Tawnawilly Parish

03/06/2026

Mass Readings for 3/6/26 from catholicireland.net.

Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Our God is God of the living

Saint of the Day: 3 June; St Kevin, Irish abbot
C/f A short life of be this saint can be found below todays’ Readings and Reflection

FIRST READING:

A reading from the second letter of St Timothy 1: 1-3. 6-12
Fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you.

From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus in his design to promise life in Christ Jesus; to Timothy, dear child of mine, wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.
Night and day I thank God, keeping my conscience clear and remembering my duty to him as my ancestors did, and always I remember you in my prayers.

This is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy – not because of anything we ourselves have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace.

This grace had already been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but it has only been revealed by the Appearing of our saviour Christ Jesus. He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News; and I have been named its herald, its apostle and its teacher. It is only on account of this that I am experiencing fresh hardships here now ; but I have not lost confidence, because I know who it is that I have put my trust in, and I have no doubt at all that he is able to take care of all that I have entrusted to him until that Day.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm Ps 122:1-2. R/v 1
Response To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.

1. To you have I lifted up my eyes, you who dwell in the heavens:
my eyes, like the eyes of slaves on the hand of their lord.. Response

2. Like the eyes of a servant on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God till he show us his mercy. Response

Gospel Acclamation Jn 17: 17
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord, consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!

Or Jn 11: 25. 26
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord‘
whoever believes in me will never die.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Mark 12: 18-27 Glory to you, O Lord
He is God, not of the dead, but of the living.

Some Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection came to Jesus and they put this question to him, ‘
Master, we have it from Moses in writing, if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’

Jesus said to them,
‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him and said:
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection Wednesday Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Mark 12:18-27

The question of the afterlife is one that has intrigued people from very earliest times. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is approached by the members of a Jewish group, the Sadducees, who did not believe in life after death. They approach Jesus as someone whom they know has a different view on this issue to themselves. The question the Sadducees put to Jesus about the woman with seven husbands suggests that they understood life beyond death as simply an extension of this earthly life. However, Jesus’ reply suggests otherwise. ‘When they rise from the dead, men and women are like the angels in heaven’.

Life in heaven is not a mirror image of life on earth; it is qualitatively different. St Paul speaks about this life beyond death in terms of transformation. ‘We shall all be changed’, he says. For one thing, it will be a life with no trace of death in it. Today’s first reading declares that Christ has ‘abolished death and has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News’. We would, of course, like to know more about this transformed life. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus refers to heaven as the place where God’s will is done to the fullest possible extent. We are invited to pray, ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. The transformation that awaits us is all that God wills for us, which according to Paul is our being fully conformed to the image of Christ himself.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saints of the Day: 3 June; 2. St Kevin, Irish abbot

Abbot, Kevin grew up in Kilnamanagh in Leinster, where Bishop Lugaid ordained him to the priesthood. He settled as a hermit in remote Glendalough but disciples gathered around him and eventually a monastic settlement grew up. Kevin died in 618

kevin-s Kevin's Church(The image left shows some of the ruins of the monastic city of Glendalough which grew up there after St Kevin (Irish Caoimhghin).

The themes of Kevin’s life include harmony with nature, a desire for solitude and asceticism, as well as the struggle around celibacy.

Patrick Duffy tells his story.

The year of Kevin’s birth is generally given as 498 and the Annals of Ulster record the date of his death as 618. This would give him 120 years! More likely he was born in the middle of the sixth century.

Sources
The sources for his story are the Codex Kilkenniensis in Marsh’s Library in Dublin which has three Latin Lives written probably in the 11th century and three Irish Lives transcribed by Michael O’Clery in 1629 from the old books that relied on oral traditions and pilgrims’ tales. Pádraig Ó Riain (Dictionary, 149) notes that no critical edition and evaluation of the saint’s Lives has been attempted, so what we have about him are traditions.

Baptised by Cronan
His father was named Caomhlugh and his mother Caoimheall or Coemella. According to legend, when the boy was being brought to the priest Cronan for baptism, a person appeared and breathed on the child, blessing him and calling him Coemgen. Cronan believed this was an angel and said, “So shall he always be called Coemgenus (‘beautiful born’) for he will be most beautiful”.

Close to Nature and Love of Animals
Like many Celtic saints, Kevin was close to nature and had a great love of animals. When he was a boy, every morning and evening a white cow would come to his parents’ house with milk for him, perhaps symbolic of the wisdom, poetry and brightness associated with the boy.

Early Formation at Kilnamanagh
His parents brought him to the monastery of Kilnamanagh in Tallaght near Dublin and here he underwent instruction and spiritual formation by three holy men, Eoghan, perhaps of Ardstraw, Lóchán and Éanna of Kilnamanagh.

A Place of Solitude
But at an early age he wandered off into the Wicklow Mountains and spent time in solitude at first at Hollywood near Blessington and finally in Glendalough. Legend says his place of solitude was revealed when the owner of a cow that strayed into the area discovered that she began to produce great quantities of milk. His three teachers came and took him back to the monastery where he continued his studies.

More Miracles
Kevin's church A story from his training time at Kilnamanagh marks him out as extraordinary. One day Kevin was supposed to bring a source of fire to light the candles for Mass, but forgot. ‘Run quickly for the fire and bring it,‘ an older monk shouted. ‘How will I carry it?‘ Kevin asked. ‘In your bosom,‘ came the reply. Kevin went instantly and collected the fire in a cloth he had around him, but neither his clothes nor his flesh were harmed in any way. The older monk, full of remorse, said, ‘O holy youth, I see that you are full of the Holy Spirit.’

Celibacy
Kevins bedAnother story about his choice of celibacy relates to his time of training at Kilnamanagh. A young woman saw him with his companions in the fields and fell passionately in love with him and pursued him in many ways but he resisted her advances.
One day she came on him alone and embraced him and asked him tenderly to lie with her. Kevin rushed away and finding a bed of nettles, stripped off his clothes and rolled himself in them naked. When she further pursued him, he quickly dressed, took up a bunch of nettles and beat her off. She, realising the hopelessness of her quest, quickly repented and went off herself to become a nun, would you believe?.
(Probably this story shows that at the heart of Kevin’s quest for holiness there was a real struggle.)

Ordained Priest
Kevin was ordained priest by Bishop Lugidius and founded a monastery at Cluainduaich, though the location of this is unknown.

Search for Solitude and the Ascetical Life
He soon was back again at Glendalough in search of solitude and the ascetical life. He first settled near the upper lake, and lived in a narrow cave in a rock above the lake still to be seen today and called ‘St Kevin’s Bed’. The cave is accessible by boat, but involves a steep upward climb.

Miracles of Nature
Kevin's birdKevin wore only wild animal skins and ate what food he could gather from the surrounding trees and plants. He slept on a stone slab with another stone as a pillow. Sometimes he would stand in the cold waters of the lake reciting the psalms – a common penitential practice for Irish monks – and keeping vigil. Many miracles of nature are told of him such as the one of his dropping his psalm book in the lake and it being brought back to him undamaged by an otter. Another is that during Lent, as he was praying with his arm outstretched, a blackbird settled in his palm, built herself a nest and laid an egg in it. Ever patient, kind and gentle to all living creatures, Kevin waited until the tiny bird had hatched and fledged before he moved, showing the harmony between him and nature.

Community and Hermitage
A community of monks gathered round him, so he set up and ran a monastic settlement in the lower valley. After his death this became a monastic city. He also established a hermitage near his cave at the upper lake at Templenaskellig, dividing his time between his hermitage and the community. As an abbot who founded a monastic city, Kevin chose to remain as a priest rather than become a bishop. He spent most of his life at Glendalough, unlike some of his fellow saints who travelled widely on missionary journeys. Despite this remaining in one place, his influence and fame spread far and wide.

Death in Harmony with Nature
Before his death Kevin decided to remain permanently at his hermitage, asking his monks not to visit, bring food or disturb him in any way. The wild animals kept him company. A final story demonstrates the harmony with creation that seems to have surrounded him. A wild boar, which was being hunted, found its way into his oratory, closely pursued by dogs and men. The huntsmen, however, on seeing the saint kneeling under a tree praying, with birds perched on his shoulders and hands, were dumbfounded. The hounds lay down and would not go after the boar. For the sake of the hermit they all went quietly away and allowed the boar to go free. And so Kevin died.

His Spirit Lives On
Kevin’s spirit still lives on in Glendalough. Fr Michael Rodgers, who spent many years as a missionary in Africa, has made his own tearmann or retreat house in the valley and welcomes those who want to follow in the footsteps of the saint. See www.tearmann.ie . There is also a hermitage there run by the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin.

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Memorable Saying for Today

‘I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station,
through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.’

~ George Washington Carver ~

also

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.”

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Catholic Ireland .Net

02/06/2026

Mass Readings for 2/6/26 from catholicireland.net.

Tuesday of The Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2

Saints of the Day: June 2 ; Ss St Marcelinus and Peter, martyrs,
C/f short history of today’s saints can be found below today’s Readings and Reflection

FIRST READING

A reading from the second letter of St Peter 3:11-15. 17-18
We are waiting for the new heavens and new earth.

You should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of God to come, when the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. What we are waiting for is what he promised: the new heavens and new earth, the place where righteousness will be at home. So then, my friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live lives without spot or stain so that he will find you at peace.

Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved: our brother Paul, who is so dear to us, told you this when he wrote to you with the wisdom that is his special gift. You have been warned about this, my friends; be careful not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, from the firm ground that you are standing on. Instead, go on growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory, in time and in eternity. Amen.

The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:2-4. 10. 14. 16 R/v 1
Response O Lord, you have been our refuge
from one generation to the next.

1. Before the mountains were born or the earth or the world brought forth,
you are God, without beginning or end. Response

2. You turn men back into dust and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night. Response

3. Our span is seventy years or eighty for those who are strong.
And most of these are emptiness and pain.
They pass swiftly and we are gone. Response

4. In the morning, fill us with your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Show forth your work to your servants;
let your glory shine on their children. Response

Gospel Acclamation Heb 4: 12
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!

or Eph 1: 17. 18
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Mark 12:13-17 Glory to you, O Lord
Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God

The Chief priests and the scribes and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said. These came and said to him, ‘Master, we know you are an honest man, that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?‘
Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them, ‘Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it.‘
They handed him one and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’
‘Caesar’s’ they told him.
Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God’.
This reply took them completely by surprise.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection Tuesday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Mark 12:13-17

Today’s first reading from the second letter of Peter says, ‘Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved’. The Lord’s patience is our opportunity. When I was young, I used to hear a little jingle, ‘Patience is a virtue, keep it if you can, always in a woman, never in a man’. Perhaps there is some truth in that little saying! Patience is certainly a virtue and one we appreciate when we are shown it. Patience is the ability to wait on people. Jesus once spoke a parable about a barren fig tree that the landowner wanted to cut down. However, the landowner’s gardener was a much more patient man. He persuaded his master to leave the fig tree for another year during which he would tend to it to ensure it bore fruit the following year. Jesus might have seen something of himself in that gardener. He was patient with people, including his own disciples. So many times, they failed to grasp what he was trying to say to them, but he never gave up on them. Even when Peter, the leading disciple, denied him, he didn’t give up on him.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus’ patience is put to the test. The Pharisees and the Herodians asked him what seemed like a serious question, ‘Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ In reality, they were not looking for information but, as the gospel reading says, they were trying to catch Jesus out. They weren’t being sincere and, according to the gospel reading, Jesus saw through their hypocrisy. Yet, he was patient with them, asking them for a coin from their pockets and declaring that Caesar should be given back what belongs to him, but, more importantly, God should be given what belongs to God. What belongs to God according to Jesus?

