When the simple pine coffin of John Paul II was set down before the altar in St Peter’s Square, an open copy of the book of the gospels was placed upon it. Karol Wotyla had lived his whole life – as a seminarian, priest, Bishop and Pope – under the inspiration of the word of God. Throughout his entire life he preached and lived that word. There, in death this holy man – now a canonised saint – lay quite literally beneath that same word.
The prophet Isaiah likens God’s word to falling rain that moistens the earth and brings forth growth. ‘The word that goes forth from my mouth,’ says the Lord, ‘does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do’ (Is 55:10-11). Jesus qualifies that statement a little: God’s word is not a battering ram, smashing the door to our heart. The Risen Lord says, ‘Look, I am standing at the door knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in and share a meal with that person’ (Rev 3:20).
Like the sower’s seed, God’s word can fall on the edge of the path and be eaten by birds. It can also fall on shallow soil and wither under the scorching sun. And it can fall among thorns and be choked. But, when God’s word falls on fertile ground, it indeed yields a rich harvest. The gospel of Matthew was written at a time and particular context in which his Christian hearers were feeling the effects of having been ostracised from their Jewish community. The trials had proved too much for some and they fell away from their faith. Others were confounded by the fact that other Jews could not accept the person and message of Jesus as they had. We recall last Sunday’s gospel. In it Jesus blesses his disciples for their understanding of his person and his message. It is one of the most comforting pieces of scripture.
Jesus, through the parable of the sower and the seed, makes it clear to his disciples that not everyone is ready to hear and accept the message as they had. The teaching behind the parable of the sower is as true for us today as it was in its original context. The word of God continues to fall on people who are at various stages of readiness to receive it. What Jesus suggests to his disciples – and to us – is that the ‘good soil’ can’t always be taken for granted. Jesus doesn’t tell his disciples to only sow the word in people who are receptive. Rather, he wants them – and us – to scatter the word everywhere and to rejoice when it does find good soil and yields a rich harvest. Today, as I do every Sunday, I am conscious I am preaching the word to the converted.
I am aware that I am reaching only 10% of the Catholics in Sunbury. Should I be sad about that? Sure, there is reason to be sad. But, there is also good reason to rejoice, because you are here, and the word is reaching you. The word is falling on good soil, and you are that fertile soil that will produce a rich harvest, a hundred, sixty even thirty-fold. The word will make a difference to your life, and it will also make a difference to the people who are touched by you. At the end of Mass you are sent forth to spread the word by your lives and to give glory to God.
Fr Bert Fulbrook sdb

Our Good Friday collection supports the church of the Holy Land. It promotes the missionary work of the Church in the Holy Land by providing welfare assistance to local Christians in areas such as health, education, employment and housing. Parishes, schools, orphanages and medical centres also rely on support from this collection. The collection also is relied upon to maintain the 74 churches and shrines associated with the life of Jesus. Please also pray for peace and harmony will become a reality in the land where Jesus lived.

This will signal the start of the Church season of Lent. Lent is a time to recall our baptism and to seek to make ourselves better people by living true Christian values.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (14 April) are days of Fasting and abstinence from meat. On all other Fridays, except solemnities, the law of the common practice of penance is fulfilled by performing any one of the following:
Prayer-personal or communal prayer in any form. Archbishop
Hart recommends 15 minutes at night slowly reading, praying and reflecting on the daily gospel. Pope Francis reminds us that “The Word is a gift”.
Self Denial– could include giving to Project Compassion or Fasting. Self Denial frees our mind and our resources. What money or time we do not spend on ourselves, we need to spend on the benefit of others.
Helping Others– look to our neighbours and family who may need support in any way. Don’t forget the aged, the lonely, the sick, the refugees. If you can reach-out during Lent, it is a good time to start.
Lent is an opportunity to improve the way we live out our Christian values and to make our lives and the lives of others better. Ash Wednesday Masses are as follows:

• 9.30am St Anne’s (with St Anne’s Primary School)
• 12.30pm OLMC (with OLMC Primary School)
• 7.00pm St Anne’s

Archbishops Message for Lent 2017: a message from Archbishop Denis Hart is on the Noticeboard in the foyer of St Anne’s Church.

Click here to go to the website

MEETINGS THIS WEEK
Wednesday 10 February:    5.30pm Parish Education Board

Wednesday 10 February:    7.30pm Parish Monthly Meeting

Thursday 11 February:    7.00pm Northern Region Youth Gathering—St Anne’s

 The Truth, Justice and Healing Council is coordinating the Catholic Church’s re- sponse to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse with a commitment to justice  and compassion for survivors. There are twelve members of the Council including men and women with professional expertise in areas of child sexual abuse, paedophilia, trauma, mental illness, suicide, education and public administration.
From the Truth Justice and Healing Council blog:

We are now hard on the half way mark of the Royal Commission, both in terms of the time allocated and the public policy and examination work it has set itself.
By the end of the year it will have undertaken 33 of the up to 60 public hearings it indicated would form the examination component of its work.
Commissioner McClellan has indicated that what will surely be the last of the public hearings involving the Church will take place in early 2017.
This hearing will look in more depth at a range of cultural, institutional and systemic issues that have been touched on during public hearings so far but haven’t been the subject of dedicated examination.
The big questions of what it was about the culture of the Catholic Church at the time that led to the extent of child sexual abuse and why it was responded to the way it was will come into focus.
That hearing will likely look more closely at the role of the Vatican in the crisis, issues such as clerical training, the screening of candidates for the priesthood and religious life, the impact of clericalism, the management of offenders and  the role of women, amongst others.
There is little doubt that by the end of 2017 the number of public hearings into the operations of the church will leave few, if any, stones unturned.

Read it all here:http://www.tjhcouncil.org.au/media/tjhc-blog.aspx

DON BOSCO’S 200TH BIRTHDAY
On Sunday 16 August the Salesians will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Don Bosco’s birth with a mass at 10.30am in St Anne’s Church. All are welcome, especially those with a special link to Salesian College. All are invited to join us at the parish centre after Mass for refreshments and the cutting of the birthday cake. Those who can, bring a plate. Those who can’t, just bring yourself.
All Welcome on Wednesday at 9am Mass With Our Archbishop at Rupertswood
…. Fr Bert Fulbrook sdb

St Vinnies Special Collection Sunday 14th June.
It’s been an awesome year! Since May 2014 this is what we have done together with Sunbury parishioners, Sunbury donors of material goods, Vinnies Store volunteers in O’Shanassy St, and the Sunbury Conference of St Vincent de Paul. We were able to:

• make 875 home visits to people in crisis
• assist 308 families/friends of whom 324 were children
• ease budget and other pressures by giving vouchers totaling $77,329.38

Well done! God bless us all and our friends.