Sunday Reading

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-9

Thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.
Behold, I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the world,
with the blind and the lame in their midst,
the mothers and those with child;
they shall return as an immense throng.
They departed in tears,
but I will console them and guide them;
I will lead them to brooks of water,
on a level road, so that none shall stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
Ephraim is my first-born.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

R./ The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R./ The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R./ The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R./ The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R./ The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Second Reading: Hebrews 5:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place:
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel Reading: Mark 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more,
"Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up,
and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

The Sunday Readings!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: Is 53:10-11
Yet it was the will of Yahweh to crush him with grief.
When he makes himself an offering for sin,
he will have a long life and see his descendants.
Through him the will of Yahweh is done.
For the anguish he suffered,
he will see the light and obtain perfect knowledge.
My just servant will justify the multitude;
he will bear and take away their guilt.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

R. (22)Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

2nd Reading: Heb 4:14-16
We have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God, who has entered heaven. Let us, then, hold fast to the faith we profess. Our high priest is not indifferent to our weaknesses, for he was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sinning. Let us, then, with confidence approach God, the giver of grace; we will obtain mercy and, through his favor, help in due time.

Gospel: Mk 10:35-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, "Master, we want you to grant us what we are going to ask of you." And he said, "What do you want me to do for you?" They answered, "Grant us to sit one at your right and one at your left when you come in your glory."
But Jesus said to them, "You don't know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized in the way I am baptized?" They answered, "We can." And Jesus told them, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized in the way I am baptized. But to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to grant. It has been prepared for others."
On hearing this, the other ten were angry with James and John; Jesus then called them to him and said, "As you know, the so-called rulers of the nations act as tyrants and their great ones oppress them. But it shall not be so among you; whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you shall make himself slave of all. Think of the Son of Man who has not come to be served but to serve and to give his life to redeem many."

Dazed and Confused

Well here I go again. Just to lay the ground work a bit generally everyday I read some blogs that I follow, the daily reading and some more in depth translation of the readings. This in an effort to better understand myself and my relationship with Jesus and our Lord. Truthfully some days get more confusing then others. As I have attempted to journey back into our faith I have found myself to be the largest obstacle to getting back. Why I don't know!

I look around at some blogs and they have given inspiration and hope as some are written by very devoted people who seem to have found their way or at least on the path and well on their way. There are the occasional ones who are on the path but like me question what is happening and where they should be on that path. There are some blogs which are just political rants under the guise of the church. These I found amusing but also disheartening at times as politics is a dangerous road at best to travel on but to support political views through religion somehow does not sit well with me. Maybe I am incorrect in this I don't know, you decide.

Last but not least there are those blogs where the blogger decides how the church needs to be saved and what should be done by the priests, bishops and the Holy Father.

Maybe I am having information overload from reading to much. Gaining only a little knowledge which is a very dangerous thing! Truthfully though I just want to know more about my faith and my place in that faith and how I can be closer to Jesus and God, that's it simple but yet profoundly difficult.

Certainly writing about it has helped but still at times I am some disheartened as I spin around in an abyss if you will. If you have any words of wisdom to help me please feel free to comment or even email me. I really need to come to grips here and some assistance would be welcomed.

Thanks and God Bless!

Finally!

Yes it happened. finally! yesterday at the end of mass one of the ladies who thinks she runs the catholic church came and told everyone we have a new parish priest coming. Immigration and work permits were given in this past week and once these are ready he will be on his way.

We were told that he is young (only 33 years old) and is from the Franciscan order.

To me it was an answer for my prayers and those of us at the parish that wanted the parish to continue. For the others it seems like it will be a new priest to contort and control but hopefully not chase away but you never know. Of course they have already started to make decisions for him and me being me I chirped up and said maybe the new Father should make the decisions on how many Sunday masses he wants and at what time. Basically even this one mass on Sunday is a bit thin never mind splitting it back but hey who knows but I think it should be the parish priest deciding this.

Oh well let the games begin. I know I am itching to get involved somehow and will ask what I can do to help. The only thing is I have to make sure that I am getting involved to help and not just argue with the powers who be. I just know that would not be right of course if I see something wrong I will speak up. Hopefully this new parish priest can get some classes and get together to teach as I am starved for this and to learn more to love our lord more!

The Sunday Readings

October 11
Sunday
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: Wis 7:7-11
I prayed and understanding was given to me; I asked earnestly and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepters and thrones and I considered wealth as nothing compared with her.
I preferred her to any jewel of inestimable value, since gold beside her is nothing but a few grains of sand, and silver but mud. I loved her more than wealth and beauty and even preferred her to light, because her radiance never dies.
She brought with her all other good things, untold riches in her hands.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

R. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Make us glad, for the days when you afflicted us,
for the years when we saw evil.
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children;
and may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

2nd Reading: Heb 4:12-13
The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and judges the intentions and thoughts of the heart. All creation is transparent to Him; everything is uncovered and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we render account.

