The Official Bulletin of Holy Trinity Parish at Granville and Holy Family Parish at East Granville. Advent. The Nativity Scene

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1 Granville Catholic Church Record Vol. 3. No. 51 December 23, th Sunday of Advent The Official Bulletin of Holy Trinity Parish at Granville and Holy Family Parish at East Granville Advent SIGNS and SYMBOLS The Advent Wreath The four candles that light the wreath represent the four weeks of Advent. A tradition is that each week represents one thousand years, totalling the 4,000 years from Adam and Eve until the birth of Christ. Three candles are violet and one is rose. The violet candles in particular symbolise the prayer, penance, and s a c r i fi c e s a n d g o o d s w o r k s undertaken at this time. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, when the priest also wears rose vestments at Mass. The wreath is usually made of various evergreens, signifying continuous life. Even these evergreens have a traditional meaning: the laurel signifies victory over persecution and suffering; pine, holly, and yew, mean immortality; and cedar, strength and healing. Holly also has a special Christian symbolism: the prickly leaves remind us of the crown of thorns, and one English legend tells us that the cross on which Christ hung was made of holly. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolises the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ. The Nativity Scene On Christmas Eve in 1223, St. Francis of Assisi created the first nativity in the Italian city of Greccio. St. Francis celebrated the birth of Our Lord in a cave outside the town with a scene of a hay-filled manger with an ox and a donkey. The figures which make up these scenes are themselves symbols of our faith and tell us the story of the birth of Christ. The crib filled with hay tells us of the feeding trough for animals in which our Lord was born. The Blessed Virgin Mary kneels beside her Son, adoring Him, and St. Joseph stands by them to guard them and to protect them as He protects the Church. The angels above, the messengers of God on high, who revealed to the shepherds, the lowest of the low, of the birth of the Saviour of Israel. The three kings from the East, a sign that this was also the birth of the Saviour of the world. And then there are the figures of the ox and the donkey, taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah who wrote: The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master s crib: but Israel has not known me, and my people have not understood. The Christmas Tree Legend tells us that the first C h r i s t m a s t r e e c a m e f r o m St. Boniface, 1,300 years ago, in the 8th century. The tree itself is also a reminder of the tree in the Garden of Eden from which Eve took the forbidden fruit and tempted Adam and so caused the downfall of mankind. It is a reminder of the irony of our faith. That from death comes life, from darkness comes light, and that the tree that caused our damnation became the tree on which hung our salvation. The Christmas tree, traditionally an evergreen tree, symbolises eternal life, the immortality of the soul. The tree, reaching upwards to the sky, points to heaven, from where our salvation comes. The lights that decorate the tree are a sign of that light the came into the world, to break through the darkness of sin and to illuminate the world with the light of truth. As with all symbols of the Church these things matter and serve to remind us in a tangible way of the truths of our faith and that our faith should be embedded in the day to day moments of our lives.

THE PARISH OFFICE HOLY FAMILY CHURCH HOLY TRINITY CHURCH Address 200 The Trongate, South Granville, N.S.W. 2142 T 0497 190 444 E granville@parracatholic.org Parish Priest Rev. Fr.

Lana Leatherby Sacraments and T.Y.M. Co-ordinator Miss Rosette Chidiac Webpage Co-ordinator Mr. Frank Bugeja Piety Shop Mrs. Mary Bazelmans Mrs. Elsie Bugeja Mrs.

Yvette Baird Principal of Holy Trinity School Mrs. Helen Boyer Principal of Delany College Mr. Rob Muscat Holy Mass Tuesday, 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, 9:15 a.m. Thursday, 9:15 a.m. Friday, 9:15 a.m. Saturday, 9:15 a.

2 THE PARISH OFFICE HOLY FAMILY CHURCH HOLY TRINITY CHURCH Address 200 The Trongate, South Granville, N.S.W T E granville@parracatholic.org Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Andrew Bass PP Business and Projects Manager Mr. John Portelli Director of Music Mr. John Portelli Acolytes Co-ordinator Mr. Jim Newell Catechist Co-ordinators Mr. Joe Elias Mrs. Lana Leatherby Sacraments and T.Y.M. Co-ordinator Miss Rosette Chidiac Webpage Co-ordinator Mr. Frank Bugeja Piety Shop Mrs. Mary Bazelmans Mrs. Elsie Bugeja Mrs. Christine Tembo Miss Thorie Tembo Mrs. Annette Wirz Missionary Sisters of Mary, Queen of the World Australia Sr. Justina Pham T (02) Principal of Holy Family School Mrs. Yvette Baird Principal of Holy Trinity School Mrs. Helen Boyer Principal of Delany College Mr. Rob Muscat Holy Mass Tuesday, 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, 9:15 a.m. Thursday, 9:15 a.m. Friday, 9:15 a.m. Saturday, 9:15 a.m. Sunday, 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Wednesday, 6:00 p.m. Holy Rosary Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Children s Liturgy Third Sunday of the Month, 8:30 a.m. Rosters Altar Society Group 6: T. Taufa, L. Tolu, N. Taufa, A. Mateo Readers 8:30 a.m. Anna Cox 5:00 p.m. Claudette Takchi Counters L. Barraket, N. Barraket, P. Lawry Bus Driver John McIntyre CONFESSIONS Holy Trinity Church Saturday, 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Holy Family Church Sunday, 4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Holy Mass Monday, 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, 8:15 a.m. Thursday, 8:15 a.m. Friday, 8:15 a.m. Saturday, 8:15 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Sunday, 10:00 a.m. Holy Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. First Friday of the month, 7:00 p.m. Traditional Latin Mass First Thursday 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 No children s liturgy during school holidays Rosters Church Cleaning Group 3: Thi Vi Vu and the Vietnamese community Readers Vigil Rosette Chidiac, Gerry Pinto, Rebecca Hanson 10:00 a.m. Mary Georges, Peter Sultana, Sisters PRAYERS FOR THE SICK IN MEMORIAM Janelle Allan, Marlene Ashton, John Augustus, Ann Blesson, Antonia Bonaci, Vincenzo Colosimo, Leslie Cotter, Eileen Dean, Carmel Galea, Samir Gibrine, Evangeline Grabato, John Graham, Thomas Hayek, Elizabeth Hicks, Ruth La Rosa, Jacob Lee, Ester Matos, Scott Moulton, Tony Moussa, Ben Nursoo, John Pickering, Flory Pinto, Don Provest, Peter Rahme, Anna Saunig, Therese Smeal, Phil Thompson, Ricardo Tognini, Miriam Welangoda and those who care for them. Saint Raphael, who are called the Remedy of God and the Angel of Health, pray for them. Amen. Roberto Arribas, Miklina Azzopardi, Elena Bassano, Kathleen Bradbery, Paul Bradbery, Jim Brown, Diego Canovo, Dib Family, Diane Dib, George Dib, Joe Gallas, Mary Gallas, Ellen Gobbi, Joe Grech, Sam Grech, Jack Hage, Joseph Hage, Jabbouri family, Marie Ladkani, Valeriano La Rosa, Anthony Magro, Fronzeene Malkoun, Mona Malkoun, Domingo Marbella, Maryse Mariasson, Charles Micallef, Sam Moussa, Samantha Moussa, Zayden Moussa, Joseph Nammour, Maree Nammour Tabet. Ray Watts, Jill Elizabeth Williams, Dib Zaiter, Maroun Aboud Zeid.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH Granville granvilleparish.org.

m. on Christmas Eve please contact the parish office this week or leave a message on our Facebook page. For those interested you will be contacted with details regarding a rehearsal time.

The Holy Trinity Church nativity has become very well known across this diocese and in the Archdiocese as one of the best nativity scenes.

To prepare this nativity takes days of work and weeks of preparation to arrange the design.

