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29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, 16 October 2022 Note: Homilies & Angelus / Regina Caeli of Pope Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI & Pope Francis I had been compiled for you after the Mass Readings below. Happy Reading! Liturgical Colour: Green.
Mass Readings from ETWN, USCCB, Universalis. See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-313. 8-) First Reading: Exodus 17:8-13, Responsorial: Psalm 121:1-8, 2nd Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 & Gospel: Luke 18:1-8, CCTNtv, Gospel Video.
Alternative Mass Readings for World Mission Sunday, 23 October 2022: 1st Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5, Responsorial: Psalm 97:1-6, 2nd Reading: Ephesians 3:2-12, Gospel Acclamation: Mark 16:15 & Gospel Reading: Mark 16:15-20.
Others: Luke 18 - NIV Dramatized Audio Bible Through Heaven's Eyes (HD) with Lyrics
Please refer to https://twitter.com/Michael65413248 for some latest record. Take care, put on your facemask and stay healthy, because we love you! 8-) COVID-19 Protection in Singapore.
1. Criminal Investigation Department, Singapore Police Force harassed Law-abiding Citizen. Latest! https://twitter.com/Michael65413248/status/1510086218851270658 (2 April 2022) #Singapore Police Force harassing the same law abiding business owner again from 92298844, 97397514, 83487591, 96645914, 63914706, 82825465, 97378102, 90360045, 92981234! They can’t perform to contain COVID, so they bully to appear busy? Shameless? You decide! 2. See another Police case to frame against the Innocent! Please spread the News to help them who commit no crime. Many Thanks. Till this day, the harassment continues and there is no apology from the Rulers and no compensation paid for damages inflicted. 3. See the Bloggers went MISSING before / after the Singapore General Election on 10 July 2020. Please pray for their safety as we search for them actively. Many Thanks. 5. Do you want this kind of “pastoral care”?
Homilies, Angelus / Regina Caeli
See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-313. 8-)
1. Today we are celebrating World Mission Sunday. We did the same 20 years ago at the beginning of my Petrine ministry. It seems a significant coincidence, when I think of the missionary spirit that motivates my apostolic efforts and is particularly expressed in the many journeys I have been able to make, in order to cry out to all, in every corner of the world: “Open the doors to Christ!”. Today my thoughts turn in particular to the missionaries “ad gentes”, who bring this message so lovingly to mission countries, often in conditions of hardship, sometimes at the cost of their life. We thank them! May they feel, and not just today, the loving support and prayers of the whole Church.
2. The missionary spirit also pervades the Encyclical Fides et ratio, published last Thursday, which I intend to discuss later. In this Encyclical, as you know, I address the problem of the relationship between philosophy and theology, stressing that faith and reason are like “two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth” (n. 1). Woe to humanity should it lose the meaning of truth, the courage to seek it, the confidence of finding it. Not only would faith be compromised, but the meaning of life itself.
I entrust the reception of this Encyclical to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, “Seat of Wisdom”. May we also be aided by St Thérèse of Lisieux, whom I declared a “doctor of the Church” exactly one year ago, and Edith Stein, the holy “philosopher”, whom I had the joy of canonizing last Sunday. Pope Saint John Paul II (Angelus, 18 October 1998)
See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-314. 8-) Profiles of Blesseds Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini. The beautiful birth story of Enrica Beltrame Quattrocchi, candidate for sainthood.
See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-315. 8-)
1. "I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28: 20). In contemplation before the Eucharist, at this moment we experience with special vividness the truth of Christ's promise: He is with us!
2. The television link-up between St Peter's Basilica, the heart of Christianity, and Guadalajara, the venue of the Congress, is like a bridge that spans the continents and makes our prayer meeting an ideal "Statio Orbis", in which the believers of the whole world converge. The meeting point is Jesus himself, truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist with the mystery of his death and Resurrection in which heaven and earth are united and peoples and different cultures meet. Christ is "our peace, who has made us both one people" (Ephesians 2: 14).
3. "The Eucharist, Light and Life of the New Millennium". The theme of the Congress invites us to consider the Eucharistic Mystery not only in itself, but also in relation to the problems of our time. Mystery of light! The human heart, burdened with sin, often bewildered, weary and tried by suffering of all kinds, has need of light. The world needs light in the difficult quest for a peace that seems remote, at the beginning of a millennium overwhelmed and humiliated by violence, terrorism and war.
The Eucharist is light! In the Word of God constantly proclaimed, in the bread and wine that have become the Body and Blood of Christ, it is precisely he, the risen Lord, who opens minds and hearts and makes us recognize him, as he made the two disciples at Emmaus recognize him, in the "breaking of the bread" (cf. Luke 24: 35). In this convivial gesture we relive the sacrifice of the Cross, we experience God's infinite love, we feel called to spread Christ's light among the men and women of our time.
