First Sunday of Advent (A)

-
The Unknown Day and Hour   Lectionary: 1 Reading 1 -  Isaiah 2:1-5 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 122: 1-9 Reading 2 -  Romans 13:11-14 Alleluia -  Cf. Psalm 85:8 Gospel -  Matthew 24:37-44 '... Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.' Introduction  As we gather on this First Sunday of Advent , we also mark the beginning of the Church’s new liturgical calendar and a four-week preparation period leading up to Christmas. The word Advent comes from either of two Latin words, which simply mean “to come” (Ad-venire) or “to arrive” (Ad-ventus), and as early as the fourth (4th) century, Christians have had this special time of preparation towards Christmas. Of course, Advent is not merely a countdown to Christmas; Even as we begin the material preparations for the social celebration of Christmas, the liturgical celebrations of these weeks invite us to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus. But what does the co...
Post a Comment

Reflection - Holy Hour for Life 2025

-

Parish HOLY HOUR FOR LIFE (HHFL)


Welcome to this Holy Hour for Life here at Our Lady Star of the Sea. This is one of many such times of Adoration and prayer that are held throughout the Archdiocese of Boston each year in conjunction with the national observance of a Day of Prayer and Penance on January 22nd, and this year’s annual March for Life in Washington DC this coming Friday, January 24th. The purpose of these Holy Hours is to bring Catholics together in prayerful solidarity, united by our desire for an increased respect for the dignity of human life, from conception to natural death, and by our own need for the tender compassion of God and the generous mercy of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Life is a precious gift from God, created in His image and likeness. This is how we know that there is always a beauty and dignity inherent in each individual. Each person, regardless of their circumstance, is deserving of love and respect … and …as we hear in our first reading tonight from Isaiah, each of us is known and loved by God from the moment of our creation in our mother’s womb … and we are called to bring the light of that love into the world so that God’s “salvation may reach the ends of the earth.” This is not merely a task to accomplish, but a divine mission to engage with the world compassionately, addressing the needs of the marginalized and the distressed, and to be the agents of hope and healing found in the divine mercy of Jesus Christ.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus responds to the cries of the afflicted with a gaze of mercy and the comfort of His presence … healing the sick, forgiving sinners, and welcoming outcasts … and each act of mercy reveals the heart of God, who desires reconciliation and healing for all … In fact, when Jesus says in the Gospel of John that He is the Bread of Life … we see a little of just how precious the gift of life is … because Jesus gives everything he has to restore and nourish it … and He continues to give himself in the Sacrament of the Eucharist … and that brings us back to the Holy Hour for Life.

Because the Real Presence of Jesus is in the Eucharist, we come here tonight to be in His presence. We do so for an hour in memory of Jesus asking Peter, James and John to keep watch with him for one hour while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before His passion. Tonight, we also reflect on the sanctity of life, the transformative power of forgiveness, and the healing power of Christ.

As we conclude this Holy Hour ... May we, through the grace of God, be empowered to live out His compassion and mercy in our daily lives, becoming beacons of hope and love for all those we encounter. May we continue to pray for the sanctity of Life, Forgiveness, and Healing and all that surrounds our presence with one another – compassion, mercy and understanding. I ask you to please include in your prayers all Expectant Moms and their unborn babies.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

-
Image
Lazarus and the Rich Man (Dives)   Lectionary: 138 Reading 1 -  Amos 6:1a, 4-7 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 Reading 2 -  1 Timothy 6:11-16 Alleluia -  Cf. 2 Corinthians 8:9 Gospel -  Luke 16:19-31 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.' Justice, both socially and spiritually, is at the heart of today’s readings. Social Justice is about seeing the “unseen”… remembering the “forgotten” in our society. It’s about the men, women and children who only want a better life in a world that God has given to all of us, just not a select few. In our first reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, we hear from Amos, the prophet of social justice. God called him to speak to the rich of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The country was about to be destroyed by the Assyrians while the wealthy “lie on beds of ivory” and “drink wine from bowls,” confident that “the ruin of Joseph” ...
Read more

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

-
Image
The Narrow Gate Lectionary: 123 Reading 1 -  Isaiah 66:18-21 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 117:1, 2 Reading 2 -  Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13 Alleluia -  John 14:6 Gospel -  Luke 13:22-30 Our First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah speaks of a magnificent gathering. This vision is expansive, reaching out to distant coastlands and peoples who have not yet heard of God's glory. It speaks of a time when all people from all nations will be brought as an offering to the Lord, and some will even be taken as priests and Levites. This prophecy foreshadows the universal reach of God's salvation, a theme that resonates deeply with the Gospel. Our Gospel Reading from Saint Luke presents a challenging counterpoint to this expansive vision. As Jesus journeys towards Jerusalem, teaching in towns and villages. We can picture Jesus resting during his travels, seated on a stump or a rock outside a town, or maybe on a low wall inside a town square . He is surrounded by a crowd of followe...
Read more

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

-
Image
Teach Us To Pray Lectionary: 111 Reading 1 -  Genesis 18:20-32 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8 Reading 2 -  Colossians 2:12-14 Alleluia -  Romans 8:15bc Gospel -  Luke 11:1-13 Today we’re celebrating the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time; and our readings for the Mass invite us to reflect deeply upon the power and nature of prayer. From Abraham's bold intercession on behalf of Sodom, to Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray, we are called to a renewed understanding of our relationship with God. But first we should probably talk about what is prayer … If we look up “prayer” in the English dictionary, we see prayer defined as: a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God .   It come to us from a French word that is based on the Latin precarius, which means ‘obtained by entreaty.’ For many of us, this is what first comes to mind when we pray … we are asking for something from God; after all, it was easy for the Israel...
Read more

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

-
Image
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector   Lectionary: 150 Reading 1 -  Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 [sic] Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23 Reading 2 -  2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Alleluia -  2 Corinthians 5:19 Gospel -  Luke 18:9-14 '... for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.' In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents us with the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. This story is closely connected to the one which comes just before it about the persistent widow who secures a just decision from a dishonest judge. While the first encourages us to pray and never give up. The second reminds us how, and in what manner, we ought to pray. However, to fully understand the example Jesus gives us, we should look more closely at first the century audience that He initially spoke to. A faithful Jew at that time would have assumed two things: That the Pharisee was a very holy and devout man.  And that...
Read more