PDF version of this parish newsletter here:
You can also access an online copy of the newsletter *here*
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.” (John 14:11)
Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID: 2136912773 - BARI, ITALY - MARCH 5, 2022: The mosaic of the Holy Trinity helped the human in the church. Chiesa di Santa Croce by M. Colonna from 20. Cent. Important information. Editorial Use Only. Photo Contributor: Renata Sedmakova
Breaking: (See Later in the newsletter - Archbishop reinstates the obligation to attend Sunday Masses and Holy Days of Obligation).
PASTOR’S POST - Whatever You Do to the Least . . . (Part 1)
My good friend and Surfers parishioner Sister Lis Keane, who was largely responsible for the popular Beer Garden God post a few weeks ago, had a long and varied career as a teacher, parish pastoral care worker, hospital and nursing home chaplain, as well as interests in acting and choir directing. She is a Loreto Sister who joined the order in 1958. Perhaps her most challenging and fulfilling work has been as a prison chaplain, a ministry she has committed herself to for the past 22 years. I asked her to share some of her insights with the parish via our newsletter over the next two weeks. While she is required to honour certain confidences, she agreed to share the following reflection.
“Nestled in the secluded Numinbah Valley, between grazing land and rocky outcrops, is the Gold Coast’s only prison, a low-classification prison for women. You won’t find razor wire, barred windows, or locked cells here. Numinbah Correctional Centre is located on 190 hectares of lush green farmland in the valley below Beechmont, and the drive out there is through beautiful bushland and alongside part of Hinze Dam – it ensures I arrive each Wednesday with a peaceful frame of mind!
Numinbah houses about 120 women who have committed many different crimes, but there are no women serving life sentences. Only the ‘best’ prisoners can be transferred to Numinbah if they can prove they are willing to abide by the rules and Numinbah can manage their needs. The focus is on rehabilitation, and the women have opportunities to complete courses and they are also offered tools for rehabilitation through community projects. Work includes gardening, farm work, cooking or tending the animals. There is also a Work Camp at Warwick; there are 2 teams that alternate after two and a half weeks, and they do community work in the area.
When the women arrive, they are housed in refitted shipping container-style blocks in single rooms, but if numbers require it, they share. Their Shower and Toilet Block is separate, and it is very cold trip on a winter’s night in the valley! As they prove themselves, they move to the Long House across the paddock. Here they have 24 separate rooms, a large community and dining area and indoor bathrooms.
As a further effort to enhance rehabilitation, five houses, with six women in each, were built in 2016. Each house is responsible for its own cooking, cleaning, and gardening – a wonderful preparation for when they leave as many women would never have had this opportunity in their previous life on the outside.
In the last few years, the Centre has allowed some mothers to serve sentences with their young children. The children can stay with the mother, if it is in their best interests until they are ready for school. The mothers and their children have been living in 2 of the 5 separate houses. Even though the children are in the care of their mothers, it is wonderful to see so many other women playing and interacting with the littlies. Each month there is a Play Group and small children are brought down from the Brisbane area to spend the morning with their mothers.
Pope Francis said, ‘The Church must be the field hospital for the wounded’, and after much prayer and reflection, this statement has had a profound effect on my life. It is with this thought in mind that I visit Numinbah – and have done so for the past 22 years. When the women complain about the lack of control over their parole date, I remind them of the years I have served. They are quick to remind me that at least I get night release! I hope and pray that God will continue to bless me with health so that I continue visiting Numinbah in His name.
I hope this gives you some idea of life at Numinbah Correctional Centre.”
(next week – what the prisoners have taught me) - Sister Lis Keane IBVM
Fr Peter Dillon PP.
Parish Volunteers Required!
Catechists - Sponsors - Support
Dear Parishioners
We have 20 people who have enquired about becoming Catholic since the Easter Vigil and we are in the process of meeting with these people to discuss their journey of faith so far and how we might move forward with their enquiry.
We will be commencing ‘instruction’ on Sunday afternoons 4.00pm to 5.45pm in the Parish Hospitality Centre and then attending the 6pm Sunday night Mass at Sacred Heart Church. Some of our candidates will be starting their journey by attending Mass at 6pm this Sunday until we are ready to commence their ‘instruction’ which will hopefully be around the end of June early July at the latest. We are aiming towards the early Christmas period for Baptism and Reception into the Catholic Church if possible.
Therefore we are looking for parishioners who will be willing to walk with them during their journey from now until November/December (date yet to be determined).
As you can see with 20 enquirers, this time we will need quite a number of people to fill the roles required for this to happen. Mayt the Holy Spirit fill your hearts with generosity so that you are able to open yourselves to accept the CALL to be a part of our RCIA Process at this time. If you are able to accept then please call the Parish Office: (07) 56717388 (9 am–12 pm Mon-Fri) and leave your Name, Email Address and Mobile Phone number (or landline if you do not have a mobile but would like a mobile if possible as easier to keep in contact with a text when required)
Please continue to keep those people who were Baptised and Received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil on 7th April and prior years in your prayers as they move forward with their faith journey as it will be very difficult continuing on their own and finding a routine that will include their weekly Mass commitment and daily prayer life.
As we all know it is sometimes easier to commit to our faith journey and prayer relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by becoming involved in Parish Ministry - so if there's anyone out there who would like to be involved ring the Parish Office (as per above) and also put your names down for something:
Ministers at our Masses - Sundays and/or Weekdays - please see the details of Sunday Obligation below
Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist - under both kinds Body and Blood
Proclaiming the Word of God - Commentator, Readings, Prayers of the Faithful
Welcomer
Collectors
Sacristan (setting up of the altar for Mass)
Coordinator (organising those parishioners who have volunteered for the various ministries)
Ministry to the Elderly/Sick in their homes and in the Nursing Homes
We have a number of Nursing Homes that are visited regularly and on various days so enquire and you may find somewhere or someone that suits your busy lives
Faith Journey
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults - for those wanting to be Baptised in the Catholic Church, for those Baptised in another Tradition but now wanting to be Received into Full Communion with the Catholic Church, for those Catholics who may have been away from the Catholic Church and are now wanting to learn about their faith as an adult and come back, and for those Catholics who are wanting to refresh their understanding of our values, morals and traditions.
Bible Study
Outreach to Various Organisations
St Vincent de Paul Society
Rosies - Friends on the Streets
Meals on Wheels
Care and Concern - volunteering to take people to appointments who are sick or elderly and no longer have the transport to do this themselves
Social Organisations
Details of these can be found further down in this Newsletter
Community is what we are about - being community to each other and receiving community from others - a place/time/space where we can feel that we belong. This is one of the most important needs that we will encounter in our lives and can make a big difference to our and others happiness and well being.
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 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 going 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.
Robina Hospital - Burleigh Heads Parish on 5576 6466
Pindara Hospital - Surfers Paradise Parish 56717388
John Flynn Hospital -Coolangatta-Tugun Parish on 5598 2165
University & Gold Coast Private Hosp-Southport Parish 5510 2222
Archbishop Mark Coleridge reinstates the obligation to attend Sunday Mass BRISBANE
Archbishop Mark Coleridge has written a letter to parishes across the archdiocese reinstating the obligation to attend Sunday Mass from May 28. “When the COVID pandemic struck, I joined other bishops in deciding for a dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass,” Archbishop Coleridge said.
“Now that the pandemic seems to be receding, it is good for us to reflect not only upon the Sunday obligation but upon the meaning of Sunday itself.
“To call the first day of the week Sunday recalls the Roman name, but from the first Christians always called it the Lord’s Day, in honour of the Risen Christ who is the true light of the world and the source of life.”
Archbishop Coleridge said the Lord’s Day was the weekly Easter and the weekly Pentecost, because on the first day Jesus Christ rose from the dead and breathed the Holy Spirit into the Church.
“It was the day that looked back to the first day of creation and forward to the last day of the Lord’s return in glory,” he said.
“Even in times of persecution, Christians remained faithful unto death to the assembly of the Lord’s Day.
“The spontaneous practice of the early days eventually became Church law. Yet it is not law that draws us to Mass but the Lord’s desire to eat the Passover with us (cf Luke 22:15).
“The deepest reason we go to Mass on Sunday is not because we have decided or because the Church requires it but because we are drawn there by his desire for us.”
Archbishop Coleridge said in coming to Mass, Catholics surrendered to the Lord’s love and let themselves be drawn by him who wanted to speak to their heart and share his feast with them.
“Therefore, in the Archdiocese of Brisbane from Pentecost Sunday of this year (May 28) the pandemic dispensation will be withdrawn and the Sunday obligation will be restored, so that all of us, responding to the Risen Lord’s call, may say with one heart and voice, ‘This is the day which the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad’ (Psalm 118:24),” he said.
MASS TIMES: SURFERS PARADISE MASS TIMES
FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK: Anne Weatherburn, John Fisher, Delores Barrett (in Sydney), Leonardo Torcaso, Diana Castro, Stephen O’Brien, Joseph Ah Lo, Sarina Losurdo, Anne Van Deurse, Tim Brown, Jenny Haines, Annie Scicluna, Lois Wood, Phil McWilliam, Coralie Brennan, Kim Ingram, Karen Vestergard, John Thomas, Pat Jones, Felipe S Cataquiz Sr, Margaret Buckingham, Nathan Lepp, Margaret & George Cook, Geraldine Daniels, Diane & Steve Land, John & Molly Robinson, Peter Barry, Phil Bawden, Kath Kiely, Natalie O’Reilly, John Nathaniel Maher, Peter O’Brien, Betty Taylor, Rosie May Fisher, Denise Tracey, Sally Gage, Jean Di Benedetto, Maria Manuela, Rogelio Rodriguez, Gus Reeves, Patrick Joven de Leon, Baby Samuel Timothy, Maria Yuna, Maria Teresa Gutierrez, Margaret Haerse, Jo Clark, Kay Pitman, Michael Murtagh, Leslie Clarke, Lena Hiscock, Shirley Montford, Beryl Dorfield, Joanne Mooney, Patricia Roberts, Tom Ross, Joanne Parkes, Jack Barretto, Doug Chester, Kathy Stevens, Nellie Bellinger, Leslie Clarke, Kristy Peat, Anna Janiek, Andrew McPherson, Louise Holmes, Fred Grioli, Lynn Nunan, Kim Parkes, Cecily Cellinan, Kevin Brennan, Margaret Cusack, Fabiola Menzs.
RECENTLY DECEASED: Clement Tong, Leo Anderson, Grant Steele, David Trebilco, Shane Vincent Hall, Rose Grima, Brian Mooney, Gregory Lemon, Albert Daly, Cecily Fury, Joyce Rosa Parisi, Douglas Glenn, Andrija Kudus, Theresa Joseph Johannes, Lenette Mary Evans, Sr Patricia McGovern, Betty O’Connell, Jean Kitrell, Robyn Skein, Stephen Robert Bray, Peter Winks, Andre Helena, Paul Thomas Hawkins, Cornelis “Casey” Bayens, Lin Dean, Patricia Bartlett, Mary Curran, Mary Nicholl, Noni Twidale, Kate Sheehy, Mary Ann Groenewaldt, John Sattler, Paul Fitzgerald, Elsden Smith, Bernardo Cass Nopra, Anna Szeremeta, Elizabeth Mary McKinstry, Millicent Dawn Shaw, Helen Bruce, Peter Allsop, Frank Murray, Patricia Maxine O’Donoghue, Bernardo Cas Nopre, Virginia Attard, Marjorie Doyle, Beverley Dreier, Millicent Monteiro, Cecily Culligan, Nicholas Eamon Ashworth, “Pat” Sullivan, Graciela del Carmen Chapman, Betty McKinstry, Anna Szeremeta, Alan Hague, Marie Kuljanic, Derek Carpenter, Peter Evert, Cheryl Hamwood, Donna Maria Cross, John Monahan.
ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH: Anthony (Tony) Ghusn, Bruck Wheeler, Wheeler, Westwell & Woodgate families. Daryl Walter Hyland, Bruce George Ellery, Gloria Venera McMaster, Frederico Arconada Snr., Alfred Lawrence (Laurie) Cooper, Nola Rita Lawrence, Kathleen Fay Cooper, Mario & Josephine Wirth, Patricia Mary Dussek, Robert Chadwick Evans, Juan Rivero, Brian Reuben Maher, Imre (Henry) Masa, Trevor Bourneville, Brian Day, Gordon Lepp, Calogero Misuraca, Milka Marusic, Frank Glynn, Michael Schons, Alma Anderson, Josephine Tansey, Anthony George Howard, John McGrath, Daphne Gabriel Paice.
And Also: Christopher Di Maio, Stephanie Sandford, Maria Maugeri, Len Maugeri, Lucena (Lucy) Gabriel Liwag, Greg Perkins, Beverly Ann Gooding, Leonard Gravener, Una Mary Parkinson, Bryan James Telfer, Salvatore Aprile, Desma Quirk, Robert Finn, Clarice Edith East, Andrew Brown, Maria Del Carmen Olsen, Kevin Robert Ryan, (not to be confused by Kevin Joseph Ryan), Alberto Simonetti, Kevin Joseph William Ryan, (not to be confused with another Kevin Robert Ryan), Roxanne Kempen, Kath Ryan, Jeanette Margaret McCormack, Kevin McCormack, Brian James Ellsmore.
RELIGIOUS GOODS SHOPS - SACRED HEART AND ST VINCENT’S CHURCHES
Holy Communion gifts are available now.
Our shops have a beautiful selection of Blessed Virgin Mary Statues, or order a special statue for your home.
“The month of May is here, a month which the piety of the faithful has long dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. Our heart rejoices at the thought of the moving tribute of faith and love which will soon be paid to the Queen of Heaven in every corner of the earth. For this is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration; and it is the month in which a greater abundance of God's merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother's throne”. MENSE MAIO ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PAUL VI ON PRAYERS DURING MAY FOR PRESERVATION OF PEACE. APRIL 29, 1965
The May edition of the Catholic Leader will be available in the churches from next weekend
SPCL - MORNING TEA FOR CANCER
Surfers Paradise Catholic Ladies invite you to join them in a morning tea to raise funds for Cancer, on Saturday the 20th of May 2023 from 10.00am to 1.00pm. Venue – “Hospitality Centre” Ticket $30 per person. Tables of 8 are available.
Please make this a Parish Contribution to Cancer. Phone Maxine Sela 0421051193 or Wendy Webb, 0412237832 to book your tickets by the 12th of May.
FIRST FRIDAY ADORATION
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament this First Friday, 5th May, from 7 pm to 8.30 pm at Sacred Heart Church. All welcome. Enquiries; Helen 0421935678. "Could you not watch with Me one hour" Mt 26:40
FIRST SATURDAY MASS AND BENEDICTION
First Saturday Mass at Sacred Heart Church, Clear Island Waters. 9 am Sixth of May.
Followed by adoration and Benediction.
BIBLE STUDY
The Bible Study/Prayer Group meets every Friday evening from 5-6 pm at
St Vincent’s Church - 40 Hamilton Avenue Surfers Paradise.
Plenty of parking available in the St Vincent’s Car Park.
Studying “Break Open the Word” helps you to remember the readings for the upcoming Sunday Mass and, of course, enjoy fellowship with other members of the Parish.
Enquires to Ashley 0409 840 693
DATE CLAIMER: BRISBANE CITY POPS ORCHESTRA
Brisbane City Pops Orchestra, joined by local School choirs. Guardian Angels Church, Southport. Sunday 23 July 2023 at 2.00 pm. Please save the date
OUR LADY’S STATUE
Praying the Rosary - Our Lady’s Statue in the Parish -
Details of the Statue of Our Lady, which is going around the Parish.
If you would like to have her in your home and say the Rosary:
Please contact Maxine or Pat on 0412 519 404.
The Roster for the next four weeks is-
XXXXXXXXXXXX
ART AND CRAFT GROUP -
The Group meets in the Parish Hospitality Centre on Wednesdays from 9 to 12. Activities include art (watercolour, oils, acrylics, pen and ink drawing etc.), as well as various kinds of Craftwork (Knitting, Embroidery, Crocheting, Cardmaking, Sewing etc.), making Rosary Beads (later sent to the missions), and any other activities that individuals may have an interest in. We come together to enjoy each other's company in a relaxed environment. New members, both men and women, are most welcome to join. For further information, phone John 0412 759 205 or 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 or Mob at 0417 772 701.
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 further information on 0438 333 308.
MEDITATION PRAYER GROUP
In the Morris prayer room Tuesdays from 10 am to 12 noon. The Meditation Group would very much like to welcome new members. Please phone Pam Egtberts at 0428090703.
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 am. Learn to relax, yet gain greater flexibility, inner strength, body awareness and concentration, all 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 am to prepare adequately for class). For more information, call Ruth on 0421338110.
MARIAN VALLEY PILGRIMAGE:
Please join us at the Marian Valley for the feast of Our Lady of Fatima on 13.05.2023. The bus will pick up at 8.15 am at the Sacred Heart Church Clear Island Waters. The Cost for the bus fare is $25.00 return. You can secure your seat with a contact name and phone number with Xavier Solomon at 0404 843 260, Madeleine on 0405 252 367 or 5529 1573. All are welcome.
https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/careers/
The Archdiocese of Brisbane has standards of conduct for workers to maintain a safe and healthy environment for children. Our commitment to these standards requires conducting working with children checks and background referencing for all persons who will engage in direct and regular involvement with children and young people (0 - 18 years) and/or vulnerable adults. The organisation is fully committed to child safety and has zero tolerance for abusing children or vulnerable adults.
SEVEN PRIORITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BRISBANE -
LAMPS ABLAZE: The Seven Apostolic Priorities of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, from 2023 onwards. (Part four of a series).
The Fifth Sunday of Easter
Priority: Responding to Abuse and the Abused
(Acts 6:1 - 7, Psalm 32:1-2, 4-5, 18-19, 1 Peter 2:4 – 9, John 14:1 – 12)
Introduction
Have you ever had an experience where you’ve been ignored or neglected? Have you ever felt invisible as you struggled with something, obviously needing help, and those nearby simply stood by and watched without coming to help? Sadly, these situations are becoming all the more common as the cultural reflex leans toward taking videos of someone in crisis rather than actually getting involved and helping! It is the widows in today’s first reading that are having this kind of experience, and it’s the Greeks that bring it to the attention of the community so that the Apostles respond. In recent decades, there have been vulnerable people in our communities who were not only neglected but were abused. This horror was brought to light by the Government’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. This great tragedy is recognised in Archbishop Mark’s next Apostolic Priority: Responding to abuse and the abused.
Archbishop Mark writes:
In responding to abuse and the abused, we need to move beyond considerations of law and finance… Of course, we need to attend to legal and financial matters, but the paramount concern needs to be the good of those abused. Not all victims and survivors look to the Church for spiritual and pastoral accompaniment and care, but some do, and others may in time if ever trust can be established. We can learn from experience elsewhere to respond more effectively to abuse and the abuse. Unless we do, this will remain a gaping wound – certainly for victims and survivors but for the whole Church as well – which makes it hard for us to move in the future.
1. Knowing the facts
As of 31 May 2017, the Royal Commission had interviewed 4029 survivors of abuse, and 61.8% of those victims had been abused in a Catholic organisation. It’s often thought that abuse was at the hands of Catholic priests, but the Royal Commission found that 37% of perpetrators were non-ordained religious, 29% were lay people, and 30% were priests. In December 2017, the Royal Commission produced its final report with 49 recommendations related to the Catholic Church. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference accepted 48 of the 49 recommendations and has since worked toward their implementation.
This gaping wound caused by the scandal of sexual abuse in the Church continues to cause deep and lasting pain.
2. We are deeply sorry
2008 was the last time a Pope was in Australia. Whilst the Royal Commission hadn’t yet begun, the horror of abuse in the Church was already beginning to appear. Pope Benedict XVI said, “Indeed, I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured… These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation. They have caused great pain and have damaged the Church’s witness. I ask all of you to support and assist your Bishops and to work together with them in combating this evil. Victims should receive compassion and care, and those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice.”
In 2018, Archbishop Mark as the then President of the Bishops Conference, alongside Sr Monica Cavanagh, then President of Catholic Religious Australia, said, “On behalf of the Catholic bishops and Religious leaders of Australia, we renew our profound and heartfelt apology to all victims and survivors of abuse and to their families, friends and supporters, who have shared their suffering.” To any sitting amongst us today who has been impacted by sexual abuse in the Church, I am deeply sorry.
3. The way of hope
As we deal with this difficult issue, it can be helpful to recognise the distinction between God and those who represent God. Whilst throughout history, there have been many horrific actions done by those who represent God, these actions are in no way a reflection of God – in fact, they are a betrayal of God.
As such, we must look beyond those who have misrepresented God to the one who came to us as God-made flesh, Jesus. It is in Jesus that our understanding of God, broken by scandal in the Church, can be restored. The God Jesus reveals to us is gracious, merciful, filled with compassion, slow to anger and abounding in love. The God revealed in Christ works to heal the wounds of sin and comfort the most broken and vulnerable. Jesus bestows mercy on the woman caught in adultery, transforms the life of Zacchaeus the tax collector, heals the bleeding woman, and calls out the Pharisees when they misrepresent the God they claim to follow. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is preparing a place for us. It is in this place that the wounds of this life can be healed for eternity in the embrace of the one who is love.
Jesus challenges us when he says, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do.” In the wake of this great scandal, we are all called to be like Jesus so that we might take small steps to respond to abuse and the abused.
Conclusion
In the early Church, there were vulnerable people who were neglected, and the Apostles had to respond and take action to ensure all were cared for. Today, we are invited to draw our attention to abuse and the abused in the Church. 61.8% of survivors were abused in Catholic organisations. For this, we are deeply sorry and echo the apologies of the Pope and our own Bishops. We recognise that the actions of these perpetrators were in no way a reflection of God and were in fact, a betrayal of God. Today we look to Jesus, the one who truly reveals God, to help us in our efforts to respond to abuse and the abused. We ask our Lord to bring healing to survivors' wounds and help us as Catholics in Australia to do whatever we can to welcome, support and care for victims of abuse.
“LAMPS ABLAZE” - TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL DOCUMENT - PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oVNiTRAhQn_5aTDZ9mo2dDh9bGeqxewL/view
A VOCATION VIEW: (World Day of Prayer for Vocations)
This is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. "The harvest is great, but the labourers are few. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send more labourers into the Harvest."
To talk to someone about your vocation, contact Vocation Brisbane: 1300 133 544. vocation@bne.catholic.net.au and www.vocationbrisbane.com
STEWARDSHIP REFLECTION -
Today’s readings on this fourth Sunday of Easter offer us a glimpse into the heart of our loving Savior. He is the Good Shepherd and we can confidently place our trust in Him as we live the stewardship way of life.
In both the first and second readings, we find Peter embracing his role as leader of the newborn Church. In our first reading from Acts, he exhorts the crowd, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” We then read that the ones who accepted his message were baptised that day. Peter simply proposed the Good News to them and then left them free to accept or reject the call to repentance and belief in Christ, which is ultimately a call from God.
We can find many parallels in this passage to the call to a stewardship way of life. We, too, can accept or reject God’s call to discipleship. We can keep our time, talents and treasure for ourselves to serve our interests. We are free to make that choice.
Or, we can embrace the call to discipleship through the stewardship way of life. If we do so, we will find a path to freedom from “this corrupt generation”, just as those first disciples found in the early days of the Church.
Our second reading, again featuring St. Peter, offers further motivation for embracing this way of life. Peter reminds us that Christ “bore our sins in his body upon the cross.” And that “by his wounds, you have been healed. For [we] had gone astray like sheep but… have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of [our] souls.” Such an incredibly poignant description of our Saviour's love for us and the kind of relationship He desires to have with us — as shepherd and guardian of our souls.
This endearing image of Jesus as a shepherd, and His personal love for each of us, is expanded in our Gospel passage from John through the words of Jesus Himself. We read Jesus’ description of Himself as the “Good Shepherd.” He says of Himself, “The sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognise his voice.”
This aspect of our Lord’s tender and personal love for each of us is yet another reason to embrace the stewardship way of life. In the offering of our time, talent and treasure to Him, we can express our gratitude to Him for the incomprehensible love He has for us.
Embracing the stewardship way of life certainly requires trust on our part. But Christ has proven Himself worthy of our trust. He “bore our sins in His body.” He calls Himself our shepherd, and He offers Himself as the guardian of our souls. He has withheld nothing of Himself and His goodness from us. He would never ask anything of us that would bring us harm.
On the contrary, our Lord did not come to take from us but to give to us. Again, we read His own words from the Gospel passage, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
This Easter season, let us resolve to freely give all of ourselves and our lives gratefully to Him.
The vision of Stewardship speaks in every aspect of life, inviting everyone to be thankful, generous and accountable for what each has been given.
Source: https://www.catholicsteward.com/2020/04/17/stewardship-reflection-on-lectionary-readings-april-19-2020/
LITURGY NEWS MAGAZINE - free copy here:
The Autumn edition of the Liturgy News magazine is now available for free. Please click the link below: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GIkna2Ov-or9BCGGCu29wtGrqNjJXmNR/view?usp=drivesdk
TAKE FIVE FOR FAITH - Equal actions of the spiritually mature
There’s some disagreement between those who consider prayer the number-one obligation for believers and those convinced that actions speak louder than words. Monastic leader Benedict of Nursia wrote his Rule to ensure his monks understood that “ora et labora”—prayer and labour—are partner activities in reaching spiritual maturity. Some people are clearly called to devote themselves primarily to spiritual matters in full-time religious vocations. Others can better serve elbow-deep in more worldly arenas. Try to balance the mix between spiritual rejuvenation and gritty action in your life. SIGN UP FOR "TAKE FIVE" DAILY ww.takefiveforfaith.com/subscribe.
THIS WEEKEND’S GOSPEL - The Road Less Travelled
Jesus said those famous words… I am the Way, the Truth and the Life….. which also could be said as… I am the ROAD, the TRUE Path and the meaning of truly and fully living….. Robert Frost, in his poem "The Road Not Taken," tells about a decision he made: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference." During the Last Supper, Thomas and the other disciples were stunned into silence when Jesus announced he must leave them. Thomas asked for directions on how to get where Jesus was going. Tenderly, Jesus answered, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Like Thomas, if we follow Jesus and live according to the values and principles he lived by….. and do what Jesus has done, we too will have truth and life; we will be at home with him and the Father. The road we choose to take must be one of faith. To travel the faith road, we must live lives which are "turned to God," – that is, dependent upon him for all that we do. Jesus has said that if we have faith in him, we have faith in the Father, for he and the Father are one. Jesus has promised us that with faith we will be able to do his works. The works of the Father through Jesus were to teach, heal, and comfort. They were the works of helping to discover truth, life, and love. When we do these works, we can say to Jesus, "It is the Father who lives in me accomplishing his works." The road of Jesus is not the road taken by those who live by the ways of the world……. It is certainly a road less travelled….. so we ought never to be afraid that we are diverging down a path that is not the 'trendy' path, not the common way of responding to the events of life or the action of others……. But the choice to follow this road will make all the difference. It is good for us this week to spend some time reflecting on our lives and our path….. __________________________________ How is the road of faith easy for you? How is it difficult for you? ________________________________ • How do you feel when you make a decision that is different from that of your group of friends or different from the common direction that our present society tends to take…..? How does it feel to go down the road less travelled? WHEN WE leave behind our selfishness (we follow Jesus as the way) When we overcome our fear, (we follow Jesus as our truth). When we welcome the coming of Jesus daily in our life- we choose Jesus as our life! When we choose a path of mercy, compassion and respect, when the world around us advises revenge, the “survival of the fittest”, and 'every man or woman for themselves; ….we walking with Jesus along his way! And When we take the risk to love and trust others, - (we follow Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life). Jesus’ WAY is love, compassion, mercy, kindness and justice. Jesus’ TRUTH is the dignity of ALL creation and the right to dignity and reverence for all people as all are created in love by God. And Jesus’ LIFE is service, self-giving, self-forgetting, and sharing. This path.. or WAY.. is true, like the poem says…. A very different and less travelled road than the usual –well worn – and wide roads of the world… (we, too, stand in the forest –as in the poem - faced with two paths….. ) "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference."
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REFERENCES: FR. PAUL W. KELLY; Celebrating the Gospels. By Gaynell Cronin.
Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID: 2202541749 - ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - JULY 1, 2022: The fresco of Holy Trinity among the saints in the main apse of church St. Anton by Fritz Kunz (1921). Important information. Editorial Use Only. - Photo Contributor: Renata Sedmakova.
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
MAY 10 - m - Saint John of Avila, priest and doctor of the Church
“Blessed be God, for so bountifully providing for us that He even bestows on us His very Self. The Son is given to us, and through Him, the Holy Spirit, and with Them comes to the Father. Thus, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit reside within us, and we already have a beginning here of that communion with God which will be perfect in the next life. Let us thank Him for all His mercies and prepare ourselves to receive the favours that still remain to be bestowed on us.” ― John of Avila, Finding Confidence in Times of Trial: Letters of St. John of Avila
“Turn yourself round like a piece of clay and say to the Lord: I am the clay, and You, Lord, the potter. Make of me what You will.”
“Withdraw your heart from the world before God takes your body from it.”
Dear brothers and sisters, I pray God may open your eyes and let you see what hidden treasures He bestows on us in the trials from which the world thinks only to flee. Shame turns into honour when we seek God’s glory. Present affliction becomes the source of heavenly glory. To those who suffer wounds in fighting His battles, God opens His arms in loving, tender friendship. That is why He (Christ) tells us that if we want to join Him, we shall travel the way He took. It is surely not right that the Son of God should go His way on the path of shame while the sons of men walk the way of worldly honour: “The disciple is not above his teacher, nor the servant greater than his master.”
MAY 12 - m - Saint Nereus and Saint Achilleus, martyrs. St Nereus and Achilleus.
St Damasus wrote on their epitaph that it was love for Christ and a desire to witness to their new faith that inspired Nereus and Achilleus to “throw away their shields, their armour and their bloody spears.” (Saints Nereus and Achilleus with St Flavia Domitilla by Peter Paul Rubens)
It seems that both men were Roman soldiers who obeyed orders in the persecution of Christians until they were converted to Christianity. Because Christians were not allowed to bear arms, they resigned from the emperor’s army and escaped from Rome. Eventually, Nereus and Achilleus were captured and removed to the island of Terracina, where they were martyred. Their bodies were buried in a family vault, later known as the cemetery of Domitilla. They were among the first martyrs to be venerated as saints. Excavations by De Rossi in 1896 resulted in the discovery of their empty tomb in the underground church built by Pope Siricius in 390. (https://anastpaul.com/2018/05/12/saints-of-the-day-12-may-sts-nereus-and-achilleus/)
MAY 12 - m - Saint Pancras, martyr
During the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, around 303 AD, he was brought before the authorities and asked to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods. Diocletian, impressed with the fifteen-year-old boy’s determination to resist, promised him wealth and power, but Pancras refused. Finally, the emperor ordered him to be beheaded on the Via Aurelia on 12 May 303 AD. A Roman matron named Ottavilla recovered Pancras’ body, covered it with balsam, wrapped it in precious linens and buried it in a newly built sepulchre dug in the Catacombs of Rome. Pancras’ head was placed in the reliquary that still exists today in the Basilica of Saint Pancras.
MAY 13 - m - Our Lady of Fatima
“My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”
“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
Our Lady of Fatima, Hail, Mother of the Lord, Virgin Mary, Queen of the Rosary of Fatima! Blessed among all women, you are the image of the Church dressed in the Paschal light, you are the honour of our people, and you are the triumph over the mark of evil. Prophecy of the merciful Love of the Father, Teacher of the Annunciation of the Good News of the Son, Sign of the burning Fire of the Holy Spirit, teach us, in this vale of joys and sorrows, the eternal truths that the Father reveals to the little ones. Show us the strength of your mantle of protection. In your Immaculate Heart, be the refuge of sinners and the way that leads to God. In Faith, Hope and Love, I surrender myself to you. Through you, I consecrate myself to God, O Virgin of the Rosary of Fatima. And thus, surrounded by the Light that comes from your hands, I will give Glory to the Lord, forever and ever. Amen.
POPE FRANCIS: A Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis. Fifth Sunday of Easter. A.
During his homily, he reflected on Jesus’s intercessory role before His Father described in the Gospel (John 14:1-12). Then he focused on Peter's description of the role of the Apostles (Acts 6:1-7). This also applies to the role of the Successors of the Apostles, the Bishops. Their first task, Pope Francis emphasised, is prayer, then the proclamation of the Word.
Jesus’s intercessory role
The Pope said that the first part of John chapter 14 describes Jesus’s intercessory role before the Father on our behalf. So many times Jesus spoke about the Father’s care for us, Pope Francis said. “He spoke of the Father as the One who takes care of us just as He takes care of the birds of heaven and the lilies of the field”, he said.
“Jesus is very strong in this passage. It is as if He is opening the doors of the omnipotence of prayer: ‘Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Suppose you ask anything of me in my name. In that case, I will do it.” (John 13-14).
Pope Francis then recalled that prayer requires courage and the same boldness needed in preaching the Gospel. Abraham and Moses provide examples to us. Both “negotiated” with the Lord, Pope Francis said: Abraham, when the Lord told him about what was to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 18:16-33), and Moses, when God wanted to destroy His people and make Moses the head of another nation (see Exodus 32:7-14).
Deacons and Bishops
The Pope then turned to the First Reading in which Peter is inspired to create a new service in the Church after the Greek-speaking converts complained that their widows were being neglected. “The apostles didn't have time for all of these things and Peter, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, ‘invents’ (we can say it this way) the deacons”, Pope Francis said.
This resolved the situation, the Pope went on. The people in need could be well taken care of and the Apostles, as Peter said, could devote themselves "to prayer and to the proclamation of the Word”.
Bishop’s primary duty
Pope Francis then went on to develop the thought that the primary task of a bishop is to pray. The bishop, he said, “is the first to go to the Father, with the confidence, the boldness, with which Jesus went in order to fight on behalf of his people”.
“Something is not right”, Pope Francis continued, “if other things take away space for prayer”. He reminded us that it is “God who does things, we do very little. God does things in His Church”. It is, therefore, “prayer that makes the Church progress”.
This reality is so because Jesus stands before the Father and has promised that “whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified”.
The Pope concluded his homily saying that the “Church progresses in this courageous prayer because she knows that without this ascension to the Father, she cannot survive”.
Source : Text courtesy of the Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Image Credit- POPE IMAGE: Image Credit- Vatican News Video - Pope Francis celebrating Mass at Sant Marta (Easter 5a - 2020)
SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF POPE FRANCIS’ GROUNDBREAKING LETTER - LAUDATO SI’ - An excerpt from the Pope’s groundbreaking Encyclical.
VI. SACRAMENTAL SIGNS AND THE CELEBRATION OF REST
233. The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, or in a poor person’s face.[159] The ideal is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul but also to discover God in all things. Saint Bonaventure teaches us that “contemplation deepens the more we feel the working of God’s grace within our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in creatures outside ourselves”.[160]
234. Saint John of the Cross taught that all the goodness present in the realities and experiences of this world “is present in God eminently and infinitely, or more properly, in each of these sublime realities is God”.[161] This is not because the finite things of this world are really divine but because the mystic experiences the intimate connection between God and all beings and thus feels that “all things are God”.[162] Standing awestruck before a mountain, he or she cannot separate this experience from God and perceives that the interior awe being lived has to be entrusted to the Lord: “Mountains have heights, and they are plentiful, vast, beautiful, graceful, bright and fragrant. These mountains are what my Beloved is to me. Lonely valleys are quiet, pleasant, cool, shady and flowing with fresh water; in the variety of their groves and in the sweet song of the birds, they afford abundant recreation and delight to the senses, and in their solitude and silence, they refresh us and give rest. These valleys are what my Beloved is to me”.[163]
235. The Sacraments are a privileged way in which nature is taken up by God to become a means of mediating supernatural life. Through our worship of God, we are invited to embrace the world on a different plane. Water, oil, fire and colours are taken up in all their symbolic power and incorporated in our act of praise. The hand that blesses is an instrument of God’s love and a reflection of the closeness of Jesus Christ, who came to accompany us on the journey of life. Water poured over the body of a child in Baptism is a sign of new life. Encountering God does not mean fleeing from this world or turning our back on nature. This is especially clear in the spirituality of the Christian East. “Beauty, which in the East is one of the best loved names expressing the divine harmony and the model of humanity transfigured, appears everywhere: in the shape of a church, in the sounds, in the colours, in the lights, in the scents”.[164] For Christians, all the creatures of the material universe find their true meaning in the incarnate Word, for the Son of God has incorporated in his person part of the material world, planting in it a seed of definitive transformation. “Christianity does not reject matter. Rather, bodiliness is considered in all its value in the liturgical act, whereby the human body is disclosed in its inner nature as a temple of the Holy Spirit and is united with the Lord Jesus, who himself took a body for the world’s salvation”.[165]
236. It is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation. Grace, which tends to manifest itself tangibly, found unsurpassable expression when God himself became man and gave himself as food for his creatures. The Lord, in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. He comes not from above, but from within, he comes that we might find him in this world of ours. In the Eucharist, fullness is already achieved; it is the living centre of the universe, the overflowing core of love and of inexhaustible life. Joined to the incarnate Son, present in the Eucharist, the whole cosmos gives thanks to God. Indeed the Eucharist is itself an act of cosmic love: “Yes, cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world”.[166] The Eucharist joins heaven and earth; it embraces and penetrates all creation. The world which came forth from God’s hands returns to him in blessed and undivided adoration: in the bread of the Eucharist, “creation is projected towards divinization, towards the holy wedding feast, towards unification with the Creator himself”.[167] Thus, the Eucharist is also a source of light and motivation for our concerns for the environment, directing us to be stewards of all creation.
237. On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance. Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day that heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world. Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, the “first day” of the new creation, whose first fruits are the Lord’s risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality. It also proclaims “man’s eternal rest in God”.[168] In this way, Christian spirituality incorporates the value of relaxation and festivity. We tend to demean contemplative rest as something unproductive and unnecessary, but this is to do away with the very thing which is most important about work: its meaning. We are called to include in our work a dimension of receptivity and gratuity, which is quite different from mere inactivity. Rather, it is another way of working, which forms part of our very essence. It protects human action from becoming empty activism; it also prevents that unfettered greed and sense of isolation that make us seek personal gain to the detriment of all else. The law of weekly rest forbade work on the seventh day, “so that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your maidservant, and the stranger, may be refreshed” (Ex 23:12). Rest opens our eyes to the larger picture and gives us renewed sensitivity to the rights of others. And so the day of rest, centred on the Eucharist, sheds it light on the whole week and motivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor.
Commitment To Child Safety and Vulnerable-Adult Safety
……………..See overleaf …..
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 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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