Prayer requests

 

St Hilda's Parish received a lovely offer from "Mustard Seed Prayer Circle". They have invited our members (and anyone interested) to join. They have been working for a few years as group of Christians from all over Australia who are linked via email for the purpose of prayer.

 

"We take names and brief reasons for prayer, we only use Christian Names and sometimes surname Intitial. God knows each of us by name anyway. We send out the email prayer to all team members and we pray for one month. At the end of each month a Parish Priest receives the list of names and offers Mass on the first Sat for all those names." (mustard seed prayer circle)

Would you like to join the prayer group?

Would like to make a prayer request?

then email  - Laurel Movigliatti at   mustard_seed_group@hotmail.com

 

 

 

Prayer for the Synod

 Most of you would know that next weekends Sunday Service (31st May due to be held at Taree) will be cancelled due to Father Matthew attending the Synod. Leaving for the long drive Thursday we pray that he travels safely.

Prayer for the Synod: -   Almighty and everlasting God, who by thy Holy Spirit didst preside in the Council of the blessed Apostles, and hast promised, through the Son Jesus Christ, to be with thy Church to the end of the world; We beseech thee to be present with the 2015 Synod about to be assembled in thy Name, Save its members from all error, ignorance, pride and prejudice: and of thy great mercy vouchsafe so to direct, govern and sanctify them in their deliberations by thy Holy Spirit, that through thy blessing the Gospel of Christ may be faithfully preached and obeyed, the order and discipline of thy Church maintained, and the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour enlarged and extended. Grant this, we beseech thee, through the merits and mediation of the same Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen

Rogation Sunday 2015

These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. (John 16:25-27). †

 

Implication?

His preaching has been veiled to some degree, even to his closest followers, but the teaching will soon be clearer.

 

When?

vv.22-23 say after the crucifixion and resurrection, And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.  And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

but it also refers to after the Ascension, as the Holy Spirit will then inspire them to unfold his previous teaching with greater clarity and with the new context of the Cross. vv. 13-15. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

So, amazingly, some of the richest teaching in the NT is not in the Gospels, but in the Epistles. This may sound blasphemous, as if we are saying the words of the Apostles are worth more than the words of our Lord. But, in fact, they are all the words of our Lord, whether from his mouth or not.

 

On the other hand, his preaching of the Gospel, precisely because it is often in parables, has layer upon layer of meaning and application. And, while the disciples tell him he is not speaking in parables in this instance, there is much in what he says here that will not be seen in its full significance till later.

 

Indeed, when he states that he is not saying he will pray the Father for them as the Father himself loves them, we have a perfect example of this. We are taught elsewhere that he does intercede for us, including in the same address on the same night in the same Gospel, e.g., And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (John 14:16), Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25). So what does Jesus mean? He has already said they will be praying in his name, so He means that their prayer is through him due to their loving faith, so that his prayer for them is in fact them praying in him, because they are united with him, and, through him, united to the Father. As the one called the Mediator, the link between God and Man, he intercedes by his presence with the Father, and his presence in us, as the Sacrificed one. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, (Heb. 10:24-26) And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (Rev. 5:6).

Thus we are not to have some image in our minds of Christ perpetually repeating our prayers to the Father so he will deign to pay attention to them. No. The Father is not separated from us by Jesus, isolated in proud and stern splendour. He loves us and as we are in Christ, is with us. Even in tribulation. and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (vv.32b-33).

The more we become one with him in faith and love,

the more our prayer will simply be his prayer. †

Receive with meekness the implanted word

Sermon Summary 4th Sunday after Easter
Father Matthew Kirby

EVERY good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:17-21 (KJV)

 

Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. †

 

Why with meekness?
The whole letter is directed against arrogance: pride plus anger plus the comfortable worldliness of self-satisfied wealth. (e.g., And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: James 2:3. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. James 3:14, Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:4, Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.  James 13-17).

What is the solution?
Humbled, penitent faith made active in good works and especially respect for the needy (But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:6-10, Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:27 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James 2:26).

It was not that they lacked piety or belief. They are painted in the second chapter as placing their great confidence in their belief, and saying the right thing, sounding spiritual If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (James 2:15-19). But their faith was dead or dying because it was not combined with penitence, but with the opposite. The necessary connection of penitence with faith is made by our Lord from the beginning, e.g., And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:15.

 

But one could also say that our faith must be combined with unbelief, as this epistle makes clear. Unbelief in the priority of wealth. Unbelief in worldly status. Unbelief in worldly power and the abusive use of it. Unbelief in self. It is not merely that we must trust in God. We must actively distrust everything that would make itself an idol in competition with him and his kingdom.