4. Mystery of life! What greater aspiration is there in life? Yet threatening shadows are hanging over this universal human hope: the shadow of a culture that denies respect for life in all its stages; the shadow of an indifference that relegates countless people to a destiny of hunger and underdevelopment; the shadow of scientific research that is sometimes used to serve the selfishness of the strongest.
Dear brothers and sisters, the needs of our many brothers and sisters call us into question. We cannot close our hearts to their pleas for help. Nor can we forget that "one does not live by bread alone" (cf. Matthew 4: 4). We are in need of the "living bread which came down from heaven" (John 6: 51). Jesus is this bread. Nourishing ourselves on him means welcoming God's life itself (cf. John 10: 10) and opening ourselves to the logic of love and sharing.
5. I desired this Year to be dedicated especially to the Eucharist. In fact, every day, particularly Sunday, the day of Christ's Resurrection, the Church lives this mystery. But, in this Year of the Eucharist, the Christian community is invited to become more aware of it through a more deeply felt celebration, prolonged and fervent adoration and a greater commitment to brotherhood and the service of the least. The Eucharist is the source and manifestation of communion. It is the principle and plan of mission (cf. Mane Nobiscum Domine, chapters III and IV).
Therefore, in the footsteps of Mary, "woman of the Eucharist" (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, chapter VI), the Christian community lives this mystery! Strengthened by the "bread of eternal life", it becomes a presence of light and life, a leaven of evangelization and solidarity.
6. Mane nobiscum, Domine! Like the two disciples in the Gospel, we implore you, Lord Jesus, stay with us! Divine Wayfarer, expert in our ways and reader of our hearts, do not leave us prisoners to the evening shadows.
Sustain us in our weariness, forgive our sins and direct our steps on the path of goodness. Bless the children, the young people, the elderly, families and the sick in particular. Bless the priests and consecrated persons. Bless all humanity. In the Eucharist, you made yourself the "medicine of immortality": give us the taste for a full life that will help us journey on as trusting and joyful pilgrims on this earth, our gaze fixed on the goal of life without end. Stay with us, Lord! Stay with us! Amen. Pope Saint John Paul II (Homily, 17 October 2004)
1. The International Eucharistic Congress closes today in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. For eight days the Eucharist has been celebrated and adored as the "light and life of the new millennium". "Light", because the presence of Christ, the Light of the world, shines forth in the Eucharistic mystery; "life", because in the Eucharist Jesus gave us himself, the Bread of life.
This afternoon I will preside at a Eucharistic celebration in St Peter's Basilica in spiritual union with the great gathering in Guadalajara. In this way, I will solemnly open the Year of the Eucharist that will last until October 2005.
2. In the wake of the Second Vatican Council and the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the Year of the Eucharist is to be a strong time for meeting Christ, who is present in the sacrament of his Body and his Blood. In this mystery, he sacramentally actualizes his Paschal sacrifice which redeemed humanity from the slavery of sin and inaugurated the divine Kingdom of love, justice and peace.
The Church was born from Christ's Pasch which is why she "draws her life from the Eucharist", as I recall in the Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia (n. 1).
3. Let us together invoke the Virgin Mary, so that she will help all Christians to live this Year of the Eucharist as a time of deep conversion to Christ and intense commitment to spreading his message of salvation. Pope Saint John Paul II (Angelus, 17 October 2004)
See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-315. 8-)
See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-315. 8-) Profiles of Saint Stanisław Sołtys, Saint André Bessette, Saint Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola, Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Saint Giulia Salzano and Saint Battista Camilla Varano.
See our compilation with Pictures in Encouragements-319. 8-)
Profiles of Saint Salomon Leclercq, Saint José Sánchez del Río, Saint Manuel González García, Saint Lodovico Pavoni, Saint Alfonso Maria Fusco, Saint José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, Saint Elisabeth of the Holy Trinity Catez. At the start of today’s celebration, we addressed this prayer to the Lord: “Create in us a generous and steadfast heart, so that we may always serve you with fidelity and purity of spirit” (Collect).
By our own efforts, we cannot give ourselves such a heart. Only God can do this, and so in the prayer we ask him to give it to us as his “creation”. In this way, we come to the theme of prayer, which is central to this Sunday’s scriptural readings and challenges all of us who are gathered here for the canonization of new Saints. The Saints attained the goal. Thanks to prayer, they had a generous and steadfast heart. They prayed mightily; they fought and they were victorious.
