Weekend Masses

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday) and we begin the Journey with Jesus to Calvary. The Crowds are ecstatic as he enters Jerusalem. They cut branches and they lay down cloaks and they probably threw flowers and coins. It was a ticker tape parade. As far as they were concerned their king had arrived and they were ready for the revolution. They did not understand or get the message of Jesus. They were hungry for earthly power or show. Meanwhile the enemies were getting their act together, planning conniving and building alliances. Ask yourself, where am I in all of this? What kind of Jesus do I know? A few days later the crowds are provided with the kind of spectacle they are looking for, a staged trial, a public humiliation and a very public execution. The same crowd cheers for Barabbas, and lines the streets. Now they see the power and control of the empire and their leaders working together. Do I choose power and control over love and justice? Do I seek vengeance and revenge over forgiveness? It can be easy in hindsight and at a distance to say I would not have done that, but a real examination of conscience and a look at our attitudes and reactions to events in the present moment can give us an insight into how we might have behaved. The beginning of Holy Week is a good time to do that and to take the time to go to confession Lets use this holy week to reconnect with Jesus and continue our journey of faith with him. The Journey continues. Pray for me as I pray for you, Fr Karl  

Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ, This week we celebrate two Feasts St Patrick and St Joseph. The Irish celebrated the feast of St Patrick wherever they went and now it has become a worldwide festival and somehow St Joseph seems to get lost in the festivities for St Patrick. What do you know of the two saints? Lets start with a little of the life of Patrick. There are two documents written by him available, the first is the confession of St Patrick, the second a letter to a chief called Corticus. Patrick begins his confession with these words “My name is Patrick… I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpornius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest, who lived at Bannavem Taburniae. His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner. I was about sixteen at the time.” Whether his home place was in Britain or France is still disputed. He was a young man kidnapped and used as a slave. In his time as a slave he rediscovered God and found the avability to forgive. When he escaped he eventually became a priest and a bishop and went back to convert the people who enslaved him. What do we learn” We learn about forgiveness and the call to proclaim the good news. St Joseph was the just man called to be the guardian of the God Child Jesus, the one who believe God and did not send Mary away, He is hidden in the gospel He left no stories no written documents. We know he was a carpenter because Jesus is referred to as the son of the carpenter. What can we learn? We can learn about being just and taking responsibility. We can learn about reflection and the fact that all goodness is not necessarily going to be front page news and that some of the greatest deeds are done quietly and the doers seek no rewards. Both of these saints challenge us to look at or world differently and to rediscover Jesus. Read the confession of St Patrick and search out the passages about Joseph in the Gospels. Let our Journey continue Pray for me as I pray for you, Fr Karl