Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney
Mob: 0417 279 437
mike.delaney@aohtas.org.au
Assistant Priest: Fr Paschal Okpon
Mob: 0438 562 731
paschalokpon@yahoo.com
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
pmccormack43@bigpond.com
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
Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
Secretary: Annie Davies
Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair: Felicity Sly
Mob: 0418 301 573
fsly@internode.on.net
Mob: 0417 279 437
mike.delaney@aohtas.org.au
Assistant Priest: Fr Paschal Okpon
Mob: 0438 562 731
paschalokpon@yahoo.com
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
pmccormack43@bigpond.com
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
Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
Secretary: Annie Davies
Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair: Felicity Sly
Mob: 0418 301 573
fsly@internode.on.net
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 13th – 16th August, 2019
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe … St Maximilian Mary Kolbe
Thursday: 10:30am Karingal … the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
12noon
Devonport
7:00pm Ulverstone
Next Weekend 17th & 18th August, 2019
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Penguin
6:00pm Devonport … Confirmation
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone… Confirmation
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
MINISTRY ROSTERS 17th & 18th AUGUST, 2019
Devonport:
Ulverstone:
Penguin:
Latrobe:
Port Sorell:
Readings this Week: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: Wisdom 18:6-9
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY'S GOSPEL:
What sort of a day have I had … or what is my day going to be like?
I spend time focusing on this, and ask the Lord to be with me as I
remember or look forward.
I try to leave all preoccupations behind,
focusing only on this time spent with the Lord.
When I have reached some inner quiet, I read the text.
I stop when a phrase strikes me.
What does it mean to me?
Why would someone do that?
It may help if I can imagine myself as one of the disciples Jesus is
addressing, or as one of the characters: the servants, the master, the
householder.
I might move from one to another.
What new perspectives come to the fore?
Jesus is encouraging his disciples to be ready and vigilant for the coming
of the Son of Man.
I look to my own life.
In what ways does this apply to me?
How will I respond when the Master knocks at my door?
Am I so protective of my own property that I forget to trust, and see the
good in other people’s actions?
I turn to the Lord and tell him how I feel at the end of my prayer.
I ask
him for the help and support I need just now.
In gratitude, I say: Glory be to the Father ...
Readings Next Week: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
Norie Capulong, Shelley Sing, Joy Carter, Marie Knight, Allan Stott, Christiana Okpon, Peter Sylvester, Des Dalton & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Barbara Devlin, Steven Stivicic, Jack McMahon, Shirley Bourke, John Doherty, Peggy O’Leary, Tagling Saili, Cres Novel, Naning Camocamo, Restituto Carcuevas, Lita Santos, Carlene Vickers, George Armstrong,
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 8th – 14th August, 2019
Dorothy Smith, Kevin Breen, Kenneth Bowles, Stephen French, Mark Gatt, Reg Poole, Athol Wright, Gertrude Koerner, Kenneth Rowe, David Covington, Patrick Tunchun, Anthony Hyde
May
the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen
Happy 80th Birthday
Tony Kiely on Saturday 10th August.
Weekly
Ramblings
This
has been another busy week as we prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation
which will be celebrated in the Parish next Saturday 17th at the
Vigil Mass at Devonport and on Sunday 18th at 9.00am at Ulverstone. 
Please take care in your homes and on the roads
CONFIRMATION:
MT ST VINCENT AUXILIARY: will be holding a Cake and Craft Stall at Mt St
Vincent, Ulverstone on Wednesday
21st August starting at 9am. Please come along, bring a friend (or two)!
To Allan
Miller for refurbishing the hymn book trolleys at Sacred Heart Church Ulverstone.
The
trolleys are now more user friendly for all, so thanks once again Alan.
To Merv Tippett for helping with repairs to windows at Our
Lady of Lourdes Parish Hall. We
are sure the Bingo patrons will be very thankful Merv as we are too!
THURSDAY 15th August – Eyes down 7:30pm. Callers Rod Clark & Graeme Rigney
ATTENTION
– WE NEED YOUR HELP – BINGO, BINGO, BINGO!!!!
VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITY:
Our volunteer members give encouragement and hope to the
people they assist. Members are not required to be trained counsellors, they
just need to have great listening skills, empathy and compassion for people in
need. All training is provided.
Many members are connected to a parish and meet regularly
in prayer, spiritual reflection and to support each other in the work that they
do. Associate members can support the work of the Society without attending
meetings. Would you like to know more?
Please contact State Membership and Community Services
Manager, Melissa White on 63 330822 or melissa.white@vinniestas.org.au
“The St Vincent de Paul Society is
a lay Catholic organisation that aspires to live the gospel message by serving
Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice, hope and joy, and by working to
shape a more just and compassionate society”.
FOOTY
MARGIN RESULTS: Round 20 (Friday 2nd August) North Melbourne won by 22 points. Congratulations to the following
winners; June McIvor, Anne Stegmann,
GRAND FINAL FOOTY MARGIN TICKETS:
$10.00 tickets are now selling – hurry and get yours today! The winner of the $10 tickets will
receive $500.00 and the holder of
the ticket with the number either side of the winning number $100.00. The $10.00 tickets are available from Devonport, Ulverstone and Port
Sorell Mass Centres or by phoning the Parish Office 6424:2783 The weekly $2.00
footy margin tickets will be sold (as normal) during the finals.
NEWS FROM
ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE:
Discovering Global Mission: Find out how teacher
Helena Charlesworth assisted communities in four countries over 25 years, and
how sharing your skills can immerse you in a world of deep cultural discovery. Palms
Meet & Greet: Sunday August 18th at 2pm Anvers Chocolate Café LATROBE.