 

The good news is that, as harsh as this letter sounds, this very passage reminds the listeners that the word has already changed them: "Of his own will he brought us to birth by the word of truth." And he has just said before that that God gives "perfect" gifts. New life has been given definitively by his will, not our own, through the gospel-words spoken in baptism and in the Church's preaching. However, we must remain receiving, and do so in joyful and unqualified confidence in the Gift within, but humble and penitent distrust in our own powers and passions. It is this balance of boldness and meekness that is the paradox essential to Christian living by faith.

 

As I cry out to my Lord.

It is through pain, fear and loss
that we learn trust and faith.
It is the hard times that teach us
allowing us to grow spiritually.

O'Lord,

 When facing our fears and insecurities
 May the Holy Ghost comfort us:

As our hearts and bodies cry out in pain
 May we remember the sufferings of Christ:

During times of despair in our darkest hours
 May we call on The Father to light our path:

Though our mortal vulnerabilities
 May we learn to trust three persons in one God:

As we strive to be righteous
 May we remember to praise and offer glory
 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Amen

Prayer for Mothers

Mothers Day is next Sunday 10th May 2015.

 

"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you." Deuteronomy 5:16  "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck." Proverbs 1:8-9

Each of us is a sinner, including our parents. Most parents try hard to love and nurture their children, wanting only what is best for them. Parenting is THE hardest jobs in the world. If you want to do something special this Mothers Day, then pray for all of the mothers that need Gods assistance... Happy Mothers Day. 

 

Most Gracious Heavenly Father,

 We thank You for our mothers to whom You have entrusted the care of every precious human life from its very beginning in the womb.

God our Creator, we pray: for expectant mothers, wondering and waiting.

 

 You have given to woman the capacity of participating with You in the creation of new life. Grant that every woman may come to understand the full meaning of that blessing, which gives her an unlimited capacity for selfless love for every child she may be privileged to bear, and for all Your children.

God our Creator, we pray: for new mothers, coming to terms with new responsibility.

 

 Watch over every mother who is with child, strengthen her faith in Your fatherly care and love for her and for her unborn baby. Give her courage in times of fear or pain, understanding in times of uncertainty and doubt, and hope in times of trouble. Grant her joy in the birth of her child.

God our Creator, we pray: for mothers who are scared, uncertain, tired, stressed or depressed.

 

 To mothers You have given the great privilege and responsibility of being a child's first teacher and spiritual guide. Grant that all mothers may worthily foster the faith of their children, following the example of Mary, Elizabeth, and other holy women who follow Christ. Help mothers to grow daily in knowledge and understanding of Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and grant them the wisdom to impart this knowledge faithfully to their children, and to all who depend upon them.

God our Creator, we pray: for those who are now responsible for the education of their children; for those whose children have physical, mental or emotional disabilities.

 

 Assist all "spiritual mothers", those who, though they may have no children of their own, nevertheless selflessly care for the children of others -- of every age and state in life. Grant that they may know the joy of fulfilling this motherly calling of women, whether in teaching, nursing, religious life, or in other work which recognizes and fosters the true dignity of every human being created in Your image and likeness.

God our Creator, we pray: for those who care for the children of others; and for those whose desire to be a mother has not been fulfilled.

 

 We beseech You to send Your Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to all mothers who sorrow for children that have died, are ill or estranged from their families, or who are in trouble or danger of any kind. Help grieving mothers to rely on Your tender mercy and fatherly love for all your children.

God our Creator, we pray: for those who have children they do not want; for those who have trouble feeding their children due to poverty; for those who have lost a child; for those whose children have left home.

 

 We ask your blessing on all those to whom You have entrusted motherhood. May Your Holy Spirit constantly inspire and strengthen them. May they ever follow the example of Mary, mother of Our Lord, and imitate her fidelity, her humility, and her self-giving love. May all mothers receive Your Grace abundantly in this earthly life, and may they look forward to eternal joy in Your presence in the life to come.

God our Creator, we pray: Bless all mothers, that their love may be deep and tender, and that they may lead their children to know and do what is good, living not for themselves alone, but for God and for others.

 

 We ask this through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.
AMEN.

 

Join us at the Anglican Catholic Church for Mass / Holy Communion this Sunday at 11am at St Hilda's. Bring mum with you, or bring her memory and celebrate mothers day with us.