PDF version of this parish newsletter here:
Also, you can access an online copy of the newsletter *here*
"Stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" - (Luke 21:28)
(Image: Shutterstock licensed image ID: 42905557 - ancient Byzantine fresco of the last judgement showing Jesus christ flanked by the virgin mary and john the baptist from the church of saint Chora - By mountainpixi)
PASTOR'S POST:
The Weight of Waiting.
Over the next few weeks of the Advent and Christmas season, we will strive to grow spiritually as we try to contend with a variety of forces that distract us from our union with God and our unity with one another. 'Christmas Consumerism' and its alluring advertisements have the effect of filling our lives with material matters, leaving little room for divine things. Excessive busyness puts us in a hurried mode, making contemplation and spiritual preparation very difficult. Add to this list the struggle to make a daily living, the conflicts of our personal relationships, and that ever-present disease of narcissism, and we know that Advent will demand intense effort and more than a modicum of grace. It has been said that the shortest recorded length of time is the time between the light in front of you turning green and when the car behind you sounds its horn. A slight exaggeration, but the point is made. We are not good at sitting still and letting things unfold in their own time.
It's not exactly our own fault because today's world speeds past us at such a rate that we feel if we are not on board then we will get left behind. 'Keep up or get off the ride', seems to be the message that assaults us through every medium, be it social or simple family life demands.
We live in an 'instant' world that applies to more than coffee. A world where we can own now and pay later, where the next one is free if the ordered food takes more than a short period of time, where Internet access allows us to plug into the World Wide Web in seconds, and if we are lucky enough, we can even scratch some instant cash! The examples go on and on. These things in themselves are not wrong, but they do make Advent a difficult season for us to enter.
Advent is all about waiting and anticipation. It's about delayed gratification so that we might be best prepared for what is being offered to us. Firstly, it's waiting for a future that is not marked on a calendar nor can it be calculated in terms of days, months and years, but neither is it illusory. It is this future that we are drawn to this week as we listen to the prophet Jeremiah as he tells us there will come a day when the Lord will do "what is right and just in the land". Can we submit ourselves to becoming what God wants for us? Can we hold on longer? Yet our waiting is never passive. The gospel of this week reminds us to be "vigilant at all times", not because we have a tricky God who will catch us napping, but because we share in the responsibility of this future with God. We need to be on our guard, always ready for possibilities of furthering the reign of God in our day. We wait for the final coming in confidence because we know that once God did become flesh and dwelt with us and that God continues to be present in our lives every day. Whether we believe that time is money or we have been conditioned to keep moving in case we stop permanently, waiting patiently is something we are finding harder and harder to do in a world that requires immediate decisions and reactions.
Fr Peter Dillon. PP
SAINT VINCENT de PAUL CHRISTMAS GIFTS AND ANNUAL CHRISTMAS APPEAL
Our Annual request for Gifts starts this weekend with the distribution of Scrolls. We would appreciate it if you could take some scrolls and bring the nominated gifts to the church and place them under the Christmas Tree. Your generous assistance in donating gifts for the Christmas Hampers is greatly appreciated.
The Annual Christmas Appeal will be conducted on the Weekend 4th and 5th of December, at all churches with a leaving collection. Your generous donations over the years have assisted us in giving our Companions a great Christmas with food, gifts and toys for the children. This year due to the current rental crisis on the Gold Coast there will be more Families and Single Companions requesting a Christmas Hamper, so please give generously.
God Bless
Craig McMahon
Conference President - Surfers Paradise
+++++++
To be part of the Children's Nativity Play
at the Christmas Vigil Mass, Friday, December 24 at 5 pm
All children who would like to be part of the Nativity Play that will be included as the gospel for the Christmas Vigil Mass are invited to attend three practices. Practices will be held at Sacred Heart Church on Monday, Dec 20th, Wednesday, Dec 22nd and Thursday, Dec 23rd at 1 pm.
Our Children's Sacramental Coordinator, Cathy Anderson and our parish Music Coordinator, Christeen Harth will organise the practices. Any parents or parishioners with an interest in or willingness to assist are asked to email Cathy at andersoncm@bne.catholic.net.au
If your child is unable to come to the practices, they are still invited to dress up as any character from the Nativity story so that they can be part of the celebration on December 24. (While we welcome lots of angels and shepherds, we would also love to have some sheep and cattle costumes too.)
WE BLESS THE ADVENT WREATH AND LIGHT THE FIRST ADVENT CANDLE
During this time of Advent, may we prepare for the Lord's coming, with open hearts and minds.
