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3rd Sunday of Easter 2020

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DEVOTIONAL PRAYER FOR APRIL

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
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth; O sing to the glory of his name. O render him glorious praise, alleluia.

1st Reading (Acts 2:14, 22-33)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
On the day of Pentecost Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed the crowd in a loud voice: ‘Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you all know. This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified by men outside the Law. You killed him, but God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power since, as David says of him: I saw the Lord before me always, for with him at my right hand nothing can shake me. So my heart was glad and my tongue cried out with joy; my body, too, will rest in the hope that you will not abandon my soul to Hades nor allow your holy one to experience corruption. You have made known the way of life to me, you will fill me with gladness through your presence. ‘Brothers, no one can deny that the patriarch David himself is dead and buried: his tomb is still with us. But since he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn him an oath to make one of his descendants succeed him on the throne, what he foresaw and spoke about was the resurrection of the Christ: he is the one who was not abandoned to Hades, and whose body did not experience corruption. God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to that. Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit.’
The Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Lord, you will show us the path of life.

2nd Reading (1 Pet 1:17-21)
If you are acknowledging as your Father one who has no favourites and judges everyone according to what he has done, you must be scrupulously careful as long as you are living away from your home. Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since before the world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the end of the ages, for your sake. Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that very reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God.
The Word of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! Lord Jesus, make your word plain to us, make our hearts burn with love when you speak. Alleluia.

Gospel (Lk 24:13-35)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Luke
Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. He said to them, ‘What matters are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped short, their faces downcast. Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered him, ‘You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth’ they answered ‘who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.’ Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself. When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is nearly evening’ they said ‘and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?’ They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.
The Gospel of the Lord.

Communion Antiphon
The disciples recognised the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread, alleluia.

Next Week's Readings
Acts 2:14, 36-41;   1 Pet 2:20-25;   Jn 10:1-10

Feasts of the Week
St. Peter Chanel - Tuesday, 28 April
St. Catherine of Siena - Wednesday, 29 April
St. Athanasius - Saturday, 2 May

PARISH NEWS

ANZAC DAY SATURDAY 25 APRIL
Fr Vincent will remember the ANZACS, all veterans and their families in his personal daily mass. We remember those involved in the defence of our nation and way of life throughout history. Lest we forget.

Church Anzac Day

PARISH GUIDELINES

  • For updates on Parish news, visit the
    Parish website at http://stpeterapostlemission.org.au or
    Facebook at https://m.facebook.com/stpetershoppers/
  • To receive current information, you can update us with your email address by emailing the parish office at hopperscrossing@cam.org.au.
  • Thanksgiving Contributions
    As there are no regular masses being held, we have been approached by some parishioners regarding their weekly contributions. If you would like to continue your contributions to support the parish, the following options are available:

    • Drop off your Thanksgiving envelope and Project Compassion Boxes at the Parish office during office hours Monday to Friday 9:00am to 3:30pm.
    • Thanksgiving donations can be made directly to our Church Bank Account.
    • To change your Thanksgiving from Envelopes to Credit Card/Debit Card, please call or email the parish office and we will send you a form to make this change.
  • Online Thanksgiving Options
    Parishioners who normally give cash each weekend for the Thanksgiving collections, can now make payments online if you wish to do so, either by

You can make quick and easy recurring thanksgiving payments or can choose a one-time offering from the comfort of your own home. When making an offering online, you have the option to choose which collection you would like the offering to go to, just as you would do during Sunday Mass – first collection (Parish) or the second collection (Presbytery).

Thank you to all our parishioners who have responded and dropped off your envelopes and Project Compassion Boxes to the parish office and also contributed directly to our Church Bank Account. Fr Vincent and Dcn. Charles thank you for your continued support to the parish.