Past scholars
of Our
Lady of Mercy College Deloraine are invited to a reunion lunch at
Pedro’s Restaurant, Ulverstone on Friday 30th August, 12 noon.
Phone: Vivienne Williams: 64 37:0878.
Take Up Your Cross
This article is taken from the Daily Email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM from the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the email by clicking here
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my
disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” —Matthew
16:24
What does it mean to follow Jesus? I believe that we are
invited to gaze upon the image of the crucified Jesus to soften our hearts
toward all suffering, to help us see how we ourselves have been “bitten” by
hatred and violence, and to know that God’s heart has always been softened
toward us. In turning our gaze to this divine truth—in dropping our many modes
of scapegoating and self-justification—we gain compassion toward ourselves and
all others who suffer. It largely happens on the psychic and unconscious level,
but that is exactly where our hurts and our will to violence lie, lodged in the
primitive “lizard brain,” where we have almost no rational control.
A transformative religion must touch us at this primitive,
brain-stem level, or it is not transformative. History is continually graced
with people who somehow learned to act beyond and outside their self-interest
and for the good of the world, people who clearly operated by a power larger
than their own. The Nelson Mandelas of the world, the Oskar Schindlers, the
Martin Luther King, Jrs. Add to them Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day,
Oscar Romero, Cesar Chavez, and many other “unknown soldiers.” These inspiring
figures give us strong evidence that the mind of Christ still inhabits the
world. Most of us are fortunate to have crossed paths with many lesser-known
persons who exhibit the same presence. I can’t say how one becomes such a
person. All I can presume is that they all had their Christ moments, in which
they stopped denying their own shadows, stopped projecting those shadows
elsewhere, and agreed to own their deepest identity in God.
But it is not an enviable position, this Christian thing.
Following Jesus is a vocation to share the fate of God for the life of the
world. To allow what God for some reason allows—and uses. And to suffer ever so
slightly what God suffers eternally.
This has little to do with believing the right things about
God—beyond the fact that God is love. Those who agree to carry and love what
God loves, both the good and the bad, and to pay the price for its
reconciliation within themselves—these are the followers of Jesus Christ. They
are the leaven, the salt, the remnant, the mustard seed that God uses to
transform the world. The cross, then, is a very dramatic image of what it takes
to be usable for God. It does not mean you are going to heaven and others are
not; rather, it means you have already entered heaven and thus can see things
in a transcendent, whole, and healing way now.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a
Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe (Convergent
Books: 2019), 152-153.
Divine Understanding
This article is taken from the archive of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find this article and many others by clicking here
A number of years ago at a symposium on faith and evangelization, one of the speakers made a rather startling statement. She, a Christian activist, ended her presentation with words to this effect: I work for the poor and I do it out of my Christian faith. I’m committed to this because of Jesus, but I can go for three years on the streets without ever mentioning his name because I believe that God is mature enough that he doesn’t demand to be the center of our conscious attention all the time.
Like many others in the audience, I’d never heard a spiritual writer or preacher ever say this so bluntly. I’d heard biblical scholars speak of God’s self-emptying in the incarnation, of Christ’s burying himself into anonymity, and of God’s patience in being ignored, but I’d never heard anyone say so plainly that God doesn’t mind that we don’t give him explicit attention for long periods of time.
But is this true? Is God okay with this kind of neglect?
There’s an important truth here, though only if it’s sufficiently qualified. Taken as it stands this can be used to justify too many things (spiritual laziness, selfishness, excessive self-preoccupation, culpable resistance to deeper thought, excessive procrastination with what’s important, and countless other things) that are not good. But here’s its truth: God understands! God is a loving parent who understands the inattentiveness and self-preoccupation of his children.
God has not put us into this life primarily to see if we can keep our attention focused on him all the time. God intended for us to immerse ourselves in the things of this world without, of course, forgetting that these things are, at the end of the day, passing and that we’re destined for a life beyond this world. We’re not on this earth to be always thinking of the eternal, though we’re not on earth either to forget about the eternal.
However, because the unexamined life is less than human, we also need to have moments where we try to make God the center of our conscious awareness. We need regular moments of explicit prayer, of meditation, of contemplation, of worship, of Sabbath, of explicit acknowledgement of God and of explicit gratitude to God. We do need moments when we make ourselves consciously aware that there is a next life, an eternal one, beyond this present one.
But, in the end, that’s not in competition with or in contradiction to our natural focus on the things of this life, namely, our day-to-day relationships, our families, our work, our concerns for health, and our natural focus on news, sports, entertainment, and enjoyment. These are what naturally draw our attention and, done in good will and honesty, will in the end help push our attention towards the deeper things and eventually towards God. The great mystic, John of the Cross, tells us that if we’re sincere and honest as we focus on the mundane things in our lives, deeper things will happen, unconsciously, under the surface and we will grow closer to God.
For example, the famed monk, Carlo Carretto, shares this story: After living many years alone as a hermit in the Sahara desert and spending countless hours in prayer and meditation, he went back to Italy to visit his mother. She was a woman who had raised a large family and who had gone through years of her life when she was too burdened with responsibility and duty to spend much time in explicit prayer. What Carretto discovered to his surprise was that she was more contemplative than he was, not because all those hours of explicit prayer as a monk weren’t good, but because all those selfless tasks his mother did in raising her family and caring for others were very good.
