Friday 25 July 2014

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mersey Leven Catholic Parish



Parish PriestFr Mike Delaney mob: 0417 279 437; 
email: mike.delaney@catholicpriest.org.au
Assistant Priest: Fr Augustine Ezenwelu mob: 0470 576 857
Postal Address: PO Box 362, Devonport 7310
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street, Devonport 7310 
Office Hours:  Tuesday, Wednesday,Thursday 10am-3pm
Office Phone6424 2783 Fax: 6423 5160 
FaceBook: Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Weekly Newsletter: mlcathparish.blogspot.com.au
Parish Newsletter:  mlcathparishnewsletter.blogspot.com.au
Secretary: Annie Davies/Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair:  Mary Davies

Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au  for news, information and details of other Parishes.


Our Parish Sacramental Life

Baptism: arrangements are made by contacting Parish Office.  
Parents attend a Baptismal Preparation Session on first Tuesday of February, April, June, August, October and December.  
Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist: Are received following a Family–centred, Parish-based, School-supported Preparation Program. 
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: prepares adults for reception into the Catholic community. 
Marriage: arrangements are made by contacting one of our priests - couples attend a pre-marriage Program 
Anointing of the Sick: please contact one of our priests 
Reconciliation:    Ulverstone - Fridays   (10am - 10:30am)
                           Devonport - Saturday (5:15pm– 5.45pm)
                           Penguin     - Saturday (5:15pm - 5:45pm)

 
FIRST READINGKings 3:5.7-12
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (R.) Lord, I love your commands. 
SECOND READINGRomans 8:28-30
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION:Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom. Alleluia!
GOSPEL: Matthew 13:44-52



PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY'S GOSPEL:

In this Gospel Jesus helps the people understand the value of the Kingdom, and he communicates the joy of living the kingdom.
I read the text, imagining Jesus as he describes the infinite value of the kingdom, sensing’ his joy and excitement. Perhaps I can ‘see’ him living it, reaching out to all, being criticised for the kind of company he keeps, but continuing regardless, and
‘enjoying’ the company of all whom he attracted.
What do I ‘sense’ as I contemplate this scene? Can I identify with Jesus’ sense of value, with Jesus’ joy?
What makes it difficult for people today to believe in the kingdom of God . . . . to be committed to building it?
I talk with Jesus as I feel drawn - thanking, asking, offering.
I close my prayer with the Our Father, praying Thy kingdom come as my own prayer with its particular meaning.


Weekday Masses 29th July - 1st August, 2014
Tuesday:           9:30am      Penguin
Wednesday:       9:30am      Latrobe
Thursday:      12:00noon     Devonport
Friday:              9:30am      Ulverstone
Saturday:          9:00am       Ulverstone
           
Next Weekend 2nd & 3rd August, 2014
Saturday Vigil:    6.00pm     Penguin       
                                          Devonport      
                                              
Sunday Mass:      8:30am     Port Sorell    (LWC)
                          9:00am     Ulverstone    
                        10:30am     Devonport  
                        11:00am     Sheffield      
                          5.00pm     Latrobe       

Eucharistic Adoration:
Devonport:  Every Friday 10am - 12noon, concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Devonport:  Benediction with Adoration - first Friday of each month.
Prayer Groups:
Charismatic Renewal - Ulverstone (Community Room) Every second and fourth Monday of the month 7:30pm  (In recess over winter) 
                                 -  Devonport (Emmaus House) Thursdays - 7:30pm
Christian Meditation   -  Devonport, Emmaus House - Wednesdays 7pm. 



Ministry Rosters 2nd & 3rd August, 2014
Devonport:
Readers: Vigil: D Covington, V Riley, A Stegman 10.30am: H Williams, D Williams,
J Phillips
Ministers of Communion: Vigil M Doyle, M Heazlewood, S Innes, M Gerrand, P Shelverton
10.30am: B Peters, P Bolster, F Sly, J Carter, E McLagan, B Schrader
Cleaners 1st August: M.W.C. 8th August: B Paul, D Atkins, V Riley
Piety Shop 2nd August: H Thompson 3rd August: M Doyle Flowers: J Cox, S O'Rourke


Ulverstone:
Reader:  F Pisano Ministers of Communion:  E Reilly, M & K McKenzie, M O'Halloran
Cleaners: K Bourke  Flowers: M Webb Hospitality: T Good Team

Penguin:
Greeters: J Garnsey, S Ewing  Commentator:  Y Downes Readers:  E Nickols, J Barker
Procession: A Landers, A Hyland Ministers of Communion: J Garnsey, S Ewing
Liturgy:  Sulphur Creek C Setting Up: M Murray Care of Church: G Hills-Eade, A Landers

