Miraculous Medals of Our Lady

This weekend, our dear First Communion Children will receive the Miraculous Medals of Our Lady. One of the famous medals in the Catholic Church with the picture of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady – it means with St. Mary, conceived without the original sin. This medal symbolise our confidence in Her intercession for us. Please, pray for the children and their Families, so they will love God, who left Himself for us in the Holy Eucharis from all their hearts, minds, and strength. With God’s blessing – Fr. Marcin Drabik

The Story of the Miraculous Medal

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23 hours ago

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DAILY MEDITATION:The Steep and Thorny Road of Truth 15 January 2019Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary TimeMark 1:21-28 Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.Introductory Prayer: Lord, I long to put you first in my life. It is easy to get caught up in daily activities. But you are not just another activity: you are my Lord and my God. I do believe in you, but I know that I need to believe in you more strongly. I do love you, but I must still strive to love you more than I love myself and my plans. I wish to offer you the best of myself right now in this time of conversation with you.Petition: Lord, may I understand that you are the truth. May I love you as Truth-made-incarnate in my heart.1. Truth and the Good Interwoven: “For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” In his encyclical The Splendor of Truth, Pope Saint John Paul II reminded us of the necessary link between freedom, truth and the good. He went so far as to say that a correct understanding of this link is essential for the salvation of the world. Jesus taught with authority because he was both the Truth and the Good. Our freedom consists in recognizing this and living accordingly. Do I sincerely seek the truth in my life? Do I sincerely seek what is truly good, or am I conforming myself in some way to the hedonistic and self-seeking standards of the world?2. Multiplying Our Good: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” When our freedom refuses to recognize that Jesus is the Truth and that our greatest good consists in loving and following him, we feel threatened. We try to hold on to the good we imagine that we have apart from him. He does not want to take away the good we have, but rather he wishes to increase and multiply it. But to do so we must allow lesser goods we now have to die so that greater goods might rise with strength. Unless the seed falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a seed. But if it dies it rises to new life (cf. John 12:24).3. The Demands of Truth: “All were amazed and asked one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority.’” Today we live in a relativistic world, where truth is whatever we want it to be. “Whatever makes you comfortable” is the motto of the day. We are amazed when Jesus breaks the mold of relativism, revealing the lie hidden within it and proclaims that he is the Truth. When the Gospel makes demands on my life, do I shift into relativism and believe that it makes no difference how or if I respond? If the Gospel makes me comfortable, I will obey, but if not…. Truth can be demanding, but what a blessing it is that, in the person of Christ, the truth is also love, mercy, goodness, and joy. Do I love the truth and strive to live in the light?Conversation with Christ: Lord, you know how quickly I excuse myself from meeting your demands for my life. I do so even while knowing that when I fulfill them, I always discover new strength, hidden energy and untapped resources of love within me. Help me to give myself to you in love, to meet your demands, and to experience the power of grace unleashed within me.Resolution: Today I will offer Christ something that is good but not necessary. By doing this, I will show my love for him and grow in self-detachment, so I can be more open to the good that he wishes to give me. #dailymeditations www.stswithuns.org.uk/event/dr-15012019 ... See MoreSee Less

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DAILY MEDITATION:Come Follow Me 14 January 2019Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time Mark 1:14-20After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel." As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.Introductory Prayer: Lord, I adore you. You alone are the Holy One; you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the Glory of God the Father. Lord, I love you and wish to know you more intimately, since you are goodness and mercy itself.Petition: Lord, grant that I may follow you faithfully all the days of my life.1. Repent and Believe in the Good News: There is no time to waste. We have one life to live and only one chance to live it. Jesus is trying to tell us that we have to make the most of it. We have heard about Jesus before. Perhaps we have been going to church and listening to his word for decades. However, have we allowed Christ’s message of love and mercy to penetrate our heart? Have we turned away from all attachment to sin in our life and followed the Gospel?2. Follow Me, and I Will Make You Fishers of Men: We can’t forget that the essence of Christianity is following Jesus, the Son of God. As his mother Mary told the waiters at the wedding at Cana, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). Jesus is the real protagonist in our lives. He takes the initiative to call us to himself and to follow him more closely. He invites us to follow him in proclaiming the Good News to the whole world. It is not enough to know Christ. We have to share our faith with others and let the Gospel direct our decision-making process.3. Leaving Their Father in the Boat, They Followed Him: We naturally want to be comfortable and do things familiar to us. In fact, most ads we see appeal to our desire to rest and be secure. However, Jesus breaks the mold and commands us to leave our comfort zone. Unless we first change ourselves, we cannot expect to change the world. Until we first dedicate ourselves to knowing Christ better and more intimately, we will not be ardent apostles of his kingdom. Only after we have had a personal encounter with Christ can we experience the bliss of loving him more and cooperating in his saving mission. As Pope Saint John Paul II so often encouraged us, echoing the words of Christ himself, “Be not afraid!” Don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone to serve Christ.Conversation with Christ: Jesus, I want to follow you more closely. Help me to know you as you are so that I can love you as you deserve to be loved. Eternal Father, grant me the fullness of your grace, which consumes all weakness so that my heart will be lifted up with an indescribable enthusiasm to embrace my cross and follow faithfully in the footsteps of your Son.Resolution: Today I will perform an act of charity that I have neglected or been afraid to do for some time.#dailymeditations www.stswithuns.org.uk/event/dr-14012019 ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

