Liturgy

Community Liturgy

Next week’s Community Mass will be prepared by the teachers, in acknowledgement of ‘World Teachers Day'. All are welcome to attend the Mass to pray for and with the teachers at John XXIII College.

REGULAR COMMUNITY LITURGY

When: Fridays in Term Time
Time: 8:00-8:30am
Where: College Chapel

If you have any queries about Community Liturgy, please contact Mary-Anne Lumley:

Lumley.mary-anne@cewa.edu.au or 9383 0513.

GOOD NEWS for thefor the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The reflection for this Sunday’s Gospel is part of a homily by Jesuit priest, Fr Richard Leonard. Fr Richard Leonard SJ is the Director of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting, is a member of the Australian Catholic Media Council and is author of Preaching to the Converted, Paulist Press, New York, 2006.

… In celebrating the Eucharist we implicitly, and explicitly, state that we want to become like Christ. As the Gospels repeatedly tell us if we follow him in his saving love for the world then, like him, we must confront injustice, defend the rights of the poor and the oppressed to dignity, give and forgive, heal and reconcile. By saying this, we are clearly not looking for a smooth ride through life.

…In today’s Gospel, the sons of Zebedee want the best seats in the house without knowing what the admission price is going to cost. They want the glory without the gore. Jesus teaches them, and later all the other apostles, that for his Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, requires of us to drink a cup of suffering and be baptised in a river of sacrificial love. We can't dress this teaching up, or put a good spin on it. There is no resurrection without the cross. No gain without the pain.

For most of us this challenge means doing whatever we can politically and socially to bring the values of the Gospel to bear on our different spheres of influence. But Jesus also links this challenge to the act of service. And in this regard some leaders in the Church give us mixed messages and let us off the hook.

Whatever of the patrimony of the past, today's Gospel reminds us that bishops, priests and deacons should be excellent models of the humility of service. The leadership Jesus advocates is not monarchical or tyrannical, it is being the least, and being a servant… The Second Vatican Council taught that leaders in the Church should be outstanding in humility, charity and simplicity of lifestyle.

Let's pray that we recover a love for the hard teachings of Jesus, even though they demand so much of us, and that we have the courage to call our leaders to do likewise. These teachings are, after all, what makes us different.