Year B

Sunday, October 6/24
Gospel of St. Mark 10:2-16
"Let the little children come to me."
Jesus loves children and never rejected them.  He knew the importance and value of their qualities of complete trust and relying on the people who love them.  We are encouraged to look at life and see the world through the eyes of a child so that we may grow closer to God and his kingdom of love.


Sunday, October 13, 2024
Gospel of St Mark 10:17-30
"Nothing is impossible for God."
How do we share eternal life with God?  Let us become faithful disciples by following Jesus and do not push him out of our lives because of earthly objects such as money and possessions.  Put God at the centre of our lives and everything will fall into place.  We should invest what is valuable to God so that they can be stored in heaven.


Sunday, October 20, 2024
Gospel of St Mark 10:35-45
"The Son of Man came to serve others and to give up his life to set many people free."
We are given picture perfect examples by Jesus himself of how we should follow him.  We must try to walk in his footsteps that lead to the kingdom.  True greatness is found in the loving service and humility towards others.  Who will you serve this week and why?


Sunday, October 27, 2024
Gospel of St Mark 10:46-52
"Go.  Because you believe in me your sight has returned."
When we open the eyes of our hearts, we are filled with the light of faith, which is Jesus.  If we have faith in Jesus, then we are confident and hopeful that he will help us when we ask him to.  Next time you see fireworks, think of how the amazing love of Jesus can change and light up someone's life and the world.


Sunday, November 3, 2024
Gospel of St. Mark 12:28-34
"To love God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind and all your strength, and to love others as much as you love yourself.  These commandments come before all others!"
The Shema ("to hear) prayer from the Old Testament reminds us how important it is to love God first.  The scribes challenged Jesus on many occasions but they understood the wisdom of Jesus' words when he addressed the importance of loving one another.  They praised him for putting love of God and neighbour before all else.  Fix yourselves on J.O.Y; Jesus first, then others, then yourself.


Sunday, November 10, 2024
Gospel of St. Mark 12:38-44
"This woman has given more than any of the others!  They gave only what they could spare, but she has given everything that she had!"
To Jesus, the amount of a gift doesn't matter but the "value" of it does.  The amount of love behind an offering is what matters.  He witnessed this "value" in the widow and her offering.  Jesus referred to the Pharisees as "empty vessels".  They would obey the law and be all dressed up on the outside by looking very holy but their hearts were empty.  They were selfish and didn't care about what mattered to God nor the feelings of others.  The more love within us, the more attention we give to our goodness.


Sunday, November 17, 2024
Gospel of St. Mark 13:24-32
(No Liturgy because of CWL Bazaar)
"Everything else will pass away, but my words are everlasting.  No one except my heavenly Father knows the day or time when all this will happen."
We do not know when Christ will return.  Only God the Father knows exactly when this will happen.  When the world comes to an end, the Son of Man will appear in all his glory, and send his angels to gather his people together from every corner of the world.  We need to give ourselves warning signs for the end of time.  These warning signs will remind us be alert and to be prepared with how we make our lives pleasing to God and others.
 

Sunday, November 24, 2024
Gospel of St. John 18:33-37
Feast of Christ the King! 
Each of us are jewels in the Crown of Christ; virtues and qualities are precious to God such as service, forgiveness, peace, hope, truth, love, joy, courage, strength, humility, kindness and acceptance.

"My kingdom does not belong to this world; if it did, then my people would have fought to save me.  My kingdom has no place here!"
Jesus wants us to understand that the kingdom of God is found "within" us when we accept Jesus as our king and when we try to live with love and virtues in our actions and deeds.  Pilate didn't want to go against the Jewish leaders because this would create a lot of trouble including for himself.  They were jealous and afraid because huge crowds believed in Jesus and followed him.  The leaders worried that Jesus would create an uprising against the Romans who ruled over Palestine.


Liturgical Year B comes to an end.

Welcome to Year C!

Sunday, December 1, 2024
First Sunday of Advent
Gospel of St. Luke 21:25-28,34-36
"Hold your heads high because your salvation is near.  Stay awake and always keep yourselves ready to meet the Son of God, so that you are not taken by surprise when he comes unexpectedly."
At the end of time, Jesus will come in glory and there will be signs in the sky to warn us of Jesus' coming.  Lesson from November 17th reminds us to be alert and be ready for only God knows the time!


Sunday, December 8, 2024
Second Sunday of Advent
Gospel of St. Luke 3:1-6
John the Baptist said, "Prepare a path for the Lord.  Make it straight and smooth and all people will see God's salvation."
Chosen by God, John the Baptist helped prepare the Israelites for the welcoming of their Messiah (Saviour).  He was filled with the Holy Spirit when he preached about repentance and began baptising people in the Jordan River.  Wash away past mistakes and make a fresh start with their lives rooted in God.


Sunday, December 15, 2024
Third Sunday of Advent
Gospel of St. Luke 3:10-18
John the Baptist told the people, "I baptise you with water, but someone is coming who will baptise you with the Holy Spirit."
Baptism with water is a process of purification  (being made clean) and renewal (making a fresh start).  When a person receives the Holy Spirit in baptism, it means that they are filled with his life and belong to God.  The Holy Spirit allows us to grow more like Jesus and become closer to God.


Sunday, December 22, 2024
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Gospel of St. Luke 1:39-44
Elizabeth said to Mary, "Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the child you will have, because you believe in the power of God and he has chosen you to be the mother of our Saviour."
The angel Gabriel told Mary that she was chosen by God to the the mother of his Son.  He also informed her that Elizabeth was with child and thereafter, Mary travelled on foot to go and visit Elizabeth.  This is the Visitation, the second mystery from the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary.  At their meeting, the baby inside Elizabeth leapt with joy at the sound of Mary's voice.  This baby is John the Baptist.  This is a spiritual meeting in close distance where John in the womb is the first human, filled with the Holy Spirit, who connects immediately with Jesus, the Saviour, who is in the womb of Mother Mary.  This is a most incredible testament that John the Baptist is well aware of the Messiah.


Sunday, December 29, 2024
Feast of the Holy Family
Gospel of St. Luke 2:41-52
"Did you not realize that I would be in my Father's house?"
Mary and Joseph begin a search for Jesus when they realize that he was missing at the end of the first day's journey of the festival of observing the Feast of Passover.  After three long and worrisome days of searching, Mary and Joseph were relieved and overjoyed to find Jesus in the Temple.  He was listening to the elders who were amazed at Jesus' understanding of religious and philosophical matters and asking them questions.  This is the Finding in the Temple, which is the fifth mystery of the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary.