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
Mob: 0417 279 437
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
Mob: 0437 521 257
ssm77097@bigpond.com
Postal Address: PO Box 362
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Office Phone: 6424 2783 Fax: 6423 5160
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
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)
Care and Concern: If you are aware of anyone who is sick or in need of assistance in the Parish please visit them. Then, if they are willing and give permission, could you please pass on their names to the Parish Office. We have a group of parishioners who are part of the Care and Concern Group who are willing and able to provide some backup and support to them. Unfortunately, because of privacy issues, the Parish Office is not able to give out details unless prior permission has been given.
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Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au for news, information and details of other Parishes.
Parish Prayer
Heavenly Father,
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
to the Gospel and build an amazing parish.
Amen.
Weekday Masses 12th - 15th September, 2017
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
7.00pm Cathedral - Ordination of Paschal Okpon
Next Weekend 16th & 17th September, 2017
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Penguin
Devonport
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am
Sheffield
Ministry Rosters 16th & 17th September, 2017
10:30am: E
Petts, K Douglas, B Suckling
Ulverstone:
Penguin:
Latrobe:
Port Sorell:
Readings this week – Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
PREGO REFLECTION:
After coming to some inner quiet in the way I know works
best for me, I become aware of God’s presence with and within me.
I slowly read
the text above several times.
After each reading I pause a while and reflect:
what touched me?
Perhaps I go back to the first paragraph.
Jesus speaks to his
disciples, to me, about the resolution of conflict.
I ponder.
I may be in the
throes of a dispute, in my family, in my work, or in my community.
In what ways
is Jesus’s advice helpful?
Have I tried to take the steps he suggests?
What
happened?
I speak to the Lord about this, telling him simply, from my heart,
how I feel about the situation.
Maybe, at the moment, my life is calm and
conflict-free ... but I can remember past difficulties involving me or someone
close to me.
I spend a few moments recalling what happened.
On whom did I call
for help?
How did I deal with the hurt?
What feelings am I left with?
Again, I
tell the Lord about it and I listen to him.
I may now want to look at the last
paragraph.
Do I ever have the opportunity to pray with others?
What do I find
different about praying in a group: a sense of mutual support, an enhanced
awareness of the presence of the Lord, or …?
In time, slowly, I take my leave
and thank the Lord for being with me today.
Readings next week – Twenty-Fourth Sunday
in Ordinary Time Year A
Your prayers
are asked for the sick: Rex Bates, Victoria Webb, David
Welch,
Vern Cazaly, Dawn Stevens & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently: Katherine Adams, Ray Duffy, Lyn Otley, Dorothy
Leonard, Wendy Lander, George Flack,
Veronica Ygosse, Gertrude Koerner, Alexander Obiorah (Snr), Kuppala
Devadoss, Reginald (Mick) Poole, Fred Melen.
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 6th
– 12th September
May they rest in peace
Weekly
Ramblings
This coming week is a big
week in the life of the Archdiocese with the ordination to the Priesthood of
Deacon Paschal Okpon. Many parishioners would have been at Our Lady of Lourdes
last year when Paschal was ordained to the Diaconate and I know that some will
be making the trip to Hobart on Friday for his ordination at the Cathedral.
The newly ordained Fr
Paschal will be celebrating the 8.30am Mass at Port Sorell and the 10.30am Mass
at Devonport on Sunday 17th and all Parishioners are invited to be with him on
either of those Masses to celebrate this great occasion. If you are coming to
the 10.30am Mass you are invited to bring a plate for Morning Tea which will be
held in the Parish Hall after Mass. A reminder that if you would like to
contribute towards a gift, and haven't already done so, then please contact the
Parish Office during the week.
Thanks to all the families
of the children who celebrated their children's First Eucharist last weekend -
your support for your children during the program was greatly appreciated and
we give thanks for the encouragement and pray that you will continue to support
them in their faith journey in the years ahead.
This week I have been at
the National Pastoral Leaders and Planners Conference in Melbourne looking at
the challenge that is the universal yearning to belong. As well as listening to
some really great speakers the best part of a Conference such as this are the
stories that are shared as people speak about the issues they face in their
parishes and in their ministry. I have made some great contacts and will share
some of my experiences with the Parish Leadership Team and the Pastoral Team at
our meetings next week. It won't mean great changes in what we are focussing on
post the Parish Forum but might help with some future planning.
Met Jude Hennessy from the
Journey radio program at the Conference. Jude reminded me that you can get the
Journey program via email each week - details can be found in the newsletter
each weekend. Great content and well worth listening to if you get the chance.
Pope Francis and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has set aside
Sunday 10 September 2017 as a Day of Prayer and Penance for Victims and
Survivors of Sexual Abuse. We are called to find ways to reach out to the many in your communities who need us find ways to repent of the sins of the past.
ST VINCENT DE PAUL COLLECTION: This weekend in Devonport,
Ulverstone, Port Sorell, Latrobe and Penguin to assist the work of the St
Vincent de Paul Society.
THANKSGIVING MASS:
HEALING MASS:
SACRED
HEART CHURCH ROSTERS: are now being updated. If you
would like to help as a reader, minister of Communion, cleaner, arrange flowers
or with hospitality please see Barbara O’Rourke or phone the Parish Office.
Also, if you are unable to continue on a roster please let us know. Many thanks to all who help!
PERPETUAL NOVENA TO OUR MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP
WITH ROSARY AND DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET Held every Wednesday after 9:30am Mass Latrobe.
Queries 0414 416 661.
FOOTY
TICKETS: Round 24 bye weekend.
BINGO -
Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall, Devonport.
Eyes down 7.30pm!
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE:
VISITING BISHOP HILTON DEAKIN: Fr John Girdauskas has invited
Bishop Hilton Deakin, champion of social justice and advocate for Aboriginal
people and East Timor, to visit Burnie/Wynyard Parish. Friday 15th September
at 6pm (informal dinner in the Parish Centre - please bring food to
share), and Saturday 16th September 10am – 12pm dialogue with
Bishop Hilton, followed by shared lunch. All welcome. Bishop Hilton is also
invited to preach at each of the Parish Sunday Masses.
JOHN WALLIS MEMORIAL LECTURE 2017 – delivered by Fr Frank Moloney SDB
– Guilford Young College, Hobart Campus. Thursday 21st September at
7:00pm. Lecture followed by supper. Donation $10 students/card holders
$5. RSVP by Thursday 14th September Eva Dunn 0417734503
eva.dunn@gmail.com
JOURNEY TO CARMEL THE BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN: A weekend retreat on Carmelite
Spirituality at the Emmanuel Centre, Launceston. Friday 20th – 22nd
October. Fr Paul Maunder OCD Retreat Director. Cost for weekend $170.00
includes all meals and accommodation. Bookings are essential to Robert Archer
6396:1389.
DIRECTED RETREAT AND INDIVIDUAL DAYS OF REFLECTION
"TO KNOW THE SHEPHERD" - MARYKNOLL RETREAT CENTRE:
There’s a real difference between our achievements and our fruitfulness, between our successes and the actual good that we bring into the world.
What we achieve brings us success, gives us a sense of pride, makes our families and friends proud of us, and gives us a feeling of being worthwhile, singular, and important. We’ve done something. We’ve left a mark. We’ve been recognized. And along with those awards, trophies, academic degrees, certificates of distinction, things we’ve built, and artifacts we’ve left behind comes public recognition and respect. We’ve made it. We’re recognized. Moreover, generally, what we achieve produces and leaves behind something that is helpful to others. We can, and should, feel good about our legitimate achievements.
However, as Henri Nouwen frequently reminds us, achievement is not the same thing as fruitfulness. Our achievements are things we have accomplished. Our fruitfulness is the positive, long-term effect these achievements have on others. Achievement doesn’t automatically mean fruitfulness. Achievement helps us stand out, fruitfulness brings blessing into other people’s lives.
Hence we need to ask this question: How have my achievements, my successes, the things that I’m proud to have done, positively nurtured those around me? How have they helped bring joy into other people’s lives? How have they helped make the world a better, more-loving place? How have any of the trophies I’ve won or distinctions I’ve been awarded made those around me more peaceful rather than more restless?
This is different than asking: How have my achievements made me feel? How have they given me a sense of self-worth? How have my achievements witnessed to my uniqueness?
It’s no secret that our achievements, however honest and legitimate, often produce jealousy and restlessness in others rather than inspiration and restfulness. We see this in how we so often envy and secretly hate highly successful people. Their achievements generally do little to enhance our own lives but instead trigger an edgy restlessness within us. The success of others, in effect, often acts like a mirror within which we see, restlessly and sometimes bitterly, our own lack of achievement. Why?
Generally there’s blame on both sides. On the one hand, our achievements are often driven from a self-centered need to set ourselves apart from others, to stand out, to be singular, to be recognized and admired rather than from a genuine desire to truly help others. To the extent that this is true, our successes are bound to trigger envy. Still, on the other hand, our envy of others is often the self-inflicted punishment spoken of in Jesus’ parable of the talents wherein the one who hides his talent gets punished for not using that talent.
And so the truth is that we can achieve great things without being really fruitful, just as we can be very fruitful even while achieving little in terms of worldly success and recognition. Our fruitfulness is often the result not so much of the great things we accomplish, but of the graciousness, generosity, and kindness we bring into the world. Unfortunately our world rarely reckons these as an achievement, an accomplishment, a success. We don’t become famous for being gracious. Yet, when we die, while we may well be eulogized for our achievements, we will be loved and remembered more for the goodness of our hearts than for our distinguished achievements. Our real fruitfulness will flow from something beyond the legacy of our accomplishments.
It will be the quality of our hearts, more so than our achievements, that will determine how nurturing or asphyxiating is the spirit we leave behind us when we’re gone.
Henri Nouwen also points out that when we distinguish between our achievements and our fruitfulness, we will see that, while death may be the end of our success, productivity, and importance, it isn’t necessarily the end of our fruitfulness. Indeed, often our true fruitfulness occurs only after we die when our spirit can finally flow out more purely. We see that this was true too for Jesus. We were able to be fully nurtured by his spirit only after he was gone. Jesus teaches this explicitly in his farewell discourse in John’s Gospel when he tells us repeatedly that it’s better for us that he goes away because it’s only when he’s gone that we will be able to truly receive his spirit, his full fruitfulness. The same is true for us. Our full fruitfulness will only show after we have died.
Great achievement doesn’t necessarily make for great fruitfulness. Great achievement can give us a good feeling and can make our families and loved ones proud of us. But those feelings of accomplishment and pride are not a lasting or deeply nourishing fruit. Indeed the good feeling that accomplishment gives us is often a drug, an addiction, which forever demands more of us and sets loose envy and restlessness in others as it underscores our separateness.
The fruit that feeds love and community tends to come from our shared vulnerability and not from those achievements that set us apart.
Letting Go into God
It is said that Francis’ great prayer, which he would spend
whole nights praying, was “Who are you, God? And who am I?” Contemplative
prayer helps us to live into these questions.
Who am I? As we observe our minds in contemplation, first we
recognize how many of our thoughts are defensive, oppositional, paranoid,
self-referential, or in some way violent. Until we recognize how constant that
dualistic mind is, we have no motivation to let go of it. Contemplation teaches
us to say, “That feeling is not me. I don’t need that opinion to define me. I
don’t need to justify myself or blame someone else.”
Gradually, we learn to trust the wounds and the failures of
life, which are much better teachers than our supposed successes. It’s all a matter
of letting go and getting out of the way. Thérèse of Lisieux would call it
surrender and gratitude. She said, “It is enough to recognize one’s nothingness
and to abandon oneself, like a child, into God’s arms.” [1] Until we discover
this “little way,” we almost all try to gain moral high ground by obeying laws
and thinking we are spiritually advanced.
The nondual mind can accept and surrender to the mystery
that I am to myself; it doesn’t need to quickly categorize this mystery as
sinful, wrong, and evil or as good, meritorious, and wonderful. It just is.
When I can no longer hold myself up, I fall into the Mystery of God and let God
hold me. When I no longer name myself right or wrong, I let Someone Else name
me. This is the beginning of true spirituality, of the true mutuality of the
God/human love affair.
Who is God? When I allow God to keep revealing the deeper
Mystery of Mercy and Grace and Love to me, I don’t categorize or hold God too
easily, too quickly, as if I understand God, as if I’ve got God in my pocket.
Those who allow God to reveal God’s Self are the very ones who know that God is
Love. They know that God is not a harsh judge or conditional lover.
Those who experience the depths within contemplation know
that God’s love is an endless sea of mercy and unconditional acceptance. The
deeper you go, the more you fall into the Mystery. As you fall into the Mystery
of an ever-loving God, you are able to accept the mystery of yourself. And as
you accept the mystery of yourself, you fall into the Mystery of God. You don’t
know—and it doesn’t matter—which comes first. People who love God love
themselves and everybody else. People who love themselves and everyone else
also love God.
You see, love is one. Love is the whole. Love is an endless
sea that you fall into. And once you fall into it, you can’t fall out. It’s not
something you do. It’s something that is done to you, and all you can do is let
go.
References:
Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Art of Letting Go: Living the
Wisdom of Saint Francis, disc 4 (Sounds True: 2010) CD.
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
Amen.
Weekday Masses 12th - 15th September, 2017
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe
Thursday: 10:30am Eliza Purton
12noon Devonport
12noon Sheffield
Friday: 11:00am Mt St Vincent
7.00pm Cathedral - Ordination of Paschal Okpon
7.00pm Cathedral - Ordination of Paschal Okpon
Next Weekend 16th & 17th September, 2017
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Penguin
Devonport
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am
Sheffield
5:00pm
Latrobe
Ministry Rosters 16th & 17th September, 2017
Devonport:
Readers: Vigil: M Kelly, B Paul, R Baker
10:30am: E
Petts, K Douglas, B Suckling
Ministers of Communion: Vigil:
T Muir, M
Davies, M Gerrand, M Kenney, D Peters, J Heatley
10.30am: B & N Mulcahy, L Hollister, K Hull, S
Samarakkody, R Batepola
Cleaners. 15th
Sept: F Sly, M
Hansen, R McBain
22nd Sept: P Shelverton, E Petts
Piety Shop 16th September:
R Baker 17th September: K Hull
Parish House mower roster
September: Tony Davies
Ulverstone:
Reader: M McLaren
Ministers of
Communion: M Byrne, D Griffin, K Foster, R Locket
Cleaners: G & M
Seen, C Roberts Flowers: A Miller
Hospitality: Filipino Community
Penguin:
Greeters: Fefita Family Commentator: J Barker Readers: Fefita Family
Ministers of
Communion: J
Garnsey, A Guest Liturgy: Sulphur Creek J
Setting Up: T Clayton Care of Church: M Bowles, M Owen
Latrobe:
Reader: M Eden Minister of Communion: I Campbell, H Lim Procession of gifts: Parishioners
Port Sorell:
Readers: D Leaman, T Jeffries Ministers of Communion: B Lee Cleaners/Flowers/Prep: V Youd
Readings this week – Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
First Reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9
Second Reading: Romans 13:8-10
Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20
PREGO REFLECTION:
After coming to some inner quiet in the way I know works
best for me, I become aware of God’s presence with and within me.
I slowly read the text above several times.
After each reading I pause a while and reflect: what touched me?
Perhaps I go back to the first paragraph.
Jesus speaks to his disciples, to me, about the resolution of conflict.
I ponder.
I may be in the throes of a dispute, in my family, in my work, or in my community.
In what ways is Jesus’s advice helpful?
Have I tried to take the steps he suggests?
What happened?
I speak to the Lord about this, telling him simply, from my heart, how I feel about the situation.
Maybe, at the moment, my life is calm and conflict-free ... but I can remember past difficulties involving me or someone close to me.
I spend a few moments recalling what happened.
On whom did I call for help?
How did I deal with the hurt?
What feelings am I left with?
Again, I tell the Lord about it and I listen to him.
I may now want to look at the last paragraph.
Do I ever have the opportunity to pray with others?
What do I find different about praying in a group: a sense of mutual support, an enhanced awareness of the presence of the Lord, or …?
In time, slowly, I take my leave and thank the Lord for being with me today.
I slowly read the text above several times.
After each reading I pause a while and reflect: what touched me?
Perhaps I go back to the first paragraph.
Jesus speaks to his disciples, to me, about the resolution of conflict.
I ponder.
I may be in the throes of a dispute, in my family, in my work, or in my community.
In what ways is Jesus’s advice helpful?
Have I tried to take the steps he suggests?
What happened?
I speak to the Lord about this, telling him simply, from my heart, how I feel about the situation.
Maybe, at the moment, my life is calm and conflict-free ... but I can remember past difficulties involving me or someone close to me.
I spend a few moments recalling what happened.
On whom did I call for help?
How did I deal with the hurt?
What feelings am I left with?
Again, I tell the Lord about it and I listen to him.
I may now want to look at the last paragraph.
Do I ever have the opportunity to pray with others?
What do I find different about praying in a group: a sense of mutual support, an enhanced awareness of the presence of the Lord, or …?
In time, slowly, I take my leave and thank the Lord for being with me today.
Readings next week – Twenty-Fourth Sunday
in Ordinary Time Year A
First Reading: Sirach 27:30 – 28:7
Second Reading: Romans 14:7-9
Gospel:
Matthew 18:21-35
Your prayers
are asked for the sick: Rex Bates, Victoria Webb, David
Welch,
Vern Cazaly, Dawn Stevens & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently: Katherine Adams, Ray Duffy, Lyn Otley, Dorothy
Leonard, Wendy Lander, George Flack,
Veronica Ygosse, Gertrude Koerner, Alexander Obiorah (Snr), Kuppala
Devadoss, Reginald (Mick) Poole, Fred Melen.
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 6th
– 12th September
Terence
Doody, Fransicka Bondy, Edward (Ted) McCarthy, John Smith, Joan Scully, Jenny
Richards,
Roma
Magee, Fabrizio Zolati, Cameron McLaren, Russell Foster, Fr Tom Bresnehan, Joan
Williams,
Rodney
O’Rourke, David Windridge, Silvano Paladin, John Kopplemann, Mervyn Kiely, Evelyn
Murray,
Denise
Sproule and Fausta Farrow.
May they rest in peace
Weekly Ramblings
This coming week is a big
week in the life of the Archdiocese with the ordination to the Priesthood of
Deacon Paschal Okpon. Many parishioners would have been at Our Lady of Lourdes
last year when Paschal was ordained to the Diaconate and I know that some will
be making the trip to Hobart on Friday for his ordination at the Cathedral.
The newly ordained Fr
Paschal will be celebrating the 8.30am Mass at Port Sorell and the 10.30am Mass
at Devonport on Sunday 17th and all Parishioners are invited to be with him on
either of those Masses to celebrate this great occasion. If you are coming to
the 10.30am Mass you are invited to bring a plate for Morning Tea which will be
held in the Parish Hall after Mass. A reminder that if you would like to
contribute towards a gift, and haven't already done so, then please contact the
Parish Office during the week.
Thanks to all the families
of the children who celebrated their children's First Eucharist last weekend -
your support for your children during the program was greatly appreciated and
we give thanks for the encouragement and pray that you will continue to support
them in their faith journey in the years ahead.
This week I have been at
the National Pastoral Leaders and Planners Conference in Melbourne looking at
the challenge that is the universal yearning to belong. As well as listening to
some really great speakers the best part of a Conference such as this are the
stories that are shared as people speak about the issues they face in their
parishes and in their ministry. I have made some great contacts and will share
some of my experiences with the Parish Leadership Team and the Pastoral Team at
our meetings next week. It won't mean great changes in what we are focussing on
post the Parish Forum but might help with some future planning.
Met Jude Hennessy from the
Journey radio program at the Conference. Jude reminded me that you can get the
Journey program via email each week - details can be found in the newsletter
each weekend. Great content and well worth listening to if you get the chance.
Pope Francis and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has set aside
Sunday 10 September 2017 as a Day of Prayer and Penance for Victims and
Survivors of Sexual Abuse. We are called to find ways to reach out to the many in your communities who need us find ways to repent of the sins of the past.
Please take care on the roads and in your homes,
ST VINCENT DE PAUL COLLECTION: This weekend in Devonport,
Ulverstone, Port Sorell, Latrobe and Penguin to assist the work of the St
Vincent de Paul Society.
THANKSGIVING MASS:
On Sunday 17th the newly ordained
Fr Paschal Okpon will be celebrating the 10.30am Mass at OLOL. As has been
mentioned previously anyone wishing to contribute to a gift to our newly
ordained priest is invited to place the gift in an envelope on the collection
plate and an ordination gift will be presented to him at the Morning Tea
following the Mass. To assist with the Morning Tea parishioners attending the Mass are
asked to please bring a plate which can be left in the Hall before Mass.
HEALING MASS:
Catholic Charismatic Renewal are sponsoring a HEALING MASS
at St Mary’s Catholic Church Penguin, Thursday 21st September commencing
at 7:00pm. All denominations are welcome to come and celebrate the liturgy in a
vibrant and dynamic way using charismatic praise and worship, with the gifts of tongues, prophecy, healing and
anointing with blessed oil. After Mass teams will be available for individual prayer. Please bring a friend and a
plate for supper and fellowship in the hall. If you wish to know more or
require transport contact Celestine Whiteley 6424:2043, Michael Gaffney 0447
018 068, Zoe Smith 6426:3073, or Tom Knaap 6425:2442.
SACRED
HEART CHURCH ROSTERS: are now being updated. If you
would like to help as a reader, minister of Communion, cleaner, arrange flowers
or with hospitality please see Barbara O’Rourke or phone the Parish Office.
Also, if you are unable to continue on a roster please let us know. Many thanks to all who help!
PERPETUAL NOVENA TO OUR MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP
WITH ROSARY AND DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET Held every Wednesday after 9:30am Mass Latrobe.
Queries 0414 416 661.
FOOTY
TICKETS: Round 24 bye weekend.
BINGO -
Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall, Devonport.
Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers for Thursday 14th
September – Rod Clark & Alan Luxton
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE:
VISITING BISHOP HILTON DEAKIN: Fr John Girdauskas has invited
Bishop Hilton Deakin, champion of social justice and advocate for Aboriginal
people and East Timor, to visit Burnie/Wynyard Parish. Friday 15th September
at 6pm (informal dinner in the Parish Centre - please bring food to
share), and Saturday 16th September 10am – 12pm dialogue with
Bishop Hilton, followed by shared lunch. All welcome. Bishop Hilton is also
invited to preach at each of the Parish Sunday Masses.
JOHN WALLIS MEMORIAL LECTURE 2017 – delivered by Fr Frank Moloney SDB
– Guilford Young College, Hobart Campus. Thursday 21st September at
7:00pm. Lecture followed by supper. Donation $10 students/card holders
$5. RSVP by Thursday 14th September Eva Dunn 0417734503
eva.dunn@gmail.com
JOURNEY TO CARMEL THE BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN: A weekend retreat on Carmelite
Spirituality at the Emmanuel Centre, Launceston. Friday 20th – 22nd
October. Fr Paul Maunder OCD Retreat Director. Cost for weekend $170.00
includes all meals and accommodation. Bookings are essential to Robert Archer
6396:1389.
