Embracing the worshipping communities of CHILDERS * BIGGENDEN * GIN GIN * MT.PERRY * WOODGATE Fr. Sunny Mathew CMI - CHILDERS 4126 1256 PO Box 45, CHILDERS QLD 4660 FAX 41263716 Parish Office 4126 1256; Secretary Maureen McCarthy. For urgent matters contact Fr Sunny 0428 235 783 St Joseph’s Primary School: Principal Mr John Hinton – Ph 4126 1866 St Vincent de Paul – Ph 4126 1822 PARISH WEBSITE: www.childerscatholic.com Email: childers@bne.catholic.net.au 23rd NOVEMBER 2014 SACRED HEART CHILDERS WEEKDAY MASS – MON, WED, FRI 9am ADORATION & ROSARY WED 8-9am SATURDAY VIGIL 6.00 pm SUNDAY 6.30 am Reconciliation: Sat. 5.00 pm ST PATRICK’S MT. PERRY 1st SUNDAY OF MONTH 10.30 am OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE ST MICHAEL’S GIN GIN SUNDAY 8.30am TUESDAY 5pm Rosary 9am Fridays YEAR A ST PETER’S BIGGENDEN SUNDAY 10.30 am st (1 Sunday Liturgy of the Word and Communion) Rosary before Mass 10.05am WOODGATE BEACH SUNDAY 6.15pm Please pray for those who are ill in our families and communities especially Fr Sunny’s dad, Mike & Chris Cook, Theresa Loganathan, Olivia Greci, Martyn Jones, Marietta Ricciardi, Ann Sutherland, Julie Green, Amy Pointing, Baby George, Josh Ruane, Bailey Sykes, Leanne Crooks, Charlie Ricciardi, Bill Peters, Susan Von Richter, Veronica Saunders, Elizabeth Rayner. (Please contact the office if someone is well again and can be removed from the list). ANNIVERSARIES: Eric Kingston, Olga Atwell, Roy Bateman, Robert Knight, Charles Fenton Michell, Aurora Rossato, Carmel Caravella. May they rest in peace. Amen. ANNIVERSARIES: May they rest in peace. Amen. MESSAGE FOR THE WEEK: "Lord, May your kingdom come" FEAST DAYS THIS WEEK: Monday St Elizabeth of Hungary; Friday The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Today, we celebrate the feast of Christ our King. This great feast brings to an end the Church's liturgical year. In this twentyfirst century, the image of king would seem to be an unlikely one to attribute to Jesus. Usually, we would prefer an image which speaks in a more personal, simple way of Christ. Curiously, this feast of Christ as king was only introduced in 1925. It was an attempt on the part of the pope to counter the increasing atheism and secularisation of society. It was an assertion of Christ's sovereignty over all human societies and institutions. As such, it does not really recognise and respect the diverse and pluralistic cultures of the modern world. Recent revisions of the feast have emphasised rather the cosmic and future character of Christ's kingship. Christ is Lord of all creation, his is 'a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace', as the preface declares. Today's feast of course is not the only feast that recognises the glorious reign of Christ. Already acknowledged in the Epiphany, it is celebrated especially in the feasts of Easter and Ascension. In that sense, today's celebration leads us to the very heart of our faith; the death and resurrection of Christ. Like the Responsorial Psalm that follows it, the first reading today images God as shepherd of Israel. It serves a double purpose. It provides a link with the gospel: God, the good Shepherd, judges between sheep and goats. Secondly, it proposes an ideal leadership for the people of Israel, a leadership unlike their secular kings, a leadership that defends the just and upholds the weak. What voice do we employ for God as Shepherd of the flock? Obviously it is one of concern, caring, overseeing. When we think of a king we think of someone who is very remote from his people, and before whom they bow and scrape. But Christ is not like that. He came among us as brother and a friend. He came to serve, not to be served. And he showed special concern for the weak and the poor. The one thing he wants from us his followers is that we should imitate him in this. And the gospel reading today reminds us that we will be judged on our deeds of love, our kindness to others, especially on our care for the needy. It is not quite true to say that, besides love, nothing else is necessary. But it is true to say that, faith in Christ is expressed in practical charity towards others. Today's gospel reading not only set forth the establishment of Christ, in solemnity, as king, making judgement between 'sheep' and 'goats', but in rich and evocative language, the reading goes further to set forth the deeds of the virtuous and sinners and their respective rewards. The corporal works of mercy are highlighted as the deeds of the righteous. It is not a question of doing great things, rather, it is a question of doing little things - loving and helping in the many little ways that are open to us each day. As we pray for the coming of God's kingdom among us, a kingdom in which all of God's children will have enough of the good things of life to be able to attain their true dignity, let us also ask God for his grace and strength to be able to immense ourselves in the work of helping each other, especially the poor and the needy. May God bless us all, Amen, Odinaka WELCOME BACK FR SUNNY We warmly welcome Fr Sunny back to our parish centres this weekend and assure you that you, your dad and family have been, and will continue to be, in our thoughts and prayers. We are grateful to our supply priests, Fr Pat Dowd, Fr Bavin Clarke and Fr John Begg for filling in and ask God to bless them in their work. NOVEMBER - MONTH OF THE HOLY SOULS November is traditionally the time Catholics remember and pray for the Holy Souls. If you wish to offer a Mass for a departed loved one or friend, please use the Mass for the Holy Souls Envelope in your Planned Giving envelope box or envelopes are available at the door of the church or pious goods stall. This week we especially remember and pray for deceased members and friends of the O’Brien and Jamieson families. May they rest in peace. Amen. ORDINATION TO THE DIACONATE A very good contingent of parishioners representing our combined parish centres and teachers and students of St Joseph’s School travelled to Brisbane on Friday to witness the Ordination to the Diaconate of Odinaka Nwadike, Paul Eloagu and Dominic Orih by Most Rev. Bishop Brian Finnigan DD, Auxiliary Bishop of Brisbane at Holy Spirit Chapel, Banyo. Please pray for these three young men as they continue on their journey to priesthood. CHILDERS PPC MEETING WED 26th NOVEMBER Childers Parish Pastoral Council meeting was rescheduled due to storms to this Wednesday in the St Joseph’s Meeting Room at 6pm. Plans will be discussed for the Catholics Returning Home program we will be running which will conclude at Easter. BREAK OPEN THE WORD Attention Readers: Please collect your Break Open the Word for the new liturgical year (B) from the vestry. These start next weekend with the First Sunday of Advent. If you are a reader you will need one of these at home to prepare for the readings when you are rostered on. Cost is $17. LITTLE BOOKS FOR ADVENT Advent starts next Sunday. Little Books are ready to collect. These provide wonderful 6 minute reflections of the weekday Gospels during the Advent and Christmas seasons and contain all sorts of snippets of information to help us prepare for the feast of Christmas. POSITION VACANT – PARISH SECRETARY The position of Childers parish secretary has become vacant. If you (or someone you know) is interested and would like more information and a job description, please contact Fr Sunny. Thank you. CATHOLIC LEADER The Childers CWL members are hoping more parishioners will read the Leader which contains so many interesting articles about Catholic faith and life. If you wish to order a Leader each week ($2), please put your name on the clipboard or see the usual contact person in your area. PETER’S PENCE COLLECTION NEXT WEEKEND Each year parishes in the Archdiocese of Brisbane take up the Peter's Pence collection as a retiring collection (as people leave the church after Mass). The Peter's Pence Collection gives Catholics in Australia an opportunity to join in communion with the Catholic faithful throughout the world in support of the charitable works of the Holy See. It allows the Holy Father to respond to the most needy throughout the world, to offer timely, effective emergency assistance to our suffering brothers and sisters. Please come prepared and give generously. ROSTERS FOR NEXT WEEK 29/30th NOVEMBER CHILDERS: Offertory/Greeters: D Bunn, P Russo Readers: J Hinton, A LaRocca, Anna Bonanno Ministers of Communion: T Clutterbuck, I Fernandes Monitor: Altar Servers: Josh & Sofie Sunday: Greeters/Offertory: G Peters, D French Readers: S Jones, B Kingston, T McDonnell Ministers of Communion: Odinaka, D French Monitor: Helen; Linen: NOV: Small – Monina; Large Denise GIN GIN: Greeters & Offertory: Zwynenberg Family Readers: Pat & Gail, Toni; Min of Communion: Jim & Tegan; Flowers & Cleaning: Music: Carmel COLUMBAN CALENDARS 2015 ON SALE NOW Support Vinnies by buying a Columban calendar from the pious goods stall for $9. A small percentage of the sale goes to help Vinnies in their work with the less fortunate in our community. Christmas cards are $2 per pack. VINNIES CHRISTMAS APPEAL NOW ON Envelopes are available at the door of the church if you wish to donate to the Christmas appeal to help change the lives of women and children escaping domestic violence, by providing medication for a pensioner, or helping disadvantaged kids participate in a confidence kids’camp. Together, we can do something about it. CHRIST THE UNIVERSAL KING RELECTION “…as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me” – Matthew 25:40 Most of us are generous when it’s convenient for us. We are generous when we have the time or the money. But, generosity is the opposite of that. It means giving of one’s time, money, compassion, forgiveness, mercy when it’s not convenient; when it’s not on our schedule, but on the other person’s schedule. ADVENT RETREAT DAY NEXT SATURDAY Christ Church Anglican Church, Childers, invites you to an Advent Retreat Day SAT 29TH NOVEMBER. It’s a time for quiet preparation and stillness to carry through Advent. To book a place contact Dilys 0421733394 or email dilysg@me.com Suggested donation is $20 to cover hand out material, morning and afternoon tea. BYO lunch, notebook, pen. Why not get a group together & go along?
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