Mass Reading: Sunday - 28th May 2023

First reading
Acts 2:1-11
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak

    When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

    Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome – Jews and proselytes alike – Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 103(104):1,24,29-31,34

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

Bless the Lord, my soul!
    Lord God, how great you are,
How many are your works, O Lord!
    The earth is full of your riches.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

You take back your spirit, they die,
    returning to the dust from which they came.
You send forth your spirit, they are created;
    and you renew the face of the earth.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord last for ever!
    May the Lord rejoice in his works!
May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
    I find my joy in the Lord.

Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

________

Second reading
1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13
In the one Spirit we were all baptised

    No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

    There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. 

    Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

The word of the Lord.

________

Sequence
Veni, sancte Spiritus

Holy Spirit, Lord of Light,
From the clear celestial height
Thy pure beaming radiance give.

Come, thou Father of the poor,
Come with treasures which endure
Come, thou light of all that live!

Thou, of all consolers best,
Thou, the soul’s delightful guest,
Dost refreshing peace bestow

Thou in toil art comfort sweet
Pleasant coolness in the heat
Solace in the midst of woe.

Light immortal, light divine,
Visit thou these hearts of thine,
And our inmost being fill:

If thou take thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay
All his good is turned to ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew
On our dryness pour thy dew
Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will
Melt the frozen, warm the chill
Guide the steps that go astray.

Thou, on us who evermore
Thee confess and thee adore,
With thy sevenfold gifts descend:

Give us comfort when we die
Give us life with thee on high
Give us joys that never end.

________

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
John 20:19-23
As the Father sent me, so am I sending you: receive the Holy Spirit

    In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.

‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’

After saying this he breathed on them and said:

‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 28th May 2023

ACTS 1: 1-11; PS 47:2-3, 6-9; EPH 1:17-23; MT 28:16-20

Our Easter celebration reaches its grand finale today as we celebrate the glorious feast of Pentecost. Today, we focus on the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and in our individual lives.
 
Throughout our readings today, we see the amazing truth that the Holy Spirit gives us gifts and guidance in a very personal way — and that we are meant to use these gifts to build up the Body of Christ in a way that is unique to each one of us. What a stunning privilege and awesome responsibility. We must rely constantly on the Holy Spirit to guide us in the best use of the gifts, talents and blessings we have been given so that we can fulfill the specific mission to which we have been called.
 
Our first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, recalls the dramatic moment when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the apostles just as Christ had promised. “Suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.” Amazing, but there is more. “Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” And still more. They “began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”
 
Notice how personal and individual is this outpouring of the Spirit. The Spirit filled the entire house where they were gathered, yet also came to each one of them separately, as individuals (the tongues of fire parted and rested on each one of them). And not only that, the Spirit empowered each of them in a unique way (they began to speak in different tongues). This personalized way of “gifting” the apostles allowed them each to reach different people, sharing with them the “mighty acts of God.” 
 
This is the same way the Holy Spirit operates today. He gives each of us a unique combination of gifts, and empowers each of us to speak in different “tongues” so that, together, every person can be offered the saving message of the Gospel in a way that is meaningful to them. (Have you ever been amazed at how some can be so creative and energetic with the little ones in the nursery or the teens in the youth group? And others so compassionate with our elderly or infirm parishioners? It is because the Holy Spirit has made us fluent in different “tongues.”)
 
Our second reading, from the letter to the Corinthians, illustrates the beautiful way the Spirit weaves together His personal gifts to each us for the good of all. “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” Embracing the stewardship way of life means that we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in the best use of the unique gifts He has given to each of us, to accomplish the particular mission entrusted to us.
 
Jesus gives us this mission in our Gospel passage from John. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We are called to be Christ’s hands and feet to all those He places in our path. But we must not let this responsibility overwhelm us. Jesus Himself tells us so. Actually, He tells us twice in this passage: “Peace be with you.”
 
As this Easter season comes to a close, let us be at peace. And let us resolve to lean on the Holy Spirit more and more as our guide through the stewardship way of life.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 21st May 2023

 ACTS 1: 1-11; PS 47:2-3, 6-9; EPH 1:17-23; MT 28:16-20

Today, we celebrate the great feast of the Ascension of our Lord, that glorious moment when Jesus, 40 days after His resurrection, was lifted up — quite literally— into heaven, as the apostles watched in stunned amazement. It is recounted in both our first reading, from Acts, as well as the Gospel passage, from Matthew. It must have been an extraordinary thing to witness.
 
But the first reading tells us that the apostles were not permitted to simply bask in the moment for very long. “While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, 'Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?'” In other words, “Don’t just stand there, do something!”
 
This verse is a call to each one of us Christian stewards this very day. We have been given every grace and blessing through the Mass and all of the sacraments, through the Word of God, the rich teachings of our faith, and even our talents and our material possessions — so many gifts and blessings that we should live in a kind of stunned amazement ourselves.
 