Just a few verses later in Mark’s gospel, Jesus will answer that question, ‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength’. It is only God, and God’s Son Jesus, who is worthy of our total loving loyalty, certainly not Caesar. Jesus’ patience towards his opponents on this occasion was their opportunity to learn a vital lesson for life. The Lord’s patience is always our opportunity.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saints of the Day: 22 May; St Marcelinus and Peter, martyrs

Two martyrs who died in 304, beheaded at Rome under the emperor Diocletian. Reputedly members of the Roman clergy, they are held in special honour in Rome itself, as evident in the basilica built over their tombs and their mention in Eucharistic Prayer I (The Roman Canon)

It is said that it was on Via Labicana in Rome 9. that Marcellinus who was a priest and Peter who was an exorcist, resided.Station Church of SS Marcellinus and Peter The Station is in the basilica founded by St. Helen on the Via Lavicana, where were buried the bodies of St. Marcellinus . The fact that both saints were named together in Eucharistic Prayer 1 (The Roman Canon) indicates veneration in Rome very soon after their death.
Image right>: Station Church of Ss Marcellinus and Peter The Station is in the basilica founded by St. Helen on the Via Labicana, where were buried the bodies of St. Marcellinus .

Patrick Duffy tells their story.

Ministries in Troubled times
Peter, the exorcist, had been imprisoned by the judge Serenus for confessing the Christian faith. Artemius the prison-keeper had a daughter Paulina who was troubled by an evil spirit. Peter being a person entrusted by the Church with authority to cast out spirits was able to heal her. On seeing this, Artemius, his wife and neighbours were all converted to Jesus Christ. Peter then brought them to Marcellinus the priest, who baptized them.

marcel+PeteAnswering with Christian Boldness
When the judge Serenus heard of this, he summoned Peter and Marcellinus before him, rebuked and threatened them, demanding that they deny Christ. When they answered with Christian boldness, they were executed and their bodies abandoned in a place called the Black Wood so that other Christians would not be able to bury or venerate their bodies.

Burial and Veneration
However, two Christian ladies, Lucilla and Firmina, came to know of this; they took the bodies and buried them with honour in a crypt near St Tiburtius, who was martyred some years earlier. The emperor Constantine is said to have built a church in their honour on the place and later had his mother St Helena buried there. The place where their bodies were found was afterwards called the White Wood.

An Epitaph by Pope St Damasus
Pope St. Damasus I (366-384), wrote that when he was a boy, he learnt the circumstances of their martyrdom from the lips of the executioner himself.(Percussor retulit mihi Damaso cm puer essem). He composed an epitaph in verse for their tomb: it states that through their martyrdom God gives us proof of his constant presence to his Church. A fragment of it survives in a nearby church. The fact that Marcellinus and Peter are mentioned in the Roman Canon indicates that they were held in high honour from soon after their death.

Translation of their Relics to Germany
In the early ninth century, Eginhard, secretary to and biographer of Charlemagne, became a monk in his later life. In 827 he asked Pope Gregory IV to send him some relics of martyrs to enrich the monasteries which he had founded or repaired. The Pope sent him the bodies of Ss Marcellinus and Peter. Eginhard located these relics at Seligenstadt near Frankfurt, where, in 829, he built a church and monastery in their honour.

In art
Both Marcellinus and Peter are depicted together, in ministerial garments, and bearing palms. In the early 17th century, the archaeologist Antonio Bosio (called the “Columbus of the Catacombs”) claimed in his book Roma Sotterranea that an ancient fragment he found represents Peter, Marcellinus, and Paulina standing together.

