Parish News
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus reminds us that we are loved deeply by God. We all know what Fr Damien would say:
“Loved by God: All the time!
All the time: Loved by God!”
Have you ever seen religious artworks depicting Jesus and Mary where their hearts are visible? If so, these were probably depictions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Following the observance of the Sacred Heart, the Church will celebrate the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Saturday. Twice, St Luke’s Gospel mentions that Mary ‘kept all these things in her heart’, pondering the Word of God. Mary shows us not only how to listen to the words the Holy Spirit speaks to us in the depths of our hearts, but how to respond to them in faith.
The following infographics from CatholicLink explain the symbolism of the Immaculate Heart image:
St Peter & St Paul
Next Thursday, our Church celebrates the Solemnity of Ss Peter and Paul - two saints that offer us an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be ‘Church’. Both remind us that whilst a building can be a church, the Church is made up of people.
St Peter’s theology describes the Church as being composed of ‘living stones’. ‘You are like living stones being built into a spiritual house.’ (1 Peter 2:5) St Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, describes the Church as being ‘many parts making up the one body in Christ’. ‘Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.’ (1 Corinthians 12:12-31)
Whether you prefer to think of yourself as a living stone or a part that makes up the body of Christ, both saints remind us that our faith should be a living faith lived in relationship with others.
The other lesson we can take from these two saints from very different backgrounds is that we are all called to holiness. As is noted below:
