Dear Parishioners, Welcome to a the Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year C 1. Where the Truth Lies In the Readings for Sunday, there is the sketch of a wonderful world. In that world there are angels, who take care of human beings. There is a ruler, who shepherds people and protects them. By his power and his goodness he brings peace to all the earth. There is peace for the troubled psyche of every person too. God turns each unsettled, uneasy, unhappy heart to himself. And, turned to God, every heart can be at peace. There is salvation from sin and even holiness. God has redeemed his people and consecrated them to himself. They are the saints of God. And there is glory. Who was Elizabeth? A ordinary Jewish woman of her time, distinguished by her barrenness and not much more. And yet look at her in the Gospel, filled with the Holy Spirit and exercising the office of prophet to Mary, mother of the Lord. She is glorious in this story, isn’t she? In the world sketched by the Readings there is the glory and beauty of holiness available for all God’s people. But consider the everyday world we live in. Do we find angels, majestic rulers, goodness protecting the people, peace in the world, holiness in our hearts, glory in our lives. Look around the mall, listen to the news media. What world are the writers of the Readings living in? And yet our own experience of grace gives us hope, in the world of the Readings, doesn’t it? The ugliness and the evil, so easy to see, overlie a deeper reality, which we can sense in the quiet moments of our lives when, like Mary, we are open to the call of the Lord. The everyday world of the mall and the news media, which looks so compelling, is a thin thing which will crumple and dissolve in time. What will remain is the world we hear about in Sunday’s Readings. In Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms!” (Deut. 33:27). Underneath, in the refuge of the everlasting arms, is where the truth of the Readings lies. And the Truth behind the Readings lies in the womb of Mary, waiting to be born. 2. First Holy Communion - Vittoria Loprevite We welcome Vittoria Loprevite to the table of the Lord at our 10.00am Mass this morning together with her family. We pray that this encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist will help her in her teen years and that she will grow to love Jesus in the Eucharist, as time goes by. Celebrating FAITH, LIFE and LOVE in COMMUNITY. 23rd December, 2012 - Year C FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT ALL HALLOWS’ PARISH CHURCH 2 Halley Street FIVE DOCK 2046 Pastor: Fr. Robert Hayes PP RFD Assistant: Fr Julian Belich Secretaries: Cheryl McKell & Elena Di Perna Presbytery: Tuesday - Friday Closed for lunch 12.30-1.30 pm Closed Mondays Phone: 9713 7960 Fax: 9713 5172 Email: [email protected]Web: www.allhallows.org.au Archdiocesan website: www.sydney.catholic.org.au All Hallows’ Parish School Principal: Mr Paul Wilson Phone: 9713 4469 Fax: 9712 5184 Email: [email protected]Web: www.ahpsfivedock.catholic.edu.au Sacramental Life Eucharist: Saturday - 9.00am & 5.30pm Vigil Sunday - 8.30am Sunday - 10am Children’s Liturgy Sunday - 6.00pm Youth Mass Monday - 9.00am Tues - Wed - 8.00am Thurs - Fri - 9.00am Lauds (morning prayer) is prayed 20 minutes before morning mass daily. All Welcome. Italian Mass: 1st Sunday of month - 8.30am 3rd Thursday of month - 9am Reconciliation: Saturday 9.30 - 10am & 4.45 - 5.15pm Baptisms & Marriages: By appointment at presbytery Anointing: Every 2 months - check bulletin for dates. Sick Calls: Any time - day/night. Funeral Masses: In co-operation with Funeral Directors.
Transcript
Dear Parishioners,
Welcome to a the Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year C 1. Where the Truth Lies In the Readings for Sunday, there is the sketch of a wonderful world. In that world there are angels, who take care of human beings. There is a ruler, who shepherds people and protects them. By his power and his goodness he brings peace to all the earth. There is peace for the troubled psyche of every person too. God turns each unsettled, uneasy, unhappy heart to himself. And, turned to God, every heart can be at peace. There is salvation from sin and even holiness. God has redeemed his people and consecrated them to himself. They are the saints of God. And there is glory. Who was Elizabeth? A ordinary Jewish woman of her time, distinguished by her barrenness and not much more. And yet look at her in the Gospel, filled with the Holy Spirit and exercising the office of prophet to Mary, mother of the Lord. She is glorious in this story, isn’t she? In the world sketched by the Readings there is the glory and beauty of holiness available for all God’s people. But consider the everyday world we live in. Do we find angels, majestic rulers, goodness protecting the people, peace in the world, holiness in our hearts, glory in our lives. Look around the mall, listen to the news media. What world are the writers of the Readings living in? And yet our own experience of grace gives us hope, in the world of the Readings, doesn’t it? The ugliness and the evil, so easy to see, overlie a deeper reality, which we can sense in the quiet moments of our lives when, like Mary, we are open to the call of the Lord. The everyday world of the mall and the news media, which looks so compelling, is a thin thing which will crumple and dissolve in time. What will remain is the world we hear about in Sunday’s Readings. In Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms!” (Deut. 33:27). Underneath, in the refuge of the everlasting arms, is where the truth of the Readings lies. And the Truth behind the Readings lies in the womb of Mary, waiting to be born. 2. First Holy Communion - Vittoria Loprevite We welcome Vittoria Loprevite to the table of the Lord at our 10.00am Mass this morning together with her family. We pray that this encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist will help her in her teen years and that she will grow to love Jesus in the Eucharist, as time goes by.
Baptisms & Marriages: By appointment at presbytery
Anointing: Every 2 months - check bulletin for dates.
Sick Calls: Any time - day/night.
Funeral Masses: In co-operation with Funeral Directors.
3. Thank you to two faithful Altar Servers I would like to thank two altar servers at 8.30am Mass who are retiring and hanging up their albs and crosses after Mass today. Jessica and Madelyn Whiting who in 2013 will be in Years 11 and 9 respectively at Domremy. They have served the 8.30am community since third class after they celebrated their First Holy Com-munion. I thank then for their many years of dedicated ser-vice to the Ministry of Server in the Liturgy. 4. 50th Wedding Anniversary We congratulate John and Jean Bingham former parishioners of All Hallows and married here who celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary yesterday, Saturday. Ad Multos Annos. 5. Accommodation A young Italian lady is looking for accommodation, a room etc to rent in the parish. Maria attends Mass here at All Hallows and is looking for accommodation for 6 - 12 months. Can you help her? Ring Maria Giannuzzi on 0405 237 215 6. Come fly with Me in 2013 Following on from our pilgrimage last year. I am looking to lead a pilgrimage to the Lourdes - Fatima shrines in SEPTEMBER 2013. The itinerary is: Day 1: Arrive Lisbon, Portugal Day 2. Fatima and the surrounding area Day 3: Fatima (Portugal) Day 4: Fatima and Valinhos Day 5: Fatima - Santiago de Compostela (Spain) Day 6: Santiago de Compostela Day 7: Santiago de Compostela - Burgos Day 8: Burgos - Lourdes (France) Day 9: Lourdes Day 10: Lourdes - Zaragoza Day 11: Zaragoza - Madrid Day 12: Madrid Day 13: Madrid/Home or extend your travels Cost for Tour if we have: - 15 - 19 people: $2286 per person (pp) 20 - 24 people: $2052 pp 25 - 29 people: $1912 pp This includes Flight Cost: $2150 pp Single Supplement: $600 approx. Interested: See Fr Bob
From Our Family Educator Our last run for the year is on Friday 28th December, so keep our goods coming in.
Remember during school holidays, all sandwiches are to be dropped off at
the Church Foyer between 3-4pm. Thank you all for your constant and generous support. Have a wonderful and safe Christmas Season as we prepare for the Birth of Our Lord.
Carmen Pollifrone
7. Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Christmas timetable can be found elsewhere in the bulletin with our Christmas Mass Times and the two sessions for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As parents, it is your responsibility to inform those in the family that if they wish to receive Holy Communion worthily, they need to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation if they have not been to Mass for weeks or months etc. To receive Holy Communion, we have to be in the state of grace. Please come early to Reconciliation as the priests have much to do to prepare for the Christmas Masses. On behalf of Fr Julian, Sebastian (our seminari-an) and myself, we wish all parishioners and visitors to All Hallows a very Blessed Christmas and a Happy and Holy 2013 May God Bless You
Fr Bob
Christmas Eve Children’s Pageant 6pm Family Mass
Reminder for those children involved in the
Family Mass Christmas Eve Pageant
The first rehearsal is TODAY Sunday 23rd December from 11am – 12.30pm in the church.
The second rehearsal is Monday 24th December
10am – 11am in the Church.
Children will need to meet in the church foyer at 5pm on Monday 24th December.
Recently Deceased: Domenica Ianni, Lorrie Kolowski, Nona Ker-rison (Peta’s mother, Secretary at All Hallows School)
Anniversaries: Giuseppe La Monica, Anthony Patrick Lavelle, Mary and Joseph O’Dwyer, Michelle Edgecomb, Bartolo and Antonino Liberatore, Peter Fiorini, Andrea-Caterina & Guiseppe Ammendolia, Francesca Ortado
Also for: Norma and James John Lavelle, Mary Cullen, Annie and Peter Hankinson Snr.
For the following ill members of our community:- June Martin, Robert renew, Celia Renew,
Rev Mark Watt (Army Chaplain, Uniting Church) Lella Volpicella, Vicki Grasso, Steve Willis,
• Priest’s tribute to a ‘mystic in our midst’ • Students’ Christmas Art: eight-page feature • Parish Nativity scenes • New chapel consecrated at ACU North Sydney cam-
pus • ‘Peace’ and light at cathedral • WYD glimpse ‘of the way the Lord is at work here’ • Support for HSC students who feel they’ve failed • Parish profile: ‘Close-knit parish works as one unit’
Plus news, reviews, feature and topical debates ONLY $2.00 AVAILABLE FROM THE STAND
REFLECTIONFORTHEWEEK
This is what Christ said,
on coming into the world:
You who wanted no sacrifice or
oblation prepared a body for me.
You took no pleasure in
holocausts or sacrifices for sin;
Then I said,
Just as I was commanded in the
scroll of the book
‘God, here I am! I am coming to
obey your will’ Hebrew 10:5-7
The Catholic Women’s League ladies would like to thank Fr Bob
and everyone in the Parish for your great support and friendship
throughout the year.
We wish you all a holy and peaceful Christmas and a safe and happy New
Year.
CHRISTMAS RAFFLE
Congratulations to the winners of the Christmas Raffle:
1 - Josh Sharrick;
2 – Claudette Mylott;
3 - Antonio (97050983);
4 – Angela Galofaro;
5 – Frances Grieco;
6 – Colleen Grant;
7 – Pat Cremin;
8 – Dora (97124237);
9 – Rosie Pietrobon;
10 – Eileen Malcolm;
11 – Eileen Ommundson;
12 – Trish Burton;
13 – Maria Pollifrone.
Canteen Manager Domremy College for 2013
Applications are invited for the position of Temporary Canteen Manager for 35 hours per week commencing 2013. We require an efficient, enthusiastic person to manage our Canteen. It is essential that you have experience in the food industry. You will be responsible for managing the volunteer roster, menu preparation, ordering stock, preparing food, yearly stocktaking, servicing, cleaning, balancing the tak-ings, serving staff and students. You will report to and work with the Bursar in relation to all aspects of the Canteen. It is a requirement of employment that you undergo a Working with Children Check. Applicants should email their written application letter, Resume and a sample menu to [email protected] by Monday 31/12/12.
POPE’S COLUMN By Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia
ROME, DEC. 18, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Scripture is a love story, the story of
God's love for humanity. But it's a real story filled with real people. It's not
a fairytale. In Scripture, as in the real world, evil things happen to innocent
persons. The wicked seem to thrive. Cruelty and suffering are common.
The Psalmist cries out to heaven again and again for justice; Job is crushed
by misfortune; Herod murders blameless infants; Jesus is nailed to a cross. God is good,
but we human beings are free, and being free, we help fashion the nature of our world
with the choices we make. This is why evil is frightening, but it's not incomprehensi-
ble. We know it from intimate experience. What we never quite expect is for our private
sins, multiplied and fermented by millions of lives with the same or similar "little" sins, to
somehow feed the kind evil that walks into a Connecticut school and guns down 26
innocent lives, 20 of them children.
Thirteen years ago, as archbishop of Denver, I helped bury some of the victims of the
Columbine High School massacre. Nothing is more helpless or heart-breaking than to sit
with parents who kissed their children goodbye in the morning and will never see them
alive again in this world. The pain of loss is excruciating. Words of comfort all sound
empty. The victims in the Sandy Hook massacre were even younger and more numerous than those at Columbine, and if such intense sorrow could be measured, the suffering of
the Connecticut family members left behind might easily be worse. With such young lives cut so short, every parental memory of an absent child will be precious -- compounded by
a hunger for more time and more memories that will never happen. This is why we need to keep the grieving families so urgently in our hearts and prayers.
People will ask, "How could a loving God allow such wickedness?" Every life lost in
Connecticut was unique, precious and irreplaceable. But the evil was routine; every
human generation is rich with it. Why does God allow war? Why does God allow hunger? Why does God allow the kind of poverty that strips away the dignity of millions of
people in countries around the world?
All of these questions sound reasonable, and yet they're all evasions. We might as well ask, "Why does God allow us to be free?" We have the gift of being loved by a Creator
who seeks our love in return; and being loved, we will never be coerced by the One who loves us. God gives us the dignity of freedom - freedom to choose between right and
wrong, a path of life or a path of death. We are not the inevitable products of history or
economics or any other determinist equation. We're free, and therefore we're responsible
for both the beauty and the suffering we help make. Why does God allow wickedness? He
allows it because we - or others just like us - choose it. The only effective antidote to the wickedness around us is to live differently from this moment forward. We make the future
beginning now.
In these final days of Advent, the Church urges us to lift up our hearts and prepare to
rejoice. There's nothing remotely naïve in this call to joy; the Church knows the
harshness of the world far too well for empty pieties. The evil in the world is bitter and
brutal, but it's not new. Nor, in the light of human history, is it a surprise. Yet in the Old
Testament, the Song of Songs tells us that "love is strong as death," and in God's
redeeming plan, love is stronger than death. The surprise is the persistence of God's
fidelity and mercy. The surprise is that, despite our sins, we still long to be the people God intended us to be.
Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ, our Emmanuel, a name that means "God with us." The surprise is that God sends his own Son into a dark world to bring us light and
hope. So it has been with every generation since Bethlehem. So it remains -- even now.
CARING FUNERALS PTY LTD Inc. BURIALS AT SEA
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Call Anthony & Maria Natoli on 9713 4044 for a confidential chat
Q. What is a child’s favourite king at Christmas? A. A stocking!
Q. What is a mums favourite Christmas carol? A. Silent night.
Kid’s Corner
Home catering from $15 per head Weddings - Christenings - Birthdays - Corporate & Social Functions Telephone 9713 7520 120 Great North Road, Five Dock [email protected] www.casteldoro.com.au
P: 9713 1773 E: [email protected] W: bistecca.com.au 565 Great North Rd, Abbotsford
We cater for : · Birthday Parties · Christening · Christmas Parties · Confirmations · Communions · Engagements · Corporate
LightsofChristmasisagreatfreenightout
tospendwithfamilyandfriendsat StMary’sCathedral
Thestunningprojectionscontinueevery
night,includingChristmaseveninguntillate.
The Dominican friars will be holding a retreat for men aged 18-35 at Winbourne, Edmund Rice Retreat and Conference Centre, Mulgoa, from 15-17 February 2013. Speakers include Fr Dom Murphy OP and Fr Paul Rowse OP. Theme: "Wisdom". Cost $200 – includes meals and accommodation. Register by 26 January. For more information and to register contact Br James Baxter OP – [email protected].
NANNY: We are looking for a nanny to care for our daughters aged 4 and 17 months, every Tuesday, in Leichhardt. If possible, we would like you to also work 4pm to 6.30pm Wednesdays & Thursdays, which would include picking the girls up from daycare. The Tuesday, however, is our priority. We're looking for a long-term relationship if you are interested call Anne 0422 041 342.
HOME VISITS: L. La Cava, L. Peruzzi, M. Chesworth, A. Leone
NURSING HOMES:
Visit 3 Jan - Parkview : no visit
Visit 4 Jan - Russell Lea: no visit
COUNTERS: Group 4
TRANSPORT: Robyn
PIETY STALL: Sue & Pina
ALTAR SOCIETY: Rosy, Geraldine, Teresa
WHAT’S ON IN OUR PARISH?
Inner Wheel Club - Balmain Group
1st Tuesday of month 6.30pm - 9pm in Hall
St Vincent de Paul Society Meetings held each 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month at 6.30pm in the meeting room
connected to the garage.
Catholic Women’s League Five Dock 3rd Monday of month 12.30pm in Parish Hall
Choir Practice
All welcome to choir practice in the Church 7.30 pm every Monday. Ring Maria on 9713 7310
Italian Choir Group
Tuesday -12.30 pm in the Church
Italian Prayer Group Tuesday - 1 pm in Parish Hall
Messa Italiana ogni ultimo martedi del mese Enquiries: M. Mureddu 9712 2394
Playgroup
9.30am -11.30am in Parish Hall (not during school holidays)
Wednesday - Franca 0414 868 259
Family Mass Choir Practice Wednesday 7.45pm in Church
All welcome!
Italian Prayer Group - Thursday In Chiesa dopo la Messa delle 9 ogni settimana. Ogni terzo giovedi c’e la
Messa Italiana con Padre Bob per tutta la communita di All Hallows.
Tutti ben venuti! Enquiries: Lucia 9713 1800
Youth Mass Choir Practice Tuesday 7.00 pm in Church
All welcome!
HOME VISITS: J. Livolsi, P. Moschella, M. Coleman, E. Ferraro
NURSING HOMES:
Visit 27 Dec - Parkview : Antonia M & Cristina L.
Visit 28 Dec - Russell Lea: Veronica & Lucia
COUNTERS: Group 3
TRANSPORT: Robyn
PIETY STALL: Veronica, Eleanor, Laura
ALTAR SOCIETY: Lorraine F, Lorraine C, Enza F
NEXT WEEK Sunday 30th December 2012 - The HOLY FAMILY
READINGS: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Col 3:12-21; Lk 2:22-40
SATURDAY 5.30pm
SUNDAY 8.30am
SUNDAY 10am
SUNDAY 6.00pm Youth Mass
READERS
M. Ponsonby F. Hume C. O’Grady M. Piccolo
K. Hextell M. Chesworth C. Mylott G. Giliberti
A. Slyney G. Bonafante M. Angelatos
Intro & P/F: Steven Ist: Chris M Psalm: Owen M 2nd: Elijah W
EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS
R. Glover R. Pozzer J. Cooper V. Moschella M. Zol A. Pollifrone J. Bonaddio
MJ Megna M. Megna L. Peruzzi E. Chesworth M. Chesworth A. Merlino R. Liberaotre
A. Leone M. Caldareri G. Bonacorso F. Mercuri A. Roberts K. Badoloato A. Incampo
Cristina Wendy Chris M Catherine M Sophia Maryanne Annalisa
ALTAR SERVERS
Group 4 Group 3 Group 2 Group 2
Sunday 23rd December 2012 - FOURTH SUNDAY of ADVENT
READINGS: Micah 5:1-4; Heb 10:5-10; Lk 1:39-44
SATURDAY 5.30pm
SUNDAY 8.30am
SUNDAY 10am
SUNDAY 6.00pm
Youth Mass
READERS
B. Gallagher R. Pollifrone M. Fitzpatrick N. Giunta
R/A Kirby R. O’Dwyer J. Heffernan M. Mureddu
AM Ludeke T. McDonald B. Carbone
Intro & P/F: Melina S Ist: Liam A Psalm: Michelle 2nd: Daniel C
EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS
S. Mangano Z. Di Bella C. Tramonte B. Smyth A. Panuccio T. Coghlan K. Smyth
J. Livolsi P. Moschella M. Coleman R. Pietrobon M. Piccolo Ma. Chesworth C. Mylott
E. Ferraro A. Roberts K. Badolato A. Incampo S. Storan M. Hadjidakis C. Petrucco
