Catholic Parish of Lindfield-Killara Diocese of Broken Bay

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1 Catholic Parish of Lindfield-Killara Diocese of Broken Bay Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Church, Killara Holy Family Parish Church, Lindfield LINDFIELD: KILLARA: MASS TIMES: Saturday 6:00pm Saturday Vigil: 5:30pm Sunday: 8:15am Sunday: 9:15am 10:15am 12:00 (Chinese Community Mass) 6:00pm (for both our communities) Monday 9:15am ~ Tuesday 12:15pm 7:30am Wednesday 9:15am 7:30am Thursday 9:15am 7:30am Friday 9:15am ** ~ Saturday 9:15am ~ SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION: Saturdays 5:00 5:30pm (Lindfield) For 15 minutes after the 5:30pm Mass (Killara) * EXPOSITION OF THE EUCHARIST Every Thursday after 9:15 Mass until 10:15am ** NO Mass at Lindfield on the second Friday of each month *** Healing Mass for whole parish at Killara at 10am each 2nd Friday of each month SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT This week: Gen 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18; Rom 8:31-34; Mk 9:2-10 Next week: Ex 20:1-17; 1 Cor 1:22-25; Jn 2:13-25 Transfiguration, or disfiguration. The transfiguration reveals the divine depths of Jesus and at the same time calls us to recognise the presence of God in ourselves and in our neighbour. Do our words and actions transfigure those around us: shed a spark of divine love into their lives? Or do our judgements and our harshness disfigure, wound and maim? This Sunday of Lent invites us to play our own part in the transfiguration of people s lives and of the world. Fr Colin

2 2 Parish Staff and Contact Information We are the one parish of Lindfield-Killara containing our two distinct but collaborating and cooperating communities centred on our two churches at Killara and Lindfield. Holy Family Church: Immaculate Heart of Mary Church: Parish Priest: Fr Colin Blayney Assistant Priest: Fr Stephen Hamilton Cnr Pacific Hwy and Highfield Rd, Lindfield Cnr Fiddens Wharf Rd and Charles St, Killara Apart from the case of emergency please restrict the use of the above numbers to between 9:30am and 5:00pm. For office or routine enquiries please contact the Parish Office during office hours. PARISH OFFICE: Parish Manager: Maggs Thompsett Parish Secretary: Philita Marundan: Address: 388 Pacific Hwy, Lindfield NSW 2070 (Postal: PO Box 22, Lindfield NSW 2070) Ph: Fax: Parish Office Hours: Monday to Friday 9:30am-1:00pm and 1:30pm-4:00pm Catechist Coordinator (Primary Schools): Sue-Anne Sherwood Sacramental Programme Coordinator: Sue-Anne Sherwood Assistant Sacramental Programme Coordinator: Trish Rodgers Parish Bookkeeper (voluntary): Alison Williams Parish Facilities Coordinator (voluntary): Anthony Cassidy Parish Primary School: Holy Family School 2-4 Highfield Rd, Lindfield 2070 Ph: Fax: Principal: Mr Lou Dogao School Website: Parish Website: Saturday 28 Feb 7 March Lindfield 6:00pm Fr Stephen Hamilton Fr Colin Blayney Killara 5:30pm Fr Colin Blayney Fr Stephen Hamilton Sunday 1 March 8 March Lindfield 8:15am Fr Stephen Hamilton Fr Colin Blayney Killara 9:15am Fr Colin Blayney Fr Stephen Hamilton Lindfield 10:15am Fr Stephen Hamilton Fr Colin Blayney Lindfield 12:00noon Fr Lucas Leung Fr Stephen Hamilton Lindfield 6:00pm Fr Colin Blayney Stephen Hamilton

3 3 RICHARD ROHR S DAILY MEDITATION STUMBLING AND FALLING Sooner or later, if you are on any classic spiritual schedule, some event, person, death, idea, or relationship will enter your life that you simply cannot deal with, using your present skill set, your acquired knowledge, or your strong willpower. Spiritually speaking, you will be, you must be, led to the edge of your own private resources. At that point, you will stumble over a necessary stumbling stone, as Isaiah calls it (Isaiah 8:14). You will and you must lose at something. This is the only way that Life-Fate- God-Grace-Mystery can get you to change, let go of your egocentric preoccupations, and go on the further and larger journey. We must stumble and fall, I am sorry to say. We must be out of the driver s seat for a while, or we will never learn how to give up control to the Real Guide. It is the necessary pattern. Until we are led to the limits of our present game plan, and find it to be insufficient, we will not search out or find the real source, the deep well, or the constantly flowing stream. Alcoholics Anonymous calls it the Higher Power. Jesus calls this Ultimate Source the living water at the bottom of the well (John 4:10-14). The Gospel was able to accept that life is tragic, but then graciously added that we can survive and will even grow from this tragedy. This is the great turnaround! It all depends on whether we are willing to see down as up; or as Jung put it, that where you stumble and fall, there you find pure gold. Lady Julian of Norwich said it even more poetically: First there is the fall, and then we recover from the fall. Both are the mercy of God! Adapted from Fr Richard Rohr ofm: Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life UPDATE ON YOUTH MINISTRY IN OUR PARISH Many thanks to those who made the time and effort to be at our meeting focussed on youth ministry last Sunday. As a result of that meeting we have decided to focus on two main areas of ministry this year: Students in Years 7-9, will have the opportunity to gather twice per month, on the first and third Friday evenings (sometime between 6-9 pm) of each month. The aim of the meetings will be social a chance for the youth of our parish to relax and make friends. We re also hoping to participate in some social justice activities. These will start on Friday 20th March (the third Friday). Keep that date free and watch the bulletin for details. (Please note that there will be no gatherings in April since the first Friday is Good Friday and the third Friday is in school holidays). Students in years K-6 will be invited to gather after the monthly Family Masses, held at 10.15, to play games, led by some of the high school-aged youth in the parish. If you re interested in leading or helping with this initiative, please contact the parish office. (Please note: there will no longer be any youth groups on Sundays). LITURGY SUPPORT GROUP MEETING takes place this Tuesday 3rd March from 7-8pm. CHILD CARE CENTRE COMMITTEE MEETING takes place this Tuesday 3rd March from 8-9:30pm.

4 4 UPDATE ON OUR PARISH BUILDING PROJECT: We are ready to go! Last Wednesday the Construction Committee met to finalise preparations. Later that day we received the go ahead from the Diocesan Office. As a result our chosen builder James Clifford Construction will commence work in about three weeks time. Construction of our new parish centre on the first floor of our church at Lindfield will take 4-5 months. We have set up a quick link to regularly updated information the building project via one of the three highlight boxes on the homepage of our parish website as pictured below: MONTHLY CHILDREN S MASSES will be celebrated as usual: * on the first Sunday of the month (today 1st March) at the 9:15am Mass at Killara * on the second Sunday of the month (next Sunday 8th March) at the 10:15am Mass at Lindfield. Morning tea follows both Masses. This week Project Compassion focuses on Niger, where life is very tough. Many live in extreme poverty, often unable to afford or access food and water. In Niger, more than half the children under five years old have experienced malnutrition. A Nutrition Centre in Niger (supported by Caritas Australia) admits over 500 malnourished children every week. When Fati (2 and a half) became malnourished, her mother Mariama took her to the Centre to receive the food, nutritional supplements and medical care that she needed to recover. Mariama too was able to regain her strength and learn new income producing skills. Please donate to Project Compassion 2015 and help save the lives of people living on the brink of survival in Niger, giving them access to nutritional support and essential food for life. You can donate through Parish boxes and envelopes, by visiting or phoning

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6 6 ROSEVILLE LINDFIELD KILLARA INTERCHURCH FELLOWSHIP LENTEN ECUMENICAL SERVICES We are blessed that this year we will again be having three Lenten Ecumenical Services with our fellow Churches in our local area. Please be part of this wonderful opportunity to build the bridges of Christian Unity during the Lenten season of renewal: Tuesday 10th March at 7:45pm Tuesday 24th March at 7:45pm at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church Cnr Fiddens Wharf Rd and Charles St, Killara Preacher: Rev. Ann Hogan from Hornsby Uniting Church, Chair of the Ku-Ring-Gai Presbytery of the U/C. at Five Ways Uniting Church Cnr Arnold and Karanga Sts, Killara Preacher: Fr Colin Blayney Scenes from last week s Service and supper at Roseville Uniting Church: Prayer at Vespers, Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent Tarrawarra Abbey Lord God, you call us to repentance and self-denial. While we can choose our penances, so many of our brothers and sisters have not the basic needs of life. Teach us humility in our works of penance, so that our fast may be a victory over egotism and self-indulgence. Through Jesus, the Christ, our Lord. Amen REGARDING 8:15AM MASS AND CHILDREN S INVOLVEMENT We would love to have children involved as part of the choir to help lead the singing at the 8:15am Mass - - there will be a practice for those children who would like to do this this Friday 6th March from 3:10pm to 3:45pm in Lindfield church. Please help us to make this a liturgy that involves the children. Fr Colin

7 7 LENTEN FAITH STUDY GROUPS Once again we will be using the excellent programme developed by the Diocese of Wollongong. Please be part of one of these groups to make Lent a time of enrichment and growth in faith. Groups will meet: Thursday evenings: in a parishioner s home in East Lindfield. Please contact the Parish Office to register for this group and to obtain the address. Saturday afternoons: the Study Group will meet for prayer, reflection and discussion each Saturday at 2.00 pm in the Meeting Room. All welcome. Afternoon tea. Apologies to those who put their name down for the Tuesday and Wednesday groups unfortunately not enough people came forward to form those groups. PALM SUNDAY AN ECUMENICAL OPPORTUNITY - In an exciting development in our ecumenical relationships via the Roseville-Lindfield- Killara Interchurch Fellowship we will gather together with the congregation of Lindfield Uniting Church for A COMMON CEREMONY OF PALMS for our principal Sunday morning celebration of Palm Sunday on Lindfield after which we will process together to our individual churches for our own liturgies. The arrangements will be that we will gather at 10:15am on Palm Sunday 29th March, for the ceremony of palms in the lowest part of Holy Family School grounds (just inside the gate on Balfour Street) from which we will then move in procession with our brothers and sisters from Lindfield Uniting Church with our palms, walking up Balfour Street, along the highway and returning to our own church for the celebration CAN YOU PROVIDE A LIFT TO THOSE TRAVELLING TO OUR EASTER CELEBRATIONS? * on Holy Thursday evening could you be amongst the vehicles which drive through our internal road at Lindfield and help pick up those waiting outside Holy Family School who needs a lift to 7:30pm Mass at Killara church? (and drop them back afterwards of course!). * on Holy Saturday evening could you be amongst the vehicles which pick up those needing a lift from Killara church carpark to the 7:30pm Easter Vigil at Lindfield? (and drop them back afterwards of course!). If you can help with either of these could you please put your name on the sheets provided near the church doors. of Mass. The congregation of Lindfield Uniting Church will continue up the highway to their church on the corner of Provincial Road. Members of our community at Killara are of course very welcome to take part in this gathering at Lindfield. Palm Sunday is the threshold to Holy Week and this time of shared prayer gives us a wonderful opportunity to come together to begin that most sacred time of our common Church year. Fr Colin

8 8 THE PRAYERS AND RESPONSES OF MASS We fast from the joyful words of the Gloria during these days of Lent as we prepare our hearts and our community to celebrate once again the saving death and resurrection of Jesus INVITATION TO PRAYER LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST: Celebrant: Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours.. May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise & glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church. SANCTUS: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. INVITATION TO HOLY COMMUNION: Celebrant: Behold the Lamb of God All: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. MEMORIAL ACCLAMATION:

9 THE PSALM Ps 115: I trusted, even when I said: I am sorely afflicted. O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful. 9 THE NICENE CREED I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds. A thanksgiving sacrifice I make: I will call on the Lord s name. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. At Masses at which the Psalm is sung the response is: I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION : Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! From the shining cloud, the Father s voice is heard: this is my beloved Son, hear him. Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! PSALM RESPONSES FOR WEEKDAY MASS: Monday: Lord, do not deal with us as our sins deserve. Tues To the upright I will show the saving power of God. Wed: Save me, O Lord, in your steadfast love. Thursday: Happy are they who hope in the Lord. Friday: Remember the marvels the Lord has done. Saturday: The Lord is kind and merciful. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, (all bow at the following words in bold): and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father & the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen

10 10 PARISH RETREATS AT TARRAWARRA ABBEY 2015 The retreats take place at Tarrawarra Abbey (an Abbey of the Cistercian Order) amidst the beautiful landscape of the Yarra Valley just outside Melbourne. For those who wish, we also have on-going parish group for those who taken part in these retreats which gathers once per month for prayer, input and a meal. The retreats for 2015 are as follows: Wed. afternoon 8th Tues. morning 14th April. This retreat is now fully booked. Wed. afternoon 15th Tues. morning 21st April. There are spaces available. (Easter Sunday falls on 5th April and school holidays run from 3rd April to 20th April). If you are interested please let me know as soon as possible. Fr Colin Please support those supporting us CATECHIST CORNER KILLARA HIGH SCHOOL IS STILL LOOKING FOR FRIENDS TO HELP ON A FRIDAY MORNING, PLEASE. Thank you to Kevin Shanahan who has now donated three years worth of Bibles for Yr 6 students in our Public Schools. Congratulations to John Quirk who received his 25 year service award at the end of last year. There are many catechists who have been working in this ministry for over 10 years. This is a joyous ministry.

11 11 THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION AND LENT A reminder that there will be NO opportunities for the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation once Holy Week begins, including no Reconciliations at the normal Saturday time on Holy Saturday since our Easter preparations are by then concluded. In addition to our normal weekly celebrations on Saturdays there will be a celebration of the Second Rite (Communal Rite) of Reconciliation on Wednesday 25th March (Wednesday before Holy Week) at 7:30pm. This celebration is for our two communities and will take place in at Killara (since the Advent celebration took place at Lindfield). Celebrating Easter Making a Joyful Sound Unto the Lord ~ Please be part of a combined choir for Easter ~ As we are one parish this year we will once again come together for a combined celebration of the greatest liturgical celebration of our Christian Year the Mass of the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night: a single Mass at 7:30pm in Holy Family Church at Lindfield (for all the other celebrations of the Easter Triduum there will be a liturgy in each of our churches separately). On that night we would like to have a special choir, bringing together any existing music groups in the parish AND anyone who isn t part of a regular parish choir but who would like to be part of making this great Easter night special. Please be part of it. Rehearsals take place each Wednesday night of Lent (commencing 25th February) in Lindfield church at 8pm, or contact Catherine Willis on WEDNESDAYS IN LENT: THE PILLARS OF CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY: Using the contemplative tradition of the Carmelite Order we will look at the 4 foundations of Christian spirituality: Desire, Silence and Solitude, Jesus, and the Gospel. These will be discussed in the context of prayer and the habit of praying. 1. Wednesday 4 March: Desire the Heart and 2. Detachment. 3. Wednesday 11 March: Silence and Solitude the Place. 4. Wednesday 18 March: Jesus the Beloved. 5. Wednesday 25 March: The Gospel the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit. PARISH GARAGE SALE! Since we need to clear the first floor of Lindfield church for construction of the new Parish Centre there will be an on-thespot garage sale on the first floor next weekend 7-8 March after each Mass just come up the stairs, accessed from the main church foyer. There will be chairs, fold-up tables, bookcases, desks and even an old piano! This series of talks will be given by Fr Greg Homeming OCD, Regional Vicar of the Discalced Carmelites in Australia, in the parish hall of Corpus Christi Parish, 263 Mona Vale Rd, St Ives. Talks begin at 7.30 pm. All are welcome.

12 BIBLES AVAILABLE FOR PRAYER As a result of a suggestion at the Parish Pastoral Council copies of the Bible (the New Revised Standard Version translation) are now available in the foyers of both our churches should you wish to use them for prayer in the church. Could we ask that they not be removed from the churches so that they remain available for general use. AN UPDATE ON PARISH FINANCES Many thanks for your continued support of the First and Second Collections. However could we just point out a few challenges that we face: our income on the Second Collection is currently subsidised by the interest received by the Wallace Bequest - attributed, as per the terms of the 12 bequest, to expenses related to the Lindfield church building. However as we use that bequest (as intended) to rectify the first floor of the church - and in so doing provide us with a parish centre this supplement to our income will almost disappear. Indeed our income on the Second Collection is $1000 per week less than required to run the parish. If everyone could give just $2 extra per week every week we would achieve that shortfall. Just $2! as always we face major repair and maintenance issues - a major plumbing repair is about to cost us $6000 & the removal of broken and damaged asbestos in one of the presbyteries will cost between $3000-$4000. Once again that extra $2 per week every week from everyone would see us into a secure position. while we cannot expect the amazing gift of the Shirley Wallace bequest to be repeated, our Finance Committee would like to ask that you might consider including just a small bequest to the parish when making your will each little bit helps towards us remaining financially sustainable. DO YOU PLAY THE ORGAN? One of our organists at Lindfield has retired from the roster leaving us with a number of Masses to cover. Even if you could be available for just one, or perhaps two Masses per month that would help. Help is needed with either the 6pm Vigil or the 10:15am Mass. If you can help please contact Fr Colin as soon as possible. Please help us to keep music as a vital part of our liturgies. Fr Colin Advertisement Available Please contact Parish Office for inquiries Advertisement Available Please contact Parish Office for inquiries Please support those supporting us

13 13 This year, as part of our parish fund-raising efforts, the parish will have a Plant and Garden Section at the Art and Craft Show and Fair on the Saturday. Please visit the plant and garden section and help us in our parish fundraising. The Lindfield Art Show and Fair at Holy Family School is centred around the Lindfield Art Show which showcases an extensive range of affordable, quality and collectible art, from contemporary to traditional, and award-winning established artists to emerging artists is the 39th annual event. With more than 300 artworks on display, you will find featured paintings, screen-prints, indigenous works, etchings, sculptures, paper art, and more. On Saturday, you can listen to Artist Encounters as artists talk about their work and influences. Spend time enjoying the Art Fair with extensive market stalls, delicious cafe food and coffee, champagne and chicken sandwiches, a performance stage for kids to sing and dance and much more. Kids will be entertained for hours with a new layout that puts all sports and art and craft activities in one zone. The artworks will be open to all for viewing and purchasing on Saturday 14th March (9am 5pm) and Sunday 15th March (9am 2pm). DO YOU KNOW AN OLDER PARISHIONER WHO NEEDS VOLUNTARY IN-HOUSE ASSISTANCE? My name is Jacqueline Grant and I am a Year 11 student at Monte Sant Angelo Mercy College. As part of my studies this year, I must undertake community and service activities. I am interested in providing assistance to an older parishioner who might need help with shopping, cooking, cleaning, dog walking, computer/technology or other miscellaneous chores. I am available to assist from 1:30pm on Monday afternoons, once a fortnight. As a second choice of times, I could also assist on a Sunday. If you would like my help, or know someone who does, please contact the parish office and they will forward the information to me. Thank you.

