Hi to all our Passionist Team,
I hope this finds you with more hope and promise as changes around the country are being sent out and we are all asked to prepare. This preparation is easier for some than others. We are see the spread of the virus – six regions are now reporting cases. Let us not be hasty with fear rather showing patience and tolerance. We need to reflect on how we care and support one another despite our differences. Some words from Pope Francis may bring some solace:
- Don’t listen to those “who spread hatred and division.”
- No matter how different people are from one another, human beings “were created to live together.
- With disputes, wait One day you will discover that a sliver of truth has been entrusted to everyone.”
- Love Respect everyone’s journey — whether it be troubled or down the straight and narrow because everyone has a story behind them.
- Every baby born is “the promise of a life that once again shows it is stronger than death.”
As difficult as it all is let us try to be compassionate and try not to cut people off. Seek other ways to make getting together work as you did in lockdown. Phone, text, zoom, drop a note, wear a mask and talk from a distance – hope drives out fear. This is what Jesus did with those on the outer he was a bridge to them. It’s all easier said, than done. But, please consider the “common good’:
We are on this journey together supporting and encouraging one another -to be family, to be welcoming, to be just and to be loving and forgiving. We have come this far and you have been fantastic in your work and love through your Passionist Family Groups.
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King – the notion of Jesus is a King is foreign to our understanding. These words from Fr Brian Glesson, a Passionist, provides insight and understanding. “In the darkness of his own time and world, Jesus was an endless source of light, goodness, and love. People were drawn to him, because they sensed that he had authority and influence, and could make things happen for the better. Over and over again, his kind and generous heart went out to the poorest, most vulnerable, and most wounded people of his day. So much so, that whenever he saw a wrong, there and then he wanted to right it. So consistently courageous and compassionate was he, that he remains our inspiration – your king and mine.”
“Help one another, there’s no time like the present and no present like the time.” – James Durst
World Youth Sunday 21 November. This is an annual Catholic celebration. It links the three-yearly International World Youth Day celebrations that have offered Popes the opportunity to mingle with young people and young people the opportunity to celebrate faith in their own idiom. The celebration reminds us that all young persons have their own distinctive gifts. It also invites us to reflect on what those gifts are and how they might share them in their church and world.
This Sunday is the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King Year B, 21 November 2021
Lectionary readings
First reading: Daniel 7:13-14
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 92(93):1-2, 5
Second reading: Apocalypse 1:5-8
Gospel: John 18:33-37
Link to readings – click here
The Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, brings the Church’s year to a close, and calls us to celebrate again Jesus’s victory over suffering and death.
As servants, we offer all that we are, and invite him to reign within our hearts, so that we can play our part in bringing God’s truth, love, justice and peace to the world.
Foretelling the coming of Jesus, the First Reading describes Daniel’s vision of a ‘son of man’ coming on the clouds of heaven to be crowned King, with everlasting sovereignty, ruling over an empire that will never be destroyed. Such is his glory that people of all nations and languages become his servants.
The Psalm rejoices in the glory of the Lord – the king with majesty enrobed. Through the verses, we are told of the eternal nature of the Lord’s power and the trust we can place in him.
Again in the Second Reading, Jesus is described as coming on the clouds and as ruler of the kings of the earth. The depth of his love for us has been shown by his sacrifice on the cross, and brings us ever closer to the God who is, who was, and who is to come.
In the Gospel, we witness the scene in which Pilate asks Jesus the question, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ In his reply, Jesus speaks of a kingdom in which those who seek the truth listen to his voice and follow his ways.
This week, we ask God for the grace to open our hearts and minds to the needs of those who do not yet know his voice. We pray that by the service of our lives we will draw others to his loving embrace.
To all those on the front line of this Pandemic: “While many of us are trying to figure out how to stay away from people as much as possible to avoid illness, these folks are gearing up for battle and running into the fire. People who work in clinics, hospitals, and care facilities are the courageous heroes of this worldwide story, knowingly putting themselves at risk to save lives.”
Some suggestions from Volunteers at Calvary Palliative Care Hospital, Kogarah, Sydney
| Recipe For Volunteers.
Take 2 cups of unselfishness – Put smiles as thick as Raisins in a plum pudding and bake by the warmth which streams from a loving heart. Notes – If the recipe fails, blame the cook not the recipe. Anne Blair (Monday volunteer) –Also shared these Xmas recipes, so have fun ‘Kneading together’….. |
Passionfruit Slice
1 Cup SR Flour Mix together the first 4 ingredients and press into a greased Lamington tin. Cook for 15 minutes in a moderate oven. Cool. 1 Tin Sweetened Condensed Milk Juice of 2 Lemons Mix together condensed milk, juice of 2 lemons and 2 passionfruit. Pour on top of slice and cook another 10 mins |
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| Date and Walnut Slice (for the healthy hearted)
2 Cups Almond meal Preheat oven to 180 F and line a 20cm x 20cm tin |
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| Quick Flake Chocolate Dessert (frozen)
3 Chocolate Flake Bars 3 Crunchie Bars Chop finely flake bars, crunchie bars and the meringue nests. Whip cream and then add all other ingredients, mix together. Pour the above mixture into a glad wrap lined loaf tin or small bowl and freeze – serve frozen as a dessert. |
If any of you would like to join the “Passionist Institute” this Saturday 20 November and Sunday 21 November afternoons then, please look at the attached invite and attached timetable on this email.
You are welcome to join in for this wonderful occasion.
Humour
- Want to hear a joke about construction? I’m still working on it!
- I was really angry at my friend Mark for stealing my dictionary. I told him, “Mark, my words!”
- How does Moses make his coffee? Hebrews it.
- I’m starting a new dating service in Prague. It’s called Czech-Mate.
- I was just reminiscing about the beautiful herb garden I had when I was growing up.
Good thymes. - Do you know the last thing my grandfather said to me before he kicked the bucket?
“Grandson, watch how far I can kick this bucket.”
Have a good week,
God go with you – prayer and blessings,
Paul