"GO AND DO THE SAME YOURSELF."

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

“Go and do the same yourself.” Jesus said this to a lawyer who set out to embarrass him. He, Jesus told the story of what is called the Good Samaritan, to the lawyer who asked him “And who is my neighbour?”

After the story, he brings the lawyer to understand that a neighbour is anyone who encounters distress and needs the kind of help that calls for empathy. He then challenges the lawyer to be the kind of neighbour that reaches out to others, especially those who are alienated.

When we were baptized, it was so that we could enjoy the intimacy of being children of God. But that must stop there. It must challenge us to go and be neighbourly – to be Good Samaritan Catholics. As we prepare to observe the month of October as Extraordinary Mission Month, let us heed the theme given to us by Pope Francis, Baptized and Sent. Let us recommit and be Good Samaritan Catholics by obeying the challenge of Jesus, “Go and do the same yourself. “

Children's Vacation Pledge
I will pray and read, and do a good deed everyday.
 
Fr. Clement Paul.
Parish Priest.

“LET YOUR FIRST WORDS BE PEACE BE TO THIS HOUSE...”

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

Peace is God’s precious gift to us all, none excepted. That tremendous gift is not enjoyed by many because of disobedience and sin. The gift giver gives it so that we may have life to the full. Confer John 10:10. It’s a free gift and yet it seems to be always elusive. From the very beginning of the biblical history of the genesis of human beings, we see and experience the yearning and struggle for peace. When we disobey as Adam and Eve and Cain et al did, there is no peace. But God, who is peace himself, comes over and over to bring and offer that peace.

“But what is that peace?”, one may ask. Put simply, it’s an experience of feeling and being at rights with God, people and creation. It’s not just the absence of conflict and of war, but the presence of the love of God in all its glory. Peace is that which flowers in faith, hope and love.
Notice that the peace of Christ which passes all understanding is to be shared. In the Gospel of Luke for this 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus tells the seventy-two disciples as he sends them out, “Whatever house you enter, let your first words be ‘Peace be to this house.’” Jesus’ first words when he appeared to his disciples after his resurrection were, “Peace with you...” We, in virtue of our baptism, are called and sent, sent to bring peace to others with the words “Peace be with you.”

For Children on Vacation

Girls and boys as you go on vacation please promise the following.

       I will pray and read and do a good deed every day.

Learn this and do so every day.

Affectionately,
Fr Clement Paul,
Parish Priest.