By Fr. Charlie O'Rourke
December 1, 2019
Lord, give me the courage to disarm my heart
from the feelings of anger, resentment and revenge
that foster so much pain and division in my life.
Instill within me a spirit of gratitude and joy that
I may become Your instruments of peace and reconciliation
wherever and whenever conflicts arise.
November 30, 2019
Brother of Simon Peter,
you heard John the Baptist say:
"Behold the Lamb of God,"
and you chose to follow Jesus.
Leaving your nets,
you became a successful fisher of souls.
Lover of the Crucified Christ,
you too were crucified like him.
Teach us to live and suffer for Him
and to win many souls for Christ.
Amen.
November 29, 2019
As a little child,
I loved you like a mother.
Now that I am old,
my love for you has grown.
Receive me in heaven
as one of the blessed,
and I will proclaim
that I have obtained
such a great prize
through your patronage.
Amen.
November 28, 2019
Father all-powerful,
Your gifts of love are countless
and Your goodness infinite.
On Thanksgiving Day we come before You
with gratitude for Your kindness:
open our hearts to concern for our fellow men and women,
so that we may share Your gifts in loving service.
November 27, 2019
Chased from his parish by a volcano! That is the story of Fr. Laurence Lulkon. Little did I think when I taught Laurence as a seminarian in Fiji that I was preparing him to deal with volcanoes.
November 27, 2019
O Mary, today we wish to entrust to you the future that awaits us,
and we ask you to be with us on our way.
We are the men and women of an extraordinary time,
exhilarating yet full of contradictions.
Humanity now has instruments of unprecedented power:
we can turn this world into a garden,
or reduce it to a pile of rubble.
November 26, 2019
Almighty God, my Eternal Father,
from the fullness of my soul I adore You.
I am deeply grateful that You have made me
in Your image and likeness,
and that You hold me in Your loving embrace.
Direct me to love You with all my heart,
with all my soul,
and with my whole mind.
Direct me to love all Your children as I love myself.
November 25, 2019
December, January and February are the wedding months. All the Parkari parishes here are busy attending weddings and being involved in some of the preparations. The wider Sindhi society is much the same. There are weddings on the move constantly.
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.