World Day of Prayer for Vocations, 30 April

The Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday, has been celebrated as Vocation Sunday since 1964.

On this special day we are encouraged to pray for all members of the Church – religious, laity and priests – as we are all called to be missionary disciples of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, witnessing to His Gospel of Love and to building up His community of justice, peace and compassion.

‘Vocation is “the interplay between divine choice and human freedom”, a dynamic and exciting relationship between God and the human heart. The gift of vocation is like a divine seed that springs up in the soil of our existence, opens our hearts to God and to others, so that we can share with them the treasure we ourselves have found.’

-Pope Francis, ‘Message for the 2023 World Day of Prayer for Vocations’, 30 April 2023

Post your prayer in our sacred space

El cuarto domingo de Pascua, también conocido como Domingo del Buen Pastor, se celebra desde 1964 como Domingo de las Vocaciones.

En este día especial se nos anima a rezar por todos los miembros de la Iglesia -religiosos, laicos y sacerdotes-, ya que todos estamos llamados a ser discípulos misioneros de Jesús, el Buen Pastor, dando testimonio de su Evangelio del Amor y a construir su comunidad de justicia, paz y compasión.

 ‘La vocación es «el entramado entre elección divina y libertad humana, una relación dinámica y estimulante que tiene como interlocutores a Dios y al corazón humano. Así, el don de la vocación es como una semilla divina que brota en el terreno de nuestra vida, nos abre a Dios y nos abre a los demás para compartir con ellos el tesoro encontrado.’

-Papa Francisco, ‘Mensaje para la Jornada Mundial de Oración por las Vocaciones 2023‘, 30 de abril de 2023

Publica tu oración en nuestro espacio sagrado

 

St Joseph the Worker, 1 May

1 May is celebrated as the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. 

Joseph the Worker, the church of San Lorenzo in Florence.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/52042230439

This special feast was instituted in 1955 by Pope Pius X11 as a counter-celebration to the communist May Day. It celebrates the dignity of work and gives us an opportunity to acknowledge, pray for and express gratitude to all workers, especially those who are employed in our congregation and in our various ministries.
Thank you for your many and varied contributions to the congregation’s life and mission.

May 1 is also known as International Workers’ Day and in some countries, it is celebrated as Labor Day.

May St. Joseph, patron of workers, bless and protect all workers!

El 1 de mayo se celebra la fiesta de San José Obrero.

Esta fiesta especial fue instituida en 1955 por el Papa Pío X11 como contra-celebración del Primero de Mayo comunista. Se celebra la dignidad del trabajo y nos da la oportunidad de reconocer, orar y expresar gratitud a todos los trabajadores, especialmente a los que trabajan en nuestra congregación y en nuestros diversos ministerios.
Gracias por sus muchas y variadas contribuciones a la vida y misión de la congregación.

El 1 de mayo es también conocido como el Día Internacional de los Trabajadores y en algunos países se celebra como el Día del Trabajo.

Que San José, patrón de los trabajadores, bendiga y proteja a todos los trabajadores!

Reflections on Mary for the Month of May

In Catholic  tradition, the month of May is dedicated to Mary. In May three of her feasts are celebrated: Our Lady of Fatima on May 13th; Mary, Mother of the Church on May 29; the Visitation on May 31.

Some years ago, Elizabeth Davis rsm recorded a series of 13 video reflections for Redemptorist TV on aspects of Mary. You might like to watch one of more of these during May.

Mary as Woman of Nazareth

Mary, the woman we know as Mother of God, was one like us, a person who lived each day and faced the joys and the challenges of each day. We meet her first in Scripture as a frightened adolescent who is being asked to do an almost impossible thing. The last time we meet her in Scripture she is an older woman, more confident perhaps, yet still being asked to do an almost impossible thing

Watch the video

Mary as Miriam of Nazareth

In my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador, when anyone meets a stranger, the first questions are “What is your name and who are you called after?” and “Who are your parents?” The first page of our New Testament, the beginning words of the Gospel of Matthew, could well have been written by a Newfoundlander! In these words we find the answer to the same questions about Mary

Watch the video

Mary of the Annunciation and Pentecost

At the Annunciation, a young woman whose name is Mary is visited by an angel who tells her that she is to bear a son who will be special in many ways. When Mary challenges the possibility of this ever happening, the angel’s reply is decisive, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you” (Lk 1:35). With this assurance, the young woman replies, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Lk 1:38)

Watch the video

Mary of the Magnificat

Mary’s response was immediate. She spoke the most words spoken by any woman in the New Testament. She used echoes of words spoken by the women of the Old Testament: Deborah, Miriam and Hannah. In this song, she passionately gave what the theologian Edward Schillebeeckx called “a toast to our God,” which we call the Magnificat.

Watch the video

Mary as Displaced Person

In the days before Mary was to give birth, she and Joseph were forced to go to Bethlehem to be counted for the census. They had no choice in this matter. The late stages of Mary’s pregnancy and the difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem did not matter to the political leadership of the day.

Watch the video

Mary as Mother of Sorrow

On another visit to the Temple to celebrate Passover when Jesus was twelve years old, Jesus remains behind and speaks with the teachers with authority, and then he says these mysterious words to his parents, “Did you not know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” This time the writer tells us that “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.”

Watch the video

Mary as Mother at the Wedding Feast

The young Jewish peasant girl has become a confident woman, a teacher, a mentor and a commanding presence. She has grown into her calling to be a partner with God in the work of Incarnation and Redemption. Having given life to her son, she now calls him into his new life of public ministry, she remains with him to support and nurture him to the end, and she will remain when he is gone to support and nurture the church which continues his presence on earth.