So pray! Like Moses, who was above all a man of God, a man of prayer. We see him today in the battle against Amalek, standing atop the hill with his arms raised. From time to time, however, his arms would grow weary and fall, and then the tide would turn against the people. So Aaron and Hur made Moses sit on a stone and they held up his arms, until the final victory was won.
This is the kind of spiritual life the Church asks of us: not to win by war, but to win with peace!
There is an important message in this story of Moses: commitment to prayer demands that we support one another. Weariness is inevitable. Sometimes we simply cannot go on, yet, with the support of our brothers and sisters, our prayer can persevere until the Lord completes his work.
Saint Paul writes to Timothy, his disciple and co-worker, and urges him to hold fast to what he has learned and believed (cf. 2 Timothy 3:14). But Timothy could not do this by his own efforts: the “battle” of perseverance cannot be won without prayer. Not sporadic or hesitant prayer, but prayer offered as Jesus tells us in the Gospel: “Pray always, without ever losing heart” (Luke 18:1). This is the Christian way of life: remaining steadfast in prayer, in order to remain steadfast in faith and testimony. Here once again we may hear a voice within us, saying: “But Lord, how can we not grow weary? We are human… even Moses grew weary...!” True, each of us grows weary. Yet we are not alone; we are part of a Body! We are members of the Body of Christ, the Church, whose arms are raised day and night to heaven, thanks to the presence of the Risen Christ and his Holy Spirit. Only in the Church, and thanks to the Church’s prayer, are we able to remain steadfast in faith and witness.
We have heard the promise Jesus makes in the Gospel: “God will grant justice to his chosen ones, who cry to him day and night” (cf. Luke 18:7). This is the mystery of prayer: to keep crying out, not to lose heart, and if we should grow tired, asking help to keep our hands raised. This is the prayer that Jesus has revealed to us and given us in the Holy Spirit. To pray is not to take refuge in an ideal world, nor to escape into a false, selfish sense of calm. On the contrary, to pray is to struggle, but also to let the Holy Spirit pray within us. For the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray. He guides us in prayer and he enables us to pray as sons and daughters.
The saints are men and women who enter fully into the mystery of prayer. Men and women who struggle with prayer, letting the Holy Spirit pray and struggle in them. They struggle to the very end, with all their strength, and they triumph, but not by their own efforts: the Lord triumphs in them and with them. The seven witnesses who were canonized today also fought the good fight of faith and love by their prayers. That is why they remained firm in faith, with a generous and steadfast heart. Through their example and their intercession, may God also enable us to be men and women of prayer. May we cry out day and night to God, without losing heart. May we let the Holy Spirit pray in us, and may we support one another in prayer, in order to keep our arms raised, until Divine Mercy wins the victory. Pope Francis I (Homily, 16 October 2016)
HOLY MASS FOR WORLD MISSIONS DAY, 20 October 2019 Extracts: If the mountain reminds us of what matters – God and our brothers and sisters – and the verb to go up tells us how to get there, a third word is even more important for today’s celebration. It is the adjective all, which constantly reappears in the readings we have heard: “all peoples”, says Isaiah (2:2); “all peoples”, we repeated in the Psalm; God desires “all to be saved”, writes Paul (1 Timothy 2:4); “Go and make disciples of all nations”, says Jesus in the Gospel (Matthew 28:19). The Lord is deliberate in repeating the word all. He knows that we are always using the words “my” and “our”: my things, our people, our community... But he constantly uses the word all. All, because no one is excluded from his heart, from his salvation; all, so that our heart can go beyond human boundaries and particularism based on a self-centredness that displeases God. All, because everyone is a precious treasure, and the meaning of life is found only in giving this treasure to others. Here is our mission: to go up the mountain to pray for everyone and to come down from the mountain to be a gift to all.
Going up and coming down: the Christian, therefore, is always on the move, outward-bound. Go is in fact the imperative of Jesus in the Gospel. We meet many people every day, but – we can ask – do we really encounter the people we meet? Do we accept the invitation of Jesus or simply go about our own business? Everyone expects things from others, but the Christian goes to others. Bearing witness to Jesus is never about getting accolades from others, but about loving those who do not even know the Lord. Those who bear witness to Jesus go out to all, not just to their own acquaintances or their little group. Jesus is also saying to you: “Go, don’t miss a chance to bear me witness!” My brother, my sister, the Lord expects from you a testimony that no one can give in your place. “May you come to realize what that word is, the message of Jesus that God wants to speak to the world by your life…. lest you fail in your precious mission.” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 24).