May the Advent Wreath be a symbol to us of this time of prayerful watching and waiting for the coming of the Lord. This weekend, we will light the first candle: The "Prophet's Candle" Symbol of Hope. Reminding us that Jesus is coming. Lord Jesus your coming was proclaimed by the prophets of old. You promise to keep us steady until the last day. You instruct us to be ever-watchful.
ROSIE'S BLESSING
(photos by John Bohringer)
On Sunday morning 21st November 2021, at the 10 am Sunday Mass at St Vincent's Church, a number of Rosies Volunteers from the Gold Coast Branch and also Volunteers at the Gold Coast for the annual Schoolies Outreach from Rosies Branches throughout Queensland, celebrated a special Commitment Ritual of service to the most abandoned in our society. Concelebrating with Fr Paul Kelly was Fr Joe Antony OMI, a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate, the Rosies Chaplain in Queensland.
Our Rosies Volunteers committed themselves to exercise a ministry of service to the Rosies Mission which is to reach out to those most in need, those who are lonely, abandoned and marginalised within our communities - to share friendship and create belonging and with the help of God, to be ready and willing to be of service to all our Rosies Patrons in whatever way and wherever needed.
Fr Joe then called forward all schoolies and volunteers from other organisations for a special blessing. Asking God's help for all volunteers in whatever way required during this Schoolies Week as they outreach to our students and also asking that the decisions, tough choices or hard situations our schoolies face, to help them to remember that they are God's children who are beloved by God and their parents and to keep them safe and to bless them particularly as they go on with their lives away from our community and that they may bring honour to the name of God.
MASK WEARING
As you know the rule on mask-wearing has been adjusted recently in Queensland. Queenslanders, except those medically exempted, must carry a mask with them to be used in cases where they cannot socially distance themselves. Everyone therefore should at least have a mask with them even when not required to wear it. However, the recommendation remains that anyone who feels vulnerable is welcome and encouraged to continue to wear a mask, particularly in situations when it is not possible or convenient to socially distance or at any time that one feels it would be prudent to do so. Also, anyone who is in a particularly higher risk medical or age category is encouraged to consider taking all reasonable precautions, including wearing masks beyond the minimum general rule.
Because of the specifically unusual situation of communion, where, unlike even the catering industry, one minister hands the host into the hand of another person, we feel that in order to ensure the safest situation, we are advising that all communion ministers at mass are asked to wear a mask when giving out communion, and continue to sanitise their hands after receiving their communion host and then on conclusion of the communion giving.
The priests giving out communion are also asked to wear their masks when giving out communion.
This is an added but sensible precaution.
Thank you all for your wonderful work and ministry and patience in these difficult times.
FANS IN THE CHURCH DURING HOT WEATHER ARE TO BE LEFT ON
Please Don't Ask The Coordinator To Turn Them Off. Also, to assist with airflow in the hot and humid temperatures, please don't stop the assistants from opening the doors.
They Are Following Church Health and Safety instructions.
It may be necessary to relocate to another seat that may better suit your needs or bring something warm to put on. (Please note, after mass has begun. Side doors are opened, - so please expect that to happen when you are deciding where to sit. We cannot set the conditions for each individual.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
MASS TIMES: SURFERS PARADISE MASS TIMES
STEWARDSHIP REFLECTION
"But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand." (Luke 21:28)
We celebrate Advent each year in preparation for the birth of Jesus, His first coming, as we await His second coming. What will you do differently this Advent season to grow in friendship and love with Jesus? How will you inspire others to do the same? Start by sharing your God story with others, especially those closest to you. Invite and accompany them on their faith journey this Advent.
The vision of Stewardship speaks in every aspect of life, inviting everyone to be thankful, generous and accountable for what each has been given.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK: Anthea McMullan, James Goodwin, Scott Mitchell, Malcolm Ward, John O'Brien, Ludwig Mueller, Bobby Caspersz, Kent Vince, Terry Collins, Colleen Grehan, Herbert Dawson, Carmelita Dulu, Judy Alexander, Sr Mary Teresa, John Davis, Peter Cotton, Bobby Courtney, Lisa Mangan, Doreen Slater, Christina Hendriksen, Robyn Skein, Sharyn Lucas, Kye Oh, Michael James, Bill Gilmore, Olga Hamshari, Roy Ferraro, Margaret Haerse, Rosalind Lee, Milka Barac, Mary Ashton, Bill Goodrem, Rodney & Norma McLennan, Lois & Doug Wood, Duncan Dawson, William Franklin, Maria Mihalic, Annie Scicluna, Anne Logan, Dymphna Hogg, Margaret & Louise Thompson, Patricia Moor, Helen Bohringer, Peter O'Brien, Angela Duvnjak, Rachel Raines, Savannah Ayoub, Gus Reeves, Baby Maeve Lombard, Kathy Kiely, Rosslyn Wallis, Arthur Haddad, Jean Di Benedetto, Michael & Denise Tracey, Joanne Mooney, Joanne Parkes, Michelle MacDonald, John & Molly Robinson, Mary Kerr. And all suffering from Covid-19 and its effects.
RECENTLY DECEASED: Regina Flemming, Wayne Pearce, Thomas James Burns, Margaret MacLennon, Margaret Ross, Patricia Heenan, Janora Senders, Carl Tamer, Kurt Hillesheim, Sam Maxwell, Anne Ryan, Glennis Ann Lamb, Philomena Molloy, John Newell, Bridget Colman, Cathay Egan, John Bullied, Odette Hull, Lorraine Grace, Andrew Kennedy, Mona Cooke, Keiran John Ryan, Marta Goran, Betty Leighton (Sydney), Antonio Cruz, Clara Yepes, Alberta Antonio, Mark Patrick, Donna Farkas, Robyn Colhoun, Brian Cole.
FOR ALL THE HOLY SOULS - IN THIS MONTH OF NOVEMBER ESPECIALLY THOSE COMMEMORATED IN THE BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE
ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH:
Halam and Japouer, Joan Valmae Stewart, Fr Neal Shannon, Arnold Jones, Anna Guila Diepold, Barbara Anne Farrell, "Aaiden/ Kaiden (Joseph) Ng", Angela Radin, Jan Hart, Michelina Pernazza, Peter John Llewellyn, Elda Ferluga, Howard John (John) Jones, Kenneth Rex (Rex) Howard, Doris Catherine Mathews, Beth Green. And also: Dominador Tolentino, Mary Catherine Reeves, John and Eileen Dougherty, Graziella Randazzo, Giacomo (Jack) Ulliana, Remedios Solatan, Alfred Desira, Elizabeth Anne Topalov, Maurice Cook, Arthur Bocking, Eve Barry, Paul Louis France Melanie, Irene Bridget McPhie, John Peter Reid (Father of Mary Connelly), Latina Adele Calista, Werner Meyer, David Valencour, Mervyn Kenneth Nelson, Maria Hue Thi Nygen, Fr Owen Oxenham, David Isbel.
Visitation to Nursing Homes with Communion and Prayer. URGENT
We are desperately short of Ministers to take communion to the following Nursing Homes.
Lady Small Haven, Benowa. Tuesdays 9.30 am to 11.00 am
Merrimac Park Private Care, Merrimac. Wednesdays 1.30 pm to 3.00 pm
Bupa Nursing Home, Merrimac. Thursdays 9.30 am to 11.00 am
Hillview Nursing Home, Merrimac. Fridays 9.45 to 12.00 noon
Tricare Cyprus Nursing Home, Clear Island Waters. Sundays 9.00 am
The Visitation to the Home could take a Maximum of 3 hours and Ministers will be rostered to work for one day in a month. You will be assisted in training and getting a Blue Card along with a Police Check
CAN YOU SPARE 3 HOURS A MONTH TO TAKE OUR LORD TO THE ELDERLY IN THESE HOMES ????
For further information ring the Parish Office, or Maxine Sela on 0421051193.
We are in need of volunteers to man the library before and after mass during the weekends. If you are called to help in the library, we shall appreciate it if you can contact Esta Mostert by texting / WhatsApp her on
+61 410542427 or email her: esta@mostertfamily.com
Please text your name, WhatsApp or phone number and/or your email address to her as well as the times that you will be available. Alternatively, write your name on the Library Volunteer list at the back of the church. Ezekiel 2:9 Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Books
CHILDREN'S SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM
BAPTISM for Children in Surfers Paradise
Baptism is the first of three Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Surfers Paradise Parish follows the policies of the Archdiocese of Brisbane as it welcomes each person into the family of the Church through the waters of Baptism.
Infants and children are baptised at the request of parents. Within the Baptism ritual, parents promise to accept the responsibility of training their children in the practice of the faith and to raise their children to understand and live God's commandments. Parents can request baptism for their child by filling out an enrolment form, available on our parish website www.surfersparadiseparish.com.au Once the online baptism form has been received, the Parish Office will provide details for preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism and confirm the online booking.