Watch the video

Mary and God

“Spirituality is that which gives us the strength to go on for it is the assurance that God is in the struggle. Spirituality spells out our connectedness to God, our human roots, the rest of nature, one another and ourselves.” In this way in 1994 the Third World Theologians redefined spirituality and began our thinking on “right relationships.”

Watch the video

Mary and the Environment

Let us reflect on Mary in right relationship with the environment. First we must speak to our emerging understanding of ecology, a new sense of how all creation has been created by God, is good and is interconnected. In the 13th century Meister Eckhart said, “Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God.”

Watch the video

Mary and Self

There are several beautiful passages in the Gospels in which we get an understanding of Mary’s sense of self. At the Annunciation, we see Mary’s poignant inner turmoil in the face of an awesome task being asked of her, “But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be” (Luke 1:29). She then asks outright the question, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34)

Watch the video

Mary and Right Relationships: Family

These women ancestors of Jesus suffer indignities and oppression, but live to reflect the face of God, the righteous One, the merciful One, the maternal One, the One who is found in the company of those who are marginalized, oppressed, suffering, poor and powerless. Jesus, the son of Mary, has indeed inherited the qualities of his foremothers.

Watch the video

Mary and Right Relationships: Others

The beautiful prayer of the Magnificat which Luke ascribes to Mary is a powerful description of Mary in right relationship with other people. While the first part of her psalm focuses on Mary in relationship with her God, the second part expresses Mary’s love for people. Mary rejoices in God her Saviour because God‘s mercy is from generation to generation.

Watch the video

Mary and Right Relationships: Faith Tradition

Mary was first and foremost a Jewish woman, a practicing Jew who remained faithful to Judaism. She would have been aware of the Hebrew Scriptures, the sacred books she called Torah and we Christians call the Old Testament. She bears the name of the leader Miriam about whom God said in the book of Micah (6:4), “I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam

Watch the video

Each week  on our website Elizabeth Davis rsm provides a written reflection on the Sunday readings. These reflections contain insights and images, poetry and prose, wisdom and scholarship. Access those reflections here

 

Explore the Readings of the Easter Season

Each week on our website Elizabeth Davis rsm provides a written reflection on the Sunday readings. These reflections contain insights and images, poetry and prose, wisdom and scholarship.

Sister Elizabeth’s reflections are published online in the Spirituality section under the appropriate liturgical season. They can be read online or downloaded.

As we journey through the Easter Season, Sr Elizabeth will open up for us these scripture readings in a fresh way using modern biblical scholarship.

We invite you to join us in this exploration here

Cada semana, Elizabeth Davis rsm ofrece en nuestro sitio web una reflexión escrita sobre las lecturas del domingo. Estas reflexiones contienen ideas e imágenes, poesía y prosa, sabiduría y erudición.

Las reflexiones de la Hermana Elizabeth se publican en línea en la sección Espiritualidad bajo el tiempo litúrgico correspondiente. Pueden leerse en línea o descargarse.

A medida que avanzamos en el tiempo de Pascua, la Hermana Elizabeth nos abrirá estas lecturas de las Escrituras de una manera fresca, utilizando la erudición bíblica moderna.

Les invitamos a unirse a nosotros en esta exploración aquí

 

Reflections for Passion (Palm) Sunday, 2 April 2023. Reflexiones para el Domingo de la Pasión, 2 abril 2023

Palm and Passion, trust in what is false or trust in an ever-faithful God, the gift of words and story, eco-memory – so many threads are woven through the tapestry that is the Liturgy of the Word for our Holy Week now unfolding. This Sunday is the transition moment to the final steps to transformation which will emerge next Sunday – Easter Sunday.

We begin our liturgy today with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, as the people shout, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matt 21:9). The people were rejoicing in the coming of the Messiah, but they were placing all their hopes in a Messiah who was a king, a mighty and powerful leader, certainly not a Messiah who was a suffering servant, who would die by the lowest form of death possible – crucifixion. They were right to trust in this Prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. They were mistaken in understanding how this Prophet, this Son of David, this one who was coming in the name of the Lord, would lead them into new life. These same people, when their hopes seem lost, mock Jesus and choose the man Barabbas over him…

Read the rest of Sr Elizabeth’s Reflection (PDF)

Ramos y Pasión, confianza en lo falso o confianza en un Dios siempre fiel, el don de la palabra y de la historia, la ecomemoria… son muchos los hilos que se entretejen a través del tapiz que es la Liturgia de la Palabra para nuestra Semana Santa que ahora se desarrolla. Este domingo es el momento de transición hacia los pasos finales de la transformación que se producirá el próximo domingo: el Domingo de Resurrección.

Comenzamos nuestra liturgia de hoy con la entrada de Jesús en Jerusalén, mientras el pueblo grita: “¡Hosanna al Hijo de David! ¡Bendito el que viene en nombre del Señor! Hosanna en las alturas”. (Mt 21,9). El pueblo se regocijaba por la venida del Mesías, pero ponía todas sus esperanzas en un Mesías que era un rey, un líder poderoso, y no en un Mesías que era un siervo sufriente, que moriría con la forma más baja de muerte posible: la crucifixión. Tenían razón al confiar en este Profeta Jesús de Nazaret de Galilea. Se equivocaron al comprender cómo este Profeta, este Hijo de David, este que venía en nombre del Señor, les conduciría a una vida nueva. Estas mismas personas, cuando sus esperanzas parecen perdidas, se burlan de Jesús y eligen al hombre Barrabás en vez de a él…

Leer el resto de la reflexión de Sor Elizabeth (PDF)