First Reading (Deuteronomy 26:4-10). This describes the ceremony of the offering to God of the first fruits of the harvest. It was an occasion for the people to thank God, not only for the blessings of the harvest, but also for all he had done for them in the past, especially in the Exodus.
The creed which the offerer recited is a summary of Israel’s history from its humble origins to the possession of the land promised to Abraham. The readings of the following Sundays will focus on significant moments of that history. Our worship of God is also a recognition of his favours to us.

Psalm 91:1-2,10-15. It is easier to enter new territory or situations when we know God is with us. The psalmist intimately knows God’s saving presence. God is the one who saves, protects, and rescues. In this week’s Gospel, the devil quotes this psalm to Jesus during his time in the wilderness. He urges Jesus to test whether God truly protects him. Like the psalmist, however, Jesus knows a relationship with God is not about avoiding difficulty but about trusting God in the midst of difficulty.

Second Reading (Romans 10:8-13). This contains in its simplest form the Christian credo: Jesus is Lord; he died for our sins, and was raised up for our justification. Anyone who can say that and live by it will be saved.

• Your initials and name
• If you normally pay via the envelope system then please quote your envelope number
• The word “collection”

• - Monday & Thursday from 8.00 a.m., finishing 15 minutes before the start of Mass.
• - Friday after the morning Mass & Benediction
• - Saturday after the morning Mass
• - Saturday afternoon from 5.00 p.m. until 5.30 p.m.
• - Sunday by appointment after 2.00 p.m.

My psychiatrist thinks I'm paranoid.
Well, she didn't actually SAY that, but I know that's what she's thinking!

Research shows that men, on average, speak about 10,000 words per day, and women speak about 40,000.
What the research doesn’t tell you is that it’s not that women are actually saying four times as much, they just have to repeat everything that many times because men don’t listen.

In the 1980's I fell off my bike and skinned my knee. I'm telling you this now because we didn't have social media then.

The phone rang. It was a salesman from a mortgage refinance company. "Do you have a second mortgage on your home?"
"No," I replied.
"Would you like to consolidate all your debts?"
"I really don't have any," I said.
"How about freeing up cash for home improvements?" he tried.
"I don't need any. I just recently had some done and paid cash," I parried.
There was a brief silence, and then he asked, "Are you looking for a husband?"

I had my patience tested. I’m negative.

While driving in Pennsylvania, a family followed an Amish carriage.
The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humour, attached to the back of the carriage was a hand painted sign:
"Energy efficient vehicle. Runs on oats and grass.
Caution: Do not step on exhaust."

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My mum always did it...

A young woman was preparing a ham dinner. After she cut off the end of the ham, she placed the ham in a pan for baking.

Her friend asked her, "Why did you cut off the end of the ham?"

And she replied, "I really don't know but my mother always did, so I thought you were supposed to."

Later when talking to her mother, she asked her why she cut off the end of the ham before baking it, and her mother replied, "I really don't know, but that's the way my mum always did it."

A few weeks later while visiting her grandmother, the young woman asked, "Grandma, why is it that you cut off the end of a ham before you bake it?"

Her grandmother replied, "Well dear, it would never fit into my baking pan."

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A young boy ..

A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you."

The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want?"

The boy takes the quarters and leaves.

"What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!"

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store. "Hey! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?"

The boy licked his cone and replied, "Because the day I take the dollar, the game is over."