Congratulations and welcome to two new members of our Altar Servers Team – Ella Blackamore and Liam Fisher
THANK YOU
Thank you to the wonderful Ministers of Communion who take Communion to the house bound and the Aged Care Facilities, we thank you all and wish you a very Holy and Safe Christmas and many blessings in the New Year.
ST VINCENT DE PAUL SPECIAL CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
ST VINCENT DE PAUL SPECIAL CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
COMING UP OVER 2 WEEKENDS
Our parish has always had an excellent rapport with our local Vinnies. We are looking to have a special collection over the weekends of 9 & 15 December (please note the change of date) to assist the Vinnies at this time of the year. Rather than buying presents for families, it was considered more dignified to give families cash to buy gifts for each other. Our community has always been generous, and we ask that you can help again at this special time of year.
Vinnies are distributing $8000 per month to needy families in Sunbury and Diggers Rest and our Parish would like to give these families a little extra so they can have the joy and dignity of purchasing Christmas presents for their own children.
STEWARDSHIP……A WAY OF LIFE
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS
Today’s gospel reading is full of some sobering statements, as Jesus emphasizes his role as the suffering servant, and also our responsibility as His disciples to follow Him in that way.
First, He explains to the disciples that He will have to suffer, “He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days” (gospel). Jesus then tells them that, as His disciples, they must follow His lead.
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (gospel).
That is the life of a Christian disciple. We are called to not only to follow Christ’s example by picking up our crosses — recognizing that when we unite our sufferings to Christ’s they can be redemptive, they can be great blessings — but also to deny ourselves. We do not live for ourselves. We live for the Lord. Therefore, everything about our lives ought to be ordered to Him, giving glory to the Lord and calling others to do the same.
We follow Christ’s example. He emptied Himself “taking on the form of a slave” (Phil. 2:7) for the sake of the Father’s will. “Not as I will, but as you will,” (Mt. 26:42) He prayed in the garden. And so we empty ourselves — offering up all our pride, envy, jealousy, selfishness, greed, anger, and so on — to live a life of loving service focused completely on God and neighbor.
Indeed, following Christ’s example is not without cost. Even the Messiah — the Suffering Servant — endured persecution and ridicule. But that did not stop Him. His was a life of sacrifice — a life lived for others out of love; “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting” (first reading). And so must ours be.
If we proclaim Jesus to be the Christ as Peter did in today’s Gospel, then we must follow Him. We must give our all to bear witness to His truth, realizing that it is only in doing so that we are truly free, truly happy, truly fulfilled. Our faith in Christ Jesus must be demonstrated by the way we live our lives. Our identity as Christian stewards requires that of us.
“What good is it if someone says they have faith but does not have works?” (second reading). Our words and actions should bear witness to the gospel. Then, not only will we be fulfilled, but also others will see the beauty in Christ’s truth. They will recognize that Christ is the One through whom we gain true happiness and eternal salvation, and surely then our acts will call others to Him. But that is only possible when we stop living for ourselves, for worldly glory and so forth, and empty ourselves in order to live for the gospel.
What’s more, Jesus promises us that when we do so, we are greatly rewarded. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses His life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it” (gospel).
We were created to live for Him, to follow Him, to bring others to Him. Our lives are not our own. They are gifts from the Lord. Let us be sure to live them as such!
Copyright © 2012 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
THANKSGIVING OFFERING
Next Sunday, an update and gratitude for our giving since May 2011 will be given.
PARISH ASSEMBLY 2012
The Annual Parish Assembly was held in the morning of 1 September. The assembly was a very happy, peaceful gathering with a very positive atmosphere. The minutes of the assembly are at the Welcome Desk. Developments from last years assembly were noted, eg. re-introduction of Children’s Liturgy of the Word, further members of St Vincent de Paul Society, better audio visual at OLMC Church, an evangelising letter to 3550 Catholic households four times per year, the international day.
Several groups including our two schools gave reports on the past twelve months.
The schools highlighted religious education initiatives especially in social justice plus the developments in teaching and learning, including use of technology. The Legion of Mary gave their report of their pastoral care to those in aged care. Vinnies gave a report of their practical care to hundreds of people in Sunbury which was so inspiring.
Fourteen proposals were put before the assembly. Seven proposals were requests for more assistance, generally of more workers to existing programmes: Baptismal Preparation team, Bingo workers, Communion ministers to sick and frail, Legion of Mary, RCIA Team, Small Christian Communities and the Youth Group.
Seven new proposals were tabled: assist archiving of Parish Historical material, a bus for the Evergreens, Catholic Education Foundation for parish families; improve acknowledgement plaque; a memorial garden at St Anne’s Church; structure all parish meetings and support a health project in remote PNG.
The fourteen proposals are on the walls of the Gathering space. Please take time to view them and sign up today or next Sunday to the proposals, either as a new volunteer or to go on a sub-committee to investigate one of the seven new proposals. Please sign up on the proposals.
I thank the Parish Co-Ordinating Team for planning the Assembly and Michael McConville for his facilitating the Assembly (and for the photos).
VALE MICHAEL HINES
We offer our prayers and sympathy to Jonathan and Andrew Hines as their father Michael entered eternal life last Wednesday. Michael has been our parishioner for twenty years and was involved in a small Christian community and in the music ministry. He held several positions in the Knights of the Southern Cross, including past Branch Chairman and with some of his fellow KSC friends, acted as a volunteer maintenance man, especially for the Sisters at the Convent.
His funeral on Tuesday will begin with Mass at 2.00pm and conclude with burial at Sunbury Cemetery.
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS
In today’s readings, we contemplate death. This is a subject most of us would rather not think about.
Yet, the readings for today remind us that even though it can seem scary with all of its unknowns and its permanence, death is a wonderful and beautiful event in the life of a Christian. It is the point of departure for our complete glorification, for that which we were made, perfect unity with God. And so we see that, while the nature of death is not of God, “God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living. For He fashioned all things that they might have being …” (first reading); God transformed it. Through His own death and resurrection, He opened the doors to eternal glory, and He invites us to unite ourselves with Him.
Today’s readings teach us that God, in His infinite goodness, can (and does) take something bad and turn it into something amazingly wonderful. Such is the case not only with death, but with so many things we experience in our lives. How much more, then, can God make us – made in His image and likeness – into the creatures He intended us to be? We live in a world wrought with sin, but God’s plans for our lives are ones of greatness. We simply must surrender to Him as His creatures, as His servants, and He will transform our lives. When we offer ourselves to the Lord, we are sure to be astounded by the work He will do in and through us.
Copyright © 2012 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS
In today’s readings, we hear how the Lord takes what is small and makes it great – a branch from the cedar, which, when planted will “put forth branches and bear fruit. It will become a majestic cedar;” and a mustard seed, the smallest of the seeds, which becomes a huge plant. And so He builds up His kingdom. He calls all of us to be His disciples, and though, in the eyes of the world, we may be insignificant, His call is great. When we answer the call and give ourselves to Him completely – offering Him all that we are – He will use us for great things – to bring others to Him, to make disciples of all nations, to build the Kingdom of God.
It is out responsibility to listen to His call, to recognize the gifts He has given us, and, using them for His greater glory, to answer the call by surrendering ourselves to the Lord. Without Him we are nothing, completely insignificant, but with Him we are called to greatness.
Copyright © 2012 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
CATHOLIC MISSION
Next weekend our Parish will be holding the annual Catholic Mission Church appeal. This year we are invited to feed, in body and soul, our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia as they face drought, hunger and famine.
You can act in partnership with our brothers and sisters by supporting dedicated missionaries like Australian Sister Maureen Elliott, local priests, catechists and faith communities.
Please come prepared next weekend and give generously.
Together we can feed them.. body and soul.
Freecall 1800 257 296 or catholicmission.org.au
CATHOLIC MISSION
Next weekend our Parish will be holding the annual Catholic Mission Church appeal. This year we are invited to feed, in body and soul, our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia as they face drought, hunger and famine.
You can act in partnership with our brothers and sisters by supporting dedicated missionaries like Australian Sister Maureen Elliott, local priests, catechists and faith communities.
Please come prepared next weekend and give generously.
Together we can feed them.. body and soul.
Freecall 1800 257 296 or catholicmission.org.au
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS
In today’s readings, we hear how the Lord takes what is small and makes it great – a branch from the cedar, which, when planted will “put forth branches and bear fruit. It will become a majestic cedar;” and a mustard seed, the smallest of the seeds, which becomes a huge plant. And so He builds up His kingdom. He calls all of us to be His disciples, and though, in the eyes of the world, we may be insignificant, His call is great. When we answer the call and give ourselves to Him completely – offering Him all that we are – He will use us for great things – to bring others to Him, to make disciples of all nations, to build the Kingdom of God.
It is out responsibility to listen to His call, to recognize the gifts He has given us, and, using them for His greater glory, to answer the call by surrendering ourselves to the Lord. Without Him we are nothing, completely insignificant, but with Him we are called to greatness.
Copyright © 2012 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS
On the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ, we contemplate the nature of the Eucharist. We reflect on the fact that we are invited to consume the literal body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. We reflect on the central role that the Eucharist plays in the life of the Church. In today’s readings, we focus on the sacrificial element of this great gift.
“This is the blood of the covenant,” Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, a phrase that is familiar to all of us, as we hear it time and again in the words of consecration at Mass. Christ offered Himself as the Sacrificial Lamb. He shed His blood once for all on the cross, and every time we celebrate the Mass, that sacrifice is re-presented to the Father for our sake. And then we step forward and partake of the blood that was shed; we participate in the sacrifice as we consume Christ’s body and blood.
It is our responsibility as Christ’s disciples to not only consume His body and blood, but to participate in His sacrifice by offering ourselves to the Father. Sure, we aren’t shedding our blood (most of us aren’t, anyway), but we are to offer ourselves as a sacrifice, uniting ourselves with Christ on the cross. We give the Lord all that we have and all that we are telling Him, as the Israelites in the first reading proclaim, “We will do all that the Lord has told us.” And then, when we receive the Eucharist, recognizing that it is Christ’s actual body and blood, our “Amen” response resounds from our hearts. For, just as Christ gave Himself – whole and entire – on the cross, we, as Christian stewards, offer ourselves each and every day, at each and every Mass, completely, to the Lord.
Copyright © 2012 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS
Today, on the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, as we reflect on God’s nature as three persons in one God, we recognize that He is a family whose life is love.
What’s more, the gospel tells us, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
We are a family of persons called to live together in love. It is our duty as Christian disciples to live in love with others and to live out of love for others. In so doing, we bring others to Christ and His Church, inviting them to establish an intimate relationship with the Lord and to live a sacramental life united to Christ and His Church.
Here, Christ commissions all of us to make disciples, and He has given us many gifts with which to do so. Are we using the time, talent and treasure God has blessed us with to make disciples and build the Church? How can we do an even better job of that?
Copyright © 2012 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS
In this Sunday’s gospel reading, we hear Jesus call Himself the Good Shepherd. He loves and cares for us like a shepherd cares for His sheep — taking care of their every need and leading them along the right path. In fact, so much does He care for us, that Jesus says, “I would lay down my life for my sheep.”
Of course, we know that He did in fact do that. We just celebrated the paschal mystery, in which Jesus gave himself up to death for our sake. And as we continue to celebrate the Easter Season and rejoice in His glorious redirection, we recognize that Christ’s loving care for us extends to today. He is actively involved in the life of the Church, providing for all of our needs and guiding us along our way.
In response to Christ’s life-giving love, it is our responsibility as His disciples to give ourselves to Him. We offer Him our time, talent, and treasure — truly, we offer Him our whole lives in thanksgiving for all He has done for us. As His disciples, it is our calling, our responsibility to use our lives for His greater glory. Everything we do — at home, at school, at work, and elsewhere — should glorify the Good Shepherd and call others to believe in
His loving care.
Copyright © 2012 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS
Today we celebrate the third Sunday of Easter, and the readings today highlight for us the redemptive nature of the cross and the joy of the resurrection.
In the first reading, we hear Peter tell his audience, “The author of life you put to death, but God raised Him from the dead. Of this we are witnesses.”
Christ had to die in order to rise from the dead, but we see in His resurrection that God’s plans are greater than any we can imagine. So, as His disciples and stewards of His many gifts, we give ourselves to Him as His servants know at all time – in joy and in suffering – His plans far outweigh our own. We are His disciples, and in giving Him ourselves, we ask Him to do with us what He will.
Copyright © 2012 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
WHAT IS THE XT3 WEBSITE?
“When people exchange information, they are already sharing themselves, their view of the world, their hopes, their ideals. It follows that there exists a Christian way of being present in the digital world: this takes the form of a communication which is honest and open, responsible and respectful of others… I would like then to invite Christians, confidently and with an informed and responsible creativity, to join the network of relationships which the digital era has made possible.”
– Pope Benedict XVI, Message for the 45th World Communications Day, 5 June 2011
Pope John Paul II asked of us: “You young people have in a special way the task of witnessing today to the faith; the commitment to bring the Gospel of Christ – the Way, the Truth and the Life – into the third Christian Millennium, to build a new civilization – a civilization of love, of justice and of peace.”
And so Xt3 represents Christ (Xt) in the 3rd Millennium.
Xt3 is a content driven social networking site. It has the functionalities of the most common social networks, but with a broad resource base of the latest media that relates to the Catholic faith! Xt3 is sponsored by Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney.
Xt3 supports and bring to life the Holy Father’s 2009 theme for the 43rd World Communications Day this: New Technologies, New Relationships. Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship.
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP
CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS
Today’s readings emphasize for us what it means to live as a Christian disciple – both in the early Church and today over 2,000 years later. It means living a life rooted in faith. That faith leads us to love.
The second reading tells us, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten by Him” (1 Jn. 5:1).
As Christian disciples, we live a life of love – love of God and love of neighbor, and we use all that we have – our time, our talents, and our treasure – in love of others, following Jesus’ footsteps. Remember, Christ’s whole life on Earth was lived for love of others, so much so that He died out of love for all of us. And so it is our responsibility as His disciples to use all that He has given us out of love for others, proclaiming the Gospel by the way we live.
Copyright © 2012 www.TheCatholicSteward.com
EASTER OFFERINGS
Our Easter Offerings are given to support the bishops of Melbourne, priests in parishes and our ninety-three retired Melbourne priests, including priests who served in Sunbury, Fathers Jim Feehan and Alan Mithen.
PROJECT COMPASSION REFLECTION
Happy Easter from all at Caritas Australia!
Celebrate that your generosity to Project Compassion continues aid and development work reflective of the life of Jesus Christ, and shaped by the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching principles, in over 35 countries around the world.
You have offered new life to your brothers and sisters struggling with poverty and injustice. Thank you for supporting Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion 2012 appeal.
If we want peace, we must work for justice.
Click on the image below to go to the Caritas website.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Sunbury 
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