Latest News

The Pope, the Environmental Crisis, and Frontline Leaders | The Letter: Laudato Si Film

In 2015, Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si’ (The Letter); an encyclical letter about the environmental crisis to every single person in the world. A few years later, four voices that have gone unheard in global conversations have been invited to an unprecedented dialogue with the Pope. Hailing from Senegal, the Amazon, India, and Hawai’i, they bring perspective and solutions from the poor, the indigenous, the youth, and wildlife into a conversation with Pope Francis himself. This documentary follows their journey to Rome and the extraordinary experiences that took place there, and is packed with powerfully moving personal stories alongside the latest information about the planetary crisis and the toll it’s taking on nature and people.

Because, in the words of the Laudato Si’ Movement chair Lorna Gold, “once you know, you CANNOT look away.”

Learn more about the protagonists and how you can take action at https://TheLetterFilm.org

Watch the film using this link - click here.

Thank you Deacon Vincent for this week's reflections ~ 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

1st Reading from the second book of Kings 5: 14-17.

The two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings are really one story. When these were written in scrolls, one scroll became one book and so on till the four scrolls became books Samuel 1 & 2, and Kings 1 & 2. It begins with Samuel’s story the drift to monarchy and the Saul and David story, David as king and his later years. Kings continue the story of Israel, now a monarchy, and 2 Kings takes the story down to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC. It covers the precarious time of the Egyptian war with Assyria, the defeat of Egypt and Israel’s defeat and exile in Babylon. It concludes before the complete return from exile. Naaman was a great captain of the Assyrian Army and a bit of a wonder boy in his lord’s eyes. He was powerful and strong, but a leper. A little Israelite captive girl waited on Naaman’s wife, and she told how if he were to meet Elisha in Samaria, that Elisha would cure him. He meets Elisha and he carries out Elisha’s instructions and this is our story today of how he was cured. Elisha will take no payment for the cure he only wants to illustrate that God is superior to all the gods of the Assyrian. Naaman is converted. His gratitude needs to be directed to the God of Israel, who really cured him; for Elisha was only God’s prophet. Naaman then requests the soil of Israel so that he can take it back to Syria and build an Altar to the God of Israel and worship him in Syria.

Psalm 97: 1-4.

A beautiful song glorifying God’s great work in saving his people and be sure that he is coming. As we see from the first reading God is really the person in charge of everything.

2nd Reading from the second letter of St. Paul to Timothy 2: 8-13.

This is a kind of summary of Paul’s message to Timothy. Timothy, and indeed we, also. must concentrate on Christ, and especially on his death and resurrection. We Christians need to absorb ourselves in that mystery and not try to evade its uncomfortable consequences.

The Holy Gospel according to Luke 17: 11-19.

Luke has us all on a journey along the border with Samaria and Galilee, and we continue the theme of healing. Like Naaman, a foreigner, the Samaritan, also regarded as a foreigner, is the only one of the ten lepers who are cured, who turns around and returns to give thanks to God. He is the only one to respond from the heart to give thanks, whilst the others were more concerned with completing the legal requirements of their cure. He only thought about giving thanks to God at the spot where the grace of God found him. This is the faith that saves and transforms us. Among the many of us who are asking God for favours and healing will really come to love Him. Our prayers for his help should always lead us to an increase in love and service of God, and not for worldly reasons.

God bless us on our journey towards the Lord.

Deacon Vincent.