What instructions does the Lord give us for going forth to others? Only one, and very simple: make disciples. But, be careful: his disciples, not our own. The Church proclaims the Gospel well only if she lives the life of a disciple. And a disciple follows the Master daily and shares the joy of discipleship with others. Not by conquering, mandating, proselytizing, but by witnessing, humbling oneself alongside other disciples and offering with love the love that we ourselves received. This is our mission: to give pure and fresh air to those immersed in the pollution of our world; to bring to earth that peace which fills us with joy whenever we meet Jesus on the mountain in prayer; to show by our lives, and perhaps even by our words, that God loves everyone and never tires of anyone.
Dear brothers and sisters, each of us has and is “a mission on this earth” (Evangelii Gaudium, 273). We are here to witness, bless, console, raise up, and radiate the beauty of Jesus. Have courage! Jesus expects so much from you! We can say that the Lord is “concerned” about those who do not yet know that they are beloved children of the Father, brothers and sisters for whom he gave his life and sent the Holy Spirit. Do you want to quell Jesus’ concern? Go and show love to everyone, because your life is a precious mission: it is not a burden to be borne, but a gift to offer. Have courage, and let us fearlessly go forth to all! Pope Francis I (Homily, 20 October 2019)
Angelus, 20 October 2019 Extracts: In today’s changed context, Benedict XV’s (profile) message is still timely and spurs us to overcome the temptation of all forms of self-referential withdrawal and of all forms of pastoral pessimism, in order to open ourselves up to the joyful newness of the Gospel. In our time, marked by a globalization that should be supportive and respectful of the particularities of peoples, and instead still suffers from homogenization and from age-old conflicts for power that fuel wars and destroy the planet, believers are called to take everywhere, with renewed passion, the Good News that in Jesus mercy conquers sin, hope conquers fear, fraternity conquers hostility. Christ is our peace and in him every division is overcome; in him alone lies the salvation of every person and every people.
To live mission in full there is an indispensable condition: prayer, fervent and unceasing prayer, according to Jesus’ teaching, also proclaimed in today’s Gospel, in which he recounted a parable on the need “always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Prayer is the first support of the People of God for missionaries, rich in affection and gratitude for their difficult task of proclaiming and offering the light and grace of the Gospel to those who have not yet received it. It is also a fine occasion to ask ourselves today: do I pray for missionaries? Do I pray for those who go afar to bear the Word of God through witness? Let us think about this.
May Mary, Mother of all people, accompany and protect the missionaries of the Gospel each day. Pope Francis I (Angelus, 20 October 2019)
Angelus, 16 October 2022 Angelus Video, Video (American Sign Language). Angelus Text. Extracts: We often focus on so many urgent but unnecessary things. We occupy and preoccupy ourselves with so many secondary realities. And perhaps without even recognizing it, we neglect what counts the most and we allow our love for God to grow cold, to grow cold bit by bit. Today, Jesus offers us the remedy to rekindle a tepid faith. And what is the remedy? Prayer. Yes, prayer is the medicine for faith, it is the restorative of the soul. It needs to be constant prayer, however… We need the daily water of prayer, we need time dedicated to God, so that he can enter into our time, into our lives; we need consistent moments in which we open our hearts to him so that he can daily pour out on us love, peace, joy, strength, hope, thus nourishing our faith.
This is why Jesus tells his disciples – to everyone, not only to some! – “that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (v. 1). Now someone might object: “But, how can I do that? I don’t live in a convent. I don’t have much time to pray!” Perhaps a wise spiritual practice for this real difficulty that the elderly, especially our grandparents, know well can come to our aid, which is a bit forgotten today. These are so-called aspirations. The name is a bit outdated, but the substance is good. What are they? They are very short, easy to memorize prayers that can be repeated often throughout the day, in the course of various activities, to remain “in tune” with the Lord. For example, as soon as we awaken, we can say: “Lord, I thank you and I offer this day to you”. This is a short prayer. Then, before an activity, we can repeat, “Come, Holy Spirit”. Between one thing and another, we can pray thus, “Jesus, I trust in you. Jesus, I love you”. Really short prayers that help us stay in contact with the Lord. How often we send instant messages to the people we love! Let’s do this with the Lord as well so that our hearts remain connected to him. And let’s not forget to read his responses. The Lord always responds. Where do we find them? In the Gospel which should always be kept at hand and should be opened several times every day, to receive a Word of life directed to us. Pope Francis I (Angelus, 16 October 2022)
Daily Blessings to You from Emmanuel Goh & Friends
Note: This webpage has many hyperlinks to the Vatican Webpage. The above extracts were compiled for your easy reading. This Publication is aimed to encourage all of Goodwill around the World. It is not for business or profit purposes but it is our way to thank our Creator for His continuous blessings!
Compiled on 13 October 2019 Last updated : 21 October 2022, 13:38 SGT
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