Parish Masses Live Streaming Link
LINK TO LIVE MASSES PARISH FACEBOOK PAGE - www.facebook.com/NorthHarbourCatholic (Sundays 9.30am)
or YouTube (not live but available by 11am) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt8Dxm0ehFt-5r1ie9xOjLw
FACEBOOK LIVESTREAM INSTRUCTIONS
(for those without a facebook account)
SICK CALLS AND OTHER URGENT MATTERS
IF YOU NEED A PRIEST URGENTLY, PLEASE CALL THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER:
Business hours – Parish Office – 9949 4455
After hours (Evenings and weekends) – 0490 898 464
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE – Easter Faith…. ‘Letting Jesus go!’
Dear Friends,
If asked what we miss most at this time, our response would probably include physical contact. We need touch in our lives because we are bodily beings and we relate most intimately through the warmth of a handshake, the casual pat on the back, and the hugs and kisses that express and affirm the love that grows and strengthens us in family life and relationships and keeps us confident in who we are.
Sometimes I feel a bit flat when the Easter Season is over. I miss the great energy in the Scripture readings on Sundays and weekdays, particularly the development and experience of the Early Church in Acts where we witness the apostles and followers engaging with the remarkable message of Jesus and his Resurrection. The Ascension of Jesus marks his return to his Father but it reminds us of his bodily absence too. No doubt, the disciples also missed Jesus.
On our journey of Faith we need to experience Jesus’ presence, to know him in our daily lives. Recall St Peter’s words from last Sunday’s 2nd reading, ‘Reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts’ – and the invitation in faith for us to reverence the Lord Christ in the hearts of others too, as they do in us. I sense that we ‘understand’ what this means because it describes the depth which our Faith can reach. Jesus’ Ascension allowed the disciples to grow in faith and it can help us to understand where our faith sits in the overall scheme of things.
Parish Reaching Out.....
THANK YOU!
Sincere thanks to all parishioners for their generous, financial support of Parish and Priory. Your faithful commitment to the Parish and the Augustinians is deeply appreciated.
COPING WITH COVID-19 - Churches must observe Government guidelines for compliance around social distancing.and hand hygiene.
Access to Churches - St Kieran’s has been ‘reconfigured’ to enable compliance with the guidelines. Seating for use at Mass and private prayer has been clearly marked. St Cecilia’s will be rearranged as required. Please use sanitiser available at both churches.
Private Prayer - Churches will be open for private prayer, with a limit of 10 people in the church at any one time. Please ‘sign in’ each time you visit and take time to read instructions and follow any signage in the churches.
St Kieran’s Church – Open for private prayer Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 4.00pm and on Sundays from 11.30am.
St Cecilia’s Church – Open on Wednesday before and after the 9.00am Mass.
Weekday Masses - Please note times and guidelines for attending Mass.
St Kieran’s Church - Mass at 8.30am each weekday (except Wednesday).
St Cecilia’s Church – Mass at 9.00am on Wednesdays.
No more than 10 people may attend Mass at any one time, so we will need to observe the following procedure:
Sign-up at Office – Those wishing to attend a particular weekday Mass should phone the Parish Office (9949 4455) between 9.00am and 12 noon to put their name on the list. For now this is limited to two (2) Masses per person per week (10 person limit). On arrival, please tick off your name on the list in the church.
Communion in the Hand - For reasons of hygiene, all parishioners are requested to receive Communion in the hand.
LIVE STREAMING OF SUNDAY MASS – Until such time as the Government increases the number who can gather, Sunday Mass will continue to be live streamed from St Kieran’s at 9.30am. This reflects the Bishop’s view that live-streaming of Sunday Mass be retained as the most workable option for the time being to ensure parity amongst parishioners. The suspension of Sunday obligation remains for all Catholics.
Find the link on the Parish Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NorthHarbourCatholic/
YouTube link (not live) available after 11am https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt8Dxm0ehFt-5r1ie9xOjLw
The Charitable Works Fund
We are now holding our final CWF Appeal for this financial year. The CWF is working hard during this time and needs your support as much as ever.
Your tax deductible donations are distributed among 5 charities that provide faith based support to the people in the Diocese of Broken Bay. One of these charities is St Lucy’s School, located in Wahroonga which provides a Catholic, nurturing education for children with disabilities. David Raphael, School Principal, kindly provided us with an update…
St Lucy’s has continued to operate during the Covid-19 pandemic focusing on the health, wellbeing and safety of staff and students. Due to the critical need with our vulnerable families, we were pleased that St Lucy’s was allowed to stay open through Term 1 and we started Term 2 with approx. 80% student attendance. For St Lucy’s students, consistency, familiarity and security goes a long way to help them on their educational journey.
We encourage you to donate on line at https://www.givenow.com.au/cwf You will be asked when donating to choose your Parish, please take care to select North Harbour, as your donation will then count towards our Parish quota.
Donations can also be made to the Parish Bank Account (put CWF as reference). Donations are tax deductable
Account Name: Catholic Community of North Harbour
BSB: 062 784 Account No: 2847 8001
Pope Francis reflects: Christian prayer is intimate, trusting, confident
At his weekly General Audience on 13 May, Pope Francis reflected on the essential characteristics of prayer in his catechesis, and described prayer as universal, intimate, and entirely trusting in God. He said prayer is common to all people, no matter what their religion, and ‘probably even to those who profess no religion.’ In fact, the Pope recently demonstrated the universality of prayer. He invited people of all religions to take part in a day of prayer on Thursday 14 May to implore God for an end to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prayer flows from our heart: In his catechesis, Pope Francis said prayer involves the most intimate mystery of our being. Christian writers have always said prayer is ‘born within the secrecy of our beings, in that interior place called the “heart”.’ Our emotions, intelligence, and body all participate in prayer, though prayer cannot be identified with any one aspect of our being. ‘Every part of the human person prays,’ he said.
God is not shrouded in mystery: Prayer, said Pope Francis, is a yearning that takes us beyond ourselves as we seek some “other”. It is an “I” in search of a “You”. A Christian’s prayer, he added, begins with the revelation that the “You” we seek is not shrouded in mystery. “Christianity is the religion that continually celebrates the ‘manifestation’ of God, His epiphany.”
Intimate relationship: God has revealed Himself to us in His Son, Jesus Christ. So the prayer of a Christian brings us into relationship with God, without any fear or trepidation. ‘Christianity has banished any type of “feudal” relationship from the connection with God,’ he said.
Readings for The Ascension Yr A 24th May 2020
First Reading: Acts 1:1-11
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
Why are you standing here looking into the sky? Jesus has been taken into heaven.
In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. 'It is' he had said 'what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.'
FUNERALS AND WEDDINGS – NEW GUIDELINES
Funerals are permitted for groups of 20 people indoors and for 30 people outside (burial services), Weddings may be celebrated where the group includes the celebrant, the couple and 10 guests. Social distancing of 4 square metres per person and hand hygiene regulations apply.
Diocese of Broken Bay "Connected in Christ"
'Connected in Christ' is a DBB weekly resource, allowing generations to remain connected even while physically separate. Grandchildren can share their discoveries with grandparents and vice versa.
We hope that, in some small way, this resource will bring hope, joy and comfort to the people of Broken Bay as, together, we navigate our way through these unprecedented times.
Click here to download this week's Connected in Christ resource.
Family Resources
If any of our parish families would like some online Catholic resources for their children to use, please go to The Broken Bay Diocese Website (www.bbcatholic.org.au). The CCD Team have created some beautiful online lessons based on the Catechist “Walking with Jesus” learning program. They are very easy for the children to use and beautifully created- most of them are on Powerpoint. To access all activities, click on the link : Catholic SRE Online
Parish Family Business - from Fr Dave
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Parish ‘Family Business’! Previously, we included information about the impact of the current situation on Parish finances, particularly in light of there being no collections taking place whilst our church buildings are closed. We expressed our gratitude for those making contributions during the present crisis and included some additional ideas for supporting the Parish. Sincere thanks to those who have responded generously to this appeal. Parish account details are included below for your information.
We are very much aware that many parishioners are facing hardship and loss of income through sudden changes in employment conditions, loss of jobs in industries, forced closure of businesses, and the knock-on effect in many sectors of the economy.
Prompt Government relief measures are very welcome and hopefully are lightening the burden of uncertainty we all face. While the Parish’s income has decreased in recent weeks, we are in a position to avail ourselves of some government initiatives to enable us to continue to employ staff and keep the Parish functioning.
Some families are experiencing anxiety about schooling arrangements where decisions are in process and parents are being advised progressively of plans for the term ahead. For some, school fees may prove a heavy financial burden but I hope that we can maintain enrolments particularly in our Parish schools. Parents with financial concerns should contact the respective Principals after school resumes.
MESSAGE TO THE PARISH COMMUNITY – From the Parish Pastoral Council
Dear Friends,
We are writing to you on behalf of the Parish Pastoral Council of North Harbour Parish. We have all experienced a complete change in our lives over the past months, due to events we could never have anticipated that bring concern to many parishioners and their families.
Change of any kind can be challenging for us, we like to feel we are in control of our present, and to an extent our future, but this pandemic has taken that control from all of us. If nothing else, it has made us realize how dependent we are on one another, on our leaders and our God.
We often hear the phrase “We are all in this together.” Even though there is implied support in those words, for some the enforced isolation and dependence on others causes disharmony, financial anxiety and loneliness. For others there are increased responsibilities, busyness and stress.
One suggestion is to nominate four goals to achieve each day: (1) Remain prayerful, (2) Keep to a routine – rise early and prepare for the day, (3) Get adequate exercise daily, and (4) Try to sleep well at night. We invite you to incorporate some of these suggestions into your own day.
CATECHIST CLASSES TERM 2
It is highly unlikely that we will be teaching in Term 2. I will pass on any information to you about Catechist Class Commencement Dates as they come to me. You can find more information in an email sent to you on 22nd April. In the meantime, please pray for your students. All of our students will have access to wonderful online classes if they wish to access them. Special thanks to the Staff in the Diocese Office who have worked tirelessly on this Home-based learning. Ursula Halloway—Catechist Co-ordinator
CatholicCare’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For information on services available see website
https://www.catholiccaredbb.org.au/covid-19/ or call our Brookvale office on 8043 2600.
PRAYER UNITED AGAINST THE CORONAVIRUS - Provided by the Augustinians:
Almighty and merciful God, refreshment in our weariness, support in our weakness, comfort in our sadness.
We come to you to invoke your mercy, since today we still experience the fragility of the human condition
in the presence of a new viral pandemic. Listen to the prayer we offer, comfort your children,
save us from the present distress and open our hearts to be people of hope.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Information about the current Sacramental Program
- Welcome to the Sacramental Program 2019-2020
- Registration Form 2019-2020
- Photocard
- Parish News
- Baptism of Young Children Program
- Nurturing Faith
- Stations of the Cross
Sacramental Program Update for parents with children in Year 2 and Year 3Due to government restrictions and social distancing protocols still in place all planned Children’s Sacramental Program meetings will be postponed/rescheduled until further notice: This means the:
- ·Sacramental Program Information Sessions for parents of children in Year 2 scheduled for Tuesday 5 May or Wednesday 6 May are postponed;
- ·Enrolment for the 2020/2021 Program scheduled for Tuesday 19 May is postponed;
- ·Confirmation Sessions for Parents scheduled for Tuesday 16 June or 17 June are postponed;
- ·Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday 15 August will be rescheduled by the Bishop’s Office;
- ·Celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation for children in Year 3 will be rescheduled;
- ·First Communion Sessions for parents with children in Yr 3 scheduled for Tues 12 May or Wed 13 May are postponed;
- ·Celebration of First Communion in June will be rescheduled.
Parents of children in Year 3 please note that we are planning to complete the full program this year and parents of children in Year 2 please note we are planning to open enrolments later in the term.
These challenging times of the coronavirus have called for different approaches in how parents engage with their children. The parish is exploring alternative ways we may be able to accompany and engage with our parents in the preparation of our children for the sacraments which may include online registration/enrolments and preparation. Parents will be kept up to date in coming weeks.
Please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on 0408 866 521 if you have any questions or need clarification on the above.
Janette Davidson
Children's Liturgy - new volunteers needed
The children’s liturgy ministry is always looking for new mums, grandparents and carers to be involved in this wonderful and rewarding ministry. Being a volunteer in this ministry involves helping with children’s liturgy that takes place on Sundays at the churches of St Cecilia and St Kieran’s. You will be placed on roster alongside another volunteer who is currently doing children’s liturgy to help out about once to twice a term.