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Today, Sunday 17th August we have 1149 people from all over the world and from many Christian and some non-Christian denominations joining together in prayer. The reflection at the bottom this week is from Bob and Debbie Gass and the The Word for Today. It's called 'Walking the Walk'

What to write about this week? I thought much on the events of last week and it struck me that while on the streets of Galway with John I was approached by a young man who was a Born Again Christian and to my shame I could not quote pieces from Scripture to counter his very selective quotes. I knew the quotes and all the answers but not where they were or the verse etc. Catholics, in my early years, did not study the Bible per se. We heard the readings from the Old and New Testament, from the Psalms and from the Gospels of the four Evangelists at every Mass we attended, and we were given a teaching on their content. But we didn't really study the Bible. How 
much need there is today for us to know our Scriptures. The answers to be able to defend our Faith are all there. But we need to do our learning from those who were taught to interpret - the Early Church Fathers and good Theologians.

Then I thought on the subject of Faith and Good Works, something decried by many of the other Christian denominations. I found the following explanation of Faith and Good Works in the 1950 Holy 
Family Edition of the Catholic Bible:

"The usual designation of a theological problem that was one of the chief doctrinal differences between Luther and the Catholic Church. According to Luther, an act of faith (understood by him in a different sense than by the Church) was the only condition to be fulfilled by the Christian for his justification or sanctification. He taught that faith was necessary, and that it was the only necessary action on the part of the Christian in order to save his soul. Good works (e.g., acts of charity, mortification, etc.), while not to be condemned, were of no value for obtaining the salvation of the soul. 

The Catholic Church, on the other hand, has always taught that both faith and good works are necessary for salvation. Faith is a necessary disposition of the soul which is to be sanctified, and by good works done on earth one can merit greater sanctity in this life and a greater reward in heaven.

The Lutheran doctrine on faith and good works led Luther to drop the Epistle of Saint James from the Bible, for in it Saint James states that "Faith too, unless it has works, is dead in itself" (James 2:17)."

What did it all mean? A search found the following explanation of the true meaning of the Letter of Saint James and included this passage:

"When we turn to the text of James, we find that he does give us some examples of the kind of works he has in mind. In 2:15-17, James says:

"If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."

In this passage there is a three-part parallelism between James's description of what a work-less person does and how a work-less faith is to be evaluated:

"you say 'Be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?" "faith, if it has no works, is dead."

Here the works that the faith lacks are identified with "giving them the things needed for the body," in other words, the corporal works of mercy, which is a species of the good works Paul talks about."

Read the complete text from the link.

So that put me to thinking about Christ's teaching "...when you did it to the least of these, my little ones, you did it to me..." And so, the work carried out by The Mustard Seed from Doon in Limerick is just that - Faith and Good Works and the Missionary work of helping the Church. The root meaning of the word Mission is "sending." In ecclesiastical and theological writing it is used in many different senses. In this respect it means:

"A place in which the Church has not yet been fully established and to which missionaries are sent to establish it. The Church can be said to be fully established and to have real stability when dioceses are regularly established with a native hierarchy and native clergy. Before that time a 
territory is called a mission. Thus, we speak of the foreign missions and the home missions. The branch of ecclesiastical science which treats of the missions is known as missiology. Missionary work for the conversion of the 'infidels has always been an important part of the Church's work, since Christ sent the Apostles to preach to all nations and to make all men His disciples. Benedict XV by his letter Maximum Illud (1919) and Pius XI by his encyclical Rerum Ecclesiae (1926) explained the modern missionary program of the Church."

Sadly for Russia and the other former Eastern Bloc nations their Christian roots were virtually wiped out through communism. And every country in the world ruled by totalitarian regimes and communism seeks to destroy Christianity by wiping out the Church first, then spreading their 
atheistic propaganda through education and legislation. In 1993 when the Mustard Seed first arrived in Orsk in Siberia there found just 6 or 7 elderly folk who had held onto the Faith by meeting at least once a week and participating in what is known as a 'Dry Mass' - praying the prayers of the Mass without a Priest. They had not seen one in over 40 years and the nearest one to them was 600 miles away.

In April of 1989 Our Lady told Fiona, one of the Doon Visionaries, that She wanted them to bring Her Rosa Mystica Statues to Russia and that one was to be placed in the centre of Siberia. Not knowing where, Fiona brought a map and Our Lady pointed out a place called Novosibirsk. The first missionary trip took place in 1991 with the  intention of getting to Siberia. Delays in travel made this impossible but they did get to the one and only Catholic Church in Moscow and were delighted to find Bishop Tadeuz saying Mass. When they explained the reason for their trip he confirmed Our Lady's intentions for them by telling them that in April of 1989 the Bishops of Russia had met and decided that a Church was needed in Novosibirsk! He offered to get the statue to its intended destination. Our Lady also promised that She would bring Priests to the city once Her image was in situ.

And so it happened. By the time they made their third trip to Russia in 1995 they were met by Father Dariuz, a Polish Priest serving the community in Orsk. Those elderly parishioners had been telling him all about the group of Irish people who had visited them three years  earlier. Father Dariuz now has over 3,000 parishioners and another two Priests to help him. The Priests come from Poland as there are so few Russian Priests and no Catholic Seminary yet. But that will happen too, because the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the conversion of Russia has begun, just as She predicted in Fatima in 1917!

And so, to tie in a little with the need for Priests, for without Priests there is no Mass and without the Mass there is no 'daily bread', the Blessed Eucharist. On Friday, the beautiful Feast Day of the
Assumption of Mary into Heaven, I travelled to Tipperary to attend Mass with about 100 others in a tiny Grotto just outside of Roscrea.