Sacrament of PENANCE - Reconciliation 2022
In the Archdiocese of Brisbane, Reconciliation follows the Sacraments of Initiation. That is, Reconciliation, also known as Penance, follows the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and the receiving of a child's First Communion. The Surfers Paradise Sacramental Team is preparing a program similar in style to the Confirmation and First Communion At Home Preparation Programs. If your child was previously enrolled in the Surfers Paradise Parish Sacramental Program and then was either confirmed or made their First Communion in Surfers Paradise, there is no requirement for you to complete a new online enrolment form. Families of enrolled children will receive an emailed invitation to the Meeting for the Sacrament of Penance Preparation early in 2022. It will be held on either February 21, 2022, at 6 pm or February 22, 2022, at 6 pm (Parents can choose to attend one of these meetings but do not need to attend both.)
The First Rite of Reconciliation will be celebrated on Thursday, March 31, 2022, at 6:30 pm.
If you have further questions, please email our Sacramental Coordinator, Cathy Anderson, at andersoncm@bne.catholic.net.au
Sacrament of EUCHARIST - First Communion 2022
Children who have been baptised and confirmed and are in Year 4 or greater in 2022 are invited to prepare to receive their First Communion. If parents have previously completed an online application for enrolment in the Surfers Paradise Sacramental Program, they do not need to complete a new online form to continue. The Parent Meeting for First Communion Preparation will be held on April 26 at 6 pm or April 27 at 6 pm. (Parents can choose to attend one of these meetings but do not need to attend both. Only children who are represented by a parent at one of these meetings will be included in the First Communion Preparation Program.) The Preparation for First Communion Program will be similar in format to the At Home Preparation for Confirmation Program. There will also be a Final Meeting (including rehearsal) in the week prior to the Celebration of First Communion either Tuesday, April 6 at 6 pm or Wednesday, April 27 at 6 pm.
First Communion will be celebrated on Sunday, June 12 at 11:00 am and Sunday, June 19 at 11:00 am at Sacred Heart Church (Children will be included in one of these celebrations, not both.) The Sacramental Team will email a reminder to parents late in Term 1.
Sacrament of CONFIRMATION 2022
Baptised children who are in Year 3 or greater are invited to be included in next year's Preparation for Confirmation group. Parents are asked to go to the parish website at www.surfersparadiseparish.com.au and complete an online enrolment application. Please use the drop-down menu under Sacraments and click on Confirmation (under Sacraments). Then scroll down to and click on CHILDREN'S SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM APPLICATION FORM (in the blue box). Once you click on SUBMIT, you will receive an automated response so that you know that your completed application has been received.
In 2022, you will receive an invitation email several weeks prior to the Parent Meeting which is to be held either Monday, July 11 at 6 pm or Tuesday, July 12 at 6 pm in Sacred Heart Church. (Parents are asked to choose to attend one of these meetings but do not need to attend both. Only children who are represented by a parent at one of these meetings will be included in the Confirmation Preparation Program.) After the Parent Meeting, parents will be emailed copies of the At Home Preparation for Confirmation Program to be completed by the child and their parent/s, and then returned to the Sacramental Team. The Final Meeting which includes the rehearsal for Confirmation will be held on Monday, August 29 at 6 pm or Tuesday, August 30 at 6 pm (Children and parents are required to attend one of these meetings, not both.)
The Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation will take place in Surfers Paradise Parish on Friday, September 2, 2022.
All families wishing to be involved in our parish sacramental programs should regularly check the weekly newsletter for information updates or they can email our Sacramental Coordinator, Cathy Anderson, at andersoncm@bne.catholic.net.au The newsletters are archived on our parish website at www.surfersparadiseparish.com.au
THE GOSPEL THIS WEEKEND - ADVENT I - YEAR C
Advent has begun. A new church year has also begun. It is a time of renewal and 'new beginnings."
From a church perspective, now is the best time to bring out those inspiring 'new year resolutions' (Christian-style), and for us to ask God to direct and guide us as we immerse ourselves deeper, (and deeper, each day), into the reality of God's love, compassion, mercy and justice.
We have commenced our four-week preparation for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. It is such a short time of preparation that we have to be vigilant because the busyness of the season could easily mean that we "blink and miss it."
The readings this weekend are all about preparing and being 'ready' and 'staying awake' and being watchful.
I particularly like Saint Paul's words in the second reading:
"May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you. And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness …. (And to) make more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live: the life that God wants…." (JB)
The whole purpose, point and goal of our "lives of faith," is to continue along the path of loving our God by means of deepening our love and reverence for one another.
Our attitudes, our thoughts, and actions are intended to foster each day an ever-deeper love, charity and concern for all our fellow brothers and sisters; that is, all people.
What a wonderful calling. To strive (with God's grace), to be everything God desires us to be. We are called to grow daily in love, goodwill, peace, and forgiveness.
