This saint was famous as a priest, a monk, a teacher and a writer of history. He was born in England around 672. His parents sent Bede to school at the nearby Benedictine monastery. He loved the life of the monks so much that when he grew up he too became a monk. He remained in that same monastery for the rest of his life.

Bede loved the Holy Bible very much. He tells us that it was a joy for him to study the Bible. He loved to teach it and write about it. When he grew older, sickness forced him to stay in bed. His pupils came to study by his bedside. He kept on teaching them and working on his translation of St. John’s Gospel into English. Many people could not read Latin. He wanted them to be able to read the words of Jesus in their own language.

As he grew sicker, Bede realised that he was about to go back to God. He kept on working even when he was seriously ill. At last, the boy who was doing the writing for him said, “There is still one sentence, dear Father, which is not written down.” “Write it quickly,” answered the saint. When the boy said, “It is finished,” the saint said, “Good! You are right—it is finished. Now please hold my head up. I want to sit facing the place where I used to pray. I want to call on my heavenly Father.”

Bede died shortly after, on May 25, 735. He is thought to be the most learned man of his time. His most famous book, Church History of the English People, is the only source for much of early English history. People call Bede by the respectful title of “venerable.” He is also a Doctor of the Church.

St. Bede pray for us.

On or near the feast of the Epiphany, the tradition has been to ask God’s blessing on homes and mark the door post or lintel with chalks that have been blessed for that purpose.
The doors are chalked with the legendary names or initials of the three Magi, and the numerals of the New Year, connected with a series of crosses.
The initials C, M, and B commemorate the Magi, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, but also stand for the Latin prayer-request Christus Mansionem Benedicat: “May Christ bless this house.” In this way, the door of a house would be marked as follows: 20+C+M+B+19

Updated facebook profile picture below. (Taken at the end of my minor ministry mass of Acolyte.)

Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels – Feast: 29th September 2018

St Michael
He is mentioned in the Apocalypse as the leader of the heavenly host. He is a patron of soldiers.

St Gabriel
He appears in the book of Daniel to explain some of the prophet’s visions, and was also the bearer of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

St Raphael
In the Book of Tobit, he is the angel who heals Tobit of his blindness. His name means God heals.

Start of a new academic year after the summer break. New seminarians, new courses, new house group, couple of new lecturers.

Extra responsibilities this year, I have been elected to be the “year rep” for year 3,  also I am a superuser for the colleges new learning platform called “St. Mary’s interactive learning environment, or SMILE”. Helping seminarians and staff with general troubleshooting over the coming months.

My new courses for this semester are:

Christology, Ecclesiology,  Greek, Moral Theology, N.T John, Sacramentology, and more philosophy.

Going to be a tough year. Had my first Greek lesson today,  I can honestly say it’s all Greek to Me.

Please keep me and my fellow Seminarians in your prayers.

God bless.

 

Thomas was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. In the Syriac language his name means “twin.” Once when Jesus was going to face the danger of being killed, the other apostles tried to keep the Master back. St. Thomas said to them, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16).

When Jesus was captured by his enemies, Thomas lost his courage. He ran away with the other apostles. His heart was broken with sorrow at the death of his beloved Lord. Then on Easter Sunday, Jesus appeared to his apostles after he had risen from the dead. He showed them the wounds in his hands and side. Thomas was not with them at the time. As soon as he arrived, the other apostles told him joyfully, “We have seen the Lord.” They thought Thomas would be happy. Instead, he did not believe their message. He hadn’t seen Jesus as they had.

“Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails,” he said, “and put my finger into the nailmarks, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Eight days later, Jesus appeared to his apostles again. This time, Thomas was there, too. Christ called him and told him to touch his hands and the wound in his side. Thomas fell down at the Master’s feet and cried out, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed. Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed.” You will find this story in the Gospel of John 20: 24–29.

After Pentecost, Thomas was strong and firm in his belief and trust in Jesus. It is said that he went to India to preach the Gospel. He died a martyr there, after proclaiming the Good News of Jesus to many people.

We often hear of St. Thomas referred to as the “doubter.” But the moment he saw the Risen Christ he made an unwavering act of faith. When the priest lifts the sacred Host at Mass, we too can pray the words of St. Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”

St. Thomas pray for us.

Today is the feast day of St. Mary’s College Oscott.  Past and present Oscotians (Seminarians of Oscott) were here to celebrate Mass and have a festive meal with us.  Priests who have studied here over the years and the current Oscott community all shared a wonderful day together.

