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
The Lord is the strength of his people, a saving refuge for the one he has anointed. Save your people, Lord, and bless your heritage, and govern them for ever.
1st Reading (Jer 20:10-13)
A reading from the prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah said, “I hear so many disparaging me ‘Terror from every side!’ Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All those who used to be my friends watched for my downfall, “Perhaps he will be seduced into error. Then we will master him and take our revenge!” But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero; my opponents will stumble, mastered, confounded by their failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs. But you, Lord of Hosts, you who probe with justice, who scrutinise the loins and heart, let me see the vengeance you will take on them, for I have committed my cause to you. Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of evil men.
The Word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Lord, in your great love, answer me.
2nd Reading (Rom 5:12-15)
A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans.
Sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned. Sin existed in the world long before the Law was given. There was no law and so no one could be accused of the sin of ‘law-breaking’, yet death reigned over all from Adam to Moses, even though their sin, unlike that of Adam, was not a matter of breaking a law. Adam prefigured the One to come, but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! The Spirit of Truth will bear witness to me, says the Lord, and you also will be my witnesses. Alleluia!
Gospel (Mt 10:26-33)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew.
Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not be afraid. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the house-tops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more that hundreds of sparrows. So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Communion Antiphon
The eyes of all look to you, Lord, and you give them their food in due season.
Next week’s Readings
Acts 12:1-11; 2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-19; Mt 16:13-19
Feasts of the week
Mon 22 June - St. John Fisher
Wed, 24 June - Nativity of St. John the Baptist
PARISH NEWS
12TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – ‘Open and Fearless Speech'
(A reflection by Dcn. Charles English)
When I read this Sunday’s Scripture passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel, as I prepared this reflection, I was immediately struck by how many times Our Lord Jesus says: ‘Do not be afraid’. In this short Scripture passage of only eight verses, Jesus says ‘Do not be afraid’ three times.
So why would Our Lord Jesus be pressing this point home so strongly to His disciples, about not being afraid? Well, in the verse preceding today’s Gospel, Jesus mentions that He has been called Beelzebul by some of the Jewish leaders who were opposed to Jesus and His teachings and were Jesus’s enemies. It was a most terrible insult to call Our Lord Jesus this awful demonic name, as Beelzebul is a name given to the prince of demons.
So Jesus is warning His disciples, and us Catholics too, that if He, the Master, is called terrible names then we who are Jesus’s followers will be called bad names too and we will be vilified and persecuted. Jesus is preparing His disciples, that’s us too, for the time when just because we are Catholics and follow Jesus and His teachings, then that will be enough for others, the enemies of the Catholic Church, to persecute us. And haven’t we all seen this in recent times, the mistreatment and persecution of our Church leaders.
Jesus goes on to tell His disciples not to fear men. And in the strongest terms He makes the point that the only one worth being afraid of is God: ‘Fear Him rather who can destroy both body and soul in Hell’.
In the Bible, we often hear the term ‘Fear of the Lord’. This word ‘fear’ in this context really means that we should have reverence before the wonder of God’s sacred presence, and a profound desire to do God’s will on Earth. God is our Loving Father, just like the Loving Father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. There is a lovely, even sentimental line in today’s Gospel, that shows us the love and care of God the Father: ‘Why, every hair on your head has been counted’. There is something so wonderful and personal about this line. God the Father knows us in a personal way, and loves us and sent His only Son, Jesus, down to Earth to die on the cross for us all so that the ‘Gates of Heaven’ would be opened to us. That is what a Loving Father our God is.
As we come to the last few lines of today’s Gospel reading, we see very, very strong speech from Our Lord Jesus. This serves also as a strong warning to us all, who call ourselves followers of Christ, disciples of Our Lord Jesus. Our Blessed Lord lays down quite clearly that He expects complete loyalty from us, His disciples. If we are loyal to Jesus and His teachings in this life, Our Lord Jesus will be loyal to us in the life to come. If we are happy and proud to confess and acknowledge that Jesus is our Lord and our God; then, Jesus will be happy to acknowledge us as His servants and loyal followers. It is a plain fact of history, that if there had not been brave men and women in the Early Church, who faced agony and death, and refused to deny their Master, Our Lord Jesus, then there would be no Christianity today, no Catholic Church.
The Church of today, is built on the unbreakable loyalty of those who held fast to their faith.
‘The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church’.
LIVE STREAMING OF MASS AT 10:30AM THIS SUNDAY, 21ST 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/
THANKSGIVING PROGRAM
Thanksgiving envelopes and letters for the new financial year will be available for collection from the Church from this weekend 20/21 June 2020. 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.
UPDATED GUIDELINES
Following updated Guidelines, our Parish will operate as follows:
- Church will be open with a LIMIT OF 50 PEOPLE permitted to attend each service from Monday 22 June. Usual weekday and weekend Masses will be held.
- 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 50 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/BKCMX (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 that you 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 note that due to the increased numbers allowed, parishioners may attend multiple masses during the week. However, given the increased demand for weekend masses, parishioners are requested to book a weekend mass once every two weekends. Please note that though the church is opened for masses, the dispensation for Sunday obligation still stands until further notice.
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.
- 1.5m 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.
- 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.
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 further details contact Clive Gonsalves at gonsalvesclive@hotmail.com or Francis Thomas at francisthomas@hotmail.com.
RECENTLY DECEASED
We pray for Marina Alves, Ana Mauna, Lina Palmer, Violet Rita Aponso, Alejandra Briones and all who have passed away recently.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
We pray for Gregory Leech, Dorothy Prathapasinghe, Steven Bucsko Jnr, Leo Mellawa, George Lawrence, Misael Manalaysay Jr and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.
PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
We pray for Adrian Tully, 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, Gerard Mendez, Dhranraj Gounder, Charlotte Mary and all who are ill in our Parish.