DEVOTIONAL PRAYER FOR OCTOBER
CORONAVIRUS PRAYER
God our Father, we come to You in our need, to ask Your protection against the COVID-19 that has disturbed and even claimed lives.
We pray that You guide the people tasked to find cures for this disease and to stem its transmission.
Protect the medical experts that they may minister to the sick with competence and compassion.
We pray for those afflicted. May they be restored to health soon.
Protect those who care for them.
Grant eternal rest to those who have died.
Give us the grace in this trying time to work for the good of all and to help those in need.
We implore You to stop the spread of this virus and to save us from our fears.
Grant all these through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
We fly to Your protection, oh Holy Mother of God. Do not despise our petition in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, Oh glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.
Our Lady, health of the sick, pray for us.
St. Peter Apostle, pray for us.
Entrance Antiphon
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.
1st Reading (Ex 22:20-26)
A reading from the book of Exodus.
The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the sons of Israel this: ‘“You must not molest the stranger or oppress him, for you lived as strangers in the land of Egypt. You must not be harsh with the widow, or with the orphan; if you are harsh with them, they will surely cry out to me, and be sure I shall hear their cry; my anger will flare and I shall kill you with the sword, your own wives will be widows, your own children orphans. ‘“If you lend money to any of my people, to any poor man among you, you must not play the usurer with him: you must not demand interest from him. ‘“If you take another’s cloak as a pledge, you must give it back to him before sunset. It is all the covering he has; it is the cloak he wraps his body in; what else would he sleep in? If he cries to me, I will listen, for I am full of pity.”
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
I love you, Lord, my strength.
2nd Reading (1 Thes 1:5-10)
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians.
You observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, and you were led to become imitators of us, and of the Lord; and it was with the joy of the Holy Spirit that you took to the gospel, in spite of the great opposition all round you. This has made you the great example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! All who love me will keep my words, and my Father will love them and we will come to them. Alleluia!
Gospel (Mt 22:34-40)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew.
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Communion Antiphon
We will ring out our joy at your saving help, and exult in the name of our God.
Next Week’s Readings
Apoc 7:2-4,9-14; 1 Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12
Feasts of the Week
Wed, 28 Oct - Sts. Simon & Jude
PARISH NEWS
30TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT OF ALL
(Reflection by Dcn. Charles English)
Today’s Gospel sees a Pharisee, that is a Jewish theologian, approach Jesus to ask a question. He comes on behalf of the Pharisees to try and trap Jesus, regarding Jesus’ teaching. The Gospel tells us that Jesus had recently ‘silenced the Sadducees’, who were a group of religious Jews who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. So the Pharisee comes to Jesus and addresses Jesus as teacher or rabbi and asks Jesus the following question:-
Of the 613 commandments found in the Law of Moses, which is the greatest?
The Pharisee hopes to trap Jesus into saying something contrary to the Law. And Jesus’ answer quotes two passages from the Law. Jesus first quotes from the Shema prayer, said by devout Jews daily. (Deut 6:4-5) This commands love for God with one’s whole heart, mind and soul.
The heart, for the Jewish people, was the centre of understanding, choosing and feeling; the mind the place of awareness; the soul the life energy of a person.
‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind’.
This commandment and prayer commands a life totally centred on God in responsive and trusting faith. This is the basis and the essential creed of Judaism. This is the sentence with which every Jewish religious service still opens, and the first text that every Jewish child memorises.
It means that to God we must give a total love, which directs our thoughts, our words and our actions. Complete love of God means that we are faithful to God’s commandments and laws and is the very core of the Old Testament, and this love and fidelity to God has been brought into the New Testament, by Jesus Himself in His teachings and His life, recorded in the gospels.
Jesus also quotes another part of the Law, the command ‘to love your neighbour as yourself’ (Leviticus 19:18). If we say that we love God then this love must issue forth in love for mankind, for others. It is to be noted in which order these two commandments come, it is the love of God first and then the love of mankind second.
The Biblical teaching is that man is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). It is for this reason that man has been raised above the animals and above all creation, and because we are made in the image of God that makes us lovable. We are not just human beings, we are children of God. The love, peace and glory of God should be shining forth from us. We should all try to be joyful Catholics. Disciples of the Resurrected Christ and we should always have the image of the Resurrected Christ before our eyes, every day of our life. If we can do this then we will never lose hope.
As St. Paul tells us, in his beautiful letter to the Corinthians; ‘Love is patient and kind. Love is never rude or selfish, it does not take offence. Love delights in the truth. Love is always ready to excuse, ready to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end‘. (1Cor 13:4-8).
‘And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love’.
LIVE STREAMING OF DAILY MASS FROM OUR CHURCH
Masses are Monday to Friday 8:30am, Saturday 9:00am, Sunday 10:30am.
Our church is live streaming daily Mass
Via Facebook Page https://m.facebook.com/stpetershoppers/
Via ZOOM - Meeting ID: 923 0757 3592 Password: SPhc2020
Parishioners can also dial in via mobile phone or landline to participate in our daily Masses on ZOOM.
Landline – Dial 0011 618 6119 3900
Mobile – Dial +618 6119 3900
Once you connect you will be requested to put in the meeting ID: 92307573592##54683098#.
Sunday 10:30am Mass is also available on YouTube, link as follows https://youtu.be/P-Sl9bd0QB4.
