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“He was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32)
Stations of the Cross:
Stations of the Cross will be conducted at Sacred Heart Church, Clear Island Waters
from 6 pm each Friday of Lent.
PASTOR’S POST -
If we are ever tempted to doubt God’s love, patience and mercy, we must stay very close to this absolutely superb parable of the Lost Son, also known as the Prodigal Son. We are encouraged to see our God as a loving, doting father, who looks out for the return of his wayward child and welcomes him back with love, because he knows that his son is safe back in the fold of love and care, and has a real choice for a new start.
In a world where people often feel trapped by duty and self-righteousness, the teachings of Jesus offer a refreshing perspective. He urged everyone to stop acting like cold, resentful servants of God and recognise their true identity as beloved children of God, deserving of love without conditions. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves or thinking they’re better than others, they should celebrate the joy of coming together—much like a father celebrating the return of a lost son.
However, some cling tightly to the rules and miss the true meaning of the Gospel. While appearing faultless, these self-righteous individuals are just as disconnected from God’s love as those they judge. Their actions, driven by duty instead of genuine care, show a lack of true connection with their heavenly Father.
Jesus called on these judgmental souls to wake up and realise that living only for duty, without love and kindness, does not lead to true goodness. Instead, it pushes them away from God's heart. In their harsh criticism of others, they often reflect the very flaws they condemn, overlooking the beauty of love that unites us all. With both gentleness and strength, Jesus invites everyone to rediscover the joy of real connection and compassion.
Fr Paul
ADVANCE NOTICE OF HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SERVICES IN OUR PARISH (2025)
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER MASS AND SERVICE SCHEDULE
Our Easter timetable is as follows:
HOLY THURSDAY: (April 17th 2025)
6 pm Mass at Sacred Heart Church, 50 Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters, QLD 4226.
8:00 pm Hispanic Mass at St Vincent’s Church, 40 Hamilton Ave, Surfers Paradise
GOOD FRIDAY: (April 18th 2025) - Morning Stations -
10 am Stations of the Cross in all three Churches:
10 am Sacred Heart Church 50 Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters, QLD 4226.
10 am Stella Maris Church, 254 Hedges Avenue, Broadbeach, QLD 4218.
10 am St Vincent’s Church. 40 Hamilton Avenue, Surfers Paradise 4217.
+ GOOD FRIDAY - (April 18th 2025)- Afternoon Solemnities.
3 pm Reading of the Passion, Veneration of the Cross, and Holy Communion in all three Churches:
3 pm Sacred Heart Church, 50 Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters, QLD 4226.
3 pm Stella Maris Church, 254 Hedges Avenue, Broadbeach, QLD 4218.
3 pm St Vincent’s Church, 40 Hamilton Avenue, Surfers Paradise 4217.
HOLY SATURDAY: (April 19th 2025)
5 pm Full Vigil Mass with Baptism of Adults (longer ceremony). Sacred Heart Church 50 Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters, QLD 4226.
5 pm Vigil Mass, Stella Maris Church, 254 Hedges Ave, Broadbeach,
5 pm Vigil Mass, St Vincent’s Church. 40 Hamilton Ave, Surfers Paradise
2 pm Polish Easter food blessing- Sacred Heart Church, 50 Fairway Drive Clear Island Waters QLD 4226
8:30pm Hispanic Mass at St Vincent’s Church. 40 Hamilton Ave, Surfers Paradise
EASTER SUNDAY: (April 20th 2025)
7 am Mass Stella Maris Church, 254 Hedges Avenue, Broadbeach, QLD 4218.
8 am and 10 am Mass, St Vincent’s Church, 40 Hamilton Avenue, Surfers Paradise 4217.
9 am and 6 pm Mass, Sacred Heart Church, 50 Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters, QLD 4226.
12.30 pm Polish Mass Sacred Heart Church, 50 Fairway Drive Clear Island Waters QLD 4226
4 pm Italian Mass, Sacred Heart Church, 50 Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters, QLD 4226.
5:30 pm Hispanic Mass, St Vincent’s Church, 40 Hamilton Ave, Surfers Paradise. 4217
CALLING FOR EASTER VOLUNTEERS:
Any parishioner who is regularly part of the Ministries for Masses is invited to volunteer to assist at any of the Masses or Liturgies listed above. If you are willing to volunteer there are two ways to do so. Either contact the Parish Office 5671 7388, and provide your contact details and indicate the Mass or Liturgy that you are interested in volunteering to assist.
Or, if you know who is coordinating a particular Easter Mass or Liturgy advise them directly.
Please make contact by April 1st.
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(community service ad)
CLEAR ISLAND WATERS HEALTH PRECINCT (Santa Cruz Blvd)
Introducing our two new GPs Dr Maria and Dr Cian. Bulk Billing applies for patients under 16yrs old & patients with a valid concession or pension card. Appointments are available Monday-Friday (from 9am until 5pm).
Address: 1/56 Santa Cruz Boulevard Clear Island Waters, QLD 4226 Email: reception@ciwhp.com.au Web: www.ciwhp.com.au Ph: 07 5575 1822 Fax: 07 5575 3114
Dr Maria Guirguis
Dr Cian Morrison
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Ready for Prep 2026 at St Kevin’s School, Benowa
St Kevin’s enrolments for Prep 2026 are filling up very fast and we now extend an invitation to all families considering where to send their child to begin their schooling journey in 2026, to make application for an interview in order to secure a place for their child.
We also warmly invite you St Kevin’s Open Day on Thursday 1 May 2025. Hear more about the excellent learning and teaching that happens at St Kevin’s and experience the sense of warmth and welcome that St Kevin’s offers all students and families.
Visit our website www.sk.qld.edu.au or call us on 055539 4522 for more information.
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THIS LENT THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF PROJECT COMPASSION - A PRACTICAL WAY OF GIVING TO THOSE IN NEED - IN THE ANNUAL CATHOLIC-RUN APPEAL ORGANISED BY CARITAS AUSTRALIA
PROJECT COMPASSION - LENTEN PRAYER
God of our journey
we are all pilgrims of hope
brought together by your love
and your wish that we may all be one.
We pray that in this Year of Jubilee
when we are called to greater justice
and care for our common home
that we may Unite Against Poverty.
May we work in unity for the freedom
of the oppressed and the renewal of creation.
may our compassionate minds
and generous hearts help bring about a
world where all can live in peace.
May our Lenten pilgrimage of
fasting, almsgiving and prayer
bring us closer to your loving heart.
We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen
You can support Project Compassion 2025 through the donation envelopes.
Or online at: caritas.org.au/project-compassion
Or by calling: 1800 024 413
Thank you for standing with us, as we Unite Against Poverty this Lent.
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PROJECT COMPASSION REFLECTION ON THE SCRIPTURES TODAY:
One of the most beautiful expressions in the Bible comes from the prophet Ezekiel (Ezk 11:19). ‘Thus says the Lord, I will take their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh.’ It is a call to be tender and compassionate.
You would need a heart of stone not to be affected by the stories we encounter today. Most of us have heard the story of the two sons in today’s Gospel over and over. The brilliance of the way Jesus tells stories is that it still gets under our skin. Here are two young men who think they can live on their own terms. One has a sense of entitlement and demands his share of his father’s estate which he then squanders. He is finally prepared to eat humble pie and find his way home. The other son has a different sense of entitlement. He believes that his hard work and reliability should provide him with a greater share of his father’s love. At different times in our life, we can relate more to one or other of these people. Jesus implies that they are both blind to the way God’s love works and that they both need to grow. They have both been dead and now must come to life.
The story we encounter this week is also deeply moving. Irene, aged 25, lives in the Kongolo region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her father was killed during a war and Irene lived with her mother on very meagre resources, often going hungry for extended periods of time. Irene first became pregnant as a teenager and later had to raise her two children on her own, with the support of her mother. As a single mother, it was challenging for Irene to care for her two sons without a stable income.
Irene’s life changed after she participated in the Youth Capacity Strengthening program, run by Caritas Australia’s partner, Caritas Kongolo. Through the program, she undertook training in sewing and livestock farming, enabling her to generate income to support her family.
Our second reading today reminds us that we are ‘ambassadors for Christ.’ St Paul says, ‘for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation.’ Let us all be part of building that new creation, setting the world to rights as best we can. Our part is to reach out in compassion and love to heal the wounds of the whole human family. Let us all Unite Against Poverty as pilgrims of hope in this Year of Jubilee.
Photo: Irene teaches other women how to sew after participating in the Caritas-supported youth empowerment program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Credit: Arlette Bashizi/Caritas Australia
Please donate today. You can support Project Compassion 2025 through the donation boxes, envelopes or by scanning the QR code above. Or online at: caritas.org.au/project-compassion
Or by calling: 1800 024 413
Thank you for standing with us, as we Unite Against Poverty this Lent.
Stations of the Cross:
Stations of the Cross will be conducted at Sacred Heart Church, Clear Island Waters from 6 pm each Friday of Lent.
WHEELCHAIR PROJECT
Sunrise Rotary Wheelchair factory - The Rotary Club also require two bikes to make one rough terrain wheelchair, so these bikes are donated to the Wheelchair factory from either residential homes or accommodation buildings or discarded at dump sites in South-East Qld. If you require this service within the Gold Coast, you are welcome to bring them to the factory either on a Wednesday or Saturday morning or email Surfers Sunrise Rotary at enquiries.surfers.sunrise@gmail.com
Also, the Surfers Sunrise Rotary Wheelchair factory is always looking for extra assistance at the shed, so if you are retired or looking for company with a great bunch of guys, come and join us on a Wednesday or Saturday morning. Contact Surfers Sunrise Rotary at enquiries.surfers.sunrise@gmail.com or call into the factory at 175 Napper Road, Arundel.
WHEELCHAIRS FOR KIDS PROJECT
Sister Lis Keane and Mary Lepp are working on with the ladies at Numinbah Prison, in support of Brother Oly’s Wheelchairs for Kids worldwide program. If any of our parishioners may be able to help us with some wool and crochet needles for the project please contact the parish office. Parishioners Mary Lepp and Sr Lis Keane are helping the women to crochet rugs and soft toys. ”We have about 30 women enthusiastically learning to crochet so they can make the rugs. One woman said to me, 'Thank you, Sister Lis, for giving us the opportunity to do something for other people.'”
Thank you for taking the time to consider our request. With grateful thanks, (Sr) Lis Keane
ALTAR SERVING in SURFERS PARADISE PARISH
Would you like to become an Altar Server in Surfers Paradise Parish?
Our church family has many ministries or roles available for people who wish to help the celebration of the mass to be as reverent and joyful as possible. For children, one of the best ways to contribute to the mass is to train to be an altar server.
There are lots of things to learn about the job of altar serving so if you are interested in finding out about this special ministry please read on.
Who can become an altar server: Any person who is a fully initiated Catholic can be an altar server. That is, someone who has received the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation and has celebrated their First Holy Communion.
Children who wish to become altar servers will be taught by Fr Bradley and the Sacramental Team. When you feel confident, you will be asked to serve on the altar with other experienced servers.
How to find out more about Altar Serving Ministry: Ask one of your parents to ring the Parish Office (5671 7388) and leave your full name and contact details. Please direct all enquiries and volunteering through the Parish Office. Then Fr Bradley and the Sacramental Team will contact your family and invite you to a training workshop. Fr Bradley meeting some future altar servers at St Vincent’s
CHILDHOOD SACRAMENTS 2025 Please use the tables on the following pages to guide you, as you plan your child/ren’s Sacramental Journey in Surfers Paradise Parish. Please remember that your child and your family are often included in our prayers at mass and in the personal prayers of many parishioners. We all look forward to supporting you in this sacred work. The Sacramental Team 😃
To tune in to Our parish Podcast of the Mass for Sundays and Solemnities, please visit regularly the following link: To listen to the Sunday Mass each week (including homily) from Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish, please visit this link: Liturgy for you at Home (by SPCP) - https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
Also found at - https://tinyurl.com/FHLpwk
The Café - “Sacred Grounds” - Located at the Former Atrium Building near the Sacred Heart Church.
The café near the Sacred Heart Church is a wonderful gathering place for parishioners, school parents, staff, and the wider public. The feedback has been that the café is a great idea, but its old location in the front of the church was not ideal. The café has now reopened in the old Atrium building. This allows community building whilst giving the church the space it needs for its Masses, Weddings, Baptisms and solemn Funerals. Please support this excellent continuation of the parish vision. Chris and his staff are delighted to welcome you.
{https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo.html}
Jubilee 2025 - The 2025 Jubilee Year, also known as the Year of the Pilgrim of Hope, is a time to celebrate faith, hope, and charity.
Here are some ways to celebrate the 2025 Jubilee:
Use the official Jubilee song and prayer: Use the official song and prayer for the 2025 Jubilee.
Gift a candle: Make a special Jubilee candle to symbolise passing on "the light of Christ".
Hymn for the 2025 Jubilee
Pilgrims of Hope
Original text: Pierangelo Sequeri / English translation: Andrew Wadsworth
Like a flame my hope is burning,
may my song arise to you:
Source of life that has no ending,
on life’s path I trust in you.
Ev’ry nation, tongue, and people
find a light within your Word.
Scattered fragile sons and daughters
find a home in your dear Son.
Like a flame my hope is burning,
may my song arise to you:
Source of life that has no ending,
on life’s path I trust in you.
God, so tender and so patient,
dawn of hope, you care for all.
Heav’n and earth are recreated
by the Spirit of Life set free.
Like a flame my hope is burning,
may my song arise to you:
Source of life that has no ending,
on life’s path I trust in you.
Raise your eyes, the wind is blowing,
for our God is born in time.
Son made man for you and many
who will find the way in him.
Like a flame my hope is burning,
may my song arise to you:
Source of life that has no ending,
on life’s path I trust in you.
Oftentimes, while walking along, a song will come to mind which really seems to express how we are feeling. This is also true for the life of faith, which is a pilgrimage toward the light of the Risen Lord. The Sacred Scriptures are steeped in song, and the Psalms are a striking example: the prayers of the people of Israel were written to be sung, and it was in song that the most human events were presented before the Lord. The tradition of the Church has continued this, making music and song one of the lungs of its liturgy. The Jubilee, which in itself is expressed as an event of people on pilgrimage to the Holy Door, also uses song as one of the ways of expressing its motto, “Pilgrims of Hope”.
Many themes of the Holy Year are woven into the text written by Pierangelo Sequeri and set to music by Francesco Meneghello. First of all, the motto, “Pilgrims of Hope”, is best echoed biblically in some pages from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 9 and Isaiah 60). The themes of creation, fraternity, God's tenderness and hope in our destination resonate in a language, which although not "technically" theological, is in substance and in the allusions, so that it rings eloquently in the ears of our time.
With each step of their daily pilgrimage believers trustingly rely on the source of Life. The song that arises spontaneously during the journey (cf. Augustine, Discourses, 256) is directed to God. It is a song charged with the hope of being freed and supported. It is a song imbued with the hope that it will reach the ears of the One from whom all things flow. It is God who as an ever-living flame keeps hope burning and energizes the steps of the people as they journey.
The prophet Isaiah repeatedly sees the family of men and women, sons and daughters, returning from their scattered ways, gathered in the light of God's Word: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Is 9:2). The light is that of the Son who became Man, Jesus, who by His own Word gathers every people and nation. It is the living flame of Jesus that stirs the step: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Is 60:1).
Christian hope is dynamic and enlightens the pilgrimage of life, revealing the faces of brothers and sisters, companions on the journey. It is not a roaming of lone wolves, but a journey of people, confident and joyful, moving toward a New destination. The breath of the Spirit of life does not fail to brighten the dawn of the future that is about to arise. The heavenly Father patiently and tenderly watches over the pilgrimage of his children and opens wide the Way for them, pointing to Jesus, his Son, who becomes a pathway for everyone.
MASS TIMES: SURFERS PARADISE MASS TIMES
GO CASHLESS DONATIONS -
AVAILABLE AT THE ENTRANCES OF THREE CHURCHES - tap once to donate $10, tap and other higher denominations now available on the new devices.
Anointing Mass – Mass of Healing FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH (February-November Inclusive)
10 am Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Tuesday the 1st of April- Followed by morning tea. Please let others know who would love to come along.
FIRST FRIDAY ADORATION
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on each First Friday, 4th April 2025, at Sacred Heart Church from 7 pm to 8.30 pm. All welcome. Enquiries: Helen 0421935678. "Could you not watch one hour with Me" Mt 26:4
FIRST SATURDAY MASS AND BENEDICTION
First Saturday Mass at Sacred Heart Church, Clear Island Waters. 9 am Saturday the 5th April 2025. Followed by adoration and Benediction. {This is a votive Mass for the Blessed Virgin Mary}.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK:
Pope Francis.;
Please also pray for the following who are ill. (Alphabetical)
Lindsay Allan, Robert Andreas, Joseph Antony, Milroy Antony, Tricia Baumann, Phil Bawden, Nellie Bellinger, Tim Brown, Margaret and Tony Buckingham, Vicky and Andrew Campora, Gerard Carroll, Nadia Ceh, Tina Conidi, Helen Cooper, Shirley Croft, Christopher Cunningham, Mary Curmi, Bernie Delaney, Christopher Eid, John Fox, Lorraine Gallagher, Jenny Haines, Betty Hannon, Stan Hickey, Andrew Janiec, Jenny Johnson, Kevin & Francis Junee, Leona Kelly, Marjorie Kennedy, Kath Kiely, Gregory Kittelty, Jan Kristenson, Robert Lahey, Dannielle Therese Larney, Alvin Lee, Nathan Lepp, Veronica Lubomski, Victoria MacDonald, l McGuigan, Phil and Anne McGuigan, Leonie McMahon, Anthea McMullin, Angela Micallef, Joanne Mooney, Maryann Moore, Frances Much, Michael & Leslie Murtagh, Eileen O’Mara, Margaret Orme, Letty O’Sullivan, Kevin Owen, Clare Perera, Lesley Petroni, Rachel Raines, Bob Rogers, Marnia Ryan-Raison, Sharon Richardson, Miranda Santi, Maureen Scott, Betty Taylor, Gary Thompson, Leonardo Torcaso, Denise Tracey, Richard G Murphy, Marcus Ware, John Zappa.
RECENTLY DECEASED: (Chronological - Most recent first):
Angelina Elsey, Rita Maria-Angela Derek, Ena Hehir, Scott Nunan, Rosie Maitland, Mark Johnstone, Ron McConnell, Charlie Schriha, Joseph Schriha, Dot Corbett, Helen Dowling, Pietro Paolo Sergi, Phillip Brady, Jim Ramsay, Susanne Hewitt, Ellanie Gonzalez, Patricia Stone, Milka Baric, Dulcie Villotet, Naomi Ryan, Karsten Rickert, Lee Pascuale Caprie, Kenneth Montgomery, Phillip Conquest, Romana Carlin, Noel Cook, John Rowles, Bruce O’Brien, Martha Wagner.
ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH: (Alphabetical)
Paul Avery, Fr Peter Bacinskas, Fr Michael Barry, Lynn Maree Blond, Mary Briffa, Annette Bryant, Jocelyn Cassels, Therese Mary Clift, Fr Patrick Costello, Fr William Daley, Connie Devlin, William George Donges, Betty Lorraine Egan, David Anthony Evans, Mons Henry FitzGerald, Patricia Brigid Flanagan, Marie Therese Haney, Fr Jim Hynes, Pope Saint John-Paul II, Darko Janzekovic, Fay Margaret Frances Lincoln, Gemma Maria Lowe, Beau Abraham Massey, Anthony Robert Meehan, Peter John O’Neill, Wayne Parsons, Olimpia Percuoco, Alexander Redler, Fr James Slyney, Graham Paul Whitehead Smith, Ramon (Baby) Solatan, Cecilia Teresa White, Miriam Zarb.
And Also: (Alphabetical):
Vizma Mudite Barrett, Patricia Mary Bartlett, Peter Wayne Borg, Fr Patrick Brady, Pamela Barry (Pam) Braithwaite, John Lawrence (Brewy) Brew, Peter Brian Mcnulty-Butler Known As Peter Butler, Phyllis Isabel Byrne, Carmelo Camilleri, Helma Martina Anna Van Camp, Mary Cooper, Linley Gordon Dean, Josephine Desira, Jessie Veronica (Veronica) Dolan, Barry Edwards, Brian Anthony Fawell, Elizabeth Janice Gray, Mary Ann Groenewaldt, Ben Thomas Hamlett, Gerald Peter Henderson, Ricardo Joseph Herft, Joyce Hunt, Fr William Kenny, Franciska Knap, Rufina Lim, Mary Cooper, Giuseppa Mauceri, Glen Anthony (Tony) Mcleod, Catherine Mitchell, Murray Mortaruolo, Fr John Nee, Bozidar Ovcaric, Eileen Sarah Rainsbury, Angela Raiti, Iris Scharenguivel, Byron Schreiber, Hans Schroeder, Beverley Anne Sheehy, Beverly Anne "Kate" Sheehy, John Donelly Shiels, Claudette Bernadette Strode, Martin Tadj, Malcom Thompson, Louise Frances Thomson, Pietro Ulliana, Ted Wales, Alfred John Serafim Zerafa.
COLLECTING PALMS for PALM SUNDAY - PASSION SUNDAY Each year, at this time, we ask parishioners to look around their gardens and their local neighbourhood with a view to gathering and donating palms fronds for Passion Sunday - Palm Sunday. This year Palm Sunday falls on the weekend of April 12 and 13.
We don’t need any palm fronds just yet but we ask that you start looking and planning now, to prune and deliver fresh fronds to the Parish Office (Hours: Mon- Fri 9 am to 2 pm) from Thursday April 10th. We will need fronds (big and small) as well as helpers to prepare the palms at the Parish Office (byo secateurs), on Friday, April 11, after the 9am Mass.
HOSPITAL CALLS - AROUND THE DEANERY -
HELP THE PRIESTS OF THE DEANERY RESPOND TO URGENT CALLS EFFECTIVELY BY CALLING THE FOLLOWING PARISHES' FIRST RESPONDERS TO NEEDS WITHIN THE HOSPITALS LISTED.
To efficiently and speedily deal with the pastoral needs around the Catholic parishes of the Gold Coast, the parishes within this Deanery have the practice of having the first call for emergencies go to the priests of the parish where the hospital is located. Here is a helpful guide to the hospitals and their attendant priests. A nursing home call also follows this procedure, where the first priest to call is a priest from the parish within which the Nursing Home is located. Please help us service the region effectively and help prevent delays in response by calling the nearest parish.
Robina Hospital - Burleigh Heads Parish. 5558 0120
Pindara Hospital - Surfers Paradise Parish. 56717388
John Flynn Hospital - Coolangatta-Tugun Parish. 5598 2165
University & Gold Coast Private Hosp.- Southport Parish. 5510 2222
RELIGIOUS GOODS SHOPS - SACRED HEART AND ST VINCENT’S CHURCHES
Easter greeting cards available now.
WCCM - WORLD COMMUNITY FOR CHRISTIAN MEDITATION
This meditation group meets each Tuesday in the Morris Prayer Room, at 10 am to 11 am. This is followed by a Scripture Study of the following Sunday’s Mass readings from 11 am to 12 pm. You are welcome to attend both or either one. If you are new to meditation, we will assist you in learning about WCCM and the practice of Christian Meditation. The meditation group invites you to prepare for Easter by attending a Lenten program to be held in the Morris Prayer room as well. For more information, please contact Pam Egberts 0493 742 670.
SACRED HEART ROSARY PRAYER GROUP
Please join us to pray The Stations of the Cross, The Divine Mercy and The Rosary each day at 8:00a.m. at the Sacred Heart Church before 9 a.m. Mass, Monday through Friday, including First Saturdays.
Anointing Mass – Mass of Healing FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH (February-November Inclusive)
10 am Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Tuesday the 1st of April- Followed by morning tea. Please let others know who would love to come along.
FIRST FRIDAY ADORATION
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on each First Friday, 4th April 2025, at Sacred Heart Church from 7 pm to 8.30 pm. All welcome. Enquiries: Helen 0421935678. "Could you not watch one hour with Me" Mt 26:4
FIRST SATURDAY MASS AND BENEDICTION
First Saturday Mass at Sacred Heart Church, Clear Island Waters. 9 am Saturday the 5th April 2025. Followed by adoration and Benediction. {This is a votive Mass for the Blessed Virgin Mary}.
ART AND CRAFT GROUP
The Group meets in the Parish Hospitality Centre on Wednesdays from 9 am to 12 noon. Activities include
Art (watercolour, oils, acrylics, pen and ink drawing, etc.)
Various kinds of Craftwork (Knitting, Embroidery, Crocheting, Card making, Sewing, etc.)
Making Rosary Beads (later sent to the missions)
And any other activities that individuals may have an interest in, or you can bring in your ideas
A very relaxing and social environment - meet new friends! You are most welcome to join.
For further information, phone the Parish Office.
THE SACRED HEART BRIDGE CLUB-
Meets at the Sacred Heart - Parish Hospitality Centre, Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters.
Playing Bridge keeps your brain active and increases your social network! So why not give us a try? Learn to play Bridge at “Our Friendly Club” - Free Lesson. “Introduction to Bridge” - It is Easy to learn the format. No previous card-playing experience is necessary. All are welcome. For more information and to enrol, please phone Cheryl at 5538 8821.
YOGA AT THE PARISH HOSPITALITY CENTRE -
Join us for our social class in the Parish Hospitality Centre next to the Parish Office. Classes run every Tuesday at 10:45 a.m. Learn to relax yet gain greater flexibility, inner strength, body awareness and concentration while increasing your breath support and general well-being. Ruth is an IYTA-accredited instructor with wide experience and runs a caring, carefully monitored one-hour session costing $10 (new attendees, please arrive by 10:30 a.m. to prepare adequately for class). For more information, please emailsurfers@bne.catholic.net.au.
OUR LADY’S STATUE -
Praying the Rosary - Our Lady’s Statue in the Parish - Details of the Statue of Our Lady are going around the Parish. If you want her in your home and say the Rosary, please contact Maxine or Pat. For more information, please email: psela@bigpond.com
or surfers@bne.catholic.net.au
Our Lady’s Statue details for the next several weeks are:
24/3/25 Blanche Braganza & Family
31/3/25 Lilly Leongue & Family - Varsity Lakes
07/4/25 Lilly Leongue & Family - Varsity Lakes
14/4/25 Luciana Lang & Family - Varsity Lakes
21/4/25 Luciana Lang & Family - Varsity Lakes
28/4/25 Susanne Joseph & Family- Varsity Lakes
05/5/25 Susanne Joseph & Family - Varsity Lakes
EXERCISE CLASS - LOW IMPACT - FOR HEART HEALTH -
Join Rochelle for a fun, functional exercise class at Casey Hall. Low-impact cardiovascular exercises for heart health, improve strength and balance- an all-around fitness class for over 65’s. Stretch and strengthen the whole body, make new friends and feel great. Tuesday mornings @9.30 Beginners welcome. Contact Rochelle. For more information, please email: surfers@bne.catholic.net.au or call 07 5671 7388.
BIBLE STUDY/PRAYER GROUP - ST VINCENT’S CHURCH, SURFERS PARADISE.
The Bible Study Prayer Group meets every Friday from 5pm-6pm at St Vincent’s Church
(40 Hamilton Ave, Surfers Paradise).
Come along and read/study Break Open the Word weekly from 5 pm to 6 pm. For further enquiries, please contact the Parish Office. surfers@bne.catholic.net.au
PRAYER GROUP - SPANISH SPEAKER
Jesus de la Misericordia. Invites you to participate every 2nd Saturday of the month from 11 am to 2 pm. Place: Hospitality Room. Sacred Heart Church. “We praise, We praise, We grow spiritually from the Word of the Lord.” For more information, please contact Grace. For more information, please email:grace.flowers.art@hotmail.com or surfers@bne.catholic.net.au
THE BIBLE TIMELINE – THE STORY OF SALVATION
ADULT FAITH FORMATION BIBLE STUDY
CONTINUES on LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH 2025
In the Parish Hospitality Centre - (next to Sacred Heart Church), 50 Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters, Queensland 4226, on Sundays from 10 am – 12 pm.
There is no cost; however, to participate, you will need to purchase The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation Study Set, which can be obtained from Ascension Press or Garrett Publishing. The Study Set will contain The Bible Timeline Study Book, Chart and Bookmark - https://ascensionpress.com/ https://garrattpublishing.com.au/
A VOCATION VIEW:
Fourth Sunday of Lent – C. Jesus came to forgive. Since people continue to sin, we need people who will continue to forgive in Jesus' way. How about YOU?
To talk to someone about your vocation, contact Vocation Brisbane: 1300 133 544. vocation@bne.catholic.net.au and www.vocationbrisbane.com
STEWARDSHIP -
“No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.” - (Joshua 5:12)
Over the forty years that the Israelites journeyed through the desert, God provided them with manna to eat. As soon as they were able to enjoy the fruits of the Promised Land the manna ceased. Likewise, God’s blessings to us may change over the years but it is important to trust that God will always provide us with all that we need.
The vision of Stewardship speaks in every aspect of life, inviting everyone to be thankful, generous and accountable for what each has been given.
TAKE FIVE FOR FAITH - An investment worth making
It's not uncommon to identify individuals, or groups of people, as unworthy of our time and attention. Sometimes these folks just plain bore us to tears. But more often, we view them as freeloaders, untrustworthy, or even bad to the bone. Jesus was criticized for dining with the wrong people: prostitutes (immoral), tax collectors (unpatriotic), and sinners (generally unsavoury types). Jesus tells a story of a feast thrown for a "worthless" son to explain why he himself chooses to "waste" time on the undeserving. The lost need finding and the dead need life restored. "Hospitality opens the gates of paradise," wrote Orthodox Elder Amphilochius of Patmos. Set another place at your table.
“Your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.” (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)
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GOSPEL THIS WEEKEND
Image Credit- Lost sons - Paul-Evangelion
Homily: Fourth Sunday of Lent.Year C - Sunday, 30 March 2025
THIS WEEKEND’S GOSPEL - “He was lost and is found!”
Our Lord must have been absolutely devastated by the hateful and capricious actions of the Pharisees and the scribes, who are supposed to be great examples and leaders and people who have dedicated themselves to serving God, to serving our Lord's Father. And, as usual, the Pharisees and scribes are on the lookout in today's gospel.
They condemn the welcome that Jesus extends to those considered as public sinners, people who, for that reason, are on the edges of society and despised by them, and, according to the Pharisees and scribes, there's no way for them to ever get back into God's fold. They're trapped there. They're stuck.
They're prisoners of the past. And what's the good of that? This prompts our Lord to tell them a story about what God is really like. The parable of the prodigal son.
It would have to be one of the best stories of all history. The fact that Jesus, God made flesh, tells this story to show us how the heavenly Father thinks and relates to us, even when we have done wrong, even when we have gravely sinned, is truly amazing and beautiful. If the full impact of this parable hit us, it would floor us.
Of all the images Jesus could have used, he's persistently using this of an unconditionally loving parent, God as a doting father, no less. Not a stern father, not a minimalistic father, but an absolutely doting father who hopes eternally. Forgiveness comes from the welcoming person rather than from the repenting sinner.
Forgiving is giving life, not waiting for life. Failing to see the gratuitousness of the love of God is failing to understand the entire gospel. Because at the heart of the gospel is God, with God's free and overflowing generous love, given not earned, neither is it deserved.
It's given freely, generously and lovingly. By converting the gospel or trying to convert it into a mere set of obligations and outside rules or a guarantee of authorities without moral worth, we make the gospel a joke or a cartoon. We make a mockery of Christ's divine love, which is dynamic and extraordinary and will not be contained by our limited concepts.
The reason Jesus told this story of the prodigal son is to appeal, try to appeal to the better judgment of the Pharisees and scribes. These scribes and Pharisees were, at the time of Jesus, known to be experts in the right application of the law of Moses and of God's law. They made themselves out to be the perfect examples of how people should faithfully obey God and to be considered at rights with God.
But it's quite clear from the prodigal son story that Jesus is trying to show them, trying to get through their blindness. Far from being the perfect model of what a good child of God should be like, they're truly revealed as acting more like the older, seemingly loyal son who, although he had done nothing wrong, was thinking and acting more like an embittered slave in his father's house than the beloved elder son. That elder son was resentful and he resented the forgiveness and reform of anyone who fell short.
Resenting when a lost son, realizing the terrible folly of their ways, comes back and is welcomed back by their loving father who's just happy to have them back, safe. Jesus was trying to get all people to stop acting like the older son, filled with duty, loveless, resentful, hard-hearted, acting like slaves of God. He wants them to stop that and start to take their rightful place as beloved, unconditionally loved sons and daughters of God.
They should be sharing in their father's genuine joy and relief. They should have the mind of their father, rejoicing when he rejoices, weeping when he weeps, sharing in his vision and sharing in the relief and joy of getting his lost son back. They should be of one heart and mind with their beloved father and join in the rejoicing when the lost are found and brought back.
Not whinging and complaining and recommending distance and rejection and making the whole issue about themselves and how much they've slaved for their master, their father, but they call him a master when all he wanted is for them to love like he does, to accept his love and to reflect that love. Our Lord is clearly saying that the self-righteous good guys have not done anything wrong according to the letter of the law, but may be just as bad a sinner or worse than those who've broken God's law and repented because they fail to grasp the very essence of the gospel. They are strangers, quite alien to the heart of God's love.
They are not living as God's beloved sons and daughters. Instead, they're acting like ill-willed, mean-spirited slaves who kept God's law only begrudgingly and for calculated expectation of reward. They don't have true love in their hearts for their father and they don't have true love for their fellow brother or sister.
Jesus is trying to say, wake up to yourselves. If you do everything out of duty and self-righteousness and judgmentalism, you're not loving, you're not forgiving, you're not gracious or inclusive. You're totally on the wrong track.
You've utterly missed the point of the and misunderstood the very nature of God. Ironically, they're acting as badly as the ones they condemn, possibly worse. This parable is also wonderful for all who have ever sinned or turned away from God by their actions or attitudes, because our Lord is imploring us to see ourselves and see others as children of a loving God, a God, a father who keeps searching for us like a doting father and who will happily welcome us back when we turn our faces to home, not because we deserve it, but because God loves us and wants the best for us and God knows that being part, being in the heart of God's family is God's plan for us and it is what is best for us.
