Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
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 Phone: 6424 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)Devonport - Saturday (5:15pm– 5.45pm)
FIRST READING : Isaiah 22:19-23
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
(R.) Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your
hands.
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: Matthew 16:13-20
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY'S GOSPEL:
I go to my place of prayer. I try to become still.
I ask to be as open, generous and courageous as I can in
this prayer. I might like to:
a) read the text a few times and then enter the scene with
my imagination
or b) read the text stopping where I am moved. (Lectio
divina)
What tone of voice do I hear Jesus using? What do I think
he wants or expects to hear? Do the responses surprise me? What might I respond
when he asks me directly? And what would Jesus reply to me if I asked “And who
do you say I am?”
I might like to continue the conversation. Who do I want to
become? Which of my qualities might Jesus concentrate on to enable me to grow
into my full potential? What role does the Lord want to offer me? Can I accept
the privileges and responsibility that go with the role? Can I give others
responsibility, freedom, opportunities?
What do the “keys” I have been given
represent? I talk to the Lord about this.
I gently bring my prayer to an end “Glory be to the Father...
Weekday
Masses 26th - 29th August, 2014
Tuesday: 9:30am
Penguin
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe
... St Monica
Thursday: 12noon Devonport ... St Augustine
Friday: 9:30am Ulverstone ... The Passion of St John the Baptist
Next
Weekend 30th & 31st August, 2014
Saturday Vigil: 6.00pm
Penguin
Devonport
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell (LWC)
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield (LWC)
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 30th &
31st August, 2014
Devonport:
Readers:
Vigil: M Gaffney, H Lim 10.30am: K
Pearce, J Phillips
Ministers of Communion: Vigil J Cox, B
O'Connor, R Beaton, K Brown, P Shelverton,
Beau Windebank
10.30am: M & B
Peters, L Hollister, F Sly, B & C Schrader
Cleaners 29th August: K.S.C. 5th Sept: M.W.C.
Piety Shop 30th August: R Baker 31st August: M Doyle Flowers: M Knight, V Mahoney
Ulverstone:
Reader: D Prior Ministers of Communion: B Deacon, J Allen, G Douglas, K
Reilly
Cleaners: K.S.C. Flowers: M Bryan Hospitality: B O'Rourke
Penguin:
Greeters: J Garnsey, S Ewing Commentator: Y Downes Readers: E Nickols , A Landers
Procession: Y & R Downes Ministers of Communion: J Garnsey, S
Ewing
Liturgy: Sulphur Creek C Setting Up: M Murray
Care of Church: M Murray, E Nickols
Port Sorell:
Readers: V Duff, G Duff Ministers of Communion: P Anderson Clean /Prepare/Flowers: G
Bellchambers, M Gillard
Your prayers
are asked for the sick:
Connie Clavo, Rose Ackerley, Theda (Joan) Bates, Joy
Griffiths, Nene Reyes, John Purtell, Louise Murfet, Joan Stafford, Shanon Breaden, Tom Knaap, Kieran McVeigh, Kath
Smith, Jamie Griffiths, Anne Johnson, Peter Reynolds, Sarah Gill, Arlene Austria &......
Let us pray for those who
have died recently: Lionel
Rosevear, Nico Knaap,
David Covington, Athol Wright, Teresa Maddox,
Pauline Taylor, Maureen Harris,
Nancy Padman, Enis Lord, Clarrie
Byrne, Joan Jeffrey and Laurie McGuire.
Let us pray for those whose
anniversary occurs about this time:
Bernard
Hensby, Jean Flight, Vincenzo De Santis, Joseph Hawkes, Michael Cassidy, Jack
Page, Grace Hocking, Rita &
Cyril Speers and Robert Lee.
May
they Rest in Peace
First Reading : Jeremiah 20: 7-9 Second Reading: Romans 12: 1-2
Gospel: Matthew 16:
21-27
FROM FR MIKE:
I have now joined the
many in our community who have got a heavy cold and/or the flu and like all men
I am now suffering from the ‘man flu’ and am about to ‘die’.
This has been another
busy week with a Council of Priests Meeting in Launceston on Tuesday with some
significant issues being discussed – a bit naughty to mention because I am not
able to give out too much detail but one thing I can tell is that some extra
priests will be working in the Archdiocese within the next month or so.
