Padua News. Photo: Grandma Connie and her sisters. Continued on the next page

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1 is the official quarterly Newsletter of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church Cnr Exford & Wilson Roads, Melton South, VIC 3338 Tel: ; Fax: ; This issue of is also published on the Parish Website Father Fabian Smith Parish Priest Father John-Paul Mount Assistant Priest Father Patrick Bradford Assistant Priest Committee Dolores Turcsan Edwina La Rose Lorraine Tellis Rebecca Comini Ken Dumandan Imalsha Silva Kim Barton Godwin Barton If you are interested in helping with any of the tasks in the production of the, please contact any one of the committee members or Thank you. Issue 47 From our Parish Message Priest.. from Father Fabian My grandma Connie is the eldest of ten children; seven girls and three boys. My grandma was eighteen when her dad, Alphonse, passed away with cancer. My grandma had just started teaching in the Railway school; it was a school run for the children whose parents were employed by the Railways (The British brought two good things to India - the Railways and Cricket!) After my great grandfather passed away, my great grandmother, Rosemary, and the other nine children moved in with grandma. Life was tough with all its struggles for a young widow with her ten children. Faith in God and daily family prayers saw them through life. It was nothing short of God s providence. Photo: Grandma Connie and her sisters My grandma has been living in Melbourne for about thirteen years and last year in November my grandma wanted to make a trip to India to visit her three sisters. So I accompanied my 90 year old Grandma and her 83 year old sister, Joyce, to India to visit their three sisters, Antoinette, Lilian and Phyllis, back home in Madurai. When people asked why she had come only for ten days, my grandma replied, They wouldn t give more time off. My grandma had a wonderful time catching up with her sisters and old friends. It was a very good trip for my grandma but not without its challenges for me. A couple days before we could leave we had all the sisters together for lunch and after lunch I asked them to huddle up for a photo. While taking the March 1, 2018 Wishing each of you and your families every blessing for the remainder of Lent and all the joy of Easter. May the risen Christ be with you always. photo I saw them all sad, I suppose it was probably the last time they would get to see each other. So to cheer them up I said to them, You all look like you have one foot in the grave. And they all started laughing. After I took the photo my grandma said, We don t have one foot in the grave we have one foot outside the grave. I thought to myself how profound. At this age, my grandma, having gone through so much in life, has not lost her sense of humour, her love for her family and her faith in God. It is her faith in God that has enabled her to live life in hope in the midst of all life s trials and struggles. Grandma often says how her daily rosary, family prayers and going to Mass every day as a child and as a mother and grandmother has been her source of strength through life. Continued on the next page

2 Issue 47 Page 2 Message from our Parish Priest (Continued from previous page) Prayer indeed is the secret of a Happy, Holy and Fruitful Life. Through a life of prayer we receive countless graces from heaven that enable us to live life well in the midst of our struggles. May the graces we receive through this Holy Season of Lent fill us with much hope and joy as we approach Easter, the Feast of all feasts. May the contin- Pope Francis Lenten message Taking his cue from the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: Because of the increase of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold (24:12), Pope Francis Lenten message was sent to help the Church in preparation for Easter and to help the Church experience this time of grace anew, with joy and in truth. These words appear in Christ s preaching about the end of time, spoken on the Mount of Olives, where the Lord s passion would begin. In reply to a question of the disciples, Jesus foretells a great tribulation and describes a situation in which the community of believers might well find itself: amid great trials, false prophets would lead people astray and the love that is the core of the Gospel would grow cold in the hearts of many. Each of us is called to peer into our heart to see if we are falling prey to the lies of these false prophets. We must learn to look closely, beneath the surface, and to recognize what leaves a good and lasting mark on our hearts, because it comes from God and is truly for our benefit. The Pope says that the Church, our Mother and Teacher, along with the often bitter medicine of the truth, offers us in the Lenten season the soothing remedy of prayer, almsgiving and fasting. By devoting more time to prayer, we enable our hearts to root out our secret lies and forms of self-deception, and then to find the consolation God ued presence of the risen Jesus in our midst help us to live in hope remembering that our God who created us also sustains us through all our trials and struggles we face each day. So don t live life with one foot in the grave but rather live life with one foot out of the grave. offers. He is our Father and he wants us to live life well. Almsgiving sets us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbour as a brother or sister. What I possess is never mine alone. When we give alms, we share in God s