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With the recent publication of Pope Francis’s new apostolic exhortation ‘The Joy of the Gospel’ we have an exciting challenge ahead of us for 2014! So many “firsts”. First pope to choose the name Francis; The first in centuries to live outside the papal palace; first to give a press conference. The first pope to tell the world so much about his inner life, including weaknesses, for which he expresses regret. Here is a man who learns from his mistakes and who clearly yearns to grow in holiness, which he associates with patience toward himself and everyone else as well. When Francis was recently asked: “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” He replied, “I am a sinner . . . whom the Lord has looked upon. . . . I am one who is looked upon by the Lord.”
For our new Pope the vital thing is to know oneself as a loved sinner – where the adjective is more important than the noun. And God’s work is always done by graced sinners who rejoice in being called just as they are. Again and again since his election the message of Pope Francis is simple and profound: we who follow Jesus must meet people on their own terms rather than on ours. Love for the other comes first.
Since March 13, 2013 we have learned that Francis preaches this message more through his actions and style than by his words. This is why the world has opened its heart to him – because he has so opened his heart to the world. Everything else is then possible and yes – possible here in Melbourne 2014! We are sent with the joy of the Gospel!
Br Mark O’Connor fms Archbishops Office for Evangelisation
Enews February 2014.

The Reforming Pope Francis calls new Cardinals “servants”

Yesterday, Pope Francis inducted 19 new Cardinals. In the letter of their appointment, the Pope said their induction was not to be seen as a “promotion”, much less an “honour”, instead the cardinals should see themselves as “servants” marked by “self-abasement and humility”. To emphasise the point, he said there should be no lavish celebrations to celebrate their appointments, rather any celebration should follow “the evangelical spirit of austerity, sobriety and poverty”. When he became a cardinal in 1998, he urged his people to stay in Argentina and give the money to the poor. In 2012, 1,000 people came from New York to celebrate with the new Cardinal Dolan, their archbishop.

Pope Francis his “Man of the Year” the Anglican leader says

Archbishop Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury said early last month that the Pope was extraordinary and led by example. “He has changed the sense of direction and purpose of the Church with his personal example and words,” he said. Both leaders are understood to be working on a joint initiative on how to combat poverty.

A Centenary of Service Between the Two of them

Last month, two of our parish priest retired– Fr Gerry Beasley of Footscray and Msg Peter Kenny of Moonee Ponds. Between them, they have given 103 years of priestly service– not only in their parish, but also in extra-parochial ministry in welfare, ecumenism and marriage Tribunal. Peter was ordained in 1960, Gerry in 1963.
After Easter, the Franciscan Friars are leaving the parish of Box Hill and Box Hill North after 39 years of ministry due to the lack of numbers. This parish contains two large hospitals with 1,100 inpatients, one parish school and one cemetery. The diocese inviting priests to apply for this huge mission.
Dioceses in England, Ireland and Scotland are facing up to fewer priests and are making plans to merge parishes and close churches. The number of priests in Glasgow was 285 in 1977; now there are 85.
Are we encouraging our sons and grandsons to consider entering the Melbourne seminary to try out a vocation to the ordained priesthood?

Prince Charles fears for Christians in Middle East

At a gathering of faith leaders in London in December, the Prince of Wales said Christianity is under threat in its own birthplace due to a wave of persecution by fundamentalist Islamist militants. “For 20 years, I have tried to build bridges between Islam and Christianity… we have now reached a crisis where the bridges are rapidly being deliberately destroyed by those with a vested interest in doing so– through intimidation, false accusation and organized persecution.”

New Mary MacKillop School in South Sudan

Has been funded by Sudanese living in Sydney and this month is taking the first group of secondary girl students. Former refugee Johnson Ngor, of the charity “South Sudan Educates Girls” said “currently only 1 per cent of girls over the age of 12 are able to attend secondary school, but we are determined to change this.”
……Kevin McIntosh

CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

Eight separate times in the Bible we are told to “Love our neighbor.” As exemplified by today’s first reading from Leviticus, this command is found in the Old Testament, as well. Leviticus is the third book in our Old Testament. It was written some 600 years prior to the birth of Christ, and many scholars feel it was compiled by Moses himself.

In the first reading for this Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, God declares to Moses, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus echoes that sentiment in the Gospel from Matthew affirming “You shall love your neighbor.” More than once Christ points out to us that this is the formula for striving for holiness and following Him. All we have to do is love our neighbor and everything else will fall in to place.

From a stewardship outlook, both the first reading and the Gospel point out the other challenge we have. In Leviticus God calls us to”… be holy for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” Again the Son reaffirms that call by saying in the Gospel, “… be perfect just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” Of course, we understand that the holiness and perfection to which we are called is impossible for us. Nevertheless, stewardship is one path we can take to move that direction.

 

Copyright © 2014 www.TheCatholicSteward.com

Reflection on the Gospel-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 23 February 2014 (Matthew 5:38-48)

Today’s gospel is a continuation of Jesus’ teaching on the sort of righteousness, the right relationship and justice, to which his followers are called in their living of the Law. The law of Moses (Exod 21:24, Lev 24:20 and Deut 19:21) included a law of retaliation designed to make punishment for wrongdoing to persons or property proportionate to the offence. It was quite enlightened legislation at the time. In a series of striking images, Jesus invites his followers to go far beyond the strict application of the law and to embrace a new way of thinking about and acting towards those who injure them/us. Relinquishing your right to compensation is one thing. Giving more of your property to one who has stolen from you is quite another. Do we take this teaching literally or do we simply embrace the spirit of non-retaliation that seems to be at the heart of this teaching? A too-easy amnesty does not always bring justice. Last week’s gospel reminded us that there is to be no place for uncontrolled anger or murderous thoughts in our hearts. Both that teaching and this seem to be about taking responsibility for how we live. Harbouring anger can have disastrous consequences for oneself as well as for others. It tends to skew our capacity for right judgement. What happens to us may be beyond our control. What we do with what comes our way is for us to decide. Jesus makes it clear that we have choices in the face of life’s struggles. The disciple is called to choose the way of assuming personal responsibility and refusing the way of retaliation.

The final example or antithesis in the list of six that Jesus offers in the Sermon on the Mount is the most confronting of all: there are to be no limitations on love. Loving one’s enemies is quite a challenge, on a personal as well as a global level. We learn the hard way that we cannot change others. We can only change our attitudes and approaches to them. Venerable Catherine McAuley, founder of the Mercies, wrote that her sisters “never to let the sun go down on their anger”. I used to wonder how they managed that. Over recent years I have found that praying quite deliberately for those who give us a hard time or cause us grief is by far the most effective way of retaining one’s peace of mind and of expelling retaliatory thoughts. For me, it is a matter of gently bringing these people to mind, of breathing in the loving kindness or chesed of God that suffuses the universe and of breathing it out for them. That enables me to think of them in kindly ways and act towards them without rancour, even when the sentiments are not reciprocated.

Have a read of the Media Release about the Rejected Asylum seeker who suicide in the Maribyrnong River on 5 February. It is on the noticeboard and parish website here. May we all pray for a fairer system to give dignity to these individuals who are seeking a better life. The story of Rezene is so sad and unfortunate and what is worse, is that he is not the only one this is happening to. Pope Francis has asked for changes to the handling of refugees. Let us pray that policy makers will realize the plight of these desperate people and act with justice.

Welcome and thanks to the Columban priests who will be celebrating 10.30am Mass and Baptisms this weekend.

The 2014 edition of the Carroll Directory has just been released.  It contains some of our Parish photos.
…….Historical Committee.

CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

The first reading from the Book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) prompts us to remember an important stewardship fact. Sirach writes, “If you choose, you can keep the commandments; they will save you.” The point is that God has granted us free will. The Lord has given us choices.

As much as we speak about stewardship and as much as we point out the importance of living life with stewardship at its core, we all understand that what we do and how we do it is a matter of choice. It is one of those many choices we must make. From the perspective of our Catholic faith, it is a way to respond to Jesus’ call to us to pursue holiness.

Today’s second reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians contains one of the most eloquent descriptions of what is to come, the reward for living a God-centered and faith-filled life: “Eye has not seen… ear has not heard… what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:8) In other words the glory of salvation is beyond our imaginations. Free will is something gifted to us in this life. However, choosing the right path, choosing the right ways to love others, pursuing stewardship, although an option, is a vital way to live and to do what God wishes us to do.

Copyright © 2014 www.TheCatholicSteward.com

Reflection on the Gospel-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 16 February 2014 (Matthew 5:17-37)

We sometimes forget that Jesus was a faithful Jew who observed the Law handed down within Israel from generation to generation. Today’s gospel brings us the continuation of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus, the faithful Jewish teacher, addresses his Jewish disciples and the Jewish crowds gathered to hear his words.

The mission of Jesus (“I have come to…”) is to fulfill the law, not to do away with it, and fulfilling the law is a question of “righteousness”. The Greek term for righteousness, dikaiosunē, translates both the Hebrew sedeqah meaning “right relationship” and mishpat meaning “justice”. The righteousness of the official teachers of the Law, the scribes and Pharisees, their manner of relating to others and their notions of justice, are judged to be quite inadequate for those who are part of God’s reign, “the kingdom of heaven” in Matthew’s terminology. The righteousness of Jesus’ followers is to “exceed” such minimalist interpretations and expressions of the Law.

Jesus, authentic teacher and interpreter of the Law, offers six examples of the righteousness that “fulfils” the Law. Four of these examples are included in today’s reading. What was heard “of old” is contrasted with what Jesus wants to say to them. In the first instance, they all know that the Law forbids murder. They may not have considered the connection between unrestrained anger or murderous thoughts and murder itself. In a series of cascading sentences, Jesus presents a charter for reconciliation and forgiveness. He reminds his audience that true worship demands a forgiving heart expressed in action. He includes a fairly pragmatic reason for settling out of court: you may actually find yourself in prison. There may be an implicit criticism here of the increasingly punitive legal system of the time.

The second example puts “lustful looking” on a par with adultery. In an age of easy access to internet pornography, this example has a particular resonance. Such activities make a travesty of gospel righteousness. The third example on divorce is complicated by the exceptive clause, ‘except in the case of porneia’. Porneia referred to any illicit sexual activity. Here it probably means marriages within degrees of kinship prohibited by Jews but not by Gentiles. The question seems to have arisen as to whether couples in such unions could stay together on becoming Christian. While Jesus presents the ideal (no divorce), we have to put this teaching into a broader context. Writing to the people of Corinth on this subject, Paul allows for exceptions, since “God has called us to peace”. The fourth example is about swearing on oath. Righteousness calls for honesty and transparency in every day dealings. If the words we use are congruent with the intentions of our heart, we should not have to invoke God as a witness to the veracity of our claims.

Welcome and thanks to the Columban priests who will be celebrating 8.30am and 10.30am Masses and Baptisms this weekend.

Sunday 23 February at 10.30am, Mass will be celebrated to mark the Centenary for the Parish.
For catering purposes, please RSVP by Sunday 16 Feb  Ph.9484 2124.

A Catholic organisation which has been preparing, placing and sup- porting skilled Australian volunteers in placements in Asia, Africa and the Pacific for 50+ years. A Palms Encounter is perfect for anyone interested in learning about another culture, as well as those interested in social justice and reducing poverty. Dur- ing this cross-cultural experience, you will gain insight into the life of work of Palms’ volunteers, and learn about the pressing development issues facing our neighbours. Dates are 14-26 April 2014 and 26 July-7 Aug 2014.
For further information visit: http://www.palms.org.au/encounters, email:  encounter@palms.org.au, or call Palms on 02 9518 9551.
Limited places remain as numbers are restricted to ~8 per Encounter.

CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

“You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.” With those two short sentences, Jesus reminds us all of our Baptismal and Stewardship callings. It is important that we remember that these two brief sentences occur in Holy Scripture just after the Lord has taught us the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are those who hunger… Blessed are the merciful.”

Today’s Gospel reading is a small part of Jesus’ longest oration in all of Holy Scripture — His Sermon on the Mount. In so many ways this Sermon is a stewardship presentation. If we just focus on the two pieces of advice the Lord gives in the four verses of today’s Gospel, we go a long way to both understanding and achieving stewardship.

If we bring meaning and enhancement to the lives of those around us (salt), and if we provide love and joy to them (light), we will have gone a long way to fulfilling what Jesus has exemplified that we must do. We will indeed have responded to Him as He wished — as disciples and stewards. Shakespeare even understood this thought as he wrote in the Merchant of Venice, “How far that little candle throws his beams. So shines a good deed in a weary world!

