+ Friday 1st – Today’s mix! World Workers’ Day, Joseph the Worker, Saul, Jesus, Bread – & weekend live stream plan
01 May 2020
Weekend Mass will stream live from Our Lady of the Way Church at 6pm Saturday – via Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/olowparishemuplains/ (or just google something like Facebook Emu Plains parish). NOW ABOUT TODAY – There are a number of really relevant themes for reflection today on May 1st – so much so, that I thought it best to have two separate voice recordings. The first one shares some brief background to three linked celebrations of the day! 1. May Day 2. International Workers’ Day and 3. Feast of St Joseph the Worker. Today is a very good example of how the faith and Church story has used a framework of society’s values to link a spiritual theme.
So here’s the first brief recording about International Workers’ Day AND St Joseph the Worker
(click the triangle play button to hear)
And the image below is just one of many here and across the world, that make it pretty obvious how relevant the feast of St Joseph the Worker is this year during the pandemic.
Image of recent queues at Centrelink – let’s unite our prayers and actions to care for people’s work and livelihoods in this critical time –“St Joseph the Worker – Please pray for us!”
First Reading
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (9:1-20)
Saul was still breathing threats to slaughter the Lord’s disciples. He had gone to the high priest and asked for letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, that would authorise him to arrest and take to Jerusalem any followers of the Way, men or women, that he could find.
Suddenly, while he was travelling to Damascus and just before he reached the city, there came a light from heaven all round him. He fell to the ground, and then he heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ he asked, and the voice answered, ‘I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me. Get up now and go into the city, and you will be told what you have to do.’ The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless, for though they heard the voice they could see no one. Saul got up from the ground, but even with his eyes wide open he could see nothing at all, and they had to lead him into Damascus by the hand. For three days he was without his sight, and took neither food nor drink.
A disciple called Ananias who lived in Damascus had a vision in which he heard the Lord say to him, ‘Ananias!’ When he replied, ‘Here I am, Lord’, the Lord said, ‘You must go to Straight Street and ask the house of Judas for someone called Saul, who comes from Tarsus. At this moment he is praying, having had a vision of a man called Ananias coming in and laying hands on him to give him back his sight.’
When he heard that, Ananias said, ‘Lord, several people have told me about this man and all the harm he has been doing to your saints in Jerusalem. He has only come here because he holds a warrant from the chief priests to arrest everybody who invokes your name.’ The Lord replied, ‘You must go all the same, because this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before pagans and pagan kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he himself must suffer for my name.’ Then Ananias went. He entered the house, and at once laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way here so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately it was as though scales fell away from Saul’s eyes and he could see again. So he was baptised there and then, and after taking some food he regained his strength.
He began preaching in the synagogues, ‘Jesus is the Son of God.’
The word of the Lord.
(easy to focus on St Paul’s ‘bigness’ compared to us and forgot he needed plenty of conversion and ongoing growth too)
Responsorial Psalm
Response> Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News
O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples!
Response> Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever.
Response> Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News
Gospel Acclamation
(John 6:56)
Alleluia, alleluia!
All who eat my flesh and drink my blood
live in me and I in them, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (3:31-36)
The Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in him.
As I, who am sent by the living Father,
myself draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me will draw life from me.
This is the bread come down from heaven;
not like the bread our ancestors ate:
they are dead,
but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.’
He taught this doctrine at Capernaum, in the synagogue.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Homily Reflections
on today’s incredibly rich, relevant readings
(click the triangle play button to hear)
Weekend Mass Ahead
Weekend Mass will stream live from Our Lady of the Way Church at 6pm Saturday – via Facebook –https://www.facebook.com/olowparishemuplains/(or just google something like Facebook Emu Plains parish). Please help to share this with parishioners and any others who you can make welcome with us. The Mass will then continue to be able to be viewed on that Facebook page.
Facebook ‘work arounds’ and live stream video into this Parish Blog space too
ALSO, regarding those who don’t use Facebook, some computers and devices give access to the live stream without a Facebook account – others ask for an account to be set up. So, here are two ‘work around’ ideas: 1. Some didn’t realise that they could actually, easily, start a Facebook account that doesn’t even have to be public etc. If they want, they can just use it to access weekend Mass. Let’s help people who are not familiar and might want to set up a Facebook account. AND/OR 2. You might have seen, in this Parish Blog space last weekend, there was a post that had the Facebook live stream embedded in it, after the Mass. A few people who don’t have Facebook have tested that and told me it worked for them. So, I’ll do another post like that. Even for some who do have Facebook, that might be a preferred way to access the Mass over the weekend at their convenience.
Have a happy Friday – see you online for Weekend Mass and ..