providential care for each of His children. If through me God helps someone today, will He not tomorrow provide for my own needs? For no one is more generous than God. Fasting weakens our tendency to violence; it disarms us and becomes an important opportunity for growth. On the one hand, it allows us to experience what the destitute and the starving have to endure. On the other hand, it expresses our own spiritual hunger and thirst for life in God. Fasting wakes us up. It makes us more attentive to God and our neighbour. It revives our desire to obey God, who alone is capable of satisfying our hunger. The Pope then extends his invitation to all who are open to hearing God s voice, to raise our plea to God, in fasting, and in offering whatever we can to our brothers and sisters in need! The Pope urges members of the Church to take up the Lenten journey with enthusiasm, sustained by almsgiving, fasting and prayer. And to know that if, at times, the flame of Wishing each of you and your families every blessing for the remainder of Lent and all the joy of Easter. May the risen Christ be with you always. Many Blessings, Father Fabian Smith charity seems to die in our own hearts, that this is never the case in the heart of God! He constantly gives us a chance to begin loving anew. The entire Church community is invited to celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation in the context of Eucharistic adoration. During the Easter Vigil, we will celebrate once more the moving rite of the lighting of the Easter candle. Drawn from the new fire, this light will slowly overcome the darkness and illuminate the liturgical assembly. May the light of Christ rising in glory dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds, and enable all of us to relive the experience of the disciples on the way to Emmaus. By listening to God s word and drawing nourishment from the table of the Eucharist, may our hearts be ever more ardent in faith, hope and love. The Pope wishes his blessing to all with affection and the promise of his prayers for all of us and in turn requests our prayers for him. Extracted from: news/ /pope-francis-lentenmessage-2018.html

3 Issue 47 Page 3 The Nashville Dominicans arrives To pray, to study, to teach At the invitation of Archbishop Denis Hart, four Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia recently moved to Melton and have begun teaching at Saint Catherine of Siena and Catholic Regional College, Melton. The sisters are living temporarily in Melton West (Harkness) until the Convent in Bacchus Marsh is completed. The Dominican Sisters community was founded in 1860 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Bishop of Nashville invited four Dominican Sisters to Nashville to begin a school of fine arts for girls. The Sisters placed the school and this new foundation under the patronage of Saint Cecilia, patroness of music and the arts. Today, the Community serves the Church in the teaching apostolate throughout the United States, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, Canada, Italy, as well as Sydney, Australia. The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia came to Australia in 2007 to work in preparation for World Youth Day, Sydney. Since then, several young women have joined the community; three of whom are serving here in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Sister Cecilia Rose Pham came to the community after working as a Registered Nurse at Prince Alfred Hospital Photos (Top Left): In order from left to right: Sister Anastasia Reeves, Sister Cecilia Rose Pham, Sister Maria Joy Zeitoune and Sister Mary Rachel Capets; Top and Top Right: Sisters exploring on their first days in Melbourne; (Top Right-Bottom) Father Fabian gifting the Sisters with a Monstrance in Sydney. Sister served on the youth ministry team in Sydney and while working for World Youth Day met the Sisters and discerned God s call to serve Him as a Saint Cecilia Dominican. Sister made her final profession in July Sister Cecilia Rose is currently serving at Saint Catherine of Siena Primary School supporting students in numeracy as well as assisting with Religious Education. Sister Anastasia Reeves also met the Community of Sisters while working for World Youth Day Sydney. Before, this Sister worked as an engineer and youth minister. Sister s family is from Kiama Downs just south of Sydney. Sister Anastasia made her final vows in 2017 and will be teaching Mathematics and Religious Education at CRC, Melton. Sister Maria Joy Zeitoune is in a special year of preparation for her final profession of vows this July. Sister is originally from Sydney and joined the community after studying at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney. Sister is supporting the literacy of students at Saint Catherine of Siena. Sister Mary Rachel Capets is currently teaching Humanities and Religious Education at CRC, Melton. She is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and serves the community as the local Superior and Vocation Director. Sister made her final profession of vows in The Sisters life in the apostolate is supported by a life of prayer; following the Dominican motto to contemplate and to give to others the fruit of your contemplation. This life of prayer and each Sister s relationship with Jesus, met personally and in community, is both the cause of their joy and the reason for being sent. To find our more about the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia please visit their website: For prayer requests or if you have questions please the Sisters at: melbourne@op-tn.org Submitted by: Sr Mary Rachel Capets