Port Sorell:
Readers:  P Anderson  Ministers of Communion: T Jeffries Clean /Prepare/Flowers:
G Bellchambers, M Gillard

Latrobe:
Reader:  P Marlow  Ministers of Communion:  I Campbell, Z Smith Procession: M Clarke, I Campbell               
                  

Your prayers are asked for the sick:
Fr Jim McMahon, Fr Ray Wells, Shirley White, John Purtell, Terry Charlesworth, Louise Murfet, Joan Stafford,Tom & Nico Knaap, Kieran McVeigh, Shanon Breaden, Kath Smith, Jamie Griffiths, Anne Johnson, Lionel Rosevear, Kieran Simpson, Arlene Austria &..

Let us pray for those who have died recently: Suzanne Grimshaw, Clarrie Byrne, Lillian Brewer, Roy O'Halloran, Kathleen Edwards, William Wing and Len Hamilton.
               
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time:
Joseph Hiscutt, Andrea Wright, Dorothy Hawkes, Mary Beaumont, Nita Anthony, Vicky Bennett, Eileen King, Shirley Mooney, Helga Walker, Terence Maskell, Kathleen Bellchambers, Dorothy Smeaton, Jean Fox, Jack O'Rourke and Peggy Kelly.                                                        
May they Rest in Peace



Readings Next Week; 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
First Reading: Isaiah 55:1-3  Second Reading: Romans 8:35, 37-39  
Gospel:   Matthew 14:13-21 



FROM FR MIKE:
Thanks to all those who have indicated that they are willing to be part of the Pudding Club. Unfortunately the requirements of the Australian Food Standards regulations make it almost impossible for us to make puddings this year but I am going to investigate to see if we might be able to find a solution to make them next year. The Central Tasmania Parish is informing their customers of the present situation and indicating that there is a chance we will be operational in 2015. Again, thanks to all who offered to help this year – hopefully we can make it work in 2015.


Last weekend I mentioned that a request had been received from the Burnie-Wynyard Parish to hold a combined training session for Lay Leaders of Liturgy – renewal for some and initial training for others. I am now asking for Parishioners to consider members of our Parish whom they consider suitable to be nominated to assist in this important ministry. Some of the qualities needed are a sense of Church and an ability to share their faith in a clear and understandable way. If you know of any suitable person/s please pray for them that they might be able to accept an invitation to undertake this role in our Parish.


PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE. Meetings for the further training of Readers and Extraordinary Ministers of Communion will be held at Sacred Heart Church Ulverstone on Tuesday, 5th August at 7pm and at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Monday, 11th August at 7pm – even if you think that you have been ‘trained’ to perfection I would ask that all Readers and Extraordinary Ministers please attend.


An initial Planning Meeting will be held on Wednesday 6th August for a MenAlive Weekend to be held in the Parish on the weekend of 15-16th November. This is a powerful weekend for Men and their faith journey and has been highly successful both in Tasmania and Australia wide. The program is well developed and there is a process for implementation which needs a team so help is needed if our weekend is to be a success. The meeting will be held in the Parish House at Devonport on Wed 6th at 7pm.


This coming week I will be in Melbourne for the Annual Mass and Dinner for Jubilarians from Corpus Christi Seminary on Monday and following that with meetings on Wednesday and Thursday before returning on Saturday morning.

Please Note these DATE CLAIMERS:      
                        8th August (Friday) at 7pm in the Community Room, Ulverstone
                        – Open House and Possibility to Discuss the Draft Parish Plan
                        24th August (Sunday) at the 10.30am Mass at OLOL, Devonport
                       – Mass for Children

Until next week, take care on the roads and in your homes,
Fr Mike


FR JIM MCMAHON’S STATE OF HEALTH
In recent times, Fr Jim has been showing progressively signs of ageing. So, he is now resident at St Joseph’s Nursing Home, run by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, adjacent to Kensington Monastery. The address is 2 Kensington Rd, Kensington 2033 ph 02-96634659


KNIGHTS OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS:
Annual General Meeting this Sunday 27th July, 6pm for 6:30pm at Sacred Heart Church Community Room, Ulverstone. All parish men welcome!

MACKILLOP HILL SPIRITUALITY CENTRE:

SPIRITUALITY IN THE COFFEE SHOPPE.    Monday  28th July     10.30 – 12 noon
Come along…share your issues and enjoy a lively discussion over morning tea!

THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL - REPEAT SESSION:
You are invited to join a reflection/presentation on Pope Francis' teaching entitled
The Joy of the Gospel.
When:     Thursday 31st July, 10am - 11:30am
Where:     Emmaus House, 88 Stewart Street, Devonport
Cost:       $10 includes resource materials
Contact:  Clare Kiely-Hoye 6428:2760 or MacKillop Hill 6428:3095

ST MARY MACKILLOP FEAST DAY  LUNCHEON:  Friday 8th August. Celebrate this special day at MacKillop Hill.
Cost $10.00 for soup, sandwich and sweets. 12.00 noon  Bookings necessary by 5th August to help with catering. Phone: Libby   6425:9300   email: mackillophill.forth@sosj.org.au

BAPTISM:
Baptismal preparation sessions are now being held at 'Parish House' Devonport from 7.30 – 8.30pm on the first Tuesday of August, October, December, February, April and June These sessions are for any families who are thinking of baptism as well as those who have booked a date or for anyone wanting to know more about  baptism including those who may be expecting a child.

The next session is on Tuesday 5th August - 7:30pm Parish House, 90 Stewart Street, Devonport.

OUR LADY OF LOURDES MUSICAL PRODUCTION:
Students from Grades 3-6 will be performing their production of "Kids at Sea" at the Devonport Entertainment Centre on Thursday 7th & Friday 8th of August at 7:00 pm. For all bookings contact the DEEC: 6420:2900. For all other inquiries contact Our Lady of Lourdes School: 6424:1744


CWL ULVERSTONE - INVITATION:
Catholic Women’s League is an organisation who have made a difference in our Ulverstone Community since 1944. To help us celebrate our 70th birthday we invite any women of the parish and our Catholic Schools communities to join us at 11am Mass on Tuesday 2nd September  followed by lunch at the Lighthouse Hotel Ulverstone. For catering purposes or any enquiries please phone Marie Byrne 6425:5774.


ST VINCENT DE PAUL 2014 WINTER APPEAL 9th & 10th AUGUST 2014:




SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMENT:
“Some of the groups of disadvantaged and marginalised people we discussed earlier are represented here in Australia. They are part of a worldwide pattern of marginalisation and injustice. Australia’s Indigenous people and the comparatively small numbers of refugees seeking protection here are some examples. As part of our personal conversion, we can ask ourselves what we are doing to recognise those individuals in our own communities, get to know them, understand their needs and work for justice in our own region.”
From the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Social Justice Statement 2013-2014: Lazarus at our Gate: A critical moment in the fight against world poverty.


FOOTY MARGIN:  Round 18 (split round) Carlton won by 23 points. Winners: Z Jones, P Mackey, J Horton
                        Just a reminder that tickets are for Friday night games. 
  

BINGO Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall, Devonport.  Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers for Thursday 7th August are John Halley & Volunteer?
HELP REQUIRED .....WE NEED MORE CALLERS.
If you able to assist in any way even if it's only once a month, please contact the Parish Office.


NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE:

L’ARCHE 50TH ANNIVERSARY:  Venue: Farrell Centre, Friends School, Argyle Street, Hobart. Saturday 2 August, 7.30pm to 9 pm. For more information contact hobart.admin@larche.org.au or the Beni-Abbes office 6228 3920.

HOLY GROUND - FACILITATED BY MONICA BROWN AND HILARY MUSGRAVE:
An opportunity to pause and be still, to come into a Sacred Space and simply be:
Friday 19th September 10am - 3pm Josephite Hall, St Thomas More's School, Newstead. BYO lunch, tea/coffee provided. RSVP 5th September, Emmanuel Centre Phone: 6334:1082 office@emmanuelcentre.org Donation towards costs and Josephite Ministry appreciated.


Newsletter items must be received before 12 noon Thursday – thank you.


Evangelii Gaudium

‘The People of God is incarnate in the peoples of the earth, each of which has its own culture. Grace supposes culture, and God’s gift becomes flesh in the culture of those who receive it.’

-          Para  115 from Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis, Nov. 24, 2013

What is an exorcism?

‘When the Church asks with its authority in the name of Jesus that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism. This is done in ordinary form in the rite of Baptism. A solemn exorcism, called a major exorcism, can be performed only by a priest authorised by the bishop.’

From: Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Paragraph 352 (Catholic Enquiry Centre www.catholicenquiry.com)


Feast Day of the Week – St Ignatius of Loyola, priest (Thursday, July 31)


St. Ignatius Loyola was born in 1491, one of 13 children of a family of minor nobility in northern Spain. As a young man, Ignatius Loyola was inflamed by the ideals of courtly love and knighthood and dreamed of doing great deeds.