The readings also ask us some important questions: Do you believe that God will indeed fulfil his solemn promises to us? Do you truly believe that in the end, God will come in power and glory to establish in its fullness the Heavenly Kingdom of God's peace, justice and mercy? Do you believe that ultimately, honesty, peace, integrity, and love will be at the centre of all creation, through Christ?
Come, Lord Jesus, teach us your truth and love. Establish your Kingdom in its fullness.
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.
(Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. ID:775472464 -Panoramic view of apocalypse sky over the city. Unbelievable nature landscape. By Benevolente82)
Life can sometimes beat a person down, and when that happens, the beautiful tradition of praying for saints to intercede for us can provide communion and solace. One such saint, among many, is Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, who was a nun who survived the upheaval of the French Revolution and combined both a strong devotion to prayer and a passion for missionary life in the American frontier, with its many hardships. Because perseverance was a major theme in her life, she is a patron saint of perseverance in adversity. Saint Philippine, pray for us!
"If this day you only knew what makes for peace." (Luke 19:41-44)
SIGN UP FOR "TAKE FIVE" DAILY - www.takefiveforfaith.com/subscribe
NEXT SESSION - SUNDAY MORNING 28th November 2021
10 AM TO 11:30 AM IN THE PARISH HOSPITALITY CENTRE OR ON ZOOM
If you want to connect from your home, we can assist you in joining (ring 0409 486 326)
If you are already familiar with Zoom, access to the ZOOM Meeting is ID 743 836 7833
EPIC A Journey Through Church History.
Join us for the summary of the final Episode of the section on Weak Leaders and Schism 1300 - 1499 AD
Heresy never sleeps in the Church and the main actors in this scene are Jan Hus and John Wyclif who preach a "new gospel" that rejects the sacraments, denies the rights of the Church, abolishes the power of the pope, and lauds Sacred Scripture as the ultimate and only authoritative source of God's divine revelation. We hear the true story around the Spanish Inquisition based on the official records kept at the time.
St Joan of Arc steps forward to defend France, taking charge of an army at the age of seventeen.
Constantinople finally falls to Islam and this is the finish of the Roman Empire. As Islam gains ground in the East it is finally defeated in the West.
Back in Rome, wealth has gutted the Chair of Peter; a long line of men known as the Renaissance popes usher in a new age of learning and splendour. They commissioned some of the greatest artists of all time, such as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo Da Vinci, to create works of unparalleled beauty. But the price of this great art is a culture of decadence, and the Renaissance popes behave more as temporal princes than as holy priests. No one, however, can compare to Rodrigo Borgia, the infamous Pope Alexander VI, who shamelessly besmirches the papacy with a life of lust and greed. It is a black and selfish time, and men's hearts have grown cold. The breaking of Christendom is close at hand.
The episode we will commence this Sunday is
Protestors & Defenders 1500 - 1544 AD.
Martin Luther enters the stage of the divine drama with the revolt that culminates in the breaking of Christendom and the shattering of Christian unity, the effects of which are still felt today. Initially upset at erroneous preaching concerning indulgences, Luther soon articulates more radical ideas, such as the desire to eradicate the Mass, the entire sacramental and priestly system, and the papacy, which he calls the Antichrist. The Church initially responds with letters and meetings and sends Cardinal Cajetan to bring Luther back into the fold but Luther responds by insulting the writings of St Thomas Aquinas. Finally, Pope Leo X condemns Luther's teaching and orders him to submit to the obedience of the Church for the good of his soul and the rest is history…….
Caritas (Catholic) worldwide Charity - Global Gifts for Christmas
You can make a big difference in the lives of people experiencing poverty.
When you buy a Global Gift, your loved one gets a special card and you help raise much-needed funds for vulnerable communities around the world.
https://www.globalgifts.org.au/
Saint Andrew, the apostle: Love is acceptance. When you love someone . . . you take them into your heart, and that is surely why it hurts so much when we lose someone we love because we lose a part of ourselves
.
If we strive for goals, relishing in the pleasure of circumstance, nothing is enjoyable, and life becomes purposeless.
Mark 1:16-20 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen."Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
Saint Francis Xavier:
"Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians."
"Tell the students to give up their small ambitions and come eastward to preach the gospel of Christ."
"I have heard thousands of confessions, but never one of covetousness."
"I want to be where there are out and out pagans."
"Give me the child until he is seven and I'll give you the man"
It is impossible to find a saint who did not take the "two P's" seriously: prayer and penance. –St. Francis Xavier, Priest
Would to God that these men who labour so much in gaining knowledge would give as much thought to the account they must one day give to God of the use they have made of their learning and of the talents entrusted to them...