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Memorable Saying for Today

Nothing can happen to me (or us) that God does not want.
And all that He wants, no matter how bad it may appear to us,
is really for the best

~ St Thomas More ~

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Catholic Ireland .Net

01/06/2026

Newsletter for Sunday 31st of May 2026. Please click the link below:

https://tawnawillyparish.ie/wp-content/uploads/Sunday-31st-May-1.pdf

31/05/2026

Sunday Mass Readings for 30/5/26 from catholicireland.net.

The Most Holy Trinity

‘In the Church one God is preached, who is “above all things and through all things and in all things”. Yes, certainly, “above all things” as the Father, the first principle and origin; and truly “through all things”, that is through the Word, and finally “in all things” in the Holy Spirit’ (St Athanasius )

FIRST READING

A reading from the Book of Exodus 34:4-6. 8-9
Our Lord is a God of tenderness and compassion.

Mose and God1With the two tablets of stone in his hands, he went up the mountain of Sinai in the early morning as the Lord had commanded him. And the Lord descended in the form of a cloud, and Moses stood with him there.

He called on the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, the Lord, a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness; And Moses bowed down to the ground at once and worshipped.

‘If I have indeed won your favour, Lord,’ he said ‘let my Lord come with us, I beg. True, they are a headstrong people, but forgive us our faults and our sins, and adopt us as your heritage.’

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm Dan 3:52-56
Response To you glory and praise for evermore.

1. You are blest, Lord God of our fathers. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.
Blest your glorious holy name. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.

2. You are blest in the temple of your glory. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest on the throne of your kingdom. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.

3. You are blest who gaze into the depths. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest in the firmament of heaven. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.



SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 13:11-13
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Brothers, we wish you happiness; try to grow perfect; help one another.
Be united; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with the holy kiss. All the saints send you greetings.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

Gospel Acclamation Apoc 1:8
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
the God who is, who was, and who is to come
Alleluia!

GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to John 3:16-18Glory to you, O Lord
For God sent his Son into the world so that through him the world might be saved.trinity1

Jesus said to Nicodemus,
‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.

For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.

No one who believes in him will be condemned; but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.’

The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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For homily resources for this Sunday’s Gospel click here: https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/

Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.

Catholic Ireland .Net

29/05/2026

Mass Readings for 29/5/26 from catholicireland.net.

Friday of the Eigth Week of Ordinary Time, Year 2

Saint of the Day: 22 May; Pope St Paul VI
C/f A short life of be this saint can be found below todays’ Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING

A reading from the first letter of St Peter 4: 7-13
Like good stewards responsible for all these different graces of God, put yourselves at the service of others.

Everything will soon come to an end, so, to pray better, keep a calm and sober mind. Above all, never let your love for each other grow insincere, since love covers over many a sin. Welcome each other into your houses without grumbling. Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these different graces of God, put yourselves at the service of others.
If you are a speaker, speak in words which seem to come from God;
if you are a helper, help as though every action was done at God’s orders; so that in everything God may receive the glory, through Jesus Christ, since to him alone belong all glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

My dear people, you must not think it unaccountable that you should be tested by fire. There is nothing extraordinary in what has happened to you. If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 95: 10-13. R/v 10
Response The Lord comes to rule the earth.

1. Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’ The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness. Response

2. Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad. Let the sea and all within it thunder praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice, all the trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he comes, he comes to rule the earth. Response

3. With justice he will rule the world, he will judge the peoples with his truth. Response

Gospel Acclamation 1 Jn 2: 5
Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord, and teach me your command.
Alleluia!

or Jn 15: 16
Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the world to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last. says the Lord.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 11: 11-26 Glory to you, O Lord
My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. Have faith in God.

After he had been acclaimed by the crowds, Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He looked all round him, but as it was now late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Next day as they were leaving Bethany, he felt hungry. Seeing a fig tree in leaf some distance away, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it, but when he came up to it he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. And he addressed the fig tree. ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again’ he said. And his disciples heard him say this.