14 四旬期第二主日 1/3/2015 讀經一 ( 我們聖祖亞巴郎的祭 獻 ) 恭讀創世紀 22:1-2,9,10-13,15-18 那時候, 天主試探亞巴郎, 說 : 亞巴郎! 亞巴郎回答說 : 我 在這裡 天主說 : 帶你心愛的 獨生子依撒格, 到摩黎雅地方去, 在我要指給你的一座山上, 將他獻 為全燔祭 當他們到了天主指給 亞巴郎的地方, 亞巴郎便在那裡, 築起一座祭壇, 擺好木柴, 將兒子 依撒格捆好, 放在祭壇的木柴上 亞巴郎正伸手舉刀, 要宰獻自己的 兒子時, 上主的使者從天上, 對亞 巴郎大聲說 : 亞巴郎! 亞巴 郎! 亞巴郎回答說 : 我在這 裡 使者說 : 不可在這孩子身 上下手, 不要傷害他! 我現在知道 你實在敬畏天主, 因為你為了我, 竟然連自己的獨生子, 也不顧 惜 亞巴郎舉目一望, 見有一隻 公綿羊, 兩角纏在灌木中, 於是前 去取了那隻公綿羊, 代替自己的兒 子, 獻為全燔祭 上主的使者由天 上, 又呼喚亞巴郎說 : 我指著自 己起誓 上主的斷語 因為你 做了這事, 沒有顧惜你的獨生子, 我必多多降福你, 使你的後裔繁 多, 如同天上的星辰, 如同海邊的 沙粒 你的後裔, 必佔領他們仇敵 的城門 ; 地上萬民, 都要因你的後 裔, 而蒙受祝福, 因為你聽從了我 的話 上主的話 答唱詠詠 116:10,15, 16-17, 答 : 我要在活人的地域, 在上 主面前行走 ( 詠 116:9) 領 : 雖然說我已痛苦萬分, 但是我 仍然抱有信心 上主的聖者去 世, 在上主眼中, 十分珍貴 14 CHINESE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY 領 : 我的上主! 我是你的僕役, 是你婢女的兒子 你解除 了我的鎖鍊, 我要向你獻 上讚美之祭 ; 我要呼號上 主的名字 答 領 : 我要在眾百姓面前, 在上 主聖殿的庭院裡, 在你 耶路撒冷中間, 向上主 還我的誓願 答 讀經二 ( 天主沒有憐惜自己的 兒子 ) 恭讀聖保祿宗徒致羅馬人書 8:31-34 弟兄姊妹們 : 如果天主偕同我們, 誰能 反對我們呢? 天主既然沒有憐 惜自己的兒子, 反而為我們眾 人, 把他交出來, 豈不也把一 切, 與他一同賜給我們嗎? 誰 能控告天主所揀選的人呢? 是 使人成義的天主嗎? 誰能定他 們的罪? 是那已死, 或更好說 已復活, 現今在天主右邊, 代 我們轉求的基督耶穌嗎? 上主的話 ( 默想片刻 ) 福音前歡呼 領 / 眾 : 基督 天主聖言, 願光 榮歸於你 領 : 雲中有聲音說 : 這是我 的愛子, 你們要聽從 他! ( 參閱瑪 17:5) 眾 : 基督 天主聖言, 願光榮 歸於你 福音 ( 這是我的愛子 ) 恭讀聖馬爾谷福音 9:2-10 那時候, 耶穌帶著伯多祿 雅 各伯和若望, 單獨帶領他們上 了一座高山, 在他們面前變了 容貌 : 耶穌的衣服發光, 那樣 潔白, 世上沒有一個漂布的, 能漂得那樣 白 厄里亞和梅瑟, 也顯現給他 們, 正在同耶穌談論 伯多祿於是 開口對耶穌說 : 師父, 我們在這 裡真好! 讓我們搭三個帳棚 : 一個 為你, 一個為梅瑟, 一個為厄里 亞 伯多祿原來不知道該說什 麼, 因為他們都嚇呆了 當時, 有 一團雲彩, 遮蔽了他們, 從雲中有 聲音說 : 這是我的愛子, 你們要 聽從他! 他們忽然向四周一看, 見不到任何人, 只有耶穌同他們在 一起 他們從山上下來的時候, 耶 穌囑咐他們, 非等人子從死者中復 活後, 不要將他們所見的, 告訴任 何人 他們遵守了這話, 卻彼此討 論 : 從死者中復活是什麼意思 上主的話 ( 講道後默想片刻 華人天主教會北區中心, 主日彌撒 12 時彌撒後. 午餐聚會. 餐費 $5.00 歡迎各教友參加. 牧職修女司徒金美修女 中心聯絡 Gloria Cheung 主日學 12nooon ( 國 / 粵語 ) 慕道班 11:00am-12noon 四旬期內拜苦路 6/3/2015 星期五 8:00pm Holy Family Church 請各教友參加

