PROJECT COMPASSION WEEK 5
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT – Week 5 Peru
25 March
John 12: 20-33
In this week’s Gospel story, Jesus speaks of his approaching death. The gospel focuses sharply on his great sacrifice – not merely on the outcome. We are reminded that, before His glorious Resurrection, He had to suffer anguish and death. Jesus uses the powerful image of the grain of wheat, which produces nothing unless it is dropped into the ground, where it dies. He challenges us to “lose” our lives in order to preserve them, by “dying to self” – a confronting idea.
This week’s Project Compassion story comes from Peru. Communities living on the outskirts of Lima have struggled with poverty, poor sanitation and lack of access to basic services. All of this has led to illness and high levels of stress. Violence in the home is also a common outcome.
With its local partners, Caritas continues to work alongside these communities; together they are improving access to health care and better sanitation, establishing nutrition programs and supporting families in caring for their children. In working for justice, they are healing relationships and peace is being restored. People’s lives are being transformed.
During Lent we too can become a new and better version of ourselves. Perhaps we can make our own small sacrifices by becoming partners in this work not only to help those who are in need but so as to be transformed as we shift our focus from “self” to “other”.
We can show our solidarity with communities living in poverty, our compassion to those struggling against discrimination and stigma and our preparedness to challenge injustice. As Pope Benedict XVI said: “Our hearts cannot be at peace as long as we see our brothers and sisters suffering”.
If we want peace, we must work for justice.
Click on the image below to go to the Caritas website.
STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING
In today’s Gospel, Jesus hones in on the sacrificial element of Christian living. He explains that a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die in order to bear great fruit – to become the wheat it was meant to be. Then, Christ makes some startling remarks. He says, “whoever loves His life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.”
That is not to say that we are to hate life here and now and solely focus on the afterlife. After all, god has placed us here, so He clearly sees fit for us to live an earthly life. He has clearly not called us to heaven quite yet. But what Christ’s words communicate to us is a sobering reality still. We are not to be living for ourselves and the things of this world. Rather, we were created to know, love and serve the Lord. We were created to go beyond ourselves and selflessly give in love and service to others. When we do so, we, like the wheat that gives of itself in “death” will bear great fruit.
God has given us innumerable gifts with which we can do so. It is our job to reflect on those many gifts and determine how He is calling each one of us to use them for His greater glory.
Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
PROJECT COMPASSION WEEK 3
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT – Week 4 Philippines
18 March
John 3: 14-21“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…”
In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus is described as the greatest gift of love that God gave to us. He is the “light come into the world”, and faith in him means everlasting life. The choice is ours – to live in that light or in the darkness.
This week’s Project Compassion story comes from the Philippines. Conflict, greed and exclusion have destroyed the peace and security of many indigenous communities, and have forced them into isolation and poverty.
Programs supported by Caritas Australia have opened up new opportunities for these indigenous people – supporting them as they protect their traditional lands, address the humanitarian crisis and engage with other groups in the community to contribute to the process of peace-building.
We are being called to lend our support to this work. When we respond with compassion, we enter into a partnership with Caritas Australia to help build the just and compassionate world that God desires. Perhaps the one who works for justice, in order to have peace, is doing as the gospel today is saying: “…whoever does what is true comes to the light in order that the light may show that what he, or she, did was in obedience to God”
If we want peace, we must work for justice.
Click on the image below to go to the Caritas website.
STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING
“For God so loved that world that He sent His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16) This familiar verse which is a portion of today’s gospel reading speaks of a profound reality, a central truth of our Faith in which we wholeheartedly rejoice.
God the Father sent Christ into the world as a selfless, loving, life-giving gift to us and Christ, meanwhile, came willingly in order to give of Himself for our salvation.
How do we respond to such a gift?
We follow suit. We give of ourselves in utter gratitude to God. We recognize that He has given us gifts beyond measure, and we give Him our hearts and our whole lives. We live our lives in such a way that glorifies Him – lovingly serving one another. In so doing, we say “Thank you.”
Copyright © 2012 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
PROJECT COMPASSION WEEK 3
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT – Week 3 Zimbabwe
11 March
John 2: 13-25
In today’s Gospel we hear of Jesus’ forceful reaction to the abuse of the temple – his Father’s house – by the traders and moneychangers. Jesus’ dramatic cleansing of the temple is the sign of God’s action in the world. The wrong he observed moved Him to action.
This week’s Project Compassion story comes from Zimbabwe, where because of prolonged conflict and drought, thousands of people remain displaced and peace is fragile. With the additional burden of HIV-related illness, and the stigma that accompanies it, Colletta and her family, like many others, were reduced to extreme poverty.
In partnership with Caritas Australia, the local church is working to improve life for those who struggle under these conditions. Health care, sanitation, agricultural improvement and peace-building programs are having their effects. The community is being healed as poverty, illness and trauma are gradually being driven out.
Although we do not have the same knowledge of the human heart or the authority to act that Jesus had, we can, nevertheless, detect injustice and, in righteous indignation, as Jesus did, take forceful action against it.
We can show our solidarity with communities living in poverty, our compassion to those struggling against discrimination and stigma and our preparedness to challenge injustice. As Pope Benedict XVI said: “Our hearts cannot be at peace as long as we see our brothers and sisters suffering”.
If we want peace, we must work for justice.
Click on the image below to go to the Caritas website.
STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING
In the gospel reading today, Jesus, upon seeing all the buying and selling that was taking place in the temple, flips over tables and throws coins to the ground. At first glance, his reaction seems a bit radical. As Mark tells it, Jesus even “made a whip out of chords.” Indeed, it is radical, and for good reason. Jesus wants to call the people’s attention to what’s important. He is angry that the temple has become a marketplace. Jesus’ reaction tells us just how important worshipping God really is. We simply must put him before all else, and we must live our lives accordingly.
Yet Jesus doesn’t tell us that and simply expect us to listen to Him. He takes it to heart in His own life here on Earth, putting the Father’s will above His own wants, even to the point of death. On the cross, Christ offers us an example of just how selfless we must be as Christian stewards. We are called to follow the Lord, and put His will for us before our own. It is, then, to the cross we look to discover what should be our way of life — a complete and total gift of ourselves to the Lord, offering our time, talents, and treasures to serve Him. And for some (those whom we call martyrs), this gift of self will involve a sacrifice to the point of death.
As St Paul reminds us in the second reading “there is great power in the cross.” When we respond to Christ’s call by following His example and giving ourselves completely in love and service to God and neighbor, we will feel incredibly fulfilled.
Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE
Barry and Judy McAloney have represented our Parish on the Lay Ecumenical Committee (L.E.C) for eleven years and been very involved in setting up the Good Friday Service and Christian Carols Service on the Village Green and other ecumenical events. We thank them for their dedicated and important work. As they have now retired from the LEC, we now need two new representatives– the committee meets about 7 or 8 times a year.
Please contact the Parish Office on 9744 1060.
STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING
In today’s readings, we focus on the cross.
In the first reading, we hear the story of Abraham willing to sacrifice Isaac because the Lord asks him to. And then an angel intervenes telling Abraham to stop. His mere willingness showed the Lord that he is faithful.
It is hard to even imagine what Abraham and Isaac must have felt as they approached the impending sacrifice. It is gut-wrenching to even think about, and yet, as Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans, Christ Jesus did die for us. In him, what we see prefigured in Abraham and Isaac was done. The father gave his only Son like a lamb to be slaughtered, and the Son willingly offered Himself. Sometimes we look at the crucifixion and, while we marvel at the torture Jesus endured, it is easy to think, “But He is God,” and thereby minimize His agony. But when we consider the crucifixion together with Abraham and Isaac’s story, the pain of the suffering becomes that much more real. It is important to remember that God the Father did in fact offer His only Son up to death just as Abraham almost did. It is important to remember that while Jesus is indeed God, He is also man, and as such, He experienced the pain and agony of His torturous death. And He did it all for us. In the midst of all this, it is vital to understand that the cross, while utterly torturous, was and still is necessary for our salvation. Without the cross we wouldn’t know the glory of the resurrection.
This reality applies not only to Christ’s crucifixion on Calvary, but to the many crosses we ourselves bear through pain and suffering. Life is not easy. But when we unite our sufferings with Christ’s, they too can become redemptive. They allow us to grow closer to Christ and deeper in faith as we learn to rely on His grace.
This is what life as a Christian disciple is all about.
Jesus Himself tells us “if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”
It doesn’t mean that carrying the crosses – dealing with the pain and sickness, trials and tribulations – will ever be easy. But when we deny ourselves and unite our sufferings with His, we will experience the glory of the resurrection in a deeply personal way. Christ will touch our lives and change us.
Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
Jill Gibbs Neighbourhood Garden Newsletter
The Jill Gibbs Neighbourhood Garden Newsletter for Autumn is now available on our Parish Reports page. Click on the above image to be taken there.
STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING
Lent is upon us. This season of intense fasting and prayer offers us an opportunity to focus on our sinful nature and the wonder of Christ’s saving power in a particularly poignant way. As Jesus tells us in the gospel reading today, we are to “repent and believe in the gospel.”
But doing so involves much more than a simple passive belief. In fact, for Christian disciples, this belief in the gospel necessitates a life actively lived for the sake of the gospel, a life lived in immigration of Jesus who gave himself up for death for the sake of others.
This does not mean that we will all be called to die a martyr’s death. But our lives ought to be lived out for others. As stewards, we ought to give ourselves in loving service for others — at home, in our parishes, at work, at school and elsewhere. The life of a Christian disciple, as Christ so radically shows us, is a life of self-giving in love.
It sounds like a lot of work, and rightly so. Just look at the cross. It is far from easy. But, then, focus on the resurrection. Christ suffered the most unthinkable agony, but in his resurrection he experienced the most tremendous victory. That is what we live for. We give of ourselves like Christ did, knowing that we look forward to the glory of eternal life. The reward of a self-giving Christian steward far surpasses the effort it takes to live this way; it far surpasses any hardships we experience along the way.
So, we live for others and we call others to do the same, proclaiming the good news that Christ has come to save. All we need to do is repent and believe. Then, on Easter morning, we celebrate together the joy of the resurrection and we look forward to the day when we run out to meet the Lord together with all the angels and saints.
What a glorious gospel we proclaim!
Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
PROJECT COMPASSION SUNDAY
Your donations to Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion give expression to the Gospel which is imperative to pursue justice and help those suffering from poverty and disadvantage. Please take home a Project Compassion box and a set of Lenten envelopes and give generously to the appeal this Lent. Your donations allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to alleviate poverty and bring hope and justice to disadvantaged communities throughout the world.
STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING
God is merciful. He came to Earth in order to suffer and die and then rise from the dead so that we, the sinners whom He loves, could have eternal life. He came because He loves us so much that He desired to take the punishment of our sins upon Himself.
In today’s gospel, Jesus shows his mercy to a suffering paralytic. He forgives him of his sins – healing him spiritually and then healing his physical ailments. The spiritual healing was, by far, the most important, even though it was only after the physical healing that the people recognized Jesus’ power.
Christ offers us his merciful healing and His life of grace in the sacraments. In a particular way, Jesus forgives us of our sins in the sacrament of reconciliation. He is there for us. He pours his mercy upon us, but, like the paralytic, we have to humbly come to Him. We have to be open to receiving that spiritual healing and that new life of grace.
When we do open ourselves to God’s grace and regularly receive the sacraments, He changes our lives. He makes us stronger disciples and equips us to live a life of faith here and now. He draws us ever nearer to Him and helps others to do the same so that, one day, we will all rejoice with Him in the eternal glory of the heavenly kingdom.
Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
BLESSING OF JILL GIBBS NEIGHBOURHOOD GARDEN HARVEST
STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING
“Do everything for the glory of God,” Paul tells the Corinthians in today’s second reading.
Indeed, we are all charged with that same task. As Christian disciples, we are called to live in such a way that all we do and say gives glory to the Lord. We recognize that He is the one who has given us the many good gifts we enjoy – our time, our talents, and our treasure. Even our very lives come by way of gift from God, and it is our duty as His disciples to use the many gifts He has given us in such a way that we bear witness to Him.