3 HOLY TRINITY CHURCH Granville granvilleparish.org.au Holy Trinity Holy Trinity Parish App Children s Nativity Play If you are interested in having your child perform in a nativity play before the vigil Mass at 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve please contact the parish office this week or leave a message on our Facebook page. For those interested you will be contacted with details regarding a rehearsal time. Thank You for the Nativity Scene Thank you to John Portelli and Rosette Chidiac for preparing the beautiful nativity scene. The Holy Trinity Church nativity has become very well known across this diocese and in the Archdiocese as one of the best nativity scenes. It draws visitors from neighbouring parishes and from parishes across Sydney as people come to pray before the crib of Our Lord. To prepare this nativity takes days of work and weeks of preparation to arrange the design. Take a moment to pray before this scene of Our Lord s nativity and adore Him and beseech the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph for your family and for the parish. Thank You Thank you to John Portelli, D i r e c t o r o f M u s i c, f o r h i s arrangement of the stunning Carols by Candlelight service last Friday evening. It takes months of hard work to prepare this service. It was, as always, a beautiful concert filled with incredible organ music, traditional and contemporary carols, readings telling the history of salvation, projected images of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Child, and all lit simply by candlelight. In particular, thank you to the soloists Bregitte Lahood, Maryanne Takchi, and Maria De Leon, and the members of the choir. And thank you, also, to Raphaella Chidiac, Reanne Chidiac, Belinda Martin, Tanya Martin, Anne Nguyen, and Elias Sleiman for reading, and also to the members of the Trinitarians Youth Ministry for lighting the people s candles, and to Rosette Chidiac for filming the service. Parish Office Hours During the Holidays The parish office will be closed f o r n o r m a l b u s i n e s s f r o m Wednesday, 26 December to Friday, 11 January and will open again on Tuesday, 15 January. During this time, if needed, leave a message and it will be attended to when the office opens. As always, Fr. Andrew can be contacted in genuine emergencies on the emergency only phone number Please respect that this phone number is for genuine emergencies only. This number is available on the voice mail message of the parish office. Adoration and Mass Next Tuesday Evening There will not be the usual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Holy Mass next Tuesday evening, 1 January. Holy Mass will, however, be offered at Holy Trinity Church at 8:15 a.m. and at Holy Family Church at 9:15 a.m. for the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God and for New Year s Day.

HOLY FAMILY CHURCH EAST GRANVILLE eastgranvilleparish.org.au Children s Nativity Play The children s nativity play will be performed prior to the vigil Mass at 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

If you don t have a costume like this children are asked to wear a white shirt and jeans and costume parts can be made available for them to wear.

Danny, Barry, and Claudette spent a few days putting up the lights around the outside of the church.

4 HOLY FAMILY CHURCH EAST GRANVILLE eastgranvilleparish.org.au Children s Nativity Play The children s nativity play will be performed prior to the vigil Mass at 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. If your child is interested in participating please arrive at the church between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. for a rehearsal. Children are invited to dress as angels or shepherds. If you don t have a costume like this children are asked to wear a white shirt and jeans and costume parts can be made available for them to wear. Thank You Thank you to Danny Azzi, Barry Bradbery, Andrew Takchi, and Claudette Takchi for their hard work in decorating Holy Family Church. Danny, Barry, and Claudette spent a few days putting up the lights around the outside of the church. And Claudette and Andrew unpacked the Christmas trees and set these up around the sanctuary and placed the lights on them. Thank you to them all for their hard work and dedication in helping to prepare the church for the great solemnity of the nativity of Our Lord. Holy Family East Granville Farewell to Yvette Baird Principal of Holy Family Primary School After four years as Principal of Holy Family Primary School, Yvette Baird has been appointed as Principal of St. Andrew s Primary School at Marayong. It is a wonderful appointment for Mrs. Baird and a recognition of the outstanding work she has done at East Granville. Mrs. Baird has been a remarkable Principal and has nourished a wonderful sense of community in the school. Her pastoral leadership has drawn the school community closer together and she has modelled a sense of responsibility and participation that staff and students have emulated. Moreover, the school has had remarkable academic growth. But most importantly for us, Mrs. Baird has fostered a sense of the unity of our two parishes and three schools and has always regarded them all as one community. We sincerely thank Mrs. Baird for all she has done and we congratulate Cheryl Fortini on her appointment as Acting Principal in Holy Family Parish App Road to Heaven 2 Congratulations to our catechist co-ordinator, Joe Elias, on his publication of the Road to Heaven 2 comic book. Joe compiled the second book in this series from comics drawn by students from Blaxcell Public School and Granville East Public School. The stories include the creation, the Ten Commandments, Daniel and the lions from the Old Testament, and the annunciation, the crucifixion, and the resurrection from the New Testament, as well as puzzles and games.

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Saints & STUFF St. John the Baptist St. John the Baptist was born through the intercession of God to Zachariah and Elizabeth, who was otherwise too old to bear children.

Zachariah was skeptical and for this he was rendered mute until the time his son was born and named John, in fulfillment of God s will. When Elizabeth was pregnant with St.

6 Saints & STUFF St. John the Baptist St. John the Baptist was born through the intercession of God to Zachariah and Elizabeth, who was otherwise too old to bear children. According to scripture, the Archangel Gabriel visited Elizabeth and Zachariah to tell them they would have a son and that they should name him John. Zachariah was skeptical and for this he was rendered mute until the time his son was born and named John, in fulfillment of God s will. When Elizabeth was pregnant with St. John, she was visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. John leapt in her womb. This revealed to Elizabeth that the child Mary carried was to be the Son of God. St. John began public ministry around A.D. 30, and was known for attracting large crowds across the province of Judaea and around the Jordan River. When Jesus came to him to be baptised, St. John recognised him and said, It is I who need baptism from you. St. John instructed his followers to turn to Christ, calling Him the Lamb of God and these people were among the first Christians. The Church celebrates his feast day on June 24. He is the patron saint of Jordan, Puerto Rico, French Canada, and many other places around the world. CATECHISM of the CATHOLIC CHURCH Advent 522 The coming of God's Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it o v e r c e n t u r i e s. H e m a k e s everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the 1 st Covenant. He announces him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming. 523 St. John the Baptist is the Lord s immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way. John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the last. He inaugurates the Gospel, already from his mother s womb welcomes the coming of Christ, and rejoices in being the friend of the bridegroom, whom he points out as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 524 When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, the faithful renew their desire for his second coming. By celebrating the precursor s birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: He must increase, but I must decrease. CATHOLIC Trivia The Crib On Christmas Eve, A.D. 1223, St. Francis of Assisi created the first nativity in the Italian city of Greccio. With the help of a local nobleman, St. Francis celebrated the birth of Jesus in a cave outside the town. The scene featured a hayfilled manger in front of the temporary altar, and as St. Francis preached, the nobleman arranged to have an ox and a donkey stand at the altar as well. His idea for the nativity scene came out of his pilgrimage two years before to the Holy Land, to Bethlehem. He wanted others to have the chance to see this place but with tensions in the Middle East at that time people were prevented from travelling. So he brought that scene to the people and re-created the stable and the manger. Over time these scenes grew increasingly popular until every church in Italy was expected to have a nativity scene like this. Over time, however, the living people were replaced with statues. As is customary, a massive nativity scene sits in St. Peter s Square at the Vatican. This year the crib was donated by Malta and includes a luzzu, a traditional boat used by Maltese fishermen.

8 4th Sunday of Advent The Readings First Reading The Prophet Micah (5:1-4) The Lord says this: You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule over Israel; his origin goes back to the distant past, to the days of old. The Lord is therefore going to abandon them till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth. Then the remnant of his brothers will come back to the sons of Israel. He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord, with the majesty of the name of his God. They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power to the ends of the land. He himself will be peace. Responsorial Psalm (Ps 79:2-3, 15-6, v. 4). Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved. O Shepherd of Israel, hear us, shine forth from your cherubim throne. O Lord, rouse up your might, O Lord, come to our help.. God of hosts, turn again, we implore, look down from heaven and see. Visit this vine and protect it, the vine your right hand has planted.. May your hand be on the man you have chosen, the man you have given your strength. And we shall never forsake you again: give us life that we may call upon your name.. Second Reading The Letter to the Hebrews (10:5-10) 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. Notice that he says first: You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts and the sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ. Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia! I am the servant of the Lord: may his will for me be done. Alleluia! Gospel The Gospel of Luke (1:39-45) Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled. IF YOU DO NOT LIVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE, YOU WILL END UP BELIEVING WHAT YOU LIVE. Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Granville Catholic Church Record

Granville Catholic Church Record Vol. 3. No. 50 December 16, 2018 3rd Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday The Official Bulletin of Holy Trinity Parish at Granville and Holy Family Parish at East Granville