6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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The first reading from Sirach has such a compelling and strange reminder: before us are life and death, good and evil, whichever we choose will be given to us. It’s strange, isn’t it, to think that when offered these choices anyone would freely choose evil and death? But we do, and the Gospel reading tells us why, albeit in a strange way if we read it literally! When Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away,” He isn’t suggesting literal mutilation of the parts of our bodies or souls that give into temptation. He is reminding us that sin takes root in our habits and attitudes, and often death and evil come to feel more comfortable than life and goodness. We become blind to what is good when sin gets familiar and we cling to the things that hurt us. How often do we regret a vindictive or angry word but seem unable to choose silence or kindness? Yet what we choose is in fact what we get. When we find this happening to us and we are given the grace to see where we have been choosing death, we get to choose again. Get to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, see a counsellor, apologize to those you’ve hurt, and do the work that will support God’s rooting out your attachment to sin. Choose life!

Prayer: For the courage to choose life when it means letting go of our attachment to sin and death, we pray to the Lord.

Baptised Jesus, you whisper over each of us the words your Father spoke over you: “This is my Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” May we be people who hear you speaking this over us, who believe it, and who proclaim it over all your people wherever we find them. Amen

#CatholicYYC #SundayMass

Taken from the Facebook page of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary

St Valentine Day

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By Scott Hahn

So February 14 is Valentine’s Day — and there are 14 saints by that name, at least!

The name “Valentine” comes from the Latin word valens, which means “strong” or “powerful,” and there were many people in the ancient world with that name.

The earliest one was St. Valentine of Rome. He was a priest in Rome, martyred in A.D. 269, and buried near the Via Flaminia. That’s pretty much all we know about him. (His skull is in the picture above.)

Another one who lived right around the time of the first was St. Valentine of Terni (or Interamna). He was a bishop in central Italy who was martyred in A.D. 273. He was also buried near the Via Flaminia.

The third St. Valentine was martyred with a group of companions in Africa at some point in the early Church.

“St. Valentine” was added to the liturgical calendar by Pope Galesius in A.D. 496. It may have been St. Valentine of Rome, or some combination of the three (the lives of saints with the same name sometimes blur together).

There are also at least 11 more St. Valentines that came later, but who are not remember on February 14th.

In fact, this is why St. Valentine’s feast was not included in the General Roman Calendar in its 1969 revision: “Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14.”

Everything You Think You Know About St. Valentine Is (Probably) Wrong by Church POP Editor – Feb 13, 2017

Taken from the Facebook page of Scott Hahn

28th World Day of the Sick

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5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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It can be tempting to look out for our own and to close our eyes to the people who suffer but who aren’t “our” responsibility. Both Isaiah and Jesus speak words to convince us otherwise. God’s work is to free the prisoners, feed the hungry, care for the sick, and bring light to each and every person on the earth. Having received the light and life God offers, we have been asked to join Him in that work, rather than hoarding God’s blessings for ourselves. We are called to feed the hungry — by not wasting food at home, by buying groceries or giving money for others, by inviting our neighbours to eat with us, and by accepting the invitations of others, especially to meals that are simple and spontaneous. We are called to stop before we buy more things we do not need, and to ask how God is asking us to use our financial blessings to give life to a hurting world.

Prayer: For the generosity to share the life we have been given, we pray to the Lord.

God of abundant blessing and justice, you have poured your grace upon the world. Make us agents of your life, sharing generously the life we have been given, and receiving the life that can be found in each of your people. Amen.

Reflection: CCCB #CatholicYYC #SundayMass

Taken from the Facebook page of Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Overprotective parenting, living vicariously through our children, and otherwise attempting to control their lives goes against the Gospel of Life. Mary and Joseph offer a powerful witness to parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents, and other friends of children on this Feast of the Presentation. Children are God’s beloved souls, each with a unique calling and mission. Our role, as adults in their lives, is to receive children as gifts, to pray for them and nurture who they are as distinct persons to the best of their ability, and then to present them, day by day, back to God. We are responsible for how well we love them, how fervently we pray for them, how faithfully we serve them, but not for the outcome of their lives, or for the choices they make in the freedom God has given to them. May we love them well, and stand in awe and wonder at their capacity, and also at the directions they will go that we could not go ourselves.

Prayer: For the faith to care for our children and entrust them to God’s care, we pray to the Lord. Mary and Joseph, you took Jesus to the Temple to present Him to God, a sign of what you would do as parents over and over again in loving Jesus. Pray for us, that we might follow your example, and that we might commend our love for the children in our lives to your beloved Son for purification and for strength in loving children well. Amen.

Reflection: CCCB
#SundayMass #CatholicYYC

Taken from the Facebook page of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary