“BATTLING WITH A HEAVY SEA, FOR THERE WAS A HEADWIND.”
 
Dear Brothers & Sisters,

Today we encounter God as a gentle breeze and Jesus as a God who walks upon the water and saves us when we cry out to him in our drowning moments. Yes, our God is a God who saves, not a God who destroys people and things. We see this in the first reading from the first book of the Kings 19:9-11, 15 and the Gospel of Matthew 14:22-35.

In the Gospel just referred to, the disciples are battling with a heavy sea. Jesus comes to them, calls Peter out of the boat, saves him as he sinks in doubt and gets into the boat with them. As a result, the sea was calmed.

Today, we are battling with a heavy sea. Covid-19 is throwing heavy waves at us and hurricanes are presenting daunting challenges to us. Let us pray the prayer of Peter as he felt the force of raging winds and began to sink.

“Lord save me (us).”
 
Fr. Clement Paul                    Rev. Stephen Joseph
Parish Priest                          Parish Deacon.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

“Have you understood all this?” This question was put to the crowd who were given the parables of the kingdom. Those parables were of the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price and the dragnet of fish. That same question is being put to us after we have just heard of the three parables of the kingdom. Jesus puts the same question to us. Have you understood all this talk of the kingdom? What does the kingdom mean to you? 

If your answer is “yes, I do understand”, then what are you going to do about it? It’s important that you do something about what you understand the kingdom to be?

Jesus, in the Gospel today, tells his hearers and is telling us that disciples of the kingdom are active, dynamic followers of the ways to the kingdom. You’ve heard about the kingdom, you understand it’s meaning. Are you going to act on what you understand the kingdom to be? 

On Sunday 2nd August, four of our children will be receiving the First Holy Communion. They are John Massiah, Isaac Inniss, Ade McDowell and Kate Tomlin. Please keep praying for them and their families.

Fr. Clement Paul                    Rev. Stephen Joseph
Parish Priest                          Parish Deacon.

SUBJECTS OF THE KINGDOM.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells three parables. First about the Wheat and the Darnel, next about the Mustard Seed and thirdly about Yeast. But the disciples asked for an explanation of the Wheat and Darnel. What struck me in Jesus's explanation is that text that says, “The good seed is the subjects of the kingdom.” It led me to ask and who are the subjects. We are. By virtue of our baptism, in fact by virtue of being human, we are the subjects of the kingdom.

Notice, however, that in the parade the servants are told that the Wheat and Darnel have to both grow together until the harvest. That explains why in our church, in our world, the devil influences some of the subjects. If they are weeded out now, some of the wheat may suffer as well. It also gives the Darnel a chance to become wheat. Think about it.

Fr. Clement Paul.
Parish Priest.

Rev. Stephen Joseph.
Parish Deacon.

THE CORPUS CHRISTI PLEDGE OF ETERNAL LIFE.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Today, Sunday 14th June, our Diocese of Bridgetown celebrates the solemnity of the Body of Christ. "...for on the night he was betrayed, he took bread, broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, ‘This is my Body.’” Since that night, the Corpus Christi has occupied a profound presence in the Christian Community.

Yes, whenever Mass is celebrated or the Corpus Christi venerated the promise of eternal life is repeated by Jesus. “But anyone who eats this Bread will have eternal life.” (John 6:58). So, the Corpus Christi, in addition to being the Real Presence of Jesus, is also a promise of the future glory of life eternal to all who eat Him.

The Corpus Christi is therefore, that pledge of the Lord Jesus and is a solemn call of Christ to us to eat his Corpus Christi so that we may live forever

Please pray with me this prayer of our Church.

O sacred food in which Christ is received, the memory of his passion is renewed,
the soul is filled with grace and the pledge of future glory is given to us.
Grant us we beseech Thee so to venerate the sacred mystery of your Body and Blood that we may ever feel within us the fruits of our redemption, who live and reign, God forever and ever.
Amen.

What a blessed way to open our church doors once more, so that we can celebrate, venerate and receive the Corpus Christi! May we all one day come into that place that Jesus has gone ahead of us to prepare for us to join him in glory everlasting. In the meantime, we thank him for his Corpus Christi.

A Blessed Corpus Christi everyone.

Fr. Clement Paul                    Rev. Stephen Joseph
Parish Priest                          Parish Deacon.

GOOD LOVED THE WORLD SO MUCH THAT HE GAVE SON WHO GIVES US THE TRINITY.
 
Dear Sisters and Brothers,

“God loved the world so much...” How much? As to give us his Son. And his Son and His Father love us so much that they give us the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit loves us so much that he makes it possible for the Father and the Son and himself to live in our hearts. And all this because of God’s tremendous love.

That love is being offered to each of us in and through the Trinity. The Trinity is God offering himself as Our Father, His Son as Our Savior and the Holy Spirit as Our Lover. That is mystery. It’s real but beyond the realm of reason. God reveals himself to us as far as we can know him. He reveals himself as love itself. As love that is unchanging and all loving.

Yes, God loves the world so much that he gives us the Holy Trinity.

The Trinity loves us. Let us enjoy and celebrate that love.
 
Fr. Clement Paul                    Rev. Stephen Joseph
Parish Priest                          Parish Deacon.

“RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT...”

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

“After saying this, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Every Pentecost we are called to relive and celebrate that gift of God. That gift we call the Holy Spirit. That Spirit is, in fact, God giving himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

The words, “receive the Holy Spirit” are meant to be an invitation to freely accept the Spirit of God into our lives and hearts. It is in that light that after entering the closed room where the disciples were because of fear, Jesus said to them, “Peace with you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This was his gift to them. He offered himself to them; he also gives himself to us in and through that same Holy Spirit.

So as we celebrate the great solemnity of Pentecost, we are also doing so behind closed doors for fear of COVID-19 and its crippling and deadly effects. However, this Pentecost is saying to us, Jesus also comes into our closed rooms and says “Peace be with you.” Let us hear him saying to us “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

A Blessed and Peaceful Pentecost to you.

Fr. Clement Paul                    Rev. Stephen Joseph
Parish Priest                          Parish Deacon.

“AND KNOW THAT I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, YES TO THE END OF TIME.”

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Today’s celebration of the ascension of the risen Jesus, has Jesus making this profound promise, “And know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time.” Yes, although Jesus is risen and has ascended, he is with us through his Holy Spirit living in us.

But how is this happening and yet we are struggling with a pandemic and the threats of a more active hurricane season than usual. How do we know that he is with us? And what does that mean in reality? We know that he is with us because of our faith in him. We believe that he is true to his word. We believe that he is the only begotten Son of God and that he is faithful to his promises. It is this knowledge that he is indeed with us, that enables us to face each day and not be crushed by all the stress suffering and deaths around us.

Panic steps in or will occur whenever we no longer know that he is with us. In fact, he is with us not just for a moment but until the end of time which in fact is timeless. So, he is always with us because of, and through, our faith. That explains why in the Mass the words “The Lord be with you” are repeated many times. His presence is the grace that keeps us focused in hope. And that hope is not wishful thinking but confident expectation that life to the full will be ours one day. One day coming, we will greet and hug and celebrate in a new way.

In the meantime, let his promise keep echoing in our minds and hearts:
“And know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time.”

Have a blessed week.

Fr. Clement Paul                    Rev. Stephen Joseph
Parish Priest                          Parish Deacon.

“I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ORPHANS...BECAUSE I LIVE YOU WILL LIVE.”
 
Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Jesus told his disciples what he tells us today, that he will not leave us orphans. Yes, he’s going to prepare a place for us so that where he is, we will be there too. He says at the same time that his going away does not mean that we will be friendless. We will not be orphaned. He anticipates that we will want to know how that can happen so he says that, because he lives, whatever happens to us, we will also live.
In times like these, words like these can sound hollow. And yet they are more than just words. They are assurances that we are not alone in the struggles we face daily.

The risen Jesus is with us.

We are to take courage whenever we are being challenged, whenever we are suffering and be assured that we cannot be lost. Why? Jesus also tells us, “I will not leave you orphans... because I will live you will.” Yes, because he lives, we will live. Alleluia.

Have a blessed week.

Fr. Clement Paul                    Rev. Stephen Joseph
Parish Priest                          Parish Deacon.

“LORD, WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING,
SO HOW COULD WE KNOW THE WAY?”

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Thanks and blessings to all mothers on this Mother’s Day. Mother, you are not just precious, but after Jesus, you embody what love is. In the Old Testament when God speaks of the depth of his love, he refers to the love of a mother for her child. And his Son Jesus when he is grieved to see his love being rejected says “Jerusalem, Jerusalem how I long to gather you as a (mother) hen gathers her chicks.” So, mother take a bow. Accept our gratitude for saying yes to being a mother. Thanks for the precious gift of a mother’s love that you give us.

Now, to the message for today. Jesus is speaking to us today as he spoke to his disciples then. He is telling us not to be so troubled that we allow panic to take over and we lose faith. That is why he said to them and says to us, “Trust in God still and trust in me”

Like the disciples then, we do not know where what is happening is leading. We want to trust him but we want to know where the Father and the Son is in all this. So, I think it’s alright for us to say “Lord we do not know where you are going in this so how can we know the way to you.”

Yes, there is no harm in asking “How can we know the way?” He will answer, “I am the way, the truth and the life. I am the way out of this pandemic to a better life. I am the truth that this pandemic will not conquer and I am the life that will rise out of this evil death trap that can only kill the body but not the soul. Just trust me still.”

Have a blessed week.

Fr. Clement Paul                    Rev. Stephen Joseph
Parish Priest                          Parish Deacon.

“...THE SHEEP HEAR HIS VOICE, ONE BY ONE HE CALLS HIS OWN SHEEP AND LEADS THEM OUT.”

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is each year designated as Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocations Sunday. The gospel each year is about the Good Shepherd and his sheep and so every year we thank Jesus for shepherding us and calling others to shepherd his Sheep. On that Sunday, we thank Jesus our Good Shepherd for calling us one by one to follow him. We also say thanks to all who, hearing the call of the Good Shepherd, say yes to being priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers and members of the Consecrated life like Living Water.

Our Good Shepherd is the risen Jesus who calls each of us, one by one and who leads us out one by one. What that is saying, is that that Shepherd knows every single one of us. We are so special, that in the Gospel of Luke we hear him saying “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go in search of the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and upon arrival home he calls his neighbors and says to them, “Rejoice with me, I have found the sheep I have lost.” The answer to Jesus’ question is only Jesus the Good Shepherd would leave ninety-nine and go in search of a lost one until he finds it.

May those of us who are lost, listen to his call and follow where he leads us. May the Good Shepherd bless in a special way all who have said yes to the call to be shepherds. May others come to say yes also.

Have a blessed week.

Fr. Clement Paul                    Rev. Stephen Joseph
Parish Priest                          Parish Deacon.