Lasting between ten and thirteen minutes, it combines music, scripture and some questions for reflection.

The aim is to help you to:

- become more aware of God’s presence in your life

- listen to and reflect on God’s word

- grow in your relationship with God.

Today is the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (see my post on that topic here).  This marks the beginning of the 40 day period until the Feast of the Holy Cross on September 14.  This period grew from an ancient legend that the transfiguration took place 40 days before the crucifixion.  Unlike the Joy following Christmas and the solemnity of Lent, this 40 day period seems to have become somewhat lost from observance, but it too is a time of change and renewal for us.

During this 40 days we (as school going people) go through the process of change from the outdoor, carefree days of play and sun in the summer to the rooms and study and friends of school life.  At the same time, the weather outside makes a change from the days full of sun and heat, to a time of shortening daylight and cooling temps.  The church too is making changes in this 40 days.  Fall is a time of celebration of harvest and harvest brings food and life to people.  But there is work to do for a harvest and this 40 days gives us time to prepare for that work.

So, take a little time today to acknowledge the blessing that change can be in your life – before it changes!

Anyhow, Don’t you think it would be awesome to just transform into someone else – even for a minute or two. To not be yourself, but to be something wholly different, something better! Yeah, I thought so.

Where do think the creative cartoon geniuses got the “transformation” idea from anyhow. I think maybe it came from Jesus. That’s right, Jesus. Today the church celebrates the feast of the “Transfiguration of Jesus”. This is the day that Jesus went up the mountain with His disciples (Peter, James & John) and swish-pow-snap He transformed, in a cloud, right before the disciples’ eyes.

Matthew 17
1Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.
2And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
4Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
6When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.
7And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”
8And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

No one has come up with a cooler transformation yet! That God, he sure is awesome.

Children today need positive role models more than ever. Saint stories for kids are a great way to introduce children to positive role models and inspiration stories on our Saint Stories for Kids page.

We had several of St. Edward youth gather for “Things beginning with ‘M’” spring meeting.  Tony, Val, Hanna, Logan, Ryan & Dominic participated.

We started the meeting by taking part in the May Crowning ceremony.

Afterwards we went to Room ‘B’ for pizza and some discussion of the May events: Mother’s Day, May Crowning, May Pole, Messiah, Mary & Marriage.

To wrap up the meeting we all made wrist rosary with beads and stretchy string (or ribbon).  The youth enjoyed the challenge and fun of beading and ended up with a great gift to give to their own mother next weekend – made by their own hands.  Domonic found that he has some latent skill in jewerly making and Tony finally found something he wasn’t so good at (his words, not mine).

Check out pictures from the May Crowning and the Meeting in the slide show below or view them on Picasa by clicking here.

Holy Week

This Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday to commemorate the beginning of Holy Week and Jesus’ final agonizing journey to the cross.

There are a variety of events that are clustered on Holy Thursday – this last day before Jesus was arrested that are commemorated in various ways in services of worship. These include the last meal together, which was probably a Passover meal, the institution of Eucharist or Communion, the betrayal by Judas (because of the exchange with Jesus at the meal), and Jesus praying in Gethsemane while the disciples fell asleep. Most liturgies, however, focus on the meal and communion as a way to commemorate this day.

Friday of Holy Week has been traditionally been called Good Friday. On this day, the church commemorates Jesus’ arrest (since by Jewish customs of counting days from sundown to sundown it was already Friday), his trial, crucifixion and suffering, death, and burial. Since services on this day are to observe Jesus’ death, and since Eucharist is a celebration, there is traditionally no Communion observed on Good Friday.

From the earliest days of the church, the Easter Vigil was primarily a means of preparing new converts for baptism into the Christian Faith, which was normally done on Easter Sunday as the focal point of the entire year. This preparation traditionally arises from a set of Scripture readings from the Old Testament that recounts the unfolding of God’s creation of a people in the Exodus, and a promise of restoration from Zephaniah (see Readings for the Easter Vigil). Following the lead of the Gospels themselves, this provides a crucial link between the revelation of God in Christ and the creation of the church with God’s past revelation of himself and the creation of his people Israel. This important emphasis on the continuity of the church with the Old Testament’s witness to God also helps define the nature of the church and its mission in the world, thoroughly grounding it in the ongoing work of God in history.

Click here to access our Holy Week Liturgical Ministers Schedule Holy Week Liturgical Ministers Schedule

We are called to hear the Scriptures with both mind and heart, to be transformed by God’s Word. One way to be transformed by God’s Word is to allow the community of faith to guide us. A reputable Bible study group, the Sunday homily, sharing the Word with a friend are but a few of the ways to hear God’s Word with our hearts and be transformed.

The true test to hearing God’s Word is how we are living. Living well in response to God’s Word means that what we allow what we hear in Scripture to guide every dimension of our lives.

Fr Walker invited us to hear God in the messy diapers, in our jobs, in our households, in our finances, in our friendships. God’s Word is present in all of life.

So the question I ask today: How do I live well through hearing God’s Word? How do I read the Scriptures with my heart?

Free yourself to be more open and receptive as you walk with Jesus toward Holy Week.  Consider this reflection in your prayer in the days ahead. Be challenged to sit with Jesus asking him to open your heart to the challenge of CHANGE. Ask him to accompany you as you continue your Lenten journey.

I firmly believe and understand (for myself) that each of us needs to look at these church rites and come to a personal meaning of them for us, in our day and time.  So, one more time, why is it that you come to mass on this Wednesday, 40 days before Good Friday, and submit to having ashes rubbed onto your forehead?

As you pray about why you do this, let me give you some reference to consider.  In a land and time of false gods (materialism, vanity, TV, sports idols) do you consider it important to have some symbols of what you truly believe in?  I assume that you have symbols of other aspects of your life around you, like your cell phone, movie posters, jewelry, sports team hats or jerseys.  What do keep around that helps you reflect on your faith.  Ashes?

One symbol of faith in Christ that many Christians have with them is a cross.  The cross is used to remind you of the saving act of God for humanity and displaying it shows others you are a believer.  In a similar way, making the “sign of the cross” on yourself is a remembrance of the same saving act of Christ.

What do ashes remind you of?  In the time of the bible ashes were a symbol of mourning and penance.  In the strict sense of the word, repent (penance) means to “turn-around” and go in a different way.  Ashes therefore represented to people the grief of doing wrong and the desire to turn-around in life.  Ashes also symbolize that we are mortal, and as such, we will ultimately return to the Earth (dust) from which God created us and our spirit will (hopefully) be joined with God in Heaven.

I hope this helps you to reflect, consider and pray about the direction of your life, and also to make this wonderful tradition of accepting ashes on your forehead as an outward sign of your repentance from sin and belief in a saving Christ.

One bowl will be filled with sand from which some incense will burn before Mass.  This incense reminds us of our call to fervant prayer in this season.

One bowl will contain fragments of bread to remind us to fast and abstain. Remember, there are many ways for us to fast.

The third bowl will hold some coins and dollars, images of our charitable giving to support the needs of the poor.

May we support one another in our Lenten journey of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.