So they reached Jerusalem and he went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling and buying there; he upset the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling pigeons. Nor would he allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. And he taught them and said, ‘Does not scripture say: My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples? But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.‘ This came to the ears of the chief priests and the scribes, and they tried to find some way of doing away with him; they were afraid of him because the people were carried away by his teaching. And when evening came he went out of the city.

Next morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered to the roots. Peter remembered. ‘Look, Rabbi,‘ he said to Jesus ‘the fig tree you cursed has withered away.’
Jesus answered, ‘Have faith in God. I tell you solemnly, if anyone says to this mountain, “Get up and throw yourself into the sea”, with no hesitation in his heart but believing that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. I tell you therefore: everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already, and it will be yours. And when you stand in prayer, forgive whatever you have against anybody, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your failings too. But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your failings either. ‘

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection Friday, Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Mark 11:11-26

In our gospel reading the evangelist, Mark, places the story of Jesus and the Temple in the middle of another story about Jesus and the fig tree. It is likely that Mark saw a connection between the fig tree and the Temple. When Jesus came to the fig tree looking for fruit, he found none on it. Likewise, Jesus did not find the kind of fruit in the Temple that he was expecting. According to the prophet Isaiah, whom Jesus quotes in the gospel reading, the Temple was intended by God to be a ‘house of prayer for all the peoples’. It wasn’t only for the Jewish people but for all peoples. Indeed, there was a special court within the Temple complex which was set aside for pagans.

However, it seems that this court of the Gentiles, as it was called, had been taken over for all kinds of commercial activities such as the selling of animals for sacrifice and the exchange of money from the normal Roman coinage into one that was acceptable within the Temple area. All this was necessary work but it should not have been happening in the court of the Gentiles, thereby preventing pagans from gathering in the place assigned to them. When Jesus saw what was happening he became angry and began clearing the court of the Gentiles.

The Temple was not being administered in the way God intended; it was like the barren fig tree. The gospel reading reminds us that the Lord calls every institution to account, including every religious institution. The institution of the church is always in need of reform so that it reflects God’s purpose for it. We can never allow ourselves to become complacent. What is true of the church as a whole is true of each one of us who make up the church. We have to continually open ourselves to the reforming and purifying work of the Lord. Such work is always a work of love because it comes from a heart which seeks our present and ultimate well-being. ________________________________

The scripture readings are taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/ The Gospel reflection comes from: Weekday Reflections for the Liturgical Year ‘LET THE WORD OF GOD DWELL IN YOU’ by Martin Hogan, published by The Messenger c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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Saint of the Day: 22 May; Pope St Paul VI

Giovanni Baptista Montini. (1897-1978), became a reforming pope in 1963. He reigned during a period of great change and ferment in the Church following the Second Vatican Council.

Giovanni Montini was born September 26, 1897, in Concesio, near Brescia in Italy, the son of a lawyer/journalist/local political figure—and of a mother belonging to the same social background. He was in his early years educated mainly at home because of frail health. Later he studied in Brescia. Ordained a priest on May 29, 1920, he was sent by his bishop to Rome for higher studies and was eventually recruited for the Vatican diplomatic service.

First Assignment
This occurred in May 1923, when Giovanni was sent to the staff of the apostolic nunciature (papal ambassador’s post) in Warsaw, but persistent ill health brought him back to Rome before the end of that same year.
He then pursued special studies at the Ecclesiastical Academy, the training school for future Vatican diplomats, and at the same time resumed work at the Vatican Secretariat of State, where he remained in posts of increasing importance for more than 30 years.

Pope Paul VI
In 1953 he declined an invitation to be elevated to the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1953. In the beginning of November 1954, Pope Pius XII appointed him archbishop of Milan. Pope John XXIII named him a cardinal in 1958. He was elected pope on June 21, 1963, choosing to be known as Pope Paul VI. His pontificate was confronted with the problems and uncertainties of a church facing a new role in the contemporary world. His philosophical attitude was often construed by his critics as ‘timidity, indecision, and uncertainty’. Nonetheless, many of Paul VI’s decisions in these crucial years called for much courage.

