Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
OUR VISION
Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney
Mob: 0417 279 437
Email: mike.delaney@aohtas.org.au
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
Email: 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 Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
Secretary: Annie Davies 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
SUNDAY MASS ONLINE: Please go to the following link on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLCP1Mon 28th Dec Devonport 9:30am ... Holy InnocentsTues 29th Dec Devonport 9:30amWed 30th Dec Ulverstone 9:30am Thurs 31st Dec Devonport 12noonFri 1st Jan Ulverstone 9:30am ... Mary, Mother of God Devonport 12noonSat 2nd Jan Devonport 6:00pm Ulverstone 6:00pmSun 3rd Jan Devonport 10:00am ... Epiphany Ulverstone 10:00am
If you are looking for Sunday Mass readings or Daily Mass readings, Universalis has the readings as well as the various Hours of the Divine Office - https://universalis.com/mass.htm
Your prayers are asked for the sick: Dot Prior, Regina Locket, Allan McIntyre, Loretta Visser, Aidan Ravaillion, David Ockwell, Judy Redgrove, Sam Eiler, & ...
Let us pray for those who have died recently:Gladys Mulcahy, Frances Robinson, Erin Kyriazis, Sr Annette Condon, Mary Bosworth, Fr Frank Young, Ann Radford, Marianne Riek
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 24th – 29th December, 2020Max Anderson, Margaret Waddle, Maria Duggan, Violet Monaghan, Carmel Cook, Eileen Burrows, Jean Matthews, James Coad, David Chandler, Kathleen Sheehan, Brian Salter, Grant Dell, Mavis Wise, Claud Coad
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPELEven though Christmas was only two days ago, I may be able to get back to my ‘usual’ Sunday routine today – whatever that has become in recent times. So I settle down to pray.Perhaps I have a favourite object with me, a candle or some Christmas cards which are particularly dear to me. When I feel relaxed and quiet, I read this short passage and let my imagination wander.I see Joseph, Mary and Jesus, law-abiding Jews, intent on fulfilling the Law of Moses. I reflect on my own attitude to the law of the land, the law of the Church.Do I follow it dutifully or do I exercise my own judgement? What motivates me? The greater good, my personal needs or desires, a fear of being caught, or something else …? How do I feel towards those who find they cannot obey the law? Perhaps I am drawn to reflect on the young child Jesus as he grows up, sustained by the love of his parents and of God.Who are the people around me whom I can love and support, even in small ways, so they can feel it’s ‘Christmas every day’?I ask the Lord to help me grow in wisdom, and thank him for being with me during this time of prayer.
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: No Adoration for the month of January, 2021
Prayer Group: Charismatic Renewal – In Recess until February, 2021
SUNDAY MASS ONLINE:
Please go to the following link on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLCP1
Mon 28th Dec Devonport 9:30am ... Holy Innocents
Tues 29th Dec Devonport 9:30am
Wed 30th Dec Ulverstone 9:30am
Thurs 31st Dec Devonport 12noon
Fri 1st Jan Ulverstone 9:30am ... Mary, Mother of God
Devonport 12noon
Sat 2nd Jan Devonport 6:00pm
Ulverstone 6:00pm
Sun 3rd Jan Devonport 10:00am ... Epiphany
Ulverstone 10:00am
If you are looking for Sunday Mass readings or Daily Mass readings, Universalis has the readings as well as the various Hours of the Divine Office - https://universalis.com/mass.htm
Dot Prior, Regina Locket, Allan McIntyre, Loretta Visser, Aidan Ravaillion, David Ockwell, Judy Redgrove, Sam Eiler, & ...
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Gladys Mulcahy, Frances Robinson, Erin Kyriazis, Sr Annette Condon, Mary Bosworth, Fr Frank Young, Ann Radford, Marianne Riek
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 24th – 29th December, 2020
Max Anderson, Margaret Waddle, Maria Duggan, Violet Monaghan, Carmel Cook, Eileen Burrows, Jean Matthews, James Coad, David Chandler, Kathleen Sheehan, Brian Salter, Grant Dell, Mavis Wise, Claud Coad
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL
Even though Christmas was only two days ago, I may be able to get back to my ‘usual’ Sunday routine today – whatever that has become in recent times.
So I settle down to pray.
Perhaps I have a favourite object with me, a candle or some Christmas cards which are particularly dear to me.
When I feel relaxed and quiet, I read this short passage and let my imagination wander.
I see Joseph, Mary and Jesus, law-abiding Jews, intent on fulfilling the Law of Moses.
I reflect on my own attitude to the law of the land, the law of the Church.
Do I follow it dutifully or do I exercise my own judgement?
What motivates me?
The greater good, my personal needs or desires, a fear of being caught, or something else …?
How do I feel towards those who find they cannot obey the law?
Perhaps I am drawn to reflect on the young child Jesus as he grows up, sustained by the love of his parents and of God.
Who are the people around me whom I can love and support, even in small ways, so they can feel it’s ‘Christmas every day’?
I ask the Lord to help me grow in wisdom, and thank him for being with me during this time of prayer.
Weekly Ramblings
Over the summer break there are a few changes to our timetable and the events which form part of our Parish life.
The Office is closed and will reopen on Tuesday 19th January. The Piety Stall will re-open on 6th/7th February. Friday Adoration at OLOL will be in recess during January and will recommence on the 5th February. Weekly Mass timetable will be announced in the modified Newsletter which will be available each weekend during the holiday season.
FYI (for anyone who wants to catch me over the next few weeks) these are the Mass Centres where I’m celebrating Mass prior to leaving on or about 11th January.26th/27th Dec – Ulverstone (both Masses)2nd/3rd Jan – OLOL (both Masses)9th Jan – Ulverstone (Vigil Mass)10th Jan – OLOL (10am Mass)
Take care, stay safe in your health and travel
Farewell Fr Mike,
Fr Mike Delaney commenced as Parish Priest of Mersey Leven Catholic Parish (MLCP) on January 1st 2014. MLCP has a larger number of communities to serve than Fr Mike’s previous appointment at Central Tasmania: Port Sorell, Latrobe, Sheffield, Devonport and Penguin; with weekly and fortnightly weekend Masses, and regular Masses at Karingal.
In the last seven years Fr Mike has worked with a number of Priests and Seminarians, including Fr Augustine, Fr Alex and Fr Paschal, Fr Steven (at various times since 2014), Fr Phil and Kanishka, to name a few. For a person used to working alone, this has required great flexibility.
Fr Mike has/had a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to unite the Parish as one worship community and to encourage more young people and families to be involved in this community. This hasn’t been realised – not through a lack of passion, commitment and effort (a link was made to a similarity with the Geelong Football Club). Fr Mike said on Sunday that perhaps dream was a better word than Goal (BHAD).
We congratulate Fr Mike for trying to effect a change that he knew was possible, because of the experiences of communities in Baltimore and Halifax. Fr Mike retired early each night, but often attended Masses online in the early hours of the morning. He instigated Open House on Friday evenings, and ran Alpha programs to encourage greater contact with members of the Parish community. Fr Mike also supported the community through the Plenary 2020 process, and we await the outcomes of the process which has been delayed due to COVID.
MLCP experienced worship as one Parish on a few occasions throughout the year (such as the Feast of Christ the King) – and especially when COVID-19 altered the ability to hold Masses in the smaller Mass Centres, due to physical distance requirements. We also experienced worship through Zoom, Facebook Live and Youtube in our isolation. Thank you Fr Mike for your leadership of the Parish through this pandemic.
Fr Mike reserved Saturday mornings for his communion rounds. He enjoyed and prioritised these visits in his working week. These parishioners will miss his caring and supportive visits to their home, hospital bedside and aged care home.
Fr Mike is always punctual (early) to scheduled events. He does find it hard to delegate, even trying to organise his own farewell! MLCP will miss his generosity, both of time and money: often paying for trips, events and activities that would normally be covered by the Parish and contributing to the MLCP Planned Giving Program. Fr Mike embraced the local religious community, meeting with religious leaders in the area, and encouraging and participating in combined celebrations organised by this group: such as Holy Thursday at the Paranaple Function Centre.
Fr Mike is keen to share his faith journey: he has recommended books, podcasts, recorded a weekly/bi-weekly rambling on blogspot, FaceBook and Youtube, and posted the weekly Newsletter online. My children were pretty impressed with the new Priest who used an iPad…not knowing that these were complemented by his mini iPad, iPhone and Apple Smart Watch. All this familiarity with technology has been advantageous to our community throughout this pandemic!
Fr Mike, you will be missed. We wish you all the best in the Kingston-Channel Parish as you embrace the challenges and opportunities of this new stage of your pastoral journey.
Felicity SlyPPT Chair
Fr Mike was presented with an inscribed Huon Pine clock and monetary gift from the MLCP community
SINULOG FESTIVAL 2021The Feast of Sr Sto. Nino, the Holy Child Jesus, will be celebrated on 17th January with Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes at 10am followed by a luncheon at the Parish Hall. As Sinulog Festival is a Parish event, all parishioners are encouraged to join the occasion. Please bring a plate of food to share.
Novena to Sr Sto Nino will run for nine days, starting 8th January until 16th January prior to the Feast Day. Details of the Novena will be posted on Church noticeboards and on FaceBook. A copy of the schedule is available on request.
