DEVOTIONAL PRAYER FOR JULY
CORONAVIRUS PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, you travelled through towns and villages curing every disease and illness. At your command, the sick were made well. Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of the coronavirus, that we may experience your healing love.
Heal those who are sick with the virus. May they regain their strength and health through quality medical care. Heal us from our fear, which prevents nations from working together and neighbours from helping one another. Heal us from our pride, which made us claim invulnerability to a disease that knows no borders.
Lord Jesus Christ, healer of all, stay by our side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow.
Be with families of those who are sick or have died. As they worry and grieve, defend them from illness and despair. May they know your peace. Be with doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and help those affected and who put themselves at risk in the process. May they know your protection and peace. Be with leaders of all nations. Give them the foresight to act with charity and true concern for the well-being of the people they are meant to serve. Give them the wisdom to invest in long-term solutions that will help prepare for or prevent future outbreaks. May they know your peace, as they work together to achieve it on earth.
Whether we are home or abroad, surrounded by many people suffering from this illness or only a few, Lord Jesus Christ, stay with us as we endure and mourn, persist and prepare. In place of our anxiety, give us your peace. Lord Jesus Christ, heal us.
Entrance Antiphon
Your merciful love, O God, we have received in the midst of your temple. Your praise, O God, like your name, reaches the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with saving justice.
1st Reading (Zech 9:9-10)
A reading from the prophet Zechariah.
The Lord says this: Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion! Shout with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem! See now, your king comes to you; he is victorious, he is triumphant, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will banish chariots from Ephraim and horses from Jerusalem; the bow of war will be banished. He will proclaim peace for the nations. His empire shall stretch from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
2nd Reading (Rom 8:9.11-13)
A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans.
Your interests are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him, and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you. So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom. Alleluia!
Gospel (Mt 11:25-30)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew.
Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Communion Antiphon
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed the man who seeks refuge in him.
Next Week's Readings
Is 55:10-11; Rom 8:18-23; Mt 13:1-23
Feasts of the Week
Saturday 11 July - St. Benedict
PARISH NEWS
‘YES, MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN LIGHT’
(A reflection by Dcn. Charles English)
Today’s Gospel, from St. Matthew features one of the most remarkable scenes in the entire Gospel. The disciples are given access to a moment of great intimacy between Jesus the Son, and God the Father. We ‘overhear’ a joyful and spontaneous exclamation that Jesus makes directly to the Father, rejoicing that He has communicated to mere children, that’s His disciples, some sense of the knowledge of God the Father
This privileged knowledge of God the Father, is not something that can be gained by reading, learning or studying; that is why the ‘learned and the clever’ have no claim upon this knowledge by their own efforts. They do not have a monopoly on such knowledge of God.
Knowledge of God is something that is revealed to us and is revealed to us through God’s grace. God reveals knowledge of Himself to those who are most capable of receiving it, mere children, and that’s us. We Catholics are believers in God, believers in the Holy Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit and all this wonderful knowledge has been revealed to the Holy Catholic Church which is the Church founded on Earth by Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Catholic Church and only the Holy Catholic Church that contains the complete deposit of faith. The point about little children is that being so unlearned and meek, they have no hidden agenda and are open to belief. In this passage, Jesus is not condemning intellectual power, what He is condemning is intellectual pride!
Faith is a supernatural gift from God.
Our Lord, Jesus, comes back again and again to this image of the child, to communicate to us a sense of what our human relationship with God should be. ‘Come to Me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest’. For the Jewish people religion was so often a thing of many burdens. It was a religion of endless rules. A man lived in a forest of regulations and must listen always to a voice which said, ‘Thou shalt not……’ These demands were a real burden.
In the Gospel passage today, we see that Jesus invites us to take His yoke upon our shoulders. The Jews used the phrase, ‘the yoke for entering into submission to’. They spoke of the yoke of the commandments, the yoke of the kingdom, the yoke of the law. Jesus teaches His disciples, that’s us, something entirely different. Jesus says; ‘My yoke is easy and My burden is light’.
As a carpenter, Jesus must have cut many yokes for the farmers, so that they could get two oxen to pull a plough. The yoke was a wooden cross-beam that joined the two animals at the neck, and that cross-beam dragged the farm implement. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is telling us that the yoke He cuts for us does not cause discomfort, but brings to us comfort and consolation, for His yoke is easy and light. Jesus’ yoke is not just an exterior observance, as the Old Testament law was. Jesus teaches us that an interior spirit, a personal relationship with God is most important. The burden of partaking in Jesus’ mission here on Earth is light; and His yoke becomes easy by us joining ourselves with Him. Christ now bears the same yoke beside us, and He moderates His pace and power to our own strength.
Christ walks side by side with us as we shoulder our yoke and our burden.
All we need to do is to trust in Jesus, and His promises to us, for we are the privileged ‘mere children’, the believing and trusting disciples of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ.
This coming week, let us try and remember that it is only in Our Lord Jesus, that we truly find rest.
LIVE STREAMING OF MASS AT 10:30AM THIS SUNDAY, 5TH JULY
Due to the limited number of people allowed to attend Mass, thanks to a member of our Young Adults Group, the 10:30am Mass from our church will be live streamed this Sunday through our Facebook Page link
https://m.facebook.com/stpetershoppers/
TOILET RENOVATION
Renovation to the Toilets in the Hall are currently being undertaken with an expected completion in three weeks.
UPDATED GUIDELINES
Following updated Guidelines, our Parish will operate as follows:
- Church will be open with a LIMIT OF 20 PEOPLE permitted to attend Masses (as per information on first page).
- For weekday Masses from Monday to Friday, parishioners will be admitted into the church on a first come first serve basis up to a limit of 20 people.
- Bookings for weekend Masses (Saturday 9am & 6pm, Sunday 8.30am, 10.30am & 5pm) are to be done online via Trybooking.com using the following link
https://www.trybooking.com/BKJBB (link will change every week). - Bookings for weekend Masses close at 2:00pm on Thursday prior to the weekend.
- Please ensure when you book online via Trybooking that you receive a confirmation email. If you have not received your confirmation email, your booking is invalid.
- When you attend the mass that you have booked in, you need not bring a printout of your ticket.
- Due to the increased numbers allowed, parishioners may attend multiple masses during the week. We request you to be considerate and try and come once every couple of days so everyone has an equal opportunity of attending the weekday Masses.
- With the increased demand for weekend masses, parishioners are requested to book a weekend mass once every two weekends. Please note that though the church is opened for masses, the dispensation for Sunday obligation still stands until further notice.
Please observe the following:
- If you are unwell on your allocated day, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND FOR THE SAFETY OF OTHERS.
- Due to limited spaces, no children under 5 years old.
- 5m distance from other people must be observed at all times.
- We request everyone to remain in their allocated seats during the duration of their stay in Church
- Church will open 30 minutes before Mass.
- Doors will be shut 5 minutes prior to start of Mass.
- Parishioners must leave church immediately after Mass.
- No collections will be taken, however baskets have been provided at the entrance for anyone wishing to place their donations/thanksgiving envelopes/prayer requests.
- Holy Water Bottles can be collected, (1 per family) after Mass.
- Communion will only be under the one species and in the hand only.
- Bulletins will be available but must be taken home, not left in church.
- Hand sanitiser is provided at the entry doors. All necessary cleaning precautions are being undertaken.
WELCOME TO OUR NEWLY BAPTISED
We welcome into our Church community Bruce Marshall who is to be baptised this Sunday. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the love of Parents, Godparents, family and friends, we pray that he will lead a life full of happiness, faith and love.
CONGRATULATIONS MONSIGNOR GREGORY CHARLES BENNET on your appointment as the 10th Bishop of the Diocese of Sale. May God continue to bless you as you undertake this new appointment.
CONGRATULATIONS DCN. CHARLES ENGLISH on your recent retirement after 22 years in your current job. Fr. Vincent and the parish community wish you all God's Blessings as you enter into this new phase in your life. May God Bless you and your family.
CONGRATULATIONS TO FILOZ CHOIR as they celebrate 14 years of service to our parish. The choir has led the congregation with songs of praise every 1st Sunday and 3rd Sunday. The Filoz kids have also become active participants and play a significant part in enhancing the liturgy during mass.
THANKSGIVING PROGRAM
Thanksgiving envelopes and letters for the new financial year are available for collection from the Church. These will be available even when you attend the weekday masses. Please start to use the new envelopes from this weekend, 4/5 July 2020.
THANKSGIVING CONTRIBUTIONS
Please contact the parish office on 9749 4300 if you have any queries regarding Thanksgiving Envelopes, Direct Debits or anything in relation to Thanksgiving Contributions.
ZOOM INVITATIONS FROM:
ST PETER'S CHARISMATIC PRAYER COMMUNITY - KNK
Saturdays at 3:00pm – Divine Mercy & Praise & Worship
Sundays at 7:00pm – Rosary & Praise & Worship
Use below link & Meeting ID both days:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7414862105?pwd=NlVwaXUyS3hVSlFzZ0pNOG1MT29Ldz09
Meeting ID: 741 486 2105 Password: 023368
BIBLE STUDY MINISTRY
Every week on a Monday from 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Use below link & Meeting ID
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9689427525?pwd=akpXUHFPQTJRazRxZVZaOVVhZlM4QT09
Meeting ID: 9689427525 Password: 2Vp4ef
Session on Monday 6 July will be led by Karen Fernandes
For further details contact Clive Gonsalves at
gonsalvesclive@hotmail.com or Francis Thomas at
francisthomas@hotmail.com.
RECENTLY DECEASED
We pray for Philomena Cleur, Aliyamma Jacob Veruvisseril, Betty McCluskey, Augusto Morales, Manuel Cataquian, Aloysius Rohan, Stella Magro, Barry O'Connor, Baby Pereira, Tonina Camilleri, Vittorio Di Pietro and all who have passed away recently.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
We pray Raymond & Elie Rego, Frank Johnson, Pacita Cruz, Yancy Murillo, Nomer Cabrera, Wensus Fernando, Rowena Ilagan, Mariam Thomas, Irma Smith, Carmelo Raveneschi, Norah Pritchard and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.
PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
We pray for Adrian Tully, Gary Spotswood, Sean Donaldson, Kath Meddings, Lucy Ballan, Irene Jones, Thais Long, Jean Cameron, Gordon Newman, Denis Webber, Monique Hoaster, Alphonsus De Roza, Wilfredo Villareal, Rolando Navarro, Avis Fernandes, Francis Goonting, Fr Jolly Alavelil CMI, Anne Deluca, Hellen Bonnici, Filippo Sciglitano, Anthony Hanford, James Barwick, Gerry Akein, Helga Jacob, Carmelina Costanzo, Bryan Dalton, Pat Borcich, Antony, Alki Christopoulos, Bill Fairney, Charlotte Mary, Frank Forbes, Baby Lucy Rodriguerz, Carmela Saragoza, Nicolas Caruana and all who are ill in our Parish.