In 1521, Ignatius was gravely wounded in a battle with the French. While recuperating, Ignatius Loyola experienced a conversion. Reading the lives of Jesus and the saints made Ignatius happy and aroused desires to do great things. Ignatius realized that these feelings were clues to God’s direction for him.

Over the years, Ignatius became expert in the art of spiritual direction. He collected his insights, prayers, and suggestions in his book the Spiritual Exercises, one of the most influential books on the spiritual life ever written.

With a small group of friends, Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. Ignatius conceived the Jesuits as ‘contemplatives in action.’This also describes the many Christians who have been touched by Ignatian spirituality.’


Words of Wisdom – Pope Francis, from Evangelii Gaudium

‘The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.’



SUICIDE – RECLAIMING THE MEMORY OF OUR LOVED ONE

An article by Fr Ron Rolheiser. The original article can be found at

http://ronrolheiser.com/en/#.U9Lb8fmSzAY

Each year I write a column on suicide. Mostly I say the same thing over and over again, simply because it needs to be said. I don’t claim any originality or special insight, I only write about suicide because there is such a desperate need for anyone to address the question. Moreover, in my case, as a Catholic priest and spiritual writer, I feel it important to offer something to try to help dispel the false perception which so many people, not least many inside the church itself, have of the church’s understanding of suicide. Simply put, I’m no expert, not anyone’s savior, there’s just so little out there.
And, each year, that column finds its audience. I am constantly surprised and occasionally overwhelmed by the feedback. For the last ten years, I don’t think a single week has gone by when I did not receive an email, a letter, or phone call from someone who has lost a loved one to suicide.
When talking about suicide, at least to those who are left behind when a loved one succumbs to this, the same themes must be emphasized over and over again. As Margaret Atwood puts it, sometimes something needs to be said and said until it doesn’t need to be said anymore. What needs to be said over and over again about suicide? That, in most cases, suicide is a disease; that it takes people out of life against their will; that it is the emotional equivalent of a stroke, heart attack, or cancer; that people who fall victim to this disease, almost invariably, are very sensitive persons who end up for a myriad of reasons being too bruised to be touched; that those of us left behind should not spend a lot of time second-guessing, wondering whether we failed in some way; and, finally, that given God’s mercy, the particular anatomy of suicide, and the sensitive souls of those who fall prey to it, we should not be unduly anxious about the eternal salvation of those who fall prey to it.
This year, prompted by particularly moving book by Harvard psychiatrist, Nancy Rappaport, I would like to add another thing that needs to be said about suicide, namely, that it is incumbent on those of us who are left behind to work at redeeming the life and memory of a loved one who died by suicide. What’s implied in this?
There is still a huge stigma surrounding suicide. For many reasons, we find it hard both to understand suicide and to come to peace with it. Obituaries rarely name it, opting instead for a euphemism of some kind to name the cause of death. Moreover and more troubling, we, the ones left behind, tend to bury not only the one who dies by suicide but his or her memory as well. Pictures come off the walls, scrapbooks and photos are excised, and there is forever a discreet hush around the cause of their deaths. Ultimately neither their deaths nor their persons are genuinely dealt with. There is no healthy closure, only a certain closing of the book, a cold closing, one that leaves a lot of business unfinished. This is unfortunate, a form of denial. We must work at redeeming the life and memory of our loved ones who have died by suicide.
This is what Nancy Rappaport does with the life and memory of her own mother, who died by suicide when Nancy was still a child. ((In Her Wake, A Child Psychiatrist Explores the Mystery of Her Mother’s Suicide (Basic Book, N.Y., c2009) After her mother’s suicide, Nancy lived, as do so many of us who have lost a loved one to suicide, with a haunting shadow surrounding her mother’s death.  And that shadow then colored everything else about her mother. It ricocheted backwards so as to have the suicide too much define her mother’s character, her integrity, and her love for those around her.  A suicide, that’s botched in our understanding, in effect, does that, it functions like the antithesis of a canonization.
With this as a background, Nancy Rappaport sets off to make sense of her mother’s suicide, to redeem her bond to her mother, and, in essence, to redeem her mother’s memory in the wake of her suicide.  Her effort mirrors that of novelist, Mary Gordon, whose book, Circling my Mother, attempts to come to grips with her mother’s Alzheimer’s and her death. Gordon, like Rappaport, is too trying to put a proper face on the diminishment and death of a loved one, redeeming the memory both for herself and for others. The difference is that, for most people, suicide trumps Alzheimer’s in terms of stigma and loss.
Few things stigmatize someone’s life and meaning as does a death by suicide, and so there is something truly redemptive in properly coming to grips with this kind of stigma. We must do for our loved ones what Nancy Rappaport did for her mother, namely, redeem their lives and their memory.
















