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
Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: Every Friday 10am - 12noon,
concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Benediction
with Adoration Devonport:
First Friday each month - commences at 10am and concludes with Mass
Legion of Mary: Wednesdays 11am Sacred Heart Church
Community Room, Ulverstone
Prayer Group: Charismatic Renewal – Mondays 7pm
Community Room Ulverstone
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)
Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: Every Friday 10am - 12noon,
concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Benediction with Adoration Devonport: First Friday each month - commences at 10am and concludes with Mass
Benediction with Adoration Devonport: First Friday each month - commences at 10am and concludes with Mass
Legion of Mary: Wednesdays 11am Sacred Heart Church
Community Room, Ulverstone
Prayer Group: Charismatic Renewal – Mondays 7pm
Community Room Ulverstone
Weekday Masses 19th - 22nd March, 2019
Monday: 12noon Latrobe ... St Patrick's Day Celebration
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
Ministry Rosters 23rd & 24th March, 2019
Mowing at Presbytery March: Tony Ryan
Ulverstone:
Penguin:
Latrobe:
Port Sorell:
Readings this Week:
Second Sunday of Lent – Year C
PREGO REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL:
Readings Next Week:
Third Sunday of
Lent – Year C
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
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, Robert McLaren, Pat Mapley, Rita Dawkins, Graeme Sheridan, Carina Ubay, Sandra Allison, Joan Carter
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 16th-22nd March:
Mavis Jarvis, Archbishop Guilford Young, Adeline Munro, Norma Billings, Violet Smith, John Smink, Nola Bengtell, Maurice Kelly, Gwenda Holliday, Jim Suckling, Gaudencio Floro, Robert Fifield, Myra Dare, Peggy Leary, Thomas Sage.
May they Rest in Peace
Mersey Leven Parish
Community welcome and congratulate …..
Ted Bartush
Congratulations Yvonne
& Ray Downes
May God bless you
both as you celebrate this special day!
Weekly
Ramblings
Talk about getting caught out when you make a statement. In
my Ramblings last weekend I mentioned that there were some parishioners (John
Bloomfield and Anne & Daryl Guest) who had recently left the Parish and I’d
probably missed others. I found out on Saturday that Kath Smith from Devonport
had moved to Glenara Lakes in Launceston (during that week) and I had missed
the opportunity to farewell her at the same time. I know that all three people
and their families have friends here in the Parish – please pass on this simple
recognition of thanks for their contribution to the life of our Parish.
This Tuesday evening at 6pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Church
we will be hosting Archbishop Julian as he leads us in a time of Reflection and
Prayer as part of his visitation of Parishes of the Archdiocese in 2019. The
theme of the evening is No Greater Love and continues the program of Prayer
evenings he commenced in 2018. All Parishioners are encouraged to join us in
Devonport on Tuesday for this special evening.
A reminder that we have Stations of the Cross each Friday
evening at Our Lady of Lourdes and Sacred Heart Churches commencing at 7pm.
This ancient tradition of walking the Way with Jesus is an excellent
opportunity for us to reflect on the love of God for each of us as we journey
through Lent.
Irish!! The Feast of St Patrick this year is today (Sunday)
but because it is Lent the Feast has been transferred to Monday so there will
be Mass at Latrobe on Monday at midday with lunch after somewhere. Come and see
where!!
PROJECT
COMPASSION – GIVE LENT 100%
LIVES CHANGE WHEN WE ALL GIVE
100%
Tati lives in the remote forest of West Kalimantan. She is a mother of three who was earning an income working in a local rubber plantation. Since taking part in eco-tourism training with Caritas Australia and its partners, Tati can now afford to send her children to school. With new hope and commitment Tati aspires to a future free from poverty to her family. 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.
OUR LENTEN LITURGY IN 2019:
- 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 9thverse
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.
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.
SACRED HEART SCHOOL FAIR:
Buttons Avenue Ulverstone, Saturday 6th April 10am – 2pm. Entry is free – featuring cake stall (donations of cakes, slice grateful accepted) produce, chocolate wheel, rides, craft, food live entertainment and much more. Come along and have some fun!
