Readings: next Sunday, 18th December 2016 - 4th SUNDAY ADVENT - “A” ISAIAH 7:10-14 ROMANS 1:1-7 MATTHEW 1:18-24

Monday, 12th December: 18.00: MASS Novena Before Christmas - D-2

CHOIR: ST MARY SCC —————————————————————————————————

Tuesday, 13th December: 18.00: MASS Novena Before Christmas - D-3

CHOIR: ST MICHAEL SCC —————————————————————————————————

Wednesday, 14th Dec.: 18.00: MASS St John of the Cross

Novena Before Christmas - D-4

CHOIR: ST MONICA SCC —————————————————————————————————

Thursday, 15th December: 18.00: MASS Novena Before Christmas - D-5

CHOIR: ST TERESA SCC —————————————————————————————————

Friday, 16th December: 18.00: MASS Novena Before Christmas - D-6

CHOIR: ST AUGUSTINE SCC —————————————————————————————————

Saturday, 17th December: 08.30: MASS Novena Before Christmas - D-7

15:00: PENITENTIAL SERVICE: followed by INDI-

VIDUAL CONFESSIONS; 16:30: MASS:

CHOIR: ST ANTHONY SCC ALL PARISHIONERS TO BRING THE OF-

FERTORY FOR THE PREACHING PRIEST

SCC ON DUTY TO CLEAN CHURCH

BEFORE 15.00 ! ! ! —————————————————————————————————

SUNDAY, 18th Dec: Duty: CHRIST THE KING 3rd Sunday - Advent Time

Novena Before Christmas - D-8

ENGLISH: READERS: MR PAUL KASENGELE, MR JOSEPH JERE (MS C. MOYO).

CHOIR: YOUTH CHOIR

NYANJA: READERS: MRS STELLA CHIBWE, MRS CATHERINE MPUNDU (MRS T. TEMBO).

CHOIR: ST MARTIN SCC —————————————————————————————————

Monday, 19th December: 18.00: MASS Novena Before Christmas - D-9

CHOIR: ST KIZITO SCC —————————————————————————————————

Tuesday, 20th December: 17.00: MASS —————————————————————————————————

Wednesday, 21st Dec.: 17.00: MASS —————————————————————————————————

Thursday, 22nd December: 17.00: MASS —————————————————————————————————

Friday, 23rd December: 17.00: MASS —————————————————————————————————

Saturday, 24th December: 08.30: MASS

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SUNDAY, 25th Dec: Duty: ST ANTHONY SCC

Christmas Day

One MASS: 08.30

Infant Baptism CHOIR: ST TERESA SCC

Sunday Masses: 07:30 (in English) 09:30 (in Nyanja)

(Confession - before each Mass) Children’s Mass: 15:00 (3rd Sunday of Month)

Weekday Masses: Tuesday - Friday: 17:00hrs

Saturday: Mass: 08:30 (+ catechism classes)

Adoration/Benediction: 16:30-17:30(confession)

CHRISTMAS SEASON DUTIES - Christmas Play - Youth - All Church Portions - by respective SCC/

Groups - Cleaning of the Toilets - St Anthony SCC - Crib - St Kizito SCC - Christmas Tree - St Francis SCC

- Christmas Eve offertory: SCCs: Christ the King, St Monica, St Bakhita

- Christmas Day offertory: SCCs: St Augus-tine, St Mary, St Paul and Parents/Godparents of Infants Baptised

Christmas Vigil

19:00: CONCERT OF CAROLS

20:00: CHRISTMAS PLAY by Youth 21:00: CHRISTMAS MASS

CHOIR: ALL MAIN CHOIRS

CHRIST THE REDEEMER MAKENI PARISH

P.O. Box 38117, Lusaka

Parish Website: www.makeniparish.com

Email: newsletter.makeni@gmail.com

Parish Weekly Newsletter. Sunday, 11th December 2016

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Readings: 3rd Sunday of Advent - ‘A’ 1ST READING: ISAIAH 35:1-6.10: God himself is coming to save you. RESPONSORIAL PSALM 145: COME, LORD, AND SAVE US 2ND READING: JAMES 5:7-10: Do not loose heart, because the Lord’s coming will be soon GOSPEL: MATTHEW 11:2-11: Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?

HOLY CHILDHOOD MEETINGS - EVERY SUNDAY AT 14:00HRS

EVE AND MARY The Lord, coming into his own creation in visible

form, was sustained by his own creation which he himself sustains in being. His obedience on the tree of the cross reversed the disobedience at the tree in Eden; the good news of the truth announced by an angel to Mary, a virgin subject to a husband, undid the evil lie that seduced Eve, a virgin espoused to a hus-band.

As Eve was seduced by the word of an angel and so fled from God after disobeying his word, Mary in her turn was given the good news by the word of an angel, and bore God in obedience to his word. As Eve was seduced into disobedience to God, so Mary was persuaded into obedience to God; thus the Virgin Mary became the advocate of the virgin Eve.

Christ gathered all things into one, by gathering them into himself. He declared war against our ene-my, crushed him who at the beginning had taken us captive in Adam, and trampled on his head, in accord-ance with God’s words to the serpent in Genesis: I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall lie in wait for your head, and you shall lie in wait for his heel.

The one lying in wait for the serpent’s head is the one who was born in the likeness of Adam from the woman, the Virgin. This is the seed spoken of by Paul in the letter to the Galatians: The law of works was in force until the seed should come to whom the promise was made.

He shows this even more clearly in the same letter when he says: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman. The enemy would not have been defeated fairly if his vanquisher had not been born of a woman, because it was through a woman that he had gained mastery over man in the beginning, and set himself up as man’s ad-versary.

That is why the Lord proclaims himself the Son of Man, the one who renews in himself that first man from whom the race born of woman was formed; as by a man’s defeat our race fell into the bondage of death, so by a man’s victory we were to rise again to life.

St Irenaeus

today’s Reflection / Inspiration

Visitation of the Sick This will take place from Tuesday, 13 to Thurs-

day, 15 December, starting from 08.30hrs. C.W.L. to assist the Priests; SCC Leaders to provide a Community Members to guide the Priests.

Tuesday, 13th Dec.: Christ the King, St Anthony, St Augustine, St Francis, St Mary, Bl. Theresa

Wednesday, 14th Dec.: St Bakhita, St Kizito, St Lucia, St Paul

Thursday, 15th Dec.: St Joseph, St Martin, St Michael, St Monica

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RELICS OF JOHN PAUL II HON-OURED IN MAKENI PARISH Presentation by Dc. David Banda

during the Parish Feast, 20-11-2016

To begin with, what are Relics? Relics include the physical remains of a saint or of a person who is well thought-out to be holy but not yet officially can-onized as well as other objects which have been “sanctified” by being touched to his body.

These relics are divided into two classes. First class or real relics include the physical body parts, clothing and instru-ments connected with a mar-tyr's imprisonment, torture and execution. Second class or representative relics are those which the faithful have touched to the physi-

cal body parts or grave of the saint. In Makeni parish Christ the Redeemer, we are privileged to have received the first class of St. John Paul II.

YOUTH COUNCIL CORNER

Sunday, 18th December. This a deadline to bring the suggestions for 2017 Youth Pro-grammes.

Youth Executive Meeting. Sunday, 18th December. After English Mass.

Forgive others not because they deserve it, but because you deserve peace. UNKNOWN

Pastoral Office Tuesday - Friday: 9.00-12.00 / 14.00-17.00 Saturday: 9.00-12.00 &/ 14.00-17.00

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SR. MARIA (CHUY) serves in the Pastoral Office: tel. number: (+26) 0 978 316 375

MR MARTIN SEMENTI serves in the Pastoral Office: tel. number: (+26) 0 978 013 259

Parish Priests’ Office Tuesday - Friday: 14.00-16.00 Saturday: 09.30-12.00

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For other arrangements call the Priests Parish House/Office: (+26) 0 211 273 048 Parish Priest: (+26) 0 976 447 000 Assistant Priest: (+26) 0 977 570 595

Church Council Executive Office (Room No. 14) Saturday: 10.00-12.30 & 14.00-16.00 Sunday: 10.00-12.30

Home Based Care Office - Monday - Friday: 8.00-15.00 SR. AQUILINA PARAFFIN serves in the HBC: tel. number: (+26) 0 976 445 182

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SCC Meetings @ 14.00

Christ the King SCC: Mr/Mrs Hiwa Monteiro St Anthony SCC: Ms Elizabeth Mukuku St Augustine SCC: Mrs Elisa Mangolo (Jr Buffalo) St Bakhita SCC: St John Paul II Plot St Francis SCC: Mrs Mwenya St Joseph SCC: Gen/Mrs Harrison Phiri St Kizito SCC: Mr Stephen Tembo

St Lucia SCC: Mr/Mrs Staliko Phiri St Martin SCC: Lt Col Lungu St Mary SCC: Mrs Chileshe St Michael SCC: Ms Madah Mkandawire St Monica SCC: Refugee Transit Camp St Paul SCC: Mr/Mrs Hilary Chiponda St Teresa SCC: Mr/Mrs Christopher Banda

St Joanna SCC: MACSON College (Thur. 17.30)

PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Children’s Party. Sunday, 8th Jan-uary 2017. The SCCs/Groups have to col-lect the lists of the things to provide for the Children’s Party. Let us be ready for the Annual Feast for our Children.

