DEVOTIONAL PRAYER FOR MARCH
Prayer to St. Patrick
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
Salvation is of the Lord.
Salvation is of the Christ.
May your salvation, Lord, be ever with us.
Entrance Antiphon
My eyes are always on the Lord, for he rescues my feet from the snare. Turn to me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor.
1st Reading (Ex 17:3-7)
A reading from the book of Exodus
Tormented by thirst, the people complained against Moses. ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt?’ they said. ‘Was it so that I should die of thirst, my children too, and my cattle?’ Moses appealed to the Lord. ‘How am I to deal with this people?” he said. ‘A little more and they will stone me!’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take with you some of the elders of Israel and move on to the forefront of the people; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the river, and go. I shall be standing before you there on the rock, at Horeb. You must strike the rock, and water will flow from it for the people to drink.’ This is what Moses did, in the sight of the elders of Israel. The place was named Massah and Meribah because of the grumbling of the sons of Israel and because they put the Lord to the test by saying, ‘Is the Lord with us, or not?
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
2nd Reading (Rom 5:1-2, 5-8)
A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by faith we are judged righteous and at peace with God, since it is by faith and through Jesus that we have entered this state of grace in which we can boast about looking forward to God’s glory. This hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
Glory to you, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ!
Lord, you are truly the Saviour of the world; give me living water, that I may never thirst again.
Glory to you, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ!
Gospel (Jn 4:5-42)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.
Jesus came to the Samaritan town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there and Jesus, tired by the journey, sat straight down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘What? You are a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?’ – Jews, in fact, do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus replied: ‘If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you: Give me a drink, you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.’ ‘You have no bucket, sir,’ she answered ‘and the well is deep: how could you get this living water? Are you a greater man than our father Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?’ Jesus replied: ‘Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again; but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.’ ‘Sir,’ said the woman ‘give me some of that water, so that I may never get thirsty and never have to come here again to draw water.’ ‘I see you are a prophet, sir’ said the woman. ‘Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, while you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said: ‘Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know: for salvation comes from the Jews. But the hour will come – in fact it is here already – when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father wants. God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah – that is, Christ – is coming; and when he comes he will tell us everything.’ ‘I who am speaking to you,’ said Jesus ‘I am he.’ Many Samaritans of that town had believed in him on the strength of the woman’s testimony when she said, ‘He told me all I have ever done’, so, when the Samaritans came up to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed for two days, and when he spoke to them many more came to believe; and they said to the woman, ‘Now we no longer believe because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know that he really is the saviour of the world.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Communion Antiphon
For anyone who drinks it, says the Lord, the water I shall give will become in him a spring welling up to eternal life.
Next Week’s Readings
1 Sam 16:1, 6-7, 10-13; Eph 5:8-14; Jn 9:1-41
Feasts of the Week
Friday, 17 Mar - St. Patrick
PARISH NEWS
WELCOME TO OUR NEWLY BAPTISED
We welcome into our Church community Jasper Beasley who is to be baptised this weekend. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the love of Parents, Godparents, family and friends, we pray that Jasper will lead a life full of happiness, faith and love.
BAPTISMAL RENEWAL MASS – SUNDAY 12TH MARCH 10:30AM MASS
On behalf of Fr Vincent and our parish community, we warmly welcome the children baptised in our parish during 2022 and their families for this special Baptismal Renewal Mass. We specially pray for these children and their parents.
LENTEN SERVICES IN OUR PARISH
- STATIONS OF THE CROSS held at 7:00pm every Friday during Lent followed by Mass.
- LENT ANOINTING FOR HEALING MASS, TUES 14TH MARCH 11:00AM FOLLOWED BY LIGHT LUNCH
Everyone, especially the sick and elderly, are invited to attend our Anointing for Healing Mass on Tuesday 14th March at 11:00am. Following Mass, a light luncheon will be served in the hall, hosted by the Ladies Auxiliary. All welcome.
Please note that there will be NO 8:30AM MASS on Tuesday 14th March.
- PARISH LENT REFLECTION WITH MARIA FORDE – SAT 18TH MARCH 7:15PM TO 8:30PM IN OUR CHURCH
Maria Forde is a singer, songwriter, teacher and spiritual director working with Catholic Education. Please join us on this special evening of music, scripture, prayer and conversation with Maria as we prepare for the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.
- LENT RITE I RECONCILIATIONS – THURSDAY 30TH MARCH 7:00PM
Please join us for our Lenten Reconciliations on Thursday 30th March at 7:00pm. Multiple priests will be available to hear confessions. This is a great opportunity to prepare ourselves for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery. All invited.
PROJECT COMPASSION
Please take home a Project Compassion box or a set of donation envelopes to support Caritas Australia this Lenten season and help support vulnerable people around the world, now and For All Future Generations. You can donate through Project Compassion donation boxes and envelopes available from your parish, by visiting caritas.org.au/project-compassion, or by calling 1800 024 413.
CONGRATULATIONS TO DEACON ROYDEN D’SOUZA on his appointment as Permanent Deacon to Corio-Lara Parish. We wish Dcn. Royden God’s blessings as he begins at his new parish. We know that he will bring the joy of the Gospel and the message of God’s love to those parishes as he has done in our parishes at Hoppers Crossing. We are grateful and thank you for your support and assistance at St. Peters.
CONGRATULATIONS to Barry Hope, our RCIA Candidate who attended the Right of Election last week at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The RCIA Scrutinies will be held at Masses on Sunday 12th March 8:30am, Saturday 19th March 6:00pm and Sunday 26th March 8:30am.
BLESSING FOR ALL PREGNANT MOTHERS AND THEIR UNBORN BABIES - WEEKEND OF 25/26 MARCH
To mark the Feast of the Annunciation celebrated on Sat 25th March, Father will give a special blessing to all pregnant mothers and their unborn babies at the conclusion of all Masses on the weekend of 25/26 March.
NIGHT FEVER 24TH MARCH, 6:00PM TO MIDNIGHT
Sacred Heart Church, Rathdowne St & Pelham St, Carlton
Archbishop Peter A Comensoli has called for a weekend of prayer throughout the whole Archdiocese on Friday 24 to Sunday 26 March 2023. Fiat – A Weekend of Prayer coincides with the Feast of the Annunciation and will begin at Sacred Heart Church, Carlton. Join young people as they gather from across the Archdiocese for a night of prayer, praise, and intercession.
As part of Fiat, our parish will hold an afternoon of prayer to be conducted by our St Peter’s Charismatic Prayer Group on Saturday 25th March from 2:30pm to 4:00pm. This will include Adoration, Benediction and Lectio Divina with the theme of the Annunciation conducted by Fr. Vincent.
PLEASE PRAY for Mr. Stephen Fernandes and Mr Hoa Tran who will be ordained to the Permanent Diaconate at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Saturday 11 March 2023 at 10:00am.
MASS OF THE HOLY OILS (CHRISM MASS) - SAT 1ST APRIL 10:00AM, ST. PATRICK'S CATHERDRAL
(9:00AM MASS AT OUR PARISH CANCELLED)
All are invited to attend this special Mass celebrated by Archbishop Peter Comensoli and concelebrated with Priests and Deacons from the Archdiocese. At this Mass, the Oil of the Sick, the Oils of Catechumens and the Chrism are blessed. This Mass manifests the communion of the Priests with their Bishop in a leadership of service.
Kindly note that due to the timing of this Chrism Mass, the usual Saturday morning Mass at 9:00am will be cancelled.
SCHOOL OF DISCIPLESHIP – 2023
The 2023 session of the School of Discipleship will commence from Sunday 23 April at 6:15 pm at St Peter’s Community Centre. This is a faith outreach program aimed to teach members more about our Catholic faith with three purposes – to learn it, live it and share it. The school has been successfully running for the last 7 consecutive years in Hoppers Crossing and members have testified to growing both spiritually and personally. All are welcome to join. Enquiries please call Anita Dsouza on 0411 77 2320 or pick up a brochure from the Narthex. There are limits seats. Please register at https://bit.ly/3EFg96N There will be a brief presentation on the School during weekend masses on March 18/19.
THOMAS CARR COLLEGE OPEN DAY
Sunday 19 March 2023, 10:30am to 2:00pm. Register at thomascarr.vic.edu.au.
ARCHBISHOP TO DELIVER 2023 PATRICK ORATION Fri 17 March 2023
Four years ago, Archbishop Comensoli delivered the first Patrick Oration, in which he put forward a guiding framework for how we might live and grow as people of faith in our Melbourne reality. Please join us online on St Patrick’s Day as the Archbishop delivers his annual Patrick Oration from the Catholic Leadership Centre in East Melbourne. Commencing at 7:30pm you can view the Oration live through Community TV Channel C31 or via www.youtube.com/archmelb the Archdiocesan YouTube Channel.
RECENTLY DECEASED
We pray for Elizabeth Egan, David McClure, Thresiamma Paluvelil, John Allen, Tony Arrigo, Elvina D’Souza, Lily Soares, Robert Balan, Roy Madeloso, Nucia Feraro, Elizabeth Angeles, Restituto Mamerto, Trevor D'Souza, Ivor Fernandes, Arturo Bacani, Carmelita McLean, Emanuel Martinelli, Muriel Rodrigo, Ben D’Rozario, Daisy Irani, and all who have died in the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
We pray for Doreen Edison, Francis Goonting, Herbie Velasco Sy, Gertrude & John Briscoe, Ben Bautista, Alex D’Souza, Desmond Conns, Eardley Beck, Josephine Capania, Virginia Jewers and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.
PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
We pray for Sean Donaldson, Wilfredo Villareal, Helen Kelly, Gordon Newman, Thais Long, Vincent Margaret, Franklin Quintanilla, Jean Cameron, Vivienne Gantar, Magda Symons, Lindsay Coates, Violet Lawrence, Tae Yoon Jim, Jeffrey Dalton, Maureen Wilson, Sandra Farrelly, Joaquin Romero, Annette O’Brien, Cecilia Lazum Htu Bu, Alster Firth, Gayle Ryan, Robert Martinez, Nina Costa, Johnny Gregory, Draga Ve Kic, Melvin Ramshaw and all who are ill in our Parish.
ROSTERS
| K. Stuttard / E. Lewis / B. D’Souza / R. Hibbert |
Roster for Readers – 18/19 Mar 23
| 6:00pm | Jerilee Cardoz |
| 8:30am | Jeslin Shaji |
| 10:30am | Sunil Vaz |
| 5:00pm | Youth Mass |
Extraordinary Ministers of Communion – 18/19 Mar 23
| 6:00pm | K. Pham / S. Fernando / B. Steinhauer / N. Golaw |
| 8:30am | Karen F. / A. Vesty / Romayne A. / P. Simonides |
| 10:30am | M&C Peters / E. Mills / Volunteer |
| 5:00pm | Youth Mass |
| 6:00pm | Mater Dolorosa |
| 8:30am | St. Philomena |
| 10:30am | FilOz |
| 5:00pm | Young Adults |