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stswithuns.org.uk/newsletter-NL_13012019Why not join us for Sunday Mass today at St Swithun's RC Church Southsea. Mass Times at 8:30am, Family Mass at 10:15am followed by Sunday School and Mass in Polish at 1pm. Have a peaceful Sunday from all at St Swithun's and OLOL ... See MoreSee Less

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DAILY MEDITATION:Strength in Humility 13 January 2019Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Luke 3:15-16, 21-22Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."Introductory Prayer: Almighty and eternal God, you are high above us in the heavens, and yet you are so near to me. I know that you love me infinitely. I rest in your love; I find my strength and hope in you alone. Thank you for loving me despite my sinfulness and complete unworthiness. In return, I offer you my whole self, along with my intense desire to put you first in my life.Petition: Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart more like yours.1. One Mightier Than I Is Coming: John knows who he is not. Proper self-knowledge is an essential step on the path to sanctity. John is attracting the attention of the multitudes in Israel. Many people would be flattered or even intoxicated with this notoriety. Yet John is not grasping for power, nor does he seek to be someone he is not. He is preparing people’s hearts for the true Christ. The Evil One will continually try to get us to look to ourselves and our own talents in an attempt to distract our eyes from God and his plan for us. John gives us a shining example of the triumph of humble self-knowledge over the wiles of the devil. When we are totally oriented toward God, we give rise to the desire to eliminate from our personal life any lie, vanity, and inflated opinion of ourselves. We begin to live in the truth, giving all the gifts God has granted us their real value. We use them for the service of his Kingdom, without taking anything for ourselves, since everything is his.2. I Am Not Worthy to Loosen the Thongs of His Sandals: There is no holiness without humility. Simply understood, humility means living in the truth. This humility is born of a proper understanding of our relationship to God. It has nothing to do with a lack of self-respect – Jesus was humble, yet with utter self-possession and strength! Humility is the awareness that even our greatest talents come from God and are meant for his glory. In the end though, even John’s humility will pale in comparison to the humility that Jesus models for us in his life. “The one who serves does not consider himself superior to the one served, however miserable his situation at the moment may be. Christ took the lowest place in the world — the cross — and by this radical humility he redeemed us and constantly comes to our aid” (Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, God Is Love, 35). Once again we see that Jesus asks of us only what he himself has be en willing to embrace. He is the source of the strength I need to practice this humility in my daily life.3. Jesus Was Also Baptized: By being baptized, Jesus associates himself with sinful humanity. He has taken our flesh in the Incarnation. Now he sets out on the path of taking our sins upon himself so that he might redeem us from them. If it was a scandal for the Jewish people that God would become a man, how much more scandalous was it that he would be baptized, a manifest sign of repentance for sins? So great is God’s love for us that even this act is not beneath him. It is one of many steps by which he will allow his love for us to lead him even to the ignominy of the cross. Have I truly contemplated how important I am to Jesus?Conversation with Christ: Blessed Lord, you went to the extreme of the cross to prove your love for me. You have borne my pride, and with your love and humility, you have proven yourself stronger than my greatest sin. Give me the strength and courage to follow you down the path of self-giving and humble service to those around me. Free me from the shackles of pride.Resolution: Today I will read and reflect upon the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1262-1270. #dailymeditations www.stswithuns.org.uk/event/dr-13012019 ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago

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