The 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Feel at Home
A hearty welcome to all of you on this Sunday of hospitality. It is surprising how poor people can often be hospitable to others. They offer their guests food and drink that they cannot afford for themselves. How hospitable are we to the guest, the stranger? Let us open our door and our hearts. It is perhaps Jesus himself who comes to your house. Be attentive to him. And remember how hospitable he is to us in the Eucharist.
Marivoet, Fr. Camilo J. (2000). Liturgy Alive Models of Celebration (Year C). Quezon City, Claretian Publications
Fr James T Antony CMI
SACRAMENT OF FIRST EUCHARIST
The Sacrament of First Eucharist
Children in Year 4 or above who have celebrated their First Reconciliation may now be enrolled in the Parish’s Family-Based Sacramental Program for First Eucharist.
Please enrol by Friday 25 July using the Qkr! App. Select ‘North Woden Transfiguration Parish’; and follow links to ‘Sacrament of First Eucharist’ Complete the form and make your online payment.
Important dates and information are included in Qkr!
Any questions contact Peter at the Parish Office 0459 394 813 wodennorth@cg.org.au
Living in God's Presence Luke 10:38-42
The responsorial psalm begins with an important question; “Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain?” One of the main themes of the Old Testament was determining how human beings, separated from God’s holiness due to sin, can once again “live in the presence of the Lord.”
In the second reading, we have the answer. In the words of St Paul, “The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory.” By this, Paul means the risen Jesus, the one true God in the flesh, is alive in every believer. As a result, what is true of Jesus also applies to all of us. Jesus’ relationship with the Father, one in which they are constantly present to each other, is true also for us.
In this week’s readings, we learn more about what it means to live in God’s presence and commune with him.
The first reading describes how “The Lord appeared to Abraham” with the arrival of three men. Ancient Christian tradition identified these three strangers, sometimes described as one person and sometimes as three, as a manifestation of the Trinity. When the men arrive, Abraham recognises his God’s presence right away and welcomes them with an immense showing of hospitality.
But the gospel account of Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary takes this understanding of what it means to dwell in God’s presence to a whole new level.
To be clear, Jesus does not criticise Martha for her working and serving. Indeed, Martha follows the Old Testament example of hospitality demonstrated in the first reading by Abraham and Sarah. Martha’s kind of service is what we call a ‘corporal work of mercy’, where we demonstrate the love of God through serving another’s physical needs. However, as St Augustine explains in his commentary on the gospel, “Our Lord does not then forbid hospitality, but the troubling about many things, that is to say, hurry and anxiety.”
Jesus, in the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:14), cautions that worries, much like thorns, might stifle a person’s responsiveness to his word. Even though Martha was trying to serve God through her labours, being so concerned about serving him was actually a barrier to communing and being in the presence of the one she loved. Mary, instead, seizes this unique moment and places herself in God’s presence to take in everything that Jesus wants to give her.
While we live on this earth, we have a duty to attend to the physical and care for others. But we should never let our worries and anxieties take our focus away from the more important, that is, the eternal things that will ‘not be taken from us.’ Union with God through prayer is vital for every Christian. The love, peace and wisdom that we receive from spending time with Jesus overflows into all of our activities so that we become the kind of person, described in the Responsorial Psalm, who dwells in the presence of God.
Joseph Doyle
© Majellan Media 2025
SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM FOR 2025
CLAIM THE DATES - In anticipation of your diaries filling up with appointments for the coming year, please note the following dates for the Sacraments of Initiation in 2025:
Term 3 – First Eucharist
QKR enrolments close Friday 25 Jul 2025
Parent Information Night – Sacrament of First Eucharist - Tuesday, 29 July, 6pm via MS Teams
Presentation Masses – Saturday, 23 August, 6pm OR Sunday, 24 August 9.30am and 5.30pm, Holy Trinity Church
First Eucharist Retreat – Friday, 12 September, 9am-2.15pm, Holy Trinity School Hall
Sacramental Celebration – Saturday, 20 September, 6pm, and Sunday, 21 September, 9.30am and 5.30pm, Holy Trinity Church
PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.