“Unless a grain of wheat falls...”
In Year 7 Religious Education, students have recently learnt about the Catholic Sacraments, including the Eucharist. In the process, they learnt that they themselves, their bodies, minds, souls - their whole entire being, including their thoughts, words and actions - can be sacraments (with lowercase “s”). That is anything that can point us to God. However, pointing toward God could be very difficult. They are yet to learn (though some may have through their own life experiences) that “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24).
That Gospel line is read on the 5th Sunday of Lent, telling us when Jesus reveals to his followers, to their shock and confusion, how he is to be glorified. The imagery is quite strong, as it has to do with death - our deaths. Like Jesus, all his followers are invited to “die” - not in physical deaths but more importantly in dying to ourselves in our daily lives. Each of us may have experienced such “deaths”; some may have had more than one death, or more tragic ways. None of us would want them, because they could mean a serious disruption to our future, our dreams, our plans - ultimately, our control.
In the footsteps of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Jesuits often pray for the grace of humility. Dying to self is an invitation to humility. However, not many could easily embrace humility that is born out of extreme difficulties, like losing their loved ones, losing a job, losing their physical or cognitive abilities, or losing their life savings, losing their life meaning, and more. Many would rather prefer a kind of humility that we can still control, in a way that can be recognised by others. “Oh, he or she is so humble and simple!” Subconsciously, we may prefer the kind of humility of which we can be proud.
During Lent, perhaps it is time to ask that hard question again. What difficult, painful and wrenching experiences in life can we offer up to Jesus? He gives up his body, his hopes and his everything on the cross. However, his Father’s final word is not his painful crucifixion and humiliating death on the cross. Instead, it was his very death which leads all of us to the marvel of his glorious resurrection. That resurrection is now promised to us, if we allow ourselves to be sacraments that point us and others to God, even if “our grains of wheat need to fall and die.”
Free Catholic Apps for your iPhone or Android
Now that your son or daughter is enrolled at St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College, you might want to deepen your knowledge of Catholicism, the Mass, the Catechism, different ways of praying, the Saints, the Sacraments, and so on. There are free apps which have excellent resources and are easily downloaded from your App Store or Google Play. Today we share the first of these :  | | Laudate (Free) Apple | Android | Kindle Fire Laudate is the best value Catholic app and worthwhile downloading to your mobile device given its many useful Catholic resources. |
You get:
Daily Mass Readings and Order of Mass for both Ordinary Form and Extraordinary form of the Mass
Catechism of the Catholic Church — (as well as the Compendium) as a web view display of the Catechism published on the Vatican web site. Internet connection required.
Liturgy of the Hours — includes text for all the hours for the day.
The New American Bible.
Complete library of all the modern era’s Church Documents including all the documents of Vatican II
Confession app
Link to Vatican News
Rosary with a Podcast for Rosary and Stations of the Cross and Latin Rosary
Chaplet of Divine Mercy (on Rosary screen)
Stations of the Cross
Confession (Sacrament of Reconciliation) preparation with examination of conscience
Various prayers and prayers in Latin with English translation
A Prayer for Religious Freedom
Daily Meditations.
Podcasts of Daily Readings and meditations with ability to bookmark them
Launcher for iCatholicRadio
Ability to bookmark prayers and podcasts and create your own categorized prayers. Export/Import for prayers.
Next week we will share another of these excellent free apps. Bishops Statement for Lent Appeal 13 March 2024
Statement from the Catholic Bishops of Aotearoa New Zealand
Caritas Lent Appeal | |  |
Each year, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand runs the Bishops’ Lent Appeal to support their work to aid and empower the most poor and vulnerable in our society. The Caritas mission, as the Catholic agency for justice, peace, and development, is of vital importance to us all, especially the vulnerable communities they work with across the Pacific and beyond.
The Bishops’ Lent Appeal is the most direct way of providing the resources Caritas depends on to continue this vital work.
For our Catholic community, Caritas is the means by which we help our brothers and sisters in need – upholding their human dignity through partnerships grounded in Catholic social teaching.
Over the last couple of years there has been a drop in giving to Caritas, putting pressure on their ability to fund programmes that serve those most in need.
We ask that during this time of preparation and almsgiving, you make a special gift to the Bishops’ Lent Appeal 2024 online at www.caritas.org.nz using the envelopes provided at Mass. This act represents the giving of alms and will mean so much to those that Caritas helps.
Yours in faith,
✠ Stephen Lowe, Bishop of Auckland
✠ Richard Laurenson, Bishop of Hamilton
✠ John Adams, Bishop of Palmerston North
✠ Paul Martin SM, Archbishop of Wellington
✠ Michael Gielen, Bishop of Christchurch
✠ Michael Dooley, Bishop of Dunedin |
