Thursday 26 July 2018

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
OUR VISION
To be a vibrant Catholic Community 
unified in its commitment 
to growing disciples for Christ 

Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney 
Mob: 0417 279 437 
Assistant Priest: Fr Paschal Okpon
Mob: 0438 562 731
Priest in Residence:  Fr Phil McCormack  
Mob: 0437 521 257
Postal Address: PO Box 362, Devonport 7310
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street, Devonport 7310 
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Office Phone: 6424 2783 Fax: 6423 5160 
Secretary: Annie Davies
Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair:  Felicity Sly
Mob: 0418 301 573
fsly@internode.on.net

Mersey Leven Catholic Parish Weekly Newsletter: mlcathparish.blogspot.com.au
Parish Mass times for the Month: mlcpmasstimes.blogspot.com.au
Weekly Homily Podcast: mikedelaney.podomatic.com  


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


 PLENARY COUNCIL PRAYER

Come, Holy Spirit of Pentecost.
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia 
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another 
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other 
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future, 
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.   
Amen.

Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.



Parish Prayer


Heavenly Father,
We thank you for gathering us together 
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.
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
 to the Gospel and build an amazing parish.
Amen.

Our Parish Sacramental Life
Baptism: Arrangements are made by contacting Parish Office. Parents attend a Baptismal Preparation Session organised with a Priest.
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)

Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: Every Friday 10am - 12noon, concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Benediction with Adoration Devonport:  First Friday each month.
Legion of Mary: Wednesdays 11am Sacred Heart of Church Community Room, Ulverstone
Prayer Group: Charismatic Renewal – Mondays 7pm Community Room Ulverstone        
Weekday Masses 31st July – 3rd August                                             
Tuesday:       9:30am Penguin                                                      
Wednesday:    9:30am Latrobe                                                       
Thursday:      12noon Devonport                                                                            
Friday:        9:30am Ulverstone                                                       
                  12noon Devonport                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 Weekend Masses 4th & 5th August, 2018                                                                          
 Saturday Mass:   9:30am Ulverstone                                                                                           Saturday Vigil:    6:00pm Penguin
                       6:00pm Devonport
 Sunday Mass:     8:30am Port Sorell
                       9:00am Ulverstone                               
                     10:30am Devonport 
                     11:00am Sheffield                                                                                       
                       5:00pm Latrobe

                                                                        
Ministry Rosters 4th & 5th August, 2018

Devonport:
Readers Vigil: M Stewart, M Gaffney, H Lim 10:30am: A Hughes, T Barrientos, P Piccolo
Ministers of Communion: Vigil:  D Peters, M Heazlewood, T Muir, M Gerrand, P Shelverton
10:30am: F Sly, E Petts, K Hull S Arrowsmith  
Cleaners: 3rd Aug: M.W.C.  10th Aug: M & L Tippett, A Berryman
Piety Shop: 4th Aug: L Murfet   5th Aug: D French

Ulverstone:
Reader/s: B O’Rourke   
Ministers of Communion: M Mott, W Bajzelj, J Jones, T Leary
Cleaners:  M Swain, M Bryan   Flowers: M Bryan   
Hospitality:  M Byrne, G Doyle

Penguin:
Greeters:  P Ravallion, P Lade   Commentator:  E Nickols    Readers: J Garnsey, A Landers
Ministers of Communion: M Hiscutt, M Murray   Liturgy: S.C. J  Setting Up: T Clayton
Care of Church: Y & R Downes

Latrobe:
Reader: S Ritchie    Minister of Communion: B Ritchie    Procession of Gifts: J Hyde

Port Sorell:                              
Readers:    M Badcock, D Leaman      Minister of Communion:    T Jeffries
                                                                                                                     

Readings this week –Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)    
First Reading: 2 Kings 2:42-44
Second Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6   
Gospel: John 6:1-15


PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL:
I take time to settle into prayer, becoming aware of being in God’s loving presence. 
When I am ready, I read the text slowly. 
Can I imagine the scene, with the disciples and the tired, hungry crowd? How does Jesus sound as he speaks to the anxious Philip and the small boy who offers his loaves and fish? Smiling, teasing …? Tired, impatient …? Where do I find myself? 
With whom do I identify, and why? 
I watch Jesus, listen to his words, his instructions, and observe his actions. 
What strikes me? Jesus’s concern for the people ... the abundance of food, yet care not to waste ... Jesus the prophet ... the foreshadowing of the Eucharist …? 
I stay with what draws me today and speak to the Lord about this. 
As I finish my prayer, perhaps I can ask to be more conscious of travelling on with Jesus today.

               
Readings next week –Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)    
First Reading: Exodus 16:2-4. 12-15
Second Reading: Ephesians 4:17, 20-24   
Gospel: John 6:24-35



Your prayers are asked for the sick:
Edgar Nool, Mary Webb, Kasia Hoffler, Rosalinda Grimes, Rose Kirk-Patrick & ….

Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Caterina Girdauskas, Molly Snare, Sr Luke McMahon SSJ, Valentine Daug, 
Lyell Willcox, Kath Jamieson, Sr Ely Sheey, Sr Cecily Kirkham


Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 25th – 31st July
Joyce Cornick, Michael Campbell, Barry Stuart, Lola Rutherford, Joseph Hiscutt, Andrea Wright, Dorothy Hawkes, Mary Beaumont, Nita Anthony, Enis Lord, Vicky Bennett, Eileen King, Shirley Mooney, Molly Walsh, Helga Walker, Terence Maskell, Peggy Kelly and Kathleen Bellchambers.


May they Rest in Peace



Mersey Leven Parish Community welcome and congratulate
Ruby Tueon daughter of

 Christopher & Tennille on her Baptism this weekend.


                                                                          

 Weekly Ramblings



One of the challenges of writing my Weekly Ramblings is finding something that is both of value and encouraging. This is also made more challenging when there are too many things that I might like to say but know that I can sometimes cause more confusion when I do write something that I am anxious about what to say next or do or whatever.

One thing I’d like to do is to share something of my experiences from the trip to Saint Benedict and the Church of the Nativity and all that that entailed with more people. I’ve already spoken to some people and am open to suggestions and or invitations from any group who might be interested in learning what it meant to me. I know that John and Glenys Lee-Archer have already had a couple of occasions where they have shared their story of the experience.

This Sunday afternoon Fr Paschal will go to Launceston with members of the Youth Group and their families to join in with the Catholic Family Day activities at the Emmanuel Centre at Newstead. We hope that it is a great occasion for these young members of the Parish and their families.

On Monday I will travel to Melbourne for the day to join the Jubilarians from Corpus Christi College, our regional Seminary, for the Annual Mass and Dinner celebrating their anniversaries. This is always a great opportunity to give thanks to these men for their years of service to the Church and a great chance to catch up with friends from years past.


Monday (30th) is also the 47th Anniversary of Fr Phil’s Ordination in 1971 – Congratulations and best wishes and thanks for your service to the Church in Tasmania and in our Parish over many years.



Please take care on the roads and I look forward to seeing you next weekend.
KNIGHTS OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS: The AGM of the Knights of the Southern Cross will be held this Sunday 29th July, Devonport Parish Hall at 4.30 pm. Please bring a light meal to be shared. 
                                                                                                                                                  

MT ZION PRAYER GROUP:
Invite all parishioners to their regular meeting Monday 30th July at 7pm in the Community Room, Sacred Heart Church Ulverstone. At this meeting John and Glenys Lee-Archer will share with us their recent experiences in their pilgrimage to Halifax and Baltimore. There will be ample opportunity to ask questions. There will also be a number of songs of praise and worship. Please bring a plate for supper.

                                                                                     

FOOTY TICKETS:
 Round 16 (Friday 20th July) Richmond 54 points. Congratulations to the following winners;
David Smith, Terry Bird, Betty Lee.
For some fun why not help support our Parish fundraiser and buy a footy ticket (or two) $2.00. There are three prizes of $100.00 each week.    You’ve got to be in it to win it!!



BINGO - Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall, Devonport.  Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers for Thursday 2nd August –Merv Tippett & Alan Luxton.


NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE:

THE JOURNEY CATHOLIC RADIO PROGRAM – Airs 29th July
This week on The Journey, Fr Mike Delaney returns to reflect on the Gospel of John, Trish McCarthy returns with a great segment on Motivation & Discipline in our lives, and much more!  Your regulars, Bruce Downes the Catholic Guy returns with a brilliant piece all about Seeking God in our lives, and Sr Hilda Scott OSB speaks to us about the face of God.  We’ve also got a great selection of brilliant Christian music that we’re very excited to bring you!  Faith, Hope, Love, and Life, you’re on The Journey. Go to www.jcr.org.au  or www.itunes.jcr.org.au where you can listen anytime and subscribe to weekly shows by email.