Fr Jaison Kuzhiyil is
now working in the Central Tasmania Parish and Fr Edwin Thunathil will be
working in the Launceston Parish until Fr Richard returns from his touring
around Australia .
When the two priests from Nigeria
(replacing Fr Kene & Fr Felix) arrive they will be given some time to
settle into life in Tasmania
before being appointed to parishes – exactly where is not yet decided.
One of the other
reports was regarding our seminarians. Currently we have two students on
pastoral placement in the Diocese and 5 actually studying at Corpus Christi College
– so there are good signs for the future.
Please remember that
there is a significant more material on the newsletter blogspot
mlcathparish.blogspot.com.au
The brain has stopped
functioning and I know there are many more things that need to be here but ....
Until next week, take
care on the roads and in your homes,
Fr Mike
MIGRANT AND REFUGEE SUNDAY:
This Annual acknowledgement of our heritage and social responsibility will be held next Sunday 31st August across Australia .
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the World Day of Migrants and
Refugees. Pope Francis has named its theme to be 'Towards a Better World'. A
better world, he maintains, will come about only if attention is first paid to
individuals; if no one is neglected, including the poor, the sick, prisoners,
the needy and the stranger; if we can prove capable of leaving behind a
throwaway culture and embracing a culture of encounter and acceptance.
BAPTISM:
We welcome and congratulate .....
Phoebe Lunson & Luella Stott who are being
baptised this weekend.
FAITH MINISTRY: The August edition of Faith
Families is available at the back of the Church - Please take one today!
OLOL READERS: New rosters are
available from the sacristy this weekend.
CHARISMATIC RENEWAL RALLY :
Join with local Catholic Charismatic prayer groups and
Ecumenical Evangelist Fr. Jack Soulsby S.M and lay Evangelist Mrs Jan Heath for
Praise, Worship, Intercession, Prophecy, Teaching and Healing. Monday
25th August 2014 Sacred Heart Church,
Community Room, Ulverstone, 7.30 pm. to 9.30 pm. All welcome, please
bring a plate for supper. For further information contact: Devonport: Celestine
6424:2043, Zoe 6426:3073, or Michael 0447 018 068. Ulverstone: Tom 6425:2442.
MT
ST VINCENT AUXILIARY:
will be holding a cake stall at Mt St Vincent Nursing Home Friday 5th
September starting at 9am. Donations of cakes, etc would be greatly
appreciated. All 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.
MACKILLOP HILL SPIRITUALITY
CENTRE:
Listening to the
Universe: Living Responsively
Presented by Kateri Duke rsj “Each individual person has the power of
participating in the transformation of the whole earth … the magnitude of the
earth’s adventure staggers the human imagination”. (Brian Swimme) This day invites you to be part of
this journey. Saturday 13th September 10.00am – 3.00pm Cost
$30.00 Bookings necessary Phone:
6428 3095 - Email: mackillophill.forth@sosj.org.au
SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMENT:
“In 1967, and again in 2002, Australia joined with other
developed nations in pledging to commit 0.7 per cent of its GNI to overseas
aid. It has never achieved that goal. We believe that a rich country like
Australia, whose economy is healthy by comparison with most others in the
world, should show the leadership it lays claim to by making a generous
commitment to an aid budget after 2015, and keeping its promise by living up to
that commitment.”
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 21 Geelong
won by 6 points. Winners: B
Lee, P Barker, Charlies Angels
BINGO Thursday
Nights - OLOL Hall, Devonport. Eyes down
7.30pm!
Callers for Thursday 28th August are Merv
Tippett & Bruce Peters
HELP REQUIRED .....WE NEED MORE CALLERS.
If you able to assist in any way please contact the Parish
Office.
Newsletter items must be
received before 12 noon
Thursday – thank you.
Evangelii Gaudium
‘Being a disciple means
being constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others, and this can
happen unexpectedly and in any place: on the street, in a city square, during
work, on a journey.’
-
Para
127 from Evangelii
Gaudium, Pope Francis, Nov. 24, 2013
What
is eternal happiness?
‘It is
the vision of God in eternal life which we are fully “partakers of the divine
nature: (2Peter 1:4) of the glory of Christ and of the joy of the Trinitarian
life. This happiness surpasses human capabilities. It is a supernatural and
gratuitous gift of God just as is the grace which leads to it. This promised
happiness confronts us with decisive moral choices concerning earthly goods and
urges us to love God above all things.’
From:
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church: Paragraph 362 (Catholic Enquiry Centre www.catholicenquiry.com)
Feast Days this Week
25 Aug St Joseph Calasanz, priest (1557 - 1648)
Saint Joseph Calasanz, founder of the
first Christian public school and of the Order of the Piarist Fathers (formally
known as Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum, Sch. P. or S. P., was born in Peralta de la Sal in
1557. God gave Calasanz some natural gifts and a family context which allowed
him to have a long and positive Christian and cultural education. God called
him to be a priest, a ministry that he practised in various curial and pastoral
missions. Nine years after his ordination as a priest, he went to Rome , where he was struck
by the misery of the youth in the poorest suburb of the city.
This is the context where his vocation
was originated. He heard the voice of God calling him: ‘Joseph, give yourself
for the poor. Teach these children and take care of them’.
25 Aug St Louis (1214-1270)
He became King of France (as Louis IX) at the age of 12. He was married and had eleven children. to whom he gave an excellent upbringing. He was noted for his spirit of prayer and penitence and for his love of the poor. He ran his kingdom not only to give peace to the people and economic stability but also for their spiritual good. He founded the Sorbonne and was a friend of St Thomas Aquinas. He was trusted by his fellow rulers in Europe and often asked to arbitrate in their disputes. He undertook two unsuccessful crusades to liberate Christ's burial place and on the second of these he died, near Carthage, in the year 1270.
27 Aug St
Monica (333-387)
Monica – the mother of St Augustine
- was born of Christian parents in North Africa .
She married a pagan, Patritius, who became a Christian before his death. As a
young man, Augustine was wayward and lazy.
She followed her son to Rome and then to Milan , praying for his
conversion. She was consoled with the words, ‘the child of those tears shall
never perish’. In Milan ,
she had the joy of seeing Augustine baptized. She died at Ostia
on their way back to Africa .
28 Aug St Augustine (354-430)
Augustine is the most significant theologian of the
Patristic era and one of the most important theologians in church history. After
a time of moral laxity, he was converted at the age of 33 when hearing a
child's voice singing ‘Tolle lege!’
(Take up and read!), he began to read Scripture. He made major contributions in theology in
relation to God, free will, salvation, the church, and the end times.
Two of his well known reflections are:
‘Our hearts were made for you, O Lord, and they shall not
rest until they rest in you.’
‘Too late have I
loved you, O Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! Too late have I loved you.
And behold, you were within, and I abroad, and there I searched for you. I was
deformed, plunging amid those fair forms, which you have made. You were with
me, but I was not with you. Things held me far from you – things which, if they
were not you, were not at all. You called and shouted, and burst my deafness.
You flashed and shone, and scattered my blindness. I tasted, and I hunger and
thirst for you. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.’
29 Aug Passion
of St John the Baptist
Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Perea and Galilee ,
had John imprisoned when he denounced Herod’s adulterous marriage with
Herodias, wife of his half brother Philip. John was beheaded at the request of
Salome, daughter of Herodias, who asked for his head at the instigation of her
mother. John inspired many of his followers to follow Christ when he designated
Him "the Lamb of God," among them Andrew and John, who came to know
Christ through John's preaching. John is presented in the New Testament as the
last of the Old Testament prophets and the precursor of the Messiah. From the
very beginning John paves the way for Jesus. There are similarities about their
birth, their work and their death. Yet, as John always insisted, he was just
preparing the way for Jesus, the thongs of whose sandals he was not worthy to
loosen.
Words of Wisdom – A touch of Robin Williams’ humour
This was part of a post
on the Facebook page of our good friends at CathNews,
shortly after the death of American actor and comedian, Robin Williams.
‘The late Robin Williams, who has died
tragically in the United States after a long battle with depression and
substance abuse, was not Catholic - in fact, he used to joke that he was
'Episcopalian, which is Catholic-lite' (the Church was not spared from his
parodies).
