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Showing posts from May, 2011

Blessed Pope John Paul II on Vocations

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I saw this and thought it was fantastic.
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Fourth Sunday of Easter Vocations Sunday Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world  on fire. This you may remember was the opening few lines of the sermon from the royal wedding a few weeks ago. It comes as you may remember from the sayings of Catherine of Senia. For me it sums up what the theme of this Sunday is all about and that is vocations. Our journey is one of discovering what God has meant us to be. It is a discovery of learning and entering into the mystery of God’s love for self and answering that call, however hard it may be to follow him the Good Shepherd. To do this is a hard journey with many different twists and turns. I have often said, with a twinkle in my eye that I don’t believe that I have a vocation to priesthood. Now before you run to the Bishop let me again quote to you the phrase I just said “ Be who God meant you to be”   and again from the Gospel “ I have come that you may have life and have it to the Full.” This means that God has chosen m

Newman on Vocation

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1. God was all-complete, all-blessed in Himself, but it was His will to create a world for His glory. He is Almighty, and might have done all things Himself, but it has been His will to bring about His purposes by the beings He has created. We are all created to His glory--we are created to do His will. I am created to do something or to be something for which no one else is created; I have a place in God's counsels, in God's world, which no one else has; whether I be rich or poor, despised or esteemed by man, God knows me and calls me by my name. 2. God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission--I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his--if indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham. Yet I have a part in this great work:

Something you may be interested in

Press Release 9 th  May 2011 - For Immediate Release On Sunday 8 May, Margaret Mizen helped to launch Million Minutes’ first campaign: a million minutes of silence. The silence aims to highlight the need to stand in solidarity with today’s young people who are so often not listened too, ignored and shut out of society. Two days ahead of the third anniversary of the murder or her 16 year old son, Jimmy, Margaret joined the first day of ‘a million minutes of silence’. Accompanied by friends, family and supporters she led three generations of her family in a walk from St Paul’s Cathedral to Westminster Cathedral, all in complete silence. Speaking after her silent walk Margaret Mizen said “This has been amazing. We have acted in solidarity not just with the hundreds of people staying silent across the country but also with those young people whom Million Minutes hope to support. Young people today are wonderful and we must continue to promote how wonderful they are.” Mrs Mizen went on

The Third Sunday of Easter

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I wonder of you can recall the last significant journey that you undertook. Often when we were children we used to sit at the back and shout out “Are we there yet?” which got the response as always: “15 munities even if it is 3 hours away” Our Faith journey can feel like the same as this. It can feel that we will never get there and when we have sorted one thing out we get confused about something else. We are always learning something new about ourselves and about God’s love for us. But with all this we can feel lost.   The disciples in our Gospel today must have felt the same.   They were lost and everything that they had hoped for had turned wrong. They hoped that he was the one to set Israel free. They were in one sense ex disciples ready to go back to what they had been doing.   In a sense they had lost their faith and their way this is shown in the Gospel symbolically by turning their back on Jerusalem. When things go wrong in our lives we can often turn our back on our faith

The Need for Silence

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Over the last few months I have been increasingly aware in my life for the need for silence. Listening to God in the silence and so I felt that it might be good just to give you a few tips that actually helps me. Turn of your radios and TV's Find a place where you are comfortable and be silent Sit and let the Distractions come acknowledge them place them in a box in your mind. They will always be there but you don't have to deal with them at that moment Maybe find a place where you are one with nature Learn to breath Stop what you are doing Pray that the Lord may enter your life Listen Acknowledge Accept
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OK! So Bin Laden is dead and there is, granted, a sense of relief around the world that the most wanted man in History has been killed. But, there are many things that worry me. Is it right that some parts of the world should be dancing and shouting for joy? It also seems wrong that the media have done nothing that talk about it all day: It is not a day to be waving our flags. It is a day for reflection:  No way should we as human beings rejoice at the death of another human being. We as Christians know that when we die we will be judged. And so Bin Laden will be judged when he meets God face to face. Our response maybe rather than singing and dancing for joy we should pray for all those who have died through acts of mindless and senseless violence, and also dare I say pray for those who do these act of violence.  Jesus gives us the message of unconditional forgiveness. Peter asks Jesus how many times should I forgive 7 times 70 is Jesus's response. Forgiveness is a challenge i

Blessed Pope John Paul II

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The light of Blessed John Paul II will continue to burn in the world; for the former Pope was one who, always with charity and love, repeatedly articulated the message of Christ's mercy in great and penetrating depth. Through his love for Jesus and through his love for Mary whose " fiat " brought Mercy into the world, he will be forever remembered as a humble and living image of what humanity unceasingly seeks: the regenerative and healing mercy of Christ Jesus. Blessed John Paul II Email Print Facebook Delicous MySpace Twitter Stumble Digg More Destinations GLADE PARK, CO (Catholic Online) -- Today on this Divine Mercy Sunday the Mass for the Beatification of Venerable Pope John Paul II will begin at 10:00 a.m. It is truly a sacred moment for which the world has long yearned. During the Rite of Beatification, Pope Benedict XVI will raise to the Altar his beloved friend and predecessor, a truly extraordinary Pope whom the entire world knew and loved, and whose memory wil