DEVOTIONAL PRAYER FOR NOVEMBER
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 my prayer come into your presence. Incline your ear to my cry for help, O Lord.
1st Reading (Wis 6:12-16)
A reading from the book of Wisdom.
Wisdom is bright, and does not grow dim. By those who love her she is readily seen, and found by those who look for her. Quick to anticipate those who desire her, she makes herself known to them. Watch for her early and you will have no trouble; you will find her sitting at your gates. Even to think about her is understanding fully grown; be on the alert for her and anxiety will quickly leave you. She herself walks about looking for those who are worthy of her and graciously shows herself to them as they go, in every thought of theirs coming to meet them.
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
2nd Reading (1 Thess 4:13-18)
A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians.
We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. We can tell you this from the Lord’s own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord’s coming will not have any advantage over those who have died. At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them; to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! Be watchful and ready: you know not when the Son of Man is coming. Alleluia!
Gospel (Mt 25:1-13)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew.
Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out.” But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.” They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Communion Antiphon
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose, near restful waters he leads me.
Next Week’s Readings
Prov 31:10-13,19-20, 30-31; 1 Thess 5:1-6; Mt 25:14-30
Feasts of the Week
Mon, 9 Nov - Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Tue, 10 Nov - St. Leo the Great
Wed, 11 Nov - St. Martin of Tours
Thu, 12 Nov - St. Josaphat
PARISH NEWS
PARABLE OF THE TEN BRIDESMAIDS
(Reflection by Dcn. Charles English)
The parable of the foolish and wise bridesmaids, is about the need for a lively faith, and preparing ourselves for the coming of the kingdom, that makes one ready to welcome it at any time. In this parable the danger, highlighted by Our Lord, is carelessness in providing for ourselves the spiritual things we need, to be ready for the kingdom.
In this parable, the context is about delay and uncertainty about when the bridegroom was coming, division within the group, careless behaviour in some of the bridesmaids and prudent readiness in others.
The task of the ten bridesmaids is to welcome the bridal couple, and joyfully escort them with lighted lamps to the wedding feast inside the wedding hall. Failure to anticipate a delay makes five of them unready when the time arrives, and they are not there when the bridegroom arrives. The foolish, unprepared bridesmaids hammer on the locked door, crying out ‘Lord, Lord open the door for us’, but he replied ‘I tell you solemnly, I do not know you’. These five foolish bridesmaids are like foolish Christians, whose lives are not solidly founded on true faith in Christ Jesus. Our Lord is warning us all, in this parable, that we are to be always watchful and ready to welcome the Bridegroom, Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be prepared spiritually for when our pilgrim journey on this earth is over and then we will meet God face to face and have our final judgement. This parable is a jolt to us, a big reminder to us, a stop and think moment, that it is our eternal salvation that is at stake.
How do we prepare ourselves for meeting God face to face? We prepare ourselves by saying our daily prayers, morning, noon and night. By turning to God each day and giving Him thanks and praise for all our blessings. By attending holy Mass each Sunday, and receiving the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion. By trying to follow the teachings of Jesus and living out, in our lives, the message of the gospel. By being kind to others, and forgiving others and putting up with one another with patience and understanding. We have to make sure that our lamps are always burning brightly. Therefore we must keep on putting oil into them. That oil is the close and loving relationship that we have with Our Lord Jesus, that keeps our lamp (the soul) burning with love for Christ and His holy Catholic Church.
As Catholics, we are all called to be the bearers of the light of Christ, lamp-carriers if you like.
Let us heed the warning of Our Lord, in this parable, that we must never let our lamps grow dim or even go out.
This parable today urges us to stay awake, to be always vigilant about the state of our immortal soul, for we do not know the day nor the hour when our earthly journey will come to an end.
Let us remember that it is so joyful for us to be invited to the wedding feast in Heaven, to be with the Bridegroom, Our Lord Jesus, forever.
“The Spirit and the Bride says, ‘Come’. Let everyone who listens answer, ‘Come’.
DAILY MASS BOOKINGS
Our church is now open for Masses with a limit of 10 people per service. If you would like to make a booking, please call the Parish Office on 9749 4300. Bookings will only be taken BETWEEN 10:00AM & 12 NOON ON TUESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. Masses are held Monday to Friday 8:30am, Saturday 9:00am, Sunday 10:30am. We will inform you via the bulletin and Facebook when regular Masses resume. If you are unwell on your allocated day, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND FOR THE SAFETY OF OTHERS.
LIVE STREAMING OF DAILY MASSES
For those who are unable to attend Mass at church, Masses will continue to be live streamed from our church.
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
ID: 92307573592##54683098#
Sunday 10:30am Mass is also available on YouTube, link as follows
https://youtu.be/zaShM9pewv0
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
November is a special time to pray for the dead. All Souls Day (November 2) is a day for the commemoration of all the faithful departed. This November as we are unable to gather as usual in church, to enable families to add the names of the deceased in the Memorial book we are requesting that you 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 in the month of November.
MEMORIAL MASS FOR DECEASED – 7:00PM, FRIDAY 20TH NOVEMBER
We invite parishioners who have lost a loved one in the past 12 months to participate in this special Memorial Mass for the deceased. Invitations will be sent to families who have lost a loved one in the past 12 months. Due to COVID restrictions, only 20 people may be able to attend the mass and hence we inform you that only 1 member per family will be registered for the mass on a first come first serve basis. This mass will also be live-streamed via our Parish Facebook page and YouTube channel. At this mass we will have a special tribute in the form of a Photo Collage video. Please send an electronic copy of a photograph of your loved one who have died over the last 12 months (1 Nov 2019 to 31 Oct 2020) and their date of birth and date of death via email to the parish office at hopperscrossing@cam.org.au. Please contact the parish office on 9749 4300 for more information.
ZOOM LINKS TO WEEKLY SERVICES
Bible Study Ministry
Every Monday at 7:00pm
Focus on Gospel of John, Chapter 16
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
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
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR COMMUNION TO THE SICK MINISTRY
Communion to the Sick Ministry hopes to resume operations soon. This ministry involves taking Holy Communion to the residents of Glendale nursing home and some elderly residents in their homes. We are seeking volunteers for this ministry, which will require Working with Children and Police Checks. Usually you will be required to volunteer for 2 hours per month either on a weekday or weekend. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the Parish office on 9749 4300 or email us at hopperscrossing@cam.org.au,
JOSEPH’S CORNER is offering a ZOOM course “Improving Inter-Connectedness as we enter COVID normal”, 10am to 12pm Wednesdays 11/18/25 November and 2/9 December. For more information contact 9315 2680 or contact@josephscorner.org.au.
RECENTLY DECEASED
We pray for Italo Inserra, Patricia McCavanagh, Leo Linehan, Antonette Wijegoonewardene, Luz Pacheco, Singareddy Chinnapureddy, Irene Jones, Giuseppe Menganelli, victims of the terrorist attack in France, all who have died due to COVID-19 and all who have passed away recently.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
We pray for Timothy Crough, Maurice Dalton, Shaun Fitzgerald, Neville Nettar, Jason Mcloughlin, Rosa Marsic, Amparo R. Battad, John Abraham 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, Norma Medina, Christine Hall, Esther Uwase, Steven Smith, Terese San, Yarava Pratap Reddy, Yarava Rani, Justin Worsley, Calum Jones, Baby Hannah, Paul Thomas, John Murray, Andrew Crowley, Fr. Joy, Vincent Margaret, Christian Lindsay, Lourdes Morris and all who are ill in our Parish.