It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards one's progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken
Saint John Damascene/ John of Damascus
"Evil is nothing else than absence of goodness, just as darkness also is the absence of light. For goodness is the light of the mind, and, similarly, evil is the darkness of the mind. Light, therefore, being the work of the Creator and being made good (for God saw all that He made, and behold they were exceeding good(8)) produced darkness at His free will."
"The first kind is the worship ...which we give to God, who alone is adorable by nature, and this worship is shown in several ways, and first by the worship of servants. All created things worship Him, as servants of their master. "All things serve Thee," (Ps. 119.91) the psalm says."
"since the wickedness of the Evil One has prevailed so mightily against man's nature as even to drive some into denying the existence of God, that most foolish and woe-fullest pit of destruction (whose folly David, revealer of the Divine meaning, exposed when he said(9), The fool said in his heart, There is no God),"
"The second kind is the worship of admiration and desire which we give to God on account of His essential glory. He alone is worthy of praise, who receives it from no one, being Himself the cause of all glory and all good, [105] He is light, incomprehensible sweetness, incomparable, immeasurable perfection, an ocean of goodness, boundless wisdom, and power, who alone is worthy of Himself to excite admiration, to be worshipped, glorified, and desired."
"The third kind of worship is that of thanksgiving for the goods we have received. We must thank God for all created things, and show Him perpetual worship, as from Him and through Him all creation takes its being and subsists. (Col. 1.16-17)"
"The fourth kind is suggested by the need and hope of benefits. Recognising that without Him we can neither do nor possess anything good, we worship Him, asking Him to satisfy [106] our needs and desires, that we may be preserved from evil and arrive at good. The fifth kind is the worship of contrition and confession. As sinners we worship God, and prostrate ourselves before Him, needing His forgiveness, as it becomes servants. This happens in three ways. A man may be sorry out of love, or lest he should lose God's benefits, or for fear of chastisement. The first is prompted by goodness and desire for God himself, and the condition of a son: the second is interested, the third is slavish. What"
"Envy is pain over the good fortune of others."
"Of old, God the incorporeal and uncircumscribed was never depicted. Now, however, when God is seen clothed in flesh, and conversing with men, (Bar. 3.38) I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter, I [16] worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake, and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked out my salvation through matter. I will not cease from honouring that matter which works for my salvation." Three Treatises on the Divine Images: Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images
"The very continuity of the creation, and its preservation and government, teach us that there does exist a Deity, who supports and maintains and preserves and ever provides for this universe."
"Secondly, we worship creatures by [109] honouring those places or persons whom God has associated with the work of our salvation, whether before our Lord's coming or since the dispensation of His incarnation. For instance, I venerate Mount Sinai, Nazareth, the stable at Bethlehem, and the cave, the sacred mount of Golgotha, the wood of the Cross, the nails and sponge and reed, the sacred and saving lance, the dress and tunic, the linen cloths, the swathing clothes, the holy tomb, the source of our resurrection, the sepulchre, the holy mountain of Sion and the mountain of Olives, the Pool of Bethsaida and the sacred garden of Gethsemane, and all similar spots. I cherish them and every holy temple of God, and everything connected with God's name, not on their own account but because they show forth the divine power, and through them and in them it pleased God to bring about our salvation. I venerate and worship angels and men, and all matter participating in divine power and ministering to our salvation through it. I do not worship the Jews. They are not participators in divine power, nor have they contributed to my salvation. They crucified my God, the King of [110] Glory, moved rather by envy and hatred against God their Benefactor. "Lord, I have loved the beauty of Thy house," (Ps. 26.8) says David, "we will adore in the place where his feet stood. And adore at His holy mountain." (Ps. 132.7; 99.9) The holy Mother of God is the living holy mountain of God. The apostles are the teaching mountains of God. "The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of the flock." (I Cor. 10.11). Three Treatises on the Divine Images: Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images
"It must not be supposed that the heavens or the luminaries are endowed with life(3). For they are inanimate and insensible(4). So that when the divine Scripture saith, Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad(5), it is the angels in heaven and the men on earth that are invited to rejoice."
"He who longs alway after God, he seeth Him: for God is in all things. Existing things are dependent on that which is, and nothing can be unless it is in that which is. God then is mingled with everything, maintaining their nature: and in His holy flesh the God-Word is made one in subsistence and is mixed with our nature, yet without confusion."
"The Son is the counsel and wisdom and power of the Father."