It's what will protect us. He calls us to take on this attitude towards others too, to see them too as fellow brothers and sisters, companions on the journey, all part of one big family, loved, cherished, sometimes making mistakes, but turning back and always welcomed by God. Saint Paul sums up our true role in this world by saying, we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us, be reconciled.
May God help us to be aware that we are utterly loved children of God, each and every one of us. We are not angry slaves, but willing co-workers. Just one last comment.
It is so striking that when the older son is approaching the house and he hears music, he asks one of the servants, what's going on? And the servant tells him, the son, what the son should have known himself and the attitude of the slave of the house is much better than the nastiness of the older son. The slave says, your father is celebrating because he's got his son back and we had to celebrate. It's so sad that the son had to be told by a servant what he couldn't see or feel himself.
Let's delight in sharing in the love and mindset of God, where ministers and instruments of God's love and forgiveness in our lives and in our community.
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References:
Homily –Fr Paul W. Kelly
*Barclay, W. (1975). The Gospel of Luke. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press).
Image Credit- Lost sons - Paul-EvangelionFourth Sunday of Lent. C
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To listen to the whole Sunday Mass each week (including homily) from Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish, please visit this link: Liturgy for you at Home (by SPCP) - https:- soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks.
INSPIRATION FROM THE SAINTS:
St Francis of Paola, Hermit - 02 April - (Feast overridden by Easter)
Born at Paola (Italy) in 1416. Died at Tours (France) on this day in 1507. Became a hermit while still a youth. Others were quickly attracted to his way of life and came to be renowned for their charity and austerity as well as for their commitment to Franciscan ideals. Francis lived to see them recognised as the Order of Minims. Remembered as a spiritual counsellor of kings and for his political peacemaking.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, who repays most generously, reward your labour. You must flee from evil, and drive away dangers. We and all our brothers, although unworthy, pray constantly to God the Father and to his Son Jesus Christ, as well as to Mary the Virgin Mother, to be with you as you seek the salvation of your souls and your bodies.
Brothers, I most strongly urge you to work for the salvation of your souls with prudence and diligence. Death is certain, and life is short and vanishes like smoke. Therefore you must fix your minds on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, who so burned with love for us that he came down from heaven to redeem us. For our sakes, he suffered all the agonies of body and mind and did not shrink from any torment. He gave us a perfect example of patience and love. For our part, we too must be patient when things go against us.
Put aside hatred and hostility. See to it that you refrain from harsh words. But if you speak them, do not be ashamed to apply the remedy from the same lips that inflicted the wounds. In this way you will show each other mercy and not keep alive the memories of past wrongs. Remembering grievances works great damage. It is accompanied by anger, fosters sin, and brings a hatred for justice. It is a rusty arrow spreading poison in the soul. It destroys virtue and is a cancer in the mind. It thwarts prayer and mangles the petitions we make to God. It drives out love and is a nail driven into the soul, an evil that never sleeps, a sin that never fades away, a kind of daily death.
Be lovers of peace, the most precious treasure that anyone can desire. You are already aware that our sins drive God to anger,"so you must repent of them, that God in his mercy may spare you. What men conceal is open to God. Turn to him with a sincere heart. Live in such a way that you bring upon yourselves the blessing of God, and that the peace of God our Father may be with you always." [A reading from the letters of St Francis of Paola, Hermit (Letter AD 1486)]
St Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church - 04 April
Born about 560 in Seville (Spain). Died there in 636. Archbishop of Seville for thirty-six years who laboured successfully to bring the Visigoths from Arianism to orthodox belief, who presided over several councils significant for Church life in Spain, and who codified the distinctive liturgy of the Spanish Church, which is preserved to this day. Remembered for his prolific writings and as an influential educator, and noted too for the pastoral care of his diocese.
If a man wants to always be in God's company, he must pray and read regularly. When we pray, we talk to God; when we read, God talks to us.
Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in confession; in confession there is a chance for mercy.
Nothing exists without music, for the universe itself is said to have been framed by a kind of harmony of sounds, and the heaven itself revolves under the tone of that harmony.
All spiritual growth comes from reading and reflection. By reading, we learn what we did not know; by reflection, we retain what we have learned. The conscientious reader will be more concerned about carrying out what he has read than merely acquiring knowledge of it. In reading we aim at knowing, but we must put into practice what we have learned in our course of study.
Prayer purifies us, reading instructs us. Both are good when both are possible. Otherwise, prayer is better than reading.
The more you devote yourself to study of the sacred utterances, the richer will be your understanding of them, just as the more the soil is tilled, the richer the harvest.
War with vices, but peace with individuals.
Teaching unsupported by grace may enter our ears, but it never reaches the heart. When God's grace does touch our innermost minds to bring understanding, then his word, which is received by the ear, can sink deep into the heart.
We, as Catholics are not permitted to believe anything of our own will, nor to choose what someone has believed of his. We have God's apostles as authorities, who did not themselves of their own wills choose anything of what they wanted to believe, but faithfully transmitted to the nations, the teachings of Christ.
The suffering of adversity does not degrade you but exalts you. Human tribulation teaches you; it does not destroy you. The more we are afflicted in this world, the greater is our assurance for the next. The more we sorrow in the present, ..the greater will be our joy in the future.
Letters are signs of things, symbols of words, whose power is so great that without a voice they speak to us the words of the absent; for they introduce words by the eye, not by the ear. ["An Encyclopedist of the Dark Ages: Isidore of Seville", by Ernest Brehaut New York: B. Franklin, 1964].
Baptism is not the work of man but of Christ, and this sacrament is so holy that it would not be defiled, even if the minister were a murderer.
Mary means enlightener, because She brought forth the Light of the world. In the Syriac tongue, Mary signifies Lady.
In the active life all the vices are first of all to be removed by the practice of good works, so that in the contemplative life a man may, with now purified mental gaze, pass on to the contemplation of the Divine Light.
Men, Contemplative Life, Light
It is agreed that all sound which is the material of music is of three sorts. First is harmonica, which consists of vocal music; second is organica, which is formed from the breath; third is rhythmica, which receives its numbers from the beat of the fingers. For sound is produced either by the voice, coming through the throat; or by the breath, coming through the trumpet or tibia, for example; or by touch, as in the case of the cithara or anything else that gives a tuneful sound on being struck.
Tolle numerum omnibus rebus et omnia pereunt.Take from all things their number and all shall perish.
Number is divided into even and odd. Even number is divided into the following: evenly even, evenly uneven, and unevenly uneven. Odd number is divided into the following: prime and incomposite, composite, and a third intermediate class (mediocris) which in a certain way is prime and incomposite but in another way secondary and composite.
The name of medicine is thought to have been given from 'moderation', modus, that is, from a due proportion, which advises that things be done not to excess, but 'little by little', paulatim. For nature is pained by surfeit but rejoices in moderation. Whence also those who take drugs and antidotes constantly, or to the point of saturation, are sorely vexed, for every immoderation brings not health but danger.
St Vincent Ferrer, Priest - 05 April -
Born in Valencia (Spain) in 1350, he died at Vannes (France) on this day in 1419. A Dominican friar who quickly distinguished himself in converting many to Christ, he is remembered chiefly for preaching repentance on his missions throughout France, Spain, and Italy and also for his influence in ending the schism between the Avignon and Roman papal claimants.
If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first with all your heart. Ask him simply to fill you with charity, the greatest of all virtues; with it you can accomplish what you desire.
Let devotion accompany your studies: consult God, the giver of all science and ask Him with humility to make you understand what you read and learn. Interrupt your application by short prayers: never begin or end your studies but by prayer. learning is a gift of the Father of Lights; do not, therefore, consider it a fruit of your own intellect or industry.
Whatever you do, think not of yourself, but of God.
Regard yourself as more vile and miserable in the sight of God because of your faults than any sinner whatsoever, no matter what his sins. . . and consider closely that any grace or inclination to good or desire of virtue you may have, is not of yourself but of the sole mercy of Christ.
A vain question deserves nothing but silence. So learn to be silent for a time; you will edify your brethren and silence will teach you to speak when the hour is come.
Do you desire to study to your advantage? Let devotion accompany all your studies, and study less to make yourself learned than to become a saint. Consult God more than your books, and ask him, with humility, to make you understand what you read. Study fatigues and drains the mind and heart. Go from time to time to refresh them at the feet of Jesus Christ under his cross. Some moments of repose in his sacred wounds give fresh vigor and new lights. Interrupt your application by short, but fervent and ejaculatory prayers: never begin or end your study but by prayer. Science is a gift of the Father of lights; do not therefore consider it as barely the work of your own mind or industry."