It is not an easy task, particularly in the world in which we live. We are surrounded by so much relativistic thinking, and engulfed in a culture of selfishness. The secular society tells us that what “I” want to do and when “I” want to do it is all that matters. Yet, we know that there is so much beyond our “here and now” life on Earth. There is so much beyond the “feel-good” mentality of our culture. We are here to know, love, and to serve God, and when we do so, all who come in contact with us will see Christ.
It is a difficult task to be in the world but not of it, and to live for one person and one person only: the Lord. But we know that, when we do, we are richly rewarded. The life of a Christian disciple isn’t an easy one. In fact, just as the Corinthians to whom Paul writes this letter, we are sure to confront constant opposition, but when we live for Christ, giving Him glory in all we do – at home, at work, at school, and elsewhere, we are richly blessed.
Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
YOUTH GROUP CAROL SINGING AT GOONAWARRA NURSING HOME
STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING
In the gospel today, Jesus heals the sick and performs other such miracles. He then tells His disciples that He cannot stay. He must move on to the next town and continue preaching and healing others. “For this purpose have I come,” Jesus says.
As Christ’s disciples, it is our purpose and our mission to proclaim the Word of God to the world today. We are, in effect, the hands and feet of Christ, and He calls each one of us to continue His ministry of proclaiming the good news. In fact, that is why He established the Church – to call all men to Himself.
Each one of us plays a very important role in the Church’s mission. We are all vital members of the One Church, and the Lord has given us many good gifts with which to carry out this mission. When we live our lives for the glory of God and use our gifts – our time, our talents, and our treasure – to serve the Lord by serving others, people are sure to see Christ in us. People are sure to be drawn to our way of life, to the hope and happiness Christ offers, and men are sure to come to Him.
Later in Mark’s gospel, when Jesus tells the apostles, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation,” (Mk. 16:15), He was speaking to the whole Church. Let us take ownership of our call. May we all use our God-given gifts, our time, our talent, and our treasure – to proclaim the good news: Christ has come to save all and He offers everyone life everlasting. It is a wonderfully hope-filled message. May our lives reflect its truth!
Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
CATHOLICCARE OUTREACH PROGRAM
In the past our community has given generously to Catholiccare. Our community has access to the services provided by this wonderful organisation through the outreach program.
It is run through the Sunbury Community Health Service and the hours of operation are: Mon, Tues, Thurs 9-5; Wed 11.30am-7pm.
Services provided range from individual, couple and family counselling, stress man- agement, grief and loss, pain management and parenting. Please contact 9744 4455 to arrange an appointment if you need to use this service.
STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING
As Christ’s disciples, we are called to recognize all of our gifts as God-given – our time, our talents, and our treasure and to use them accordingly, putting them at the service of the Lord.
Today’s readings remind us that it is the Lord whom we serve. In the gospel, when Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit, “Quiet! Come out of Him!” the gospel tells us, “The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed.”
It is amazing. God has authority over the whole world, and He has seen fit to bless us with so many good gifts, to give us life and family and faith, time and talents and treasure. It is only fitting that we recognize those gifts as God-given and give of them in gratitude to the One who has blessed us so.
So, we live to love and serve Him in all we do. Whether we are a mother or father, brother or sister, married or single, doctor or lawyer, writer or singer, it is our duty as Christian stewards to live our lives to the praise and glory of God. All that we do ought to proclaim His goodness to those around us.
In the first reading from Deuteronomy, the writer reminds us of this call. Speaking of prophets whose role it is to proclaim the Good News, he says, “But if a prophet presumes to speak in My name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the names of other gods, he shall die.”
Indeed, it is God whom we serve. We are called to live not for our own sake, but for the sake of the Gospel, being sure that through all we say and do, we help others see God.
Copyright © 2011 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
JILL GIBBS NEIGHBOURHOOD GARDEN
Today,Jo Wiegerink, convenor of the Garden will invite more parishioners to take part in our Garden.
The blessing of the Harvest at the Garden will take place on Sunday 12 February at 9.30am.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Sunbury 
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