Friday 18 July 2014

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mersey Leven Catholic Parish



Parish PriestFr Mike Delaney mob: 0417 279 437; 
email: mike.delaney@catholicpriest.org.au
Assistant Priest: Fr Augustine Ezenwelu mob: 0470 576 857
Postal Address: PO Box 362, Devonport 7310
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street, Devonport 7310 
Office Hours:  Tuesday, Wednesday,Thursday 10am-3pm
Office Phone6424 2783 Fax: 6423 5160 
FaceBook: Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Weekly Newsletter: mlcathparish.blogspot.com.au
Parish Newsletter:  mlcathparishnewsletter.blogspot.com.au
Secretary: Annie Davies/Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair:  Mary Davies

Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au  for news, information and details of other Parishes.


Our Parish Sacramental Life

Baptism: arrangements are made by contacting Parish Office.  
Parents attend a Baptismal Preparation Session on first Tuesday of February, April, June, August, October and December.  
Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist: Are received following a Family–centred, Parish-based, School-supported Preparation Program. 
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: prepares adults for reception into the Catholic community. 
Marriage: arrangements are made by contacting one of our priests - couples attend a pre-marriage Program 
Anointing of the Sick: please contact one of our priests 
Reconciliation:    Ulverstone - Fridays   (10am - 10:30am)
                           Devonport - Saturday (5:15pm– 5.45pm)
                           Penguin     - Saturday (5:15pm - 5:45pm)


FIRST READINGWisdom 12:13. 16-19
RESPONSORIAL PSALM  (R.) Lord, you are good and forgiving.
SECOND READINGRomans 8:26-27
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION:Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.  Alleluia! 
GOSPEL: Matthew 13: 24-43

PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY'S GOSPEL:

I begin by asking the Holy Spirit to pray in me. Then, slowly, in the company of the Holy Spirit, I read the text.
I see my all-powerful God presented as a farmer, patiently waiting for harvest, or (from the extended gospel) as a man planting a mustard seed, or as a woman leavening bread. Which image of God helps me and why?
I may wish to reflect on the seeds of my life. Where and in what area of my life do I see good seed?
What could be represented by the darnel? Do I tend to see life as a simple matter of black and white (weed seed versus good seed)? Perhaps there are occasions in my life when I am sometimes tempted to force or come to a particular conclusion or fight a certain situation.
What can I learn from the image of God, patient and loving? I spend whatever time is available allowing the Spirit to pray in me. I remain still and at peace. I conclude my prayer by thanking God for his care of me.

Readings Next Week; 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
First Reading: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12  Second Reading: Romans 8:28-30 
Gospel:   Matthew 13:44-52

Weekday Masses 22nd July - 25th July, 2014
Tuesday:         9:30am        Penguin
Wednesday:    9:30am         Latrobe
Thursday:      12:00noon     Devonport
Friday:           9:30am         Ulverstone

Next Weekend 26th & 27th July, 2014
Saturday Vigil:     6.00pm     Penguin       
                                           Devonport      
                                              
Sunday Mass:        8:30am    Port Sorell    L.W.C
                            9:00am    Ulverstone    
                          10:30am    Devonport  
                          11:00am    Sheffield      
                            5:00pm    Latrobe       


Eucharistic Adoration:
Devonport:  Every Friday 10am - 12noon, concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Devonport:  Benediction with Adoration - first Friday of each month.
Prayer Groups:
Charismatic Renewal - Ulverstone (Community Room) Every second and fourth Monday of the month 7:30pm  (In recess over winter)                                                                                                     -  Devonport (Emmaus House) Thursdays - 7:30pm
Christian Meditation   -  Devonport, Emmaus House - Wednesdays 7pm.
                    

Ministry Rosters 26th & 27th July, 2014
Devonport:
Readers: Vigil: M Gaffney, P McKinnon, H Lim 10.30am: E Petts, K Douglas, K Pearce
Ministers of Communion: Vigil M Heazlewood, B & J Suckling, M Kelly, T Muir
10.30am: G Taylor, M Sherriff, T & S Ryan, M & B Peters
Cleaners 25th July: KSC 1st Aug: M.W.C.
Piety Shop 26th July: R Baker 27th July: K Hull Flowers: M Knight, V Mahoney


Ulverstone:
Reader:  S Willoughby Ministers of Communion:  E Standring, M Fennell, L Hay, T Leary
Cleaners: M Swain, M Bryan  Flowers: M Byrne Hospitality: M McLaren

Penguin:
Greeters: A Landers, P Ravaillion  Commentator:  M Kenney  
Readers: M Murray, E Standring
Procession: Kiely Family Ministers of Communion: E Nickols, M Hiscutt
Liturgy:  Sulphur Creek J Setting Up: F Aichberger Care of Church: M Murray, E Nickols

Port Sorell:
Readers:  L Post, M Badcock   Ministers of Communion: V Duff, G Duff
Clean /Prepare/Flowers: A Hynes

Latrobe:
Reader:  Elizabeth Verhoeff  Ministers of Communion:  M Kavic, P Marlow
Procession: J Hyde  

           
                  
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
Leanne Boyd, Shirley White, Natasha Gutteridge, John Purtell, Shirley Ransom, Kath Smith, Louise Murfet, Joan Stafford, Tom & Nico Knaap, Kieran McVeigh, Shanon Breaden, Jamie Griffiths, Anne Johnson, Lionel Rosevear, Kieran Simpson, Pauline Taylor, Arlene Austria &..


Let us pray for those who have died recently: The Victims of the Malaysia Airline Tragedy, the fighting in Palestine, Syria and Iraq and victims of all tragedies; Clarrie Byrne, Suzanne Grimshaw, Lillian Brewer, Roy O'Halloran, Kathleen Edwards, William Wing, Len Hamilton and Flores McKenzie.
               
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: Richard Carter, Ronald Buxton, Brian Innes, Ronald Grieve, William Dooley, Edward Mahony, Jean Braid, Robbie McIver,   Marie Foster, Fay Capell, Marie Kingshott, Peter Kelly, Joyce Cornick, Michael Campbell and Lola Rutherford. Also Abundia & Santos Makiputin, Ponciano & Dominga Torbiso, Rengel Gelacio.
 May they Rest in Peace

FROM FR MIKE:
A final reminder that next weekend Sr Christina Nuenzerling will be at the Community Room at Ulverstone for a workshop on the Spirituality of Pastoral Care. Over the years the parish has offered days with Fr Elio Capra to assist people in their faith journey. This workshop with Sr Christina is another stage on this journey and I encourage Parishioners to make the effort to come to this event and recognise the ways in which the Lord works in the things we do with and for one another. See on next page for more details of this event.
Thanks to all those who have indicated that they are willing to be part of the Pudding Club. After the meeting on Wednesday night there are a couple of steps that need to occur in the next few days to ensure that all the ‘ducks’ are lined up and then I will be able to give an indication as to when things will happen and how everything will run. Hopefully it will mean that we can start before the end of August but more as soon as everything is in order.
The Parish Pastoral Council are seeking comments/questions on the Draft Pastoral Plan which has been available for the past few weeks – for anyone who hasn’t got a copy yet please note the internet version is available at mlcathparishplan.blogspot.com.au. The Draft Plan and comments/questions will be discussed at the next Open House Gathering on 8th August at the Community Room, Ulverstone after which the Plan will be presented to the Parish as our Blueprint for the next few years.
Last weekend I mentioned that a request had been received from the Burnie-Wynyard Parish to hold a combined training session for Lay Leaders of Liturgy – renewal for some and initial training for others. I am now asking for Parishioners to consider members of our Parish whom they consider suitable to be nominated to assist in this important ministry. Some of the qualities needed are a sense of Church and an ability to share their faith in a clear and understandable way. If you know of any suitable person/s please pray for them that they might be able to accept an invitation to undertake this role in our Parish.
Also, at the last meeting of the Liturgy Team in Devonport a request was made for some further training of Readers and Extraordinary Ministers of Communion. A Meeting will be held at OLOL Church on Monday, 4th August at 7pm and at SHC Ulverstone on Tuesday, 5th August at 7pm – even if you think that you have been ‘trained’ to perfection I would ask that all Readers and Extraordinary Ministers please attend.
An initial Planning Meeting will be held on Wednesday 6th August for a MenAlive Weekend to be held in the Parish on the weekend of 15-16th November. This is a powerful weekend for Men and their faith journey and has been highly successful both in Tasmania and Australia wide. The program is well developed and there is a process for implementation which needs a team so help is needed if our weekend is to be a success. The meeting will be held in the Parish House at Devonport on Wed 6th at 7pm.
Please Note these DATE CLAIMERS:         
                        8th August (Friday) at 7pm in the Community Room, Ulverstone – Open House and possibility to discuss the                Draft Parish Plan
                        24th August (Sunday) at the 10.30am Mass at OLOL, Devonport – Mass for Children

