October 25. SEE. Sunday 30 A.  Fr Teddy said, “I don’t know whether to start from the beginning or the end today. Which comes first or leads to the other?  The first reading is about caring for others in all kinds of situations and in the gospel Jesus answers the lawyer’s question by giving him the 2 great  commandments, love God and love your neighbour as yourself.  Does one start with looking at the reality of the life of the neighbour, a widow, orphan, poor person and act out of compassion and love. Does this attitude come from within, having been developed and nurtured in our own family relationships or do we care for others because it is a commandment to do so? You tell me.”

JUDGE. Reflect, share, Scripture “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  And you shall love your neighbour as yourself.   Matt 22:34-40.  Pope Francis:  We Christians are very much aware that if the music of the Gospel ceases to resonate in our very being, we will lose the joy born of compassion, the tender love born of trust, the capacity for reconciliation that has its source in our knowledge that we have been forgiven and sent forth. FT 277. The response to the consultation on the family insisted on the need for training lay leaders who can assist in the pastoral care of families with the help of specialists. AL 204. Pope Leo:. In order to build the civilization of love, we must engage in dialogue, for this is the primary means of coexistence between people and nations, and it is the alternative to open conflict. On the eve of the Second World War, Pius XII affirmed that nothing is lost with peace, whereas with war everything can be lost. He insisted that people must return to speaking with one another, because a sincere and persevering dialogue always opens up the possibility of an honorable solution. Indeed, dialogue is an ordinary part of human life and does not only concern relations between States. It involves acquiring an attitude that seeks to forge bonds of fraternity built on listening, an open demeanor, making time for each other and even wasting time together. For if we experience authentic encounters with others, with those who are different, strangers and migrants, it becomes much more difficult even to imagine war. MH219-20

Daily Prayer for Mission Month October, Year of St Francis and upcoming Local Elections in SA.  

Heavenly Father, during this Mission month, we praise and thank you for the gift of your love and the riches of your creation. As missionary disciples we answer your call to walk in the way of peace.  We lift up to you all leaders of nations. Grant them an open heart and a listening ear to hear the cries of the poor and the needy. Bless all missionaries, protect them from harm, strengthen their hearts in times of trial, and fill them with the joy of your Spirit. As we prepare for the elections and a renewal of society for the common good we acknowledge our shortcomings and faults. We hear the needs that call for help to build a united country under God, as a family of all the families of creation.  Mary, Mother of the Church and of the Rosary pray for us. St Francis, our model and patron saint of all of creation pray for us. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen