This morning, I celebrated a special Mass at Our Holy Redeemer for the Feast of Christ the King, with the whole school community taking part.
Every year, the Church celebrates this Feast on the very last Sunday of the liturgical year and this particular school community had decided to embrace this day as their official school patron’s feast.
It was a truly joyful occasion and an opportunity for me to get to know the whole school, the staff and the students, for the first time. I loved the way they actively participated in the liturgy with clear responses for the parts of the Mass and their singing was absolutely uplifting. When you have the whole group of nearly 200 people joined in song in a relatively small church, it can be very powerful, and it will certainly brighten your day.
The gospel that we used for the celebration of Christ the King is John’s account of Jesus’ trial when we hear Jesus and Pilate speaking to each other. What I find extraordinary is the way Jesus answers Pilate’s question with one of His own. Jesus’ first reply to Pilate’s question is a question. Pilate asked Jesus: “are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?” In other words, do you really know who I am personally, or have you just heard about me with mere words? This question is rather important for us as Christians: Christ is King and Messiah in a totally different way. But do we know Him?
One cannot love and accept a person without first knowing and embracing that person on a personal level. It is the same with us Christians, we cannot love and accept Jesus as our King, who rules over our hearts, if we do not get to know and encounter him on a personal level. As I celebrated with the school community on the Feast of Christ the King, it was in my consciousness that I needed to facilitate as best as I could to enable others to encounter Jesus in a personal way so that each could embrace him as the Lord of their hearts. I do urge each and every one of you in this Parish of Our Lady of Pentecost to carry out that same mission. Let us help each other to encounter Jesus in our daily life.
As I said at the outset, we are at the end of the liturgical year, which means that we are entering the Season of Advent soon and Christmas is right around the corner.
The Season of Advent begins on Sunday, 1 December. Our parish will once again enter into Advent in a practical way. Starting next weekend, you will find an Advent Giving Tree in each of our churches, offering the opportunity to support three of our partner organisations: St Vincent de Paul, CatholicCare, and the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project.
Each tree will be decorated with ‘gift tags,’ each describing a specific gift or donation for you to make this Advent. I invite you to take a tag, purchase the item or make the donation listed, and return the item over the coming weeks. This way, we can ensure all gifts are ready for distribution before Christmas.
Our partner organisations kindly request that only the items specified on the gift tags be donated, as this helps ensure that real needs are met, and assistance reaches those who need it most. If you are unable to visit our churches but would like to participate in the Advent Giving Tree, please visit our website to make an online donation to any of our partner organisations.
Thank you for helping us make a difference this Advent.
Published: 22 November 2024
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