Divine Mercy & 40 Hours Devotion . . .

We have just completed our Divine Mercy Devotions in the parish with a very good attendance. It's very encouraging to see so many people praising Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

It was wonderful to hear people praying with fervour and trust in the Divine Mercy.  I'm sure there will be many graces for those who participated and for our parish. 

I was kept busy the whole time hearing Confessions - Thanks be to God.  In fact I had to schedule  a brief interlude out of the Confessional to confer Benediction.  I have a feeling that if we didn't have an evening Mass to prepare for, I would have been hearing Confessions for even longer.  

Jesus, we trust in you.

And, didn't you sing and pray beautifully!

It's time to think ahead a little now to our 40 Hours Devotion which will take place from Tuesday 19th May to Thursday 21st May. All are welcome of course.  

Do come and spend a little time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar if you can.  Be it just a few minutes or a few hours, I assure you it will be a grace-filled experience.

To whet your appetite here are a few photos from last year's 40 Hours Devotion . . .

God's Grace . . .

In today's Gospel Our Lord tells us how a seed grows when it is sown in the ground. The seed will grow independently whether the sower is awake or asleep.

God's seed of grace will grow in our souls in the same way if we do not put up barriers or obstacles in its way. It's God who gives the growth. God always gives us His grace to help us to be faithful.

We must never become discouraged at our apparent failures; we will frequently have to start again and again with our good resolutions.

God may indeed permit our failures in order to help us to trust Him more.

Nothing is impossible for God.

The Conversion of St Paul

Today's feast marks the end of our Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. God's grace changed and transformed St Paul from a persecutor of Christians to a herald of the Gospel. This simple fact teaches us that our faith has its roots and basis in grace and the free correspondence of each human being.

In today's reading we have an account of the Conversion of St Paul when God stepped into his life. There are occasions in our daily lives when Our Lord want to attract our attention and step into our lives and tell us of the great plan he has for us. 'I stand at the door and knock'; so many times we are deaf to this knock, other times we are caught up in our own world and think we know best, and other times we are too busy, too busy with the trivia of life.

God's grace can work miracles in our hearts but He depends on our willingness to correspond to grace; 'my grace is sufficient for you'.

Let us ask Our Lord to help us to open our hearts to His grace every day.