‘Humanae Vitae’
In July 1968 he published his encyclical ‘Humanae Vitae’ (“Of Human Life”), which reaffirmed the stand of several of his predecessors on the long-smouldering controversy over artificial means of birth control, which he opposed. In many sectors this encyclical provoked adverse reactions that may be described as the most violent attacks on the authority of papal teaching in modern times.
Similarly, his firm stand on the retention of priestly celibacy (Sacerdotalis caelibatus, June 1967) evoked much harsh criticism. Paul VI later likened the large numbers of priests leaving the ministry to a “crown of thorns.” He also was disturbed by the growing numbers of religious men and women asking for release from vows or who were abandoning out of hand their religious vows.

Social Problems
From the very outset of his years as pope, Paul VI gave clear evidence of the importance he attached to the study and solution of social problems and to their impact on world peace. Social questions had already been prominent in his far-reaching pastoral program in Milan (1954–63).

Travelling Pope
During those years he had travelled extensively in the Americas and in Africa, centring his attention mainly on concern for workers and for the poor. Such problems dominated his first encyclical letter, Ecclesiam suam (“His Church”), August 6, 1964, and later became the insistent theme of his celebrated Populorum progressio (“Progress of the Peoples”), March 26, 1967. This encyclical was such a pointed plea for social justice that in some conservative circles the pope was accused of Marxism.

Paul’s Concerns for Unity
Paul VI’s human concern found clear expression in his efforts to lessen the long-standing tensions between the church of Rome and other churches and even with those professing no religion at all. He sought closer understanding with numerous religious leaders throughout the world, both Christian and non-Christian, placing more emphasis on those aspects that unite the churches than on those that divide. To show that mutual acquaintance is at the very foundation of any plans or hopes for unity, Pope Paul met with prominent religious leaders from various communities in Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union as well as other countries. He also set up a special secretariat for nonbelievers, stressing the need of understanding and endeavouring to solve the problems posed by atheism.

Intermarriages
Under his guidance the Roman Catholic Church drastically revised its legislation governing marriages between its own members and those who profess other faiths, expressing a firm desire to diminish the threat of human tragedy following possible clashes of individual consciences. For this reason Paul VI’s ‘motu proprio‘(a type of papal document) was welcomed and praised for its understanding of human problems and its desire to find a satisfactory solution to the problem of mixed marriages without demanding of either side any renunciation of basic principles of conscience.

Paul and Vatican II

The Montini pontificate began in the period following the difficult first session of the Second Vatican Council, in which the new pope had played an important, though not spectacular, part. His lengthy association with university students in the stormy atmosphere of the early days of the fascist regime in Italy, in combination with the generally philosophical bent of his mind—developed by a long-standing habit of extensive and reflective reading—enabled him to bring to the perplexing problems of the times an academic understanding, coupled with the knowledge derived from long years of practical diplomatic experience.

Paul VI guided the three remaining sessions of the Second Vatican Council, often developing points he had first espoused as cardinal archbishop of Milan. His chief concern was that the Roman Catholic Church in the 20th century should be a faithful witness to the tradition of the past, except when tradition was obviously anachronistic.

Upon the completion of the council (Dec. 8, 1965), Paul VI was confronted with the formidable task of implementing its decisions, which affected practically every facet of church life. He approached this task with a sense of the difficulty involved in making changes in centuries-old structures and practices—changes rendered necessary by many rapid transformations in the social, psychological, and political milieu of the 20th century. His approach was consistently one of careful assessment of each concrete situation, with a sharp awareness of the many varied complications that he believed could not be ignored and most famous for reaffirming the Catholic church’s ban on artificial contraception.

Church ‘splits‘
A wide swath of Catholics, especially in the U.S. and Europe, were furious over Paul’s decision. They were convinced that the ban would be lifted and that Paul was shutting down the reforms that had begun a few years earlier with momentous changes adopted by the Second Vatican Council. Many conservatives, on the other hand, hailed “Humanae Vitae” for reasserting traditional doctrine. This division foreshadowed the deep splits that have lasted over later decades.

Paul VI, the Reformer
Chief among his achievments was his call for a more missionary church that would be open to the world and one that would dialogue with other Christians and other believers, and with nonbelievers, too. “For us, Paul VI was the great light,” Pope Francis recently said of Paul VI referring to his years as a young priest. He was also a vocal champion of the church’s social justice teachings, and he sought to embed those concepts as foundation stones of Catholic doctrine. He also implemented a system of regular meetings of bishops, called synods, to promote a more collaborative, horizontal church.

Paul VI, an ‘Evangelical’ Pope.

Pope Francis also said that the key to Paul’s pontificate was his 1975 exhortation on evangelization, Evangelii Nuntiandi (“On Proclaiming the Gospel”), which Francis has called “the greatest pastoral document written to date.“ In that landmark document — largely overshadowed by the contraception encyclical, Paul VI said that the church itself “has a constant need of being evangelized,” and he wrote that people today listen “more willingly to witnesses than to teachers,” so Catholic leaders above all must practice what they preach. “The world calls for, and expects from us,*simplicity of life, *the spirit of prayer, *charity towards all, especially towards the lowly and the poor, *obedience and humility, detachment and self-sacrifice. *Without this mark of holiness, our word will have difficulty in touching the heart of modern man, it risks being vain and sterile,”

Paul wrote in words that could have come from the pen of Pope Francis. In fact, in November 2013, Francis sent a personal representative to a meeting of the U.S. bishops and had him read those passages to the hierarchy, followed by clear instructions that Francis, like Paul before him, “wants ‘pastoral’ bishops, not bishops who profess or follow a particular ideology.”
Paul discarded the ‘papal triple tiara‘ and other trappings of the monarchical papacy, sending a message
“that the pope was not a king, but a bishop, a pastor, and a servant,“
as the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops put it in one of its tributes.

Paul VI, a ‘Pilgrim’ pope
Elected in 1963 on the death of St. John XXIII, amid intense debates among bishops at the Second Vatican Council, the former Cardinal Giovanni Montini inherited the difficult task of seeing the council through to its conclusion in 1965. In the following years, he pushed through the council’s changes, including updating the liturgy from Latin to the vernacular and completing a major reorganization of the Roman Curia. Paul was the original “pilgrim pope,” the first pontiff to travel outside Italy in the modern era.
On his first trip, Paul met the Eastern Orthodox patriarch in Jerusalem in 1964, and during Paul’s eight other foreign journeys he visited Asia (-where a knife-wielding artist in the Philippines tried to stab him) – Africa and Latin America. In 1965, Paul became the first pope to visit the U.S., and delivered a ringing denunciation of war to the United Nations General Assembly. Paul’s motto: “No one defeated; everyone convinced.”

Pope Paul was never destined to become a star the way some other popes were. “Critiqued by the left over birth control and by the right for reforms to the liturgy, Paul in his last years was depicted as a Hamlet-like figure of equivocation.

A ‘sad ‘pope
His end did seem tragic, as he aged rapidly under the burdens of the office, governing the church at a time of massive social upheavals abroad and close to home. (In the spring of 1978, a long time friend of Paul’s and a prominent Italian political leader, Aldo Moro, was kidnapped and executed by left-wing terrorists in Italy despite an impassioned appeal by the anguished pope. )Pope Paul died of a heart attack three months later, “one of the holiest and most loving of Popes” but also “one of the saddest,” commented the editors of the Catholic magazine Commonweal at the time.

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Memorable Sayings for Today

In youth, the days are short and the years are long.
In old age, the years are short and the days are long.

also

Whatever you want to do, do it now! We have only so many tomorrows.

~ St Pope Paul VI ~

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