DEVOTIONAL PRAYER FOR JUNE
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
He fed them with the finest wheat and satisfied them with honey from the rock.
1st Reading (Deut 8:2-3, 14-16)
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy
Moses said to the people: ‘Remember how the Lord your God led you for forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, to test you and know your inmost heart – whether you would keep his commandments or not. He humbled you, he made you feel hunger, he fed you with manna which neither you nor your fathers had known, to make you understand that man does not live on bread alone but that man lives on everything that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ‘Do not then forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery: who guided you through this vast and dreadful wilderness, a land of fiery serpents, scorpions, thirst; who in this waterless place brought you water from the hardest rock; who in this wilderness fed you with manna that your fathers had not known.’
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Praise the Lord Jerusalem.
2nd Reading (1 Cor 10:16-17)
A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians
The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! I am the living bread from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live for ever. Alleluia!
Gospel (Jn 6:51-58)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. John
Jesus said to the Jews: ‘I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’ Then the Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me. This is the bread come down from heaven; not like the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Communion Antiphon
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.
Next Week's Readings
Jer 20:10-13; Rom 5:12-15; Mt 10:26-33
Feasts of the Week
Fri, 19 June - The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sat, 20 June - The Immaculate Heart of Mary
PARISH NEWS
THE MOST HOLY BODY & BLOOD OF CHRIST
(A reflection by Fr. Vincent John CMI)
What is the bread of life which Jesus offers to all who believe in him? It is first of all, the life of God himself – life which sustains us not only now in this age, but also in the age to come. The Rabbis said that the generation in the wilderness had no part in the life to come. God sustained the Israelites in the wilderness with manna from heaven. This bread foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers.
Jesus is the "bread of life"
The manna in the wilderness sustained the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land. It could not produce eternal life for the Israelites. The bread which Jesus offers his disciples sustains us not only on our journey to the heavenly paradise, it gives us the abundant supernatural life of God which sustains us for all eternity.
The food that makes us live forever
Jesus chose the time of the Jewish Feast of the Passover to fulfil what he had announced at Capernaum – giving his disciples his body and his blood as the true bread of heaven. Jesus' passing over to his Father by his death and resurrection – the new Passover – is anticipated in the Last Supper, and celebrated in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper, which fulfils the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory of God's kingdom. When Jesus commands his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very centre of our being. That life which he offers is the very life of God himself.
Do you hunger for the "bread of life"?
Jesus offers us the abundant supernatural life of heaven itself – but we can miss it or even refuse it. To refuse Jesus is to refuse eternal life, unending life with the Heavenly Father. To accept Jesus as the bread of heaven, is not only life and spiritual nourishment for this world, but glory in the world to come.
When we receive from the Lord's Table, we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood and partakers of his divine life. This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward.
The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist or Lord's Supper, is an intimate union with Christ. As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity, and enables us to break with disordered attachments to creatures. It allows us to be more firmly rooted in the love of Christ.
May God bless you all.
LIVE STREAMING OF MASS AT 10:30AM THIS SUNDAY, 14TH 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 new 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.
- Bookings for Mass are to be done online via Trybooking.com using the following link https://www.trybooking.com/BJZAP (link will change every week).
- Bookings open on Friday, 6:00pm for bookings for Masses from Tuesday 16th June until Monday 22nd
- For Masses from Tuesday to Thursday, bookings close at 2:00pm on the day prior to Mass.
- For weekend and Monday Masses, bookings close at 2:00pm on Friday 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.
- Please only book weekend Masses once every 2 weekends and only one mass per week. The parish office will monitor bookings to ensure all parishioners get an equal opportunity to attend Masses.
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 15 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 will be provided at the entry doors. All necessary cleaning precautions are being undertaken.
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to St Peter's Charismatic Prayer Community (KNK) on completing 25 years in our Parish. A big thank you to all the leadership teams both present and past for their contribution to spiritual renewal and guidance in the parish through the prayer group. Thank you to all the volunteers and members for your wonderful faith filled service. We wish you continued blessings in your ministry in the years to come. All Glory, Praise and Thanks to God!
ST PETER'S CHARISMATIC PRAYER COMMUNITY (KNK)
Praise the Lord we are 25 years old! Founded on 11 June 1995, Katawan Ni Kristo (Body of Christ) Prayer Community as it was formerly known was originally established for the Filipino Catholic community. Since then it has grown to a spirit filled, multicultural Charismatic prayer group. Throughout the years, our prayer community is led and operated by dedicated volunteers. Guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit, our mission is to bring people to a closer and deeper relationship with God. We seek to achieve this through our weekly prayer meetings. We are also involved in many of our Parish programs and activities such as Healing Masses, Lenten pilgrimage to Ta’ Pinu, Divine Mercy Sunday, Feast of Pentecost, Feast of Corpus Christi and 9 day Novena Dawn Masses. We thank and praise our God for all these wonderful years of Ministry.
Sherwin Simangan, Servant Leader (KNK)
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).
POPE FRANCIS – FAITH VIA MEDIA CONSUMPTION IS “NOT THE CHURCH”
Pope Francis said the forced isolation devised to stop the pandemic was presenting the danger of people living the faith only for themselves – detached from the sacraments, the Church and the people of God. Online Masses and spiritual communion do not represent the Church, he said in his homily on 17 April. “This is the Church in a difficult situation that the Lord is allowing, but the ideal of the Church is always with the people and with the sacraments – always,” The pope reflected on serious concerns about the faithful not being able to come together as a community to celebrate Mass or to receive the sacraments because of government restrictions against people gathering in groups as part of efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus. One’s relationship with Jesus “is intimate, it is personal, but it is in a community," and this closeness to Christ without community, without the Eucharist, without the people of God assembled together and “without the sacraments is dangerous,” he said because people could start living their relationship with God “for just myself, detached from the people of God.” As the Gospels show, Jesus’ disciples always lived their relationship with the Lord as a community – they gathered “at the table, a sign of community. It was always with the sacrament, with bread,” the pope said.
ZOOM INVITATION TO COMBINED ST. PETERS & ST. JAMES BIBLE STUDY MINISTRY
Every week on a Monday from 7:00pm to 8:00pm
To join Meeting 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.
2021 PREP ENROLMENT
Due to the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the 2021 Prep enrolments are all online. To submit a request for an enrolment form, please visit the school website at:
http://www.stpeterahc.catholic.edu.au/enrolment-information/enrolling-for-prep-2021/
RECENTLY DECEASED
We pray for Helen Hanford, Roger Aleki Vitale, Daniel Mathew, Carlo Simeoni, Dahlia Nguyen, Yancy Morillo, Eduardo Rodriques, Alicia Araniva all who have passed away recently.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
We pray for Noel Rego, Clifford Mills, Pauline Restall, Ernesto Ditan, Paul Cachia and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.
PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
We pray for Elaine Dalton, 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, Aiden Leonard, Elvira de Torres, 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, Kitty Stuttard, Gerard Mendez, Adrian Tully and all who are ill in our Parish.