DIRECTED RETREAT AND INDIVIDUAL DAYS OF REFLECTION
"TO KNOW THE SHEPHERD" - MARYKNOLL RETREAT CENTRE:
Our annual directed retreat will be held from 28th
October - 4th November. You are
welcome to come and stay for the entire time or for individual days, as each
day will stand alone with its content. For more information or a retreat
brochure please contact Sr Margaret Henderson RSM on 0418 366 923 or mm.henderson@bigpond.com
ACHIEVEMENT VERSUS FRUITFULNESS
This article is by Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. The original of this article can be found here There’s a real difference between our achievements and our fruitfulness, between our successes and the actual good that we bring into the world.
What we achieve brings us success, gives us a sense of pride, makes our families and friends proud of us, and gives us a feeling of being worthwhile, singular, and important. We’ve done something. We’ve left a mark. We’ve been recognized. And along with those awards, trophies, academic degrees, certificates of distinction, things we’ve built, and artifacts we’ve left behind comes public recognition and respect. We’ve made it. We’re recognized. Moreover, generally, what we achieve produces and leaves behind something that is helpful to others. We can, and should, feel good about our legitimate achievements.
However, as Henri Nouwen frequently reminds us, achievement is not the same thing as fruitfulness. Our achievements are things we have accomplished. Our fruitfulness is the positive, long-term effect these achievements have on others. Achievement doesn’t automatically mean fruitfulness. Achievement helps us stand out, fruitfulness brings blessing into other people’s lives.
Hence we need to ask this question: How have my achievements, my successes, the things that I’m proud to have done, positively nurtured those around me? How have they helped bring joy into other people’s lives? How have they helped make the world a better, more-loving place? How have any of the trophies I’ve won or distinctions I’ve been awarded made those around me more peaceful rather than more restless?
This is different than asking: How have my achievements made me feel? How have they given me a sense of self-worth? How have my achievements witnessed to my uniqueness?
It’s no secret that our achievements, however honest and legitimate, often produce jealousy and restlessness in others rather than inspiration and restfulness. We see this in how we so often envy and secretly hate highly successful people. Their achievements generally do little to enhance our own lives but instead trigger an edgy restlessness within us. The success of others, in effect, often acts like a mirror within which we see, restlessly and sometimes bitterly, our own lack of achievement. Why?
Generally there’s blame on both sides. On the one hand, our achievements are often driven from a self-centered need to set ourselves apart from others, to stand out, to be singular, to be recognized and admired rather than from a genuine desire to truly help others. To the extent that this is true, our successes are bound to trigger envy. Still, on the other hand, our envy of others is often the self-inflicted punishment spoken of in Jesus’ parable of the talents wherein the one who hides his talent gets punished for not using that talent.
And so the truth is that we can achieve great things without being really fruitful, just as we can be very fruitful even while achieving little in terms of worldly success and recognition. Our fruitfulness is often the result not so much of the great things we accomplish, but of the graciousness, generosity, and kindness we bring into the world. Unfortunately our world rarely reckons these as an achievement, an accomplishment, a success. We don’t become famous for being gracious. Yet, when we die, while we may well be eulogized for our achievements, we will be loved and remembered more for the goodness of our hearts than for our distinguished achievements. Our real fruitfulness will flow from something beyond the legacy of our accomplishments.
It will be the quality of our hearts, more so than our achievements, that will determine how nurturing or asphyxiating is the spirit we leave behind us when we’re gone.
Henri Nouwen also points out that when we distinguish between our achievements and our fruitfulness, we will see that, while death may be the end of our success, productivity, and importance, it isn’t necessarily the end of our fruitfulness. Indeed, often our true fruitfulness occurs only after we die when our spirit can finally flow out more purely. We see that this was true too for Jesus. We were able to be fully nurtured by his spirit only after he was gone. Jesus teaches this explicitly in his farewell discourse in John’s Gospel when he tells us repeatedly that it’s better for us that he goes away because it’s only when he’s gone that we will be able to truly receive his spirit, his full fruitfulness. The same is true for us. Our full fruitfulness will only show after we have died.
Great achievement doesn’t necessarily make for great fruitfulness. Great achievement can give us a good feeling and can make our families and loved ones proud of us. But those feelings of accomplishment and pride are not a lasting or deeply nourishing fruit. Indeed the good feeling that accomplishment gives us is often a drug, an addiction, which forever demands more of us and sets loose envy and restlessness in others as it underscores our separateness.
The fruit that feeds love and community tends to come from our shared vulnerability and not from those achievements that set us apart.
