PARISH NEWS
THANK YOU FROM FR. VINCENT & DCN. CHARLES
- To Allgreen Nursery, Charles Buttigieg and all who very kindly donated the Palm and Cypress cuttings for our Palm Sunday masses.
- To all who worked so hard both behind the scenes and at the services to ensure that everything went through so smoothly. Without your help we could not achieve this.
May the spirit of the Risen Christ always live within you, and may you always have the gift of Love, the blessing of Hope, and the Promise of Peace.
BAPTISM FORMATION MEETING APRIL 2018
The next Baptism Formation Meeting will be held this Monday, 9th April at 7:00pm in Church. Please use the door beside the school office to gain entry into the church.
YOUNG ADULTS GROUP for ages 18 to 29 yrs continue to meet every Sunday at 6:00pm in the theatrette (near the parish office) to worship, pray, hear talks, read the bible and learn more about God together.
PROJECT COMPASSION BOXES
A reminder to please return all Project Compassion boxes either to the Parish Office or by leaving them on the table outside the Sacristy after the weekend Masses. Your donations are greatly appreciated.
WELCOME
We welcome into our Church community Olivia Rose Taylor 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 this child will lead a life full of happiness, faith and love.
THE MISSIONARY SISTERS OF ST. PETER CLAVER will hold their Annual Mission Concert on Sunday 15 April, 2018 at the St. Peter Claver Hall, 154 Cotham Road, Kew - commencing 2pm. Admission is free – a collection will be taken during the Concert. Proceeds will go to assist Sisters of St. John the Baptist, in Dibrugarh, Assam India to give an education for the poor children.`
IMPORTANT DATES FOR OUR PARISH
| 9 April | Baptism Formation Meeting at 7:00pm in church |
| 25 April | Anzac Day Mass, 8:30am |
| 4 May | First Friday Mass & Adoration, 7:00pm – 10:00pm |
| 5 May | Healing Mass, 1:30 to 4:30pm |
MOVIE NIGHT FRIDAY APRIL 20TH AT 7:00PM
Our Young Adults will be hosting the next movie night on Friday April 20, 2018. We will be screening the movie War Room PG a family story about the power of prayer. Gold Coin Donation. Sausage Sizzle, drinks and snacks with light entertainment commences 7:00pm for a movie start of 7:30pm. All parishioners, friends and family are welcome. It is a movie for all ages. All funds go towards the activities of our young adults group. Come and show your support. If you would like to help or donate please call Angelique on 0420 338 231.
SMALL TV
Our Good Samaritan Ministry has been requested by a family, the need for a small TV in working condition. If you have a spare one that you are not using and wish to donate please call or text Royden on 0426 071 375 or drop off at the parish office. Thank You.
FREE TALKS ON CATHOLIC THEOLOGY
Each Sunday, 12pm at Simons College, 33 Howard Street, West Melbourne (2 doors from St Mary Star of the Sea)
What do Catholics really believe? Find out in free 50-minute talks on basic theology, with question time following, given each Sunday after 10.30 Mass by Father Anthony Bernal (of Opus Dei), parish priest of St Mary Star of the Sea. Catholics and all faith-seekers welcome. Details: Maryse on 0478 639 162.
TERM 2 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS FOR PARISHES
See noticeboard for further information.
STEWARDSHIP CORNER – 8TH APRIL 2018
The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own...” – ACTS 4:32
All that we are and all that we have is a gift from God! Think of your family, your friends, your talents, your abilities and your money – these are all gifts from God! We aren’t really owners of anything, we are merely “stewards” of the gifts God has blessed us with.
RECENTLY DECEASED
We pray for Ramon Alinea, Linda Piazza, Fr. Ernie Smith, Steve Stangel, and all who passed away recently.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
We pray for Maxwell Poppen, Reynaldo Natividad, Antonino Failla, Giuseppe Cassisi, Judith & Sebastian D’Cruz, Afra & Isidon Fernandes, Lorna Anderson, Elena de la Cruz, Antonio Grisanich, Terry McGovern, Nick Adamo, Victoria Sapiano, Manuel Lacerna and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.
PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
We pray for Shirley & Leo Linehan, Angela O’Brien, Lydia (Aleida) Van Susteren, Gary Spotswood, Stan Walkden, Sean Donaldson, Liam Parr, Carmel Negline, Thelma French, Edith Street, Brian & Irene Jones, Dot Mulquinney, Georgette Maalouf, Jamilton Dabu, Carmen Mifsud, Bob Meehan, Elizabeth Slee, Charlie Xerxen, Kate Harris, Stephen Doyle, Julie Coghlan, Megan Rowe, Yvonne Clayton, Lloyd Clayburn, Leeandra D'Souza, Shanthi Dass, Rose Farrugia, James Wiliams, Virginia Jewers, Magdalena Marquez, Carmen Augies, Chris, May Rizkallah, Christine Holt , Elzbieta Sobkowicz and all who are ill in our Parish.
REFLECTION ON DIVINE MERCYOur Gospel (John 20: 19-31) recounts one of the Post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples, where Jesus appears to his disciples, coming through locked doors and says Peace be with you breathing upon them the Holy Spirit and communicating His authority to forgive sins. However, Thomas was not present and when the other disciples said to him, We have seen the Lord, he said to them, Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. A week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe. Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God! Thomas’s response in his encounter with the Risen Lord, “My Lord and My God" reveals the very heart of prayer as a call to adoration and communion with God. It has become the exclamation for millions, when faced with the Mystery of Mysteries, the Holy Eucharist, at the elevation during Mass.
Pope St Gregory the Great preached a marvelous homily on this encounter between Thomas and the Risen Lord. In it he asked: What conclusion, dear brethren, do you come to? Surely it was not by chance that this chosen disciple was missing in the first place? Or that on his return he heard, that hearing he doubted, that doubting he touched, and that touching he believed? It was by divine dispensation and not by chance that things so fell out. Jesus turned Thomas’s doubt into an event of Mercy for generations to come. Out of the repentance born from seeing Mercy Incarnate, touching the wounds of His Divine love, came that response, those wonderful words that have formed the most profound of personal prayers for millennia “My Lord and My God”. Pope St Gregory was so right; Thomas’ doubt healed the wounds of all of our doubts. Today we join with our Holy Father Pope Francis and Catholics throughout the whole world, in celebrating the Feast of Divine Mercy. To Saint Faustina Our Lord said: "I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of my tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of my mercy. This day we are invited to approach the throne of Mercy and cry out with St. Thomas: "My Lord and My God" (Jn 20:28). Those who do are forever changed.
ROSTERS
Money Counters - 15 Apr 18
| Andy & Cecille Fernando / Kitty Stuttard |
Readers – 14/15 Apr 18
| 6:00pm | Matthew Reuter |
| 8:30am | Everly Stowers |
| 10:30am | Rosemary Hibbert |
| 5:00pm | Giovanna Siccita |
Extraordinary Ministers of Communion - 14/15 Apr 18
| 7:30pm | M. Nelhropp / S. Martis / Josie T. / Praful A. |
| 8:30am | K. Fernandes / L&B Jones / J. Phal Lai |
| 10:30am | l. Ortega / V. Firman / S. Delos Reyos / Volunteer |
| 5:00pm | J D&M Etiennette / Volunteer |
Music Ministry – 14/15 Apr 18
| 6:00pm | |
| 8:30am | Shirley & Group |
| 10:30am | FilOz |
| 5:00pm | AHFI |