Irish monastic founder, the brother of Sts. Foillan and Ulan, praised by St. Bede. Fursey was born on the island of Inisguia en Lough Carri, Ireland, as a noble. He founded Rathmat Abbey, now probably Killursa. In 630 Fursey and his friends went to East Anglia, England, where he founded a monastery near Ugremouth on land donated by King Sigebert. In his later years, Fursey went to France to build a monastery at Lagny, near Paris, France. He was buried in Picardy. St. Bede and others wrote about …
Category: Parish News & Events
Prayer for the Help of the Holy Spirit: Prayer of the Day for Sunday, January 16, 2022
O God, send forth your Holy Spirit into my heart that I may perceive, into my mind that I may remember, and into my soul that I may meditate. Inspire me to speak with piety, holiness, tenderness and mercy. Teach, guide and direct my thoughts and senses from beginning to end. May your grace ever help and correct me, and may I be strengthened now with wisdom from on high, for the sake of your infinite mercy. Amen.
Saint Anthony of Padua
Jesus’ Simple Calling
Have you ever sat and thought long and hard about time? Sometimes I think to myself, “that second that just passed a second ago is now in the past and will never be lived again.” Sometimes I think back to 9-11 and consider how that was already over 20 years ago. The times I have been pregnant in my third trimester, I thought to myself “can time go any slower?!” and then as soon as the baby was out, time continued on at its rapid pace (My baby is 5 months old already!!).
Time is such a mystery and if we think on it too hard, it might be enough to befuddle us bonkers. It is such a consolation that in heaven there is no sense of time and all we have to “worry” about is rejoicing in God’s holy presence.
God works within space and time, yet His words are also timeless. In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls Matthew saying “Follow me.” Later he states, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
God also calls us to follow Him each and every day. He recognizes that not one of us is righteous, we are all sinners, yet He calls us anyway. His call is simple, “Follow me.”
Over Christmastime, I watched a movie with my children called “The Star”. It is an animated film that came out a few years ago with a depiction of the Christmas movie from the point of view of the animals, particularly Mary and Joseph’s donkey. His dream had always been to march in the “Royal Caravan” with the pristine horses. After meeting Mary and experiencing her kindness he realizes that protecting her on her trip to Bethlehem is much more important to him. In the end, he realizes that he actually did participate in a royal caravan, because he carried the King of Kings on his back.
Following Jesus might entail something different for each person. For the donkey it was carrying the King of Kings on his back, for us, it is carrying the King of Kings in our heart.
However God might be calling you, within this mystery of time that we call life on Earth, may your answer always imitate that of the Virgin Mary, who simply said “yes.”
Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling projects, finding fun ways to keep her little ones occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at her parish, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for over 20 years.
Feature Image Credit: Pierre Bamin, https://unsplash.com/photos/LLFg2HUAC7Y
St. Paul the Hermit: Saint of the Day for Saturday, January 15, 2022
Also known as Paul the First Hermit and Paul of Thebes, an Egyptian hermit and friend of St. Jerome. Born in Lower The baid, Egypt, he was left an orphan at about the age of fifteen and hid during the persecution of the Church under Emperor Traj anus Decius. At the age of twenty two he went to the desert to circumvent a planned effort by his brother in law to report him to authorities as a Christian and thereby gain control of his property. Paul soon found that the eremitical life was much to …
Arising from Sleep: Prayer of the Day for Saturday, January 15, 2022
O Master and holy God, who are beyond our understanding: at your word, light came forth out of darkness. In your mercy, you gave us rest through night-long sleep, and raised us up to glorify your goodness and to offer our supplication to You. Now, in your own tender love, accept us who adore You and give thanks to You with all our heart. Grant us all our requests, if they lead to salvation; give us the grace of manifesting that we are children of light and day, and heirs to your eternal reward. …
St. Felix of Nola: Saint of the Day for Friday, January 14, 2022
Felix was the son of Hermias, a Syrian who had been a Roman soldier. He was born on his father’s estate at Nola near Naples, Italy. On the death of his father, Felix distributed his inheritance to the poor, was ordained by Bishop St. Maximus of Nola, and became his assistant. When Maximus fled to the desert at the beginning of Decius’ persecution of the Christians in 250, Felix was seized in his stead and imprisoned. He was reputedly released from prison by an angel, who directed him to the …
Come Holy Spirit: Prayer of the Day for Friday, January 14, 2022
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
St. Hilary of Poitiers: Saint of the Day for Thursday, January 13, 2022
“They didn’t know who they were.” This is how Hilary summed up the problem with the Arian heretics of the fourth century. Hilary, on the other hand, knew very well who he was — a child of a loving God who had inherited eternal life through belief in the Son of God. He hadn’t been raised as a Christian but he had felt a wonder at the gift of life and a desire to find out the meaning of that gift. He first discarded the approach of many people who around him, who believed the purpose of life …
Act of Hope #2: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, January 13, 2022
O my God,
trusting in your promises
and because you are faithful,
powerful and merciful,
I hope, through the merits of Jesus Christ,
for the pardon of my sins,
final perseverance
and the blessed glory of heaven
Mission And Communion
“The whole town was gathered at the door.” What would this look like if it happened at your house? “After sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.” What would you think about this? What would your friends think about this? What would you do?
Jesus responded by curing many and driving out demons. If we had that ability, maybe we would do this too. But then, Jesus does something we probably would not do – he leaves and goes far away from all the people clamoring for his help, celebrating him, undoubtedly wanting more from him.
He goes away to pray. He leaves the crowd so that he can be alone with his Father.
This is a recurring pattern in the Gospel, so it must have happened often. Jesus, who alone is the Holy One, who alone is the Lord, who alone is the Son of God, goes to be alone with his Father. In his singular power and steadfastness, in his spiritual perfection, in his emotional and psychological integrity, he is utterly independent of every inordinate human influence. He is focused on the Mission from his Father, and neither the criticism of others nor their adulation can move him unless it is the will of the Father. And so, he returns to communion with the Father repeatedly, even when he must get up very early or stay up very late to do so.
His friends go looking for him (in another passage, they seem to think he is losing his mind because they cannot understand his actions). When they tell him “everyone is looking for you,” he responds that he needs to keep moving, to preach in other places, so that others can experience the Good News. Was this the message he received from the Father in prayer? It seems so, by his words, “For this purpose have I come.”
And then he preaches and heals throughout all of Galilee, to fulfill the Mission given to him by the Father.
When we remain firmly in the Truth of our own mission, we too can be less disrupted by the criticism or adulation or advice of others. We all have a mission, we all have tasks put before us by the Father. How do we know what they are? They are usually revealed in the duties, interruptions, and inspirations of the moment: our family, our parish, our job, those in need before us. It is only when we spend quiet time with the Lord, as Jesus did, that our purpose can become clearer to us, and we can fulfill our mission with courage and confidence. Otherwise, we can be like snowflakes in the wind, being blown in every direction by influences that are not holy.
In 2022, let’s resolve to imitate Christ by spending more time in solitary prayer, receiving our mission and the grace to fulfill it from the Father Who loves us.
Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and four grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is www.KathrynTherese.com
Feature Image Credit: JacksonDavid, https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-hand-together-prayer-5216585/