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Vol 30
No 13
Palm Sunday
29 March 2015
Dear Parishioners and Visitors,
St Mark’s account of Jesus’ Passion is telling us that there are two
ways of understanding what is going on. The first is more obvious: his
enemies are bringing about Jesus’ arrest, trial and execution. Even his
friends betray, deny and desert him.
The second way looks more deeply at the same events through the eyes
of faith. And it sees God the Father at work carrying out his plan for
the re-creation of us and our universe. Precisely through and in the
life, suffering, death and resurrection of his Son, the Father is striking
the decisive death blow to the reign of evil in our world and
establishing the kingdom of God’s love in its place.
Such is the power of God to bring good out of evil. That, I think, is
what we are meant to be thinking about today.
It is by reflecting on this power of God to bring good out of evil that
we can learn to accept the hardships in our own lives and see God
working in and through them to achieve the fulfilment of his plan –
our sharing in the saving work of his Son, and therefore becoming fit
for the company of God, his angels and saints in heaven.
One final but important thought: Mark makes clear in his gospel that
God can and does bring good not only out of “natural” evils, but even
out of sin, as in today’s gospel. Do you remember Jesus’ words about
the woman who poured ointment over his feet: “Her sins’ her many
sins, must have been forgiven because she has loved so much.” Under
the influence of God’s grace, even sin can lead to greater love.
Fr Tom
PARISH HAPPENINGS
LOOKING AHEAD
Monday 30 March
- 7pm Italian Prayer Group – Church
- 7.30 Parish Finance Meeting
Tuesday 31 March
- 9.30am Playgroup – Hospitality Area
- 7pm Lenten Prayer Group - Library
- 7pm Legion of Mary – AQ Rm
- 7.30pm Parish Reconciliation
Wednesday 1 April
- 10am Craft Morning for Fete – Aquinas Room
Thursday 2 April
- 9.30am Playgroup – Hospitality Area
Friday 10 April
- 7.30pm 500 Card Group – Aquinas Room
Please see timetable below for Easter Services
Let us remember in prayer all those who are sick:
Maureen Rynne, Christopher Moy, and Rex Bowen.
Let us remember in prayer, Marie Johnston, Peter
Neyland, Dorothy Ingledew, Helen Willis, Reba
Aspinall and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.
We pray for loved ones who have died recently:
Daphne Hobson, Monika Oud
“To err is human, to forgive is divine”
I don’t know where I first heard that, but I have
never forgotten it. Forgiving is God’s business,
and he loves doing it. Nothing is clearer than that
in the four gospels. We too can forgive each other
because we have learnt it from God.
Parish Ministries (my last piece in this series)
In the ideal parish everyone knows that they have
a role to play as a parishioner for the benefit of
others. Discipleship means serving others, and
we are a community of disciples. At Our Lady of
Graces we have a vast number of ministry
groups. And we probably all know that many
parishioners have a ministry outside the
structures of the parish, and these are necessary
as well.
It is good to regularly ask ourselves what benefits
should our parish be bringing to the wider
community we are part of. In our case the St
Vincent de Paul Society comes immediately to
mind, but there are many other ways of being of
service to our community. Service, in fact, needs
to be integrated into the mainstream life of our
parish, rooted in prayer, and flowing from the
Eucharist as a response to what we have
received.
There is nothing wrong with recognising and
celebrating our achievements in service to
others. In doing so we are honouring God who
has chosen to continue his work of helping
people through us. All we can do is to empty the
gifts we have been given into the lives of
others. Fr Tom
And that brings us to 7.30pm next Tuesday, the
31st of March, when our parish will be celebrating
the Second Rite of the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. We will be celebrating being
forgiven. Please join us. It won’t take too long.
Easter Timetable
Parish Reconciliation
Tuesday 31 March 7.30pm Parish Second Rite
Individual Reconciliation:
Wednesday (1 April): 9.30am
Good Friday (3 April): 11am & 4pm
Holy Saturday (4 April): 11am & 3pm
Easter Ceremonies:
Holy Thursday: (2 April)
Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7pm [Followed by
Adoration of Blessed Sacrament until 10pm]
Good Friday: (3 April)
Stations of the Cross 10am
Celebration of the Lord’s Passion 3.00pm
Italian Stations of the Cross 7pm
Holy Saturday: (4 April)
Easter Vigil Mass: 7pm
Italian Vigil Mass: 9.30pm
Easter Sunday: (5 April)
Mass: 7am, 9am, 5.30pm
Mass in Italian at 10.30am
Every Good Friday a collection is taken up in
every Catholic Church around the world to
support the people and places of the Holy Land.
Christians of the Holy Land rely heavily on the
help that comes to them during this special
moment of the year. Please take an envelope
home and return on Good Friday or put in any of
the Sunday Collections.
Parish Masses 2 April – 6 April
Parishioners please remember that there are no
morning Masses on Holy Thursday 2 April,
Good Friday 3 April and Holy Saturday 4th April.
