given so much activity, so many projects to implement, at the end there is little time left and we lose sight of what is fundamental: our life of the heart, our spiritual life, our life which is encounter with the Lord in prayer. Pope Francis at his general audience (15 November 2017) NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2017 December Mass and Rosary 6:00PM Monday 4 December 2017 Celebrant: Fr Brendan Hayes Our Lady of Lourdes 631 High Street, Prahran Following Rosary, this being the final function before Christmas, Father Brendan has invited members of the Order to share refreshments in the Presbytery. Ecclesiastical Knights, Knights and Dames are encouraged to attend and prospective members are welcome. Please advise Secretary Knight Maurice Fanning (mfanning@bigpond.net.au) of your planned attendance or apology. RIP Edmund John Ryan AM KHS Ed died at home on 8 November, having reached his 92 nd year. Ed was invested into the Order in 1997 and was an active member for many years. A funeral Mass at St Peter s, Toorak on 16 November was celebrated by Order Chaplain and Parish priest Fr Brendan Hayes with Frs Bill Uren S.J. and Peter L Estrange S.J. concelebrating. Daughter Julie described Ed s involvement as an architectural engineer in the restoration of many significant Church buildings of the Diocese, including St Francis (Melbourne), Newman College, St Patrick s Cathedral and St Peter s (Toorak). We remember Ed, his wife Cath and their family in our prayers. 2017 Contributions A final reminder to those with 2017 contributions still outstanding about the need to pay 2017 contributions before the end of November. I take this opportunity to thank those who have made contributions for their generosity; the mission of the Order is reflected in your Faith and Charity. The work of the Latin Patriarchate and needs of the Christians of the Holy Land will be advanced during 2018 by the continued involvement of our Lieutenancy. EOHSJ Australia-Victoria November 2017 Newsletter pg. 1
2018 Visit by Grand Master The Grand Master, Edwin Cardinal O Brien will visit Melbourne in early September 2018. An Investiture Mass will be held during the Grand Master s visit. This will be a wonderful opportunity for new members to be invested by the Grand Master. Please make every effort to bring the mission of our Order to the attention of your local Parish community and amongst your catholic friends. We will again be holding an Information Night in February 2018. I am available to provide further information and necessary documentation to assist any interested in joining our Order. Welfare You are asked to remember Knight Bill Ward KHS in your prayers. Bill is currently in Cabrini, Brighton although he is expected to return home shortly. Achievements Our congratulations Fr Cameron Forbes on his recent appointment as Vice-rector of Corpus Christi Seminary. 2019 Pilgrimage to the Holy Land With Chaplain Fr Simon Grainger and our tour company, I am developing a program for a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land in May 2019. The itinerary will include Mt Nebo and Madaba in Jordan, the baptismal site on the Jordan River, Galilee (including staying in Nazareth) where Our Lord carried out much of his ministry, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and sites related to the crusaders. Every effort is being made to provide opportunities to meet with faithful Christians maintaining the Holy sites and who sustain the Mother Church in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Nobody returns from a pilgrimage without being profoundly affected in their faith and having a deeper commitment to the mission of our Order. You might like to start thinking about and reserving the time in your diary. The Pilgrimage is not exclusive to members of the Order; fellow parishioners, family members and catholic friends who have an interest in the mission of the Order are welcome. 125th Anniversary of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Monastery, Haifa Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine. The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel celebrated the 125th anniversary of the foundation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on Saturday 5 November during a Mass presided by Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, at Stella Maris Monastery in Haifa. The Mass was concelebrated by Bishop Boulos Marcuzzo, EOHSJ Australia-Victoria November 2017 Newsletter pg. 2
The celebration started with a procession with the statue of the Infant Jesus, the Icon of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the official chronicles of the monastery and the jubilee candle. On this occasion, Archbishop Pizzaballa delivered a blessing granted by His Holiness Pope to the Carmelites, in which he urged them to persevere in their lives of contemplation and prayer, in order to radiate the joy of the Risen Christ on the Church in the Holy Land. Before receiving the final blessings, the nuns presented a book, in French and Arabic, about the history of the Carmelite Order and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Monastery. On the 16th of July of every year, the faithful celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It has been a tradition between the Francescan and the Carmelite Order, during which the Franciscan friars preside over the Mass of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and, on August 15th in the Basilica of Annunciation, the Carms preside over the Mass of Assumption of Virgin Mary. Also, a traditional procession of the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel takes place on the third Sunday after Easter. The Church also celebrates the feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus on October 15th of every year. A brief history of the Order and the Monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel The Order was founded in 1209 after the enactment of the Rule of Saint Albert of Vercelli which organized the spiritual and social life of the hermits who lived in the caves of Mount Carmel. By abiding to this Rule, the hermits commit to continuous prayers, silence, work, and the celebration of daily masses. Afterward, St. Simon Stock made some changes to the Rule to stress on community life, as well as allowing the hermits to live in cities and establish academic institutions. Both St. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross are the ones who introduced reformation to the Carmelite Order. In 1562, St.Teresa established St. Joseph Monastery in Avila in Spain, and then, with St. John the Cross, the first monastery for the Carms was founded in 1568. In 1892, the prioress Mother Mary of the Sacred Heart fulfilled the wishes of Mother Mary of Jesus of establishing a monastery for the Carmelites on Mount Carmel, in which the monastery was inaugurated during a Mass presided by Fr. Felix, the prior of the monastery. In 1934, the Carmelites were able to purchase a piece of land on top of Mount Carmel after they sold a part of the garden at the old monastery, after which the current monastery was built in 1935. Those who took part in the 2016 Victorian Lieutenancy pilgrimage to the Holy Land will recall Mass in the chapel of the monastery during our journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. The History of Karak and Ader Bishop Maroun Lahham presented the latest book about Christians in the cities of Karak and Ader on Saturday, 28 October 2017. The book is part of a collection dedicated to the Christian history of parishes of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The work, which is the Arabic translation of the writings of Fr. Pierre Medebielle, a French priest of the Betharramite Fathers who served in the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem as a historian. