Granville Catholic Church Record Vol. 2. No. 1. January 1, 2017 Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

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1 Granville Catholic Church Record Vol. 2. No. 1. January 1, 2017 Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God The Official Bulletin of Holy Trinity Parish at Granville and Holy Family Parish at East Granville The Solemnity of MARY the HOLY MOTHER of GOD The title Mother of God, together with the title Blessed Virgin, is the oldest on which all the other titles with which Our Lady was venerated are based, and it continues to be invoked from generation to generation in the East and in the West. A multitude of hymns and a wealth of prayers refer to the mystery of her divine motherhood, such as a Marian antiphon of the Christmas season, Alma Redemptoris mater, with which we pray in these words: You, in the wonder of all creation, have brought forth your Creator, M o t h e r e v e r v i r g i n. L e t u s contemplate Mary, ever-virgin Mother of the Only-Begotten Son of the Father; let us learn from her to welcome the Child who was born for us in Bethlehem. If we recognise in the Child born of her the Eternal Son of God and accept Him as our one Saviour, we can be called and we really are children of God: sons in the Son. St. Paul the Apostle writes: God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4). It was Pope Paul VI who moved to 1 st January the Feast of the Divine Motherhood of Mary, which was formerly celebrated on 11 th October. Today s feast preserves a strongly Christological content because, it may be said, before the Mother, it concerns the Son, Jesus, true God and true Man. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Happy New Year.

2 THE PARISH OFFICE HOLY FAMILY CHURCH HOLY TRINITY CHURCH Address 1 Randle Street, Granville, N.S.W T (02) E granville@parracatholic.org W W Holy Trinity Parish, Granville Holy Family Parish, East Granville TYM Granville Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Andrew Bass PP Assistant Priest Rev. Fr. Thomas Bui Director of Music Mr. John Portelli Sacraments and Youth Co-ordinator Miss Rosette Chidiac Parish Secretaries Mrs. Sonia Hoetzinger Mrs. Judy Smith Mrs. Annette Wirz Principal of Holy Family School Mrs. Yvette Baird Principal of Holy Trinity School Mrs. Helen Boyer Principal of Delany College Mr. Rob Muscat Missionary Sisters of Mary, Queen of the World Australia Sr. Justina Pham T (02) Holy Mass Tuesday, 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, 9:15 a.m. Thursday, 9:15 a.m. Friday, 9:15 a.m. Saturday, 6:00 p.m. Sunday, 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. JMJ Holy Rosary Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Children s Liturgy Third Sunday of the Month, 9:30 a.m. Rosters Altar Society Group 3: S. Koopelian and A. Brown Readers Vigil Lindsay Nakhoul 8:00 a.m. Silva Koopelian 9:30 a.m. Vicky Devine Counters B. Bradbery and M. Dominguez Bus Driver Kevin Gorton CONFESSIONS Holy Family Church Saturday, 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Holy Trinity Church Saturday, 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. First Friday of the month, 6:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. Holy Mass Monday, 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, 8:15 a.m. Thursday, 8:15 a.m. Friday, 9:15 a.m. Saturday, 8:15 a.m. Saturday, 6:00 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Traditional Latin Mass First Thursday of the month, 7:00 p.m. Holy Mass and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. First Friday of the month, 7:00 p.m. Ghanaian Chaplaincy Mass Second and last Sunday of the month, 11:30 a.m. Vietnamese Chaplaincy Mass Sunday, 5:00 p.m. Children s Liturgy Not during the school holidays Rosters Church Cleaning Group 2: E. Bugeja, C. Maiden, P. Manson, R. Daher and S. Gittany Readers Vigil Katherine Jenner, Mary Mbugua, and Gerry Pinto 7:30 a.m. Sisters 9:30 a.m. Tanya Martin, Peter Sultana, and Belinda Martin PRAYERS FOR THE SICK IN MEMORIAM Please remember in your prayers those who are sick including Archbishop Anthony Fisher, Janelle Allan, Marlene Ashton, Ann Blesson, Thomas Brady, Leslie Cotter, Eileen Dean, Joyce Dwyer, Evangeline Grabato, Elizabeth Hicks, Paul Hoes, Jacob Lee, Ester Matos, Tony Moussa, Ben Nursoo, Flory Pinto, Peter Rahme, Anna Saunig, and those who care for them. Saint Raphael, who are called the Remedy of God and the Angel of Health, pray for them. Amen. In your charity, pray for the souls of all the faithful departed, and particularly for the following deceased. The Arribas family, Laurence Barbeau, Marie Beatson, Federick Camilleri, Thora Violet Csoke, George Dib, Damia Dib, Michael Fahd, Joe Gallas, Mary Gallas, Raymond Gee, Teresa Geracitano, the Jabbour family, Joe Joseph, May Joseph, the Khoury family, George Khoury, Hanne Khoury, Maria, Jack McIntyre, Charles Micallef, Sam Moussa, Guy Pitel, the Raad family, Yasmine Wehbe, Phyllis Yott, Joanne Younan.

3 HOLY FAMILY CHURCH Thank you to those who assisted with the Christmas celebrations. In particular, thank you to the Takchi Family Claudette, Daniel, Kristina, Maryanne, and Andrew for their wonderful decoration of the church. They spent hours and days preparing the church and we can say that the church has never looked more beautiful. Their efforts made it truly fitting for the celebration of the birth of Our Lord. Thank you, also to those who organised and assisted with the children s nativity play before the vigil Mass on Christmas Eve and to those children who joined in the play. And thank you to the musicians, the choir, the altar servers, and the readers for their participation in the Masses as we celebrated the great solemnity of the nativity of Our Lord. HOLY FAMILY PARISH Christmas APPEAL St. Francis Social Services House of Welcome at St. Joseph s Convent In support of St. Francis Social Services opening of their House of Welcome at St. Jospeh s Convent we are seeking the support of tradespeople and businesses. The convent is in need of extensive repairs and maintenance i n c l u d i n g e l e c t r i c a l w o r k, plumbing, painting, landscaping, and kitchen installation. If you are able to support any of these scheduled works we would be grateful for your support. Partnering with the House of Welcome is a way for parishioners to reach out and create change. You can be a Welcome Partner in our Food Drive program or you can become a member of the Welcome Friend Society and support our work or you can use your skills. I f y o u w o u l d l i k e m o r e information then please visit the House of Welcome website at or telephone If you can assist please contact the parish office on or granville@parracatholic.org. Thank you for your generous support and contributions.

4 First Friday Mass and Exposition Evening with Our Lord This Thursday, the first Thursday of the month, we continue to offer the Traditional Latin Mass at 7:00 p.m. Join us for this, the Mass of the Ages, and delve into the rich tradition of the Church. Pope Benedict XVI said of this: the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman use, enriched not only the faith and piety but also the culture of many peoples. It is known, in fact, that the Latin liturgy of the Church in its various forms, in each century of the Christian era, has been a spur to the spiritual life of many saints, has reinforced many peoples in the virtue of religion and fecundated their piety. The beauty of the Christmas celebrations would not have been possible without the help of Rosette Chidiac and John Portelli who spent over a week in the church in preparation. In particular, thanks to John who arranged the design of the decoration of the church for which we have been overwhelmed with compliments from our own parishioners and even those from other parishes. Thank you also to Doris Portelli and Mary Vella for the preparation of the stunning red banners that adorn the sanctuary. Thank you, again, to Doris for growing the vetch, a traditional Maltese wheat, for the crib. And thank you to all those who assisted with Carols by Candlelight and the Masses including the Holy Trinity Parish Choir and the musicians, the altar servers, and the readers. We have a reputation for the most noble celebrations all for the glory of God. Join us this Friday evening at Holy Trinity Church as we continue our first Friday devotions in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in reparation for the sins of humanity. Confessions will be heard from 6:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., the Holy Rosary will be prayed at 6:30 p.m., Holy Mass will be offered at 7:00 p.m. followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Never miss an opportunity to pray before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and to receive the abundant graces that pour forth from His Sacred Heart. Make the devotion of the first nine Fridays a part of your spiritual life.

5 H APPY FEAST DAY M ISSIONARY SISTERS of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Q UEEN OF THE WORLD AUSTRALIA On this, the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, we celebrate the feast day of our very own Sisters the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the World. When, in 1975, the Sisters arrived in Australia they first lived at St. Joseph s novitiate in Baulkham Hills. After two years they moved to Lawson, but bushfires in 1977 destroyed their convent. It was this disaster that brought them to Granville on 16 th February, Since arriving in Granville, the Sisters have occupied St. Joseph s Convent and, more recently, the former Patrician Brothers monastery in William Street. They have, since then, been integral members of Holy Trinity Parish. At the heart of the vocation of the Sisters is the call to follow Jesus on His way to the Cross and to live the life of consecration under the protection of our Mother Mary as models of complete fidelity to God. The Sisters place a strong emphasis on the life of prayer as essential for the fruitfulness of their apostolic work in the Church. The Sisters firm commitment to the Granville community, to the parish and to the Vietnamese community has made them a backbone of Holy Trinity Parish. In the Granville community the Sisters apostolic work includes the Golden Rose Childcare Centre on Waratah Street, and the CMP Store on Jamieson Street, selling religious and devotional items. Our parish is blessed to have such holy and committed Sisters who dedicate so much to us and are a constant source of love and fun. The Sisters can always be found in the church either playing the organ, singing and reading at Mass, assisting the children s liturgy, putting up the banners, helping out with all the social activities like our parish fair and barbecues, and generously lending statues to adorn the church and to aid our devotions at Lent, Easter, and Christmas We wish the Sisters a very happy and holy feast day. We pray for them and with them as they undertake their spiritual retreat. And we ask that almighty God and the Blessed Virgin Mary bless and protect them always. John Portelli O R G A N I S T Weddings and Special Occasions Available to Travel to Your Church Telephone John.Portelli@granvilleparish.org

6 Saints & STUFF The Holy Innocents The massacre of the Holy Innocents is the infanticide by Herod the Great, the Romanappointed King of the Jews, following the birth of Christ. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all male children under the age of two in and around Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi. It is understood as the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy: It was then that the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled: A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loudly lamenting: it was Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they were no more (Matthew 2:17-18) The Holy Innocents, although Jewish, are martyrs of Christ, for they were killed out of hatred of our Lord. And so the Church prays on their feast day on December 28 th : Grant, O Lord, abundant salvation to your faithful as they receive your holy gifts on the feast day of these, your Saints, who, though still unable to profess your Son in speech, were crowned with heavenly grace on account of his birth. CATECHISM of the CATHOLIC CHURCH Mary, Mother of God 963 T h e V i r g i n M a r y i s acknowledged and honoured as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer She is clearly the mother of the members of Christ since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head. [She is] Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church. 971 All generations will call me blessed : The Church s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship. The Church rightly honours the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honoured with the title of Mother of God, to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs This very s p e c i a l d e v o t i o n d i f f e r s essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration. The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an epitome of the whole Gospel, express this devotion to the Virgin Mary. CATHOLIC Trivia WORLD DAY OF PEACE The Church celebrates New Years Day, January 1 st, as the World Day of Peace. It was established by Pope Paul VI in 1967, being inspired by the encyclical Pacem in Terris of Pope John XXIII and with reference to his own encyclical Populorum Progressio. The World Day of Peace has often been an occasion on which Popes have made magisterial declarations of social doctrine. Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II made important declarations on the d ay i n e a c h y e a r o f t h e i r pontificates regarding the United Nations, human rights, women's rights, labour unions, economic development, the right to life, international diplomacy, peace in the Holy Land, globalisation, and terrorism. The day itself, first established by the Church, is recognised and honoured worldwide as a day for the promotion of peace around the world, echoing the words of the angels to the shepherds and prayed in the Gloria of the Holy Mass: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. 28A South Street, Granville (02)

7 JUNIOR WORDSEARCH The Lord will protect and you B N S N G D M L P E B P J H L S M O S E S N U W V M H W M N H Z T E N Y Z O T N U Z R Mary, Mother of God, Year A, B and C L I E S F U H V K S H A X J M Q O P P E A C E B L E S S H D N K M O P A N H W S O A N G E L K Z E W U X P S H E E P N J R I Y B A B Y K Q V Q E L C K U M A W A W X E V K B P R O T E C T Z M E R C Y C Q N L S D L N L S P E A K B N W Z Y R Y P E Y J Q Z D S H E P H E R D S S T N K G S A O P D F Y O V F S X T R A S I U G V K J R J L M X M A R Y O K O R J K M E E P Try to find these words: angel baby bless kindness Mary mercy Moses peace protect sheep shepherds speak Nm 6:22-27 Ps 67:1-2.5 and 7 R.v.2a Lk 2: Creative Ministry Resources Pty Ltd

8 Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God The Readings First Reading The Book of Numbers (6:22-27) The Lord spoke to Moses and said, Say this to Aaron and his sons: This is how you are to bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace. This is how they are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them. Responsorial Psalm (Ps 66:2-3, 5, 6, 8.. v. 2). May God bless us in his mercy. God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us. So will your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn your saving help.. Let the nations be glad and exult for you rule the world with justice. With fairness you rule the peoples. you guide the nations on earth.. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. May God still give us his blessing till the ends of the earth revere him.. Second Reading The Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (4:4-7) When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons. The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, Abba, Father, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave any more; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir. Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia! In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; now he speaks to us through his Son. Alleluia! Gospel The Gospel of Luke (2:16-21) The shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told. When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception. So your strength is failing you? Why don t you tell your mother about it?