Letting Go into God
Taken from the Daily Email series posted by Fr Richard Rohr OFM. You can subscribe to receive the emails here
It is said that Francis’ great prayer, which he would spend
whole nights praying, was “Who are you, God? And who am I?” Contemplative
prayer helps us to live into these questions.
Who am I? As we observe our minds in contemplation, first we
recognize how many of our thoughts are defensive, oppositional, paranoid,
self-referential, or in some way violent. Until we recognize how constant that
dualistic mind is, we have no motivation to let go of it. Contemplation teaches
us to say, “That feeling is not me. I don’t need that opinion to define me. I
don’t need to justify myself or blame someone else.”
Gradually, we learn to trust the wounds and the failures of
life, which are much better teachers than our supposed successes. It’s all a matter
of letting go and getting out of the way. Thérèse of Lisieux would call it
surrender and gratitude. She said, “It is enough to recognize one’s nothingness
and to abandon oneself, like a child, into God’s arms.” [1] Until we discover
this “little way,” we almost all try to gain moral high ground by obeying laws
and thinking we are spiritually advanced.
The nondual mind can accept and surrender to the mystery
that I am to myself; it doesn’t need to quickly categorize this mystery as
sinful, wrong, and evil or as good, meritorious, and wonderful. It just is.
When I can no longer hold myself up, I fall into the Mystery of God and let God
hold me. When I no longer name myself right or wrong, I let Someone Else name
me. This is the beginning of true spirituality, of the true mutuality of the
God/human love affair.
Who is God? When I allow God to keep revealing the deeper
Mystery of Mercy and Grace and Love to me, I don’t categorize or hold God too
easily, too quickly, as if I understand God, as if I’ve got God in my pocket.
Those who allow God to reveal God’s Self are the very ones who know that God is
Love. They know that God is not a harsh judge or conditional lover.
Those who experience the depths within contemplation know
that God’s love is an endless sea of mercy and unconditional acceptance. The
deeper you go, the more you fall into the Mystery. As you fall into the Mystery
of an ever-loving God, you are able to accept the mystery of yourself. And as
you accept the mystery of yourself, you fall into the Mystery of God. You don’t
know—and it doesn’t matter—which comes first. People who love God love
themselves and everybody else. People who love themselves and everyone else
also love God.
You see, love is one. Love is the whole. Love is an endless
sea that you fall into. And once you fall into it, you can’t fall out. It’s not
something you do. It’s something that is done to you, and all you can do is let
go.
References:
[1] Letter from Therese of Lisieux to Father Adolphe
Roulland, May 9, 1897. See Letters of St. Therese of Lisieux, volume 2,
1890-1897, translated by John Clarke (ICS Publications: 1982), 1094.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Art of Letting Go: Living the
Wisdom of Saint Francis, disc 4 (Sounds True: 2010) CD.
ONE WEEK AND COUNTING #NEWCHURCHCOUNTDOWN
This is taken from the weekly blog by Fr Michael White - Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Maryland.
This weekend was the last in our current 70’s era church. At the end of all weekend Masses we prayed a “Decommissioning” prayer (see below). It provided a poignant closure for our community.
But we’re not entirely saying good-bye. This space will continue to serve our parish in important ways. Renamed the “Theatre” Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings it will host “Time Travelers” our children’s liturgy of the Word for grades 1-5. It will also be the location for our Middle School Program on Sunday evenings, Resurrection, and our High School Programs on Thursday, Uprising. By the way, if you want to know more about those programs check them out on line on our web site, churchnativity.com and click on the kids or students tile.
The New Sanctuary, which you access through (the Concourse) will seat more than 1,000 people, with room to grow to 1,500. That sounds big but, in fact, no seat will be any further from the altar than is the case in our current church. The building is starkly contemporary with state of the art technology. But the centerpiece and focal point of the space will be the altar. A one of a kind design, crafted in Oberammergau, Germany, it will be unveiled for the first time next weekend.
After Mass, why not check out our new Café, the Vision Café where you’ll find plenty of space to enjoy fellowship and friendship, not to mention great coffee. And just in case the kids ask, there will still be donuts too. This dramatic, glass enclosed space, with great views of the Ridgely Road Forest Conservation, will serve as a gathering space for many of our parish activities and events through the week as well. Come and take a look.
Join us next weekend. Don’t forget, there is no Mass, Saturday, September 9. Masses on Sunday will be at the regular times. Each Mass will be followed by a “Dedication” prayer as we consecrate and dedicate this space to its sacred purpose.
And all afternoon we’ll be hosting a Dedication Celebration. Fun, food trucks, a barbecue on the plaza, we’ll even be showing the Ravens Game in the theatre. During our celebration we’ll be offering guided tours of the new church, including a look behind the scenes of spaces that will not be open to the public. Plan now on joining us. Invite your friends and neighbors, too!