The Easter Vigil is at 7pm instead of our
regular 6pm Vigil
Easter Monday 6 April there will be only one
morning Mass at 8am.
I am sure we have all experienced the wonderful
feeling of knowing that we are once more on good
terms with someone important to us, because
they have made it clear, in some way or other,
that they have forgiven us. Because that is surely
true of all of us, it makes sense to come together
sometimes, with people who are close to us, and
celebrate the event of our being forgiven. It is
something we all have in common.
A Prayer
(I found this prayer in the English Catholic
Tablet last week and thought it was worth
passing on – Fr Tom)
O God, give me today a strong and vivid sense
that you are by my side. In a crowd or by myself,
in business and leisure, in my sitting down and
my rising, may I always be aware of your
presence beside me. By your grace, O God, I
will go nowhere today where you cannot come,
nor seek anyone’s presence that would rob me
of yours. By your grace I will let no thought enter
my heart that might hinder my closeness with
you, nor let any word come from my mouth that
is not meant for your ear… O Lord, the desired
of all nations, in the knowledge of your love and
power there is salvation for all the peoples of the
earth. Quickly bring the day when our earthly
society shall become the kingdom of
Christ. John Baillie
Project Compassion – 6th Sunday of Lent
Unpredictable global weather patterns are
having a devastating effect on Indonesian
farmers who rely on the land (and weather) for
their livelihoods.
Until recently, the weather in Vinsen’s small
farming village in West Timor has been quite
stable. However, in the last few years changing
weather patterns have made harvests
unpredictable and unprofitable.
To combat these changes, Vinsen enrolled in
the Sustainable Agriculture Program (supported
by Caritas Australia) along with a group of
farmers from his village. Together they’ve learnt
to terrace land, harness water and grow
sustainable food for life – regardless of the
changing weather.
Please donate to Project Compassion 2015
and help farmers in remote West Timor grow
sustainable crops for life.
500 Card Group will now be held on Friday 10
April at 7.30pm in the Aquinas room instead of
Friday 3 April as this is Good Friday. All are
welcome to join us.
500th Birthday of Teresa of Avila
"This month we remember the fifth centenary of
the birth in Avila of St. Teresa of Jesus. Her
spiritual force will encourage you, dear young
people, to witness joyfully faith in your life ".
Pope Francis
March 28 will mark 500 years since the birth of
Saint Teresa of Avila. The Pope will celebrate it
by starting a global prayer for peace.
Congratulations to the Dominican Laity on
the organising and running of a very successful
reflection morning last Saturday where over 50
people attend.
St Martin’s Fete 31 May 2015 – Parish Stall
A small group of parishioners are meeting each
Wednesday morning at 10am in the Aquinas
Room to make items for the stall, please come
along and join us. For more information please
call Eloma on 3343 7462.
COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS
Catholic Leader this week:
* Mass with battered Port Vila community part of
Caritas worker’s bitter-sweet experience in Vanuatu
after cyclone
* Young Catholics among huge crowd at first in a
series of Scripture talks by Archbishop Coleridge
* Nepalese visitor tells the story of his journey from
child labourer to Caritas leader
* David Brennan on Church’s opposition to the death
penalty
Catholic Leader, available every weekend from the
church entrance, costs just $2
1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s
Calling on past students of St Martin’s School,
(grandparents, parents, parishioners and friends)
ANYONE who can help us celebrate the 60th
Anniversary of our school.
Do you have photos (class groups, communion, sports
etc.) from your time at school that you could scan and
email to kbloxsom@bne.catholic.edu.au?
Please include full name (maiden name), decade in
which you attended school, teacher’s names etc. you
might recall. We would like to display these at the
Sunday Funday, 31st May this year so we can all
take a walk down memory lane.
If you have any items (craft work, certificates,
newsletters, etc.) you would be willing to display
please contact me. Please include arrangements for
your collection of these items after the event.
Kathy Bloxsom
World Youth Day 2016 Information Nights
If you’re interested in going to World Youth Day 2016
in Poland, please come along to one of our information
night on Tuesday 14th April – 7 pm at Francis Rush
Centre, Cathedral Place.
For
more
information
please
contact
us
wyd2016@bne.catholic.net.au
Marriage Encounter Weekend 15 – 17 May
For married couples at Santa Teresa Spirituality
Centre, Ormiston (QLD). Contact: Maria or David
Murphy dandmmurphy@optusnet.com.au or phone
3342 1456.
DEANERY TRIVIA NIGHT – Keep this night free
Saturday 161h May 2015 at St Thomas’ Parish
Hall, Stephen Street, Camp Hill. 7pm for
7.15pm start. $10 per person with tables of 10
people max.
Theme – Touring the World. Cash Bar. BYO
Nibbles for your table. Raffles, Lucky Door &
Best Dressed Prizes.
Bookings and payment to be made at our parish
office by 8th May.