Until next week, take care on the roads and in your homes,
Fr Mike


PETER'S PENCE COLLECTION:
This weekend our diocese will take up the Peter’s Pence Collection. Peters Pence, is the name traditionally given to an annual contribution or tribute (originally of a penny from each householder holding land of a certain value) paid to the Holy See.
While regular contributions go to the local parish or diocese, the Peter's Pence collection goes directly to Rome. The money collected is today used by the Pope for philanthropic purposes.
In the first year of his Pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI stressed the proper meaning of this offering in an address in 2006:
“Peter’s Pence’ is the most characteristic expression of the participation of all the faithful in the Bishop of Rome’s charitable initiatives in favour of the universal Church. The gesture has not only a practical value, but also a strong symbolic one, as a sign of communion with the Pope and attention to the needs of one’s brothers; and therefore your service possesses a refined ecclesial character.”


AUSTRALIAN CHURCH WOMEN:
Will host Fellowship Day  Friday 25th July at St. Paul’s Anglican Church East Devonport at 1.30 pm. Please join us with a plate for afternoon Tea.


KNIGHTS OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS:
Annual General Meeting Sunday 27th July, 6pm for 6:30pm at Sacred Heart Church Community Room, Ulverstone. All parish men welcome!


CWL ULVERSTONE - INVITATION:
Catholic Women’s League is an organisation who have made a difference in our Ulverstone Community since 1944. To help us celebrate our 70th birthday we invite any women of the parish and our Catholic Schools communities to join us at 11am Mass on Tuesday 2nd September  followed by lunch at the Lighthouse Hotel Ulverstone. For catering purposes or any enquiries please phone Marie Byrne 6425:5774.


SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMENT:
“We cannot ignore the need to foster growth in our own souls – the habit of heart that looks and sees who stands outside. Prayer and reflection are not only ways to develop our religious life as individuals; they are ways in which we can look beyond ourselves and put our ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ into perspective.”
From the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Social Justice Statement 2013-2014: Lazarus at our Gate: A critical moment in the fight against world poverty.



ST VINCENT DE PAUL 2014 WINTER APPEAL 9th & 10th AUGUST 2014:




FOOTY MARGIN:  Round 17 Hawthorn won by 12 points. Winners:  Chris Webb, Stephen Jones



                                       


BINGO Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall, Devonport.  Eyes down 7.30pm!

Callers for Thursday 24th July are Jon Halley & Merv Tippett








Evangelii Gaudium

‘Being Church means being God’s people. This means that we are to be God’s leaven in the midst of humanity. It means proclaiming and bringing God’s salvation into our world, which often goes astray and needs to be encouraged, given hope and strengthened on the way.’

-          Para  114 from Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis, Nov. 24, 2013

What are sacramentals?

‘Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church to sanctify different circumstances of life. They include a prayer accompanied by the sign of the cross and other signs. Among the sacramentals which occupy an important place are: blessings, which are the praise of God and a prayer to obtain his gifts, the consecration of persons and the dedication of things for the worship of God.’

From: Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Paragraph 351  (Catholic Enquiry Centre www.catholicenquiry.com)



Feast Day of the Week – St Mary Magdalene (July 22)

Most Scripture scholars today point out that there is no scriptural basis for confusing the unnamed sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus and the ‘real’ Mary Magdalene. The woman of ‘of Magdala’ was the one from whom Christ cast out ‘seven demons’ (Luke 8:2). This is an indication that she was, at the worst, ‘guilty’ of extreme demonic possession or, possibly, severe illness.
Father Wilfrid J. Harrington, OP, writing for New Catholic Commentary, says that ‘seven demons’ does not mean that Mary had lived an immoral life—a conclusion reached only by means of a mistaken identification with the anonymous woman of Luke 7:36.’ Father Edward Mally, SJ, writing in the Jerome Biblical Commentary, agrees that she ‘is not...the same as the sinner of Luke 7:37, despite the later Western romantic tradition about her.’
Mary Magdalene was one of the many ‘who were assisting them [Jesus and the Twelve] out of their means.’ She was one of those who stood by the cross of Jesus with his mother. And, of all the ‘official’ witnesses that might have been chosen for the first awareness of the Resurrection, she was the one to whom that privilege was given. She is known as the ‘Apostle to the Apostles.’


