Two New Liturgical Features In The Jubilee Year Of Mercy In Kiabakari

Listening to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit, while keeping an eye on the life of the Church worldwide and new and old ways to express our living faith in the Presence of the Lord, I have arrived to the decision to introduce two new liturgical services on permanent basis in our prayer and liturgical life in the faith community in Kiabakari.

The first event which is called - Bible Evening, will be held on the first Tuesday of the month at 5-7pm and in this Jubilee Year we will meditate upon the Parables of Mercy and Psalms of Mercy (first three out of ten Psalms of Mercy to be precise).

The second event will be - Evening of Praise - and will be held on Third Tuesday of each month, also 5-7pm. This year we will praise the Lord in His Presence in the Most Holy Eucharist following His Holy Attributes and Names. It will be an evening of songs, spiritual joy, allowing the Holy Spirit to move us in the praise of God in ways He Himself wants.

These events are open to everyone who wishes to set on the path leading inside the great Mystery of God Whose Mercy Is Infinite.

Welcome! Karibu!

Below are the schedules of both events for this year (May and June are excluded as I will travel for medical treatment and ordination of my compatriot in my home parish in Kraków)

The One Who Knows

Saint James Apostle, the first among Apostles to shed his blood for his Master, whose liturgical feast we celebrate today, is one of the three true 'Illuminati', the chosen ones among the Apostles, who were allowed by the Master himself to know Him best and participate in the full account of His life, teachings, mysteries and actions...

Bearers Of The Ark

The First Reading of today's commemoration of St. Claire, Virgin, brings forth an expression which echoes profoundly in my heart. "While all Israel crossed over on dry ground, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD remained motionless on dry ground in the bed of the Jordan until the whole nation had completed the passage." (Jos 3:17). The priestly bearers of the ark is a term used to define priests in the Chosen Nation. I like this expression very  much. It drives a valid message to all of us. The Ark of Covenant of the Lord is in the hands of priests...while the whole nation completes the passage... Let us pray so the hands of priests may hold fast the Ark of Covenant always - to the Holy Scripture, to tabernacle, to Eucharist, to sacraments, to powerful interceding priestly prayer, while the Church completes the passage from this life to the House of the Father...St. Claire, pray for us!

Some Things

A very close friend of mine sent me a message in the wee hours of the day, asking if he was correct by meditating on Christ's Passion while reciting Divine Mercy chaplet (he explained what he meant by this). His message prompted me to look deeper into the Passion of Christ and to offer a broader perspective, writing to him that Christ's Passion is much more about spiritual and psychological torture and suffering, than the physical one only. So, I continued with the meditation on the Passion and pinpointing the crucial elements of the spiritual and psychological dimensions of Christ's Passion. While doing so, I found this page, which drew my attention, though a bit off the topic but the last paragraph of the text in that link speaks volumes about my point. By the way, what I read in that link somehow correlates with my feelings when I denied at first watching the movie, only later only reluctantly doing so, as I never was and never will be a fan of biblical movies. They force, in my opinion, a certain angle of the director of the movie into my imagination, denying me my freedom to visualize the Bible content in my own way and my own sensitivity, based on what I read and reflect upon in the spiritual reading.

The Connection

The liturgical commemoration of St. Martha is celebrated annually on July 29th. Today. The connection between St. Martha and Christ, the High Priest of the New Testament fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament, struck me particularly hard this morning when I was celebrating the weekly Mass at sisters' convent...