Catholic News
Mothers In Catholic circles Mary Mother of the Church is the newest of the Marian Feast Days first celebrated in the universal Church in 2018. The image presented is from John 19:25-31, which recounts how from the cross Jesus entrusted Mary to his disciples as their mother and entrusted his disciples to Mary as her children. Mary introduced her son to the world. He is known by a string of names, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) and his name has spread throughout the world. Paul VI in 1964 formally bestowed the title of “Mother of the Church” on Mary, but that recognition of her maternal care for the church and for believers had already spanned centuries. It can be traced back to fourth-century origins with St. Ambrose. The title “Mother of the Church” evokes Mary’s spiritual motherhood, which is tied up with the …
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At last – Pentecost Sunday- here we are – ending the Pentecost journey that journey which catapults us into life as missionary disciples. Today’s reading and gospel introduce us formally to the person of the Holy Spirit. Up until today Gods people only knew about the Spirit of God – the spirit that comes from the Father. Remember Jesus speaking in the temple from the from that beautiful passage of Isaiah – God’s spirit is with me…because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, sight to the blind…and on it went and today you see Him in His presence. For the apostles life will never be the same – all of a sudden they know things they didn’t know yesterday, they spoke in a very different way, recognised by all in their own native tongue, with an authority not seen since Jesus stood up in the temple …
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Today is the feast of the Ascension which is both great and exciting on one hand and has some trepidation on the other for the Apostles. On the exciting side, Jesus speaks of the mission and of power on high. However, there is this nervousness, that Jesus won’t be beside them the way he has been with them for more than 3 and half years – in their very presence. I am reminded of the Golden Eagle – The Golden eagle is the greatest and fiercest of the birds of prey, yet one of the most sensitive and vigorous in its nurture of the young eagle. When the eagle is due to fly the mother pushes it out of the nest which is usually on a high outcrop or way above the trees in the canopy in the northern hemisphere. The bird flounders for a small time in the air …
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He is Risen! The darkness of the Church at the Easter Vigil was brought alive by the light of the Paschal candle. On this night of all nights we celebrated the glory of Christ’s resurrection. It is a ceremony rich in symbolism and joy. Having experienced and remember the Passion story through Holy Week our hearts burn with joy and excitement. Our hope is renewed as we recognise that Jesus resurrected lives with us. This annual celebration of the Lord’s resurrection is one of our earliest. It goes back to the first generation of Christians. In fact for the first three hundred years of the Church is was the only feast observed throughout the Christian world. The celebration of what we would come to know as Easter was through a vigil. Vigil coming from the Latin for watch or waiting. Following the dark hours of the crucifixion the first day …
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Our journey of change culminates now from learning like the women at the well, to understanding like the blind man who received his sight, and from understanding to change like Mary, Martha and Lazarus. These events are indelibly written to our hearts that will result in transformation of heart mind and soul and body, like Jesus as transfigured. We will become a new creation, like a new butterfly exiting the chrysalis, ready for its journey of life. As Jesus makes his triumphal entry, there is a foreboding of the sacrifice to come. How quickly the crowds attitude will change in the coming days. How quickly the disciples will become confused some eventually leaving in fear of their lives. We will die and rise again with Jesus, he will be in us, normally our new catechumens will be our new brothers and sisters and we will continue our life in Jesus …
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Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience. One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!” “How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb. “I packed your parachute,” the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!” Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.” Plumb couldn’t sleep that …
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Lent is a season to retreat from what is normally the frantic pace of life to pause, take stock and restore or develop good habits. There are many things that we as Catholics do during the season of Lent. These practices are not about us and doing things (or not doing things) to check off a list. We do them to open ourselves up to God and help us to be missionary disciples of Jesus. Practices are divided into three ‘types’. Fasting is one of the Lenten practices. Catholics over the age of 7 and under 60 are required to fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday in New Zealand. We are called to fast every Friday on the year and all through Lent. Although the term fast usual concerns the eating of less food we can also fast from gossip, using our devise… the …
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Akl Catholic Justice Peace Commission media release on 2020 Budget