See you next week in our new church!
This is taken from the weekly blog by Fr Michael White - Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Maryland.
This weekend was the last in our current 70’s era church. At the end of all weekend Masses we prayed a “Decommissioning” prayer (see below). It provided a poignant closure for our community.
But we’re not entirely saying good-bye. This space will continue to serve our parish in important ways. Renamed the “Theatre” Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings it will host “Time Travelers” our children’s liturgy of the Word for grades 1-5. It will also be the location for our Middle School Program on Sunday evenings, Resurrection, and our High School Programs on Thursday, Uprising. By the way, if you want to know more about those programs check them out on line on our web site, churchnativity.com and click on the kids or students tile.
The New Sanctuary, which you access through (the Concourse) will seat more than 1,000 people, with room to grow to 1,500. That sounds big but, in fact, no seat will be any further from the altar than is the case in our current church. The building is starkly contemporary with state of the art technology. But the centerpiece and focal point of the space will be the altar. A one of a kind design, crafted in Oberammergau, Germany, it will be unveiled for the first time next weekend.
After Mass, why not check out our new Café, the Vision Café where you’ll find plenty of space to enjoy fellowship and friendship, not to mention great coffee. And just in case the kids ask, there will still be donuts too. This dramatic, glass enclosed space, with great views of the Ridgely Road Forest Conservation, will serve as a gathering space for many of our parish activities and events through the week as well. Come and take a look.
Join us next weekend. Don’t forget, there is no Mass, Saturday, September 9. Masses on Sunday will be at the regular times. Each Mass will be followed by a “Dedication” prayer as we consecrate and dedicate this space to its sacred purpose.
And all afternoon we’ll be hosting a Dedication Celebration. Fun, food trucks, a barbecue on the plaza, we’ll even be showing the Ravens Game in the theatre. During our celebration we’ll be offering guided tours of the new church, including a look behind the scenes of spaces that will not be open to the public. Plan now on joining us. Invite your friends and neighbors, too!
See you next week in our new church!
Taking the first step: Pope Francis in Colombia
In this article Peter Cousins surveys the hopes and expectations of the papal visit to a country whose recent history has been violent and tumultuous but whose current climate provides the perfect environment for the themes that have characterised Francis’ papacy to flourish. (Peter Cousins volunteered with JVC and has a Masters in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford. He is a member of civil society-based peacebuilding group Rodeemos el Diálogo, and serves as Executive Director of Fellowship of Reconciliation Peace Presence in Bogotá.)
Nine months after Colombia witnessed the signing of a long-awaited peace deal between its government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, which brought to an end the western hemisphere’s longest armed conflict, the country is preparing for another much-anticipated event: the visit of Pope Francis. From 6-11 September 2017, during Colombia’s annual ‘Week for Peace’, the Bishop of Rome will return to the continent of his birth, in a four-city trip that that will see stops in the capital Bogotá, as well as Villavicencio, Medellín and Cartagena de Indias.
In this article, I aim to capture expectations of the papal visit and consider its significance for three groups – the Colombian Jesuits, the Catholic Church in Colombia and Colombian society in general. Francis’s ministry has been characterised by its emphasis on mercy and encounter. We will see that Colombia is an ideal site for these messages that are close to his heart to take root.
You can find the whole of this article on the ThinkingFaith website by clicking here
Taking the first step: Pope Francis in Colombia
In this article Peter Cousins surveys the hopes and expectations of the papal visit to a country whose recent history has been violent and tumultuous but whose current climate provides the perfect environment for the themes that have characterised Francis’ papacy to flourish. (Peter Cousins volunteered with JVC and has a Masters in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford. He is a member of civil society-based peacebuilding group Rodeemos el Diálogo, and serves as Executive Director of Fellowship of Reconciliation Peace Presence in Bogotá.)
Nine months after Colombia witnessed the signing of a long-awaited peace deal between its government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, which brought to an end the western hemisphere’s longest armed conflict, the country is preparing for another much-anticipated event: the visit of Pope Francis. From 6-11 September 2017, during Colombia’s annual ‘Week for Peace’, the Bishop of Rome will return to the continent of his birth, in a four-city trip that that will see stops in the capital Bogotá, as well as Villavicencio, Medellín and Cartagena de Indias.
In this article, I aim to capture expectations of the papal visit and consider its significance for three groups – the Colombian Jesuits, the Catholic Church in Colombia and Colombian society in general. Francis’s ministry has been characterised by its emphasis on mercy and encounter. We will see that Colombia is an ideal site for these messages that are close to his heart to take root.
You can find the whole of this article on the ThinkingFaith website by clicking here
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