(https://thecatholicreader.blogspot.com/2013/06/st-vincent-ferrer-quotes.html#:~:text=Regard%20yourself%20as%20more%20vile,the%20sole%20mercy%20of%20Christ.)
“Once humility is acquired, charity will come to life like a burning flame devouring the corruption of vice and filling the heart so full, that there is no place for vanity.”…
POPE FRANCIS:
Image Credit- Pope Francis Facebook site - “Franciscus”
Pope article:
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
XXXIII WORLD DAY OF THE SICK
11 February 2025
“Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5),
but strengthens us in times of trial
Dear brothers and sisters,
We are celebrating the 33rd World Day of the Sick in the Jubilee Year 2025, in which the Church invites us to become “pilgrims of hope”. The word of God accompanies us and offers us, in the words of Saint Paul, an encouraging message: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5); indeed, it strengthens us in times of trial.
These are comforting words, but they can also prove perplexing, especially for those who are suffering. How can we be strong, for example, when our bodies are prey to severe, debilitating illnesses that require costly treatment that we may not be able to afford? How can we show strength when, in addition to our own sufferings, we see those of our loved ones who support us yet feel powerless to help us? In these situations, we sense our need for a strength greater than our own. We realize that we need God’s help, his grace, his Providence, and the strength that is the gift of his Spirit (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1808).
Let us stop for a moment to reflect on how God remains close to those who are suffering in three particular ways: through encounter, gift and sharing.
1. Encounter. When Jesus sent the seventy-two disciples out on mission (cf. Lk 10:1-9), he told them to proclaim to the sick: “The kingdom of God has come near to you” (v. 9). He asks them, in other words, to help the sick to see their infirmity, however painful and incomprehensible it may be, as an opportunity to encounter the Lord. In times of illness, we sense our human frailty on the physical, psychological and spiritual levels. Yet we also experience the closeness and compassion of God, who, in Jesus, shared in our human suffering. God does not abandon us and often amazes us by granting us a strength that we never expected, and would never have found on our own.
Sickness, then, becomes an occasion for a transformative encounter, the discovery of a solid rock to which we can hold fast amid the tempests of life, an experience that, even at great cost, makes us all the stronger because it teaches us that we are not alone. Suffering always brings with it a mysterious promise of salvation, for it makes us experience the closeness and reality of God’s consoling presence. In this way, we come to know “the fullness of the Gospel with all its promise and life” (SAINT JOHN PAUL II, Address to Young People, New Orleans, 12 September 1987).
2. This brings us to the second way that God is close to the suffering: as gift. More than anything else, suffering makes us aware that hope comes from the Lord. It is thus, first and foremost, a gift to be received and cultivated, by remaining “faithful to the faithfulness of God”, in the fine expression of Madeleine Delbrêl (cf. La speranza è una luce nella notte, Vatican City 2024, Preface).
Indeed, only in Christ’s resurrection does our own life and destiny find its place within the infinite horizon of eternity. In Jesus’ paschal mystery alone do we attain the certainty that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God” (Rom 8:38-39). This “great hope” is the source of all those small glimmers of light that help us to see our way through the trials and obstacles of life (cf. BENEDICT XVI, Spe Salvi, 27, 31). The risen Lord goes so far as to walk beside us as our companion on the way, even as he did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-53). Like them, we can share with him our anxieties, concerns and disappointments, and listen to his word, which enlightens us and warms our hearts. Like them too, we can recognize him present in the breaking of the bread and thus, even in the present, sense that “greater reality” which, by drawing near to us, restores our courage and confidence.
3. We now come to God’s third way of being close to us: through sharing. Places of suffering are frequently also places of sharing and mutual enrichment. How often, at the bedside of the sick, do we learn to hope! How often, by our closeness to those who suffer, do we learn to have faith! How often, when we care for those in need, do we discover love! We realize that we are “angels” of hope and messengers of God for one another, all of us together: whether patients, physicians, nurses, family members, friends, priests, men and women religious, no matter where we are, whether in the family or in clinics, nursing homes, hospitals or medical centres.
We need to learn how to appreciate the beauty and significance of these grace-filled encounters. We need to learn how to cherish the gentle smile of a nurse, the gratitude and trust of a patient, the caring face of a doctor or volunteer, or the anxious and expectant look of a spouse, a child, a grandchild or a dear friend. All these are rays of light to be treasured; even amid the dark night of adversity, they give us strength, while at the same time teaching us the deeper meaning of life, in love and closeness (cf. Lk 10:25-37).
Dear brothers and sisters who are ill or who care for the suffering, in this Jubilee you play an especially important part. Your journey together is a sign for everyone: “a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope” (Spes Non Confundit, 11). Its strains are heard far beyond the rooms and beds of health facilities, and serve to elicit in charity “the choral participation of society as a whole” (ibid.) in a harmony that is at times difficult to achieve, but for that very reason is so comforting and powerful, capable of bringing light and warmth wherever they are most needed.
The whole Church thanks you for this! I do as well, and I remember you always in my prayers. I entrust you to Our Lady, Health of the Sick, in the words that so many of our brothers and sisters have addressed to her in their hour of need:
We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God.
Do not despise our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
I bless you, along with your families and loved ones, and I ask you, please, not to forget to pray for me.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 14 January 2025
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/sick/documents/20250114-giornata-malato.html
Commitment to Child Safety and Adults at Risk. We are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all members of our community. Please see the pages below for more information. ………………..
Acknowledgement of Country -
This is Kombumerri Country, the traditional custodian of this region.
We respectfully acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First People of this country. We pay our respects to the Kombumerri people, the traditional custodians of the land, waterways and seas upon which we live, work and socialise throughout this Catholic Parish of Surfers Paradise. We acknowledge Elders, past and present and emerging, as they hold our Indigenous people's memories, traditions, culture and hopes. We pay tribute to those who have contributed to the community's life in many ways. We affirm our commitment to justice, healing, and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. (See further: The Kombumerri People and https://kombumerritogetherproject.com/digital-resources/yugambeh-language/)
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** The significance of the ancient Catholic Blessing Symbol. “20 C+M+B 25”
An ancient medieval practice that developed in the Catholic Church was to bless one’s home with blessed chalk at the yearly Solemnity of the Epiphany. On the door or the lintel will be this symbol:
20 + C + M + B + 25 *
*”Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar” (the traditional names of the Three Wise Men)
And also representing the prayer: *Christus Mansionem Benedicat
May Christ bless this home.
This means that 2000 years ago, after Christ’s birth, Wise Men visited and gave homage to the Lord and were welcomed into the hospitality of the Holy Family’s abode. We dedicate the present year, ‘25, of this century to the protection of the Lord.
May the Lord bless this abode.
The letters C+M+B represent Caspar, Balthasar and Melchior, the three Wise Men. CMB is also the initials of the Latin prayer “Christus Mansionem Benedicat” - “May Christ Bless this dwelling place/ abode/ home.”
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ST VINCENTS CATHOLIC SCHOOL - PROUD AND TRUE DIRECTORY
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SYNOD 24 - ARCHDIOCESE OF BRISBANE - ACTION PLANS
BASED ON THE PLENARY COUNCIL DECREES
The Action Plans for the 8 Decrees that came out of the National Catholic Plenary Council initially, which we as a Parish participated in very enthusiastically, have now been through the process of SYNOD 24 for the Archdiocese of Brisbane and can be found by clicking on the link below or for those of us who are challenged in this area, we have also repeated below. We look forward to your respectful comments and meaningful discussion as to how we as a Parish go forward. Remembering we cannot do everything but can take one small step at a time. Once again we will call on the Holy Spirit to guide our decision making.