Gospel: Mk 10:17-30
Just as Jesus was setting out on his journey again, a man ran up, knelt before him and asked, “Good Master, what must I do to have eternal life?”
Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat, honor your father and mother.” The man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments since my childhood.”
Then Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him and he said, “For you, one thing is lacking. Go, sell what you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven.. Then come and follow me.” On hearing these words, his face fell and he went away sorrowful for he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were shocked at these words, but Jesus insisted, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
They were more astonished than ever and wondered, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus looked steadily at them and said, “For humans it is impossible, but not for God; all things are possible with God.”
Peter spoke up and said, “We have given up everything to follow you.” Jesus answered, “Truly, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children, or lands for my sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive his reward. I say to you: even in the midst of persecution he will receive a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands in the present time and in the world to come eternal life.”

More on No News

Just a quick update. You know the old saying inquiring minds want to know. So I asked someone who thinks he is important at the parish as to when we get a new parish priest. He said any week as far as he knew but did not know when that would be. He thinks they will be informed when the priest arrives at the airport from Hungary.

Now just to be thorough I asked what if the Bishop decides to close the parish. The answer was astounding. We won't allow that, there is no reason to close us down we will get our own priest then and the Bishop will be forced to keep us going. Okay thanks for the info at least we now know why the parish is under consideration to be closed and to me it is ironic how so many people are in the "know" but know nothing! Now at least you know my concerns about the parish and if it will indeed be existing.

Father G who as mentioned has to be in his 80's does a magnificent job every Sunday and is prepared and delivers wonderful homilies but at times you can see he is tiring during the mass and has physical trouble due to age but he does give his all.

On another note the Rosary group has asked my wife to join them for prayer before Sunday mass. I thought this was great and will certainly strengthen us as a couple as well as I am sure I will pray along with them!

The power point is going well and I have added a couple of very subtle changes which seems everyone appreciates and is funny that when Father B started the power point presentation for the mass it was met with huge resistance and now if I was not to do it I might get attacked!!

So that is it for this weekend on my parish, we just keep rolling along but for how long?

No News

As I struggle in my daily life with this path back into my faith my little parish struggles to survive.

We are yet to get a new Parish priest. My gut feeling is that the parish will be closed and nothing has come from Hungary and the Bishop to dissipate this feeling. last word was that if we had not gone out and brought in the retired priests to do mass the parish would have ceased right after Father B left.

Me thinks the Bishops thinking is this, we close the parish sell of the property and good riddance to them. Now the Bishop might be correct just me well I am being selfish, I am returning to the faith, attempting to learn and strengthen myself. The Hungarian mass is done in a different manner to that English mass in these parts. The people come with at least some respect to where they are, no flip flops, cut offs and halter tops. But then this group of Hungarians have always tried to run the church and have the cultural groups run and dictate to the parish instead of helping the parish flourish.

I was told last year that the Hungarian Bishop was closing down some parishes in the United States and the parishioners were complaining. They told the Bishop that they had 150 kids signed up for the Hungarian scouts and also about the same number for Hungarian language school. Bishop gave them this response that is nice and good but not one of those 150 attend mass and it is the parish church which should be the center of the Hungarian culture and everything revolving around the parish not the other way.

Well same in our parish and there are some blatant disregard for the church from the various groups unless of course they need something.

Oh well with this said the soap opera continues. To me I still think we will close. Bishop will just tell us to go to the Toronto parish or to Welland. Simple problem solved.

Me I keep praying as hard as I can the God helps our parish but I think he knows my underlying selfishness.

We will see. Take care and God bless!

Sunday Reading

October
4
Sunday
27th
Sunday in Ordinary Time

1st
Reading: Gen 2:18-24

Yahweh God said, “It is not good for Man to be alone; I will
give him a helper who will be like him.” Then Yahweh God formed
from the earth all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the
air and brought them to Man to see what he would call them; and
whatever Man called every living creature, that was its name.

So Man gave names to all the cattle, the birds of the air and
to every beast of the field. But he did not find among them a helper
like himself. Then Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to come over Man
and he fell asleep. He took one of his ribs and filled its place with
flesh. The rib which Yahweh God had taken from Man he formed into a
woman and brought her to the man. The man then said, “Now this is
bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman
because she was taken from man.” That is why man leaves his father
and mother and is attached to his wife, and with her becomes one
flesh.

Responsorial
Psalm
Ps
128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (cf.5) May Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants around your table.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
May you see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel!
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

2nd
Reading: Heb 2:9-11

Jesus who suffered death and for a little while was placed
lower than the angels has been crowned with honor and glory. For the
merciful plan of God demanded that he experience death on behalf of
everyone.
God, from whom all come and by whom
all things exist, wanted to bring many children to glory, and he
thought it fitting to make perfect through suffering the initiator of
their salvation. So he who gives and those who receive holiness are
one. He himself is not ashamed of calling us brothers and sisters.

Gospel:
Mk 10:2-16

Some Pharisees came and put him to the test with this question,
“Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?” He replied,
“What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us
to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you,
because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made
them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father
and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one
separate what God has joined.”
When they were
indoors at home, the disciples again asked him about this and he told
them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits
adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and
marries another also commits adultery.”
People
were bringing their little children to him to have him touch them,
and the disciples rebuked them for this.
When
Jesus noticed it, he was very angry and said, “Let the children
come to me and don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the
kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he took the
children in his arms and laying his hands on them, blessed them.