"It is needless to say that fear, desire, and honour are tokens of worship, as also submission and humiliation. No one should be worshipped as God except the one true God. Whatever is due to all the rest is for God's sake. You"
"it is quite impossible for us men clothed about with this dense covering of flesh to understand or speak of the divine and lofty and immaterial energies of the Godhead, except by the use of images and types and symbols derived from our own life(7)."
"The Creator, then, being uncreated, is also wholly immutable. And what could this be other than Deity?"
"Had God kept from being made those who through His goodness were to have existence, but who by their own choice were to become evil, then evil would have prevailed over the goodness of God. Thus, all things which God makes He makes good, but each one becomes good or evil by his own choice. So, even if the Lord did say: 'It would be better for him if that man had not been born,' He did not say so in deprecation of His own creature, but in deprecation of that creature's choice and rashness."
"He brought all things out of nothing into being and created them, both what is invisible and what is visible. Yea, even man, who is a compound of the visible and the invisible. And it is by thought that He creates, and thought is the basis of the work, the Word filling it and the Spirit perfecting it(2)."
"goodness is existence and the cause of existence, but wickedness is the negation of goodness, that is, of existence."
"For there never was a time when the Father was and the Son was not, but always the Father and always the Son, Who was begotten of Him, existed together. For He could not have received the name Father apart from the Son: for if He were without the Son(7), He could not be the Father: and if He thereafter had the Son, thereafter He became the Father, not having been the Father prior to this, and He was changed from that which was not the Father and became the Father."
"We recognise one God: but only in the attributes of Fatherhood, Sonship, and Procession, both in respect of cause and effect and perfection of subsistence, that is, manner of existence, do we perceive difference(5)."
POPE FRANCIS: St. Joseph reminds the church to pay attention to the essential, pope says
VATICAN CITY — During this time marked by a global crisis, St. Joseph can offer people support, consolation and guidance, Pope Francis said.
St. Joseph is a man full of faith in God and his providence, the pope said on Nov. 17 at his weekly general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.
The saint also "reminds the church to keep her eyes on what the world deliberately ignores" and to consider as important what others discard, he said.
"He is truly a master of the essential: He reminds us that what truly matters does not attract our attention, but requires patient discernment to be discovered and appreciated," he added.
The day's audience talk was the first of a new series of talks dedicated to the foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary.
Pope Francis had proclaimed a "Year of St. Joseph" from Dec. 8, 2020, to Dec. 8, 2021, to mark the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as patron of the universal church. The saint is held up as an example of sacrificial fatherhood and purity and as an intercessor in healing and fighting the world's evils.
In his audience talk, the pope explained that he wanted to dedicate a series of talks to St. Joseph in addition to his reflections on the saint contained in his 2020 apostolic letter, "Patris Corde" ("With a father's heart"), in the hope of helping people "be enlightened by his example and by his witness."
"Never like before, today, in this time marked by a global crisis," the pope said, "can he offer us support, consolation and guidance."
The name Joseph, which comes from the Hebrew verb, "to increase," signifies "may God increase, may God give growth," he said.
His name reveals an essential aspect of St. Joseph's character: "He is a man full of faith in God, in His providence," and everything he does indicates his certainty that God helps things grow, that God increases and adds, Pope Francis said.
Another important aspect is St. Joseph's connection with Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, and Nazareth, where he settled and supported his family as a carpenter.
Even though Jerusalem was the city loved by the Lord, "the Son of God did not choose Jerusalem as the place of his incarnation, but Bethlehem and Nazareth, two outlying villages, far from the clamour of the news and the powers of the time," the pope said.
"This is why the choice of Bethlehem and Nazareth tells us that the periphery and marginality are preferred by God," he said, and "to fail to take this fact seriously is equivalent to not taking seriously the Gospel and the work of God, who continues to manifest himself in the geographical and existential peripheries."
Even though the "doctors of the law" scolded Jesus for this, Jesus goes out in search of sinners, going into their homes, speaking and eating with them, calling them to conversion, the pope said.
But Jesus also goes in search of "those who have done no evil, but have suffered it: the sick, the hungry, the poor, the least," he added.
There is a centre and a periphery — in society and in the human heart and soul, Pope Francis said. People should draw confidence from knowing that Jesus "knows the peripheries of our heart, of our soul," of one's community or family and knows those "places that are a bit dark, that we don't let people see, perhaps out of shame."
Jesus always acts quietly, out of the limelight in these far corners, "and the church knows that she is called to proclaim the good news from the periphery," he said.
St. Joseph, "who is a carpenter from Nazareth and who trusts in God's plan for his young fiancee and for himself," reminds the church "not to look so much at the things the world praises," but to keep her eyes on those peripheries and dark corners, he said.
