TEAM WORK FOR CHRISTMAS
Dear Parishioners,
Like every year, the community of Our Lady of Lebanon College rallied with their families to donate over 200 hampers for the poor for Christmas. It is a wonderful ongoing gesture for Christmas from the College.
The St Oliver's Harris Pk St Vincent De Paul Conference members Adrianne, Mark, Malcolm as well as our own Conference members were overwhelmed by the generosity of the teachers, students and their families.
The Conference members have begun to sort the hampers in our Community centre basement to prepare to deliver them to families and individuals in need. What a good inter -community effort between the College, St Vincent De Paul Society and our Parish in following on what Pope Francis is encouraging for the whole Church.
Also this week we had our staff Christmas dinner and recognised the hard work of the staff in their share in the mission of the Parish. I could with the priests say to them very well done and what a wonderful team they are working behind the scenes in the Parish and supporting her mission.
Also this week, you can find on page 4 of the newsletter and on the Church door noticeboards the statement of our Parish finances for the 2 quarters from 1 April-30 September 2013 according to requirements of Church law. These 2 quarters included our biggest fundraising events with the Gala Dinner and Feast week which were very well supported and helped us keep abreast of our Parish financial commitments.
I trust you find the report informative and as always your constructive suggestions or questions are always welcome to myself, the Priests or members.
Monsignor Shora Maree
TAKING THE FIRST STEP
BEING INVOLVED AND SUPPORTIVE, BEARING FRUIT AND REJOICING.
Dear Parishioners,
Continuing to reflect with you on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium we move to the section headed as above par 25. Pope Francis in this section writes saying:
“An evangelizing community gets involved by word and deed in people’s daily lives; it bridges distances, it is willing to abase itself if necessary, and it embraces human life, touching the suffering flesh of Christ in others.”
And
“It celebrates every small victory, every step forward in the work of evangelization. Evangelization with joy becomes beauty in the liturgy, as part of our daily concern to spread goodness. The Church evangelizes and is herself evangelized through the beauty of the liturgy, which is both a celebration of the task of evangelization and the source of her renewed self-giving.”
As we Celebrate the Birth of John the Baptist which brought Joy to John’s family and neighbours let’s see what new and maybe first steps we can make in our families and parish so that all around can sense the Joy and truth of this wonderful and amazing Mystery and Season of Christmas.
We hear in the opening Hymn below the Joy when we let God work:
John, the newborn child, has come as a voice for God Most High.
O Judean hills, rejoice! Aaron’s daughter gave him birth.
Exult, for this news has spread throughout the Church, bringing hope and joy.
Well Done Divine Word Family
We are blessed so many in our Parishes have taken many steps to help us experience the Joy of the Gospel. I on behalf of the Parish say well done to the Divine Word Family who Evangelise with Joy all Year round on Tuesday nights and all their activities and with the help the afforded Community and Youth Centre with their Garage Sale that
made available wonderful faith items as well as other useful items and raised $10,000.
And to all, remember from last week: “God does not need us! But we are here!...because he Loves us and we need Him and each other!”
So as Pope Francis continues:
Whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”.
Monsignor Shora Maree
PASTORAL CHALLENGES OF THE FAMILY IN THE CONTEXT OF EVANGELISATION
Dear Parishioners,
Pope Francis has called an Extraordinary Synod planned for 5-19 October 2014 on the Pastoral challenges facing the family in the context of Evangelisation.
The Bishops have been asked to seek input by as many of the faithful as possible. His Excellency Bishop Tarabay with the Bishops of NSW explain the purpose of the Synod and how we can participate in a letter and I have included excerpts below.
It is important to realise that the Extraordinary Synod, like the Second Vatican Council, will be a pastoral rather than a doctrinally-focused gathering. We hope that this will help the Catholic and wider community to respond to the real-life challenges faced by families.
Therefore, the Catholic moral teaching on basic issues such as sexuality, marriage and family will remain in place.
The Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, seeks your contribution to a conversation the Holy Father has invited us to enter, and we hope for a wealth of thoughtful and prayerful responses as we work to maintain Gospel truths, strengthen family life, and reach out and help all people caught up in difficult situations.
The Holy Family offers us a unique model of family life. What is particular to Jesus, Mary and Joseph, is not that they were immune to life’s concerns. On the contrary, persecution and hardship dogged them. Yet Jesus Christ lived in the heart of their home, and we see in both Our Lady and St Joseph, people who remained attentive to God’s Word.
May the work of this Synod help inform our church how to respond more effectively to the pastoral issues faced by families.
And speaking of family I was invited to speak with Year 9 students Our Lady of Lebanon College on family. We realised the same values we hold for being good friends is what we hold for being a good family and they are the same values that Jesus teaches us.
Our Maronite Eparchy of Australia is invited to participate in answering these questions which can be found on the link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MaroniteSurveyFamilySynod
