There are five precepts of the Catholic Church: You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labour. You shall confess your sins at least once a year. You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the [...]
The Feast of Corpus Christi, is also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. As Catholics, we are taught reverence for the Eucharist and we do practise it. Most of us reverence the Eucharist, meaning, we genuflect, kneel, and treat the Sacred Host with respect. Most of us also receive communion at every Eucharistic [...]
If the Resurrection was a quiet affair that was shielded in silence, the events post-Resurrection glorified the Lord in glorious sound, signs, and wonders. At the time of the Pentecost, a tremendous sound was heard across the skies, which was followed by a majestic wind. We are immediately reminded of the time when the Lord God revealed himself to Moses [...]
Parish Boundaries The word, “parish” can be traced etymologically to the Latin parochia and the Greek paroikia, which can be taken literally to mean a cluster or group of neighbouring living places to dwell in (Boudinhon & Fanning, 1911). A parish thus consists of a community of homes, which do not exist independently of each other, but in solidarity with [...]
The word, “Eden” historically refers to an ancient land that was situated in the region of Southern Mesopotamia. The term is derived from the Sumerian word, eden meaning “a plain that is fertile”. In Hebrew, a word bearing a similar sound, makes referent to the notion of “delight”. The Garden in Eden as we hear of in the accounts of [...]
“Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.” – Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, 261 On the 24th of February 2022, the world was greeted with the dismal news that Russia had commenced a full-scale military invasion on Ukraine. [...]
We must be careful when choosing whom to follow lest we stumble into a pit alongside our blind guide. A corollary is that we have no business trying to guide others unless we ourselves can see clearly. Jesus, however, does not intend for us to go through life blindly accepting everything that we see or hear. He indicates that there [...]
The first reading is an indication of God’s mercy as Saul’s life was spared. When David saw Saul asleep along with his men, his partner Abishai told him to kill Saul with Saul’s spear beside him. However, his obedience to God overwhelmed his desire to kill him proclaiming that he would not raise his hand on God's anointed. David took [...]
The story of Cinderella can be traced to a 1634 anthology of collected folk tales that had been compiled by an author known by the name of Giambattista Basile, who was a soldier in Napoleon's regime. In 1697, Charles Perrault from France, embellished the story by adding details that we are still familiar with today, such of that of a [...]
The readings for today implicitly and explicitly invite us to “trust”, “believe”, and also speak of “blessings and woes”. Babies learn to trust their parents, especially their mothers, when they constantly care for them - when they are fed, changed, cuddled when they need it, and when they baby talk to them. As soon as they learned to [...]