OUR LADY OF LOURDES SCHOOL:
FOOTY TICKETS:
The 2019 AFL footy season starts next 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. Selling of weekly tickets will take place commencing next weekend at Port Sorell, Devonport and Ulverstone Mass Centres.
Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall,
Devonport. Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers Thursday 21st March
– Tony Ryan & Rod Clark.
Midrash
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
More than telling us exactly what to see in the Scriptures,
Jesus taught us how to see, what to emphasize, and also what could be
de-emphasized or ignored. Beyond fundamentalism or literalism, Jesus practiced
a form that the Jewish people called midrash, consistently using questions to
keep spiritual meanings open, often reflecting on a text or returning people’s
questions with more questions. It is a real shame that we did not imitate Jesus
in this approach. It could have saved us from so many centuries of
righteousness, religious violence, and even single-issue voting.
Rather than seeking always certain and unchanging answers,
the Jewish practice of midrash allows many possibilities, many levels of
faith-filled meaning—meaning that is relevant and applicable to you, the
reader, and puts you in the subject’s shoes to build empathy, understanding,
and relationship. It lets the passage first challenge you before it challenges
anyone else. To use the text in a spiritual way—as Jesus did—is to allow it to
convert you, to change you, to grow you up as you respond: What does this ask
of me? How might this apply to my life, to my family, to my church, to my
neighborhood, to my country?
While biblical messages often proceed from historical
incidents, the actual message does not depend upon communicating those events
with perfect factual accuracy. Spiritual writers are not primarily journalists.
Hebrew rabbis and scholars sometimes use the approach of midrash to reflect on
a story and communicate all of its underlying message. Scripture can be
understood on at least four levels: literal meaning, deep meaning, comparative
meaning, and hidden meaning.
The literal level of meaning doesn’t get to the root and, in
fact, is the least helpful to the soul and the most dangerous for history. Deep
meaning offers symbolic or allegorical applications. Comparative study combines
different texts to explore an entirely new meaning. Finally, in traditional
Jewish exegesis, hidden meaning gets at the Mystery itself. Midrash allows and
encourages each listener to grow with a text and not to settle for mere
literalism, which, of itself, bears little spiritual fruit. It is just a
starting point.
Whatever is received is received according to the manner of
the receiver. [1] This statement from Aquinas was drilled into me during
seminary. People at different levels of maturity will interpret the same text
in different ways. There is no one right way to interpret sacred texts. How you
see is what you see; the who that you bring to your reading of the Scriptures
matters. Who are you when you read the Bible? Defensive, offensive,
power-hungry, righteous? Or humble, receptive, and honest? Surely, this is why
we need to pray before reading a sacred text!
Jesus consistently ignored or even denied exclusionary,
punitive, and triumphalist texts in his own inspired Hebrew Bible in favor of
passages that emphasized inclusion, mercy, and honesty. For example,
referencing two passages from Exodus (21:24) and Leviticus (24:20), Jesus
suggested the opposite: “You have heard it said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for
tooth.’ But I tell you . . . turn the other cheek” (see Matthew 5:38-39). He
read the Scriptures in a spiritual, selective, and questioning way. Jesus had a
deeper and wider eye that knew which passages were creating a path for God and
which passages were merely cultural, self-serving, and legalistic additions.
[1] Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I, 75, 5. Original
sentence: Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur.
Lessons Through Failure
This article is taken from the 2019 Archives of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find the original article here
What’s to be learned through failure, through being humbled by our own faults? Generally that’s the only way we grow. In being humbled by our own inadequacies we learn those lessons in life that we are deaf to when we are strutting in confidence and pride. There are secrets, says John Updike, which are hidden from health. This lesson is everywhere in scripture and permeates every spirituality in every religion worthy of the name.
Raymond E. Brown, offers an illustration of this from scripture: Reflecting on how at one point in its history, God’s chosen people, Israel, betrayed its faith and was consequently humiliated and thrown into a crisis about God’s love and concern for them, Brown points out that, long range, this seeming disaster ended up being a positive experience: “Israel learned more about God in the ashes of the Temple destroyed by the Babylonians than in the elegant period of the Temple under Solomon.”
What does he mean by that? Just prior to being conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, Israel had just experienced what, to all outside appearances, looked like the high point of her history (politically, socially, and religiously). She was in possession of the promised land, had subdued all her enemies, had a great king ruling over her, and had a magnificent temple in Jerusalem as a place to worship and a center to hold all the people together. However, inside that apparent strength, perhaps because of it, she had become complacent about her faith and increasing lax in being faithful to it. That complacency and laxity led to her downfall. In 587 BCE, she was overrun by a foreign nation who, after taking the land, deported most of the people to Babylon, killed the king, and knocked the temple down to its last stone. Israel spent the next nearly half-century in exile, without a temple, struggling to reconcile this with her belief that God loved her.
However, in terms of the bigger picture, this turned out to be a positive. The pain of being exiled and the doubts of faith that were triggered by the destruction of her temple were ultimately offset by what she learned through this humiliation and crisis, namely, that God is faithful even when we aren’t, that our failures open our eyes to us our own complacency and blindness, and that what looks like success is often its opposite, just as what looks like failure is often its opposite. As Richard Rohr might phrase it, in our failures we have a chance to “fall upward”.
There’s no better image available, I believe, by which to understand what the church is now undergoing through the humiliation thrust on it through the clerical sexual abuse crisis within Roman Catholicism and within other churches as well. To recast Raymond Brown’s insight: The church can learn more about God in the ashes of the clerical sexual abuse crisis than it did during its elegant periods of grand cathedrals, burgeoning church growth, and unquestioned acquiescence to ecclesial authority. It can also learn more about itself, its blindness to its own faults, and its need for some structural change and personal conversion. Hopefully, like the Babylonian exile for Israel, this too will be for the churches something that’s positive in the end.
Moreover, what’s true institutionally for the church (and, not doubt, for other organizations) is also true for each of us in our personal lives. The humiliations that beset us because of our inadequacies, complacencies, failures, betrayals, and blindness to our own faults can be occasions to “fall upward”, to learn in the ashes what we didn’t learn in the winner’s circle.
Almost without exception, our major successes in life, our grander achievements, and the boost in status and adulation that come with that generally don’t deepen us in any way. To paraphrase James Hillman, success usually doesn’t bring a shred of depth into our lives. Conversely, if we reflect with courage and honesty on all the things that have brought depth and character into our lives we will have to admit that, in virtually every case, it would be something that has an element of shame to it – a feeling of inadequacy about our own body, some humiliating element in our upbringing, some shameful moral failure in our life, or something in our character about which we feel some shame. These are the things that have given us depth.
Humiliation makes for depth; it drives us into the deeper parts of our soul. Unfortunately, however, that doesn’t always make for a positive result. The pain of humiliation makes us deep; but it can make us deep in two ways: in understanding and empathy but also in a bitterness of soul that would have us get even with the world.
But the positive point is this: Like Israel on the shores of Babylon, when our temple is damaged or destroyed, in the ashes of that exile we will have a chance to see some deeper things to which we are normally blind.
The Transfiguration of Jesus
Weekday Masses 19th - 22nd March, 2019
Monday: 12noon Latrobe ... St Patrick's Day Celebration
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe
Thursday: 10:30am Karingal
Friday: 9:30am Ulverstone
7:00pm Devonport … Stations of the
Cross
7:00pm Ulverstone …
Stations of the Cross
Next Weekend 23rd & 24th March, 2019
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 23rd & 24th March, 2019
Devonport:
Readers Vigil: M Williams, C Kiely-Hoye 10:30am: A Hughes, T Barrientos, P Piccolo
Ministers of Communion:
Vigil: M Heazlewood, G Lee-Archer, M
Kelly, P Shelverton
10:30am: M Sherriff, T & S Ryan, D
Barrientos, M Barrientos
Mowing at Presbytery March: Tony Ryan
Mowing at Presbytery March: Tony Ryan
Cleaners: 22nd March: F Sly, M Hansen, I Hunter 29th March: P Shelverton, E Petts
Piety Shop: 23rd March:
A Berryman 24th March: P Piccolo
Ulverstone:
Reader/s: B O’Rourke Ministers of Communion: M Murray, J Pisarskis, C Harvey, P Grech
Cleaners: M Swain, M Bryan Flowers: C Stingel Hospitality: T Good Team
Penguin:
Greeters J Garnsey, S Ewing Commentator:
Y Downes Readers: E Nickols, M Murray
Ministers of
Communion: J
Garnsey, S Ewing Liturgy: Sulphur Creek C
Setting Up: F Aichberger Care of Church: M Bowles, M Owen
Latrobe:
Reader: S Ritchie Minister of Communion: B Ritchie Procession of
Gifts: J Hyde
Port Sorell:
Readers: G & V Duff Ministers of Communion: T Jeffries Cleaners: G Richey, G Wyllie
Readings this 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
PREGO REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL:
As I begin my prayer, I slowly become more aware of being
in God’s presence. I take my time to relax into this presence, and ask his
Spirit to be with me as I contemplate the Gospel story. Having read the text
attentively a couple of times, I can perhaps picture the scene and imagine
being present there. Do I look at Jesus praying, and see the transformation in
him taking place? How do I respond to this? Despite Jesus’s glory, Moses and
Elijah speak of his forthcoming Passion. Do I sense a contradiction, or can I
already foresee the joy of Easter at this time? Or perhaps, like the disciples,
I find it all too difficult and do not wish to contemplate what lies ahead? I
speak to the Lord about how I feel. When the shadow of the cloud comes down, am
I fearful of the darkness and the unknown …? Or can I still feel the presence
of God and be content to wait? How do I live this out when a ‘shadow’ descends
in my own life? The Father speaks. Jesus is the Chosen One, his Son. Maybe I
can just sit with these words, allowing them to strengthen my love and my faith,
slowly transforming me and so enabling me to listen. I end my prayer slowly
with a ‘Glory be ...
Readings Next Week:
Third Sunday of
Lent – Year C
First Reading: Exodus 3:1-8. 13-15
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Gospel: Luke
13:1-9
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
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, Robert McLaren, Pat Mapley, Rita Dawkins, Graeme Sheridan, Carina Ubay, Sandra Allison, Joan Carter
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 16th-22nd March:
Mavis Jarvis, Archbishop Guilford Young, Adeline Munro, Norma Billings, Violet Smith, John Smink, Nola Bengtell, Maurice Kelly, Gwenda Holliday, Jim Suckling, Gaudencio Floro, Robert Fifield, Myra Dare, Peggy Leary, Thomas Sage.
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, Robert McLaren, Pat Mapley, Rita Dawkins, Graeme Sheridan, Carina Ubay, Sandra Allison, Joan Carter
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 16th-22nd March:
Mavis Jarvis, Archbishop Guilford Young, Adeline Munro, Norma Billings, Violet Smith, John Smink, Nola Bengtell, Maurice Kelly, Gwenda Holliday, Jim Suckling, Gaudencio Floro, Robert Fifield, Myra Dare, Peggy Leary, Thomas Sage.
May they Rest in Peace
Mersey Leven Parish
Community welcome and congratulate …..
Ted Bartush
On his Baptism this weekend at St Mary’s Church, Penguin
Congratulations Yvonne
& Ray Downes
on the occasion of your 50th Wedding
Anniversary.
May God bless you
both as you celebrate this special day!