SEMINARIANS SUPPORT DINNER 2018:
The 2018 Archdiocese/Parishes Seminarian Support Dinner is being coordinated by the Knights of the Southern Cross together with the valued support of Guilford Young College. The dinner represents a wonderful opportunity to gather as a single community of faith to enjoy each other’s company while also allowing us as a Catholic community to contribute much needed funds to support our Seminarians. Your attendance in support to the 2018 Archdiocese/Parishes Seminarian Support Dinner would be most welcomed. The event is being held on Thursday 16th August 2018 commencing 6.30pm, Guilford Young College – Hobart Campus. The cost for the dinner is $60.00 per person and will include a complimentary drink upon arrival followed by canapés and a four-course meal. To secure your ticket, please speak to Fr Mike or Fr Paschal. If you have any queries please contact the Dinner Co-ordinator Mr Les Gardner 6229:0103


WORLD YOUTH DAY PILGRIMAGE:  application packs for the Tasmanian Pilgrimage to World Youth Day, Panama are now available to download on the pilgrimage website below:
https://hobart.catholic.org.au/faith/page/tasmania-pilgrimage-world-youth-day 
I strongly encourage anyone even remotely interested in the upcoming WYD pilgrimage to visit the website and check out how awesome this pilgrimage will be. The website and application pack contain all the pilgrimage details, however, if you’re keen to find out more or simply want to chat about the pilgrimage (or even past World Youth Days), feel free to call or email me Tomasz Juszczak   6208:6038  youth@aohtas.org.au I’m always up for a chat about World Youth Day. World Youth Days are consistently one of the most incredible and formative experiences for young people who attend. Don’t take my word for it though, check out these short clips from pilgrims who each had different yet profound experiences at the World Youth Day we had in Sydney 10 years ago! It’s beautiful to see where these people are at 10 years on from that time. https://sydneycatholic.org/wydsyd08/ Pilgrimage applications are due by 8 September and spots are limited so make sure to apply by that date.
                                  
Collective Consciousness
This article is taken from the Daily Email from the Center for Action and Contemplation via Fr Richard Rohr OFM. If you would like to receive these daily emails please click here.
The dynamic relationships in a family, classroom, workplace, or grassroots movement can have an evolutionary effect, creating new ways of thinking and being. Louis Savary and Patricia Berne share how Christopher Bache, a college professor, noticed what he called “collective consciousness” emerge when he gave assignments to small groups of students. Many showed abilities “as team members” that he hadn’t witnessed before in their individual work:

Bache recognized that each of the teams in his classroom had a life of its own . . . [and] enjoyed a kind of “collective consciousness.” They were thinking as one unit and each person seemed to have access to the consciousness of the others. When someone on the team made a good suggestion, everyone on the team seemed to recognize its value, so it became easy to implement with minimal discussion, without people taking sides, pro and con. . . .  [1]
Savary and Berne turn to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to explain how this happens:
Teilhard’s insight [that union differentiates] revealed that each student team had become a true unity, or “union.” It had also become a new being. . . . The team as a unit was more complex than any of the individuals in the team, and their shared consciousness was richer . . . than any of the team members.
Furthermore, that new being (the Third Self, or the team, itself) allowed each member to find a fuller identity and capacity within that team. Each student was, in Teilhard’s words, “differentiating” himself [or herself]. . . . In order to contribute to the success of the team, each member was challenged by that team spirit to manifest latent abilities in themselves. . . .
Love is the most powerful force or energy in the universe. That power is multiplied in relationships. Love’s potency is released most powerfully among people who have formed a relationship (a union). People who truly unite for a purpose beyond themselves become “differentiated” as they unite and work together in a shared consciousness to achieve their larger purpose.
. . . . In a true relationship, no one’s individuality is lost. It is increased. That is the beauty of Connections.
These unions that enjoy a collective consciousness become the launching pads for the next stage of evolution, as we learn consciously how to create them and use them. [2]
I see groups working creatively on many fronts, often outside church and political structures, with a growing capacity for what many call “intersectionality” (recognizing the interconnectedness of race, gender, and class). One wonderful example is the new Poor People’s Campaign led by Rev. William Barber and Rev. Liz Theoharis, and joined by people across the United States. They’re continuing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work to dismantle racism, poverty, and war. (Learn more about the Poor People’s Campaign and how you can join below today’s meditation.) Next week we’ll explore more of the generativity and healing that can happen within such community.