THE ROAD TO EMMAUS (Dcn. Charles English)
Today’s Gospel, the Emmaus story, is a great favourite for so many people. Two disciples of Jesus, one of whom is called Cleopas, are walking back from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. As the two disciples walked along talking together about events that had just happened in Jerusalem, Jesus Himself came up and walked by their side, but something prevented them from recognising Him. So, to these two disciples Jesus is a stranger. Jesus asked the two men, ‘What matters are you discussing as you walk along?’ The two disciples stopped. They were sad, bereaved, depressed, ‘their faces downcast’. Then Cleopas goes on to tell Our Lord all about Jesus of Nazareth. How their chief. priests and leaders had handed Jesus over to be sentenced to death, and had Him crucified. The two disciples were amazed that this stranger (Jesus) had not heard of the events that had just happened.  Then Cleopas went on to say, ‘Our own hope had been that He would be the One to set Israel free’. And goes on to say that some women from their group had gone to the tomb and did not find the body of Jesus. These women went back to tell the Apostles, and some of their friends, Peter and John, ran to the tomb and ‘found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of Him they saw nothing’. Then Our Lord said to the two, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the Prophets. Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into His glory?’ Then Our Lord started to explain to these two disciples the passages throughout the Scriptures, starting with Moses, that were about Himself’. As the three walk along, it is Jesus who is the central focal- point, explaining Scripture to the other  two. At Mass, we  also hear and listen to the Scriptures, just like those two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Then, as they drew near to the village of Emmaus, Jesus made as if to go on by Himself. However, the two disciples ‘pressed Him to stay with them’. ‘It is nearly evening,’ they said ‘and the day is almost over’. So Our Lord went into the house with them. ‘Now while He was with them at table, He took the bread and said the blessing; then He broke it and handed it to them’. ‘And their eyes were opened and they recognised Him, ‘but He had vanished from their sight’. Now these two disciples, on the road to Emmaus, had spoken to Our Lord for a long time, and yet, it was only ‘in the breaking of bread’, that they actually recognised Jesus, our Risen Lord. Over 2,000 years later, we all feel how wonderful it must have been for those two disciples to have seen our Risen Lord sitting across the table from them, to have walked beside Jesus and spoken with the Risen Christ. Something within us longs and yearns for this too. As wonderful as this experience was for these two disciples, we actually don’t need to have Our Lord Jesus sitting across the table from us in His physical, bodily appearance; in the same way these two disciples saw Him. Because we have Jesus right here and now, when Father Vincent, and all Catholic priests, consecrate the bread and wine at Holy Mass. It is there at Holy Mass that we have Jesus truly present; Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Jesus is truly present in the consecrated host the body of Christ, and the chalice, which is the blood of Christ. He is Risen!  He Lives! Jesus is present in the most blessed sacrament of Holy Communion. That is our Catholic belief! We also have the ‘Emmaus” experience! We are nourished in two ways from the one table, at Mass. The table of God’s Word; and the table of the Holy Eucharist. Let us pray, that our hearts burn with love for Jesus, Our Risen Lord. May we always recognise Jesus ‘in the breaking of bread’. ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has Risen and has appeared to Simon’. He is Risen, Alleluia! He is Risen, indeed, Alleluia! Alleluia!

CATHOLIC CARE – EMERGENCY RELIEF
Emergency relief can be accessed by anyone experiencing a financial crisis which has left them unable to pay for necessities such as food. This support can also be provided to people who are at imminent risk of not being able to pay bills or purchase other necessities. To access Emergency Relief, please call Catholic Care Footscray office on 0436127882 to make an appointment, preferably a day before the appointment is required. Please take along some form of identification. The service is free. Opening hours are Wed to Fri 10:00am to 4:00pm, at 3 Wingfield Street, Footscray 3011. For more information on emergency relief services and other support services such as financial counselling, mental health wellbeing, loss and grief, alcohol and other drug support,  please check the following link
https://www.ccam.org.au/page/110/emergency-relief.

RECENTLY DECEASED
We pray for Leo Mellewa, Geoffrey Matthews, Justina Noronha, Maria Kaminski, Marcelo Ceriaco, Phylles Brianis, the 4 police officers tragically killed and all who have passed away recently.

DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
We pray for Marija Husar, Mary Wilson, John Lombardo, Fred Dearing and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.

PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
We pray for Elaine Dalton, Leo Linehan, Gary Spotswood, Sean Donaldson, Kath Meddings, Lucy Ballan, Irene Jones, Thais Long, Jean Cameron, Gordon Newman, Francine Foster, Sam Caruana, Therese Mary, Zandi Falzon, Robel Rosales, Rey Medina, Denis Webber, Lourdes Sequeira, Mary D'cruz, Pat Heffernan, Andrea Clayburn, Yvonne Clayton, Monique Hoaster, Alphonsus De Roza, Aiden Leonard, Elvira de Torres, Wilfredo Villareal, Julia Rego, Keely Welsford, Rolando Navarro, Jean Skinner, Avis Fernandes, Gaudelia Javier, Lina Enriquez, Felix Bephage, Francis Goonting, Fr Jolly Alavelil CMI, Jose Golaw, Gely Co, Anne Deluca, Jomy Jacob, Andie Osmond, Ceejay Fernandes, Hellen Bonnici, Filippo Sciglitano and all who are ill in our Parish.