Words of Wisdom – GK Chesterton                                                                               
‘I doubt if anyone of any tenderness or imagination can see the hand of a child and not be a little frightened of it. It is awful to think of the essential human energy moving so tiny a thing; it is like imagining that human nature could live in the wing of a butterfly or the leaf of a tree. When we look upon lives so human and yet so small, we feel the same kind of obligation to these creatures that [God] might feel.’






A cat might very well have nine lives but, even so, this is one brave little kitty... This is a sample of the type of memes found at the link below. It’s well worth clicking through and scrolling through the range of images with text – there is something to strike even the most discerning funny bone.






A Visit From the Goddess of Night
an article by Fr Ron Rolheiser 
found at http://ronrolheiser.com/en/#.U8mupfmSzAY

There are few more insightful studies into the spirituality of aging than the late James Hillman’s book, The Force of Character.  Ironically Hillman was more critical of Christian spirituality than sympathetic to it; yet his brilliant insights into nature’s design and intent offer perspectives on the spirituality of aging that often eclipse what is found in explicitly Christian writings.
Hillman begins this book, a discourse on the nature of aging, with a question: Why would nature design things so that, as humans, just as we reach the pinnacle of our maturity and finally get more of a genuine grip on our lives, our bodies begin to fall apart?  Why do we suffer such a bevy of physical ailments as we age? Is this a cruel trick or does nature have a specific intent in mind when it does this? What might nature have in mind when the ailments and physical foibles of age begin to play some havoc with our days and nights?
He answers these questions with a metaphor: The best wines have to be aged and mellowed in cracked old barrels. This image of course needs little explication. We all know the difference between a mellow old wine and a tart young one that could still use some maturation. What we don’t grasp as immediately is how that old wine became so mellow, what processes it had to endure to give up the sharp tang of its youth.
Thus, Hillman’s metaphor speaks brilliantly: Our physical bodies are the containers within which our souls mellow and mature; and our souls mellow and mature more deeply when our bodies begin to show cracks than they do when we are physically strong and whole, akin to what John Updike wrote after undergoing a death-threatening illness. For Updike, there are some secrets that are hidden from health. For Hillman there is a depth of maturity that is also hidden from health.
With that fundamental insight as his ground, Hillman then goes on in each chapter of the book to take up one aspect of aging, one aspect of the loss of the wholeness of our youth, and show how it is designed to help mellow and mature the soul. And since he is dealing with various lapses in our bodies and our health, we can expect that what follows will be pretty earthy and far from glamorous.
Thus, for instance, he begins one chapter with the question: Why does it happen that, as we age, we find it more difficult to sleep uninterrupted through the night but instead are awakened with the need to go to the bathroom and heed a call of nature? What is nature’s wisdom and intent in that?
Hillman answers with another insightful analogy: In monasteries, monks get up each night while it is still dark and do an exercise they call “Vigils”. If you asked them why they don’t do this prayer during the day so as to save themselves getting up in the middle of the night, they would tell you that this particular exercise can only be done at night, in the dark, in the particular mood that the night brings. The night, the dark, and the more somber angels this brings cannot be artificially replicated during the day, in the light. Light brings a sunnier mood and there are certain things we will not face in the light of day, but only when the dark besets us.
So what happens when our aging bodies make us get up at night to heed nature’s call? We heed nature’s call but then often are unable to fall back into sleep immediately. Instead we lie in our beds trying to will ourselves back to sleep when something unwanted and unintended happens. We receive a visit from the mythical goddess of night, Nyx. And she doesn’t come alone; she brings along her children: unresolved bitterness, lingering grudges, unwanted paranoia, frightening shadows, and a bevy of other dark spirits whom we can normally avoid and whom we refuse to face when the lights are on. But now, in the dark, unable to sleep, we must deal with them, and dealing with them, making our peace with Nyx and her children, helps mellow our souls and helps us grow to a deeper maturity.
Monks already know this and so, each night, they schedule a session with the goddess of night. They don’t call it that of course and might even be offended by the reference to their Vigil prayer as a visit with this mythical goddess, but their spiritual wisdom mirrors that of nature. Both nature and monks know that a certain work inside the soul can only be done in the darkness of night.

Monks have secrets worth knowing and nature eventually teaches them to us, whether we want the lesson or not. Nature eventually turns us all into monks: Our aging bodies eventually become a monastic cell within which our souls deepen, mellow, and mature, like wines being seasoned in cracked old barrels.