Parish School: St Dympna’s Catholic Primary Principal: Janet Smith Phone: 3263 6788 Fax: 32637551 Email: [email protected]Website: www.stdympnas.qld.edu.au Parish Address: 479 Robinson Road West, Aspley 4034 Sacramental Coordinator: Diane Haub Parish staff: Katrina Vaughan Office hours: 9am to 1pm Monday - Friday Phone: 3862 9402 After hours emergency only: 0432155970 PARISH OF OUR LADY AND ST DYMPNA Parish Priest: Fr John Panamthottam Parish Newsletter - The Ascension of the Lord Year A - 24 May 2020 Holy days of Obligation: In Australia we have the Feast of the Assumption (15 August) and Christmas Day (25 December). MASS TIMES AND SERVICES LIVE MASS STREAM 9AM SUNDAY 24 MAY ON PARISH FACEBOOK: https:// www.facebook.com/ OurLadyandStDympna/ MASS FROM 31 MAY Up to 10 people ONLY attend including the Priest, Sacristan and videographer. Please contact the Parish Office to register interest to attend either Saturday 6pm or Sunday 9am Mass. Numbers will increase to 20 people from 12 June. PRIVATE PRAYER - limit of 10 at one time 9.00am to 12.00pm Monday to Friday BAPTISM Up to 10 people can attend NOTE: All must sign in to church, sanitise hands and observe social distancing. Timing and requirements are subject to change according to State and Federal Government requirements. THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD Acts 1:1-11; Eph 1:17-23; Matt 28:16-20 Only Luke separates out resurrection, ascension, and giving of the Spirit over a fifty-day period. The clear implication in John’s Gospel is that the Spirit is given on the day of the resurrection and that the ascension has occurred around the same time since, one week later, Jesus invites Thomas to touch him—something that Mary of Magdala had been forbidden one week earlier because the ascension had not yet occurred. In essence they are all different dimensions of the one reality, and the church, in following Luke’s chronology, allows us to reflect on this one reality over fifty days in all its richly different aspects. In Matthew’s Gospel what is interesting is that we have the account of the women at the tomb (Matt 28:1-10), the account we proclaimed at the Easter Vigil, where the angel tells them not to be afraid and instructs them to tell the disciples of Jesus’ having been raised and instructs them to go to Galilee. On the way to tell the disciples, the women see Je- sus, who also tells them not to be afraid. The encounter between the women and the disciples is not described, and what we hear from the very last lines of the gospel, which we have just heard, is that the disciples are in Galilee. When Jesus appears some hesi- tate to recognise him. We have a homily preached by Leo the Great, bishop of Rome between 440 and 461, on this solemn feast early in his episcopate, in 444. Leo saw the hesitancy of some of the disciples having a spiritual significance. His explanation was that it was for our bene- fit: The Spirit of Truth would by no means have permitted this hesitation, wavering in hu- man weakness, to enter the hearts of his preachers, if their trembling anxiety and ques- tioning delay were not to have established the foundations of our faith. Consequently, it was our doubts, our danger, that was being considered in the apostles. We, in the guise of the apostles, were being instructed against the slanders of the wicked and the proofs of earthly wisdom. Their ‘seeing’ instructed us, their ‘hearing’ informed us, their ‘touching’ strengthened us. Let us give thanks for the divine plan and the necessary ‘slowness’ of the Holy Fathers [the apostles]. They ‘doubted’ so that we need not doubt. (Sermo 73) In Matthew’s Gospel, the ascension is the moment of the great commissioning. To be a disciple is to be sent into the world to bear witness to the resurrection, to be a messen- ger of the good news of hope and promise and of the victory of life over death and of love over sin. We hear no more about the fear of the disciples after this. This is the para- dox of Christianity: the one who was dead is alive, the one who has gone remains with us, those who fail are forgiven, those who fear are fortified. This is the mystery of faith, this is the hope God’s call holds for us. Would that we allow the eyes of our minds to be enlightened by this promise of the rich glories we are to inherit. These rich glories are beyond our wildest dreams. Leo the Great concluded that the promise of the ascension is not that we shall be restored to the paradise of our first par- ents, but we shall be raised to the heights of heaven itself and dwell in the very pres- ence of God: Since the ascension of Christ is our elevation, and since, where the glory of the head has preceded us, there hope for the body is also invited, let us exult, dearly beloved, with worthy joy and be glad with a holy thanksgiving. Today we are established not only as possessors of paradise, but we have even penetrated the heights of the heavens in Christ. (Sermo 73) In our eucharist we are thankful that the Christ who has left us is still present with us in the bread that is his body and the wine that is his blood. We share in this meal that we may share in the triumph of life over death, in the triumph of love over death. We are an Easter people and alleluia is our song. Excerpt Liturgia.com. Geoffrey D Dunn
PARISH OF OUR LADY AND ST DYMPNA Parish Priest: Fr John Panamthottam
Parish Newsletter - The Ascension of the Lord Year A - 24 May 2020 Holy days of Obligation: In Australia we have the Feast of the Assumption (15 August) and Christmas Day (25 December).
MASS TIMES AND
SERVICES
LIVE MASS STREAM
9AM SUNDAY
24 MAY ON PARISH
FACEBOOK: https://
www.facebook.com/
OurLadyandStDympna/
MASS FROM 31 MAY
Up to 10 people ONLY
attend including the
Priest, Sacristan and
videographer. Please
contact the Parish Office
to register interest to
attend either
Saturday 6pm or
Sunday 9am Mass.
Numbers will increase to
20 people from 12 June.
PRIVATE PRAYER -
limit of 10 at one time
9.00am to 12.00pm
Monday to Friday
BAPTISM Up to 10
people can attend
NOTE: All must sign in
to church, sanitise
hands and observe
social distancing.
Timing and requirements are
subject to change according
to State and Federal
Government requirements.
THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD Acts 1:1-11; Eph 1:17-23; Matt 28:16-20 Only Luke separates out resurrection, ascension, and giving of the Spirit over a fifty-day period. The clear implication in John’s Gospel is that the Spirit is given on the day of the resurrection and that the ascension has occurred around the same time since, one week later, Jesus invites Thomas to touch him—something that Mary of Magdala had been forbidden one week earlier because the ascension had not yet occurred. In essence they are all different dimensions of the one reality, and the church, in following Luke’s chronology, allows us to reflect on this one reality over fifty days in all its richly different aspects.
In Matthew’s Gospel what is interesting is that we have the account of the women at the tomb (Matt 28:1-10), the account we proclaimed at the Easter Vigil, where the angel tells them not to be afraid and instructs them to tell the disciples of Jesus’ having been raised and instructs them to go to Galilee. On the way to tell the disciples, the women see Je-sus, who also tells them not to be afraid. The encounter between the women and the disciples is not described, and what we hear from the very last lines of the gospel, which we have just heard, is that the disciples are in Galilee. When Jesus appears some hesi-tate to recognise him. We have a homily preached by Leo the Great, bishop of Rome between 440 and 461, on this solemn feast early in his episcopate, in 444. Leo saw the hesitancy of some of the disciples having a spiritual significance. His explanation was that it was for our bene-fit:
The Spirit of Truth would by no means have permitted this hesitation, wavering in hu-man weakness, to enter the hearts of his preachers, if their trembling anxiety and ques-tioning delay were not to have established the foundations of our faith. Consequently, it was our doubts, our danger, that was being considered in the apostles. We, in the guise of the apostles, were being instructed against the slanders of the wicked and the proofs of earthly wisdom. Their ‘seeing’ instructed us, their ‘hearing’ informed us, their ‘touching’ strengthened us. Let us give thanks for the divine plan and the necessary ‘slowness’ of the Holy Fathers [the apostles]. They ‘doubted’ so that we need not doubt. (Sermo 73)
In Matthew’s Gospel, the ascension is the moment of the great commissioning. To be a disciple is to be sent into the world to bear witness to the resurrection, to be a messen-ger of the good news of hope and promise and of the victory of life over death and of love over sin. We hear no more about the fear of the disciples after this. This is the para-dox of Christianity: the one who was dead is alive, the one who has gone remains with us, those who fail are forgiven, those who fear are fortified. This is the mystery of faith, this is the hope God’s call holds for us. Would that we allow the eyes of our minds to be enlightened by this promise of the rich glories we are to inherit. These rich glories are beyond our wildest dreams. Leo the Great concluded that the promise of the ascension is not that we shall be restored to the paradise of our first par-ents, but we shall be raised to the heights of heaven itself and dwell in the very pres-ence of God:
Since the ascension of Christ is our elevation, and since, where the glory of the head has preceded us, there hope for the body is also invited, let us exult, dearly beloved, with worthy joy and be glad with a holy thanksgiving. Today we are established not only as possessors of paradise, but we have even penetrated the heights of the heavens in Christ. (Sermo 73)
In our eucharist we are thankful that the Christ who has left us is still present with us in the bread that is his body and the wine that is his blood. We share in this meal that we may share in the triumph of life over death, in the triumph of love over death. We are an Easter people and alleluia is our song. Excerpt Liturgia.com. Geoffrey D Dunn
difficult times. We pray for them and for those who
have asked for our prayers.
CONDOLENCE: Our prayers and thoughts are
with those who are mourning the death of loved
ones. Especially: Francis (Frank) O’Hara and Jan
Wallace
SICKNESS: Our prayers are asked for the
sick, the housebound, and for all those who are in
hospital, hospice or nursing homes.
If you would like the parish to pray for and have
someone’s name listed in our prayers each week,
Intention envelopes can be delivered to the Parish
office.
A VOCATION VIEW: Ascension of the Lord -
Year A: Through His death,
resurrection and ascension,
Christ showed us the path to eternal life. Know that
the Lord is with you always, through your struggles
and triumphs, and that he will hear your prayers.
To talk to someone about your vocation, contact the
Vocation Centre: 1300 133 544
vocationbrisbane.com
ARCHDIOCESAN PRAYER FOR
END OF THE PANDEMIC
Almighty and all-merciful God, lover of the human
race, healer of all our wounds, in whom there is no
shadow of death, save us in this time of crisis;
grant wisdom and courage to our leaders; watch
over all medical people as they tend the sick and
work for a cure; stir in us a sense of solidarity
beyond all isolation; if our doors are closed, let our
hearts be open. By the power of your love destroy
the virus of fear, that hope may never die and the
light of Easter, the triumph of life, may shine upon
us and the whole world. Through Jesus Christ, the
Lord risen from the dead, who lives and reigns for
ever and ever. Amen. Infant Saviour Pray with us;
Holy Mary, health of the sick, pray for us. St
Joseph, guardian of us all, pray for us. St Stephen
and St Mary of the Cross Mackillop, pray for us.
CURRENT PARISH OPERATING PROTOCOL
First and foremost, we wish our parishioners God’s blessings and care as we all navigate these unprece-dented times. Practising the behaviours required to keep us safe provides a tremendous opportunity for members of the Aspley Parish Community to assist each other, as well as assist others in the wider community. Please follow the government advice and social distancing guidelines for the good of our whole community.
Just a reminder that, in line with the requirements and directions of the Government and Archdiocese, the Parish Office is open but hours maybe impacted. There-fore, the Parish Office may be unattended for periods of time in the foreseeable future. If you need to contact the office: Phone 3862 9402 please leave a message and we
will get back to you as soon as possible. Email [email protected] Call Father John (Parish Priest) at 0432155970
after hours contact)
PLEASE NOTE: During those times when the Par-ish Office is open, strict adherence to social distancing, as required by Government, will be observed and is ex-pected. The less face-to-face contact in these times of pandemic, the quicker we hope this situation can return to “normal.”
Rev. Fr Gabriel Kalu (Aspley Parish Priest 2008 to
2016) sends his blessings and greeting to all. Very
Rev. Fr Gabriel has shared some photos from his
Silver Jubilee of Priestly Ministry celebrated at St
Finbarr’s Catholic Church, Umuahia, Nigeria.
NEXT WEEK’S READINGS - PENTECOST SUNDAY First Reading: Genesis 11:1-9 Second Reading: Romans 8: 22-27 Gospel Reading: John 7:37-39
POSITION VACANT : ST JOHN VIANNEY’S MANLY PARISH INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR THE PART-TIME POSITION OF PARISH SECRETARY 15 to 20 hours over 3 to 4 days per week. To apply for this po-sition, please visit https://clientapps.jobadder.com/68451/aob-internal-career-opportunities/139287/parish-secretary and apply through the provided links. Please submit your current resume and a covering letter outlining your suitability for the position of Parish Secretary. Applications should include the name of two (2) referees one of which pref-erably should be a Parish Priest. For a copy of the po-sition description or any other enquires please email James Herd, HR Coordinator at [email protected]. Remuneration will be based on the suitable candidate’s skills and experience and be paid in line with the Clerks Private Sector Mod-ern Award 2010. Applications close on Friday 29 May 2020. The Archdiocese of Brisbane has standards of conduct for workers to maintain a safe and healthy environment for chil-dren. Our commitment to these standards requires that we conduct working with children checks and background refer-encing for all persons who will engage in direct and regular involvement with children and young people (0 - 18 years) and/or vulnerable adults. The organisation is fully commit-ted to child safety and has a 0 tolerance to abuse of children or vulnerable adults.
A NEW WAY TO PARISH GIVING
In order to assist parishioners with their Parish Giving during this time of isolation, the Archdiocese has devel-
oped a Parish Giving App. It is available here parishgiving.brisbanecatholic.org.au. You can make a donation via our Parish Giving online payment system or download and use the Parish Giving mobile applications. You will need to create an account the first time you log in. After you are logged in, you will need to select the Aspley Parish from the group and fill out the prompts. Please click on one of the buttons below to make an online pay-ment to the Parish. You will need to create an account the first time you log in. For your convenience, the App is also available in both the Apple App Store and Android Google Play. Please click on one of the buttons be-low.
If you require assistance getting started with the App, please click here for detailed instructions (including pictures) >>
If you would prefer to continue using Direct Debit to your bank account or credit card, or making a direct payment into our bank account, then please refer to the details below.
Donating directly into the parish account, stating your name as a reference.
Direct Debit to Bank Account or Credit Card A Direct Debit will ensure your regular gift to the parish continues in this time of crisis. Click on this link download the appropriate form or contact the parish office for further information.
We will continue to serve you through online resources and videos. If you are able to continue to support us, we would be most grateful. For all those who have been continued giving and those who have donated directly into
