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Friday, Nov 27, 2020
Turn the page
The “Book of Life” is mentioned several times in the Bible. A bit like the contact list you keep on your phone, the Book of Life is the figurative expression of how God is said to keep track of those heading for heavenly repose united with the Divine. According to Jewish tradition, God opens the Book of Life on Rosh Hashanah and leaves it open for 10 days, until Yom Kippur. During those days, believers spend time repenting of their sins and amending their lives in order to be written into the Book of Life. If there’s something you need to repent, today is a good day to turn the page.
TODAY'S READINGS: Revelation 20:1-4, 11—21:2 Luke 21:29-33 . “Then another scroll was opened, the Book of Life. The dead were judged according to their deeds.”
#takefiveforfaith
Let us return to promoting the good, for ourselves and for the whole human family, and thus advance together towards an authentic and integral growth. Every society needs to ensure that values are passed on; otherwise, what is handed down are selfishness, violence, corruption in its various forms, indifference and, ultimately, a life closed to transcendence and entrenched in individual interests.
The value of solidarity
114. I would like especially to mention solidarity, which, “as a moral virtue and social attitude born of personal conversion, calls for commitment on the part of those responsible for education and formation. I think first of families, called to a primary and vital mission of education. Families are the first place where the values of love and fraternity, togetherness and sharing, concern and care for others are lived out and handed on. They are also the privileged milieu for transmitting the faith, beginning with those first simple gestures of devotion which mothers teach their children.
Excerpt: FRATELLI TUTTI
Pope Francis Encyclical
On Fraternity and Social Friendship
*Part of a sequential daily series to read and reflect on this new encyclical.
Psalm 84:3-5
Here God lives among his people.
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young–
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed are they whose strength you are!
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
Here God lives among his people.
#dailyingodsword
PROMOTING THE MORAL GOOD
112. Nor can we fail to mention that seeking and pursuing the good of others and of the entire human family also implies helping individuals and societies to mature in the moral values that foster integral human development. The New Testament describes one fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22) as agathosyne; the Greek word expresses attachment to the good, pursuit of the good. Even more, it suggests a striving for excellence and what is best for others, their growth in maturity and health, the cultivation of values and not simply material wellbeing. A similar expression exists in Latin: benevolentia. This is an attitude that “wills the good” of others; it bespeaks a yearning for goodness, an inclination towards all that is fine and excellent, a desire to fill the lives of others with what is beautiful, sublime and edifying.
Excerpt: FRATELLI TUTTI
Pope Francis Encyclical
On Fraternity and Social Friendship
*Part of a sequential daily series to read and reflect on this new encyclical.
PROMOTING THE MORAL GOOD
112. Nor can we fail to mention that seeking and pursuing the good of others and of the entire human family also implies helping individuals and societies to mature in the moral values that foster integral human development. The New Testament describes one fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22) as agathosyne; the Greek word expresses attachment to the good, pursuit of the good. Even more, it suggests a striving for excellence and what is best for others, their growth in maturity and health, the cultivation of values and not simply material wellbeing. A similar expression exists in Latin: benevolentia. This is an attitude that “wills the good” of others; it bespeaks a yearning for goodness, an inclination towards all that is fine and excellent, a desire to fill the lives of others with what is beautiful, sublime and edifying.
Excerpt: FRATELLI TUTTI
Pope Francis Encyclical
On Fraternity and Social Friendship
*Part of a sequential daily series to read and reflect on this new encyclical.
Reading 1
Sir 50:22-24
And now, bless the God of all,
who has done wondrous things on earth;
Who fosters people’s growth from their mother’s womb,
and fashions them according to his will!
May he grant you joy of heart
and may peace abide among you;
May his goodness toward us endure
to deliver us in our days.
#dailyingodsword
Amen🙏
Thursday, Nov 26, 2020
THANKSGIVING DAY
Give thanks, indeed
This Thanksgiving won’t be celebrated the way many of us hoped and imagined back when the pandemic started. And yet, we are alive. Most of us reading these words can breathe freely. The virus has reminded us to never again take these simple matters for granted. One of our wisest teachers about prayer, Dominican priest Meister Eckhardt (1260-1329), said, “If the only prayer you ever said in your entire life is thank you, that would suffice.” Even amid hard times, giving thanks to God is appropriate. Let it be your prayer today.
TODAY'S READINGS: Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23 19:1-3, 9a Luke 21:20-28
“But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”
#takefiveforfaith
Even in the midst of challenge after challenge in 2020, one thing has been a shining light: Our parish community.
We have shown up for one another in countless ways to encourage hope and offer help. And with each challenge, we have found new ways to adapt together, to remain anchored in faith, to support and cherish family life and find creative connections for fellowship.
While celebrations may be scaled back this year, Thanksgiving gratitude remains. We are so thankful for you.
May you have a blessed Thanksgiving, fully present to the gift of today and all it holds.
Join us for Thanksgiving Mass 9am in the Plaza or via livestream
Nurses, doctors, healthcare workers, aides, first responders, homecare specialists, ministers, parents and spouses, support and relief workers and friends. We are all grateful for you. Art by Bro. Mickey O'Neill Mcgrath, OSFS
