DEVOTIONAL PRAYER FOR SEPTEMBER CORONAVIRUS PRAYER
God our Father, we come to You in our need, to ask Your protection against the COVID-19 that has disturbed and even claimed lives. We pray that You guide the people tasked to find cures for this disease and to stem its transmission.
Protect the medical experts that they may minister to the sick with competence and compassion.
We pray for those afflicted. May they be restored to health soon.
Protect those who care for them.
Grant eternal rest to those who have died.
Give us the grace in this trying time to work for the good of all and to help those in need.
We implore You to stop the spread of this virus and to save us from our fears.
Grant all these through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
We fly to Your protection, oh Holy Mother of God. Do not despise our petition in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, Oh glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.
Our Lady, health of the sick, pray for us.
St. Peter Apostle, pray for us.
Entrance Antiphon
I am the salvation of the people, says the Lord. Should they cry to me in any distress, I will hear them, and I will be their Lord for ever.
1st Reading (Is 55:6-9)
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians.
Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by my life or by my death. Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would bring me something more; but then again, if living in this body means doing work which is having good results – I do not know what I should choose. I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and be with Christ, which would be very much the better, but for me to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need for your sake. Avoid anything in your everyday lives that would be unworthy of the gospel of Christ.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia! Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son. Alleluia!
Gospel (Mt 20:1-16)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew.
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day, and sent them to his vineyard. Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage.” So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same. Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us” they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too.” In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first.” So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious because I am generous?” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Communion Antiphon
You have laid down your precepts to be carefully kept; may my ways be firm in keeping your statutes.
Next Week’s Readings
Ezek 18:25-28; Phil 2:1-11; Mt 21:28-32
Feasts of the Week
Mon, 21 Sep - St. Matthew
Wed, 23 Sep - St. Pius of Pietrelcina
PARISH NEWS
25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A 2020
(Reflection by Fr. Vincent John CMI)
Some people think that Jesus’ story is an unfair and unjust one. I have heard this many times. This is a very serious accusation. Injustice is an ugly thing. All of us have some experience of it. Jesus’ story is not about injustice, because no injustice is done in it. If this story is not about injustice then what is it about? It is about generosity. “Are you envious because I am generous?” That is the key phrase in the story. The story is about generosity, but not ordinary generosity. It is about a generosity unlike anything we have ever known. The eleventh-hour workers were not idlers who didn’t want to work. They were people no respectable employer would hire. They were left-overs, the rejects. The idea that any employer would take these people at the eleventh hour, and pay them a full day’s wage, was unthinkable. Yet this is exactly what the owner of the vineyard did. This is the strong point of the parable.
Jesus wasn’t talking about human generosity but about the generosity of God. He was illustrating what the First Reading said, “God’s ways are not our ways, and God’s thoughts are not our thoughts”. God’s generosity utterly transcends human generosity. The parable was aimed at the Pharisees. They were critical of Jesus because he befriended sinners. Jesus gave them his answer in this parable. In it he showed them what God is like: God is generous and full of compassion for the poor and outcast.
God deals with us in ways that are very different from the ways we normally deal with one another. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high is God’s generosity above our generosity. The goodness of God is a great comfort to us. But it is also a great challenge, because we are called to imitate it; to make our ways of dealing with one another more like God’s way of dealing with us. God knows our need. He is generous enough to give us what we need to live a successful life in this world and to save enough for eternal life. That saving part may prompt us to grumble. It is a sign of the worldly attitude that is present in us. Bigger the worldly mind, the more severe the grumbling; while greater the heavenly mind, greater the satisfaction and appreciation. The Lord God is just and fair in all His dealings with His children. No one will ever go unrewarded for his works that are accredited to him. The greater the works, the greater the reward.
May God bless you all.
LIVE STREAMING OF DAILY MASS FROM OUR CHURCH
Our church is live streaming daily Mass through our
Facebook Page https://m.facebook.com/stpetershoppers/
Via Zoom. ZOOM link https://zoom.us/j/93990476817 Meeting ID: 9399 047 6817. Parishioners can now dial in via mobile phone or landline to participate in our daily Masses on ZOOM.
Landline – Dial 0011 618 6119 3900
Mobile – Dial +618 6119 3900
Once you connect you will be requested to put in the meeting ID: 9399 047 6817##. Masses are Monday to Friday 8:30am, Saturday 9:00am and Sunday 10:30am.
PARISH OFFICE
The Parish Office is closed, however staff will be working from home on Tuesday/Thursday/Friday from 9:00am to 4:00pm. You can still contact us on the office phone 9749 4300 or send in your enquiries/prayer requests by email to stpeters@westnet.com.au or hopperscrossing@cam.org.au
TO KEEP YOURSELF UPDATED WITH PARISH NEWS
Parish website at http://stpeterapostlemission.org.au
Facebook at https://m.facebook.com/stpetershoppers/
Weekly Bulletin – kindly send your email address to stpeters@westnet.com.au to have a copy of our bulletin emailed to you every Friday.