PARISH OFFICE
The Parish Office is closed, however staff are working from home on Tuesday/Thursday/Friday from 9:00am to 4:00pm. You can still contact us on the office phone 9749 4300 or send in your enquiries/prayer requests by email to stpeters@westnet.com.au or hopperscrossing@cam.org.au
TO KEEP YOURSELF UPDATED WITH PARISH NEWS
Parish website at http://stpeterapostlemission.org.au
Facebook at https://m.facebook.com/stpetershoppers/
Weekly Bulletin – kindly send your email address to stpeters@westnet.com.au to have a copy of our bulletin emailed to you every Friday.
MEMORIAL BOOK FOR NOVEMBER
This November as we are unable to gather in church, to enable families to add the names of the deceased in the Memorial book, we are request you to email the names to the parish office at stpeters@westnet.com.au or hopperscrossing@cam.org.au. We will add the names in the Memorial book and Fr. Vincent will pray for their souls during the month of November.
ONLINE CHILDREN’S LITURGY
St Peters Young Adults Online Children’s Liturgy for children aged 5 – 8 years will be held on Sunday 1st November 2020 from 11:30am to 12:30pm. The sessions are held fortnightly. Children pray together, read and listen to the Gospel and are supported to grow in their faith through sharing and activities. We welcome you and your family to take part! Parents are required to register their children before attending. To enrol your child in this program, please email the Parish office at hopperscrossing@cam.or.au or call on 9749 4300 (Tues/Thursday/Friday 9:00am – 3:30pm) and we will send you an enrolment form to register your child, which is to be completed and returned. Our parish ensures that child e-safety is maintained as we follow the child safety guidelines recommended by the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
ZOOM LINKS TO WEEKLY SERVICES
Bible Study Ministry
Every Monday from 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Focus on Gospel of John, Chapter 15, Quiz Chapters 4-6
https://zoom.us/j/91984220776?pwd=M1RzcWMwbWk0Tm43MEZ6cEZnditldz09
Meeting ID: 91984220776 Password: 899140
St. Anthony’s Novena
Every Tuesday at 7:00pm, followed by Rosary
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82338237597?pwd=dlZyKzFCOERFNDBDMCs5cDBkUnFOdz09
Meeting ID: 823 3823 7597, Password: 524250
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Novena
Every Wednesday at 7:00pm, followed by Rosary
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83632685197?pwd=Y0FaL21LeXI2L2pWRnJlYlFmWmNTZz09
Meeting ID: 836 3268 5197 Password: novena
RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is a program for anyone interested in becoming a Catholic and receiving the Sacraments.
Every Wednesdays at 7:00pm
Meeting ID 937 5345 2162, Passcode: 624286.
Please contact Francis Thomas at francispthomas@hotmail.com or 0401 787 372 or Evelyn Stowers on 0499 416 158.
St. Peter's Charismatic Prayer Community KNK
Every Saturday at 3:00pm – Divine Mercy & Praise & Worship
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7414862105?pwd=NlVwaXUyS3hVSlFzZ0pNOG1MT29Ldz09
Meeting ID: 741 486 2105, Password: 023368
HSI SCHOOL OF DISCIPLESHIP
The session consists of prayer, song, video talk, discussion, sharing and blessing.
Every Sunday from 7:00pm
Meeting ID 843 9084 5271. No password.
Enquiries Connie Skinner 0422165133
EQUALITY FOR FAITH PETITION
An online petition has been created to address the inequality towards places of worship and people of faith in the Victorian government's 'Roadmap for Reopening’. The petition can be found on: https://www.equalityforfaith.com.au/. We are not asking for special treatment - just equal treatment. We ask you to please sign and distribute the petition to people you know and encourage them to do the same. Thank you – Your support on this important issue is needed to make a change!
THE READY, SET, PRAY! CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD @ HOME VIDEO SERIES has been created to provide an engaging space for families to encounter Jesus through the Sunday gospel. Each week includes an invitation for families to create and gather in their own prayer space, to sing, hear the Gospel, pray and respond creatively through an activity. This weekly resource follows the familiar Children’s Liturgy of the Word format provided in many parishes – but moved to an online setting. It can be used by families in their homes, and also by teachers and catechists. The series consists of 10 weekly sessions of 15-20 minutes duration, which commenced on Sunday 18th October and continues each Sunday until Christmas. We hope this experience of gathering for prayer will encourage families in this time when they cannot gather for parish celebrations of Eucharist. It is produced by Proclaim: The Office for Mission Renewal at the Archdiocese of Melbourne and can be found at https://bit.ly/ReadySetPray
RECENTLY DECEASED
We pray for Fr. Abraham, Singareddy Chinnapureddy, Irene Jones, Kathleen Smith, Frank Forbes, Djoanna Josue, Hilda D’Souza Fr. Charles McBride PE, Carlota Oyales, Astyn Delani, Wilma Pimenta, Msgr Anthony Kevin Toms PE, Celine D’Souza, Brian Holmes, all who have died due to COVID-19 and all who have passed away recently.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
We pray for Jason McLoughlin, Vera Green, Fr. Bert Dela Pena, Thomas Smith, William Milroy, Edwin D’Souza, Baptist & Gracy D’Souza, Bonny Coghlan, Margaret Amore and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.
PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
We pray for Gary Spotswood, Sean Donaldson, Kath Meddings, Jean Cameron, Gordon Newman, Denis Webber, Monique Hoaster, Wilfredo Villareal, Rolando Navarro, Francis Goonting, Anne Deluca, Hellen Bonnici, Filippo Sciglitano, Anthony Hanford, James Barwick, Gerry Akein, Carmelina Costanzo, Alki Christopoulos, Charlotte Mary, Paul Burton, Aloysius Silva, Shirley Poppen, Norma Medina, Florine Fernandes, Christine Hall, Esther Uwase, Steven Smith, Terese San, Yarava Pratap Reddy, Yarava Rani and all who are ill in our Parish.