DEVOTIONAL PRAYER FOR JUNE
Prayer to St. Peter the Apostle
O Holy Apostle, because you are the Rock upon which Almighty God has built his church; obtain for me I pray you, lively faith, firm hope and burning love; complete detachment from myself, contempt of the world, patience in adversity, humility in prosperity, recollection in prayer, purity of heart, a right intention in all my works, diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life, constancy in my resolutions, resignation to the will of God and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death; that so, by means of your intercession and your glorious merits, I may be made worthy to appear before the chief and eternal Shepherd of souls, Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever. Amen.
Entrance Antiphon
These are the ones who, living in the flesh, planted the Church with their blood; they drank the chalice of the Lord and became the friends of God.
1st Reading (Acts 12:1-11)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
King Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end of Passover week. All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly. On the night before Herod was to try him, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with double chains, while guards kept watch at the main entrance to the prison. Then suddenly the angel of the Lord stood there, and the cell was filled with light. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him. ‘Get up!’ he said ‘Hurry!’ – and the chains fell from his hands. The angel then said, ‘Put on your belt and sandals.’ After he had done this, the angel next said, ‘Wrap your cloak round you and follow me.’ Peter followed him, but had no idea that what the angel did was all happening in reality; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed through two guard posts one after the other, and reached the iron gate leading to the city. This opened of its own accord; they went through it and had walked the whole length of one street when suddenly the angel left him. It was only then that Peter came to himself. ‘Now I know it is all true’ he said. ‘The Lord really did send his angel and has saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.’
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
The Lord set me free from all my fears.
2nd Reading (2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-18)
A reading from the second letter of St. Paul to Timothy
My life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing. The Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear; and so I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me, and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! You are Peter, the rock on which I will build my Church; the gates of hell will not hold out against it. Alleluia!
Gospel (Mt 16:13-19)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Communion Antiphon
Peter said to Jesus: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus replied: You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.
Next week’s Readings
Zech 9:9-10; Rom 8:9, 11-13; Mt 11:25-30
Feasts of the week
Monday, 29 June - Sts. Peter & Paul, Apostles
Friday, 3 July - St. Thomas, Apostle
PARISH NEWS
STS. PETER & PAUL, APOSTLES, 2020
(A reflection by Fr. Vincent John CMI)
This Sunday, our Church celebrates the feast of two great saints, the two important pillars of the church, Saints Peter and Paul. They are the two apostles, who showed unity and diversity of opinions, attitudes and missionary zeal in the early church. Jesus called Peter at the beginning of His public ministry, while He called Paul after His resurrection. Jesus called Peter when he was an obedient listening fisherman, while He called Paul who was the strongest persecutor of early believing communities. Once they received the call from Jesus, both of them kept their zeal for Christ always at its peak. There was a difference of opinions between them regarding the nature of their evangelizing mission, though they were preaching the same Jesus and the same Gospel. But they led the Church united in Christ.
St. Peter represents the faith of the church and through St. Peter, Christ has revealed how essential faith is for the Church to survive and flourish. Jesus was with St. Peter for three years. Very early in Jesus’ public life, He could have made St. Peter the head of the Church but He did not. Why? Jesus knew that St. Peter was weak, so weak that at one time he was overthrown by the words of a single maidservant. Therefore Jesus waited for the weak man to grow stronger and stronger and for his faith in him to become unassailable. When Jesus asked, who do you say that I am? And Peter answered, “You are the Son of the living God” (Mt 16/16). Jesus knew that St. Peter’s faith had grown rock-like and gave him the keys of the kingdom. St. Peter's faith grew even stronger when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles. His faith in Christ later became a beacon light to all other followers.
St. Paul represents the mission of the Church and through him Christ has revealed how important it is for the Church to continue her mission. What is it that gave St. Paul the strength and courage to shed his blood in the service of the Good News? Paul's encounter with the resurrected Jesus changed his life, the church and the world. He lived for Christ and with Christ; in giving of himself, he was no longer seeking and building himself up. Paul is a figure who cannot be overlooked by anyone who wants to understand Jesus Christ and Christianity.
As we look at the personalities of Sts. Peter and Paul, we see that God called them to use their personalities to spread the Gospel. Peter, to use his strong love to look after the flock, and Paul to use his training as a Pharisee and his strength of character to ensure, that the non-Jews would be welcomed into the church. It is a reminder to us that our talents and our weakness too, can become God's means of helping others, if we allow it. We don't have to be perfect for God to work through us, God can work through us, as he did with Sts. Peter and Paul.
May God bless you all.
LIVE STREAMING OF MASS AT 10:30AM THIS SUNDAY, 28th JUNE
Due to the limited number of people allowed to attend Mass, thanks to a member of our Young Adults Group, the 10:30am Mass from our church will be live streamed this Sunday through our Facebook Page link
https://m.facebook.com/stpetershoppers/
UPDATED GUIDELINES
Following updated Guidelines, our Parish will operate as follows:
- Church will be open with a LIMIT OF 20 PEOPLE permitted to attend each service. Masses will be as per information on the first page.
- For weekday Masses from Monday to Friday parishioners will be admitted into the church on a first come first serve basis up to a limit of 20 people.
- Bookings for weekend Masses (Saturday 9:00am & 6:00pm, Sunday 8.30am, 10.30am & 5:00pm) are to be done online via Trybooking.com using the following link
https://www.trybooking.com/BKFVD (link will change every week). - Bookings for weekend Masses close at 2:00pm on Thursday prior to the weekend.
- Please ensure when you book online via Trybooking you will receive a confirmation email. If you have not received your confirmation email, your booking is invalid.
- When you come to the mass that you have booked in, you need not bring a printout of your ticket.
- Parishioners are requested to book a weekend mass once every two weekends.
Please observe the following:
- If you are unwell on your allocated day, PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND FOR THE SAFETY OF OTHERS.
- No children under 5 years old.
- 5m distance from other people must be observed at all times.
- We request everyone to remain in their allocated seats during the duration of their stay in Church
- Church will be open 30 minutes prior to start of Mass.
- Doors will be shut 5 minutes prior to start of Mass.
- Parishioners must leave church immediately after Mass.
- No collections will be taken, however baskets have been provided at the entrance for anyone wishing to place their donations/thanksgiving envelopes/prayer requests and to return their Project Compassion boxes.
- Holy Water Bottles can be collected, (1 per family) after Mass.
- Communion will only be under the one species and in the hand only.
- Bulletins will be available but must be taken home, not left in church.
- Hand sanitiser is provided at the entry doors. All necessary cleaning precautions are being undertaken.
WELCOME TO OUR NEWLY BAPTISED
We welcome into our Church community Ariella Adie 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 she will lead a life full of happiness, faith and love.
THANKSGIVING PROGRAM
Thanksgiving envelopes and letters for the new financial year are available for collection from the Church. These will be available even when you attend the weekday masses. Please start to use the new envelopes from the weekend of 4/5 July 2020.
A BIG THANK YOU to all the volunteers who worked hard to ensure that all the envelopes and letters for the Thanksgiving Program were ready for parishioners to collect last weekend.
THANKSGIVING 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. Details as follows:
Account Name: St Peter Apostle Parish Church Account
BSB: 083-347 Account No: 637286747
Please use your Thanksgiving Envelope Number and your name for reference purposes (eg.TG123 - Tom Smith) - Parishioners can also now make payments online if you wish to do so, either by going to the link Online Thanksgiving Payments CDF Pay OR by going to the link on our website (under the Support your Parish tab) Please add your Thanksgiving Envelope number if you have one. You also have the option to choose which collection you would like the offering to go to, i.e. first collection (Parish) or second collection (Presbytery).
ZOOM INVITATIONS FROM:
ST PETER'S CHARISMATIC PRAYER COMMUNITY - KNK
Saturdays at 3:00pm – Divine Mercy & Praise & Worship
Sundays at 7:00pm – Rosary & Praise & Worship
Use below link & Meeting ID both days:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7414862105?pwd=NlVwaXUyS3hVSlFzZ0pNOG1MT29Ldz09
Meeting ID: 741 486 2105 Password: 023368
BIBLE STUDY MINISTRY
Every week on a Monday from 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Use below link & Meeting ID
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9689427525?pwd=akpXUHFPQTJRazRxZVZaOVVhZlM4QT09
Meeting ID: 9689427525 Password: 2Vp4ef
For details contact Clive Gonsalves at
gonsalvesclive@hotmail.com or Francis Thomas at francisthomas@hotmail.com.
RECENTLY DECEASED
We pray for Leonila Raguine, Margaret Lumsden, John Kurvink, Violet Rita Aponso, Stella Magro, Ana Mauna, Gerard Mendez, Abraham Koyickal, Arlene Burns and all who have passed away recently.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
We pray Sally Dela Pena, Visitacion Delos Santos, Eric Billing, Numeriano Medel, Gracy D’souza, M C Philip, Francis Pereira, Crescentia Fernando, Irma Smith and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.
PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
We pray for Adrian Tully, Gary Spotswood, Sean Donaldson, Kath Meddings, Lucy Ballan, Irene Jones, Thais Long, Jean Cameron, Gordon Newman, Sam Caruana, Denis Webber, Lourdes Sequeira, Mary D'cruz, Monique Hoaster, Alphonsus De Roza, Wilfredo Villareal, Julia Rego, Rolando Navarro, Avis Fernandes, Francis Goonting, Fr Jolly Alavelil CMI, Anne Deluca, Andie Osmond, Hellen Bonnici, Filippo Sciglitano, Anthony Hanford, James Barwick, Gerry Akein, Helga Jacob, Carmelina Costanzo, Bryan Dalton, Pat Borcich, Antony, Alki Christopoulos, Bill Fairney, Charlotte Mary, Frank Forbes, Baby Lucy Rodriguerz, Carmela Saragoza, Nicolas Caruana and all who are ill in our Parish.