RECITATION OF THE PARISH VISION & MISSION
(Please see copy at the back)
ENTRANCE HYMN: (plucking only)
Bless the Lord, my soul,
And bless God's holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul,
Who leads me into life. (repeat)
PENITENTIAL RITES
Ma Iki na e, kia fakalofa mai (3x)
Ma Keriso na e, kia fakalofa mai (3x)
Ma Iki na e, kia fakalofa mai (3x)
FIRST READING: GN 9:8-15
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
“Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep
your covenant.”
SECOND READING: 1 PT 3:18-22
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
GOSPEL: MK 1:12-15
CREED:
I believe in One God, the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven
and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one
Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of
the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial
with the Father. Through him, all things were made. For us
men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven. By
the Holy Spirit, he was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and
became man. For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius
Pilate; he suffered, died and was buried and rose again on
the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He
ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the
Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and
the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the
Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the
Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son he is
adored and glorified, who has spoken through the
Prophets. I believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic
Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I
look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of
the world to come. Amen.
OFFERTORY
Soul of Christ, sanctify me, Body of Christ, save me Water
from the side of Christ wash me, Passion of Christ give me
strength. Hear me Jesus, hide me in thy wounds that I may
never leave thy side, from all the evil that surround me
defend me. And when the call of death arrives, bid me
come to thee that I may praise thee with thy saints forever.
HOLY
Santo santo santo Me corazón te adora. Me corazón de
saber decir Santo et Señor.
 O Shepherd of Israel, hear us. Return and we shall be
Holy holy holy. My heart my heart adores you My heart is
glad to say the word Holy is the Lord
MYSTERY OF FAITH:
Save us saviour of the world for by Your cross and
resurrection, You have set us free.
GREAT AMEN (WYD)
OUR FATHER (F)
LAMB OF GOD (old 208b p.122)
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have
mercy on us. Lamb of God, You lay down Your life for the
world, have mercy on us.
Praise to you, Jesus Christ, come to be our bread of life.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, have
mercy on us. Lamb of God, You lay down your life for the
world, O grant us, O grant us Your peace.
HOLY COMMUNION
Take and eat-this is My Body. Broken on crosses too lonely
to mention. Take and drink. This is my Blood,
Spilled on your alleys and lost in your hallways.
Remember me. Remember me. Take and eat. This is my
gift, myself. Given in love in the face of rejection. Take and
drink. This is my life. Know it’s my pledge now to be with
you always. Remember me. Remember me
***
Kua nofo a koe, Iesu fakaalofa, fakamoolioli, he Eukaritia.
Ha kua galo mai e haau a fofoga.
Fakaalofa atu, ki a koe, Iesu: He haau a nofo mau ke he
puha tapu. He tino ni haau ne mua ue atu.
Fakamagalo mai au, E haaku a hala. Ha kua tagi atu Hoku
malaia. Haaku fakateaga, ko e mena lahi.
RECESSIONAL
Ref: Save us, O Lord; carry us back. Rouse your power and
come. Rescue your people; show us your face. Bring us
back.
saved. Arise, O Lord; hear our cries, O Lord:
bring us back! (Refrain)
How long will you hide from your people? We long to see
your face. Give ear to us. Draw near to us.
Lord God of hosts! (Refrain)
REFLECTION
Deserts capture in our imagination a sense of desolation
and of rugged endurance. All that a human being needs for
survival, namely, water, food, and shelter from the elements,
are in short supply, if available at all. Interestingly, in ancient
times, the desert was sought out by zealous individuals,
such as St. Anthony, as an escape from the lures of
civilisation. It was a place to go and encounter God in the
silence, to find him in the simplicity of a life free from worldly
distractions. Such isolation also provided a time to look
inward, to fight the demons which challenged them in their
lives. We hear in the Gospel, as Christ begins his public
ministry after his baptism, that he was first driven into the
desert by the Spirit. To begin his work, he escapes into this
isolation, he faces the temptations of the devil in his
humanity, and overcomes them.
What a beautiful image for us as we begin our Lenten
journey, for this is what Lent is all about. We are called to
escape into the spiritual desert and take the time to reflect
on our lives and put in place practices which allow us to
grow. Particularly in our modern world of technology, it is
easy to spend days on end without a moment of
recollection. Work has become all consuming: from the
moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep, we are
checking e-mails, and in spite of this, we still find ourselves
working longer and longer hours. Even recreation has
become a burden: schedules are packed with sports for the
kids, exercise classes, activities of all sorts. While
technology has made daily chores less time-consuming, it
seems that this time has only been converted to more and
more busy-ness. We can get so caught up in the daily grind
that we fail to stop and ask those important questions that
give meaning and direction to our activity. To what end are
we doing all this? Do we have a goal beyond gaining more
money or power or comfort? Are we putting in the time to
build a good marriage, a good family, a good home? We
feel satisfied with ourselves because we work hard and go
to bed exhausted, but are we spending our energy in the
right direction?
Having taken the time to step back, the key to Lent is
viewing it as a discipline, as an opportunity to focus on
what we are truly striving for, and find what we need to do to
get there. And Christ tells us very clearly what we should be
thinking about, “The kingdom of God is at hand, repent and
believe in the Gospel.” All that we do should be aimed at
that one goal of eternal life. While we don’t think about it
often, it’s important to re-evaluate those habits and daily
practices, and see if they are helping us achieve that goal.
So many temptations in this world will seek to drag us
down, pulling at us to spend all our time on things which are
passing and unimportant. We fight these temptations by
strengthening our relationship with Christ, who himself
conquered the devil and gives us the ability to do the same.
We do this by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. By prayer, we
form that personal tie which guides us and sheds light on
that road to holiness. By fasting, we break the hold the
things of this earth have over us, and are free to place
Christ first. By almsgiving, we act out the self-giving love
Christ teaches us, and begin our transformation into a
member of his body.
St. Paul describes life as a race to reach the imperishable
crown. Just as in running, you need to be disciplined and
train, so too in the spiritual life, and Lent is the time to form
that spiritual training program. As we find ways to grow in
prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we integrate them into our
daily lives. Ideally, the practices we form in Lent should
remain with us throughout the year, though maybe to a
lesser degree. We should leave each Lent in a little better
condition than we did the year before. We escape into the
desert to collect ourselves, but we return to our lives
renewed and stronger in that battle to save our own souls,
and the souls of those we meet. Following Christ into the
desert, like him we pray that we may overcome temptation
and grow in holiness each day.
Having taken the time to step back, the key to Lent is
viewing it as a discipline, as an opportunity to focus on YEAR B 18 February 2018
what we are truly striving for, and find what we need to do to
get there. And Christ tells us very clearly what we should be
thinking about, “The kingdom of God is at hand, repent and
believe in the Gospel.” All that we do should be aimed at
that one goal of eternal life. While we don’t think about it
often, it’s important to re-evaluate those habits and daily
Fourth Sunday in
practices, and see if they are helping us achieve that goal.
So many temptations in this world will seek to drag us
down, pulling at us to spend all our time on things which are
Ordinary Time
passing and unimportant. We fight these temptations by
strengthening our relationship with Christ, who himself
conquered the devil and gives us the ability to do the same.
We do this by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. By prayer, we
form that personal tie which guides us and sheds light on
that road to holiness. By fasting, we break the hold the ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER
things of this earth have over us, and are free to place
Christ first. By almsgiving, we act out the self-giving love
Christ teaches us, and begin our transformation into a
Vision
member of his body.
We are a faith community that is inspired by the word of God and
sustained by the Eucharist seeking to promote, protect and
sustain the family of the Parish while engaging in the work of
evangelisation and joyful proclamation of the Gospel under the
patronage of St. Joseph the Worker
Mission
We pledge to
• be united in thanksgiving and proclaiming the kingdom of
God particularly in and with our families
• seek to grow in and celebrate the ideals of the Catholic Faith
and Christian community life
• be joyful in celebrating our faith and life, taking on board not
only the current technological advances but also the new
ways of relating to God, to one another, and to the rest of
creation
We will do these by endorsing and supporting all the groups’ and
Commissions’ Vision and Mission Statements
Our theme for today:
“One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the
mouth of God.”