I am proud to be Catholic! I think we don’t say it enough or don’t even give it a second thought? Yes we are all Christians nonetheless but we Catholics, have a rich history and wonderful traditions which are still intact over the centuries. Our roots trace back all the way to Christ Jesus our Lord who said to St Peter ,”And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Another great and wonderful thing to love about our Catholic Church is the rich Sacramental life we have and live. Through the liturgical calendar that we have in which we are given many opportunities throughout the year to celebrate the many feasts and solemnities of our One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. We come together as One in thanksgiving to worship, honour and praise God our Heavenly Father, His Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Our Blessed Mother is with us too at every celebration to draw us ever closer to her Son. By and through our Faith in Him we are Blessed with many signs, wonders and miracles to this very day!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen
First reading
Leviticus 23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37
The law of the festivals of the Lord
The Lord spoke to Moses. He said:
‘These are the Lord’s solemn festivals, the sacred assemblies to which you are to summon the sons of Israel on the appointed day.
‘The fourteenth day of the first month, between the two evenings, is the Passover of the Lord; and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread for the Lord. For seven days you shall eat bread without leaven. On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For seven days you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord. The seventh day is to be a day of sacred assembly; you must do no work.’
The Lord spoke to Moses. He said:
‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them:
‘“When you enter the land that I give you, and gather in the harvest there, you must bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest, and he is to present it to the Lord with the gesture of offering, so that you may be acceptable. The priest shall make this offering on the day after the sabbath.
‘“From the day after the sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf of offering, you are to count seven full weeks. You are to count fifty days, to the day after the seventh sabbath, and then you are to offer the Lord a new oblation.
‘“The tenth day of the seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly. You must fast, and you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord.
‘“The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of Tabernacles for the Lord, lasting seven days. The first day is a day of sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For seven days you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly, you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a day of solemn meeting; you must do no heavy work.
‘“These are the solemn festivals of the Lord to which you are to summon the children of Israel, sacred assemblies for the purpose of offering burnt offerings, holocausts, oblations, sacrifices and libations to the Lord, according to the ritual of each day.”’
Gospel
Matthew 13:54-58
A prophet is only despised in his own country
Coming to his home town, Jesus taught the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did the man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? This is the carpenter’s son, surely? Is not his mother the woman called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude? His sisters, too, are they not all here with us? So where did the man get it all?’ And they would not accept him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country and in his own house’, and he did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
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