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Holy Cross Parish
  • The Parish Bulletin
Twitter Flocknote
  • Home
    • About
      • Parish History
      • Activities
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
      • Communications
    • Temporal
      • Temporal Affairs
      • The Parish Bulletin
      • Support Our Advertisers
      • COVID-19 Update
      • Parish Pastoral Council
  • Sacraments
      • Serve
      • Anointing of the Sick
      • Baptism
      • Confirmation
      • First Communion
      • Reconciliation
      • Marriage
    • Worship
      • Adoration
      • Christian Meditation
      • Lenten Stations of the Cross
      • Rosary
      • Holy Cross Parish Live Stream Mass
  • Discipleship & Evangelization
    • Discipleship
      • Discipleship
      • Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)
    • Evangelization
      • What is Evangelization?
      • Alpha
      • Sunday Homily
      • Pastors Message
      • Fr Jean-Paul Bars, cmf
      • Deacon John Kennedy
      • Faith Formation - How to Be Holy
      • Bishop Barron Daily Reflection
      • Faith Formation
    • Church Teachings
      • Formed.org
      • Theology of the Body
      • Why Be Catholic
      • Sex in the Catholic Church
      • in vitro fertilization and contraception
      • That's Not in the Bible
      • Conflict Resolution
  • Fellowship & Ministry
    • Fellowship
      • Club 55+
      • Hospitality
    • Ministry
      • Music
      • Prolife
      • Social Justice
    • Parish & Community Life
      • Bereavement
      • Gardening
      • Knights of Columbus
      • Library
      • Mission Peace & Development
      • Pastoral Care
      • Social Action
  • Stewardship
      • Annual Report
      • Links
      • Financial Offering
  • 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

    • God Is Calling Out to Each One of Us…

      One of the many amazing things about Christianity is where it starts. There are many religions in the world, and most of them express mankind's search for God. But Christianity is all about God's search for mankind: it starts with God, not with us.
      As an example, the people of Nineveh, a metropolis in the ancient Middle East, are living sinful lives full of pleasures and noise, and maybe even full of popularity and great achievements, but empty of meaning and lasting happiness. This is what happens when people rebel against God’s plans and the moral law he has built into human nature. God's heart is moved with pity for these sinful people.

      So, God sends a prophet, Jonah, to wake them up, to put them back on the path of God's plan for human happiness - the only plan that will truly work. Through Jonah, God went in search of the Ninevites, because he cared so deeply about their happiness and the same thing happens in this weekends Gospel.

      St. Mark shows Jesus doing what he came to earth to do: calling people into a personal relationship with God which is the core of Christianity. Notice how he calls his first Apostles by name - Peter, Andrew, James, John... He had met all these men before, as we read in John's Gospel, but now he calls them to follow him more closely. He calls them because he wants to give them more meaning, purpose, and, ultimately, happiness. He wants to bring them into his Kingdom. This is what the God of Christianity, the one true God, is all about: he comes in search of every human heart, calling us into everlasting friendship with him.
      In a sense, the entire history of the Church can be understood as an ongoing conversation between God and his children – people like you and me – who either listen and respond to God’s voice or ignore it.

      Brother Andre is a good example. He was one of ten children born to a working-class family in Quebec in the mid 1800’s. He was orphaned at nine years old and went to live with relatives. Despite poor health, he had to work from a young age to help pay for his upkeep. At the age of 25 he joined the religious Congregation of the Holy Cross. For the next 40 years he spent his days in prayer and work, uncomplainingly washing floors and windows, cleaning lamps, carrying firewood, and serving as a porter and messenger.  Eventually, he found a permanent assignment as doorkeeper of the college. As doorkeeper, he had contact with many visitors to the Congregation – poor people, sick people, people coming for council and for prayers. Little by little, people noticed when Brother prayed for them, miracles would often happen. Soon he became known as the “Saint of Mount Royale” or the “Miracle Worker of Montreal.”

      His most lasting contribution was the magnificent Oratory of St. Joseph, the largest church in Canada, and the largest church building in the world dedicated to St. Joseph. It stands today on the highest point in the city of Montreal and receives more than 2 million pilgrims every year. But it started out simple and small. St. Andre had always had a strong devotion to St. Joseph, the patron saint of Canada. As a young man he had a dream in which he saw a church building in an unfamiliar setting. The dream was so vivid and insistent that he become convinced he was being called by God to build a chapel to St. Joseph on the top of Mount Royale. So, he did.

      St. Andre was a humble but faith-filled follower of Jesus, who responded to God’s call in his life, just like the first Apostles, and as a result, literally millions and millions of people have been given hope, meaning, and a deeper relationship with God.
      In our daily lives, we need to use silence to create an interior space, where God's voice can resound. The most direct way to do this is to give God real, quality time every single day. Spend fifteen minutes or so just with him - in your room, in a church, in a park, even in your office.

      God is constantly telling us he loves us and has a plan for our lives; from now on, let us promise him that we will pay attention. Let us pray for the grace we need to respond generously, today and every day, to his personal call in our lives.

       

    • Previous Column's by Deacon John

    • God Is Calling Out to Each One of Us…
    • God Is King - He Comes to Rule
    • Jesus Brings the Joy of True Peace
    • Hell Is not God's Creation
    • God Never Forgets About Us
    • Jesus Brings the Deepest Joy
    • Salvation Is a Partnership

    • Our God-Given Gifts Are Meant To Be Used
    • We don't know when
    • Christianity is NOT Self-Help
    • Christians Need to Keep Hope Healthy
    • God is Good, Patient, and Merciful
    • Jesus is the Meaning of Life and Death
    • God is Love
    • Our Choices Matter
    • Awe and Wonder Reflect a Healthy Christian Soul
    • How to Move God's Heart
    • Only Jesus Can Save Us From Life's Storms
    • Nothing Can Separate Us from the Love of Jesus
    • God is All-Powerful
    • Jesus Respects Our Freedom
    • Intellectual Pride Cuts Us Off From Jesus
    • Stand With The Father and He Will Stand With You
    • Being a Christian Means Sharing God's Own Life
    • The Holy Trinity Sets Christianity Apart
    • Triumph of the cross
    • Get Ready for the Whoosh
    • Unconditional Love
    • CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP STARTS - WITH PERSONAL EXAMPLE
    • There Is No Room for Divisions among Believers
    • We Are All Called to Be Holy
    • Homilies Given by Deacon John

      • Deacon John Kennedy's Homilies
    • Contact Deacon John

      • Deacon John Kennedy
        Deacon John Kennedy
        Deacon
        613-731-7834
        deacon.Johnholycrossparish.com

 

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