22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
30 August 2026
Collect Prayer
God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. Through...
Readings
Jeremiah 20: 7-9 Psalm 63 Romans 12: 1-2 Matthew 16: 21-27
At that time: Jesus began to show his disples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, 'Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.' But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.'
Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.'
Readings next Sunday (23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Ezekiel 33: 7-9 Psalm 95 Romans 13: 8-10 Matthew 18: 15-20
Saints of the Week
Thu 3
Sat 5
St. Gregory the Great, Pope and doctor of the Church (memorial)
St. Teresa of Calcutta, religious nun (memorial)
Why Does Jesus Call Upon His Disciples to Take Up Their Cross?
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 618
The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator between God and men" (1 Tim 2:5). But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, "the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery" is offered to all men (GS 22). He calls his disciples to "take up their cross and follow him" (Mt 16:24), for "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example so that we should follow in his steps" (1 Pt 2:21). In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries (Cf Mk 10:39; Jn 21:18-19; Col 1:24). This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering (cf. Ct. Lk 2:35).
Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven (Saint Rosa of Lima)
St. Teresa of Calcutta (26.08.1910 - 05.09.1997)
Pope Francis, Homily during the canonisation of Mother Teresa (Excerpt)
Following Jesus is a serious task, and, at the same time, one filled with joy; it takes a certain daring and courage to recognise the divine Master in the poorest of the poor and those who are cast aside, and to give oneself in their service. In order to do so, volunteers, who out of love of Jesus serve the poor and the needy, do not expect any thanks or recompense; rather they renounce all this because they have discovered true love. And each one of us can say: "Just as the Lord has come to meet me and has stooped down to my level in my hour of need, so too do I go to meet him, bending low before those who have lost faith or who live as though God did not exist, before young people
without values or ideals, before families in crisis, before the ill and the imprisoned, before refugees and immigrants, before the weak and defenceless in body and spirit, before abandoned children, before the elderly who are on their own. Wherever someone is reaching out, asking for a helping hand in order to get up, this is where our presence - and the presence of the Church which sustains and offers hope - must be". And I do this, keeping alive the memory of those times when the Lord's hand reached out to me when I was in need.
Mother Teresa, in all aspects of her life, was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defence of human life, those unborn and those abandoned and discarded. She was committed to defending life, ceaselessly proclaiming that "the unborn are the weakest, the smallest, the most vulnerable". She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity; she made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crime - the crimes! - of poverty they created. For Mother Teresa, mercy was the "salt" which gave flavour to her work, it was the "light" which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering.
Weekly News
Sunday Missals for Next Year €15 Donation
To order your 2026-2027 Missal (Year A) please contact Fr. Ismael.
Donation: 15€
Francophone Spiritual Retreat
Retreat for French-speaking communities of the parishes of Cyprus. We are pleased to invite you to a day of spiritual retreat on Sunday, September 20, 2026, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, at the Saint-Mary School in Limassol. To participate, please, contact Fr. Alessandro (alessandroparrella@ive.org)
Diocesan Retreat
At Kykkos Monastery. Date: 23-25 October. More information on the board. To register, please, contact one of the priests of the parish
First Communion and Confirmation 2027
The informative encounter for parents will be on Friday 2 October at the Shop. First Communion at 6:30 pm; Confirmation at 7:15 pm
Caritas St. Paul's
Thank you for your prayers, contributions, food and clothes donations … we can also reuse your shopping bags. If you wish to volunteer, please, contact Fr. Alessandro
Parish Community Shop
Refreshments, coffee and tea. Check our religious section for rosaries, Christmas Cards, scapulars, devotionals, etc. Check also our books sections. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet other parishioners and grow as community. All funds will go to the building of the new Church. If you’d like to volunteer, please talk to Fr. Ismael
Mass Schedule
31st August - 6th September
Mon: No Mass
Tue: Mass at 9:00am in Agia Kyriaki
Wed: Mass at 12:00pm in Agia Kyriaki
Thu: Mass at 9:00am in Agia Kyriaki
Fri: Mass at 9:00am in Agia Kyriaki
Saturday: 4:30pm (Agia Kyriaki ); 6:15pm (Town of Polis)
Sunday: Masses in Agia Kyriaki at 10am (Latin), 11am (Polish) & 12pm (English)
Eucharistic Adoration: Wed at 10:50am in AK; Thu at 6pm in AK
Holy Rosary: Sat at 4pm in AK
Filipino Mass: last Sunday of the month at 12pm
Sri-Lankan Mass: 3rd Sunday of the month, 12pm (Presbytery chapel)
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