Synod24-Decrees-Document-web.pdf
PLENARY COUNCIL DECREE 1 - HEALING WOUNDS, RECEIVING GIFTS
The focus here is on the need for a new engagement of the Church with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, beginning with a new kind of listening in the belief that we all can and must learn from the first inhabitants of the land
ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD ACTION PLANS
*** That, building on the Archdiocesan Reconciliation Action Plan, the Archdiocese develop and implement an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander truth-telling, professional learning and formation plan that provides opportunities for all those within parishes, communities and agencies to come to a deeper recognition, appreciation and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures and spiritualities
** That the Archdiocese develop and distribute culturally appropriate resources to assist parishes, communities and agencies to include aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, traditions, spiritualities, ritual and symbol in prayers and liturgies
** That the Archdiocese develop culturally specific learning and formation opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
PLENARY COUNCIL DECREE 2 - CHOOSING REPENTANCE, SEEKING HEALING The focus here is on addressing sexual abuse in the Church, making amends for failures in the past and working to ensure that the Church is a safe place for all, but especially for the young and the vulnerable
ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD ACTION PLANS
*** That in dialogue with survivors, the consequences of physical, sexual and spiritual abuse by Church personnel be addressed within the Archdiocese through truth-telling and story-telling sessions in safe spaces that may give survivors and their family members a voice to be heard and honoured, and support for research and programs related to trauma-informed spiritual care and the long-term impact of spiritual harm
** That a Sunday of the liturgical year be set aside within the Archdiocese to focus upon safeguarding and healing, with a reassessment of Safeguarding Sunday looking to rename, refocus and resituate it, with the preparation of appropriate ritual and resources, including an annual commissioning of local safeguarding people
** That the Archdiocese, in dialogue with survivors, implement processes that seek forgiveness for historical failings, recognising and addressing their needs. This could include a formal apology to survivors and their families, symbolic plaques and/or artwork in significant locations, theological reflection on sexual abuse within the Church which ought to be a place of refuge and safety, retreats and days of prayer that can foster healing, and the training of appropriately gifted people to undertake a ministry to survivors and their families.
PLENARY COUNCIL DECREE 3 - CALLED BY CHRIST, SENT FORTH AS MISSIONARY DISCIPLES
The focus here is on the Church as a community of welcome for all, but especially for those who have been marginalised or excluded, listening to their stories and creating safe and hospitable spaces for them within the Church
ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD ACTION PLANS
*** That an Archdiocesan family and intergenerational ministry working group be formed to develop and implement a holistic, intergenerational and inclusive approach to family faith-formation across educational and other Archdiocesan agencies in order to foster lifelong missionary discipleship
** That this working group explore ways of strengthening partnerships between parishes, schools, communities and agencies, develop and implement sacramental resources for children with diverse learning needs and disabilities, including training for sacramental coordinators and volunteers to use the resources, develop a safe and supportive network for parents and carers of children and young people who may need additional support to feel welcome, offer advice upon request at decision-making tables at all levels of Archdiocesan governance.
* That there be in self-nominated Mass centres the Eucharist and other liturgical celebrations catering for diverse needs within the community, provided with resourcing around mentorship, formation, training and succession-planning for self nominated clergy, religious and laity
*** That the Archdiocese provide facilitated listening sessions, workshops and forums for safe and supportive story-telling, truth-telling and dialogue, in order to raise awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by those who are marginalised and disenfranchised
** That with the support and mentorship of the Archdiocesan Council for Ecumenism and Interreligious Relations, Queensland Churches Together and the Queensland Faith Communities Council, a co-responsible deanery approach to ecumenism and interreligious relations be developed and implemented, including short courses on ecumenism and interreligious relations, formation of individuals for work in ecumenical and interreligious relations, ecumenical retreats and pilgrimages, ecumenical and interreligious youth summits
*** That a strategic approach to mission in the digital environment be developed and implemented, focusing on the creation of digital media within a Catholic context, formation and training of people to work in the field, and including research into the possibilities and challenges of engaging the sacramental life of the Church through digital platforms such as live-streamed liturgies
** That the Archdiocese develop a pastoral ministry in sport, including formation and support programs and research into best practice and recommended qualifications, training and study pathways for sports chaplains.
PLENARY COUNCIL DECREE 4 - WITNESSING TO THE EQUAL DIGNITY OF WOMEN AND MEN The focus here is on ensuring that the Church is a place where the equal dignity of women and men is respected and where the gifts of both women and men are identified and allowed to flourish for the sake of leadership within the Body of Christ
ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD ACTION PLANS
* That, if the universal law of the Church were modified to admit women to diaconal ordination, the Archdiocese examine how best to implement it in the context of the Church in Brisbane *** That a fulltime role of Executive Officer for Participation be established to design, implement and resource a plan for the full co-responsible participation of lay women and men in the life and mission of the Church ** That a reference group be established to explore options for the use of inclusive language in prayer, liturgy, scripture and all Archdiocesan communications * That a research project be established to explore the theological foundations of diverse understandings of women in the Church, leading to an assembly on co-responsibility of all the baptised in the life and mission of the Church *** That a pilot program be established to financially support the postgraduate education and formation of lay women and men in various areas of interest and importance to the Church, with the Archdiocese providing the initial funds with a view to establishing a foundation. A transparent application process would be overseen by the Archdiocesan Synod Council (see Action Plan 7) and approved finally by the Archbishop.
PLENARY COUNCIL DECREE 5 - COMMUNION IN GRACE, SACRAMENT TO THE WORLD
The focus here is on the need to identify and foster the charisms given by God and to encourage new forms of ministry to supply the needs of the Church not only internally, for the sake of worship, but also externally, for the sake of mission
ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD ACTION PLANS
** That a ministry of front-of-house hospitality be developed and implemented for secretaries and other administrative staff in parishes and communities, recognising and formalising what is often happening, offering training and networking opportunities to those engaged in the ministry, devising processes of recruitment and care of those called to the ministry, and developing resources to help those engaged in the ministry
*** That the Archdiocese explore fully the possibilities of the ministries of catechist, lector and acolyte and consider what other ministries, open to all, instituted or not, might be needed to meet new needs
*** That the Archdiocese establish a Ministries Discernment Committee to oversee the recruitment, formation, commissioning, institution and continuing education of those preparing for or carrying out such ministries
** That the Archdiocese support and provide resources for lay-led liturgies where appropriate, particularly for parishes and communities without regular access to clergy
** That the Archdiocese give permission for lay people to preside at Catholic funerals and baptisms, indicating the circumstances in which this would be permitted and providing both discernment process and training programs for those involved in this ministry
** That the Archdiocese give permission for lay people to preside at Catholic weddings (in line with Chapter III of the Order of Celebrating Matrimony), indicating the circumstances in which this might occur and the process of delegation ** That the Archdiocese promote the participation of lay people in the ministry of preaching within the Sunday Mass and elsewhere, identifying the situations in which a lay person might offer a reflection during Mass, providing adequate training and support which would include sessions on how to run a Scripture study group, how to write and deliver a Lectionary-based reflection on the readings, how to make best use of the Directory for Masses with Children, drawing upon the resources of Archdiocesan agencies and organisations
*** That the Archdiocese develop and implement a project supporting the integration of families into parishes and communities in order to promote their sense of belonging and engagement in the life of the Church, providing resources to facilitate the incorporation of families into the community both before and after the sacraments of initiation and resources to support family catechesis when preparing children for the sacraments
** That the Archdiocese establish a network of groups working in marriage education and enrichment, including marriage preparation for engaged couples and ongoing accompaniment for married couples
*** That the Archdiocese develop and implement a formation strategy on the sacrament of penance and the many ways in which God’s mercy is experienced in Christian life and liturgy, providing resources and examples, such as ritual outlines for the celebration of the sacrament of penance, including the second rite, offering retreat opportunities for different age groups to enable them to experience the sacrament of penance, and revising the current sacramental policy on the provision of first penance for children.
PLENARY COUNCIL DECREE 6 - FORMATION AND LEADERSHIP FOR MISSION AND MINISTRY
The focus here is on providing in a variety of ways the formation needed for ordained and non-ordained leadership in the Church, so that leaders will be properly equipped for the ministry to which they are called
ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD ACTION PLANS
*** That the Archdiocese develop a plan for ministry and leadership formation, including a working group representing key people in formation and developing resources and programs on missional and synodal leadership such as podcasts, online modules and retreats, particularly for emerging leaders who have skills and qualifications equipping them for governance, leadership and other decision-making roles
* That the Archdiocese develop and implement opportunities for lay people to be engaged in ongoing spiritual growth beyond the liturgical context, including in small groups that meet regularly for prayer, bible study, reflection on Church documents, and spiritual accompaniment
* That parishes and deaneries offer formation events drawing upon experts to reflect on key topics such as prayer, scripture, sacraments, marriage and family, mission, care for our common home and inclusivity. SYNOD24
** That pathways for greater lay involvement in the ongoing formation of clergy and the formation of seminarians be identified, providing avenues for accompaniment of clergy by lay people and assisting pastors to work with a small group of lay people to provide regular feedback on homilies, based on an agreed criteria matrix
*** That the Archdiocese develop and implement a road-map for a mission focused Church that is synodal and co-responsible, including localised and ongoing conversations in the Spirit as a regular part of planning, decision-making, pastoral care and community-building
** That the Archdiocese teach simply and systematically the discipline and method of conversation in the Spirit as a way of discernment, attempting to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in listening to each other.
* That the Archdiocese produce podcasts and digital media resources exploring what it means to read the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel
*** That the Archdiocese, at a time when the ethnic profile of the Catholic Church is changing both locally and globally, organise forums on interculturality in a missional, synodal and co-responsible Church.