4 Issue 47 Page 4 Of Valentine s Day, Ash Wednesday and Lent.. If you didn't attend this year's Valentine's Dinner Dance at St Anthony's, you missed out on a social event filled with lots of fun and plenty of good food at very reasonable prices. Those who participated in some entertaining games won great prizes, and of course there was lively dancing to a fantastic selection of music from a young and upcoming DJ. It was an excellent night; not to be missed next year. But let's not forget that Valentine's Day, having fallen on Ash Wednesday this year, marked the beginning of Lent. It is a timely reminder for all to gather our thoughts and consider what it means to each of us. Something that touched me was the following extract, which is taken from a message by the Director of the Archbishop's Office for Evangelisation, Melbourne. Submitted by: Dolores Turcsan Lent the heart of it all The last time Ash Wednesday and Valentine s Day collided was in Not sure if Valentine s Day was recognised then, but it is certainly a celebration that has captured the imagination of many in the contemporary world. Heart-shaped chocolates are in the shops, florists anticipate a busy day and, in the Catholic world, preparations are underway for days of fast and abstinence as we move into Lent. It s tempting to dismiss St Valentine s Day as a purely commercial venture but anything that prompts people to act a little more lovingly and kindly toward each other works to shave away some of the sharp edges of meanness from our world. Perhaps it can serve as a reminder that the quest to love and to be loved is, for all of us, at the heart of our hopes and dreams. Most of us, in our sometimes clumsy ways, do always hope and desire the very best for our families, friends and all who share our fragile planet. Maybe this is a little bit of the role Lent can play in our lives a retreat time that can soften some of our sharp edges, the edges we all have and that sometimes seem to take on a life of their own; the cross words, the thoughtless acts, the weary spirit. From the moment we hear the Ash Wednesday plaintive call from the Book of Joel: No, no it is the Lord who speaks come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning (Joel 2:12), we are invited to plunge into a different world, a different way of being. A way of being where we can lay bare our hearts as we seek wisdom and truth. A time to return to the heart and the soul of it all. We are offered an invitation to actively re-orientate ourselves to God; because for Christians, God and the one who was so loved, Jesus, is the heart and the soul of life. We are offered this gracious time when we can reflect on what has formed us since we tread last year s Lenten path. And we are offered beautifully ancient tools to assist us with entering into this time. The rich stories of our ancestors are available to us and the tradition of the Lenten practice of being prayerful, of living more simply and living more generously. This, perhaps, provides the environment that will enable us to listen to the whisperings of our hearts. So let us take into our Lenten hearts a desire to understand more deeply and to enter more fully into the cycle of the paschal mystery as it plays itself out in our lives and in the world. Hearts that look for the meaning behind the truth. Hearts that allow themselves to be broken, invite God in and seek healing. Hearts that are not distracted by too much. Hearts that hear. Hearts that are ready to come back to God where our restless spirits can once again come home. So let us join together in prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. (Psalm 51) Extracted from the Director s Message, Archbishop's Office for Evangelisation, Melbourne

5 Issue 47 Page 5 On Fathers and Heroes In December s, I discussed the crib and the little ways in which our faith is handed on. I wrote about my mother s journey to Catholic faith, and of my parents influence in passing it on. She used to say, Show me something better, and I ll gladly embrace it. She never lost the joy and peace of heart it gave her, especially when afflicted with throat cancer and innumerable operations. Dear Sir, My father, was, you might say, a local boy, born in our now sister parish of St Bernard s in Bacchus Marsh. With his four brothers and two sisters, he attended its primary school during the 1890 s, the time when Mary McKillop was said to visit. Dad was my hero when he died in I was fourteen. He was like the sun in the bright sky of my carefree and happy boyhood. He had been You have heard oft times just exactly what our chaplains are doing at the front, but I cannot refrain from mentioning the splendid and heroic work that is being done by one in particular to wit, Fr Howes. Out of some seven or eight thousand men, scattered all about his part of France, he has the onerous task of finding those who profess the true faith. Having made a list of them, his one desire was to make himself acquainted with each and every one in particular, and this he has succeeded in doing. He has fished out the slacker, and all those whose pride forbad them, whilst in the presence of their mates, to profess their religion. He has rekindled the flame in the hearts of those whose light of faith had dwindled to a spark. He has worked harder than any other soldier on active service, but his labour has not been in vain. He now has a flock of holy and devout Catholics, who strongly recognize, through his influence, that the best weapon they possess over here is their faith. Fr Howes is like an astute business man. He is here, he is there, he is in the trenches, he is in the hospitals in fact he is everywhere. He is always present when our raiding parties set out across No Man s Land on a scalp-hunt after Fritz, in case any should return seriously wounded. He is there to console and to administer to them in their last agonies. The other night one of our raiding parties brought back a German lad, who had evidently been in the thick of a scrap, and was then at death s door. Fr Howes questioned him in German, with the result that he found he was a Catholic. He commenced the lad with an Act of Contrition, and gave him the crucifix to kiss. This dying scene was pleasurable, and bore unmistakable evidence of the fact that the lad was happy, and prepared to meet his Maker. Such is the work done by our padre. No mother need worry about the spiritual welfare of her boy in this brigade. He is always busy hearing confessions, and consoling the boys with his beautiful miniature sermons. He is beloved by all, Protestant and Catholic.Fr Howes is fearless of danger when the spiritual needs of any of his boys are at stake. He knows not selfishness. It is always My Boys, and it is their comfort he works for. The honors for his gallantry will be recognized in heaven. Sincerely yours, Leo P Little Lieut. Lieutenant Leo. P. Little Source of photo: unwell for some years from, unbeknown to me then, the effects of mustard gas poisoning he had suffered in France in 1917 during World War 1. I used to ask him what he did in the war. I took bread and jam to the troops was all he would offer! Thirty years later, in 1986, I went to the War Memorial in Canberra to seek a better answer. Amongst the 37 th battalion files, I found it: a carefully crafted, hand-written account of the battle at Ypres in which he fought. It was gripping and graphic reading. But the biggest surprise was to come as I turned to the last page. There, below a list of casualties, was the signature of its author, Leo. P. Little Lt, Intelligence Officer 37 th Battalion 1/11/17 The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. He had been (virtually) speaking directly to me - his spirit truly alive for me, then and there. My father lived his faith in a quiet way to the end. It was well and truly alive when he was 25, as a letter I recently found amongst family papers that he wrote to the Melbourne Advocate from the Front some months before the above battle. Continued on next page

6 Issue 47 Page 6 On Fathers and Heroes (Continued from previous page) My father s war injuries from mustard gas eventually took their toll when he collapsed one night in November 1956 on our bathroom floor. I heard my mother calling a doctor and went alone to where I found him lying like a wounded soldier. I bent down to his face and he spoke: Johnny, pray for me. These were our last moments together. An ambulance came not long after and took him to the Mercy Hospital where he died some days later. I now ask, as a father and grandfather sixty years later, about the battles we are facing today, not of sword and artillery, but of disorder and violence resulting from wrong ideas, inhuman ideologies and insidious chemicals invading our culture. We need not be dismayed, but seek divine help to understand these new threats to our community and our families and for courage to address them. And, as a start, perhaps we can find a way to talk more openly with each other, here at St Anthony s, about these new threats to our culture and to our faith. Submitted by: John Little A perfect little gem at Korobeit In the previous issue of, we featured a letter from a Korobeit parishioner, Patrick Shanahan on a Mass celebrated by Fr Fabian last November at Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Korobeit. Here, Patrick has shared with Padua News a brief history of the church, which is part of the Bacchus Marsh parish. Early History The early settlers of Mt Blackwood and much of Korobeit were predominantly Catholic, so in May 1861, St Michael s Catholic Church, a wooden building with a shingle roof, was erected on the corner of Muirs Lane and Morrisons Lane. A Catholic school was built about the same time just behind the chapel. Prior to the erection of the chapel, Mass was offered in the old Purcell homestead at the foot of Mt Blackwood. The priest rode on horseback from Bacchus Marsh to Mt Blackwood, celebrated Mass, and then rode on to Blackwood to complete his duties; he was always accompanied by another person on horseback to keep away the wild cattle which were numerous in the bush in those days. The old wooden chapel was in service until 1903, when the present beautiful brick structure of Our Lady Help of Christians Church was built on the corner of the Myrniong-Korobeit- Greendale Road. The building site was given free by the executors of the late Sir William Clarke, although a receipt found showed that Fr T.F. Sullivan paid four pounds and ten shillings for the one acre of land. The money was later donated back to the parish. The contract price for the building was 1475 but we believe that this reached 1800 when extras were considered. Built to seat comfortably over 200 people, the Gothic-design church took only three months to build. The Opening of the Church of Our Lady Help of Christians More than 600 people attending the opening ceremony. They came from Blackwood, Ballan, Myrniong, Greendale, Bacchus Marsh, Melton, Gisborne, and Melbourne. The scene was all life, horses to the number of some 200 were tethered to the fences and as for vehicles, one could have his choice from a pony cart to the four-in-hand drag. The church building, as one lady remarked is a perfect little gem, one that the parishioners might be well proud of. The crowd was royally entertained by the clergy and laity at dinner in a large marquee in the Korobeit State School grounds opposite. CORRECTION Mass time: 6.30pm every Saturday In the previous issue of the, we mentioned that Mass is celebrated at Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Korobeit every Saturday at 6.00pm. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Thank you. The church was blessed by Archbishop Thomas Carr, who earlier that day celebrated Mass at St Bernard s, Bacchus Marsh. Archbishop Carr laid a memorial stone in the outer wall of the church, entered the church reciting the litany of the Saints and blessing the building. In the afternoon, the Archbishop confirmed 26 children at Korobeit. The Mass was fully choral being carried out by the Melton choir and visitors from Melbourne. Summarised from: Article submitted by Patrick Shanahan

7 Issue 47 Page 7 Viva! Pit Señor, Santo Niño! The famous Sinulog -Santo Niño festival is celebrated annually, every third Sunday of January, throughout the Philippines. The festival is filled with interpretive dance to the beat of drums, to worship the patron Saint Santo Nino (Child of Jesus) of Cebu. The festival signifies the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1521) in unifying the City of Cebu to follow the light of Christ by presenting the most blessed and most sacred image of our Saviour as an infant. Furthermore, his wife, the Queen Juana was also presented with this Holy image and she began to dance with joy, hence becoming the first Sinulog. Sinulog is the ritual prayer-dance honoring Señor Santo Niño or the Child Jesus. The word Sinulog comes from the Cebuano adverb sulog which roughly means "like water current movement;" it describes the forward-backward movement of the Sinulog dance. The dance consists of two steps forward and one step backward, done to the sound of drums. Today the Sinulog commemorates the Filipino people's acceptance of Christianity (specifically, Roman Catholicism), and their rejection of their former animist Therefore, this tradition acts as a beliefs. The first of these conversions hapconstant reminder to the Catholic doctrines that have become a founda- pened in 1521 on the island of Cebu, when Rajah Humabon and his queen tion for God s word to be spread Amihan (Humamay) were baptized throughout the world and for the people of Cebu to also remember the along with their subjects, becoming Cardivine and holy sacred nature of Saint los and Juana of Cebu. Santo Nino. Source: Submitted by: Ken Dumandan Christmas Celebration in our home houses in the shops. There are also decorations such as Christmas trees, Christmas ornaments and Christmas lights outdoors and indoors. We often hear Christmas carols on the radio and at shopping centres which lift up people s Christmas spirits. The time finally came for midnight Mass and we are all excited. When the Mass was over we wished everyone Merry Christmas with hugs and kisses. Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, because we get to spend time with our family and friends. Christmas is a very special time for me. It is the season where people come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We see different types of Christmas candy: like Christmas cookies, candy canes and gingerbread The midnight Mass was a great success. My family and I went home happily. When we got home my sister and I walked straight to our Christmas tree. There were a whole stack of presents with our names on them. I quickly opened mine and I couldn t believe my eyes when I realised that I had been given the most awesome present I wanted. This Christmas my sister prepared the food while I organized the Christmas table. My sister made lamb, pasta salad and chocolate coated brownies for dessert. We ate happily as a family. When it was dinner time my parents prepared the food and this time my sister and I both organized the table. It reminded me of Christmas when we where in Sri Lanka. Every year my family celebrates Christmas like this because Christmas Day is our family day and it is very special to us. Submitted by: Nerrie Silva

8 Issue 47 Page 8 Suppliers of dress fabrics & patterns, patchwork fabrics, haberdashery, knitting yarns & accessories. Sales & service of Janome and Elna sewing machines, embroidery machines & overlockers. WARRAWONG WOOLSHED 1200 Exford Road Eynesbury district Available for hire Unique heritage features and friendly environment - arrange and set up to suit your own needs for up to 120 people for a sit-down meal/family gatherings. For further details, or to arrange a visit and inspection, contact John Little at St Anthony s Bingo St Anthony s School Hall CNR Wilson and Exford Road Melton South (Melways Reference: 342-J-4) Tuesday Night Eyes down pm Come along and have some fun and support your Parish! Editorial Policy The is approved by Fr Fabian Smith prior to printing. The editors and Fr Fabian reserve the right to edit all articles submitted. Articles may be reproduced with permission from the writer and editor. Submissions for next newsletter All Parishioners are welcome to give their suggestions. If you have any article of interest for the next newsletter, please submit them to the Parish Office or to: paduanews@yahoo.com.au by April 30, 2018 Please support our sponsors!