Mersey Leven
Catholic Parish
To be a vibrant Catholic Community
unified in its commitment
to growing disciples for Christ
Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney Mob: 0417 279 437; mike.delaney@aohtas.org.au
Priest in
Residence: Fr Phil McCormack Mob:
0437 521 257
Postal Address: PO
Box 362
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street
Secretary: Annie
Davies / Anne Fisher Pastoral Council Chair: Jenny Garnsey
Parish Mass times for
the Month: mlcpmasstimes.blogspot.com.au
Weekly Homily Podcast:
mikedelaney.podomatic.com
Parish Prayer
Heavenly Father,
We thank you for gathering us together
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
You have charged us through Your Son, Jesus, with the great mission
of evangelising and witnessing your love to the world.
Send your Holy Spirit to guide us as we discern your will
for the spiritual renewal of our parish.
Give us strength, courage, and clear vision
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
We entrust our parish family to the care of Mary, our mother,
and ask for her intercession and guidance
as we strive to bear witness
as we strive to bear witness
to the Gospel and build an amazing parish.
Amen.
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Baptism: Parents are asked to contact the Parish Office to make arrangements for attending a Baptismal Preparation Session and booking a Baptism date.
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)
Care and Concern: If you are aware of anyone who is in need of assistance and has given permission to be contacted by Care and Concern, please phone the Parish Office.
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Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au for
news, information and details of other Parishes.
Weekday Masses 10th – 13th January, 2017 Next Weekend 14th & 15th January, 2017
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm
Penguin & Devonport
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe Sunday
Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
Thursday 12noon Devonport 9:00am
Ulverstone
Friday 9:30am
Ulverstone 10:30am Devonport,
11:00am
Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
Devonport Friday
Adoration: Recommences 3rd February, 2017.
Devonport:
Benediction (1st Friday of the Month) - Recommences Friday 3rd
February, 2017.
Prayer Groups:
Charismatic Renewal - Devonport (Emmaus House) Thursdays - 7:30pm - Recommencing 2nd February,
2017
Christian Meditation - Devonport, Emmaus House - Wednesdays 7pm. Recommencing 1st
February, 2017
Parish Office Closed until Tuesday 24th
January, 2017
Your prayers are asked for the sick: Iris Wilson, John Lee-Archer, Helen Willis, David Welch & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently: Rob Belanger, Anna Weidenger, Patricia Power, Carlene Norris, Cyprian Ibeke, Perpetua Floro, Mark Marshall, Jenny Edwards, Joan Matthews, Anthony Bird, Martin Xavier and Udofia John Okpon
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 4th – 10th January
Joshua Delaney, Elizabeth Delaney, Tess Landers, Alfred Harrison, Virginia Miller, Nancy Bramich, Catherine Gibbons, Graham Hollister, Agnes & William Marshall, Ronald Bramich, Geoffrey Whitchurch and Ellen Fay. Also deceased relatives, family & friends of the McLennan Family
May they rest in peace
Weekly Ramblings
A new age is about to begin – with the quiet Fr Alex moving to Circular Head during this coming week and the noisy Fr Phil arriving – something about that line just doesn’t seem right but I’m not sure what exactly is wrong!!
I spent a couple of moments and thought back through all the different clergy I have lived in a house with during my priesthood and found that Fr Alex is the 22nd priest that I have worked with in a Parish – I have also worked with 4 men who were in the final stages of preparation for ordination. Some, in my early years, were scary because they were the authority figures (ie the PP) and others were assistants with me or, later, assistants when I have been PP. Each of these men have been different in their gifts and talents but have all taught me more about what it means to be a priest because of their lives and their witness.
So I would publicly like to express my thanks and appreciation to Fr Alex for the past two years – his spirituality and fidelity have been a wonderful witness to me and encouraged me in my prayer life and my preaching. His enthusiasm to learn new things and to be involved in new things has also been an encouragement to me – however, I am glad that the drums were set up in Emmaus House!!
I pray that the next stage of his ministry in the Archdiocese is as fruitful and successful as it has been here and wish him all the best as he now accepts responsibility for the people of Circular Head.
At this stage Fr Phil will be taking on the Mass Roster that Fr Alex has been following but we will see how all that pans out in the weeks ahead.
Next weekend the Filipino Community will be celebrating the Sinulog Festival during and after the 10.30am Mass at OLOL. This festival in honour of the Child Jesus, Señor Sto. Niño, is a major festival in Cebu, Philippines and is celebrated by Filipino communities throughout the world. Come along and join them next Sunday for this special occasion.
Readings This Week: The Epiphany of the Lord - Year A
First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Second Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3. 5-6
Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12
REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL:
The Christmas season reaches an apex with the Epiphany. In
some liturgical traditions, it is the central celebration of Christmas. It
commemorates not only the birth of Christ and the visit of the Magi, but also
his baptism in the Jordan and the manifestation of his glory at the wedding
feast of Cana. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the focus is on the visit of
the Magi and the implications of that visit for the glorious manifestation of
God to all the peoples of the world.
There is a wonderful summons to alertness and presence of
mind and heart, a call for all the nations to witness the marvellous works of
God that shine as light in the midst of the surrounding darkness. The light of
God is known in the ways in which the most vulnerable in the city are cared for
and acknowledged. In just action and righteousness, the city becomes the beacon
of God, and all the nations are attracted by this light. The quality of the
light leads the way through the darkness and sustains the world in goodness and
peace.
The manifestation of God among us changes the ways in which
we perceive each other. Christ's birth provides us with the light by which we
see a new criterion for relating. The Magi represent the multi-ethnic and
cultural diversity in civic and parish situations, as well as the many
religions of the world. All people, regardless of race or ethnic origin, can be
co-heirs with Christ.
© Dianne Bergant CSS
Readings Next Week: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
First Reading: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
Gospel: John 1:29-34
ROSTERS FOR JANUARY
A reminder that the rosters for parishioners involved in the weekly activities of the Parish are on the Notice Boards in each Mass Centre.
SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM
A reminder that the Sacramental Program for children in Gr 3 and above (in 2017) will commence with a meeting on Monday, 20th Feb in Devonport and on Tuesday, 21st Feb in Ulverstone. Both meetings will commence at 7pm.
_________________________
ALPHA 2017
We will be launching a new series of ALPHA in 2017. The 12 week program looks at questions which impact on the lives of participants in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. There will be more information available in coming weeks.
Living Simply
This article is taken from the Daily email series by Fr Richard Rohr. You can subscribe to receive the emails here
We discover simplicity in the silence of contemplative prayer. As we let go of thought and sensation, we reconnect with our Center, our source of abundance and enoughness. I invite you to consider ways beyond your contemplative practice in which you can live more simply. Quaker teacher Richard Foster suggests ten principles for expressing simplicity outwardly. [1]
Here’s his list in my words:
1. Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status or prestige.
2. Learn the difference between a real need and an addiction. Then find support and accountability to regain “sobriety,” freedom from addiction.
3. Develop a habit of giving things away.
4. Avoid unnecessary and short-lived technological gadgets that promise to “save time.”
5. Enjoy things without owning them. For example, take advantage of public libraries and parks.
6. Nurture awe and appreciation for nature. Spend more time outdoors!
7. Get out—and stay out—of debt.
8. Use plain, honest speech. Say what you mean and keep your commitments.
9. Reject anything that oppresses others. For example, buy Fair Trade products.
10. Seek God’s kingdom of love and justice foremost. If anything distracts you from that purpose, let it go.
Reference:
[1] Inspired by Richard J. Foster, “The Discipline of Simplicity,” The Celebration of Discipline (Harper & Row: 1978), 78-83.
MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2016
This is taken from the archives of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find the original article here
So much of life, particularly today, constitutes an unconscious conspiracy against reading. Lack of time, the pressure of our jobs, and electronic technology, among other things, are more and more putting books out of reach and out of mind. There is never enough time to read. The upside of this is that when I do find time to pick up a book this becomes a precious, cherished time. And so I try to pick books that I read carefully: I read reviews, listen to colleagues, and keep track of my favorite authors. I also try to make sure that my reading diet, each year, includes some spiritual books (including at least one historical classic), some biographies, some novels, and some essays.
Among the books that I read this year, these are the ones that touched me. I cannot promise that they will touch you, but each of them left me with something.
Among books in spirituality
Gil Bailie, God’s Gamble, The Gravitational Power of Crucified Love. Bailie again takes up Rene Girard’s anthropology to shed some new light on how the cross of Christ is the most monumental moral and religious event in history. The text is very dense and (truthfully) a tough read, but its insights are exceptional.
Heather King, Shirt of Flame, A Year with Saint Therese of Lisieux. This book will make for a very good, private retreat for anyone struggling with an addiction or obsession, or just with mediocrity in his or her spiritual life.
Christophe Lebreton, Born From the Gaze of God, The Tibhirine Journal of Martyr Monk, 1993-1996. This is the diary of one of the Trappist monks who was martyred in Algeria in 1996. It is the intimate journal of a young man which chronicles how he moves from paralyzing fear to the strength for martyrdom.
Kathleen Dowling Singh, two books: The Grace in Dying and The Grace in Aging. According to Singh, the process of aging and dying is exquisitely calibrated to bring us into the realm of spirit. In these two remarkable books, she traces this out with the depth that, outside of the great classical mystics, I have not seen.
Christine M. Bochen, Editor, The Way of Mercy. This is a series of remarkable essays on mercy, including some by Pope Francis and Walter Kasper.
The Cloud of Unknowing. I finally had the chance to study this classic in some depth and it is, no doubt, the signature book on contemplation and centering prayer.
Among biographies and essays:
Marilynne Robinson, The Givenness of Things, Essays. These essays are dense, deep, robustly sane, and are Marilynne Robinson, the gifted novelist, at her religious best.
Michael N. McGregor, Pure Act, The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax. This is the biography of the man who was Thomas Merton’s closest soul-friend, lived out his life as a secular monk, and who carried his solitude at a very high and noble level. It will help re-awaken your idealism.
Fernando Cardenal, Faith and Joy, Memoirs of a Revolutionary Priest. This is a great read about an exceptional man, a priest and a Jesuit, who played a leading role in Daniel Ortega’s government in Nicaragua and was commanded by John Paul to step down. It is a private journal that tells the other side of what much of history has one-sidedly recorded about the struggles for justice in Latin America.
Daniel Berrigan, Essential Writings, Edited by John Dear. Daniel Berrigan died in late April of this year. His writings set the compass for what it means to be a Christian prophet, and this is an excellent selection of his writings.
Three books that deal with facing aging and dying:
Michael Paul Gallagher, Into Extra Time, Living Through the Final Stages of Cancer and Jottings along the Way. A man of faith and letters, Gallagher shares the journal he kept during the last nine months of his life, when he already knew he was dying.
Katie Roiphe, The Violet Hour, Great Writers at the End. How did a number of great writers, including Sigmund Freud, John Updike and Susan Sontag face terminal illness? This book tells us how.
Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air. This is a remarkable journal of a young doctor facing a terminal diagnosis that documents his courage, faith, and insight.
Three novels that I recommend:
Paula Hawkins, The Girl on the Train. This didn’t make for a great movie, but the book is a page-turner.
Ian McEwan, Nutshell and Edna O’Brien, The Little Red Chairs. The pedigree of these two authors alone is enough of a recommendation, but neither will disappoint you here.
A wildcard:
Kenneth Rolheiser, Dreamland and Soulscapes, A Prairie Love Story. Full disclosure, Kenneth is my brother and I lived through many of the stories he shares, so there is admittedly a huge bias here. But the book delivers on its title and will give you a more realistic sense of what it was like to grow up in a Little House on the Prairies.
Happy reading!
2017
Taken from the weekly blog by Fr Michael White - Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Baltimore. You can find the original blog here
The dawn of a new year brings new promise and fresh hope despite whatever difficulties and challenges we might be facing. It is important to name those promises and focus on that hope. Here are some things we are looking forward to in the year ahead.
Strategic Planning & Staff Development
Our Strategic Leadership Team serve as my senior advisors. At the beginning of the year, for the past couple of years, we’ve spent some time with our friend Patrick Lencioni (if you don’t know who he is, look him up). Patrick helps us identify what’s working and what’s not, what’s happened to us as a group and where we want to go in the coming year.
Then we’ll come back and do the same exercise with the whole staff. We’ll be reviewing goals for the 2016-17 season and looking ahead to 2017-18.
Budget permitting we’ll continue to work on Staff compensation and staff development. Many of our staff are going to Andy Stanley’s “Drive” conference this spring. We also have in mind some additions to our staff when the opportunity presents itself.
Pastoral Planning
There are many areas where we know we need to take it to the next level. The first one that comes to mind is Youth Ministry. With unexpected turnover in staff the Leadership Team has already begun a top to bottom evaluation of those programs, with an eye on growth.
Meanwhile we are proud of recent growth in Adult Ministry and Small Groups and 2017 will be about keeping the momentum going. Ministry especially will need to expand as we’ll need a lot more help in our big new space.
Missions is still working on a proposed Baltimore City initiative, which hopefully will launch this year, as well as completing some projects with our foreign missions. They will also host a “Mission Sunday” this winter.
Children’s ministry will find itself with quite a lot of additional space with the completion of our new building and they will be working out how to use it all as well. They’ll also be introducing a new program for 4 & 5th
Communication and Series
We are thrilled with our new web site and look forward to exploring ways in which we can use it more effectively.
“LIVE!” Nativity’s on-line campus has been our engine of greatest growth, and we see unlimited potential in the year ahead. We are already broadcasting all our Sunday services live, and then rebroadcasting them at additional times throughout the day. Those broadcasts can be multiplied throughout the week in the coming year.
We’re looking at more effective, efficient, direct communication with parishioners in 2017 too. We’ll be looking at how we can get you information you need in ways that are actually helpful. We’d like to eliminate any remaining paper communication.
We are really excited about the message series we’ve got lined up for the winter and spring and we have plenty of great ideas for summer and fall series as well.
Writing and Speaking
Both Tom and I continue to be blessed with invitations to speak about our books. This year we already have engagements in many places: Atlanta, Austria, LA, Ontario, and Orlando, to name some of the highlights.
We have on the drawing board a project for another book, but so far the effort has been halting. It is very much our intention to undertake this work with dedication and application in the coming year.
“The Rebuilt Show” on Catholic TV has been well received, and we are pursuing the opportunity to pull together a second season. We’ll continue our association with “Bread Box Media Radio,” “Amazing Parish” and “Parish Catalyst.”
We will not be offering a “Matter” conference in fall of 2017. This decision was made in view of the fact that we are moving into a new building at the same time and there is no way we can be sure everything is finished and functioning for the conference. We will be planning for an all new conference, perhaps rebranded, in 2018.
New Church Construction and Dedication
The new church building is well on its way to completion with a newly scheduled cornerstone laying in January and a dedication date projected for late September. Fall of 2017 should be an especially exciting time as we move in and get to know our new space.
And the new space will definitely change the whole experience of existing spaces, all that additional space inevitably and dramatically enhancing the kids and student programs and everything we do.
This year we will undertake a third (and final) phase of our Vision Campaign. We will kick off “Vision III” with our third annual “40 Hours of Prayer” on Ash Wednesday. The goal of this phase of the campaign will be the same goal we announced at phase one: we want to raise as much as possible, borrow as little as possible, and see 100% participation among those who support us financially.
Other than that…
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