C.C.J.P. Workshop THE FIRST FORMATION WORKSHOP (Spirituality of Justice) is organised as the Training for the New Members of the Group and those who are still willing to join. Saturday, 7th to Sunday, 18th December 2016. Venue: St Joseph Hall. Saturday - 09.00-16.00; Sunday - 09.30-16.00.

Contact: Mr A. Kasonde: 0977 852 017.

SCRIPTURAL BASIS In 2 Kings 2:9-14, the prophet Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah after Elijah had been taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. With this, Elisha struck the water of the Jordan, which then parted so that he could cross. In another passage (2 Kings 13:20-21), some people quickly bury a dead man in the grave of Elisha, “but when the

man came in contact with the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and rose to his feet.” In the Acts of the Apostles we read, “Meanwhile, God worked extraordinary miracles at the hands of Paul. When handkerchiefs or cloths which had touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases were cured and evil spirits departed from them” (Acts 19:11-12). In these three passages, a reverence was given to the actual body or clothing of these very holy people who were indeed God's chosen instruments-Elijah, Elisha and St. Paul. Indeed, miracles were connect-ed with these “relics” we need to note that some supernatural power existed in them, but just as God’s work was done through the lives of these holy men, so did His work continue after their deaths. Likewise, just as people were drawn closer to God through the lives of these holy men, so did they (even if through their remains) inspire others to draw closer even after their death. This perspective pro-vides the Church’s understanding of relics.

CHURCH HISTORY The veneration of relics of the saints is found in

the early history of the Church. A letter written by the faithful of the Church in Smyrna in the year 156 provides an account of the death of St. Polycarp, their bishop, who was burned at the stake. The letter reads, “We took up the bones, which are more valu-able than precious stones and finer than refined gold, and laid them in a suitable place, where the Lord will permit us to gather ourselves together as we are able, in gladness and joy, and celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom.” Essentially, the relics - the bones and other remains of St. Polycarp - were buried and the tomb itself was the “reliquary.” Other accounts attest that the faithful visited the burial places of the saints and miracles occurred. Moreo-ver, at this time we see the development of “feast days” marking the death of the saint, the celebration of Mass at the burial place and a veneration of the remains.

The Church in 312, the tombs of saints were opened and the actual relics were venerated by the faithful. A bone or other bodily part was placed in a reliquary (a reliquary is a box, locket and later a glass case for veneration like we have at Makeni

Parish for St. John Paul II. This practice especially grew in the Eastern Church, while the practice of touching cloth to the remains of the saint was more common in the west. By the time of the Merovingian and Carolingian periods of the Middle Ages, the use of reliquaries was common throughout the whole Church.

The Church strived to keep the use of relics in perspective. In his Letter to Riparius, St. Jerome in 420 wrote in defense of relics: “We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the Creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore Him whose martyrs they are.”

In this 21st century, the whole idea of relics may seem strange and absurd. Remember, all of us treasure things that have belonged to someone we love, a piece of clothing, another personal item, a lock of hair. Those “relics” remind us of the love we share with that person while he was still living and even after death. Our hearts are torn when we think about disposing of the very personal things of a deceased loved one. Even from an historical sense, at Ford’s Theater Museum for instance, we can see things that belonged to President Lincoln, including the blood-stained pillow on which he died. More significantly, we treasure the relics of saints, the holy instruments of God.

The Code of Canon Law number 1190 absolutely forbids the selling of sacred relics and they cannot be “validly alienated or perpetually transferred” with-out permission of the Holy See. Moreover, any relic today would have proper documentation attesting to its authenticity, the best example we can depict is what we have at Makeni Parish, Christ the redeem-er.

The Code of Canon Law further supports the proper place for relics in our Catholic practice. Can-on 1237 states, “The ancient tradition of keeping the relics of martyrs and other saints under a fixed altar is to be preserved according to the norms given in the liturgical books.” Many churches also have relics of their patron saints which the faithful venerate upon appropriate occasions. And yes, reports of the Lord’s miracles and favors continue to be connected with the intercession of Saint John Paul II and the veneration of his relics.

In all, the relics of John Paul II remind us of the holiness of a saint and his cooperation in God's work in the 21st Century. At the same time, relics inspire us to ask for the prayers of that saint and to beg the grace of God to live the same kind of faith-filled life.

By: Deacon David Banda

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