The college is dedicated to Virgin Mary – “Our Lady seat of Wisdom”.  The college crest above shows the infant Jesus “the Wisdom” sitting on Mary’s lap.  Mary is the seat for Jesus.  That is why she is called “Our Lady Seat of Wisdom.”

Our last hymn during Mass was “Holy light on earth’s horizon”.  The college has over the years added an additional verse to this hymn.  Which I’ll type out below.

Our Lady Seat of Wisdom:  Pray for us.

 

“We beseech thee, Seat of Wisdom,

intercede for us today.

Thou art bless’d, O Virgin Mary,

help us on our pilgrim way.

We do love thee, as our Mother,

we adore thy glorious Son,

and we pray for all Oscotians

as they follow thy dear Son.”

 

Today we read the parable of the mustard seed from the Gospel according to Mark  (4: 26 – 34).

“What can we say the kingdom of God is like?  It is like a mustard seed which the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.”

The Gospel reading is concerning us with our spiritual growth.  The seed of God’s Word was first planted in our hearts at Baptism, and it is our task to water and tenderly care for it,  so that it can work powerfully within us.  The Gospel speaks about the importance of coming to God in prayer and good works, in order to grow in God’s favour and friendship.  The mustard tree reminds us about the truth of Christian life:  the seed of God’s life within us grows slowly and invisible.

Through prayer and reading the Word of God we are asked to perform good works, and live out the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.  This allows us not only to perform good acts, but also to give the best of ourselves.  We need to be open to transformation, to become more like Christ and to show love to our neighbours.  In this way we will make the seed in our hearts blossom in abundance.

The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds.  We may feel small and insignificant in this big world of ours.  What can we do to make a difference?
It reminds me of the film “Evan Almighty” (YouTube clip).  It talks about how we can change the world.  “One Act of Random Kindness” at a time.
The importance of Love and Charity cannot be underestimated, performing good works and acts of loving kindness in our daily lives is central to being a Christian.

Let us be fruitful, let us blossom in abundance,
let our hearts overflow with Jesus’ Divine Love.

Sin, as we all know is an offence against God.  It is our own doing, our free will which distances us away from God.  When we sin it sits uncomfortable on our shoulders, deep down there is an unwillingness to admit that we are wrong and to express penitence for our offence.  If we don’t admit our faults we cannot receive God’s forgiveness.

Like Adam and Eve, we hide.  Adam hid because he was guilty and felt ashamed and embarrassed for what he had done, eating the forbidden fruit.  Automatically shifting the blame onto Eve, saying “It was the women you put with me”.  When Eve was confronted she accused the serpent.  It shows our human weakness of avoiding and not accepting responsibility for our own actions.  We have an urge to shift the blame and profess our own innocence because we feel ashamed of what we have done and we don’t want to own up to them.

The Gospel reading shows us healing, strength, forgiveness and a way out of our difficulties.  Jesus’ whole life was a renewal between God and His people.  Jesus’ final sacrifice on the Cross was for the forgiveness of the whole world from their sins.  Saving us for eternal life in the ‘Kingdom of God’ with Him, only if we believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God.

It is so important for regular confession, the Church provides the ‘Sacrament of Reconciliation’ which washes away all mortal and venial sins from our souls, leaving us in the same pure state as our Baptism.

Sin is like a wall being created, and each sinful act is a building block separating us from God.  The more we sin the greater the wall will become, which will overwhelm us, taking us deeper into evil temptations and the devil will make us think there’s no way back.  Confession breaks and destroys this wall restoring us back to God’s loving embrace.

But we are also warned in the Gospel of Mark (Ch 3).  If we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, there will be No forgiveness from God, they are guilty of an eternal sin.

The only time we should mention the names of the Most Holy Trinity on our lips:  God the Father, God the Son (Our Lord Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit is when we are in prayer.

The Sacred Heart is the centre and wellspring of Jesus’ passionate and infinite love for us.
It represents Jesus’ woundedness, both the physical wound incurred to his physical heart on the cross – by the centurion’s spear, and the spiritual wound of a love so great that He gave up His life, even while this love is scorned by those for whom it was so generously given.

Prayer:  O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer you his poor heart of mine.  Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your will.  Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you.  Protect me in the midst of danger.  Comfort me in my afflictions.  Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death.  Amen