And like those first apostles, we are not meant to just stand here but to do something with these gifts — in love and gratitude to the One Who gave them to us. We are called, just as much as the first apostles “to be [His] witnesses… to the ends of the earth,” not with our own power, but through the power of the Holy Spirit in us.
 
Our second reading, from the Letter to the Ephesians, reminds us of the might and power of God whose witnesses we are. In fact, St. Paul describes “the surpassing greatness of His power.” He reminds us that the Father raised Christ from the dead and has placed Him “far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion… not only in this age but also in the one to come.” This is the mighty God we serve, the One Who has blessed us with every good thing, and the One Who now gives us the privilege of serving as His witnesses to the ends of the earth.
 
This God knows us, His children, so well. He knows that we are prone to fear and weakness just as the first apostles were. In the Gospel passage, we read that they went to the mountain as the Lord instructed, and they saw Him there just as He promised. “When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.”

The Lord was not angered by their doubt. Instead, He encouraged them with a reminder that “all power in heaven and on earth” had been given to Him. With that, He sent them on their way. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,” He told them and He tells us today. And because He is so loving, He gives us one more powerful, comforting reminder — "I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
 
On this feast of the Ascension, let us take a moment to “look up at the heavens” and ponder all the graces and blessings our loving God has given us. Then, let’s do something! Let’s put all those gifts to work as we serve as grateful witnesses to this amazing God.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 21st May 2023

First reading
Acts 1:1-11
Jesus was lifted up while they looked on

    In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. ‘It is’ he had said ‘what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’

    Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.’

    As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.’

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 46(47):2-3,6-9

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

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.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

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.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

God is king of all the earth,
    sing praise with all your skill.
God is king over the nations;
    God reigns on his holy throne.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

________

Second reading
Ephesians 1:17-23
God made him sit at his right hand in heaven

    May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers. This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Mt28:19,20

Alleluia, alleluia!

Go, make disciples of all the nations.
I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.

Alleluia!

 ________

Gospel
Matthew 28:16-20
Go and make disciples of all nations

    The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

Mass Reading: Sunday - 14th May 2023

First reading
Acts 8:5-8,14-17
They laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit

    Philip went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result there was great rejoicing in that town.

    When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, and they went down there, and prayed for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet he had not come down on any of them: they had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 65(66):1-7,16,20

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
    O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
    Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

‘Before you all the earth shall bow;
    shall sing to you, sing to your name!’
Come and see the works of God,
    tremendous his deeds among men.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

He turned the sea into dry land,
    they passed through the river dry-shod.
Let our joy then be in him;
    he rules for ever by his might.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Come and hear, all who fear God.
    I will tell what he did for my soul:
Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer
    nor withhold his love from me.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

________

Second reading
1 Peter 3:15-18
In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life

    Reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience, so that those who slander you when you are living a good life in Christ may be proved wrong in the accusations that they bring. And if it is the will of God that you should suffer, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.

    Why, Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins, died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, 
and we shall come to him.’

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
John 14:15-21
I shall ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If you love me you will keep my commandments.
I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you for ever,
that Spirit of truth
whom the world can never receive
since it neither sees nor knows him;
but you know him,
because he is with you, he is in you.
I will not leave you orphans;
I will come back to you.
In a short time the world will no longer see me;
but you will see me,
because I live and you will live.
On that day you will understand that I am in my Father
and you in me and I in you.
Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them
will be one who loves me;
and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I shall love him and show myself to him.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 14th May 2023

ACTS 8:5-8;14-17; PS 66:1-7, 16, 20; 1 PT 3:15-18; JN 14:15-21

On this sixth Sunday of Easter, our readings remind us Christian stewards of the importance and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. They also teach us that love of God shows itself in concrete actions — this is precisely why the stewardship way of life is so necessary.
 
Throughout the Easter season, our first readings, taken from the Act of the Apostles, have recounted the growth (and growing pains) of the early days of the Church. Today we read that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God, and while there was great rejoicing over this, they were still in need of more before they were fully empowered disciples. So, Peter and John “went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Peter and John “laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.” The “more” that these new Christians needed, was, of course, the Holy Spirit. 
 
We, too, need and have received the Holy Spirit in our lives, initially at our Baptism, and in full measure at the moment of our Confirmation. The gifts and guidance of the Holy Spirit are essential to the Christian steward and the stewardship way of life.

Today is a great opportunity, especially as we draw nearer to Pentecost, to begin to examine our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Do we make full use of all of the grace and power the Holy Spirit has for us in meeting the challenges of life?
 
Our second reading, from St. Peter, is certainly filled with challenges for us, beginning with the first verse,  “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.” In other words, we must put Christ first above all else in our lives. His role is not merely as Savior of our lives, as significant as that role is; He is to be “Lord” of our lives as well.  

As His disciples, we are called to make Him ruler of all aspects of our lives — our time, talent, and treasure.
 