[1] Louis Savary and Patricia Berne, Teilhard de Chardin on Love: Evolving Human Relationships (Paulist Press: 2017), 53.
[2] Ibid., 54-55.
                                        

TO THE FRIENDS I’VE KNOWN

This article is taken from the archives of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find the original article here  
Recently, reading Commonweal magazine, I was struck by this line by Jerry Ryan, a Little Brother of Jesus: “I have lost contact with so many people who meant a lot to me at different stages of my life, people I loved dearly and really cared for and who had given me so much and made me what I am.”
That’s so true for me and, I suspect, for most of us. People enter our lives, friendships develop, and then some of those friends disappear from our lives. Sometimes we move away, sometimes they move away, sometimes things change and we drift apart, or sometimes the affective bonds that held us together disintegrate and they, and we, move on. To the degree that we’re sensitive, there’s always some pain and guilt in this. It’s not an unhealthy thing to feel the loneliness of that loss, nor is it unhealthy to feel that somehow we’ve failed and been less than attentive.
Indeed sometimes we have been less than faithful, but mostly the blame for that (to the extent that some applies) lies inside our inculpable inadequacy. Only God is adequate. Only God has a heart big enough to be attentive to everyone personally and intimately at the same time. Only God never moves away or grows tired. And only God has the strength to forever be faithful. We cannot not be inadequate.
I struggle mightily with that inadequacy. Being a missionary, given the work I do, and given the quirks of my personality, I find myself perennially overwhelmed by my inadequacy in the area of staying close to family and friends, including very dear friends. The task isn’t easy.
First, I come from a very large family which through the generations has expanded into a virtual tribe. It could be a fulltime job just staying in touch with family. Next, I’ve been ministering for more than forty years and during that time have lived inside various Oblate houses with almost two hundred different people. Community is family and, again, it would be a fulltime task just staying in meaningful touch with them all. Then, during my years of doing graduate work, I had the privileged opportunity to develop long-lasting friendships with a number of classmates from different parts of the world. Finally, during all those years of ministry, I’ve met hundreds of students in classrooms and thousands of people doing workshops and retreats. Most of those encounters were temporary and casual, but through the years a good number of meaningful friendships developed there as well.  And, while all this was happening, I’ve lived and worked in four different countries and made friends in each of those places.
Then today there’s the further struggle to stay in touch with all the contacts that one necessarily has to deal with on social media.
How does one keep meaningful contact with everyone? How does one not betray friends by simple neglect?
Even as I’m deeply thankful to have so rich a treasury of family and friends, not infrequently I’m overwhelmed with the task of staying in meaningful contact with them and at those times I feel some guilt about forever being out of touch with so many people I was once close to. Sometimes friends whom I have been out of touch with remind me, and not always delicately, of my neglect of our friendship. But as the years go by and the problem grows larger rather than smaller, I am making more peace with my inadequacy and guilt – if not always with some of my neglected friends.
What helps is to remind myself constantly of what a great grace it is to have so large a family and to have such a large number of friends. There are few things for which to be more grateful. Next, I do try to stay in meaningful touch with them to the extent that time, energy, and distance allow. Most importantly, though, given my inadequacy, I try to meet my family and friends at a place where time, energy, and distance are eclipsed by an immediate, intimate presence. There’s one place where we’re not inadequate, where we can be at more places than one at the same time and where we can love countless people individually and intimately, namely, inside the Body of Christ.
Scripture tells us that, as believers, we form together a body that, as much as any living body, is a true living organism, with all parts affecting all other parts. Inside that body we’re present to each other, not fully consciously of course, but deeply, truly, actually. And to the extent that we’re living our lives faithfully and sharing honest friendship and fellowship with those who are immediately around us, we’re not only healthy enzymes helping bring health to the body, we’re also present to each other, affectively, in a way that touches us at the deepest level of our souls There is a place where we are not neglecting each other.
And so, to all my friends: we’re still together!
                               