And God understands this. God understands that we’re human, spiritually frail, busy, and instinctually geared towards the things of this world so that we don’t naturally move towards prayer and church, and that even when we are at prayer or in church, we’re generally still distracted, tired, bored, impatient, thinking of other things, and longing for prayer and church to be over with.
It’s not easy to keep God as the center of our conscious attention; but God both knows this and is not unsympathetic.
Kate Bowler, coming at this from the Mennonite tradition, comments on what the Church calls “Ordinary time”, that is, those times during the year when, unlike the Advent, Lenten, Christmas, or Easter seasons, there is nothing special to celebrate. What happens then? Well, what happens then is that things get “ordinary”: “There is no birth at the manger or death on the cross, just the ponderous pace of people singing, praying, and keeping their kids quiet during the sermon. The magic fades and reveals the church for what it is: a plain people in a boring building who meet until kickoff.”
Yes, most of the time that’s us, plain people in boring buildings waiting for the kickoff. And God understands perfectly.
Our Values: Growth-Oriented
This article is taken from the Blog posted by Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can find the original blog by clicking here
We are using this space these days to reflect on the values that we rely on in serving our mission as a parish. This week: “growth oriented.”
Automatic Growth vs Intentional Growth
Weekday Masses 13th – 16th August, 2019
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe … St Maximilian Mary Kolbe
Thursday: 10:30am Karingal … the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
12noon
Devonport
7:00pm Ulverstone
Friday: 11:00am Mt St
Vincent … St Stephen of Hungary
Next Weekend 17th & 18th August, 2019
Next Weekend 17th & 18th August, 2019
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Penguin
6:00pm Devonport … Confirmation
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
MINISTRY ROSTERS 17th & 18th AUGUST, 2019
Devonport:
Readers: Vigil: A McIntyre, M Williams, C Kiely-Hoye 10:30am A
Hughes, T Barrientos, P Piccolo
Ministers of Communion:
Vigil T Muir, M Davies, K & K Maynard, D Peters, J Heatley
10.30am: B & N Mulcahy, K Hull
Cleaners 16th
Aug: K.S.C. 23rd Aug: B Paul, D Atkins, V Riley
Piety Shop 17th August:
H Thompson 18th August: O McGinley
Mowing of lawns Presbytery Aug: M Tippett
Ulverstone:
Reader/s: D Prior
Ministers of
Communion: M Mott,
W Bajzelj, J Jones, T Leary
Cleaners: K. S. C. Flowers: M Bryan Hospitality:
M Byrne, G Doyle
Penguin:
Greeters Fifita Family Commentator:
Y Downes Readers: Fifita Family
Ministers of
Communion: M
Hiscutt, T Clayton Liturgy: Sulphur Creek C
Setting Up: T Clayton Care of Church: S Coleman, M Owen
Latrobe:
Reader: S Ritchie Minister of
Communion: B
Ritchie Procession of
Gifts: J Hyde
Port Sorell:
Readers: L Post, T Jeffries Ministers of Communion: B Lee Cleaners: C & J Howard
Readings this Week: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: Wisdom 18:6-9
Second Reading: Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19
Gospel: Luke 12:32-48
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY'S GOSPEL:
What sort of a day have I had … or what is my day going to be like?
I spend time focusing on this, and ask the Lord to be with me as I remember or look forward.
I try to leave all preoccupations behind, focusing only on this time spent with the Lord.
When I have reached some inner quiet, I read the text.
I stop when a phrase strikes me.
What does it mean to me?
Why would someone do that?
It may help if I can imagine myself as one of the disciples Jesus is addressing, or as one of the characters: the servants, the master, the householder.
I might move from one to another.
What new perspectives come to the fore?
Jesus is encouraging his disciples to be ready and vigilant for the coming of the Son of Man.
I look to my own life.
In what ways does this apply to me?
How will I respond when the Master knocks at my door?
Am I so protective of my own property that I forget to trust, and see the good in other people’s actions?
I turn to the Lord and tell him how I feel at the end of my prayer.
I ask him for the help and support I need just now.
In gratitude, I say: Glory be to the Father ...
I spend time focusing on this, and ask the Lord to be with me as I remember or look forward.
I try to leave all preoccupations behind, focusing only on this time spent with the Lord.
When I have reached some inner quiet, I read the text.
I stop when a phrase strikes me.
What does it mean to me?
Why would someone do that?
It may help if I can imagine myself as one of the disciples Jesus is addressing, or as one of the characters: the servants, the master, the householder.
I might move from one to another.
What new perspectives come to the fore?
Jesus is encouraging his disciples to be ready and vigilant for the coming of the Son of Man.
I look to my own life.
In what ways does this apply to me?
How will I respond when the Master knocks at my door?
Am I so protective of my own property that I forget to trust, and see the good in other people’s actions?
I turn to the Lord and tell him how I feel at the end of my prayer.
I ask him for the help and support I need just now.
In gratitude, I say: Glory be to the Father ...
Readings Next Week: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
First Reading: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Second Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4
Gospel: Luke 12:49-53
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
Norie Capulong, Shelley Sing, Joy Carter, Marie Knight, Allan Stott, Christiana Okpon, Peter Sylvester, Des Dalton & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Barbara Devlin, Steven Stivicic, Jack McMahon, Shirley Bourke, John Doherty, Peggy O’Leary, Tagling Saili, Cres Novel, Naning Camocamo, Restituto Carcuevas, Lita Santos, Carlene Vickers, George Armstrong,
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 8th – 14th August, 2019
Dorothy Smith, Kevin Breen, Kenneth Bowles, Stephen French, Mark Gatt, Reg Poole, Athol Wright, Gertrude Koerner, Kenneth Rowe, David Covington, Patrick Tunchun, Anthony Hyde
May
the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen
Happy 80th Birthday
Tony Kiely on Saturday 10th August.
Thank you for
your long time commitment and contribution to the Penguin Community of Mersey
Leven Catholic Parish. Thank you for your contribution to and your service of
the Communities and families of Tasmania especially the North West Coast
through the Lions Club and Kiely Plumbing Business.
Weekly
Ramblings
This
has been another busy week as we prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation
which will be celebrated in the Parish next Saturday 17th at the
Vigil Mass at Devonport and on Sunday 18th at 9.00am at Ulverstone.
Please
pray for these young members of our Parish and their families as they complete
their preparations to take this next step on their faith journey - Jacob
Bibron-Evans, Joe Borlini, Imogen Charlesworth, Sienna Clarke, Paige Curran,
Willow Farr, Brandon Haeren, Niamh Kelly, Lily Kilvington, Oscar Lakeland, Wilf
McGann, Thomas Marshall, Peter Metz, Sadie Peters, Emily Phegan, Addison &
Georgie Phipps, Oscar Smollen & Riley Webb.
This
week we have the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This
is one of the Holy Days of Obligation and there will be three occasions to
attend Mass – 10:30am at Karingal, 12noon at Our Lady of Lourdes and 7:00pm at
Sacred Heart. As always it is not possible to be in every centre on these
special days but I hope that by providing the three opportunities we can assist
as many people as possible to get to Mass.
Date
Claimer: An invitation arrived this week inviting Parishioners
to attend the Ordination to the Diaconate of Steven Smith and Chatura Silva to
be celebrated at 11am on 21st September 2019 at the Church of the
Apostles. Steven has spent some time here in the Parish and is known to many of
you and has asked that I pass on his invitation to all parishioners to be part
of this special day for him.
Please take care in your homes and on the roads
CONFIRMATION:
Parishioners and families are asked to bring a plate of
food to share after Confirmation on Saturday 17th August 6pm Vigil
at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Devonport and Sunday 18th August at
Sacred Heart Church Ulverstone – Thank you!
MT ST VINCENT AUXILIARY: will be holding a Cake and Craft Stall at Mt St
Vincent, Ulverstone on Wednesday
21st August starting at 9am. Please come along, bring a friend (or two)!
To Allan
Miller for refurbishing the hymn book trolleys at Sacred Heart Church Ulverstone.
The
trolleys are now more user friendly for all, so thanks once again Alan.
To Merv Tippett for helping with repairs to windows at Our
Lady of Lourdes Parish Hall. We
are sure the Bingo patrons will be very thankful Merv as we are too!
THURSDAY 15th August – Eyes down 7:30pm. Callers Rod Clark & Graeme Rigney
ATTENTION
– WE NEED YOUR HELP – BINGO, BINGO, BINGO!!!!
An appeal for volunteer helpers at Bingo continues this
week. Bingo is a very significant fund raiser for the parish. If
you are able to be part of the team on a monthly basis please let the Parish Office
know. Bingo is called each Thursday in Our Lady of Lourdes Parish
Hall and helpers are required from 5:45pm to 10:00pm. (Perhaps you also
know of others who would be happy to assist).
VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITY:
St Vincent de Paul Society are seeking volunteer members in
the Devonport/Ulverstone and surrounding areas, to help provide Emergency
Relief assistance to people in need.
Our volunteer members give encouragement and hope to the people they assist. Members are not required to be trained counsellors, they just need to have great listening skills, empathy and compassion for people in need. All training is provided.
Many members are connected to a parish and meet regularly in prayer, spiritual reflection and to support each other in the work that they do. Associate members can support the work of the Society without attending meetings. Would you like to know more?
Please contact State Membership and Community Services Manager, Melissa White on 63 330822 or melissa.white@vinniestas.org.au
“The St Vincent de Paul Society is
a lay Catholic organisation that aspires to live the gospel message by serving
Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice, hope and joy, and by working to
shape a more just and compassionate society”.
FOOTY
MARGIN RESULTS: Round 20 (Friday 2nd August) North Melbourne won by 22 points. Congratulations to the following
winners; June McIvor, Anne Stegmann,
GRAND FINAL FOOTY MARGIN TICKETS:
$10.00 tickets are now selling – hurry and get yours today! The winner of the $10 tickets will
receive $500.00 and the holder of
the ticket with the number either side of the winning number $100.00. The $10.00 tickets are available from Devonport, Ulverstone and Port
Sorell Mass Centres or by phoning the Parish Office 6424:2783 The weekly $2.00
footy margin tickets will be sold (as normal) during the finals.
NEWS FROM
ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE:
Discovering Global Mission: Find out how teacher
Helena Charlesworth assisted communities in four countries over 25 years, and
how sharing your skills can immerse you in a world of deep cultural discovery. Palms
Meet & Greet: Sunday August 18th at 2pm Anvers Chocolate Café LATROBE.
Past scholars
of Our
Lady of Mercy College Deloraine are invited to a reunion lunch at
Pedro’s Restaurant, Ulverstone on Friday 30th August, 12 noon.
Phone: Vivienne Williams: 64 37:0878.
Take Up Your Cross
This article is taken from the Daily Email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM from the Center for Action and Contemplation. You can subscribe to receive the email by clicking here
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my
disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” —Matthew
16:24
What does it mean to follow Jesus? I believe that we are
invited to gaze upon the image of the crucified Jesus to soften our hearts
toward all suffering, to help us see how we ourselves have been “bitten” by
hatred and violence, and to know that God’s heart has always been softened
toward us. In turning our gaze to this divine truth—in dropping our many modes
of scapegoating and self-justification—we gain compassion toward ourselves and
all others who suffer. It largely happens on the psychic and unconscious level,
but that is exactly where our hurts and our will to violence lie, lodged in the
primitive “lizard brain,” where we have almost no rational control.
A transformative religion must touch us at this primitive,
brain-stem level, or it is not transformative. History is continually graced
with people who somehow learned to act beyond and outside their self-interest
and for the good of the world, people who clearly operated by a power larger
than their own. The Nelson Mandelas of the world, the Oskar Schindlers, the
Martin Luther King, Jrs. Add to them Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day,
Oscar Romero, Cesar Chavez, and many other “unknown soldiers.” These inspiring
figures give us strong evidence that the mind of Christ still inhabits the
world. Most of us are fortunate to have crossed paths with many lesser-known
persons who exhibit the same presence. I can’t say how one becomes such a
person. All I can presume is that they all had their Christ moments, in which
they stopped denying their own shadows, stopped projecting those shadows
elsewhere, and agreed to own their deepest identity in God.
But it is not an enviable position, this Christian thing.
Following Jesus is a vocation to share the fate of God for the life of the
world. To allow what God for some reason allows—and uses. And to suffer ever so
slightly what God suffers eternally.
This has little to do with believing the right things about
God—beyond the fact that God is love. Those who agree to carry and love what
God loves, both the good and the bad, and to pay the price for its
reconciliation within themselves—these are the followers of Jesus Christ. They
are the leaven, the salt, the remnant, the mustard seed that God uses to
transform the world. The cross, then, is a very dramatic image of what it takes
to be usable for God. It does not mean you are going to heaven and others are
not; rather, it means you have already entered heaven and thus can see things
in a transcendent, whole, and healing way now.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a
Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe (Convergent
Books: 2019), 152-153.
Divine Understanding
This article is taken from the archive of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find this article and many others by clicking here
A number of years ago at a symposium on faith and evangelization, one of the speakers made a rather startling statement. She, a Christian activist, ended her presentation with words to this effect: I work for the poor and I do it out of my Christian faith. I’m committed to this because of Jesus, but I can go for three years on the streets without ever mentioning his name because I believe that God is mature enough that he doesn’t demand to be the center of our conscious attention all the time.
Like many others in the audience, I’d never heard a spiritual writer or preacher ever say this so bluntly. I’d heard biblical scholars speak of God’s self-emptying in the incarnation, of Christ’s burying himself into anonymity, and of God’s patience in being ignored, but I’d never heard anyone say so plainly that God doesn’t mind that we don’t give him explicit attention for long periods of time.
But is this true? Is God okay with this kind of neglect?
There’s an important truth here, though only if it’s sufficiently qualified. Taken as it stands this can be used to justify too many things (spiritual laziness, selfishness, excessive self-preoccupation, culpable resistance to deeper thought, excessive procrastination with what’s important, and countless other things) that are not good. But here’s its truth: God understands! God is a loving parent who understands the inattentiveness and self-preoccupation of his children.
God has not put us into this life primarily to see if we can keep our attention focused on him all the time. God intended for us to immerse ourselves in the things of this world without, of course, forgetting that these things are, at the end of the day, passing and that we’re destined for a life beyond this world. We’re not on this earth to be always thinking of the eternal, though we’re not on earth either to forget about the eternal.
However, because the unexamined life is less than human, we also need to have moments where we try to make God the center of our conscious awareness. We need regular moments of explicit prayer, of meditation, of contemplation, of worship, of Sabbath, of explicit acknowledgement of God and of explicit gratitude to God. We do need moments when we make ourselves consciously aware that there is a next life, an eternal one, beyond this present one.
But, in the end, that’s not in competition with or in contradiction to our natural focus on the things of this life, namely, our day-to-day relationships, our families, our work, our concerns for health, and our natural focus on news, sports, entertainment, and enjoyment. These are what naturally draw our attention and, done in good will and honesty, will in the end help push our attention towards the deeper things and eventually towards God. The great mystic, John of the Cross, tells us that if we’re sincere and honest as we focus on the mundane things in our lives, deeper things will happen, unconsciously, under the surface and we will grow closer to God.
For example, the famed monk, Carlo Carretto, shares this story: After living many years alone as a hermit in the Sahara desert and spending countless hours in prayer and meditation, he went back to Italy to visit his mother. She was a woman who had raised a large family and who had gone through years of her life when she was too burdened with responsibility and duty to spend much time in explicit prayer. What Carretto discovered to his surprise was that she was more contemplative than he was, not because all those hours of explicit prayer as a monk weren’t good, but because all those selfless tasks his mother did in raising her family and caring for others were very good.
And God understands this. God understands that we’re human, spiritually frail, busy, and instinctually geared towards the things of this world so that we don’t naturally move towards prayer and church, and that even when we are at prayer or in church, we’re generally still distracted, tired, bored, impatient, thinking of other things, and longing for prayer and church to be over with.
It’s not easy to keep God as the center of our conscious attention; but God both knows this and is not unsympathetic.
Kate Bowler, coming at this from the Mennonite tradition, comments on what the Church calls “Ordinary time”, that is, those times during the year when, unlike the Advent, Lenten, Christmas, or Easter seasons, there is nothing special to celebrate. What happens then? Well, what happens then is that things get “ordinary”: “There is no birth at the manger or death on the cross, just the ponderous pace of people singing, praying, and keeping their kids quiet during the sermon. The magic fades and reveals the church for what it is: a plain people in a boring building who meet until kickoff.”
Yes, most of the time that’s us, plain people in boring buildings waiting for the kickoff. And God understands perfectly.
Our Values: Growth-Oriented
This article is taken from the Blog posted by Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can find the original blog by clicking here
We are using this space these days to reflect on the values that we rely on in serving our mission as a parish. This week: “growth oriented.”
Automatic Growth vs Intentional Growth
Growing churches come in basically two types. There are churches that are well positioned geographically in growing communities. They grow with the community and their growth is automatic. Most Catholic churches in this country grew automatically as waves of immigrants arrived. The problem with automatic growth is that it eventually comes to an end, after the last house in the neighborhood is built, and then things, left unchecked, begin going in the opposite direction. That’s what happened here at our parish years ago.
The second kind of growth is intentional growth, usually associated with Evangelical churches, often “mega-churches” (commonly defined as churches with 2,000 average weekend attendance). Sometimes they are ridiculed as flashy, all about gimmicks and entertainment to appeal to the masses, at the expense of attendance at more traditional churches. Critics would further argue that these churches water down their message, they’re “Christian –lite.” To these people, growth can only come about by sacrificing the message of Jesus to pander to consumers.
We are an intentionally growing church. No apologies. We want to grow because Jesus told us to. We want to grow because healthy things grow. We want to grow because there are lots of people in our community who do not know Christ…to name just a few reasons.
For this we have been criticized too. We’ve been derisively described as “Catholic-lite,” “Our Lady of Starbucks” and the list goes on. Critics would say our growth comes in compromising our Catholic faith and pandering to the lowest common denominator. They howl that our growth comes at the expense of other parishes. None of this is true. Are we accessible and hospitable to guests and newcomers? Absolutely. Do we offer a comfortable environment for the unchurched? Completely. Is our message engaging and inspiring to churched and unchurched alike? Positively. Do we compromise our faith or fudge on our values, do we pander to consumers or steal other churches’ parishioners? Positively not.
Growing churches come in basically two types. There are churches that are well positioned geographically in growing communities. They grow with the community and their growth is automatic. Most Catholic churches in this country grew automatically as waves of immigrants arrived. The problem with automatic growth is that it eventually comes to an end, after the last house in the neighborhood is built, and then things, left unchecked, begin going in the opposite direction. That’s what happened here at our parish years ago.
The second kind of growth is intentional growth, usually associated with Evangelical churches, often “mega-churches” (commonly defined as churches with 2,000 average weekend attendance). Sometimes they are ridiculed as flashy, all about gimmicks and entertainment to appeal to the masses, at the expense of attendance at more traditional churches. Critics would further argue that these churches water down their message, they’re “Christian –lite.” To these people, growth can only come about by sacrificing the message of Jesus to pander to consumers.
We are an intentionally growing church. No apologies. We want to grow because Jesus told us to. We want to grow because healthy things grow. We want to grow because there are lots of people in our community who do not know Christ…to name just a few reasons.
For this we have been criticized too. We’ve been derisively described as “Catholic-lite,” “Our Lady of Starbucks” and the list goes on. Critics would say our growth comes in compromising our Catholic faith and pandering to the lowest common denominator. They howl that our growth comes at the expense of other parishes. None of this is true. Are we accessible and hospitable to guests and newcomers? Absolutely. Do we offer a comfortable environment for the unchurched? Completely. Is our message engaging and inspiring to churched and unchurched alike? Positively. Do we compromise our faith or fudge on our values, do we pander to consumers or steal other churches’ parishioners? Positively not.
Deep and Wide
Our model is Deep and Wide, and it’s the one Jesus gave us.
Jesus didn’t introduce his disciples to the Gospel by bringing them to the Cross. He began with the simple, attractive invitation, “Come and see.” We challenge our parishioners to do the same through a simple formulae we adapted from Pastor Andy Stanley, Invest and Invite.
We invite our church people to be on the lookout for unchurched people in our community…not people going to other churches, unchurched people. They make a relational investment in them and then, when they have an opportunity, when the occasion arises, they invite them to our church.
Our message series are especially designed as opportunities to make an invitation. This coming fall we are going to be pushing the launch of each of our three fall series with video trailers as well as electronic and paper invitation cards to assist parishioners with the ask. Signature events like our “Kick Off Weekend” (September 7 & 8) and Christmas Eve at the Maryland State Fair are also perfect opportunities to “go wide.” This spring we opened our new balcony seating, this week we’re offering a new Mass schedule, this fall we’re launching an expanded shuttle service, all to accommodate growth.
But its not just about growing bigger, for the sake of being bigger. It is also going deeper, which isn’t just about getting the unchurched in the door but also about setting them on the discipleship path. We call it S.T.E.P.S.: serve (in ministry or on mission), tithe (grow in giving and generosity), engage (in church fellowship and through a small group) practice (prayer and the Sacraments), and share (your faith with the unchurched).
Churches of any size can be healthy (or unhealthy). Size doesn’t matter…. what matters is growth…growth in discipleship. We want to be a parish of growing disciples who are growing disciples.
Mary MacKillop - Australia's First Saint
This is an article which appeared on the Thinking Faith website on 12th October 2010, one week before St Mary of the Cross MacKillop was canonised. It is reprinted here as a reminder of her story. (Note from Fr Mike) You can find the original article and many others when you visit the Thinking Faith website - click here
History will be made this Sunday 17 October as Blessed Mary MacKillop is canonised in Rome and becomes Australia’s first saint. The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart introduce us to their co-founder, a woman whose relationship with the Church was complex, but her faith in and service of God unceasing.
On Sunday October 17, Mary MacKillop will become Australia’s first declared saint when she is canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter’s Square, Rome.
This will be an historic day for the Church and for Australia, as the Universal Church recognises Mary as someone who lived a life of heroic goodness, born of her closeness to God and her love of all she met, particularly the poor and marginalised. In canonising her, the Church holds Mary up to us and to all who come after us, as a special companion and example for us in our own lives.
Who was Mary MacKillop?
Mary MacKillop was an ordinary woman who lived an extraordinary life.
She was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne on 15 January 1842 to Scottish immigrants, Alexander and Flora MacKillop. The family home for Mary and her seven siblings was faith-filled, but often turbulent and troubled due to Alexander’s various failed business dealings which created insecurity in the family income. About her early life she writes, ‘My life as a child was one of sorrow, my home when I had it a most unhappy one.’ For much of their lives the family was dependent on relatives for shelter and support. At age 16, Mary became the main provider for the family. She worked as a governess, then as shop assistant in the stationers ‘Sands and Kenny’, and finally as a school teacher in Portland, Victoria. At 18, Mary moved to Penola, South Australia to work as a governess/teacher for relatives. With a real heart for educating poor children, Mary was soon teaching not only her cousins but many other children from the local area. At Penola, she met Fr Julian Tenison Woods and together they started a school for poor children. In 1866, the pair became co-founders of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. It was the first religious order to be established by an Australian.
Over the next several years the Order grew and the Sisters travelled the countryside setting up schools, orphanages for abandoned or neglected children and other good works for those in need. They were prepared to follow farmers, railway workers and miners into isolated outback areas and live as they lived. Mary and her Sisters soon moved into Queensland and eventually to New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand.
The Sisters moved freely about the colonies, wherever they learned of a need, a freedom which was resisted by some bishops and others. In 1871 Mary became the subject of a campaign by some of the priests of Adelaide who complained to the Bishop about Fr Woods’ direction of the Order and Mary’s administration and personal conduct. This culminated in Bishop Sheil excommunicating Mary from the Church. Shortly before he died in 1872, Bishop Sheil recognised his mistake and lifted the excommunication, and Mary was completely exonerated of any wrongdoing. As a result of these events, she made the epic journey to Rome by sea in 1873/74 to have the rule of her Order approved by the Pope. Despite her increasingly poor health, Mary’s Sisters continued to flourish in their work for the poor and needy in Australia and New Zealand. She died in North Sydney, on the site where her tomb now lies, in 1909, aged 67.
The Road to Sainthood
Even at the time of her death, those who knew her, or knew of her extraordinary work, spoke openly of her holiness – her heroic goodness. Cardinal Moran, the Archbishop of Sydney, is reported as having said after his final visit to her that, ‘This day I consider I have assisted at the death bed of a saint’. The Australian press, both secular and religious, were uncommonly united in speaking of her holiness, her heroic service of God, her open hearted love for the poor and deprived, and her determination to bring a Catholic education to the children of the colonies. Ordinary people also exhibited extraordinary signs of devotion to her.
After many years gathering together the necessary information on Mary’s life, the official Cause for the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop was begun in 1925. In January 1995, Pope John Paul II beatified Mary MacKillop during a Mass at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney. This followed official recognition of a woman being miraculously cured of cancer after praying for Mary’s intercession. The recognition in December 2009 of a second miracle, also a woman being cured of cancer, ensured Mary’s path to canonisation.
A Saint for our Time
The Church does not make a saint – it recognises a saint. Canonisation is the act by which the Holy Father declares in a definitive and solemn way that a Catholic Christian is actually in the glory of heaven, intercedes for us before the Lord and is to be publicly venerated by the whole Church.
Canonisation is a double statement – about the life of the person and also about the faith of the people who are alive at this moment. They are as much a part of the canonisation as the person who is being recognised.
Sr Anne Derwin, the Congregational Leader of the Sisters of St Joseph, said Mary’s canonisation will be an occasion for gratitude and an opportunity for personal reflection.
‘Mary MacKillop lived her life with an unwavering sense of gratitude and confidence that God would always provide,’ she said.
‘She spoke over and over of “our good God” and she lived with grateful receptivity of God’s love and all that God’s love asked of her in life. She truly imitated the Christ to whom she had committed her life.
‘At this historic time, let us be truly grateful to God for the gift of canonisation which calls us to renewal of our commitment to Christ and to the mission of God in our world’.
Our model is Deep and Wide, and it’s the one Jesus gave us.
Jesus didn’t introduce his disciples to the Gospel by bringing them to the Cross. He began with the simple, attractive invitation, “Come and see.” We challenge our parishioners to do the same through a simple formulae we adapted from Pastor Andy Stanley, Invest and Invite.
We invite our church people to be on the lookout for unchurched people in our community…not people going to other churches, unchurched people. They make a relational investment in them and then, when they have an opportunity, when the occasion arises, they invite them to our church.
Our message series are especially designed as opportunities to make an invitation. This coming fall we are going to be pushing the launch of each of our three fall series with video trailers as well as electronic and paper invitation cards to assist parishioners with the ask. Signature events like our “Kick Off Weekend” (September 7 & 8) and Christmas Eve at the Maryland State Fair are also perfect opportunities to “go wide.” This spring we opened our new balcony seating, this week we’re offering a new Mass schedule, this fall we’re launching an expanded shuttle service, all to accommodate growth.
But its not just about growing bigger, for the sake of being bigger. It is also going deeper, which isn’t just about getting the unchurched in the door but also about setting them on the discipleship path. We call it S.T.E.P.S.: serve (in ministry or on mission), tithe (grow in giving and generosity), engage (in church fellowship and through a small group) practice (prayer and the Sacraments), and share (your faith with the unchurched).
Churches of any size can be healthy (or unhealthy). Size doesn’t matter…. what matters is growth…growth in discipleship. We want to be a parish of growing disciples who are growing disciples.
Mary MacKillop - Australia's First Saint
This is an article which appeared on the Thinking Faith website on 12th October 2010, one week before St Mary of the Cross MacKillop was canonised. It is reprinted here as a reminder of her story. (Note from Fr Mike) You can find the original article and many others when you visit the Thinking Faith website - click here
History will be made this Sunday 17 October as Blessed Mary MacKillop is canonised in Rome and becomes Australia’s first saint. The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart introduce us to their co-founder, a woman whose relationship with the Church was complex, but her faith in and service of God unceasing.
On Sunday October 17, Mary MacKillop will become Australia’s first declared saint when she is canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter’s Square, Rome.
This will be an historic day for the Church and for Australia, as the Universal Church recognises Mary as someone who lived a life of heroic goodness, born of her closeness to God and her love of all she met, particularly the poor and marginalised. In canonising her, the Church holds Mary up to us and to all who come after us, as a special companion and example for us in our own lives.
Who was Mary MacKillop?
Mary MacKillop was an ordinary woman who lived an extraordinary life.
She was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne on 15 January 1842 to Scottish immigrants, Alexander and Flora MacKillop. The family home for Mary and her seven siblings was faith-filled, but often turbulent and troubled due to Alexander’s various failed business dealings which created insecurity in the family income. About her early life she writes, ‘My life as a child was one of sorrow, my home when I had it a most unhappy one.’ For much of their lives the family was dependent on relatives for shelter and support. At age 16, Mary became the main provider for the family. She worked as a governess, then as shop assistant in the stationers ‘Sands and Kenny’, and finally as a school teacher in Portland, Victoria. At 18, Mary moved to Penola, South Australia to work as a governess/teacher for relatives. With a real heart for educating poor children, Mary was soon teaching not only her cousins but many other children from the local area. At Penola, she met Fr Julian Tenison Woods and together they started a school for poor children. In 1866, the pair became co-founders of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. It was the first religious order to be established by an Australian.
Over the next several years the Order grew and the Sisters travelled the countryside setting up schools, orphanages for abandoned or neglected children and other good works for those in need. They were prepared to follow farmers, railway workers and miners into isolated outback areas and live as they lived. Mary and her Sisters soon moved into Queensland and eventually to New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand.
The Sisters moved freely about the colonies, wherever they learned of a need, a freedom which was resisted by some bishops and others. In 1871 Mary became the subject of a campaign by some of the priests of Adelaide who complained to the Bishop about Fr Woods’ direction of the Order and Mary’s administration and personal conduct. This culminated in Bishop Sheil excommunicating Mary from the Church. Shortly before he died in 1872, Bishop Sheil recognised his mistake and lifted the excommunication, and Mary was completely exonerated of any wrongdoing. As a result of these events, she made the epic journey to Rome by sea in 1873/74 to have the rule of her Order approved by the Pope. Despite her increasingly poor health, Mary’s Sisters continued to flourish in their work for the poor and needy in Australia and New Zealand. She died in North Sydney, on the site where her tomb now lies, in 1909, aged 67.
The Road to Sainthood
Even at the time of her death, those who knew her, or knew of her extraordinary work, spoke openly of her holiness – her heroic goodness. Cardinal Moran, the Archbishop of Sydney, is reported as having said after his final visit to her that, ‘This day I consider I have assisted at the death bed of a saint’. The Australian press, both secular and religious, were uncommonly united in speaking of her holiness, her heroic service of God, her open hearted love for the poor and deprived, and her determination to bring a Catholic education to the children of the colonies. Ordinary people also exhibited extraordinary signs of devotion to her.
After many years gathering together the necessary information on Mary’s life, the official Cause for the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop was begun in 1925. In January 1995, Pope John Paul II beatified Mary MacKillop during a Mass at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney. This followed official recognition of a woman being miraculously cured of cancer after praying for Mary’s intercession. The recognition in December 2009 of a second miracle, also a woman being cured of cancer, ensured Mary’s path to canonisation.
A Saint for our Time
The Church does not make a saint – it recognises a saint. Canonisation is the act by which the Holy Father declares in a definitive and solemn way that a Catholic Christian is actually in the glory of heaven, intercedes for us before the Lord and is to be publicly venerated by the whole Church.
Canonisation is a double statement – about the life of the person and also about the faith of the people who are alive at this moment. They are as much a part of the canonisation as the person who is being recognised.
Sr Anne Derwin, the Congregational Leader of the Sisters of St Joseph, said Mary’s canonisation will be an occasion for gratitude and an opportunity for personal reflection.
‘Mary MacKillop lived her life with an unwavering sense of gratitude and confidence that God would always provide,’ she said.
‘She spoke over and over of “our good God” and she lived with grateful receptivity of God’s love and all that God’s love asked of her in life. She truly imitated the Christ to whom she had committed her life.
‘At this historic time, let us be truly grateful to God for the gift of canonisation which calls us to renewal of our commitment to Christ and to the mission of God in our world’.
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