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Today’s Readings 23-5-2019

►Readings retrieved from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings

Confession is a profound gift where God does not condemn us

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Articles 1423-1442 recognize confession as a process in the church where Christians confess sins committed after baptism and have them absolved by God through the administration of a Priest. In the words of Pope Francis, “Confessional is a place where people can find forgiveness and mercy, not threats and condemnation”. It is good to note that official Church publications usually refer to the sacrament as “Penance”, “Reconciliation” or “Penance and Reconciliation”, the laity continues to use the term “Confession” to refer to the Sacrament.

What the Sacrament of Penance offers

For the Catholic Church, this sacrament intends to provide healing for the soul as well as to regain the grace of God, lost by sin. A perfect act of contrition, where penitence expresses sorrow for having offended God and not out of fear of eternal punishment, even outside of confession removes the eternal punishment associated with mortal sin, but a Catholic is obliged to confess his or her mortal sins at the earliest opportunity.

In theological terms, the priest acts in persona Christi (person Christ) and receives from the Church the power of jurisdiction over the penitent. Several theologians have quoted John. 20:22-23 as … Read More

What our liturgy means

Liturgy is public worship which the Catholic Church makes every effort to incorporate and involve our senses and our entire being into our act of worship.

In this article, I invite us to think about the importance and significance of some postures and gestures in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. We are all very aware of our Catholic calisthenics which are a routine part of the Liturgy, namely sitting, standing, bowing, kneeling and silence at various times.

These postures serve an important purpose and reveal the importance of the action taking place. When we enter the church and make the sign of the cross; let it be a real sign of the cross. Instead of a small overcrowded gesture that gives no notion of its meaning, let us make a large unhurried sign, from forehead to breast, from shoulder to shoulder, consciously feeling how it includes the whole of us, our thoughts, our attitudes, our body and soul, every part of us at once, how it consecrates and sanctifies us. Upon entering and leaving the church, we face the Tabernacle where Jesus is reposed and genuflect.

A genuflection, made by bending the right knee to the ground, is a … Read More

Preparation for marriage-The Pope’s Message

At the general audience, the Pope speaks of the need for a true catechumenate, for “we play all our lives with love yet love can’t be played with” “We cannot talk of “preparation for marriage” with three or four parish classes”. The Pope said so at the general audience in Saint Peter’s Square: what is needed is true catechumenate, for “we play all our lives with love yet love can’t be played with”.“The call to married life thus requires a careful discernment of the quality of the relationship and a time of engagement to verify it. To enter the sacrament of marriage, engaged couples must mature the certainty that in their bond there is the hand of God, which precedes and accompanies them, and will allow them to say: “With the grace of Christ I promise to be faithful to you always”, the Argentine Pontiff said.

“They cannot promise fidelity “in joy and pain, in health and in sickness”, and to love and honour each other every day of their lives, only on the basis of goodwill or of the hope that “things will work out”. They need to be based on the solid ground of God’s faithful Love. “The … Read More

Advent season

By: Rev. Fr. Peter Kamomoe

♦

The word “Advent” has been derived from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming,”. It is a period of celebration and anticipation of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; a period of preparation to commemorate the dawn of our salvation through the Nativity of our Saviour.  The first two Sundays during Advent (through December 16^th) usually look forward to Christ’s second coming, and then the last two Sundays (December 17^th – 24^th) look backward to remember Christ’s first coming. The Catholic liturgical year begins at the beginning of Advent.

What we learn from the Advent Wreath

Evergreen leaves – symbolize life and freshness

Let us remain fresh with the grace of God

The prickly leaves – Remind us of the thorns of Christ-His deep love shown in the pain he suffered

The circle of the Wreath

It shows the infinity of God. No beginning and no end. Alpha and Omega. First and the last of everything we do.

what we learn from the advent candles

1^st week of Advent

Prophecy candle or Candle of Hope-Purple colour

Lit on the first Sunday of Advent; Signifies virtues of … Read More

Archdiocese of Nairobi, Central Deanery, mass wedding 2018 update

Central Deanery Family Day Celebrations 2018 update

The Archdiocese of Nairobi, Central Deanery, will be celebrating its annual Family day on 24th November 2018, at Shrine of Mary Help of Christians Don Bosco Upper Hill Parish Nairobi. The main celebrant will be His Lordship Bishop David Kamau and once again couples from the twelve parishes will solemnize their marriages. This is the time families come together to connect and spend time with each other. The Holy Family Basilica is happy to have hosted the Inaugural Family Day that was held on Saturday 25 November 2017. Key among the activities that took place was the solemnization of marriages for forty couples from the twelve parishes of the Central Deanery and blessing of couples who were commemorating 50 years or more in Holy Matrimony.

The celebration was attended by thousands of jubilant Christians from the Central Deanery. The twelve parishes represented were;

• Holy Family Basilica
• Peter’s Clavers
• Our Lady Queen of Peace-South B
• Francis Xavier-Parklands
• Shrine of Mary Help of Christians-Don Bosco
• Consolata Shrine
• Catherine of Alexandria-South C
• Catherine of Sienna
• Pauls University Chapel
• Holy Trinity Parish-Kileleshwa
• Austin’s Catholic Church

Click the link below to watch and listen to the whole celebration … Read More

Integrated Leadership in Family and the Church

One of the 2017 successes was registered when HFMB Council members participated in the Central Deanery Recollection held at Resurrection Garden on 10th June 2017. This event was organized by PPC Executive of HFMB and KNH Chaplaincy.

The main facilitator was Fr. Lukwata

 Recollection Notes & Personal reflections

By: Rev. Prof. John Lukwata

 INTRODUCTION: Word on Christian Leadership

Word of appreciation to all members of the Central Deanery on the day of recollection (PPC) and for your leadership roles in the Deanery: To Paul Kasimu and Judith Gondi for the invitation to share with you. I have had a chance to interact with some of you at Holy Family Basilica and St. Paul’s Chapel. I am sharing some reflection on Leadership in the Church and something on the Boy Child.

To be a leader is a noble duty in the Church.

Leaders would emulate the example of Jesus Christ Our Lord: who came not to be served but to serve and to give up his life as a ransom for many (Mk.9:42-45).Bishops and Clergy exercise leadership in the framework of service. Lay leaders exist to build the Body of Christ in diverse roles: in SCCs, Parish Council, with the… Read More

Common Causes of Problems in Marriage

By Susan Nduta Gitau►

The writer is the Vice Secretary of St. Dominic Small Christian Community►

There are some things that follow people when they get married.  Such are the issues that unknowingly tend to ruin marital relationships.   It is important for everyone desirous of getting married to know the common causes of problems in marriage, and to appropriately work on them before they ruin the marriage. It is good to discover the benefit of enhancing a sound marriage rather than letting the relationship become terminally ill and in need of a miracle cure.   You must watch out for the following if you want a good marriage:

Failure to adjust

Getting married is a transition from one stage of life into another.  You can therefore not afford to live just like you did while you were single.  You thought and planned things alone, but after you get married, you ought to adjust to include your spouse.  

Social immaturity

There are people whose social skills are not developed enough to handle certain issues. Some partners would therefore nag at mere telephone calls from an individual of the opposite sex – worse still their contacts in the spouse’s phone.  Marriage demands social … Read More

Peaceful Christians

By: Communication Team◊◊◊

Sow and cultivate peace as Christians

◊◊◊Dear reader, peace has brought us this far, and we pray that it continues to prevail in our Churches, in our families, and in our hearts. But how really can this peace be promoted and enhanced at the family level, if not at all levels? We attempt to sow seeds of love nurturing in the family, we must overcome the forces that compete with peace and disrupt all the good intentions we mean for our families. The world needs peace, the family needs peace.

As Christians, our weapon is the inspired word of God. A random search for peace is unending, but we pick the lines below to guide and remind us that it is indeed God’s purpose that every family be centered on love and peace; two valuable gifts that we highlight as the theme that drives our stories and features in this edition.

To sow these seeds of peace and love, we are reminded to:

• Develop a positive view of each other.

Philippians: 2: 3-4, advises:

“Do nothing out of contentiousness or out of egotism, but with humility consider others superior.”

 Give our undivided attention.

Titus 3:1-2 reminds us … Read More