Peace be with you. This is A Word on the Word for the fourth Sunday of Lent. Our pastor is Fr. Angelo Arrando. This week the Music is from Guardian Mind Mix at Music[.]PodShow.com, the Homily from Father Phil, news from Saint Gregory the Great and the Vatican plus the Crossroad message: Reconcile and Rejoice and a prayer from prayerbook[.]com. Please pray for Genevieve T, Victims of the Iraqi Conflict, Victims of terrorists and all sick and deceased members of the parish. ...
The readings for this week are from Joshua, the second letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians and the Gospel according to Luke. To hear them click on our link. Here is Father Phil ...
Love involves forgiving.
It is easy to forgive those who are part of us, our family.
It is harder to forgive those who are not as close to us.
Yet we must forgive all who have wronged us.
It is very hard but we must forgive those who hurt us in order to follow Christ.
From the Saint Gregory the Great Bulletin:
Bishop William Lori will celebrate a Mass, to commemorate significant marriage anniversaries, at Saint Theresa Church, Trumbull, Connecticut on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 3:00 pm. Bishop Lori will be the homilist and will administer both the renewal of marriage vows and the presentation of commemorative certificates.
Couples who were married between January and June who will be celebrating their 25th or 50th wedding anniversary are invited to participate with their family and friends. Interested couples in the Bridgeport diocese should register with your parish office as soon as possible. The deadline for registration is May 24, 2007. For more details and which additional anniversaries qualify for this celebration look in the bulletin.
This weekend, we remember in a special way, the members of our parish family who have died over these past few weeks. We celebrate their past presence and the knowledge of their embrace by our Father. We also want their bereaved to know that they do not have to grieve alone.
This week we especially remember Donata B., Virginia (Ginny) L., and Leonard S.
Please remember them in your prayers. Fr. Ray with the Bereavement Ministry of St. Gregory the Great Church is here to support you.
The social concerns committee wants you to know the Annual Catholic Relief Services collection is going on now. The Catholic Relief Services has provided core funding for the work of five separate Catholic social ministry agencies in the United States.
The annual appeal provides an opportunity for Catholics to support the less fortunate as part of Lent. Catholic Relief Services supports agencies that aid the powerless and impoverished, victims of earthquakes, floods, war and religious and ethnic persecution.
Catholic Relief Services asks Catholics to see “Jesus in disguise” in the faces of the poor, the hungry and the disadvantaged and to support ongoing efforts to respond to their needs through the Church’s international social ministry.
Some specific examples of how these funds are used include:
*Providing emergency aid--shelter, water, sanitation, education and food to thousands of Sudanese refugees and internally displaced people in the midst of civil unrest.
*Resettling refugees from countries like Afghanistan, Burma, and Liberia who have fled persecution.
*Offering life-saving legal services to victims of torture to help them obtain asylum in the U.S.More info about Catholic Relief Services is available at usccb.org/.
Now here is a word from Vatican Radio...
We stand at the Crossroad, where generations meet.
Christ, our Passover, has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. Let us forgive one another and celebrate the unconditional and abundant love of God our Father.
This week we ask adults & teens: When have you been generous enough to forgive someone who has hurt you deeply? And children: Who among your family or friends do you need to ask forgiveness of or to forgive?
Come home. Please...just come home. Forget our disagreements; don’t let them separate us anymore. Just come home. What parent who deeply loves his or her child would not echo the sentiment of the Father in our gospel today? But the older son is locked up with jealousy and resentment.
As we go through our lives, we resonate with the different characters of this story. In our youth, we understand the gambling young man who experiments and risks it all. Later on as we toil and sweat, we identify more with the older son, critical of the behavior of others. And in our elder years, we stand in the shoes of a seasoned parent, putting aside obstacles and wanting loved ones close by. God asks us to love always,regardless of circumstances.
Our experience of God may go through similar transitions. Our images of God can become transformed gradually in our human encounters throughout life. Gradually we discover the generosity of God, the hospitality of the One who yearns for us to come home. This can also affect the way we treat ourselves. Slowly, if we let it, we gradually begin to forgive ourselves for our shortsightedness in our choices, our resistance to reconciliation and our distance from God, and often from others.
At the 9:00am Mass this weekend, the second of three scrutinies is celebrated with our RCIA catechumen and candidate. These scrutinies are rites of purification and strengthening for the sacraments to be received at the Easter Vigil. All over the world those approaching the sacraments of initiation come before their communities to be prayed over by the Church-the whole Church not just their individual communities.
Today marks the mid-point of Lent-traditionally known as Laetare, Latin for rejoice, Sunday. We joyfully anticipate the Easter mystery. Our journey leads us to recognize that God lives within us and is all around us. Let us pray for each other that we will be given the eyes to see and the wisdom to ask for the life-changing moments that affirm this recognition.
The background music is Michael Guardian and Going Home. Michael Guardian Music Productions has been producing and recording since 1989. Michael is a vocalist, synth player and recording artist working both in the studio and on stage. For more of his music stop by Music[.]PodShow.com.
We close this week with a prayer for A Death in the Family and the Pope's blessing:
Dear Lord, sometimes it is hard to understand the pain that comes into our lives. This is most true when we lose one we love. At this time, we remember that life is a circle. You have given us eternal life. In dying, our loved one has come back to you; as will we all, in our time. The mystery of life is - that sadness brings us to our greatest happiness. Bless, with your presence, those we love and miss. Amen.
Well that's A Word on the Word for fourth Sunday of Lent. The Podcast is released under a Creative Commons license, some rights are reserved. Links to the Daily readings, Morning and evening prayers, music and more can be found in our show We would love to have your comments at A Word on the Word@gmail.com, or the Saint Gregory Home page is danbury.org/stgreg.
Thank you for joining us.
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