Thirtieth Sunday, Year C

“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted”

Pride is the road to slavery to sin. According to St. Bernard of Clairvaux there are 12 steps up the ‘mountain of pride.’

“You have asked me, brother Godfrey, to expand and put in writing the substance of the addresses 'On the Degrees of Humility which I had delivered to the brethren. 1. Curiosity, when a man allows his sight and other senses to stray after things. which do not concern him. 2. An unbalanced state of mind, showing itself in talk unseasonably joyous and sad. 3. Silly merriment, exhibited in too frequent laughter. 4. Conceit, expressed in much talking. 5. Eccentricity – attaching exaggerated importance to one's own conduct. 6. Self-assertion – holding oneself to be more pious than others. 7. Presumption – readiness to undertake anything. 8. Defence of wrong doing. 9. Unreal confession – detected when severe penance is imposed. 10. Rebellion against the rules and the brethren. 11. Liberty to sin. 12. Habitual transgression” (Steps of Humility and Pride, St. Bernard of Clairvaux)

Twenty-ninth Sunday, Year C

“Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night?”

Prayer is so woven into the fabric of what it is to live as a Christian that perhaps sometimes we forget to ask that simple question: “why do we pray?”

At a very simple level we pray because we recognise that by ourselves we are powerless. Moses recognises that the attack of the Amalekites is a real danger to the people of Israel ...[But his faith assured him] that Israel’s “help is in the name of the Lord” (Ps 120[121]:2) [so he prayed]. So too with the widow in the gospel: she has nobody to defend her rights; only by constant “prayer” – not in this case to God, but to the unjust judge – can she hope for justice.

It is right that we should, in humility, recognise our powerlessness and be constant in bringing our needs before the Lord. ...[In this way we learn that] prayer isn’t about persuading God to do what we want, however noble that may be; it is about inviting God to mould us in faith into what he wants for us https://www.english.op.org/torch/why-do-we-pray

Twenty-eighth Sunday, Year C

The Gospel is from St. Luke 17:11-19. The incident of the ten lepers happened as our Lord was on His way to Jerusalem, where He was to die on the cross so that we could live eternally. The Church brings it before our minds today, not so much to remind us of the mercy and kindness of Jesus to all classes, even the outcasts, as lepers were, as to make us see and be amazed at the depths of ingratitude to which men can sink.

This is but one of many such examples of ingratitude that occurred during Christ's public ministry, most of those He miraculously cured forget to thank Him. In today's incident there was one, and he was the one least expected to do so, who had the decency to return and thank his benefactor. This pleased our Lord and led Him to remark on the ingratitude of the others. "Were not all ten made whole, where are the other nine?"

....[For those nine], once they found their leprosy gone all they thought of was their own good fortune. Their Benefactor was quickly forgotten. The Samaritan's first thought, on the other hand, was of the one who had healed him. He was as delighted as the others with his cure but being generous and thoughtful for others, he felt it his bounden duty to return and thank the man who had done him this miraculous good turn https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-10-13

Twenty-seventh Sunday, C

“If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed”

The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds. Jesus chooses this tiny seed to set up a contrast with the large sukamino tree—engaging in hyperbole to demonstrate the great power of even the smallest bit of faith. It is the same kind of exaggerated language that he will use later to describe a camel going through the eye of a needle (18:25).

Is Jesus suggesting that the disciples have the required faith or not? Some scholars believe that Jesus is affirming the disciples’ faith, while others believe that his words constitute a rebuke to disciples for their lack of faith. In the parallel story in Matthew’s Gospel, the disciples failed to heal an epileptic boy, and Jesus says that their failure was one of faith (Matthew 17:20). Since Luke leaves the matter of the disciples’ faith unsettled, we should probably let Matthew settle it for us. If we do that, Jesus means, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed—which you do not yet have….” The time will come, however—after the resurrection—when they do have such faith.

But the required faith is faith in God—not faith in self or money or weapons or raw power or people. The power behind the faith that Jesus mentions here is God’s power, and it is faith in God that allows us to appropriate that power https://www.sermonwriter.com/biblical-commentary/luke-175-10/

Special Calendar Events

Whole Parish
- 16/17 November - Launch of Archbishop's Christmas Appeal for Lifelink

Moora
• All Saints Mass 9am Thursday 1st November
• School Reconciliation 9am Thursday 12 December
• School Mass 9am Friday 13th December

Can Catholics Receive Communion If They Fail In Their Sunday Obligation?

Parish Launch of 2020 Plenary Council

Holy days of obligation

What are the Holy Days of obligation in Australia? Is missing Mass a sin?

Do you know the five precepts of the Catholic Church?

Is Missing Mass a Mortal Sin?

Given how precious the Mass is the Code of Canon Law (#1246) proscribes, "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church." Moreover, "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass..." (#1247).

Therefore, the Catechism teaches, "Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit grave sin" (#2181), and grave sin is indeed mortal sin. http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/is-missing-mass-a-mortal-sin.html

Preparing for Confession

Teacher resources

Template for the Order of Mass