek [7/7/86], pp. 18-19). One woman in her eighties sent a letter and check for $10,000. She added a P.S. asking for

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Managing Time (Matthew 25:1-13)

by Dr. Michael A. Milton The parable of the ten virgins, or, if you prefer, ” the ten bridesmaids,” is an important parable not only in its content but in its sequence. The parable follows chapter twenty-four of Matthew, which foretells of the destruction of Jerusalem, as well as the coming

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Be productive while we wait

by Tim MacBride So far in this series of parables about Christ’s return, we’ve seen that it will be unexpected (like the flood, or like a thief in the night) – so we need to be ready. Yesterday, we saw that, despite the delay, we need to make adequate preparation – like

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The Sixth Sunday of Easter

In yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus used the agricultural analogy of a vine to teach us that two lessons:  a)     There must be regular pruning of fruitless branches. b)    Branches that remain close to the vine will bear fruit.  The first lesson, that of pruning, hit home for me personally. I’m wearing a cap on

The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Greetings on a sunny afternoon. Fr. Brian was indisposed this week so we were unable to video our weekly chat of ‘The Thought.’ The buck got passed back to me and here I am taking my pulse on how I am feeling in our world at the moment… Continue on

The Sixth Sunday of Easter

In yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus used the agricultural analogy of a vine to teach us that two lessons:  a)     There must be regular pruning of fruitless branches. b)    Branches that remain close to the vine will bear fruit.  The first lesson, that of pruning, hit home for me personally. I’m wearing a cap on

The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Greetings on a sunny afternoon. Fr. Brian was indisposed this week so we were unable to video our weekly chat of ‘The Thought.’ The buck got passed back to me and here I am taking my pulse on how I am feeling in our world at the moment… Continue on

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As a Jesuit parish, we believe we are called to explore, discover, respect, protect, and enhance whatever is humane and graced in every person, and in every culture.