*** That a SYNOD24 Formation and Implementation Plan be developed and implemented, providing opportunities for formation in all eight Action Plans and including resources and workshops in areas such as how to share faith with friends, how to engage with scripture, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island spirituality, integral ecology, sacraments and sacramentality, inclusive theology, the role of women in the Church, ecumenism and interreligious relations.
*** That the Archdiocese offers workshops and practical resources on how to implement the SYNOD24 Action Plans in parishes, communities and agencies across the Archdiocese.
PLENARY COUNCIL DECREE 7 - AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION, PARTICIPATION AND MISSION: GOVERNANCE
The focus here is on the governance of the Church in a synodal key, looking to synods as a regular feature of Church life and to synodality as the characteristic of all aspects of Church governance for the sake of mission
ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD ACTION PLANS
*** That the Archdiocese commit to celebrating Synods on a regular basis, so that this key element of synodality become a normal part of Archdiocesan life
*** That the Archdiocese establish a Synod Council which will meet regularly through the year between the Synods, members committing to formation in and practice of conversation in the Spirit as a key element of meetings and to formation in the nature and purpose of the Council
** That the Council commit to diverse representation including a mix of lay women and men, religious and the ordained.
** That the Archdiocese prepare Statutes for the Council ARCHDIOCESAN SUMMIT 2023 2 4 / ARCHDIOCESE OF BRISBANE SYNOD24 Action Plans
** That the Archdiocese develop and implement a project to operate at deanery level to identify lay people who are women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, persons with a disability or from a cultural community, and who seem suitable to serve on councils and committees in the parish or the Archdiocese with the right kind of mentorship, accompaniment and formation, especially in the areas of synodality, co-responsibility and mission
** That the Archdiocese develop and implement a parish handover process that includes consultation with members of the parish, especially the Parish Pastoral Council, and the preparation of a statement of what the parish expects of a pastor.
* That there be in the Archdiocese regular performance reviews of pastors to identify areas of strength and areas for growth, with ongoing professional supervision to foster growth.
PLENARY COUNCIL DECREE 8 - INTEGRAL ECOLOGY AND CONVERSION FOR THE SAKE OF OUR COMMON HOME
The focus here is on the need for ecological conversion in the life and mission of the Church, understanding that the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor are the one thing, and that ecological conversion must lead to action
ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD ACTION PLANS
*** That an integral ecology formation strategy be developed and implemented for clergy, community leaders, agency staff and parishioners, to be revised every three years, helping them to grow in understanding of integral ecology and its impact on our behaviour and drawing where appropriate on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wisdom, and engaging with already existing eco-spirituality resources
* That all organisations, parishes and schools writing a Laudato Si Action Plan include a framework for measuring and reporting emission reduction that leads to a considered net zero pathway that includes commitment and timeframes.
* That, in addition to the emission reduction strategies, Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) priorities be developed in the Archdiocese with a view to assisting all agencies, parishes and communities to embed measurable ESG outcomes into their future Laudato Si Action Plans. SANTA TERESA SPIRITUALITY CENTRE.
*** That an Ecological Ministry Strategic Plan be developed and implemented to support ecological ministry throughout the Archdiocese, recruiting deanery representatives to create hubs that support ecological ministers overseen by a coordinator employed by the Archdiocese to support action in parishes and communities
* That intergenerational and family initiatives be developed to promote the call to care for our common home
* That parishes, communities and agencies share their activities in the area of ecological engagement at events and through avenues of communication, and that cross-agency collaboration in this area be coordinated and encouraged throughout the Archdiocese.
*** That the Archdiocese produce guidelines and resources for parish clergy and liturgy coordinators indicating ways in which a commitment to integral ecology can be integrated into liturgical celebrations.
CLOSING REMARKS
Some of these action plans already have currency in one form or other in the Archdiocese, or at least in some parts of the Archdiocese. The task will be to give greater impetus and focus to those that already have currency, but also to set in motion the processes to which others look. Not all the action plans will be able to be implemented immediately, but none of them can be delayed indefinitely Therefore, priorities will have to be set in the hope that the action plans will have been implemented within five years. Budgeting will also need to be considered, as will the question of who has carriage of the various initiatives. There will need to be a group to oversee the implementation of the action plans, the Synod Council will also be charged with oversight of a broader kind, and the Archdiocesan Synods will monitor progress. Yet this is a document not just for some. It is for everyone; and I urge all parishes, communities, agencies and individuals to read and reflect upon the action plans and to be as creative as possible in implementing them. These action plans are comprehensive but not exhaustive. There are things not mentioned in this document which are important for the future of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. For instance, we will certainly need to consider restructuring our parishes and even our schools, looking not so much to amalgamation but more to building a “community of communities”. How to engage young people more energetically in the life of the Church is another question not prominent in these action plans but essential for the future of the Church. How to be more effective in teaching prayer as a way of life, the art of listening to God in prayer and the contemplative eye upon the world: this is another. The list could go on. This is another way of saying that these action plans should be read in conjunction with my own document “With Lamps Ablaze” which sets out a number of what I called apostolic priorities for the Archdiocese. These interweave with the action plans found here. I direct that these synodal declarations and decrees which I sign in accord with can. 466 be published to the entire community of the Archdiocese and that a copy be forwarded to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference as required by can. 46 I thank all who have been part of the Synod journey, having heard the Lord’s promise to “make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). I commend these action plans to the grace of the Holy Spirit from whom this process has come forth and to the intercession of Mary Help of Christians, St Stephen and St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. May God who has begun the good work in us bring it to fulfilment (cf Philippians 1:6)
Mark
Archbishop of Brisbane
November 2024
Each Parish in the Archdiocese of Brisbane has a Local Safeguarding Representative who is responsible for:
Making sure that the whole parish is aware of the importance of safeguarding children and adults at risk.
Promoting safe practices, including articulating for others what is appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, and
Assisting the Parish Priest and staff in the implementation of the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Children and Adults-at-risk Policy in the Parish
The Archdiocesan Safeguarding Children & Adults-at-risk Prevention & Protection Policy can be found at: https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/support/safeguard
WAYS TO REPORT A SAFEGUARDING INCIDENT OR CONCERN OR TO GIVE FEEDBACK REGARDING SAFEGUARDING
Here is how you can report an incident or concern, or contact someone to talk about a safeguarding matter or get more information:
Talk to the police (Emergency: '000' Non-emergency: 131 444) or KidsHelpLine (1800 55 1800 or www.kidshelpline.com.au)
Through the anonymous STOPline (1300 304 550 or AOB@stopline.com.au)
talk to our Local Parish Safeguarding Representative
Fill out a Safeguarding Incident Report and send it to safeguarding@bne.catholic.net.au or GPO Box 282 Brisbane Qld 4001
VOLUNTEERS - Parish Ministries, Groups etc.
The Archdiocese of Brisbane has implemented standards of conduct for voluntary church workers to maintain a safe and healthy ministry environment. Our commitment to these standards requires that we have a record of your Blue Card and conduct background referencing for all who intend to engage in voluntary ministry, having direct and regular involvement with children, young people and adults at risk.
SAFEGUARDING TRAINING
The Archdiocese of Brisbane has the following safeguarding training packages, Safeguarding Induction, Applied Safeguarding Training and Training for Local Safeguarding Representatives, which can be viewed here: https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/safeguarding/safeguarding-training
BLUE CARD - ‘No Card, No Start’
Individuals must have a valid blue card before starting paid work or volunteering. All cardholders must apply to renew their blue card before it expires to continue working/volunteering. If an individual lets their card expire, they must cease work until they obtain a new valid blue card. For further information about the Blue Card Application process, please click here >>
SEE ALSO
‘Police Check’ can now be completed online using InterCheck. Volunteers can do this via the Volunteer Portal, http://archbne.org/welcome, which will inform them whether they need a Police Check for their ministry.
Surfers Paradise Parish Mission Statement.
We, the Catholic community of Surfers Paradise, guided by the Holy Spirit, strive to live the mission of Jesus through the spirituality of stewardship.
We are all brothers and sisters in the family of God, and we believe in the inherent dignity, reverence and sanctity of all humans as lovingly created children of God.
Centred in the Eucharist and nourished by word and sacrament, we proclaim by faith and action the love of God for all.
We seek to live consistently and practically every day of the week what we proclaim in worship of God on Sundays, in our daily lives and actions and in our wider community participation.
In the spirit of gratitude, we live out this mission by
· Committing to be prayerful disciples of Jesus Christ.
· Recognising and sharing our gifts and talents.
· Active involvement in the life of the parish, for the sole purpose of promoting the honour and glory of God, through our care and love of our neighbour
· Hospitality, charity, justice and compassion in practical ways.
· Nurturing our young people.