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE
VIRTUAL WAY TO ST JAMES PILGRIMAGEMake your way through natural surroundings in a meditative way anywhere in the world on 9th – 10th January 2021. Join this Global “El Camino de Santiago” in the Spirit of the Annual Pilgrimage to St James Church in Cygnet in the Huon Valley. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/waytostjamescygnet/Website link: https://www.waytostjames.com.au/
CATECHIST FORMATION PROGRAMArchbishop Porteous is calling people who have a desire to transmit our Catholic faith to others to consider becoming a catechist. The Verbum Domini Biblical & Catechetical Institute will offer a Catechist Formation Program beginning in early February 2021 (in the classroom and via Zoom) with a course entitled, ‘Overview of the Catholic Faith.’ For further information please contact Dr. Christine Wood 6208:6236 or christine.wood@aohtas.org.au or program details and registration see VerbumDominiInstitute.org.au
Incarnation: Christ Born In Us
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
What I have seen is the totality recapitulated as one,received not in essence but by participation.Just as if you lit a flame from a flame,it is the whole flame you receive. —Symeon the New Theologian
Symeon the New Theologian (949‒1022) was a Byzantine Christian monk and mystic revered to this day by Eastern Christians. Symeon believed humans had the capacity to experience God’s presence directly. He visualized this union happening within the “force field” of the Body of Christ. This cosmic embodiment is created both by God’s grace and our response.
Symeon’s “Hymn 15” from his collected Hymns of Divine Love beautifully names the divine union that God is forever inviting us toward. These mystical lines honestly say it all for me and move me to an embodied knowing, to a living force field wherein we will know mystical union on even the cellular level.
We awaken in Christ’s bodyas Christ awakens our bodies,and my poor hand is Christ, He entersmy foot, and is infinitely me.
I move my hand, and wonderfullymy hand becomes Christ, becomes all of Him(for God is indivisiblywhole, seamless in His Godhood).
I move my foot, and at onceHe appears like a flash of lightning.Do my words seem blasphemous?—Thenopen your heart to Him
and let yourself receive the onewho is opening to you so deeply.For if we genuinely love Him,We wake up inside Christ’s body
where all our body, all over,every most hidden part of it,is realized in joy as Him,and He makes us, utterly, real,
and everything that is hurt, everythingthat seemed to us dark, harsh, shameful,maimed, ugly, irreparablydamaged, is in Him transformed
and recognized as whole, as lovely,and radiant in His lightwe awaken as the Belovedin every last part of our body. [1]
For many of us, our Christmas celebrations will be a little (or a lot) smaller, but I hope no less joyful. I invite you to contemplate the wonder of Symeon’s words. How might we experience the Christ born in us today, “utterly real . . . transformed . . . radiant in His light”?
References:[1] Symeon the New Theologian, “Hymn 15,” from The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, ed. Stephen Mitchell (Harper Perennial: 1993), 38–39.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality (Franciscan Media: 2008), 219–220.
Christmas As Shattering The Containers Of Our Expectations
Funny how God invariably shatters the containers of our expectations. We have a notion of how God should act and God ends up acting in a way that shatters all of those expectations and yet fulfills our expectations in a deeper way. That’s certainly true of what happened in Bethlehem at the first Christmas.
For centuries, men and women of faith, aware of their helplessness to rectify everything that’s wrong in life, had been praying for God to come to earth as a Messiah, a Savior, to clean up the earth and right all that’s wrong with it. Exactly how this was to happen was perhaps more of an inchoate longing for justice, a hungry hope, than any kind of clear vision, at least until the great Jewish prophets came along. Eventually prophets like Isaiah began to articulate a vision of what would happen when the Messiah came. In these visions, the Messiah would usher in a “Messianic Age”, a new time, when everything would be made right. There would be prosperity for the poor, healing for the sick, freedom from every type of enslavement, and justice for all (including punishment for the wicked). The poor and the meek would inherit the earth because the long-sought Messiah would simply overpower all evil, drive the wicked off the face of the earth, and make all things right.
And after all those centuries of waiting, of longing, what did we get? What did we get? A helpless, naked baby, unable to feed himself. That wasn’t the way anyone expected this to happen. They had expected a Superhuman, a Superstar, someone whose muscle, intellect, physical stature, invulnerability, and invincibility would simply dwarf all the powers on the planet in a way that there could be no argument, no resistance, no standing against its presence.
That’s still the way, mostly, we fantasize how God’s power should work in our world. But, as we know from the first Christmas, that’s not normally the way God works. What was revealed in Bethlehem is that normally we meet the presence and power of God in our world as a helpless infant lying in the straw, vulnerable, seemingly powerless, touching us subliminally.
Why? Why doesn’t the all-powerful Creator of the universe flex more muscle? Why is God normally revealed more in the body of an infant than in that of Superstar? Why? Because the power of God works to melt hearts rather than break them, and that’s what vulnerability and helplessness can do. That’s what infants can do. God’s power, at least God’s power to draw us into intimacy with each other, doesn’t normally work through might, muscles, and cool (invulnerability). It works through a lot of things, but it works with a special power through vulnerability and helplessness. Intimacy is predicated on vulnerability. You cannot overpower another person so as to make him or her love you, unless you overpower his or her heart the way an infant does. We can seduce each other through attractiveness, draw admiration through our talents, and intimidate each other through superior strength, but none of these will ultimately provide the basis for a shared community of life for long … but the powerlessness and innocence of a baby can provide that.
God’s power, like a baby sleeping in its crib, lies in our world as a quiet invitation, not as a threat or coercion. When Christ took on flesh in our world in Bethlehem two thousand years ago and then died seemingly helpless on a cross in Jerusalem some thirty years later, this is what was revealed: the God who is incarnated in Jesus Christ enters into human suffering rather than stands clear of it, is in solidarity with us rather than standing apart from us, manifests that the route to glory is downward rather than upward, stands with the poor and powerless rather than with the rich and powerful, invites rather than coerces, and is more manifest in a baby than in a superstar.
But that isn’t always easy to grasp, nor accept. We are often frustrated and impatient with God who, as scripture tells, can seem slow to act. Jesus promised that the poor and the meek would inherit the earth and this seems forever belied by what’s actually happening in the world. The rich are getting richer and the poor don’t seem to be inheriting much. What good does a helpless infant do apropos to this? Where do we see messianic power acting?
Well, again the containers of our expectations need to be shattered. What does it mean “to inherit the earth”? To be a superstar? To be rich and famous? To have power over others? To walk into a room and be instantly recognized and admired as being significant and important? Is that the way we “inherit the earth”? Or, do we “inherit the earth” when a coldness is melted in our hearts and we are brought back to our primal goodness by the smile of a baby?
A Christmas Like No Other
This article is taken from the weekly Blog of Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can read his blog here
Back in October, when it still seemed like an open question, we made the difficult decision to not host our usual Christmas Eve celebration at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. It was a decision we didn’t take lightly. Christmas Eve at the Fairgrounds has become a defining part of who we are as a parish.
But as we turned our focus to our online experience we somewhat optimistically predicted that this could be our biggest Christmas Eve ever. It was our way of trying to put a positive spin on an unhappy situation. However, the response has proven to be more enthusiastic than we could ever have hoped. Based only on the reservations received for our newest tradition, take-home “Christmas Eve Kits”, we know that at least 11,000 people will be gathering in their homes to watch Mass at 4pm. This indicator alone exceeds the typical attendance at the Fairgrounds and doesn’t even count the thousands who did not reserve a kit. Kellie Caddick, our Director of Communications, estimates that we have been in communication with upwards of two million people regarding our 4pm Mass. Now, we can honestly say that this will be the biggest Nativity Christmas Eve celebration ever.
From the beginning, Christmas Eve at the Fairgrounds has been about making space for those who don’t come to church every week. We realized early on that most people want to go to church as early as possible on Christmas Eve, in our case, this meant the 4pm Mass. The congregation at this Mass overflowed from our small church building into any and every available space throughout our campus. Those standing in hallways were the lucky ones: at least they managed to get through the gridlocked streets and find parking.
It was the ultimate exercise in ‘get it over with.’ For our regulars who knew how early to arrive and make the system work for them, it was a mostly positive experience. For the unchurched who arrived on-time (which was too late to get a seat), it was an annual reminder why they didn’t want to be here.
Christmas Eve at the Fairgrounds solved all of these problems. There is plenty of parking and plenty of seats.
This year’s online Christmas Eve celebration is a natural expansion of the culture we have tried to build at the Fairgrounds. Everyone – unchurched, dechurched, or regular churchgoer – will have a front-row seat to the Christmas Eve liturgy.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this online celebration for this extraordinary Christmas a wonderful event.
See you in 2021 back at the Cow Palace.
You can view the 2020 Christmas Eve Mass by clicking here
A Very Messy Christmas
Are you ready to have the perfect Christmas? No? Don’t worry, you are in good company. The first Christmas was hardly perfect, so maybe the mess and muddle of an imperfect Christmas is the best situation in which to welcome Jesus. Thinking Faith’s Editor, Roger Dawson SJ, wishes you a very messy Christmas.This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website where you can find a wide range of articles by clicking here
Are you ready to have the perfect Christmas? No? Don’t worry, you are in good company. The first Christmas was hardly perfect, so maybe the mess and muddle of an imperfect Christmas is the best situation in which to welcome Jesus. Thinking Faith’s Editor, Roger Dawson SJ, wishes you a very messy Christmas.
About ten years ago I volunteered to work over Christmas for the homeless charity Crisis at Christmas and one of my duties was to work in the clothing store. I remember meeting one woman who was very polite – she always said ‘Please’, and when she was given a jumper she would say, ‘Oh, that’s lovely, thank you very much’. She was grateful for more or less anything that I offered her. She was followed by a man whom frankly I found difficult. He just stated – demanded, even – what he wanted: ‘Trousers.’ When asked what size: ‘32 to 34’. When I came back with a pair of trousers, size 32-34, he said, ‘Nah!’ and sent me back to find a different pair. Once I had satisfied him with the trousers, next came, ‘Shoes, size 9’. Back I came with size 9 shoes and he rolled his eyes. Try again. Sometimes he would even tut, and by the time we got to ‘Coat’ I was fairly irritated and annoyed. I found this man rude and ungrateful; he was difficult and hard to like. But this man was on the edge. He was an outsider, excluded from many of the things that we take for granted at Christmas and also in daily life.
It was to people like him, not people like me, to whom the Nativity was announced – the excluded and the marginalised, rather than the clerics. It is tempting to have some sentimental, Christmas-card view of the shepherds living in some rural idyll, but the reality is that they were despised. Their work brought them into frequent contact with blood and mess, so they were ritually unclean and unfit to participate in the religious celebrations; they were excluded from participation in Jewish life. And yet it is to these people that the birth of Jesus is announced.
‘The story of the first Christmas is the story of a series of completely unplanned, messy events – a surprise pregnancy, an unexpected journey that's got to be made, a complete muddle over the hotel accommodation when you get there...Not exactly a perfect holiday.’ This was how Dr Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Canterbury, described the first Christmas in a Pause for Thought reflection two years ago. He was making the point that each year most of us strive to have the Perfect Christmas: advertisers pile on the pressure, we get carried away with lists and budgets and plans; yet each year seems to bring the same panic and tensions.
But perhaps it does not have to be perfect. God does not say to us, ‘Go and get yourself sorted out and then I’ll come, then we will talk’. He comes to the world as it is – imperfect, frequently messy, often muddled. He chose disciples who were far from promising - slow on the uptake, unreliable and obtuse. Matthew gives us Jesus’s family tree and it is one that most of us would keep quiet about: among the kings and prophets there are adulterers, prostitutes and murderers. This Jesus is someone who would have frequent contact with the blood and mess of human existence; indeed, his own life would end in blood and mess. This Jesus can handle chaos and confusion, and he seeks out those who are on the margins, excluded and despised.
So for those who feel like one of the outsiders, away from the mainstream and not part of the respectable crowd, there is a special place this Christmas. God shows us, ‘Look, I am in the middle of this and if you would just relax I will help you. It does not have to be perfect. I came here to help you’. As soon as we recognise this, then we may enjoy Christmas a little more and we may find the love Jesus brings at work in our messy, muddled lives; or, even better, we might bring that love into someone else’s mess and muddle.
If an imperfect Christmas was good enough for Jesus, surely it is good enough for all of us.
Over the summer break there are a few changes to our timetable and the events which form part of our Parish life.
The Office is closed and will reopen on Tuesday 19th January. The Piety Stall will re-open on 6th/7th February. Friday Adoration at OLOL will be in recess during January and will recommence on the 5th February. Weekly Mass timetable will be announced in the modified Newsletter which will be available each weekend during the holiday season.
FYI (for anyone who wants to catch me over the next few weeks) these are the Mass Centres where I’m celebrating Mass prior to leaving on or about 11th January.
26th/27th Dec – Ulverstone (both Masses)
2nd/3rd Jan – OLOL (both Masses)
9th Jan – Ulverstone (Vigil Mass)
10th Jan – OLOL (10am Mass)
Take care, stay safe in your health and travel
Farewell Fr Mike,
Fr Mike Delaney commenced as Parish Priest of Mersey Leven Catholic Parish (MLCP) on January 1st 2014. MLCP has a larger number of communities to serve than Fr Mike’s previous appointment at Central Tasmania: Port Sorell, Latrobe, Sheffield, Devonport and Penguin; with weekly and fortnightly weekend Masses, and regular Masses at Karingal.
In the last seven years Fr Mike has worked with a number of Priests and Seminarians, including Fr Augustine, Fr Alex and Fr Paschal, Fr Steven (at various times since 2014), Fr Phil and Kanishka, to name a few. For a person used to working alone, this has required great flexibility.
Fr Mike has/had a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to unite the Parish as one worship community and to encourage more young people and families to be involved in this community. This hasn’t been realised – not through a lack of passion, commitment and effort (a link was made to a similarity with the Geelong Football Club). Fr Mike said on Sunday that perhaps dream was a better word than Goal (BHAD).
We congratulate Fr Mike for trying to effect a change that he knew was possible, because of the experiences of communities in Baltimore and Halifax. Fr Mike retired early each night, but often attended Masses online in the early hours of the morning. He instigated Open House on Friday evenings, and ran Alpha programs to encourage greater contact with members of the Parish community. Fr Mike also supported the community through the Plenary 2020 process, and we await the outcomes of the process which has been delayed due to COVID.
MLCP experienced worship as one Parish on a few occasions throughout the year (such as the Feast of Christ the King) – and especially when COVID-19 altered the ability to hold Masses in the smaller Mass Centres, due to physical distance requirements. We also experienced worship through Zoom, Facebook Live and Youtube in our isolation. Thank you Fr Mike for your leadership of the Parish through this pandemic.
Fr Mike reserved Saturday mornings for his communion rounds. He enjoyed and prioritised these visits in his working week. These parishioners will miss his caring and supportive visits to their home, hospital bedside and aged care home.
Fr Mike is always punctual (early) to scheduled events. He does find it hard to delegate, even trying to organise his own farewell! MLCP will miss his generosity, both of time and money: often paying for trips, events and activities that would normally be covered by the Parish and contributing to the MLCP Planned Giving Program.
Fr Mike embraced the local religious community, meeting with religious leaders in the area, and encouraging and participating in combined celebrations organised by this group: such as Holy Thursday at the Paranaple Function Centre.
Fr Mike is keen to share his faith journey: he has recommended books, podcasts, recorded a weekly/bi-weekly rambling on blogspot, FaceBook and Youtube, and posted the weekly Newsletter online. My children were pretty impressed with the new Priest who used an iPad…not knowing that these were complemented by his mini iPad, iPhone and Apple Smart Watch. All this familiarity with technology has been advantageous to our community throughout this pandemic!
Fr Mike, you will be missed. We wish you all the best in the Kingston-Channel Parish as you embrace the challenges and opportunities of this new stage of your pastoral journey.
Felicity Sly
PPT Chair
Fr Mike was presented with an inscribed Huon Pine clock and monetary gift from the MLCP community
SINULOG FESTIVAL 2021
The Feast of Sr Sto. Nino, the Holy Child Jesus, will be celebrated on 17th January with Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes at 10am followed by a luncheon at the Parish Hall. As Sinulog Festival is a Parish event, all parishioners are encouraged to join the occasion. Please bring a plate of food to share.
Novena to Sr Sto Nino will run for nine days, starting 8th January until 16th January prior to the Feast Day. Details of the Novena will be posted on Church noticeboards and on FaceBook. A copy of the schedule is available on request.
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE
VIRTUAL WAY TO ST JAMES PILGRIMAGE
Make your way through natural surroundings in a meditative way anywhere in the world on 9th – 10th January 2021. Join this Global “El Camino de Santiago” in the Spirit of the Annual Pilgrimage to St James Church in Cygnet in the Huon Valley.
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/waytostjamescygnet/
Website link: https://www.waytostjames.com.au/
CATECHIST FORMATION PROGRAM
Archbishop Porteous is calling people who have a desire to transmit our Catholic faith to others to consider becoming a catechist.
The Verbum Domini Biblical & Catechetical Institute will offer a Catechist Formation Program beginning in early February 2021 (in the classroom and via Zoom) with a course entitled, ‘Overview of the Catholic Faith.’
For further information please contact Dr. Christine Wood 6208:6236 or christine.wood@aohtas.org.au or program details and registration see VerbumDominiInstitute.org.au
Incarnation: Christ Born In Us
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
What I have seen is the totality recapitulated as one,
received not in essence but by participation.
Just as if you lit a flame from a flame,
it is the whole flame you receive. —Symeon the New Theologian
Symeon the New Theologian (949‒1022) was a Byzantine Christian monk and mystic revered to this day by Eastern Christians. Symeon believed humans had the capacity to experience God’s presence directly. He visualized this union happening within the “force field” of the Body of Christ. This cosmic embodiment is created both by God’s grace and our response.
Symeon’s “Hymn 15” from his collected Hymns of Divine Love beautifully names the divine union that God is forever inviting us toward. These mystical lines honestly say it all for me and move me to an embodied knowing, to a living force field wherein we will know mystical union on even the cellular level.
We awaken in Christ’s body
as Christ awakens our bodies,
and my poor hand is Christ, He enters
my foot, and is infinitely me.
I move my hand, and wonderfully
my hand becomes Christ, becomes all of Him
(for God is indivisibly
whole, seamless in His Godhood).
I move my foot, and at once
He appears like a flash of lightning.
Do my words seem blasphemous?—Then
open your heart to Him
and let yourself receive the one
who is opening to you so deeply.
For if we genuinely love Him,
We wake up inside Christ’s body
where all our body, all over,
every most hidden part of it,
is realized in joy as Him,
and He makes us, utterly, real,
and everything that is hurt, everything
that seemed to us dark, harsh, shameful,
maimed, ugly, irreparably
damaged, is in Him transformed
and recognized as whole, as lovely,
and radiant in His light
we awaken as the Beloved
in every last part of our body. [1]
For many of us, our Christmas celebrations will be a little (or a lot) smaller, but I hope no less joyful. I invite you to contemplate the wonder of Symeon’s words. How might we experience the Christ born in us today, “utterly real . . . transformed . . . radiant in His light”?
References:
[1] Symeon the New Theologian, “Hymn 15,” from The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, ed. Stephen Mitchell (Harper Perennial: 1993), 38–39.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality (Franciscan Media: 2008), 219–220.
Christmas As Shattering The Containers Of Our Expectations
Funny how God invariably shatters the containers of our expectations. We have a notion of how God should act and God ends up acting in a way that shatters all of those expectations and yet fulfills our expectations in a deeper way. That’s certainly true of what happened in Bethlehem at the first Christmas.
For centuries, men and women of faith, aware of their helplessness to rectify everything that’s wrong in life, had been praying for God to come to earth as a Messiah, a Savior, to clean up the earth and right all that’s wrong with it. Exactly how this was to happen was perhaps more of an inchoate longing for justice, a hungry hope, than any kind of clear vision, at least until the great Jewish prophets came along. Eventually prophets like Isaiah began to articulate a vision of what would happen when the Messiah came. In these visions, the Messiah would usher in a “Messianic Age”, a new time, when everything would be made right. There would be prosperity for the poor, healing for the sick, freedom from every type of enslavement, and justice for all (including punishment for the wicked). The poor and the meek would inherit the earth because the long-sought Messiah would simply overpower all evil, drive the wicked off the face of the earth, and make all things right.
And after all those centuries of waiting, of longing, what did we get? What did we get? A helpless, naked baby, unable to feed himself. That wasn’t the way anyone expected this to happen. They had expected a Superhuman, a Superstar, someone whose muscle, intellect, physical stature, invulnerability, and invincibility would simply dwarf all the powers on the planet in a way that there could be no argument, no resistance, no standing against its presence.
That’s still the way, mostly, we fantasize how God’s power should work in our world. But, as we know from the first Christmas, that’s not normally the way God works. What was revealed in Bethlehem is that normally we meet the presence and power of God in our world as a helpless infant lying in the straw, vulnerable, seemingly powerless, touching us subliminally.
Why? Why doesn’t the all-powerful Creator of the universe flex more muscle? Why is God normally revealed more in the body of an infant than in that of Superstar? Why? Because the power of God works to melt hearts rather than break them, and that’s what vulnerability and helplessness can do. That’s what infants can do. God’s power, at least God’s power to draw us into intimacy with each other, doesn’t normally work through might, muscles, and cool (invulnerability). It works through a lot of things, but it works with a special power through vulnerability and helplessness. Intimacy is predicated on vulnerability. You cannot overpower another person so as to make him or her love you, unless you overpower his or her heart the way an infant does. We can seduce each other through attractiveness, draw admiration through our talents, and intimidate each other through superior strength, but none of these will ultimately provide the basis for a shared community of life for long … but the powerlessness and innocence of a baby can provide that.
God’s power, like a baby sleeping in its crib, lies in our world as a quiet invitation, not as a threat or coercion. When Christ took on flesh in our world in Bethlehem two thousand years ago and then died seemingly helpless on a cross in Jerusalem some thirty years later, this is what was revealed: the God who is incarnated in Jesus Christ enters into human suffering rather than stands clear of it, is in solidarity with us rather than standing apart from us, manifests that the route to glory is downward rather than upward, stands with the poor and powerless rather than with the rich and powerful, invites rather than coerces, and is more manifest in a baby than in a superstar.
But that isn’t always easy to grasp, nor accept. We are often frustrated and impatient with God who, as scripture tells, can seem slow to act. Jesus promised that the poor and the meek would inherit the earth and this seems forever belied by what’s actually happening in the world. The rich are getting richer and the poor don’t seem to be inheriting much. What good does a helpless infant do apropos to this? Where do we see messianic power acting?
Well, again the containers of our expectations need to be shattered. What does it mean “to inherit the earth”? To be a superstar? To be rich and famous? To have power over others? To walk into a room and be instantly recognized and admired as being significant and important? Is that the way we “inherit the earth”? Or, do we “inherit the earth” when a coldness is melted in our hearts and we are brought back to our primal goodness by the smile of a baby?
A Christmas Like No Other
This article is taken from the weekly Blog of Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Timoneum, Baltimore. You can read his blog here
Back in October, when it still seemed like an open question, we made the difficult decision to not host our usual Christmas Eve celebration at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. It was a decision we didn’t take lightly. Christmas Eve at the Fairgrounds has become a defining part of who we are as a parish.
But as we turned our focus to our online experience we somewhat optimistically predicted that this could be our biggest Christmas Eve ever. It was our way of trying to put a positive spin on an unhappy situation. However, the response has proven to be more enthusiastic than we could ever have hoped. Based only on the reservations received for our newest tradition, take-home “Christmas Eve Kits”, we know that at least 11,000 people will be gathering in their homes to watch Mass at 4pm. This indicator alone exceeds the typical attendance at the Fairgrounds and doesn’t even count the thousands who did not reserve a kit. Kellie Caddick, our Director of Communications, estimates that we have been in communication with upwards of two million people regarding our 4pm Mass. Now, we can honestly say that this will be the biggest Nativity Christmas Eve celebration ever.
From the beginning, Christmas Eve at the Fairgrounds has been about making space for those who don’t come to church every week. We realized early on that most people want to go to church as early as possible on Christmas Eve, in our case, this meant the 4pm Mass. The congregation at this Mass overflowed from our small church building into any and every available space throughout our campus. Those standing in hallways were the lucky ones: at least they managed to get through the gridlocked streets and find parking.
It was the ultimate exercise in ‘get it over with.’ For our regulars who knew how early to arrive and make the system work for them, it was a mostly positive experience. For the unchurched who arrived on-time (which was too late to get a seat), it was an annual reminder why they didn’t want to be here.
Christmas Eve at the Fairgrounds solved all of these problems. There is plenty of parking and plenty of seats.
This year’s online Christmas Eve celebration is a natural expansion of the culture we have tried to build at the Fairgrounds. Everyone – unchurched, dechurched, or regular churchgoer – will have a front-row seat to the Christmas Eve liturgy.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this online celebration for this extraordinary Christmas a wonderful event.
See you in 2021 back at the Cow Palace.
You can view the 2020 Christmas Eve Mass by clicking here
A Very Messy Christmas
Are you ready to have the perfect Christmas? No? Don’t worry, you are in good company. The first Christmas was hardly perfect, so maybe the mess and muddle of an imperfect Christmas is the best situation in which to welcome Jesus. Thinking Faith’s Editor, Roger Dawson SJ, wishes you a very messy Christmas.
This article is taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website where you can find a wide range of articles by clicking here
Are you ready to have the perfect Christmas? No? Don’t worry, you are in good company. The first Christmas was hardly perfect, so maybe the mess and muddle of an imperfect Christmas is the best situation in which to welcome Jesus. Thinking Faith’s Editor, Roger Dawson SJ, wishes you a very messy Christmas.
About ten years ago I volunteered to work over Christmas for the homeless charity Crisis at Christmas and one of my duties was to work in the clothing store. I remember meeting one woman who was very polite – she always said ‘Please’, and when she was given a jumper she would say, ‘Oh, that’s lovely, thank you very much’. She was grateful for more or less anything that I offered her. She was followed by a man whom frankly I found difficult. He just stated – demanded, even – what he wanted: ‘Trousers.’ When asked what size: ‘32 to 34’. When I came back with a pair of trousers, size 32-34, he said, ‘Nah!’ and sent me back to find a different pair. Once I had satisfied him with the trousers, next came, ‘Shoes, size 9’. Back I came with size 9 shoes and he rolled his eyes. Try again. Sometimes he would even tut, and by the time we got to ‘Coat’ I was fairly irritated and annoyed. I found this man rude and ungrateful; he was difficult and hard to like. But this man was on the edge. He was an outsider, excluded from many of the things that we take for granted at Christmas and also in daily life.
It was to people like him, not people like me, to whom the Nativity was announced – the excluded and the marginalised, rather than the clerics. It is tempting to have some sentimental, Christmas-card view of the shepherds living in some rural idyll, but the reality is that they were despised. Their work brought them into frequent contact with blood and mess, so they were ritually unclean and unfit to participate in the religious celebrations; they were excluded from participation in Jewish life. And yet it is to these people that the birth of Jesus is announced.
‘The story of the first Christmas is the story of a series of completely unplanned, messy events – a surprise pregnancy, an unexpected journey that's got to be made, a complete muddle over the hotel accommodation when you get there...Not exactly a perfect holiday.’ This was how Dr Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Canterbury, described the first Christmas in a Pause for Thought reflection two years ago. He was making the point that each year most of us strive to have the Perfect Christmas: advertisers pile on the pressure, we get carried away with lists and budgets and plans; yet each year seems to bring the same panic and tensions.
But perhaps it does not have to be perfect. God does not say to us, ‘Go and get yourself sorted out and then I’ll come, then we will talk’. He comes to the world as it is – imperfect, frequently messy, often muddled. He chose disciples who were far from promising - slow on the uptake, unreliable and obtuse. Matthew gives us Jesus’s family tree and it is one that most of us would keep quiet about: among the kings and prophets there are adulterers, prostitutes and murderers. This Jesus is someone who would have frequent contact with the blood and mess of human existence; indeed, his own life would end in blood and mess. This Jesus can handle chaos and confusion, and he seeks out those who are on the margins, excluded and despised.
So for those who feel like one of the outsiders, away from the mainstream and not part of the respectable crowd, there is a special place this Christmas. God shows us, ‘Look, I am in the middle of this and if you would just relax I will help you. It does not have to be perfect. I came here to help you’. As soon as we recognise this, then we may enjoy Christmas a little more and we may find the love Jesus brings at work in our messy, muddled lives; or, even better, we might bring that love into someone else’s mess and muddle.
If an imperfect Christmas was good enough for Jesus, surely it is good enough for all of us.
