News - August 2020 RSS Feed

Milestones are important. They help us to take stock of who we are and where we are going.  They help us to focus on what is important and who is important to us.

Some three or four years ago, I brought home from the Church of St Augustine in Rome images of St Monica with a prayer on the back of them for mothers to pray for sons who were wandering from the faith. They went like hot cakes!

This year's Social Justice Statement for 2020-21, To Live Life to the Full: Mental health in Australia Today addresses the issue of mental health and highlights the many challenges of daily life that impact our mental and emotional well-being.  

September is the Season of Creation...so let’s make a difference!  We invite you to make a personal difference in your life to help reconcile, restore and rejoice in God’s creation and challenge you to pledge to make a difference and share what you are doing with the parish community during this month.

Last Tuesday 25 August, Father Trac was among a group of six priests who joined with Governor Dessau as she hosted a virtual meeting to hear from them how their communities of faith were coping with Stage 4 lockdown, and with the pandemic in general.

In our Parish Newsletter we wish to acknowledge and honour those who have died by sharing their story and their legacy.  We would like to acknowledge particularly those parishioners who have faithfully witnessed to their faith in many ways over many years.  For them we dedicate our new column: Life is changed not ended.

Congratulations to Fr Brendan Reed on his 30th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood. Please join in a virtual celebration with Fr Brendan as he celebrates 30 years of priestly life and ministry on 25 August 2020.  Read more...

“Who do you say I am?”  The global pandemic has forced us all to look more deeply at who we are, what we believe, what is important to us and what priorities we are going to focus

To ensure that our parish supports our community members to live out and express their faith in the best way possible in the 21st century, Fr Brendan and the Leadership Teams wish to seek feedback from people living in our local communities.

National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology.  More than any year that I can remember in my life, we are reliant on science and technology to stay in touch, to see our family and friends, to order our shopping, to find the latest news, to entertain us, and even to connect with our Sunday Worship community.

Keen to link with and support local community groups, the Discussion Group provides an opportunity for parishioners to meet, reflect on current topics of interest and take part in thoughtful and animated discussions.

Our Social Justice in a Covid-19 environment is now concluded.  However, it is really just a beginning. Next week we start the task of re-establishing a parish Social Justice Network.  This network will build on the incredible experience and sharing that occurred during the last three weeks

One of the positive things about this lockdown period is that many people are prepared to share their thoughts and reflections with each more readily.   Fr Brendan reflects on an anonymous poem shared at the Social Justice series this week.

We know it can be difficult to live out the Catholic faith in these challenging times. In the coming weeks, Fr Brendan and the Leadership Teams of our parishes will be seeking feedback from people living in our local communities.

As we celebrate this universal feast day, let us join together in Spiritual Communion to ask the patroness of our communities for assurance and hope during this difficult time. Mass of the Assumption will be available from 7.00 am tomorrow morning (Saturday, 15 August).

As many parishioners turn to online streaming of Mass, the video camera has become an essential church item. Take a look at the team behind the scenes who have been assisting with preparing the Weekend liturgy for parishioners.

Celebrated annually for over 20 years, Natural Fertility Awareness Week recognises the work of two Melbourne doctors, Drs John and Evelyn Billings. Two of our parishioners, Kerry Bourke and Kirsten Italiano, reflect on how they became involved teaching with Billings LIFE.

Over forty people gathered via Zoom this week for the second part of the Social Justice series to continue to reflect on the COVID experience and to begin to formulate a statement.

This weekend marks the first in Stage 4 restrictions, after the introduction of a curfew by the Victorian Government last Sunday evening.  The coronavirus pandemic has certainly changed our lives and thrown up unforeseen challenges as well as new opportunities to be a Catholic parish community. Above all my message to you today is one of encouragement and hope.

Each year in our parishes, we support parents (and often grandparents) in their responsibility as the first educators in the faith of their children.  It is first and foremost in the home that children understand what it is to be a Christian and to call themselves a follower of Christ.