When he was once asked about the first thing he
would like to hear from God if he reached the Pearly Gates, this was his reply:
“There's seating near the front! The concert begins at 5, it will be Mozart,
Elvis and anyone of your choosing”.’
TEN SECRETS TO HAPPINESS
An article by Fr
Ron Rolheiser originally appearing at http://ronrolheiser.com/ten-secrets-to-
happiness/#.U_fWbvmSzAY
The past five years have seen a growth in interest in studies on human happiness. Numerous books have been published on the topic, not least Sonja Lyubomirsky's, The Myths of Happiness, which has become for many a secular bible for happiness and meaning. In a recent book, Called to Happiness, Sidney Callahan critically evaluates many of these studies. Whatever the merit of these studies, all of us nurse our own secret dream of what will bring us happiness and often that fantasy is at odds with what we know to be true at a deeper level. What will make us happy?
In a recent interview (July 29, 2014) for the Argentine weekly, Viva, Pope Francis weighs in on this topic, submitting his own "Top 10 Tips" for happiness. What are Pope Francis' tips for happiness or, as he puts it, "for bringing greater joy to one's life"?
In presenting these, I will be faithful to his captions but, because his commentary on each one was rather lengthy, I will risk synthesizing his central point in my own words:
1. Live and let live.
All of us will live longer and more happily if we stop trying to arrange other peoples' lives. Jesus challenged us not to judge but to live with the tension and let God and history make the judgments. So live we need to live by own convictions and let others do the same.
2. Be giving of yourself to others.
Happiness lies in giving ourselves away. We need to be open and generous because if we withdraw into ourselves we run the risk of becoming self-centered and no happiness will be found there since "stagnant water becomes putrid."
3. Proceed calmly.
Move with kindness, humility, and calm. These are the antithesis of anxiety and distress. Calm never causes high blood pressure. We need to make conscious efforts to never let the moment cause panic and excessive hurry. Rather be late than stressed.
4. A healthy sense of leisure.
Never lose the pleasures of art, literature, and playing with children. Remember that Jesus scandalized others with his capacity to enjoy life in all its sensuousness. We don't live by work alone, no matter how important and meaningful it might be. In heaven there will be no work, only leisure, we need to learn the art and joy of leisure not just to prepare for heaven but to enjoy some of heaven already now.
5. Sundays should be holidays.
Workers should have Sundays off because Sunday is for family.Accomplishment, productivity, and speed may not become our most valued commodities or we will begin to take everything for granted, our lives, our health, our families, our friends, those around us, and all the good things in life. That is why God gave us a commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. This is not a lifestyle suggestion, but a commandment as binding as not killing. Moreover, if we are employers, the commandment demands too that we give our employees proper Sabbath-time.
6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people.
If you want to bless a young person, don't just tell that person that he or she is wonderful. Don't just admire youthful beauty and energy. Give a young person your job! Or, at least, work actively to help him or her find meaningful work. This will both bless that young person and bring a special happiness to your own life.
7. Respect and take care of nature.
The air we breathe out is the air we will re-inhale. This is true spiritually, psychologically, and ecologically. We can't be whole and happy when Mother Earth is being stripped of her wholeness. Christ came to save the world, not just the people in the world. Our salvation, like our happiness, is tied to the way we treat the earth. It is immoral to slap another person in the face and so it is immoral too to throw our garbage into the face of Mother Earth.
8. Stop being negative.
Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. Negative thoughts feed unhappiness and a bad self-image. Positive thoughts feed happiness and healthy self-esteem.
9. Don't proselyte, respect others' beliefs.
What we cherish and put our faith into grows "by attraction, not by proselytizing." Beauty is the one thing that no one can argue with. Cherish your values, but always act towards others with graciousness, charity, and respect.
10. Work for peace.
Peace is more than the absence of war and working for peace means more than not causing disharmony. Peace, like war, must be waged actively by working for justice, equality, and an ever-wider inclusivity in terms of what makes up our family. Waging peace is the perennial struggle to stretch hearts, our own and others, to accept that in God's house there are many rooms and that all faiths, not least our own, are meant to be a house of prayer for all peoples.
Offered with apologies for whenever my own thinking replaced that of Pope Francis.
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