Author: MtCarmel

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STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE

CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING

The theme of this Sunday’s Scripture readings is two-fold: God manifests Himself and man responds to that manifestation with gifts of gratitude and conversion of heart.
The Magi, who were likely astrologists and magicians, made the long journey from somewhere far away to see the Savior, and when they saw him, they gave Him themselves. The gold, frankincense, and myrrh were likely “tricks of the trade” they surrendered to the Lord upon meeting Him. Then, the Gospel tells us, they departed from another way.
Such language tells us not simply that the Magi traveled home on a different route, but on a deeper level, that their lives were changed that day. Their encounter with Christ made a huge impact on their lives, calling them to give of themselves and then to live the remainder of their lives accordingly.
Their story is a great example to all of us. It speaks of some universal truths.
As Christian stewards, we live for God. Everything we do and say ought to proclaim the Gospel and bring others closer to Christ so that one day, as the psalmist sings “Every nation on Earth will adore” Him.
God has given each one of us many good gifts. As stewards, let us use the gifts He has given us – our time, our talent, and our treasure – at home, at church, at work, and wherever else we find ourselves, to glorify Him and, in so doing, call others to encounter Christ and live for Him.

Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com

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YOUTH GROUP

All ‘Youth and Children’ who are interested to join the ‘OLMC Youth and Children’s Choir’ please register your names, choir practice will be starting ASAP.
Contact Garnet Jacob on garnetjacob@yahoo.com or 9740 8328 or 0411 286 428.

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MAINTENANCE OF OUR PROPERTY

Maintenance is continuing during the school holidays especially with painting and new carpet in both our schools and with painting at the Parish Centre and Office.

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POSITIONS AVAILABLE

The St Vincent de Paul  Society Victoria is seeking someone to support our members and volunteers in their work assisting those in need in the East Melbourne suburbs.
For  full  details  go  to  Advert  &  position   description www.vinnies.org.au/vic or Tel: Patricia McCourt, Manager membership & Development 03 9895 5882. Applications close 13 January 2012.

Also, St Mark’s Parish, Fawkner are looking for a Parish Secretary. Anyone interested can get further info from www.cam.org.au/jobs.

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TWO CATHOLIC PILGIMAGES 2012

The Religions of Asia (May, 2012)
This pilgrimage tour of Malaysia will be departing Sydney on Monday 7th May (2012), and returning on Friday May 18. This 12 Day pilgrimage journey will be a very Catholic tour with daily Mass, prayer and spiritual input. Its primary focus will be to view and the various non-Christian religions present in Malaysia, but also incorporating Catholic sites and shrines.  There will be visits to shrines of Islam, Buddhism, Daoism, Hinduism, Sikhism and perhaps Shamanism-Animism. This pilgrimage will lead to a deeper knowledge and respect for the various religions of man in his quest for God, as well as a deeper appreciation of Jesus Christ as the only name by which we are saved (Acts 4: 12). The tour will be led by Father Ted Tyler, parish priest of Upper Blue Mountains, as the Spiritual Chaplain, as well as Father Jan Bieniek CSMA, parish priest of Clovelly, as the Group Leader.  For further information or details please contact Father Ted at frejtyler@live.com  or at P.O. Box 526 Katoomba 2780, for further details.

Pilgrimage to Turkey and Greece: Abraham, Peter, Paul, Andrew and the Early Church (September 2012).
This pilgrimage will leave Australia on Monday 24th September 2012 and return on 12th October, and will visit places of great spiritual significance in the Scriptures and the early Church. In Turkey we shall visit Haran and Urfa (Abraham), Antioch (Peter, Paul and Barnabas), Tarsus and parts of Cappadocia (Paul), Constantinople-Byzantium (early Ecumenical Councils). We shall then cross over to visit Thessalonika, Athens and Corinth (St Paul), Patras (St Andrew), as well as places of great secular significance such as Delphi, the tomb of Philip of Macedon, the birthplace of Aristotle, and the great Athenian centres of ancient culture and philosophy. The pilgrimage is being led by Father Ted Tyler, parish priest of Upper Blue Mountains (diocese of Parramatta), and some very experienced local guides. If you are interested, contact Father Ted at frejtyler@live.com or at P.O. Box 526, Katoomba NSW 2780, for further information and details.

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THANK YOU

Thank you to the teachers of both Our Lady of Mount Carmel Primary School and St Anne’s Primary School for donating $485 from their Kris Kringles to St Vincent de Paul Society.

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AFTER CHRISTMAS

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.

By  Rev.  Dr Howard Thurman (1899-1981) (pictured) Baptist Theologian, Civil Rights Leader and mentor to Martin Luther King.

Dr. Howard Thurman
Image via Wikipedia
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VALE FR HANS DOPHEIDE SDB

We offer our prayerful sympathy to the Salesian Community as their Confrere Fr Hans Dopheid SDB entered eternal life last Sunday after a long illness.

Requiem Mass for the repose of the soul of Fr Hans Dopheide SDB will be celebrated in the College Chapel at Salesian College “Rupertswood”, Sunbury, on TUESDAY (Jan. 3, 2012) at 11 a.m. The Funeral rites and burial will follow the Mass immediately in the Salesian College Cemetery at Sunbury.

