4. The Daily Soul
Today’s episode of The Daily Soul helps us recall the events leading up to Jesus' death by crucifixion and his glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday. From our Church leaders this week we hear Pope Francis’ message to Christians around the world that “We will celebrate Holy Week in a truly unusual way which manifests and sums up the message of the Gospel, that of God’s boundless love,” while Bishop Greg has invited us all to join him in retreat during the Triduum from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday.
Bishop Greg has also nominated our Praying with Music feature for this edition in naming Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion (1727), widely regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces of classical sacred music, in his Palm Sunday homily yesterday.
We pray for our leaders, locally and nationally, as we place our trust in them to make the decisions that will guide us through this episode in history. May God give them the gift of discernment, right judgement and wisdom through His Spirit.
Bishop Greg Homeming OCD presents his third and final talk for 2020 on the topic of Holiness. Recorded on 17 March 2020 at St Carthage’s Cathedral Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.
- "What is the path to holiness and what is integral to your path to holiness?"
- "My path to God is a path that is determined by God and it is littered with my mistakes."
(Bishop Greg 17.3.2020)
Pope Francis sends this video message to Christians around the world as we prepare to celebrate Holy Week in an unusual manner due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He prays especially for those suffering and for all the families whose lives have been upset in this difficult time
“This is what we need today: the creativity of love”
~ Pope Francis, April 3 2020 ~
Contribution by Mt St Patrick College, Murwillumbah
Introduction:
As Lent continues, these weeks offer challenges we’ve never had to face, especially in terms of our spiritual and faith lives. We can’t attend Mass or other Sacraments, our routines are disrupted and we worry about ourselves, our students and our loved ones. Some of us may even need to fight the virus itself.
This pandemic makes the current Lenten season dramatically different from any other in our lifetimes; no matter how old we are. Yet Lent still remains what it has always been, a time to get in better touch with God’s love for us and do our best to spring clean our souls in preparation for the glory of Easter.
So let us pray...
Johann Sebastian Bach - The St Matthew Passion
“An extraordinary piece of music which gathers together every sense, every human feeling, every response that this great Gospel is trying to draw from us.”
~ Bishop Greg Homemming, 5 April 2020 ~
Wildfire
‘Draw Me Into You’ helps us prepare for the journey to the foot of the Cross. Originally written as a veneration song, Draw Me Into You may also be used as a prayer mantra to reflect on our current situation. Our faith reveals that even amidst fear and uncertainty Jesus’ love will always remain and never change. The Daily Soul reminds us that Jesus is always with us, drawing us to Him in every moment of every day.
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Fr Paul Gooley
Fr Paul, the Parish Priest of St Agnes Parish, Port Macquarie has been producing a daily reflection on the Gospel - below is an excerpt: As our Lenten Season draws to a close, we turn our minds to our Holy week celebrations.
Just as people were looking for Jesus in this Gospel, Fr Paul invites us to think about ‘How we, ourselves, are looking for Jesus in our own lives at the moment? Just how will we celebrate Holy Week this year, given the current circumstances? How might we reach out to others spiritually and amongst ourselves to keep Holy Week, holy?
Grace
The Catholic Diocese of Wollongong has made their Lenten Program CD, Grace, available for free. Visit their store to access the free digital download of this popular resource and follow along with the Sunday Gospels, psalms and reflections from home.
Adaptations of the Holy Week Liturgies for family and household prayer:
Early Stage 1/ Stage 1
Holy Week Activity
Download, print and decorate. This is a great resource for Early Stage 1/ Stage 1 as they endeavor to embrace the symbols and meaning of Holy Week at home.
Primary
Magnifikid
The ideal spiritual guide for children that is perfectly adapted to their lives:
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- to accompany them on the path of daily prayer;
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- to help them develop and nourish their spiritual lives;
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- to hand on to them our rich Christian spiritual values;
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- to encourage them to participate fully in the life of the Church.
Magnificat is providing complimentary access to the online version of this resource to help children pray from home during this challenging time.
Secondary
The Storehouse Blog
The Storehouse is a series of blogs written by young Australian Catholics. Catholicism is a storehouse of miracles, extraordinary stories of adventure, prayer styles, healthy life-hacks, and quality wisdom in humanities search for meaning. The Storehouse is brought to you by Proclaim Lismore Students and is posted on the Facebook page every Friday afternoon.
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Proclaim Lismore Staff
