Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Sunbury
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30% is used to support the 93 retired priests of Melbourne, 5 Melbourne bishops, 2 retired bishops and priests in poor parishes. The remainder is used to provide a lease car for the priest of the parish, running expenses of the presbytery, medical insurance and the living allowance to the priest. I thank you for your generosity this Christmas
….. Kevin McIntosh
I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very centre of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.
…….H.G Wells
Every night in Victoria there are thousands of children who need a safe place to stay because they are unable to live at home. The long-term benefits of providing a stable and loving home environment are crucial to development of the vulnerable children and young people that MacKillop Family Services work with every day.
If you are able to help a child please contact MacKillop Family Services on 8398 6800 or www.mackillop.org.au
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A good Vocation prayer to say everyday, from the time we are ten years old till we are ninety years old, is found in today’s first Scripture Reading: ‘Speak, Lord for your servant is listening.’ Just try it with sincerity starting today.
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING
The theme of today’s readings is one any stewardship parish should be familiar with, and one whose message bears such a significant impact on our lives that it is well worth repeating time and time again.
God calls each one of us to be His disciples. He knows we are made to know, love and serve Him, and so He reveals Himself to us and calls us to Himself. Just as He called Samuel in the first reading, and then Andrew, Simon Peter, and the unnamed disciple in the Gospel reading, God calls us. He invites us to share in His life of love, because He knows that’s what we are made for.
However, His call necessitates a response. God doesn’t force us into a relationship with Him. Rather, He reveals Himself to us, much like He did to the men in today’s readings.
Both the Old Testament reading and the Gospel tell us of men who heard God’s call, responded by willfully following the Lord and then offered themselves to God as His stewards, using their gifts to bring others to Him.
God calls each and every one of us today, and He wants us to respond. We hear His call in numerous ways, and often, just like He did with Samuel and Andrew, the Lord uses other people to reveal Himself to us, to call us to Himself. We simply must be open to the call, keeping our hearts and minds fixed on Him, and then, we must respond to Him. Our response involves a willing gift of self, offering the Lord all we are – our time, our talent, and our treasure – to serve Him. Then, our lives will bear witness to the Love and goodness of the Lord, and, just as Andrew brought Simon, we will help others find the Lord.
Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Sunbury 
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