The Salesians of Don Bosco of the Australia-Pacific Province mark the passing to the Lord of Fr. Hans Dopheide on Dec. 25, 2011. Fr. Hans was born in Utrecht, Netherlands on Nov. 26, 1936, was professed as a Salesian at Sunbury in 1958 and was ordained a priest in Italy in 1967. Fr. Hans worked at Salesian College “Rupertswood” from 1968 to 1985 in the roles of Teacher, Headmaster, Farm Manager and Vice-Rector. From 1986 to 2005 Fr. Hans worked in the Salesian missions in Samoa and Pakistan where he oversaw the construction of two Technical schools. In 2005 he returned to Australia where he needed ongoing medical care. Fr. Hans was a man of great talent which he shared willingly with so many – music, agriculture, technology, finance and boundless energy – all of which were driven by Don Bosco’s love of God and young people.

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THANK YOU

Thank you for the generosity last week for Melbourne Overseas Mission special collection.
$823.50 was raised in total.
The funds raised will  go to the people in  Papua New  Guinea, Timor, India, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Botswana, Nigeria and Peru.

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THANKS AND FAREWELL

Thanks and farewell to Fr Peter Monaghan SDB who has been the Rector of the Salesian Community in Sunbury for ten years and has been transferred to Salesian College, Chadstone. Fr Peter was the initiator of the VCAL program and has been very involved with staff and students. He has been a member of Salesian College Council for these ten years.

Rupertswood, Sunbury, Victoria, Australia
Image by Sandy Austin via Flickr
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CHRISTMAS INVITATION

Sunbury Baptist Church warmly invites you to a Free Christmas Lunch.
On December 25 from 12-2pm at Sunbury Baptist Church at 207 Gap Rd, Sunbury.

RSVP 9740 7683.

Please don’t be alone this Christmas.

More information in St Anne’s Church foyer.

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STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE

CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING

CHRISTMAS DAY

Today, we celebrate the tremendous love Christ has for us, the love that led Him to enter into human history. On that first Christmas many years ago, Jesus became man. He existed before the world was made, He, in fact, has no beginning, because He is God and, therefore, has always existed, took on humanity, became one of His mere creatures and then entered into human history.

It is a baffling mystery.

How Christ can be fully God and, at the same time, fully man is beyond our comprehension. Yet, we know that He is. That first Christmas, when Mary and Joseph welcomed the sweet baby into the world, they were, in fact, welcoming their Lord and God.

Jesus entered human history as a human being so that He could take upon Himself the sins of mankind and free us from the bonds of sin and death. He came because He loves us so much.

It’s amazing. Our God is wonderful. His love is selfless, and it is boundless.

So, as we sit and exchange gifts with one another in an effort to showcase our love for each other, as stewards, let us be sure to take the time to thank the Lord for the gifts He has given us, particularly the gift of His Son through whom we can attain salvation!

Merry Christmas!

 

Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com

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THANK YOU

Thank you for the generosity for the St Vincent de Paul  Christmas Appeal. In addition to the $1875.35 collected the week of 27 November, $1047.65 was collected on the weekend of 4 December. The money collected will help support the many families who need assistance this Christmas. The money raised will help maintain the dignity of the families struggling to buy gifts for their children and buy basics like food and clothing.  It will also provide practical support for struggling families and emotional support for those who have no-one to turn to. Sunbury community continues to be generous in their support of such worthy causes.

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CHRISTMAS EVE MASS

Calling all men, women and children.
We are looking to set up Lakeside Stadium at Rupertswood on Wednesday, 21 December at 7pm and need all the helpers we can get to set up around 1500 chairs for Christmas Eve Mass. Don’t be shy! Last year we set up in 25 minutes!

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STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE

May it be done to me according to your word

CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING

In today’s Gospel, Mary finds out she will conceive Jesus. Christmas is right around the corner, but, much like Mary in today’s Gospel, we are still in waiting.

A young Jewish girl, Mary would have been very familiar with the expectant hope for a Messiah. So, you can imagine how flustered, fearful, and even a bit confused she might have been when the angel Gabriel appeared to her, announcing that she had been chosen to bear the long-awaited Savior.

Mary exclaimed, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

There is so much we can learn from Mary’s response. She recognized her life was not truly her own. She surrendered to God’s will.  What a powerful witness of the amazing things God can accomplish through us as stewards, when we give ourselves to Him in service, when we surrender our lives to Him.

Because of Mary’s “yes” to God, the Lord will continue the good work He begun in her. The reading from 2 Samuel today communicates this same message. The Lord has done great things for King David – protecting him from his enemies, and more, and, when David sets out to build a temple for the Ark of the Covenant, the Lord reminds him that He is source of all good things, He is the giver of all good gifts, and He promises to care for His people.

Much like David and Mary, we all play a role in Salvation History. We are God’s instruments, His disciples through whom many will come to know Him. He has given us so many good gifts, and it is our responsibility, as stewards, to make a free-will decision, much like Mary did, and allow Him to work through us, to use the gifts He has given us to show forth His glory, living lives that bear witness to His goodness.

 

Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com

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CATECHETICS NEEDED

We are looking for two people to work on a part-time basis with the parish Religious Education Coordinator and the parish primary schools to provide the teaching component of religious education and preparation for celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation for children attending other schools in our parish area. Qualification to teach Religious Education in Catholic primary schools is highly desirable. If you are interested please contact the Parish Office for a more detailed explanation of what is involved in this important work. We have a lot of fun together doing this!