Mass AAPS to prevent Mess-Ups
Dear Parishioners,
Out of all the wonderful Celebrations we have in our Parish and families I don’t think there are too many that a more joyful, potentially faith renewing and touching for a Parish Community than their First Holy Communion Masses. Last Sunday 23 Children and this Sunday 73 Children from the Parish would have received Our Lord in Holy Communion for the first time. We as Catholics can take this Gift for granted.
I gave the Children and Parents the Mass APPS as a way to always let the Mass be a most powerful loving and renewing experience of God the Holy Trinity for our whole week.
A stands For Appreciation
When we appreciate something we treat it with reverence, respect and love. So how we dress, sit stand enter and behave in the Church and especially during Mass shows our deep appreciation.
P stands for Preparation
Anything worthwhile in life requires preparation and this is so for the Mass.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important way to prepare and necessary if we have committed serious mortal sin as we hear St Paul teach us that we drink judgement on ourselves if we don’t prepare worthily. Also quiet and reflection before Mass and arriving early and being in the Church before Mass Starts. Also talking to our Children about parts of the Mass and Feast before we arrive.
P stands for Participation.
Of course how we join in praferfully and participate makes a great difference. How uplifting it is for everyone when we can hear and feel each other joining in from our hearts.
S stands for Sundays. Every Sunday!
And Sunday is the first Day of the week and because of the Resurrection it Has become the Lord’s Day. So Every First day of the week we are called to Mass with APP so that we can Live the Mission of the Mass all week. In that way with Mass APPS our Week won’t be full of MESS Ups.
Our Prayers and Congratulations to the Children and their families and well done Fr Tony and all the Teachers.
Monsignor Shora Maree
Sunday of the Holy Trinity
On this Holy Trinity Sunday and every Sunday in our Mass we celebrate the full revelation of God as Divine Communion of Love, Father Son and Holy Spirit. We celebrate that God is three Divine Persons each with their Uniqueness yet totally UNITED towards each other in an Eternal Relationship of LOVE.
The Holy Trinity now through the work of the Holy Spirit especially in the Sacraments of the Church reaches out to embrace each of us with our Families in His Divine Eternal Life.
This Sunday Holy Trinity Sunday at 11am we will celebrate the First Holy Communion of the first Group of 23 Children and next week for the second group of 63 Children at 2:30 pm.
With their families the Children in the Mass and with their First Holy Communion experience the fullness of unity with the Holy Trinity in receiving the Body of Christ. We pray for the children and their families that this will be a special time of God’s blessing for them renewing them to be in closer Unity with God and their Parish Family.
I also always ask the Children and parents to remember the three R’s
R FOR REGULAR EVERY SUNDAY
R FOR REVERENCE-PRAYERFULNESS ON THE WAY AND IN Church
R FOR RESPECT-COME EARLY/ON TIME.
At this Time I also call for Volunteers to help with our 11am Sunday Children s Liturgy that we hold during the first half of the Sunday 11am Arabic Mass to help the Children who don t understand Arabic to understand the Bible Readings and Sunday Feast.
If you have some teaching experience who would like to help supervise and set up one or two Sundays a Month from 10:30am-11:30am please contact me on 0418 969 844 and leave a message and I will contact yu regarding a meeting with all the Volunteers and our current Co ordinators.
A Blessed Holy Trinity Feast and Sunday to All.
Monsignor Shora Maree
New Appointments in the Diocese
Dear Parishioners,
For the good of all our Parishes His Excellency Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay has commenced making some changes in the appointments of the priests.
In this set of new appointments our Parish will see Fr Claude Rizk move to take up a new appointment as Assistant Parish Priest as St Joseph’s Croydon and will see Fr Yuhanna Azize come to Our Lady of Lebanon Parish.
We are sad to loose Fr Claude from our team of priests with his joyful presence and his dedication in his pastoral ministry, celebrating Mass and especially with the sick visits, and as Chaplain for the Fersan and Arabic Language School. We will plan a special farewell Mass next Sunday.
We are very happy to have Fr Yuhanna Azize join the team with his appointment at our Parish to give added focus to faith education and formation in our parish and the Diocese from the community centre for leaders and parishioners generally.
Fr Sam Wehbe has also been appointed as coordinator of St Jo-seph’s Auburn Mass Centre in preparation of the next stages of planning and preparation; please God, of Auburn becoming a new Maronite Parish in the near future.
These appointments are all effective from the 22 June 2014.
Please keep all the priests in your prayers so that the Holy Spirit who descended at Pentecost can strengthen and guide us in His Mission for our Parish and Diocese.
We are asked also to especially keep the Bishop in our prayers as he travels to Lebanon for the Annual Synod of Bishop’s and to pray for the Patriarch and all the Maronite Bishops for this very important time of their meeting to plan and work for the good of our Maronite Church and for the situation in Lebanon and Syria.