OUR PARISHES NEED TO INVEST IN TECHNOLOGY

This article is taken from the blog by Fr Michael white, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Baltimore. You can find the original here 

As Carey Nieuwhof has pointed out in his excellent blog post, one often overlooked factor in the steady decline of church attendance has been the Church’s resistance to follow the culture into the technological era. We are living in a time when technology is an ever present mainstay in people’s lives, yet churchworld seems hesitant to accept that reality, resistant to move forward. This is one of many reasons that the Church is considered obsolete and irrelevant.
We see it in poor church websites that aren’t even kept current. We see it in old fashion bulletins and cluttered bulletin boards in church lobbies. We see it in hymnals and paper programs. We see it in pledge cards for stewardship appeals, giving envelopes for the offertory collection and sign ups sheets for kids programs. And, of course, we hear it in antiquated sound systems.
Parishes need to invest in technology.
And technology is all about sharing content.
And the future of content is on demand, instant access to whatever we want to watch, listen to, read, give, share. Think about it. If you want to watch your favorite show, you have instant access to it, anywhere, anytime. Right now, you’re reading this blog on a device that allows you the capability to access it whenever and wherever you want. What if the church utilized that potential to its fullest extent in preaching our message?
We limit our view of church to Sunday Mass in a specific place at a specific time. That needs to change.
Before my usual critics line up to denounce me, I hasten to affirm (as I constantly find myself doing) that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our community as Catholic Christians and that means we have to gather together in a specific, physical location in order to undertake full, active participation.
But technology provides us so many simple ways to engage people, convey the Good News, and reach the unchurched.
So how do we do that?
  • Have an attractive, easy to navigate website that can make a positive first impression for a potential newcomer.
  • Live stream all or part of your weekend Masses.
  • Rebroadcasting them throughout the week.
  • Have past homilies on file, to listen to anytime.
  • Use podcasts or blogs to go deeper into the weekend message.
  • Use social media to announce upcoming events.
  • Celebrate events on social media after the fact.
  • Offer online giving options.
  • Transition to online sign up for all kids and student programs.

The list could go on and on. Think about it.
                                   

My Own Personal Ignatius

‘St Ignatius of Loyola was first and foremost a man of God who in his life put God, his greatest glory and his greatest service, first … he left his followers a precious spiritual legacy that must not be lost or forgotten.’ These words of Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 describe the founder of the Society of Jesus, whose feast we celebrate on 31 July. But just what is this legacy? We invited ten friends of Thinking Faith to tell us who Ignatius is to them.

John Dardis SJ

President of the Conference of European Provincials of the Society of Jesus
Just after I was appointed Provincial of the Society of Jesus in Ireland in 2004, I went to pray at the tomb of St. Ignatius at the Gesù in Rome. I needed reassurance; I felt daunted by the challenge of leading a province and was very aware of my own frailty. I had always looked up to Ignatius as someone ‘other’, ‘different’. But as I prayed in the Gesù, I realised that he too was somebody with weaknesses and limitations, in spite of which he gave leadership and vision. I prayed that, just as Ignatius in his day managed to lead the Society forward, I too, in some small way and despite my limitations, might contribute to the mission of the Society in Ireland.
The second aspect of Ignatius that I find attractive is the way he gathered companions around him in Paris – Francis Xavier, Peter Favre and others. He was able to identify their potential and help them to find God in a passionate way. They became strong apostles throughout Europe. That is the Ignatius of pastoral friendship, of deep spirituality, of warmth and of challenge.
There is a third Ignatius, the one who was able to take risks. He sent Francis Xavier to the Far East without knowing exactly what that entailed. He opened new missions and ministries. He risked a totally new form of religious life. He could do this because serving Christ was primary and everything else worked for that.
Finally, there is Ignatius the ascetic, the man who could renounce so much for the mission. I think of those long years he spent in Rome writing the Constitutions which became the bedrock of the Society. This Ignatius is a consolation whenever I feel overwhelmed with e-mails and yet more reports.
Ignatius the leader; Ignatius the pastoral companion; Ignatius the risk-taker; Ignatius the ascetic. Ignatius is all of this and more.
You can find the other contributors for this article at the original post which you can find here

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