LETTER FROM ARCHBISHOP PETER COMENSOLI
A letter has been received from Archbishop Peter Comensoli welcoming the beginnings of the easing in COVID-19 Restrictions in Victoria, his hopes for how we may be able to proceed and his assurance of his ongoing prayers and concern for the Clergy and people of our Archdiocese. This 2 page letter can be viewed at our website at http://stpeterapostlemission.org.au and on Facebook at https://m.facebook.com/stpetershoppers/
ONLINE CHILDREN’S LITURGY
St Peters Young Adults will be holding Online Children’s Liturgy for children aged 5 – 8 years commencing this Sunday 20th September 2020 from 11:30am to 12:30pm. These sessions will be held fortnightly. Children will pray together, read and listen to the Gospel and be supported to grow in their faith through sharing and activities. We welcome you and your family to take part! Parents are required to register their children before attending. To enrol your child in this program, please email the Parish office at hopperscrossing@cam.or.au or call on 9749 4300 (Tues/Thursday/Friday 9:00am – 3:30pm) and we will send you an enrolment form to register your child, which is to be completed and returned. Our parish will ensure that child e-safety is maintained as we follow the child safety guidelines recommended by the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
ZOOM LINKS TO WEEKLY ST. ANTHONY’S NOVENA & OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR NOVENA
St. Anthony’s Novena held every Tuesday at 7:00pm, followed by Rosary https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82338237597?pwd=dlZyKzFCO ERFNDBDMCs5cDBkUnFOdz09
Meeting ID: 823 3823 7597, Password: 524250
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Novena held every Wednesday at 7:00pm, followed by Rosary
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83632685197?pwd=RWRxQWJ 1TXpoZHlLRTRIUVp0Nk0zdz09
Meeting ID: 836 3268 5197. No Password.
ST. PETER'S CHARISMATIC PRAYER COMMUNITY KNK
Saturdays at 3:00pm – Divine Mercy & Praise & Worship
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7414862105?pwd=NlVwaXUyS 3hVSlFzZ0pNOG1MT29Ldz09
Meeting ID: 741 486 2105, Password: 023368
BIBLE STUDY MINISTRY
Every week on a Monday from 7:00pm to 8:00pm.
Focus on Gospel of John, Chapter 13, Group Quiz on John Ch. 1-3.
Enquiries Francis Thomas francispthomas@hotmail.com
Meeting ID: 9689427525 Password: 2Vp4ef
SOCIAL SERVICES SUNDAY
On 20th September 2020, we mark Social Services Sunday within the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. On this day we are invited to give thanks and pray for all who stand with and provide support to those who are marginalised and vulnerable within our communities. We recognise with deep gratitude, those working within Catholic Social Services Victoria’s 45 member organisations, the 7,000 staff and 17,000 volunteers, who together, serve more than 200,000 people in need each year. We also give thanks for all in our parishes, who are so often at the forefront of providing practical support and care to those in need within their local communities, and beyond. We call to mind the 2020/21 Social Justice Statement brought out recently by the Australian Catholic bishops, To Live Life to the Full: Mental Health in Australia Today, and so draw your attention to a recent event hosted by CSSV, Counselling and Therapeutic Support in a Time of COVID, which provided an opportunity to become more familiar with mental health services, and how to practically reach out for or point to assistance. Parishioners will find the resources in this article helpful.
‘ENGAGING YOUR CATHOLIC FAITH' ONLINE SESSIONS
Engaging Your Catholic Faith is a series of short online sessions being offered by Catholic Theological College exploring a variety of topics including Meditation and Prayer, Spirituality, Women in the Early Church, Interfaith Relations, Reading the Church Classics, Eucharist, Science and Religion. Each session is $20 and runs from 14 September to 31 October. For more information use the link below https://ctc.edu.au/documents/engaging-your-catholic-faith/
RECENTLY DECEASED
We pray for Enid Isaaks, France Rioux, Noemi Medel-Villareal, Gracias Manganelli, K.M. Joseph, Mary Vella, William Lobo, Marina Pagdanganan, Jane Burnnard, Annakutty Joseph, Lilia Balasabas Capuno, Kari Pesonen, Stella Dias, Bill Fairney, all who have died due to COVID-19 and all who have passed away recently.
DEATH ANNIVERSARIES
We pray for Rosy D’souza, Maureen Morgan, Fr. Raveen Perera, Leo Mellawa, Renato Padua, Tolentino Pedayo, George Amando Stowers, Robert Bruce Mills and all whose anniversaries occur at this time.
PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
We pray for Gary Spotswood, Sean Donaldson, Kath Meddings, Irene Jones, Jean Cameron, Gordon Newman, Denis Webber, Monique Hoaster, Wilfredo Villareal, Rolando Navarro, Francis Goonting, Anne Deluca, Hellen Bonnici, Filippo Sciglitano, Anthony Hanford, James Barwick, Gerry Akein, Carmelina Costanzo, Alki Christopoulos, Charlotte Mary, Frank Forbes, Teresita Grisancich, Wilma Pimenta, Kathy Smith, Paul Burton, Honerine Rosario, Aloysius Silva, Shirley Poppen, Norma Medina, Nicolas Caruana, Florine Fernandes, Christine Hall, Esther Uwase, Arokianathan Alphons and all who are ill in our Parish.