Why so far? Well, I've had it in my head for some time now to build a little Grotto at the bottom of my garden and the lady who was to get me a statue turned out to be Fiona's mother-in-law and from
just outside Roscrea in County Offaly! So, back I came with my  statue, and Our Lady will be at the bottom of the garden and I'll be shipped off to Ballinasloe, our local 'funny farm', coz our ones think 
I'm 'cracked as a cricket'!

Anyway, back to the connection! Father Tom, another beautiful octogenarian (80+ years old) started the afternoon of Prayer at 3pm with the Divine Mercy Chaplet, meditating on the Passion of Christ, then the Joyful and the Mysteries of Light, then a most beautiful Mass. He told us that a Prayer Campaign has been started for Vocations by people dedicating a daily Divine Mercy Chaplet specifically for Vocations.

I took a form from him with the intention of getting 'volunteers' to say a daily Divine Mercy for Vocations, so if any of you lot would like to commit to it just send me on your name and address and I'll send it on to the organisers in Cardiff, Wales. If more than one person in the same house agrees, let me have all the names please.

He also spoke about a Prayer Ministry called Mothers' Prayers, but you've had enough for this week, so I'll tell you about that one next week, DV

May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you and yours and may Mary keep you in Her heavenly mother's care.

Mary in Galway, Ireland

PS. It's always so late when I get this bit done so I'll do the Weekly Intentions list tomorrow, DV
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Prayer for Your Family

"O Dear Jesus, I humbly implore You to grant Your special graces to our family this day. In Your Divine Mercy make our home a shrine of peace, love and faith. I beg You, Dear Jesus, to protect and bless all of us and our families absent and present, living and dead. O Mary loving Mother of Jesus and our Mother, pray to Jesus the Divine Mercy for our family, and for all the families of the world. Ask Him to guard the tiny infant in the womb, the cradle of the newborn, the young in the schools and those about to start their vocations in life. Amen"

Prayer for Your Adult Children

"Heavenly Mother, keep us always in mind of Your Son's great mercy and understanding as we pray for our children. They are grown up now and have left us and are living their own lives according to their own ideals. We feel anxious and worried because they do not seem to feel the need for Christ. to understand the wisdom of His ways, or to be fully at ease with us or themselves. Intervene, dearest Mother, in their lives at the moment You know to be right and help them to understand the things that lead to their peace. Help them to see the need of Christ and to experience the greatness of His love, so that we may all proclaim as You did, that His mercy truly is from generation to generation. Amen"

Prayer for the World

"JESUS of NAZARETH has triumphed over Death. His Reign is Eternal. He is coming to conquer the
world and the time.

"Mercy, my God on those who blaspheme You,
Forgive them, they know not what they do.

"Mercy, my God, for the scandal in the world,
Deliver them from the spirit of Satan.

"Mercy, my God, on those who run away from You
Give them an appreciation for the Holy Eucharist.

"Mercy, my God, on those who come to repent at the foot of the Glorious Cross. May they find Peace and Joy in God our Saviour.

"Mercy, my God, so that Your Kingdom may come, but save souls, there is still time; for the time is near, behold, I am coming. Amen

Come, Lord Jesus."

Recite one decade of the Rosary

"Lord, pour out on the whole world the treasures of Your Infinite Mercy."

"Through the Mystery of Your Holy Incarnation,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Nativity,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Baptism and Holy Fasting,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Cross and Passion,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Death and Burial,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Holy Resurrection,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Your Admirable Ascension,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
deliver us from all evil, Lord.

Through Him whose Name reigns eternal,
deliver us from all evil, Lord."

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All of the Reflections to date are available to read in the Archives on the website for anyone who's interested.

The Weekly Intentions are available on a plain page to be able to print off and kept to hand for your own prayer time. The list has become too long now to include each week but please say the
two wee prayers below. The Loving Father knows the heart of each person requesting prayer.

"Father, bless all those who have requested prayers in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! Father, we ask You to heal the broken bodies, broken minds, broken spirits, broken hearts and broken marriages and may all their lives be full of Your peace, prosperity, and power as they seek to have a close relationship with You. Amen."

"Thank You Jesus for answering our prayers because we know You hear every prayer and never refuse to answer. You are providing answers and healings from the prayers of all these wonderful people. Praise God!"

"Breathe in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all be holy;
Act in me O Holy Spirit that my work, too, may be holy;
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit to defend all that is holy;
Guard me then O Holy Spirit that I always may be holy."

"O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me, tell me what I should do. Give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will. Amen"

May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless and guide you and yours and may Mary keep you in Her heavenly mother's care.

Mary in Galway

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Walking the Walk

"FAITH THAT DOESN’T SHOW ITSELF BY GOOD WORKS IS NO FAITH AT ALL" JAMES 2:17 (TLB) 

Are you walking the walk or just talking the talk? The Bible says, ‘…what’s the use of saying…you…are Christians if you aren’t proving it by helping others? Will that kind of faith save anyone?…It isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all…’ (James 2:14-15,17 TLB). Try weighing yourself on those scales!

The story’s told of a missionary who ended up shipwrecked on a remote island where the natives nursed him back to health. For the next 20 years he lived among them and ministered to their 
needs. When they were sick he nursed them back to health. When they were hungry he taught them to grow food. When they were lonely he kept them company. When they were wronged he defended them. Later, when other missionaries came and talked about Jesus, the islanders insisted Jesus was already living among them. When the new missionaries were introduced to ‘Jesus’, they discovered that he was none other than their old friend they thought was dead. 

People are always much more impressed by your actions than by your words. Always! Edgar Guest says: ‘I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day. I’d rather you walk with me than merely show the way. I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give but there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.’ 

Think about it 

May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you and yours and may Mary keep you in Her heavenly mother's care.

Mary