15 15 (continued from page 16 ) That is the essence of sacrifice: To properly receive anything, including life itself, requires that we recognise it precisely as gift, as something undeserved. And to do that requires sacrifice, a willingness to give some or the entire gift back to its giver. We see this as the dynamic underlying the ritual of ancient sacrifice. For example: A farmer would harvest a crop. But, before he or his family would eat even a mouthful of it, he would take some of it (the first-fruits ) and offer it back to God in the form of a sacrifice, usually by burning it so that that the smoke rising up to the heavens would take some of the crop back to God whom the farmer saw as the real giver of that crop. After sacrificing some of it in this way, the farmer and his family could now enjoy the rest of it without guilt because, by trying to give it back to its author, they made themselves more aware that it was gift. They can now enjoy it without guilt precisely because, through sacrifice, they have acknowledged it as gift. That s the inner essence of all sacrifice, whether the sacrificing of a career for the sake of our children or Jesus sacrifice on the cross. Sacrifice recognises gift as gift. Like Abraham, it tries to give the gift back to the giver, but the giver stops the sacrifice and gives it back in even a deeper way. We would enjoy our lives considerably more if we understood that. Fr Ron Rolheiser omi (from the Centre for Liturgy, University of St Louis) Please support those supporting us Address: 319 Pacific Highway, North Sydney, NSW King Street, Newton 6 Pitt Street Parramatta Phone: / FAX: W: E: wnbull@bigpond.com.au Member of Australian Funeral Directors Association Jason Roach - Licensed Real Estate Agent, Parishioner Jason or jason@c21group.com If you are seeking authentic advice when buying or selling your home or investment property call Jason today! Lord, in Jesus your Son, you restored to us the gift of everlasting life. Grant that life to: Please pray for Fr Vince Pedemont who died during the week. The Funeral Mass for Fr Vince will be celebrated by Bishop Peter Comensoli this Tuesday 3rd March at 10:15am at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, The Entrance. Recently deceased: Michael Comensoli, Fr Warren Wade, Denise Mohr, Terry Newton, Vilma Roberts, Dick Bracken, Francisco Xavier Le, Alan Petrie. Anniversary: James Brendan Norton, Please pray for those who are sick: Bubby Long, Tim Hitchen, S Barnes, Glen Wheeler, Peter Barr, Peter Norton, Therese Playoust, Vincent Montano, John Cook, Michael & Isabelle Vrisakis, Sue Knight, John MacNamara, Adrian Selwyn, Victor Maher, Mathew Dwyer, John and Michael Swan, Steve Collins.

16 16 REFLECTING ON THIS SUNDAY S SCRIPTURES.. Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust (First Reading) THE ANATOMY OF SACRIFICE What do we mean when we say that we make a sacrifice? I have sacrificed my career for my children! I sacrifice a lot for my job! Love demands that we make many sacrifices! Sometimes we must sacrifice life itself for the sake of integrity! Christ sacrificed himself for our sins! The Eucharist is a sacrifice! From what is common in all these expressions we can extract Webster s definition of a sacrifice: The surrender of something of value for the sake of something else. That is a good definition, but it contains more than first meets the eye, as is evident when we look at the concept of sacrifice in the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Take, for example, the famous story where Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac. What is ultimately behind God s invitation to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on an altar? These are the outer elements of the story: Abraham has longed for a son for many years. Finally, after the situation was humanly hopeless, Sarah conceives and he is given a son, Isaac, who is the described as Abraham s only one, his precious one. But then God invites Abraham to take Isaac and offer him in sacrifice. Abraham, with a heavy heart, agrees to the request and sets off with Isaac, carrying wood, fire, and a knife, all the while having to answer his son s curiosity about why they were not bringing a victim for the sacrifice. When they arrive at the place of sacrifice, Abraham gathers the wood, lights the fire, binds Isaac, and then raises the knife to kill him. But God intervenes, stops the sacrifice, and gives Abraham a ram instead to offer. The story ends with Abraham walking back to his own land together with Isaac. What is the deep lesson inside this story? At one level, the lesson is that God does not want human sacrifice, but there is a deeper, more intimate, inner lesson that teaches us something about the innate need inside of us to offer sacrifice. Simply put, the lesson is this: In order for something to be received as a gift it must be received twice. What is implied here? A gift, by definition, is something that is not deserved but given freely. What is our first impulse when we are given a gift? Our instinctual response is: I can t take this! I don t deserve this! In essence, that gesture, that healthy instinctual response, is an attempt to give the gift back to its giver. But, of course, the giver refuses to take the gift back and re-gives it to us with the assurance: But I want you to have this! When we receive it the second time, it is now more properly ours because, by trying to give it back, we healthily recognised that it was a gift, unmerited, undeserved. That is the exact set of dynamics within the story of Abraham offering to sacrifice Isaac. Isaac comes to him as the greatest, most-undeserved, gift of his life. His willingness to sacrifice him parallels the instinctual gesture: I don t deserve this! I cannot accept this! He offers the gift back to its giver. But the giver, Love itself, stops the gesture and gives the gift the second time. Now Abraham can receive Isaac, without guilt, as gift. When they are walking back home, Isaac is now Abraham s son in a way that he never was before. Abraham had to receive the gift twice by sacrificing it the first time. (continued on page 15 )