The beauty of the stewardship way of life is that it offers us a concrete means to show that Christ truly is Lord in our lives, to “prove” our love, in a manner of speaking, because true love is not merely sentiment. “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me,” Jesus tells us in our Gospel passage from John. 
 
True love is an act of the will. It requires obedience to all of God’s commandments. This requires courage, humility, and deep trust in Him. It requires that we lean on the Holy Spirit for the strength and wisdom to continuously make Jesus the Lord of our lives.
 
But the rewards are indescribably wonderful. Christ tells us Himself, “Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

Could there be anything more satisfying to live in such a way that the God of the universe is pleased to reveal more and more of Himself to us? 
 
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us fully embrace the stewardship way of life to truly sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 07th May 2023

First reading

Acts 6:1-7 ·

They elected seven men full of the Holy Spirit

    About this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distribution their own widows were being overlooked. So the Twelve called a full meeting of the disciples and addressed them, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the word of God so as to give out food; you, brothers, must select from among yourselves seven men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom; we will hand over this duty to them, and continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.’ The whole assembly approved of this proposal and elected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

    The word of the Lord continued to spread: the number of disciples in Jerusalem was greatly increased, and a large group of priests made their submission to the faith.

The word of the Lord.

-------------------

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 32(33):1-2,4-5,18-19

May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.

Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;

    for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.

Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,

    with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.

May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.

For the word of the Lord is faithful

    and all his works to be trusted.

The Lord loves justice and right

    and fills the earth with his love.

May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.

The Lord looks on those who revere him,

    on those who hope in his love,

to rescue their souls from death,

    to keep them alive in famine.

May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.

-------------------

Second reading

1 Peter 2:4-9 ·

Christ is the living stone, chosen by God and precious to him

    The Lord is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house. As scripture says: See how I lay in Zion a precious cornerstone that I have chosen and the man who rests his trust on it will not be disappointed. That means that for you who are believers, it is precious; but for unbelievers, the stone rejected by the builders has proved to be the keystone, a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring men down. They stumble over it because they do not believe in the word; it was the fate in store for them.

    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

The word of the Lord.

-------------------

Gospel Acclamation

Jn14:6

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus said: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.

No one can come to the Father except through me.’

Alleluia!

-----------------

Gospel

John 14:1-12

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Trust in God still, and trust in me.

There are many rooms in my Father’s house;

if there were not, I should have told you.

I am going now to prepare a place for you,

and after I have gone and prepared you a place,

I shall return to take you with me;

so that where I am

you may be too.

You know the way to the place where I am going.’

Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said:

‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.

No one can come to the Father except through me.

If you know me, you know my Father too.

From this moment you know him and have seen him.’

Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’ ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me?

‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,

so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?

Do you not believe

that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:

it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.

You must believe me when I say

that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;

believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.

I tell you most solemnly,

whoever believes in me

will perform the same works as I do myself,

he will perform even greater works,

because I am going to the Father.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 07th May 2023

ACTS 6:1-7; PS 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1 PT 2:4-9; JN 14:1-12 The readings on this fifth Sunday of Easter present us with themes of dwelling places and home. As Christian stewards, we are well aware that this world is not our permanent home. We are merely pilgrims here, making our way through the stewardship way of life to our true home, heaven.   Yet, as we make our way to heaven, we are called to make our dwelling here — whether we are in a household of one or bursting at the seams — a true “domestic church.” In other words, the stewardship way of life begins long before we set foot on the parish grounds. Stewardship starts at home.   We actually see this concept at play from the earliest days of the Church, as illustrated in our first reading from Acts. In the first verse, we read about how the members of the early church complained “because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.” When there is turmoil in the home when needs are not being met (in this passage, a very basic need for adequate food and drink), or when we lack an attitude of service within our homes and towards each other in our community, we are not the stewards that Christ is calling us to be.   Stewardship is not just about going to Mass once a week, serving in ministries, and giving financially to the parish. Those are all essential parts of stewardship. But stewardship begins long before we step onto our parish campus. It begins with our families, our domestic churches. The domestic church plays a key role in our sanctification because it is the primary place where we practice intimate and selfless love of other persons.   Ultimately, stewardship is not something that we do — it is who we are. It’s a way of living out our baptismal call to follow Christ as His disciples — whether in parish life, in our social life, in our work life — and certainly in our home life.   In our second reading, St. Peter instructs, “Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Peter is not speaking strictly to clergy members, but to all of us who are disciples of Christ by virtue of our Baptism. How are lay people to do this?    The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “It is here that… all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way 'by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity.' Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and a ‘school of human enrichment’” (1657).   In our Gospel passage from John, Jesus speaks of heaven as a home filled with dwelling places. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” This is a beautiful image of the glory that awaits us and the personal love our Lord has for us in preparing the perfect “spot” for each one of us who remain faithful to Him.   Let us respond to this great love by becoming good stewards of our earthly dwellings, making our homes true “domestic churches” where we honor God with our prayer, our thoughtfulness to each other, and our generous hospitality to all. Let us never forget that stewardship starts at home!