Friday 14 November 2008

Christian Duty ...

I was very moved when reading the following from the Office of Readings this morning which comes from a homily of a second-century author:

Let us repent then with all our heart so that none of us may be lost. It is our duty as Christians to rescue people from idolatry and to instruct them in the faith but it is even more important that those who already know God should not perish. Let us collaborate in helping those whose faith is weak so that by our mutual advice and example we may all be saved.

A reminder that as part of our preparation during Advent we should all continue to encourage and support one another in our faith and, most importantly, take the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession.

Our own parish Reconciliation Service will be at 7.30 pm on Friday 12th December. Most parishes in our Deanery will also have a similar service to which all are welcome. Details will be in the newsletter very soon.

It is the responsibility of each one of us to witness to our faith whenever we can; to those in our homes, places of work, schools or wherever. Remember we receive a great grace when we enable others to return to the practice of their faith.

11 comments:

St Ann's Parish said...

Anonymous,
Thank you for your comment which I have not published.
May I suggest that you speak to your own priest or Spiritual Director about the 3 questions you asked.
Be assured of my prayers.
Fr Míċeál

Anonymous said...

Thank you for responding to my post but I'm afraid I don't have a priest of my own to ask.

St Ann's Parish said...

Anonymous,
I regret to say that I can't think of any written resource that I could refer you to.
This is really a matter for one to one discussion with a priest (not necessarily your own priest).

Anonymous said...

Speaking from personal experience
surely if Anon is asking you, it's
your guidance which is being sought
don't you think by referring this
person to someone else is a form
of rejection to this person, I
have no knowledge of the questions
raised, but surely you should be
offering to help.

St Ann's Parish said...

It would appear that the anonymous person who asked the questions originally is satisfied with the guidance I have offered and hopefully doesn't feel any sense of rejection.
I have no idea whether this anonymous person is living locally or even on the other side of the world.

Anonymous said...

Fair enough Fr Miceal. You
have a valid point, I am sure
you did your best, I know how
I felt when it seemed I was
being fobbed off after approach-
ing my Priest.

Anonymous said...

Actually the second Anon is quite right - I did feel it was a 'talk to someone else about it' response. But I also think that a priest is responsible for his own flock and if you're not in it then ...

Anonymous said...

2nd Anon here - surely we should
be able to ask any Priest for
guidance etc, should we not?
For instance if you are in a
hospital or prison situation
you would see the Priest
allocated to that place. Note
the title these comments are
under, CHRISTIAN DUTY. And as
1st Anon said it looks like
they did feel slightly passed
over as I suggested.

Anonymous said...

Fr Miceal - I'm sorry, my last comment reads a bit harsh and I did not mean it to. I accept that raising these issues on a blog is an impractical means of dealing with them and I was satisfied with your point that I should talk to someone on a one to one basis. I am not in your parish or even your county, I responded to your post because it made me think and question and I do not have access to ask these questions in my own geographical area.

Anonymous said...

I was interested in your comments. How can one obtain a Spiritual Director?

St Ann's Parish said...

khoi
Thank you. May I suggest that you speak with your own priest who may be able to offer Spiritual Direction or he may recommend another priest.