NOVEMBER - MONTH OF THE HOLY SOULS
Books of Remembrance are still available in our churches near the altar for us to record the names of those we especially wish to remember this year as well as envelopes for Mass Offerings to have Masses offered for the repose of their souls. Envelopes can be placed in the collection baskets or left at the Parish Office.
SICK CALLS AND OTHER URGENT MATTERS
IF YOU NEED A PRIEST URGENTLY,
PLEASE CALL THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER:
Business hours 9am-4pm Mon - Fri – Parish Office – 9949 4455
After hours (Evenings and weekends) – 0490 898 464
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE - Advent Begins! - ‘The Hospitality of God!’
Dear Friends,
In these most challenging of times, we may find it difficult to sense the freshness of the Gospel message and the incredible goodness of God in sending us his Son Jesus. As we take our Advent journey and prepare for Christmas, a reflection on ‘The Hospitality of God’ may be a helpful thread as we get in touch with these great events. Hospitality is the lens through which St Luke sees the life of Jesus. In this Gospel for Year C, we discover images that the other evangelists do not record such as the accounts of the Annunciation and Visitation.
Luke did not know Jesus personally, so he drew on the memories of those who knew Jesus in his public ministry. His gospel is the result of shared faith and so his questions may help us as we too seek to know Jesus better – What is Jesus like? What is his message? What is the God of Jesus like? How do we come to believe in Jesus and experience the glory of God?
Hospitality carries strong overtones of the generosity of God, his joy at his Son’s birth and our birth too. Luke opens up this theme in recording Jesus’ special attention to the outcast and the needy, the ways in which he shows Jesus at prayer. Jesus reveals God as compassionate, generous and forgiving, and raises the decency and dignity of the marginalised. Luke will be our companion during the weeks and months ahead.
Every gospel account is coloured by faith in the Resurrection of Jesus, and so we don’t need to pretend at Christmas that Christ hasn’t come or hasn’t risen from the dead. Rather, we open our hearts to let Jesus enter that place where we may not have allowed him to go before. Luke guides us through this Advent Season of longing and expectation, darkness and light.
Vinnies Christmas Appeal
This weekend the St. Vincent de Paul, at North Harbour Parish at St Kieran’s, commence their Christmas Appeal, with speakers at each Mass. This Appeal, together with the Winter Appeal, are the main source of revenue with which the Society attempts to respond to the needs of the poor within our community.
The World Day of the Poor established by Pope Francis recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. Pope Francis on 14 November 2021 said, inter alia, “…. In short, believers, when they want to see Jesus in person and touch him with their hands, know where to turn. The poor are a sacrament of Christ; they represent his person and point to him….”
Donations can be via cash “in the bucket” at Mass, an envelope this weekend or next or utilizing the donation sheet in the Bulletin.
WINE AND CHEESE INFORMATION EVENING
Thursday 2 December at 7.00pm in the Parish Centre For those who would like to learn more about the Catholic faith. This will be an opportunity to discover you are not alone in your yearning to be a follower of Christ who transforms our lives with love. For further information please contact Janette on 0408 866 521 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
COOK REQUIRED
4 days a week - Tuesday to Friday
St Kieran’s Priory, Manly Vale
Great part-time job in a friendly and welcoming environment preparing the midday meal for our Priests resident at the Priory.
Duties include menu planning, shopping, preparing and serving the meal on site.
Role currently takes approximately 3 hours per day.
If you are interested or would like more information please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 9949 4455.
SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION – CONGRATULATIONS!
Our Parish Community congratulates the 190 children who received the Sacrament of Confirmation this month. Parents, families and sponsors have contributed generously of their time and interest during the preparation phase and we thank them, school and parish staff, and parishioners who assisted in many ways, especially our Sacramental Coordinator Janette Davidson for her careful organisation and leadership. Augustinians Frs Paul, Jepser and Dave conferred the Sacrament at 8 ceremonies, a true privilege and a joy! Please continue to keep our children in your prayers during this time of grace.
PARISH CANDLES
Thank you wonderful Parishioners for your words and acts of support and encouragement as we travel together through lockdowns and restrictions. We hope this short video brings you joy.
As our candles burned during our livestream masses & prayers we were reminded of Christ burning in our hearts and in our community.
WELCOME BROTHER TU OSA!
This past Thursday, Brother Tu received the Ministry of Acolyte from the Provincial Fr Peter Jones at the 8.30am Mass. Basically this Ministry allows him to serve at the altar. Originally one of the Minor Orders (Acolyte, Lector, Porter and Exorcist) received by those preparing for the Priesthood, Acolyte is now available to both men and women. In our Parish, we already have some Acolytes but generally group adult servers under the title Senior Servers. Congratulations to Tu on receiving this Ministry.
Are you interested in becoming a Catechist?
If you are feeling hesitant or underqualified, try to remember that:
- ·God is with you and helps you along the way.
- ·Your thoughts and personal experiences are unique and of value to others.
- ·God is longing for you to share His word and your faith with others.
- ·The children of our parish and their families have chosen Catholic Catechist classes and it would be a shame if there wasn’t a teacher to lead them– we are all volunteers and not professional teachers.
- ·Often, when we enter a ministry to help others, we end up receiving gifts that we could not have imagined would come to us.
- ·The Holy Spirit will give you everything you need to do God’s work.
SCHOOL DAYS AND TIMES:
Parish Annual Report
Feedback on the Parish Annual Report and the short video containing highlights and information on the past year’s activities has been very positive. Parishioners should have received an emailed copy of the Report by now along with the video link. Some hard copies are available in our churches this weekend. Our thanks again to Ed Coney and Jacky Worthington for their work on the video production.
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgQ36J332S4
Link to written report:
https://www.northharbourcatholic.org.au/images/stories/site/downloads/Parish_Annual_Report_2020-21.pdf
PLENARY COUNCIL- LET THE SPIRIT GUIDE US…
PLENARY COUNCIL- LET THE SPIRIT GUIDE US….
Looking to the Future...
As we reflect on our pastoral reality and discern the “signs of the times”, the task ahead of us seems enormous, as we face challenging issues and difficult questions. But these also present enormous opportunities, as we are invited to renew our commitment to spreading the joy of the Gospel.
As Pope Francis reminds us in Evangelii Gaudium: "Whenever we make the effort to return to the source and to recover the original freshness of the Gospel, new avenues arise, new paths of creativity open up, with different forms of expression, more eloquent signs and words with new meaning for today's world. Every form of authentic evangelization is always new”. Taken from Instrumentum Laboris.
Plenary Council- led by The Spirit and drawn from the voices of the people of God.
The Parish Library.
The recent period of Lockdown has afforded Fr. Abel, with the valued assistance of parishioner John Kiely, the opportunity to refresh our Parish Library by sorting and cataloguing a large quantity of books, donated over recent years, and placing them on the shelves for easier access.
Our Library’s focus is on books of a religious or spiritual nature, including Scripture study, Devotional practice, Theology, Philosophy, Pastoral Care, Psychology, Liturgy, Sacraments, Church history, Saints, Biographies, etc. Most books are in good condition and available to borrow.
NEW PRINCIPALS IN NORTH HARBOUR - 2022
Catholic Schools Broken Bay has announced the appointment of new Principals to our Parish Schools in the Catholic Community of North Harbour, commencing in January 2022:
Balgowlah - Ms Louise O’Brien has been appointed Principal of St Cecilia’s School. Louise has 40 years experience in Catholic education, 27 years as Principal, and is currently Principal of St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Paddington. Prior to that she was Principal of Blessed Sacrament Primary (Clifton Gardens) and St Mary-St Joseph Primary (Maroubra). We look forward to welcoming Louise to St Cecilia’s.
Manly Vale – Ms Anna Marsella has been appointed Principal of St Kieran’s School. Anna brings 37 years experience in Catholic education to this position, 21 years as Principal in 3 schools. Anna is currently Principal of St Mary’s Primary School, Concord and prior to that she was Principal of St John Vianney (Greenacre) and St Joseph’s (Rockdale). We look forward to welcoming Anna to St Kieran’s.
Congratulations – The Catholic Community of North Harbour extends sincere congratulations to Louise and Anna as they prepare to lead our Parish School Communities in 2022.
Vinnies Youth Newsletter
This is the link to the Vinnies Metropolitan Schools and Youth Term 4 2021 Newsletter:
bit.ly/VinniesSchoolYouthNewsTerm42021
The 2021 edition of the Mini Vinnies Formation Program (MVFP) for students in Years 4 – 6 is available for those who wish to undertake Social Justice Formation in their own time. For more information please go to https://bit.ly/VinniesMVFP
PARISH FAMILY CANDLES
Parish family candles are available from the Parish office. If you are unable to collect one, please call or email the Parish and we will arrange to have a candle delivered to you.