JESUS & REPENTANCE

The word repentance in Greek is metanoia which means change your thinking. In other words tune into God’s will rather than your own. Change your view or orientation in life and set course for heaven.

The primary reason that Christ, as God, became Man, and entered our world was to redeem us from our sins. The word redeem means to pay back. Another term is atonement: at – one -ment. All sin has been redeemed, including original sin, and paid for by the Precious Blood of our Saviour on the Cross. In July we honour the Blood of Christ. A debt was owing on humanity and the Lord Jesus willingly offered himself as the blood Sacrifice to wipe away all sin. This is what we mean by justification.

One should not confuse redemption with sanctification or salvation. They are connected as a foot is to the leg – yet remain distinct. One may lose their foot but retain their leg. All are redeemed but not all will be saved. Redemption occurred without us but salvation requires our effort. Our holiness or path to heaven involves a constant effort to work with God’s grace and avoid sin.

Sin be it personal or original prevents us from being united to God; it is an obstacle to heaven. Even the baptized, once original sin has been removed, need to repent daily of personal sins.

Shroud of Turin:

burial cloth of Christ?

These features on the Shroud are unknown markings that baffle science

The negative image on the burial cloth shows greater detail.

Since arriving in Turin in 1578, the Shroud has only been displayed a few times each century. Security is always a problem with the Shroud. For example, there is strong belief by the authorities in Turin that the April 1997 fire in the Chapel, Cathedral and Royal Palace was intentionally set by an arsonist. In 1978, during a 5 week exhibition, 3.5 million visitors flocked to the city to view the cloth. Organizing such events is always a problem. Most importantly however, exposing the cloth to polluted air and UV light during an exhibition can damage the cloth and the image as well. Even though the Shroud is now stored in a specially designed container to protect and preserve it, too much exhibiting may create serious long term conservation and preservation problems. Recently Pope Francis viewed it. To see great images of the Shroud and to learn more go the website www.shroud.com.

LITE HUMOUR

A man calls his son in London two days before European holidays (August) and says: “I hate to ruin your day, but I have tell you that your mother and I are divorcing: 45 years of misery is enough!” “Dad, what are you talking about?” the son screams. “We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer” the father says. “We’re sick of each other and I’m sick of talking about this, so call your sister in Leeds and tell her.” Frantic the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. “Like hell they’re getting divorced” she shouts, “I’ll take care of this.” She calls her dad immediately and yells at him, “You are not getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing till I get there. I’m calling my brother back and we’ll both be there next week to sort it out. Until then, don’t do anything, nothing,” and hangs up. The father turns to his wife, “Good news dear… the kids are coming home for their holidays and they’re paying their own way this time!”

Fr. Peter Murphy – Parish Priest

Fr. Chris Heffernan – Assistant Priest

Fr. Brendan Lee –  in residence

 

Phone (02) 6025 1784     Email holyspirit@westnet.com.au

Address 550 Prune Street, Lavington         PO Box 220 Lavington NSW 2641