 

Copyright © 2014 www.TheCatholicSteward.com

Reflection on the Gospel-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, 9 February 2014 (Matthew 5:13-16)

In today’s gospel, Jesus addresses two short parables to his disciples in the presence of the crowds. The crowds as well as the disciples hear what he has to say. Parables were intended to tease their hearers, inviting them to see things differently or from a new perspective, to see themselves in a new light. One of the difficulties for us is that Jesus told these parables in early first century Palestine with its particular symbol system, while we hear them through the multiple layers of our own twenty-first century contexts and symbol systems. ‘Salt’ and ‘light’ have slightly different resonances in different contexts, as do ‘earth’ and ‘world’. Exploring those resonances or nuances can bring us to a deeper appreciation of the text.

This short reflection allows for a focus only on ‘the salt of the earth’ parable or metaphor. For Jesus’ Palestinian audience, salt was used to preserve and season food. It also functioned as a cleansing or purifying agent. It could only lose its savour if contaminated by additives. We can resonate with all of that. For some of the Jewish rabbis, salt signified wisdom: a ‘salted’ disciple was a ‘wise’ disciple. In some parts of the ancient world, as in Pakistan today, salt was used in dyeing processes as a way of intensifying as well as preserving the colour of fabrics. Many Westerners are not aware of this practice. Farmers today are rightly concerned about high levels of salinity in overworked soil. That was certainly not the case for first-century Palestinians.

When we declare someone to be ‘the salt of the earth’, we are generally referring to the sheer goodness of the person in question, her/his down-to-earth reliability, lack of pretentiousness and practical wisdom. To be salt of the earth is to season the earth community, to intensify its beauty, to be wise in one’s judgments, and just in all one’s dealings. This parable, with its multi-layered symbolism, certainly teases the mind.

In the original Greek, the emphasis is on the first word in the sentence. Jesus is telling his hearers, disciples and crowds, that they are the salt of the earth. They do not have to become the salt of the earth; they are the salt of the earth. In short, he is affirming their worth. In its literary context, that assertion contrasts Jesus’ followers with those who might persecute them. It affirms their capacity to stand strong in the face of opposition, ‘for the sake of justice’. If they allow themselves to be overwhelmed or their commitment to be shaken, then the ‘salt’ will be contaminated and the ‘earth’ cannot be seasoned.

 

In Pope Francis’s exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, he talks of ‘joy’ as a requirement for evangelization, and how ‘personal dialogue’ is needed for any authentic invitation into the faith. He says trying to spread the Gospel without personal encounter with Jesus is useless. On the Welcome Desk in St Anne’s Church is a 2014 Calendar of events run by the Archdiocese. You are very welcome to take a copy.

Last Wednesday evening fourteen of us held our first gathering for 2014. We began by praying and then continued to have a very productive meeting with some new proposals including discussion on the Overseas Humanitarian Project as voted on at our Parish Assembly, the Expo of our Parish Ministries on 16 February and a pilot development of several neighbourhoods.

The envelopes are available for collection this weekend. Please collect you new envelopes at each Mass.

We thank Jim Reilly and the volunteers who collated the Thanksgiving envelopes two weeks ago. Without the support of volunteers, our parish would not be able to function. We are very grateful.

CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord occurs 40 days after the birth of Christ. In Jewish tradition the parents of a baby were to “present” the baby at the temple on the 40th day after birth. This is a celebration that has occurred in the Church from the 300s.
More important to us, as reflected in the three readings today, is embracing the Lord as our Savior, acknowledging that He is both God and man, and striving as good stewards to be like Him in many ways. Notice how Simeon takes the Baby in his arms, holds Him, and declares, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation.”
One of the difficult things for us is to see that same salvation and to go in peace. Stewardship is seeing the glory of our Savior and striving to live out our lives with total trust in Him. As Catholics we need not only to understand our callings, but also to live them out.
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “Three things are necessary for our salvation: to know what we ought to believe; to know what we ought to desire; and to know what we ought to do.” Sharing our time, talent, and treasure with God and our parish is what we are to do.

Copyright © 2014 www.TheCatholicSteward.com