Weekly Ramblings
Talk about getting caught out when you make a statement. In
my Ramblings last weekend I mentioned that there were some parishioners (John
Bloomfield and Anne & Daryl Guest) who had recently left the Parish and I’d
probably missed others. I found out on Saturday that Kath Smith from Devonport
had moved to Glenara Lakes in Launceston (during that week) and I had missed
the opportunity to farewell her at the same time. I know that all three people
and their families have friends here in the Parish – please pass on this simple
recognition of thanks for their contribution to the life of our Parish.
This Tuesday evening at 6pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Church
we will be hosting Archbishop Julian as he leads us in a time of Reflection and
Prayer as part of his visitation of Parishes of the Archdiocese in 2019. The
theme of the evening is No Greater Love and continues the program of Prayer
evenings he commenced in 2018. All Parishioners are encouraged to join us in
Devonport on Tuesday for this special evening.
A reminder that we have Stations of the Cross each Friday
evening at Our Lady of Lourdes and Sacred Heart Churches commencing at 7pm.
This ancient tradition of walking the Way with Jesus is an excellent
opportunity for us to reflect on the love of God for each of us as we journey
through Lent.
Please take care
PROJECT
COMPASSION – GIVE LENT 100%
LIVES CHANGE WHEN WE ALL GIVE
100%
Tati lives in the remote forest of West Kalimantan. She is a mother of three who was earning an income working in a local rubber plantation. Since taking part in eco-tourism training with Caritas Australia and its partners, Tati can now afford to send her children to school. With new hope and commitment Tati aspires to a future free from poverty to her family. 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.
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 9thverse 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.
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.
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.
SACRED HEART SCHOOL FAIR:
Buttons Avenue Ulverstone, Saturday 6th April 10am – 2pm. Entry is free – featuring cake stall (donations of cakes, slice grateful accepted) produce, chocolate wheel, rides, craft, food live entertainment and much more. Come along and have some fun!
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
FOOTY TICKETS:
The 2019 AFL footy season starts next 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. Selling of weekly tickets will take place commencing next weekend at Port Sorell, Devonport and Ulverstone Mass Centres.
Thursday Nights - OLOL Hall,
Devonport. Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers Thursday 21st March
– Tony Ryan & Rod Clark.
Midrash
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 
More than telling us exactly what to see in the Scriptures,
Jesus taught us how to see, what to emphasize, and also what could be
de-emphasized or ignored. Beyond fundamentalism or literalism, Jesus practiced
a form that the Jewish people called midrash, consistently using questions to
keep spiritual meanings open, often reflecting on a text or returning people’s
questions with more questions. It is a real shame that we did not imitate Jesus
in this approach. It could have saved us from so many centuries of
righteousness, religious violence, and even single-issue voting.
Rather than seeking always certain and unchanging answers,
the Jewish practice of midrash allows many possibilities, many levels of
faith-filled meaning—meaning that is relevant and applicable to you, the
reader, and puts you in the subject’s shoes to build empathy, understanding,
and relationship. It lets the passage first challenge you before it challenges
anyone else. To use the text in a spiritual way—as Jesus did—is to allow it to
convert you, to change you, to grow you up as you respond: What does this ask
of me? How might this apply to my life, to my family, to my church, to my
neighborhood, to my country?
While biblical messages often proceed from historical
incidents, the actual message does not depend upon communicating those events
with perfect factual accuracy. Spiritual writers are not primarily journalists.
Hebrew rabbis and scholars sometimes use the approach of midrash to reflect on
a story and communicate all of its underlying message. Scripture can be
understood on at least four levels: literal meaning, deep meaning, comparative
meaning, and hidden meaning.
The literal level of meaning doesn’t get to the root and, in
fact, is the least helpful to the soul and the most dangerous for history. Deep
meaning offers symbolic or allegorical applications. Comparative study combines
different texts to explore an entirely new meaning. Finally, in traditional
Jewish exegesis, hidden meaning gets at the Mystery itself. Midrash allows and
encourages each listener to grow with a text and not to settle for mere
literalism, which, of itself, bears little spiritual fruit. It is just a
starting point.
Whatever is received is received according to the manner of
the receiver. [1] This statement from Aquinas was drilled into me during
seminary. People at different levels of maturity will interpret the same text
in different ways. There is no one right way to interpret sacred texts. How you
see is what you see; the who that you bring to your reading of the Scriptures
matters. Who are you when you read the Bible? Defensive, offensive,
power-hungry, righteous? Or humble, receptive, and honest? Surely, this is why
we need to pray before reading a sacred text!
Jesus consistently ignored or even denied exclusionary,
punitive, and triumphalist texts in his own inspired Hebrew Bible in favor of
passages that emphasized inclusion, mercy, and honesty. For example,
referencing two passages from Exodus (21:24) and Leviticus (24:20), Jesus
suggested the opposite: “You have heard it said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for
tooth.’ But I tell you . . . turn the other cheek” (see Matthew 5:38-39). He
read the Scriptures in a spiritual, selective, and questioning way. Jesus had a
deeper and wider eye that knew which passages were creating a path for God and
which passages were merely cultural, self-serving, and legalistic additions.
[1] Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I, 75, 5. Original
sentence: Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Yes, And . . .: Daily Meditations
(Franciscan Media: 2013), x-xi; and
Hierarchy of Truths: Jesus’ Use of Scripture (Center for
Action and Contemplation: 2014), CD, MP3 download.
Lessons Through Failure
This article is taken from the 2019 Archives of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find the original article here
What’s to be learned through failure, through being humbled by our own faults? Generally that’s the only way we grow. In being humbled by our own inadequacies we learn those lessons in life that we are deaf to when we are strutting in confidence and pride. There are secrets, says John Updike, which are hidden from health. This lesson is everywhere in scripture and permeates every spirituality in every religion worthy of the name.
Raymond E. Brown, offers an illustration of this from scripture: Reflecting on how at one point in its history, God’s chosen people, Israel, betrayed its faith and was consequently humiliated and thrown into a crisis about God’s love and concern for them, Brown points out that, long range, this seeming disaster ended up being a positive experience: “Israel learned more about God in the ashes of the Temple destroyed by the Babylonians than in the elegant period of the Temple under Solomon.”
What does he mean by that? Just prior to being conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, Israel had just experienced what, to all outside appearances, looked like the high point of her history (politically, socially, and religiously). She was in possession of the promised land, had subdued all her enemies, had a great king ruling over her, and had a magnificent temple in Jerusalem as a place to worship and a center to hold all the people together. However, inside that apparent strength, perhaps because of it, she had become complacent about her faith and increasing lax in being faithful to it. That complacency and laxity led to her downfall. In 587 BCE, she was overrun by a foreign nation who, after taking the land, deported most of the people to Babylon, killed the king, and knocked the temple down to its last stone. Israel spent the next nearly half-century in exile, without a temple, struggling to reconcile this with her belief that God loved her.
However, in terms of the bigger picture, this turned out to be a positive. The pain of being exiled and the doubts of faith that were triggered by the destruction of her temple were ultimately offset by what she learned through this humiliation and crisis, namely, that God is faithful even when we aren’t, that our failures open our eyes to us our own complacency and blindness, and that what looks like success is often its opposite, just as what looks like failure is often its opposite. As Richard Rohr might phrase it, in our failures we have a chance to “fall upward”.
There’s no better image available, I believe, by which to understand what the church is now undergoing through the humiliation thrust on it through the clerical sexual abuse crisis within Roman Catholicism and within other churches as well. To recast Raymond Brown’s insight: The church can learn more about God in the ashes of the clerical sexual abuse crisis than it did during its elegant periods of grand cathedrals, burgeoning church growth, and unquestioned acquiescence to ecclesial authority. It can also learn more about itself, its blindness to its own faults, and its need for some structural change and personal conversion. Hopefully, like the Babylonian exile for Israel, this too will be for the churches something that’s positive in the end.
Moreover, what’s true institutionally for the church (and, not doubt, for other organizations) is also true for each of us in our personal lives. The humiliations that beset us because of our inadequacies, complacencies, failures, betrayals, and blindness to our own faults can be occasions to “fall upward”, to learn in the ashes what we didn’t learn in the winner’s circle.
Almost without exception, our major successes in life, our grander achievements, and the boost in status and adulation that come with that generally don’t deepen us in any way. To paraphrase James Hillman, success usually doesn’t bring a shred of depth into our lives. Conversely, if we reflect with courage and honesty on all the things that have brought depth and character into our lives we will have to admit that, in virtually every case, it would be something that has an element of shame to it – a feeling of inadequacy about our own body, some humiliating element in our upbringing, some shameful moral failure in our life, or something in our character about which we feel some shame. These are the things that have given us depth.
Humiliation makes for depth; it drives us into the deeper parts of our soul. Unfortunately, however, that doesn’t always make for a positive result. The pain of humiliation makes us deep; but it can make us deep in two ways: in understanding and empathy but also in a bitterness of soul that would have us get even with the world.
But the positive point is this: Like Israel on the shores of Babylon, when our temple is damaged or destroyed, in the ashes of that exile we will have a chance to see some deeper things to which we are normally blind.
The Transfiguration of Jesus
This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website - you can find the complete article here.
This Sunday’s gospel reading is the account of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Luke tells us that the disciples who witnessed Jesus’s encounter with Moses and Elijah were terrified by what they saw and heard, but Jack Mahoney suggests that this experience was one that nourished and encouraged them. What can we learn from this event, as Peter, James and John did, about the Christ towards whom we journey throughout Lent? Jack Mahoney SJ is Emeritus Professor of Moral and Social Theology in the University of London and author of The Making of Moral Theology: A Study of the Roman Catholic Tradition, Oxford, 1987.
Some years ago as I was meditating on the Transfiguration of Our Lord I had a sudden thought about it: I realised that it could have taken place at night. This could shed new light on a number of the details in the story, and could help us better understand and appreciate this passage from St Luke’s Gospel, which is chosen as the gospel for the Mass of the Second Sunday in Lent.
In reading the accounts of the scene as it is described, with slight differences, in all three synoptic gospels – Mark (9:2-8), Matthew (17:1-8) and Luke (9:28-36) – I could find no indication of the time of day or night at which it was supposed to have occurred. But I was thrilled then to read Luke begin his description of the next episode in his Gospel: ‘On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain . . .’ (9:37). It looked as if Luke might have been trying to tell us, as I had thought, that the manifestation of Jesus’s glory and his conversation with the two great figures from the history of his people, Moses and Elijah, took place during the night.
You can read the complete article here.
This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website - you can find the complete article here.
This Sunday’s gospel reading is the account of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Luke tells us that the disciples who witnessed Jesus’s encounter with Moses and Elijah were terrified by what they saw and heard, but Jack Mahoney suggests that this experience was one that nourished and encouraged them. What can we learn from this event, as Peter, James and John did, about the Christ towards whom we journey throughout Lent? Jack Mahoney SJ is Emeritus Professor of Moral and Social Theology in the University of London and author of The Making of Moral Theology: A Study of the Roman Catholic Tradition, Oxford, 1987.
Some years ago as I was meditating on the Transfiguration of Our Lord I had a sudden thought about it: I realised that it could have taken place at night. This could shed new light on a number of the details in the story, and could help us better understand and appreciate this passage from St Luke’s Gospel, which is chosen as the gospel for the Mass of the Second Sunday in Lent.
In reading the accounts of the scene as it is described, with slight differences, in all three synoptic gospels – Mark (9:2-8), Matthew (17:1-8) and Luke (9:28-36) – I could find no indication of the time of day or night at which it was supposed to have occurred. But I was thrilled then to read Luke begin his description of the next episode in his Gospel: ‘On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain . . .’ (9:37). It looked as if Luke might have been trying to tell us, as I had thought, that the manifestation of Jesus’s glory and his conversation with the two great figures from the history of his people, Moses and Elijah, took place during the night.
You can read the complete article here.
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