Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney
Mob: 0417 279 437
Mob: 0417 279 437
Assistant Priest: Fr Paschal Okpon
Mob: 0438 562 731
paschalokpon@yahoo.com
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
Mob: 0437 521 257
Postal Address: PO Box 362
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Office Phone: 6424 2783 Fax: 6423 5160
Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
Secretary: Annie Davies
Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
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.
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,
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.
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Devonport Friday Adoration:
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
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)
Devonport Friday Adoration:
Devonport: Benediction (1st Friday of the Month)
Prayer Groups: Charismatic Renewal
Weekday Masses 12th - 15th March, 2019
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe
Thursday: 10:30am Eliza Purton
12noon Devonport
Friday: 9:30am Ulverstone
Stations of the Cross
Friday: 7:00pm Devonport
7:00pm Ulverstone
Next Weekend 16th & 17th March
Saturday Vigil: 6pm Penguin
6pm Devonport
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
Ministry Rosters 16th
& 17th March, 2019
Devonport:
Ulverstone:
Penguin:
Port Sorell:
Readers: M Badcock, L Post Ministers of Communion: G Gigliotti Cleaners: G Richey, G Wyllie
Readings this Week:
First Sunday of Lent – Year C
PREGO REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL:
Readings Next Week:
Second Sunday of
Lent – Year C
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
Frances & Thomas McGeown, Charlotte Milic, Jason Carr, John Kelly, Uleen Castles, Pam Shepheard, David Cole, Joy Carter, John Otenasek, Christina Okpon, Rose Stanley, Hilario Visorro & ….
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Rose Kirkpatrick, Pat Mapley, Rita Dawkins, Robert McLaren, Carina Ubay, Sandra Allison, Joan Carter
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 9th – 15th March
Sybil Dobinson, David Gibbens, Patrick O’Brien, Betty Boskell, Bob McCormack, Leonie Heron, Kevin Sheedy, Ken Bates, Max Fulton, Betty Hocking, Ernest Collings, Amaya Stevens, Edna Chatwin, Nancye Callinan, Terence Murphy, Henry Lizotte, Stan Nelson, Norris Castles, Marion Sage.
May they Rest in Peace
Congratulations to
Nancy & Kevin Hayes
Happy 80th
Birthday greetings to John Barker (St Mary’s) on 8th March and
May God bless you
(and anyone we have missed) on your special day.
Mersey Leven Parish
Community welcome and congratulate …..
Weekly
Ramblings
Recently some parishioners moved away from the Parish and sadly
there are many more that have been unnoticed and unacknowledged. I would like,
however, to acknowledge some recent departures.
I’m sure there are many other things I ought to have
mentioned this week but that’s it for now.
OUR LENTEN LITURGY IN 2019:
Our words, actions and music in the liturgy lead us ever
deeper into the paschal mystery this Lent:
- After
the introduction, Mass begins with the priest greeting from the rear of
the church and then proceeds while Kyrie
Eleison or Lord have mercy is
sung. On each of the Sundays of Lent, the Rite of Sprinkling (Asperges)
will take place during the singing of the Kyrie. The name ‘Asperges’ comes from the first word in the 9th verse of Psalm
51
in the Latin
translation, the Vulgate.
- By
having moments of silence before and after the readings and after the
homily RGIRM (2007) 45.
- At
the breaking of the bread (the Fraction Rite) there will be a short
narrative before intoning the Lamb of God
- There
is no Gloria or Alleluia verse (replaced by a Gospel acclamation).
- The
second collection will be taken up when stickers are being given to
children - not during the reflection hymn.
PROJECT COMPASSION – GIVE LENT 100% 
LIVES CHANGE WHEN WE ALL GIVE
100%
Twelve year old Thandolwayo would walk seven kilometres each day, threatened by crocodiles, to collect contaminated water for her family. It looked like she would never realise her hope of finishing her education and becoming a nurse, until a Caritas Australia-supported project created access to clean water helping Thanddolwayo to stay at school and achieve a future full of hope. Please donate to Project Compassion 2019 to provide access to clean water and a future full of hope for vulnerable communities in Zimbabwe.
We greatly appreciate your support during Project Compassion 2019. You can make your donation through Parish boxes and envelopes or by phoning 1800 024 413 or visiting www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion.
ST PATRICK'S SCHOOL - LATROBE:
Would like to invite parishioners to morning tea after Mass on Wednesday 13th March for an early celebration of St Patrick's Day. Please write your name on the invitation at back of the Church for catering purposes. We look forward to seeing you there!
ST MARY'S PENGUIN:
A BBQ will be held immediately following
6pm Mass Saturday 16th March. Come along and enjoy Mass and then a
special time with good food, coffee and tea. Sausages etc. provided,
please bring a salad or sweet to share. All welcome!
CARE AND
CONCERN:
NO GREATER LOVE:
Attention Parishioners - Mersey Leven Catholic Parish Bingo:
Like the AAMI add on TV the bingo team is currently 'broken down at Ship Creek!" Currently three significant members of the Bingo Team have health issues and without somebody stepping forward to assist the team we may not be able to continue in the near future. This is a significant fundraiser for our Parish (in excess of $40,000 per year) and it helps the whole Parish not just Devonport and the Bingo players. Contact Merv Tippett 6424:1025, Tony Ryan 6424:1508 or Parish Office 6424:2783 if you can help with this worthy fundraiser.
FOOTY TICKETS:
The 2019 AFL Footy Season starts Friday 22nd March. The footy margin is for the Friday night game each week. For regular participants or anyone who would like to join, tickets can be purchased for the season for $54.00 (all games and finals) plus $10 for the grand final ticket (total $64.00) Payment can be made in cash to the Parish Office or Direct Deposit into Parish Account. Normal selling of the tickets will take place at Port Sorell, Devonport and Ulverstone Mass Centres each weekend.
Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall,
Devonport. Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers Thursday 14th March
– Merv Tippett & Alan Luxton.
GRAN'S VAN:
The month of April has again been allocated to our Parish to assist with Gran's Van on the four Sundays in that month. Help is required as follows, (a) cooking a stew(meat supplied), (b) assisting with food distribution (c) driving the van. Helping with (b) and (c) would take two hours of your time, 6:30pm - 8:30pm.
If you are able to assist on any of the Sundays in April please contact Shirley or Tony Ryan on 6424:1508.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES SCHOOL:
Our Lady of Lourdes currently have places available for
enrolment in Kinder and Grade 1. Allow your children or grandchildren to
flourish in a learning community where we are Christ-centred, student-focused
with learning for life. Inquiries phone: 64241744 email: olol@catholic.tas.edu.au
What Do We Do With The Bible?
This article is taken from the Daily Emails from Fr Richard Rohr OFM and the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the emails here
For all its inspiration, for all the lives it has changed, the Bible is undeniably problematic. Put in the hands of egocentric, unloving, or power-hungry people or those who have never learned how to read spiritually inspired literature, it is almost always a disaster. History has demonstrated this, century after century, so this is not an unwarranted, disrespectful, or biased conclusion. The burning of heretics, the Crusades, slavery, apartheid, homophobia, and the genocide and oppression of native peoples were all justified through the selective use of Scripture quotes.
So, what are we supposed to do with the Bible? Today’s meditation will be a bit longer than usual to begin addressing this question. And we’ll spend the rest of the week unpacking what Jesus did with the Hebrew Scriptures—the only Bible he knew.
My general approach is to change the seer and not to change the text. Only transformed people can be entrusted with inspired writings. They can operate in a symbiotic (“shared life”) relationship with words and are unlikely to use the Bible to exclude and shame others or as a rationale for their bad behavior.
The Christian’s goal is to be transformed by the renewing of our mind into the mind of Christ (see Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:16; and Philippians 2:5). That is why I try to read the Bible the way Jesus did, following Jesus’ hermeneutic (a method of interpreting sacred texts). Just as we are trying to do with this year’s Daily Meditations, Jesus was a master of winnowing the chaff from the grain (see Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17) and “bringing out of the storeroom new treasures as well as old” (Matthew 13:52).
The Bible is an anthology of many books. It is a record of people’s experience of God’s self-revelation. It is an account of our very human experience of the divine intrusion into history. The book did not fall from heaven in a pretty package. It was written by people trying to listen to God. I believe that the Spirit was guiding the listening and writing process. We must also know that humans always see “through a glass darkly . . . and all knowledge is imperfect” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Prayer and patience surrounding such human words will keep us humble and searching for the true Living Word, the person of Jesus, which is how the Spirit best teaches (1 Corinthians 2:10,13)—through living exemplars. This is surely what it means to know “contemplatively.”
When history finally gets to the Risen Jesus, there is nothing to be afraid of in God. Jesus’ very breath is identified with forgiveness and the divine Shalom (see John 20:20-23). If the Risen Jesus is the full and trustworthy unveiling of the nature of God, then we live in a safe and love-filled universe. It is not that God has changed, or that the Hebrew God is a different God than the God of Jesus; it is that we are growing up as we move through the text and deepen our experience. Stay with the Bible and with your inner life with God and your capacity for God will increase.
Just as the Bible takes us through many stages of consciousness and history, it takes us individually a long time to move beyond our need to be dualistic, judgmental, accusatory, fearful, blaming, egocentric, and earning—and to see as Jesus sees. The Bible itself is a “text in travail,” according to René Girard’s fine insight. [1] It mirrors and charts our own human travail. It offers both mature and immature responses to almost everything. In time, you will almost naturally recognize the difference between the text moving forward toward the mercy, humility, and inclusivity of Jesus and when the text is regressing into arrogance, exclusion, and legalism.
[1] René Girard, “Generative Scapegoating: Discussion,” Violent Origins: Walter Burkert, René Girard, and Jonathan Z. Smith on Ritual Killing and Cultural Formation, ed. Robert G. Hamerton-Kelly (Stanford University Press: 1987), 141.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, What Do We Do with the Bible? (CAC Publishing: 2018), 7-8; and
Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality (Franciscan Media: 2008), 12-13.
Unfinished Relationships
This article is taken from the 2019 Archives of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find the original article here
A colleague of mine, a clinical therapist, shares this story: A woman came to him in considerable distress. Her husband had recently died of a heart attack. His death had been sudden and at a most inept time. They’d been happily married for thirty years and, during all those years, had never had a major crisis in their relationship. On the day her husband died, they had gotten into an argument about something very insignificant and it had escalated to where they began to hurl some mean and cutting words at each other. At a point, agitated and angry, her husband stomped out of the room, told her he was going shopping, then died of a heart attack before he got to the car. Understandably, the woman was devastated, by the sudden death of her spouse but also by that last exchange. “All these years,” she lamented, “we had this loving relationship and then we have this useless argument over nothing and it ends up being our last conversation!”
The therapist led off with something meant partially in humor. He said: “How horrible of him to do that to you! To die just then!” Obviously the man hadn’t intended his death, but its timing was in fact awfully unfair to his wife, as it left her holding a guilt that was seemingly permanent with no apparent avenue for resolution.
However, after that opening, the therapist followed by asking her: “If you had your husband back for five minutes what would you say to him?” Without hesitation, she answered: “I’d tell him how much I loved him, how good he was to me for all these years, and how our little moment of anger at the end was a meaningless epi-second that means nothing in terms our love.”
The therapist then said: “You’re a woman of faith, you believe in the communion of saints; well, your husband is alive still and present to you now, so why don’t you just say all those things to him right now. It’s not too late to express that all to him!”
He’s right. It’s never too late! It’s never too late to tell our deceased loved ones how we really feel about them. It’s never too late to apologize for the ways we might have hurt them. It’s never too late to ask their forgiveness for our negligence in the relationship, and it’s never too late to speak the words of appreciation, affirmation, and gratitude that we should have spoken to them while they were alive. As Christians, we have the great consolation of knowing that death isn’t final, that it’s never too late.
And we desperately need that particular consolation … and that second chance. No matter who we are, we’re always inadequate in our relationships. We can’t always be present to our loved ones as we should, we sometimes say things in anger and bitterness that leave deep scars, we betray trust in all kinds of ways, and we mostly lack the maturity and self-confidence to express the affirmation we should be conveying to our loved ones. None of us ever fully measures up. When Karl Rahner says that none of us ever experience the “full symphony” in this life, he isn’t just referring to the fact that none of us ever fully realizes her dream, he’s also referring to the fact that in all of our most important relationships none of us ever fully measures up.
At the end of the day, all of us lose loved ones in ways similar to how that woman lost her husband, with unfinished business, with bad timing. There are always things that should have been said and weren’t and there are always things that shouldn’t have been said and were.
But that’s were our Christian faith comes in. We aren’t the only ones who come up short. At the moment of Jesus’ death, virtually all of his disciples had deserted. The timing here was also very bad. Good Friday was bad long before it was good. But, and this is the point, as Christians, we don’t believe there will always be happy endings in this life, nor that we will always be adequate in life. Rather we believe that the fullness of life and happiness will come to us through the redemption of what has gone wrong, not least with what has gone wrong because of our own inadequacies and weakness.
G.K. Chesterton said that Christianity is special because in its belief in the communion of saints, “even the dead get a vote”. They get more than a vote. They still get to hear what we’re saying to them.
So … if you’ve lost a loved one in a situation where there was still something unresolved, where there was still a tension that needed easing, where you should have been more attentive, or where you feel badly because you never adequately expressed the affirmation and affection that you might have, know it’s not too late. It can all still be done!
Lent Takes Time
his article is taken from the weekly blog written by Fr Michael White - Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timonium, Maryland. You can find the blog here
In many countries the period before Lent is called “Carnival,” originally a Latin phrase meaning literally “farewell to meat.” The phrase was a reference to the rather rigorous approach to the whole extended season of Lent observed by the faithful and the devout in many places.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and extends until the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. However the Lenten fast excludes the Sundays of Lent, as well as Holy Thursday evening, but includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday until the Vigil. Thus 40 days.
The “40” commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, before beginning his public ministry. During this period he devoted himself to fasting and prayer and experienced temptation. Our own commemoration also properly includes fasting and prayer, as well as good works and giving. The entire exercise is meant to be a retreat or renewal in our faith and a preparation for the celebration of Easter, in which we renew the promises of our Baptism.
Lent is a lovely idea…if undertaken with resolve and purpose. However its likely to be just an annoying distraction if we approach it with the “ashes to go” mentality. I am not criticizing churches that make the reception of ashes easy and accessible. But I am wary of downsizing a whole season of penance and prayer to a quick consumer transaction.
Here at Nativity we have established the tradition in recent years of an extended prayer time to kick off the season. One hour of prayer for each of the days of Lent. Our “40 Hours of Prayer” includes Eucharistic Adoration, devotions such as the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, sung worship and the celebration of Mass…as well as the distribution of ashes.
We take our time, not because we’re holier or more pious…we’re not for sure. We take our time because we need it.
There is no “grab and go” for Lent, it can’t be done on the fly or in the express check out lane. It takes time. It takes time to get into the groove of penance and prayer and sacrifice, nothing in us wants to do it. It takes time to find the right rhythm for our sacrifice, and it takes time to see it through.
Lent just takes time…40 days to be precise.
Preparing for Easter with St Paul
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the usage of the lectionary that determines the readings we hear each time we go to Mass, and Lent is a particularly good time for us to pay special attention to it, says Peter Edmonds SJ. How do St Paul’s words in the second readings that we will hear on the Sundays of Lent help us to appreciate the gospel texts that follow? (Peter Edmonds SJ is a member of the Jesuit community at Loyola House, Wimbledon.) This article can be found on the ThinkingFaith.org website by clicking here
It is easy to overlook anniversaries. One that we may not have noticed is that fifty years have passed since the approval by Pope Paul VI on 3 April 1969 of a new lectionary of readings for the Catholic liturgy of the Mass. This was in response to the request of the bishops at the Second Vatican Council for a greater variety of readings from scripture in the Mass. The Council’s ‘Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy’ directed that, ‘the treasures of the bible … be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare might be provided for the faithful at the table of God’s word. In this way a more representative portion of the holy scriptures be read to the people in the course of a prescribed number of years.’ (Sacrosanctum Concilium, §51) The lectionary that was approved in Missale Romanum began to be used on 30 November 1969. We use it still.
You can continue reading the complete article by clicking here
Weekday Masses 12th - 15th March, 2019
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe
Thursday: 10:30am Eliza Purton
12noon Devonport
Friday: 9:30am Ulverstone
Stations of the Cross
Friday: 7:00pm Devonport
7:00pm Ulverstone
7:00pm Ulverstone
Next Weekend 16th & 17th March
Saturday Vigil: 6pm Penguin
6pm Devonport
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
Ministry Rosters 16th
& 17th March, 2019
Devonport:
Readers Vigil: M Kelly, R Baker, B Paul 10:30am: J Henderson, J Phillips, P Piccolo
Ministers of Communion:
Vigil: T Muir, M Davies, D Peters, J
Heatley
10:30am: B & N Mulcahy, K Hull
Cleaners: 15th March: P & T Douglas 22nd March: F Sly, M Hansen, I Hunter
Piety Shop: 16th March:
L Murfet 17th March: T Omogbai-musa
Ulverstone:
Reader/s: S Lawrence Ministers of Communion: M Byrne, D Griffin, K Foster, R Locket
Cleaners: M McKenzie, M Singh, N Pearce Flowers: M Byrne Hospitality:
S & T Johnstone
Penguin:
Greeters G Hills-Eade, B Eade Commentator:
J Barker Readers: Y Downes, A Landers
Ministers of
Communion: E
Nickols, T Clayton Liturgy: Sulphur Creek J
Setting Up: S Ewing Care of Church: Y & R Downes
Port Sorell:
Readers: M Badcock, L Post Ministers of Communion: G Gigliotti Cleaners: G Richey, G Wyllie
Readings this Week:
First Sunday of Lent – Year C
First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Second Reading: Romans 10: 8-13
Gospel: Luke 4: 1-13
PREGO REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL:
I prepare to pray this Gospel by slowly saying, ‘Oh come,
Holy Spirit, and enkindle within me the fire of your love’ … or some other
similar favourite words to the Spirit. I allow myself to become still in the
Lord’s presence. Slowly, and with great care, I read the Gospel passage. As I
re-read the text, I enter into the wilderness with Jesus, and imagine being
with him in the long days of silence and hunger. How does this affect me? As
Jesus is challenged by the devil in this wild place, what do I notice about how
the Lord responds? What are the values that Jesus stands for and upholds? Am I
able to share these values, or am I drawn more to the ‘quick fixes’ and power
that the devil offers to Jesus? I share my feelings with Jesus, knowing that
his spirit will always be with me. As I start my Lenten journey, I ask Jesus to
fill my heart, my intentions, and my whole being with his values of compassion
and love. I share my personal Lenten commitment with the Lord, knowing that we
will journey together throughout these sacred weeks of Lent.
Readings Next Week:
Second Sunday of
Lent – Year C
First Reading: Genesis 15:5-12. 17-18
Second Reading: Philippians 3:17 4:1
Gospel: Luke
9:28-36
Frances & Thomas McGeown, Charlotte Milic, Jason Carr, John Kelly, Uleen Castles, Pam Shepheard, David Cole, Joy Carter, John Otenasek, Christina Okpon, Rose Stanley, Hilario Visorro & ….
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Rose Kirkpatrick, Pat Mapley, Rita Dawkins, Robert McLaren, Carina Ubay, Sandra Allison, Joan Carter
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 9th – 15th March
Sybil Dobinson, David Gibbens, Patrick O’Brien, Betty Boskell, Bob McCormack, Leonie Heron, Kevin Sheedy, Ken Bates, Max Fulton, Betty Hocking, Ernest Collings, Amaya Stevens, Edna Chatwin, Nancye Callinan, Terence Murphy, Henry Lizotte, Stan Nelson, Norris Castles, Marion Sage.
May they Rest in Peace
Congratulations to
Nancy & Kevin Hayes
on the occasion of your 65th
Wedding Anniversary, Wednesday 13th
March.
Anniversaries are
days to celebrate the love that makes your marriage great.
Wishing you more
dreams come true, more joy and more love for both of you.
Happy 80th
Birthday greetings to John Barker (St Mary’s) on 8th March and
Angela Smith (Sacred Heart Church) on Sunday
10th March.
May God bless you
(and anyone we have missed) on your special day.
Mersey Leven Parish
Community welcome and congratulate …..
Nathaniel
Burrows & Laura Bonner
On their Baptism this weekend at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Devonport
Weekly
Ramblings
A Parish is an interesting place where different challenges
come every day and in the process there can be moments when significant things
can be missed.
Recently some parishioners moved away from the Parish and sadly
there are many more that have been unnoticed and unacknowledged. I would like,
however, to acknowledge some recent departures.
Firstly, we thank John Bloomfield for his many years of
contribution to the Ulverstone Mass Community and Sacred Heart School as well
as his involvement in the broader community. What I can say here could not
adequately express our appreciation for his service and ministry within the
Parish. We also farewelled Anne and Daryl Guest from the Penguin Community and again
we cannot adequately thank them for their contribution over the years they were
part of the community. I hope that we will be able to express our appreciation
for all parishioners when they move so your assistance in informing myself or
the office would be greatly appreciated.
I would like to encourage anyone
who is still thinking about joining one of the Lenten Discussion Groups to do
so. The groups are listed below – please contact the group you might like to
join.
Monday 7pm Devonport – Glenys & John Lee-Archer – 0419
523 867
Tuesday 10am Penguin – Elizabeth Nickols – 0400 576 224
Tuesday 2.00pm Devonport – Shirley
& Tony Ryan – 0418 580 588
Wednesday 7pm Ulverstone – Marie
Byrne – 0438 593 204
Thurs 10am Devonport – Clare
Kiely-Hoye – 0418100 402
Thurs 1.00pm Port Sorell – 0409 076
201
Thurs 7pm Devonport – Fr Mike 6424 2783
I’m sure there are many other things I ought to have
mentioned this week but that’s it for now.
OUR LENTEN LITURGY IN 2019:
Our words, actions and music in the liturgy lead us ever
deeper into the paschal mystery this Lent:
- After
the introduction, Mass begins with the priest greeting from the rear of
the church and then proceeds while Kyrie
Eleison or Lord have mercy is
sung. On each of the Sundays of Lent, the Rite of Sprinkling (Asperges)
will take place during the singing of the Kyrie. The name ‘Asperges’ comes from the first word in the 9th verse of Psalm
51
in the Latin
translation, the Vulgate.
- By
having moments of silence before and after the readings and after the
homily RGIRM (2007) 45.
- At
the breaking of the bread (the Fraction Rite) there will be a short
narrative before intoning the Lamb of God
- There
is no Gloria or Alleluia verse (replaced by a Gospel acclamation).
- The second collection will be taken up when stickers are being given to children - not during the reflection hymn.
PROJECT COMPASSION – GIVE LENT 100%
LIVES CHANGE WHEN WE ALL GIVE
100%Twelve year old Thandolwayo would walk seven kilometres each day, threatened by crocodiles, to collect contaminated water for her family. It looked like she would never realise her hope of finishing her education and becoming a nurse, until a Caritas Australia-supported project created access to clean water helping Thanddolwayo to stay at school and achieve a future full of hope. Please donate to Project Compassion 2019 to provide access to clean water and a future full of hope for vulnerable communities in Zimbabwe.
We greatly appreciate your support during Project Compassion 2019. You can make your donation through Parish boxes and envelopes or by phoning 1800 024 413 or visiting www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion.
ST PATRICK'S SCHOOL - LATROBE:
Would like to invite parishioners to morning tea after Mass on Wednesday 13th March for an early celebration of St Patrick's Day. Please write your name on the invitation at back of the Church for catering purposes. We look forward to seeing you there!
ST MARY'S PENGUIN:
A BBQ will be held immediately following
6pm Mass Saturday 16th March. Come along and enjoy Mass and then a
special time with good food, coffee and tea. Sausages etc. provided,
please bring a salad or sweet to share. All welcome!
CARE AND
CONCERN:
The next gathering of the social
group for afternoon tea will be held Tuesday
19th March. This will be held at the café at the Riverview
Nursery, Forth Road, Don. We would be very pleased to welcome parishioners who
do not have the opportunity for social activity, including those whose
spouses/partners are now in residential care etc. Transport can be provided. It is necessary that we have the numbers
of those who will be attending by Sunday 17th March. To advise
of your attendance, or to find out more, contact Mary Davies 6424:1183/0447 241
182, Marg McKenzie 6425:1414/0419 392 937 or Toni Muir 6424: 5296/0438 245 296.
NO GREATER LOVE:
Following on from the evening with Archbishop Julian last
year during our 30 days of prayer we have another opportunity to share an
evening of song, testimony, preaching, adoration and prayer with the Archbishop
at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Devonport on Tuesday 19th March commencing at 6pm.
This is part of our ongoing focus on prayer as part of our Parish Vision. All
parishioners are encouraged to make this night a great success by being part of
this Lenten prayer activity.
Attention Parishioners - Mersey Leven Catholic Parish Bingo:
Like the AAMI add on TV the bingo team is currently 'broken down at Ship Creek!" Currently three significant members of the Bingo Team have health issues and without somebody stepping forward to assist the team we may not be able to continue in the near future. This is a significant fundraiser for our Parish (in excess of $40,000 per year) and it helps the whole Parish not just Devonport and the Bingo players. Contact Merv Tippett 6424:1025, Tony Ryan 6424:1508 or Parish Office 6424:2783 if you can help with this worthy fundraiser.
FOOTY TICKETS:
The 2019 AFL Footy Season starts Friday 22nd March. The footy margin is for the Friday night game each week. For regular participants or anyone who would like to join, tickets can be purchased for the season for $54.00 (all games and finals) plus $10 for the grand final ticket (total $64.00) Payment can be made in cash to the Parish Office or Direct Deposit into Parish Account. Normal selling of the tickets will take place at Port Sorell, Devonport and Ulverstone Mass Centres each weekend.
Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall,
Devonport. Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers Thursday 14th March
– Merv Tippett & Alan Luxton.
GRAN'S VAN:
The month of April has again been allocated to our Parish to assist with Gran's Van on the four Sundays in that month. Help is required as follows, (a) cooking a stew(meat supplied), (b) assisting with food distribution (c) driving the van. Helping with (b) and (c) would take two hours of your time, 6:30pm - 8:30pm.
If you are able to assist on any of the Sundays in April please contact Shirley or Tony Ryan on 6424:1508.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES SCHOOL:
Our Lady of Lourdes currently have places available for
enrolment in Kinder and Grade 1. Allow your children or grandchildren to
flourish in a learning community where we are Christ-centred, student-focused
with learning for life. Inquiries phone: 64241744 email: olol@catholic.tas.edu.au
What Do We Do With The Bible?
This article is taken from the Daily Emails from Fr Richard Rohr OFM and the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the emails here
For all its inspiration, for all the lives it has changed, the Bible is undeniably problematic. Put in the hands of egocentric, unloving, or power-hungry people or those who have never learned how to read spiritually inspired literature, it is almost always a disaster. History has demonstrated this, century after century, so this is not an unwarranted, disrespectful, or biased conclusion. The burning of heretics, the Crusades, slavery, apartheid, homophobia, and the genocide and oppression of native peoples were all justified through the selective use of Scripture quotes.
So, what are we supposed to do with the Bible? Today’s meditation will be a bit longer than usual to begin addressing this question. And we’ll spend the rest of the week unpacking what Jesus did with the Hebrew Scriptures—the only Bible he knew.
My general approach is to change the seer and not to change the text. Only transformed people can be entrusted with inspired writings. They can operate in a symbiotic (“shared life”) relationship with words and are unlikely to use the Bible to exclude and shame others or as a rationale for their bad behavior.
The Christian’s goal is to be transformed by the renewing of our mind into the mind of Christ (see Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:16; and Philippians 2:5). That is why I try to read the Bible the way Jesus did, following Jesus’ hermeneutic (a method of interpreting sacred texts). Just as we are trying to do with this year’s Daily Meditations, Jesus was a master of winnowing the chaff from the grain (see Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17) and “bringing out of the storeroom new treasures as well as old” (Matthew 13:52).
The Bible is an anthology of many books. It is a record of people’s experience of God’s self-revelation. It is an account of our very human experience of the divine intrusion into history. The book did not fall from heaven in a pretty package. It was written by people trying to listen to God. I believe that the Spirit was guiding the listening and writing process. We must also know that humans always see “through a glass darkly . . . and all knowledge is imperfect” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Prayer and patience surrounding such human words will keep us humble and searching for the true Living Word, the person of Jesus, which is how the Spirit best teaches (1 Corinthians 2:10,13)—through living exemplars. This is surely what it means to know “contemplatively.”
When history finally gets to the Risen Jesus, there is nothing to be afraid of in God. Jesus’ very breath is identified with forgiveness and the divine Shalom (see John 20:20-23). If the Risen Jesus is the full and trustworthy unveiling of the nature of God, then we live in a safe and love-filled universe. It is not that God has changed, or that the Hebrew God is a different God than the God of Jesus; it is that we are growing up as we move through the text and deepen our experience. Stay with the Bible and with your inner life with God and your capacity for God will increase.
Just as the Bible takes us through many stages of consciousness and history, it takes us individually a long time to move beyond our need to be dualistic, judgmental, accusatory, fearful, blaming, egocentric, and earning—and to see as Jesus sees. The Bible itself is a “text in travail,” according to René Girard’s fine insight. [1] It mirrors and charts our own human travail. It offers both mature and immature responses to almost everything. In time, you will almost naturally recognize the difference between the text moving forward toward the mercy, humility, and inclusivity of Jesus and when the text is regressing into arrogance, exclusion, and legalism.
[1] René Girard, “Generative Scapegoating: Discussion,” Violent Origins: Walter Burkert, René Girard, and Jonathan Z. Smith on Ritual Killing and Cultural Formation, ed. Robert G. Hamerton-Kelly (Stanford University Press: 1987), 141.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, What Do We Do with the Bible? (CAC Publishing: 2018), 7-8; and
Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality (Franciscan Media: 2008), 12-13.
Unfinished Relationships
This article is taken from the 2019 Archives of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find the original article here A colleague of mine, a clinical therapist, shares this story: A woman came to him in considerable distress. Her husband had recently died of a heart attack. His death had been sudden and at a most inept time. They’d been happily married for thirty years and, during all those years, had never had a major crisis in their relationship. On the day her husband died, they had gotten into an argument about something very insignificant and it had escalated to where they began to hurl some mean and cutting words at each other. At a point, agitated and angry, her husband stomped out of the room, told her he was going shopping, then died of a heart attack before he got to the car. Understandably, the woman was devastated, by the sudden death of her spouse but also by that last exchange. “All these years,” she lamented, “we had this loving relationship and then we have this useless argument over nothing and it ends up being our last conversation!”
The therapist led off with something meant partially in humor. He said: “How horrible of him to do that to you! To die just then!” Obviously the man hadn’t intended his death, but its timing was in fact awfully unfair to his wife, as it left her holding a guilt that was seemingly permanent with no apparent avenue for resolution.
However, after that opening, the therapist followed by asking her: “If you had your husband back for five minutes what would you say to him?” Without hesitation, she answered: “I’d tell him how much I loved him, how good he was to me for all these years, and how our little moment of anger at the end was a meaningless epi-second that means nothing in terms our love.”
The therapist then said: “You’re a woman of faith, you believe in the communion of saints; well, your husband is alive still and present to you now, so why don’t you just say all those things to him right now. It’s not too late to express that all to him!”
He’s right. It’s never too late! It’s never too late to tell our deceased loved ones how we really feel about them. It’s never too late to apologize for the ways we might have hurt them. It’s never too late to ask their forgiveness for our negligence in the relationship, and it’s never too late to speak the words of appreciation, affirmation, and gratitude that we should have spoken to them while they were alive. As Christians, we have the great consolation of knowing that death isn’t final, that it’s never too late.
And we desperately need that particular consolation … and that second chance. No matter who we are, we’re always inadequate in our relationships. We can’t always be present to our loved ones as we should, we sometimes say things in anger and bitterness that leave deep scars, we betray trust in all kinds of ways, and we mostly lack the maturity and self-confidence to express the affirmation we should be conveying to our loved ones. None of us ever fully measures up. When Karl Rahner says that none of us ever experience the “full symphony” in this life, he isn’t just referring to the fact that none of us ever fully realizes her dream, he’s also referring to the fact that in all of our most important relationships none of us ever fully measures up.
At the end of the day, all of us lose loved ones in ways similar to how that woman lost her husband, with unfinished business, with bad timing. There are always things that should have been said and weren’t and there are always things that shouldn’t have been said and were.
But that’s were our Christian faith comes in. We aren’t the only ones who come up short. At the moment of Jesus’ death, virtually all of his disciples had deserted. The timing here was also very bad. Good Friday was bad long before it was good. But, and this is the point, as Christians, we don’t believe there will always be happy endings in this life, nor that we will always be adequate in life. Rather we believe that the fullness of life and happiness will come to us through the redemption of what has gone wrong, not least with what has gone wrong because of our own inadequacies and weakness.
G.K. Chesterton said that Christianity is special because in its belief in the communion of saints, “even the dead get a vote”. They get more than a vote. They still get to hear what we’re saying to them.
So … if you’ve lost a loved one in a situation where there was still something unresolved, where there was still a tension that needed easing, where you should have been more attentive, or where you feel badly because you never adequately expressed the affirmation and affection that you might have, know it’s not too late. It can all still be done!
Lent Takes Time
his article is taken from the weekly blog written by Fr Michael White - Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timonium, Maryland. You can find the blog here
In many countries the period before Lent is called “Carnival,” originally a Latin phrase meaning literally “farewell to meat.” The phrase was a reference to the rather rigorous approach to the whole extended season of Lent observed by the faithful and the devout in many places.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and extends until the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. However the Lenten fast excludes the Sundays of Lent, as well as Holy Thursday evening, but includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday until the Vigil. Thus 40 days.
The “40” commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, before beginning his public ministry. During this period he devoted himself to fasting and prayer and experienced temptation. Our own commemoration also properly includes fasting and prayer, as well as good works and giving. The entire exercise is meant to be a retreat or renewal in our faith and a preparation for the celebration of Easter, in which we renew the promises of our Baptism.
Lent is a lovely idea…if undertaken with resolve and purpose. However its likely to be just an annoying distraction if we approach it with the “ashes to go” mentality. I am not criticizing churches that make the reception of ashes easy and accessible. But I am wary of downsizing a whole season of penance and prayer to a quick consumer transaction.
Here at Nativity we have established the tradition in recent years of an extended prayer time to kick off the season. One hour of prayer for each of the days of Lent. Our “40 Hours of Prayer” includes Eucharistic Adoration, devotions such as the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, sung worship and the celebration of Mass…as well as the distribution of ashes.
We take our time, not because we’re holier or more pious…we’re not for sure. We take our time because we need it.
There is no “grab and go” for Lent, it can’t be done on the fly or in the express check out lane. It takes time. It takes time to get into the groove of penance and prayer and sacrifice, nothing in us wants to do it. It takes time to find the right rhythm for our sacrifice, and it takes time to see it through.
Lent just takes time…40 days to be precise.
Preparing for Easter with St Paul
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the usage of the lectionary that determines the readings we hear each time we go to Mass, and Lent is a particularly good time for us to pay special attention to it, says Peter Edmonds SJ. How do St Paul’s words in the second readings that we will hear on the Sundays of Lent help us to appreciate the gospel texts that follow? (Peter Edmonds SJ is a member of the Jesuit community at Loyola House, Wimbledon.) This article can be found on the ThinkingFaith.org website by clicking here
It is easy to overlook anniversaries. One that we may not have noticed is that fifty years have passed since the approval by Pope Paul VI on 3 April 1969 of a new lectionary of readings for the Catholic liturgy of the Mass. This was in response to the request of the bishops at the Second Vatican Council for a greater variety of readings from scripture in the Mass. The Council’s ‘Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy’ directed that, ‘the treasures of the bible … be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare might be provided for the faithful at the table of God’s word. In this way a more representative portion of the holy scriptures be read to the people in the course of a prescribed number of years.’ (Sacrosanctum Concilium, §51) The lectionary that was approved in Missale Romanum began to be used on 30 November 1969. We use it still.
You can continue reading the complete article by clicking here
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