"Let us ask him to intercede so that the whole church may recover this insight, this ability to discern and this ability to evaluate what is essential. Let us start again from Bethlehem, let us start again from Nazareth," he said.
The pope also offered a special prayer and message to "all the men and women who live in the most forgotten geographical peripheries of the world or who experience situations of existential marginalization."
"May you find in St. Joseph the witness and protector to look to," he said, offering the following prayer:
"St. Joseph, you who have always trusted God and have made your choices guided by his providence, teach us not to count so much on our own plans but on his plan of love. You who came from the peripheries, help us to convert our gaze and to prefer what the world discards and marginalizes. Comfort those who feel alone and support those who work silently to defend life and human dignity. Amen."
Nov 17, 2021 - by Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service ) -
(Image licensed - Shutterstock - ID: 1447597691 - Vatican City, June 9, 2019. Pope Francis waves to faithful at St. Peter's Square. By Riccardo De Luca - Update )
FAITH AND WORSHIP - The lectionary cycle turns to Saint Luke - Year C.
The Church's year has a timing different from the usual calendar year. This weekend, with the first Sunday of Advent, the new liturgical year for the Church begins. We have a three-year cycle of readings for each new year.
The Church's liturgical year begins with Advent, in anticipation of the birth of Christ. Every year we focus upon and read continuously through a particular gospel.
The weekend cycle covers three years, year A (Matthew's Gospel), Year B (Mark's Gospel), and Year C (Luke – which begins this week). If you are wondering why there isn't a four-year cycle (with John's Gospel as the fourth), it is because John's Gospel, so rich in theology and the latest of the four gospels is spread through all the years and is especially fitting in the Lent, Easter and Christmas seasons.
The readings are fairly continuous, although parts are not included, largely due to repetition, or to fit the asymmetrical nature of the Bible into a neat three-year cycle. There may be some jumping about so that the old testament readings are often placed in the same weekend next to a gospel passage with similar, contrasting or expanded themes.
The Beauty of our Continuous Cycle of Readings.
In the Catholic Church, and in fact most of the mainstream Christian Churches, there is a set cycle of readings. Our "lectionary" is actually the Bible divided up into regular instalments. The great thing about this is that, over a three-year cycle, we cover most of the old and new testament readings. The weekday readings are also a cycle (independent of the weekends) that covers a two year's period. In the weekday cycle, the first reading changes and the gospel is the same for the same weekday of the year, irrespective of whether it be year 1 or 2).
The advantage of this way of choosing readings is twofold: we progressively hear from the breadth of the scriptures and not just the 'old favourites.' The other reason is that we let the Word of God "choose us" and not "us choose the word of God." If we arbitrarily choose the readings for each weekend, it could open up the scriptures to all sorts of watering-down. For example, some texts are more challenging and less pleasant than others. How many times have you seen when a group is choosing the readings for a liturgy that they will skip over an option because the subject matter is "not pleasant" or deemed "irrelevant". In fact, most scriptures are relevant, if we sit with them and ponder their often challenging meaning.
Admittedly, some passages seem more readily relevant than others, but this can be a great trap. Also, for the preacher, it could be a temptation to pick readings that are easier, more entertaining, or more engaging to preach upon. But, in the end, surely the Word of God needs to be let free to set the agenda and not us. Also, a challenging word from the bible can be neutralized if people think that the preacher or others have chosen a particular passage to "get a point across." So, in our system, if a reading seems uncannily topical, it is not chosen by the minister, it is the action of the Spirit, who enlivens the Word of God contained in the Scriptures. (Image - Shutterstock licensed image ID: 513590554 - MECHELEN, BELGIUM - NOVEMBER 4, 2016: Stained Glass window depicting Saint Luke the Evangelist, in the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold in Mechelen, Belgium. By jorisvo
*6.20 AM QUEENSLAND TIME - Thursday December 2nd 2021. www.shalomworld.org
Commitment To Child And Vulnerable Adult Safety
"The Archdiocese of Brisbane holds that children and vulnerable adults are a gift from God with an intrinsic right to dignity of life, respect and security from physical and emotional harm. They are to be treasured, nurtured and protected from any harm." As a Parish Community, we pray for a change of heart, that we respond to our grief by reaching out to one another in truth and love. For more information and resources on Safeguarding our community, please see: https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/safeguarding/
Acknowledgement of Country - This is Kombumerri Country - The Traditional Custodians 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, who are 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 the memories, traditions, culture and hopes of our Indigenous people. We pay tribute to those who have contributed in many ways to the life of the community. We affirm our commitment to justice, healing, and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples
