25 May/Saturday/7th Week in Ordinary Time,

Jas 5,13-20/Psa 141,1-2.3.8/Mark 10,13-16

 

First Reading  James 5:13-20

A good man's heartfelt prayer has great power

If any one of you is in trouble, he should pray; if anyone is feeling happy, he should sing a psalm. If one of you is ill, he should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and this will cure you; the heartfelt prayer of a good man works very powerfully. Elijah was a human being like ourselves – he prayed hard for it not to rain, and no rain fell for three-and-a-half years; then he prayed again and the sky gave rain and the earth gave crops.

My brothers, if one of you strays away from the truth, and another brings him back to it, he may be sure that anyone who can bring back a sinner from the wrong way that he has taken will be saving a soul from death and covering up a great number of sins.

 

Responsorial Psalm:  Psalm 140(141):1-3,8

 

Let my prayer come before you like incense, O Lord.

 

I have called to you, Lord; hasten to help me!

    Hear my voice when I cry to you.

Let my prayer arise before you like incense,

    the raising of my hands like an evening oblation.

 

Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth;

    keep watch, O Lord, at the door of my lips!

To you, Lord God, my eyes are turned:

    in you I take refuge; spare my soul!

 

Gospel Acclamation                                                                                                    Matt 11:25

 

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father,

Lord of heaven and earth,

for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom

to mere children.

Alleluia!

 

Gospel:   Mark 10:13-16

It is to such as these little children that the kingdom of God belongs

 

People were bringing little children to Jesus, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.

 

Reflection

The decision of the disciples of Jesus to prevent the children from approaching him was not due to any bad intention on their part. Certainly, many people wanted to get close to Jesus, so it came naturally to the disciples to deny the children the chance to get near to Jesus. This would have been with the supposition that they were of lesser importance. On the other hand, the parents of the children may have desired that Jesus lay his hands on them or touch them as a way of imparting his blessings on them. The disciples saw things differently so would not allow the children to approach Jesus.

The reaction of Jesus placed the children at the centre of his concern. Jesus was on the side of the weak and the oppressed so seeing the disciples acting in a manner that rendered the children vulnerable; he naturally reacted in their defence. Jesus did not want to confirm the status quo but used the occasion to point out that those who were like children were the greatest beneficiaries of the kingdom of God. Jesus identified in the children the simplicity of faith that was necessary to belong to the kingdom. It is also evident that children symbolise powerlessness, dependence and receptiveness. They were powerless so they could not defend their desire to get close to Jesus. Their dependence is demonstrated in their need of being led by others to have access to Jesus. Their receptiveness is manifested in their openness to receive. Jesus confirms this by saying that they were more receptive of the kingdom of God.

The positive attitude of Jesus toward children is an invitation to us to reflect on how we receive them, care for them and learn from them. In a world in which the bearing and raising of children is becoming a social and financial problem for many people, it is worth reflecting on the way Jesus shows concern for children. His appreciation is shown in his embrace that becomes an invitation to us to love and care for children in society. This is the way to show that we appreciate them and care for them. Not only parents but also all Christians should be able to show concern and respect for children in order to help them grow into good and faithful Christians. When we see them stray away from the faith or the path of God, we should follow the advice of James in the First Reading and bring them back to the right path. James assures us that the heartfelt prayer of a just man works very powerfully. Let us pray today with the Psalmist, asking the Lord to let our prayer come before him like incense.

10 May/Friday/Sixth Week of Easter

Acts 18,9-18/Psa 47,2-3.4-5.6-7/John 16,20-23

 

First Reading  Acts 18:9-18

'I have many people on my side in this city'

 

At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.

But, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ‘We accuse this man’ they said ‘of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.’ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves – I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.’ Then he sent them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the courthouse. Gallio refused to take any notice at all.

After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.

 

Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 46(47):2-7

 

God is king of all the earth.

All peoples, clap your hands,

    cry to God with shouts of joy!

For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,

    great king over all the earth.

 

He subdues peoples under us

    and nations under our feet.

Our inheritance, our glory, is from him,

    given to Jacob out of love.

 

God goes up with shouts of joy;

    the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

Sing praise for God, sing praise,

    sing praise to our king, sing praise.

 

Gospel Acclamation  John 14:26

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything

and remind you of all I have said to you.

Alleluia!

Gospel  John 16:20-23

Your hearts will be full of joy that no-one will take from you

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

you will be weeping and wailing

while the world will rejoice;

you will be sorrowful,

but your sorrow will turn to joy.

A woman in childbirth suffers,

because her time has come;

but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering

in her joy that a man has been born into the world.

So it is with you: you are sad now,

but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy,

and that joy no one shall take from you.

When that day comes,

you will not ask me any questions.’

 

Reflection

The First Reading recounts the missionary experience of Paul in Corinth. This second missionary journey of Paul has been full of hardships. From one place to the other, Paul met with resistance to the word that he preached. The first part of the reading gives the impression that Paul might be getting disillusioned and was in need of some encouragement to be able to continue the task entrusted to him. Help comes to Paul in the form of a vision in which the Lord tells him “Do not be afraid…I am with you”. These are reassuring words indeed!

The words Paul heard in the First Reading remind us of what Jesus said in the Gospel Reading today. There are moments in life that for the sake of the Gospel we weep and wail while the world rejoices but the Lord assures us that he would turn our sorrow into joy.

It is in the strength of this encouragement that Paul stayed in Corinth for more than eighteen months. It is one of the few places where he spent a considerable length of time during his missionary journeys. The period he spent in Corinth was an opportunity to instruct the members of the community in the faith. This seems to have provoked some jealousy from his opponents who wanted to have him imprisoned for blasphemy. Such an accusation in a Jewish court would have had serious consequences for Paul. This was not the case with Gallio, a Roman official who was not familiar with Jewish law. The dismissal of the case is the way in which God fulfilled his promise to Paul that he would be with him. Paul could join the Psalmist is proclaiming that the Lord has subdued peoples under him and nations under his feet.

It sounds ridiculous that the Jews who failed in imprisoning Paul let out their anger by beating up Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue. There is no presentation of his fault so it would seem that the Jews wanted to blame him for allowing Paul to preach to the people in the synagogue. This displacement of anger only reveals what we often do when we fail to accomplish our evil intentions. We turn our anger on innocent people instead of examining our conscience in order to discover where we went wrong and need to amend our lives. The episode in the First Reading is a lesson for us to learn to accept defeat when we are on the wrong path. We pray for the courage to acknowledge our fault instead of turning our anger on innocent people.

 

On October 3, 2015, Bishop Fianu was ordained and consecrated as the Bishop of the Ho Diocese following the retirement of the then Bishop, Most Rev. Francis Kofi Anani Lodonu (now Bishop Emeritus), who shepherd the Diocese for more than four decades.

Choosing the theme; “gratitude”, the bishop celebrated his Wooden Anniversary with his sheepfold on 3rd October, 2020, at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Ho Bankoe.  He expressed his appreciation to God and the Catholic faithful for their support within these years. In attendance were Bishop Emeritus, Most Rev. Francis Anani Kofi Lodonu, the clergy, religious, and the representatives of catholic faithful from all corners of the diocese.

THE MASS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH MOST REV. EMMANUEL KOFI FIANU 

The Bishop of Ho Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu celebrated this year's Mass of the Holy Spirit with the Diocesan Liturgist and the Communication Director at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Ho Police Depot on the 31st of May 2020. In the Mass, he urged all Christians most especially Catholics to open themselves up to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He further added that we pray earnestly for the gifts and the fruits of the same Spirit. He said that on receiving them we should put them to use for the benefit of all humanity most especially in these difficult times when COVID 19 is ravaging the whole world. 

The end-of-year pilgrimage to our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, Kpando Agbenorxoe this year 2021 was massively attended by the catholic faithful of Ho Diocese and beyond.

It took place on Sunday 12^th December 2021. In attendance was the Catholic faithful from all walks of life. The Bishop, before the Mass, led the faithful in a prayer where all were consecrated to the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Since the Mass of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was celebrated instead of the Third Sunday of Advent, the Bishop used the opportunity to explain the meaning and significance of the Solemnity. He said that God in his eternal wisdom wills that the mother of his son should be free from all stains of sins and hence must be conceived without original sin.

Ho Diocese celebrates Memorial Mass for the deceased Priests and Religious who came from and or worked in the Ho Diocese and beyond. This will take place today 3rd November 2021 at the Priest's Cemetry at Bishop Holland Memorial and Pastoral Center, Sokode Gbogame. The program begins at exactly 10:00am

Join us today as we pray for the peaceful repose of the souls of: