Dedication of New Altar 11 July 2010

By The Most Reverend Bishop Porteous

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堂區在11/07祝聖新祭台,由悉尼教區主 教Julian Porteous主持。禮儀在彌撒聖祭中舉行，在講道及宣示信仰經文後，祝聖新祭台禮儀開始:

1) 領經員唱諸聖禱文: 表示地上教會與天上教會的共融，然後將加大利納拉布萊修女 (顯靈聖牌聖母啟示的修女) 聖髑盒安放在新祭台下，表達了基督之犧牲與其肢體犧牲的合一。

2) 主教向天父頌讚藉基督建立完美的祭台, 代替以往天主揀 選的諾厄、亞巴郎、依撒格、梅瑟所建立的祭台。 這祭台是基督的標記, 是天主與人相遇的地方，以主基督成為生活的祭台及大司祭。祈求天主派遣聖神聖化這所建築物和祭台，作為永久性的敬天聖所。

3) 傅油禮：主教首先以聖油倒在祭台中央及四角，為整個祭台傅油，使之與基督一樣成為「被傅過油者」。

4) 奉香禮：主教在祭台上燃起火焰， 有如焚燒的荊棘叢，以此火焰，焚燒大堆的香料（象徵基督的祭獻在祭台上繼續下去）；香味瀰漫聖堂，雲煙裊裊上升，也充分表 達基督及整個教會的祈禱由祭台上升到天主那裡。之後點燃提爐，向祭台奉香後，輔禮者先向全體會眾。

5) 上香後，祭台鋪上白色祭台布，有如洗禮後穿上白衣。

6) 啟光禮：主教將一支點著的蠟燭交給執事，並說：願基督的光在教會中照耀，使萬民得知完全的真理。之後，執事點燃祭台上的蠟燭。

感恩祭的禮儀繼續照常規進行。

希望以上的分享，能加深我們對教會的一份認識, 每一個禮儀是讓我們更容易明白及與基督的結合。而参與彌撒聖祭能成為我們豐盛的生活行為。

願天主永受讚美！

16TH SUNDAY (C) 18 July 2010

If we want to appreciate what is really going on in this incident with Martha and Mary then we need to understand something of the culture in which Jesus and they lived. Their world was known for its deep sense of hospitality. The idea of having someone to a meal was not simply about giving them something to eat; it was also about offering them friendship and respect. To invite someone into your home was to invite them into your life. People didn’t invite just anybody into their homes.

This makes Jesus’ words seem all the more startling. We can imagine that he may have scandalised those who were there, because he seemed to insult his host by telling her that she was fussing about too much. We can ask ourselves how would Martha have felt – especially since she seemed to be putting every effort into making sure that things were just right. To make matters worse, her sister seemed to be doing nothing and leaving all the work to her. How many times have any of us been in a similar situation – where some members of the family are just lounging around doing nothing while all the work falls to one person? Martha probably felt bitterly disappointed because she was doing everything to make sure that things were just perfect for Jesus’ visit, while Mary did nothing. To make matters worse, when
Jesus arrived he praised Mary.

I think there is something deeper going on. The sisters, Martha and Mary, are obviously offering hospitality to Jesus. Between the two of them they are ensuring that not only is he well nourished with food, but that he also enjoys their company. But something else is also happening: Jesus is offering hospitality. Mary sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to every word that he speaks. Jesus offers her nourishment for her soul and spirit. The thing about this sort of hospitality is that it needs to be consciously and deliberately received. Jesus praises Mary because she took the time to sit and listen. He doesn’t so much criticise Martha as point out that with all her activity she can only be partly attentive to what he is saying. In other words, she is not fully receiving him.

We have to be careful not to argue too much in favour of one or the other of these sisters. It is interesting that they are always spoken of together. Throughout Christian tradition they are both presented to us as a model of Christian living, representing the contemplative life and the apostolic life. At various times one or other of these ways of life may have been more prominent, but we recognise that both of them are essential to living the Christian gospel. The incident of Martha and Mary reminds us that achieving the balance between the active and the contemplative is never easy.

I wonder how we should hear the gospel speaking to us today. It strikes me that we live at a time when the lives of most people are characterised by lots of activity and noise. Think of how disappointed some people are if there is an evening when there is nothing to do. We all like to keep full diaries, as if having a spare moment might make people think we are lazy. Think of the noise that is always around us. Some people can’t work if there is no background noise. Or think of how we want everything instantaneously. We’re all taken in by instant messaging, and it is becoming quicker and more hurried. Communication these days is rapid, and people fret if they have not received a reply to their message within a few minutes. How many times have people sent a message off quickly and later come to regret it because the sentiments it expressed were not really what they meant to say? We are also capable of sending the same message to a large number of people at once. Sometimes someone receives it when it was not really intended for them. How many times has this caused alarm and even broken friendships?

If this is the context in which we live, what do we hear when we listen to today’s gospel? In the first place, it is clearly speaking about listening to the word of God, listening to the message of Jesus – but alerting us to how difficult this can be. This raises a question: how do we hear that word? Jesus’ rebuke of Martha suggests that we can only really hear him – and hear him deeply – if we make the space to listen. In the Christian tradition this has meant that we look for times of silence and stillness, when, like Mary, we lay aside the things we worry and fret about, so that we might have ears that are attentive. Jesus reminds us that listening is not really as easy as it may seem. We need to make a conscious effort to listen. We have to listen with the ears of the Holy Spirit. There is also something else the gospel can tell us – something that follows on from being able to listen to God. It is that we also need to cultivate the habit of being able to listen to one another.

Martha and Mary resonate in all our hearts. We admire their expression of hospitality, but we also hear Jesus’ encouragement not to become so busy that we lose our capacity to listen and thus to communicate fully with both God and our neighbour.

Fr Gerard Kelly

14th SUNDAY (C) 04 July 2010

One spiritual writer once said: IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE, WE GROW NOT BY ADDITION BUT BY SUBTRACTION.

The Gospel for today’s liturgy, the sending of the 72 speak to us today saying – SIMPLIFY

We all need to simplify our lives materially so we are free to focus on the spiritual goods of friends, family and faith. The Lord says: Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals… It is easy for us to accumulate things as individual or as a community, as a Church. We need to simplify our lives materially because that can help us focus on the spiritual goods of friendship, faith and family that really make life worth living. There is such a thing as a slavery to things and possessions in the hope that they will ensure happiness.

The words in the gospel and in the 2nd reading also is a call to simplify our mission in life. Maybe we can plan to do too many things for the Lord, We can become involved in too many issues, try to do too much too soon, and end up doing none of them well.

Jesus sent the 72 ahead of him to prepare the place he will be visiting, this is our mission too. We can be distracted in trying to do great things for Christ only in the big city and miss the opportunities for being a witness in our own town and place where we live. It is not about great results that will assure us of salvation, but rather it is about faithfulness of our daily living that prepares the way for Christ in the life and in the lives of others.

The story of the mission sending of the 72 have an exciting success as regards their preaching, healing, exorcism. However, Jesus was also quick to remind them that the power they used was not theirs. The power to tread over snakes and scorpions and over the full force of the enemy came from Jesus himself. Emphatically, Jesus said, ‘I have given you the power…’ That only mean, we can only be effective ministers of the Lord for as long as we recognize our connectedness with Jesus. Our effectiveness in our ministry is not because of what we do, but it because of what we allow the Lord Jesus to do with us and through us. As ministers, we must allow the Lord to minister to us.

Fr Lito Layug