NEWSLETTER INSERTS FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT - MOTHERS DAY

‘Let God’s Word print itself upon you. Let the Gospel light anoint your mind’.

St John of the Cross, Ascent to Mount Carmel, II, 3.3.

‘The Holy Spirit, whose anointing permeates our whole being, is the interior Master of Christian prayer. He is the artisan of the living tradition of prayer’.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2672.

'Lord Jesus you abide in the Father and you abide in me. You anoint me with your Spirit, you seal me with your priesthood. You clothed me with your image. Lord speak through my voice, look through my eyes, listen through my ears, touch through my hands. At the breaking of the bread, may they recognize You not me; may the hear you not me.  Fill my outstretched hands with your life, your love your mercy and your healing. Amen.’

Fr Kevin Scallon CM (1935-2018)

‘What does it mean to have the true light, to walk in the light? First of all it means abandoning false lights: the cold, vain light of prejudice against others, because prejudice distorts reality and ladens us with aversion to those whom we judge without mercy and condemn without appeal. This is our daily bread! When you gossip about others, you do not walk in the light, you walk in shadows. Another false light, because it is seductive and ambiguous, is that of self-interest: if we value men and things on the basis of usefulness to us, of pleasure, of prestige, we are not truthful in our relationships and situations. If we go down this path of seeking self-interest, we are walking in shadows’.

Pope Francis, 26^th March 2017

'Today is Mother’s Day. For every mother, no matter how her child grows up, he or she is their child and belongs to her. Despite disappointments and surprises, the mother sees beyond these and sees only the person who is always hers. If her child suffers sickness, drug addiction, prison or unemployment, she weeps not just for their hardship but for them. She sees how God sees, she does not look at appearances but at the heart'.

Fr Billy Swan