Happy New Year
Today we close the chapter on the year 2022 and we open the door to 2023 with joyfulness and hopefulness. Resurrection wishes you and your Church of the Home all the best for the New Year. May God bless you with great love and possibilities. May Jesus show us the way along safe roads throughout 2023 with his grace and guidance.
Take time today to reflect on 2022 and make plans for 2023.
What have been the biggest challenges for me during 2022?
Where have I experienced blessings during 2022?
Who has been a special person for me this past year and why?
Where can I see God’s graces at work in my life this past year?
In which areas do I need to invite God in to do his work of healing and renewal?
What prayerful or spiritual habit will I adopt for 2023 to help me grow?
What time or space in my day or week will I set aside to prayer and reflection?
Is there a person or group of people that I can commit to supporting this year in a special way?
Is there a person, group of people or organisation that I need to reach out to for extra help/ support in an area I am struggling with?
Tomorrow, on the first day of the new year, we gather to celebrate Mary, Mother of God. It is fitting that we begin the year by asking for the protection and the peace of Mary, the mother of Jesus and the heavenly mother for all of us.
At the Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel told Mary that she was chosen to bear the Son of God. She accepted the invitation to be the mother of Jesus. Her faith and trust in God are a great example to us. Mary is always ready to help us. She intercedes for us in prayer and she bestows graces on us from God.
The Second Vatican Council stated "Clearly from earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored under the title of Mother of God.
We also celebrate World Day of Peace on January 1. Since 1967, the pope has delivered a message on this day to invite all people to build a more peaceful world.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
from the USCCB
1. Pray.
Use one of the nine ways to pray from We Are Salt and Light to pray for all those in need of peace in your community and around the world.
2. Learn.
As faithful citizens, we must seek to understand the political and social issues that lead to poverty and conflict which threatens the lives of our brothers and sisters throughout the world. Learn about these issues and read stories of hope to learn how faith communities are answering the call to work for peace and justice.
3. Act.
Read about how Pope Francis calls us to overcome divisions through social friendship and encounter. Join tens of thousands of Catholics to advocate for policies that seek justice and peace in the U.S. and around the world.
POPE FRANCIS’ PRAYER FOR PEACE
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!
We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried . . .
Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts and give us the courage to say: "Never again war!" . . . Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace.
Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words "division", "hatred" and "war" be banished from the heart of every man and woman. . . .
Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be "brother", and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam!
Amen.
Pope Benedict
April 16, 1927 - December 31, 2022
Eternal rest grant unto him,
O Lord, and let perpetual light
shine upon him.
We join the Church in mourning Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Earlier this morning, Pope Benedict passed from this life into eternal life at the age of 95. He became the 265th pope in April 2005 until his resignation in February 2013. Born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany, he was known as a scholar of theology and philosophy. His funeral will be celebrated Thursday, January 5, by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square.
"With emotion we remember him as such a noble, such a gentle person," Pope Francis said. "And we feel so much gratitude in our hearts: gratitude to God for having given him to the church and to the world; gratitude to him, for all the good he accomplished, particularly for his witness of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his retired life...Only God knows the value and strength of his intercession and his sacrifices offered for the good of the church."
Join us for Mass this weekend at 4:00 PM on Saturday, and 8:30 or 10:30 AM on Sunday, on www.gbres.org/live, our YouTube channel, and our Facebook page.
READINGS FOR THIS WEEKEND’S MASSES
VIRTUALLY SUNDAY REFLECTION
As we celebrate the new year, we look forward to what God will reveal to us in 2023. We embrace the freshness of a new year with spiritual haste to use opportunities to be the presence of Christ in the world. Join Sr Marla as she reflects on this weekend's gospel.
This Weekend's Bulletin
(click to read)
Families
Recent Losses in our Parish Family
Revealed Podcast
Episode 8 Now Available!
Lifelong Resurrection Parishioner and college student Cathy Baeten joins Katie and Tony. Cathy shares her faith story and where she sees the sacredness in the ordinary life of a young adult.
Announcements
Ruby and Res
Ruby wishes everyone a happy new year and a joyous welcoming of Baby New Year!
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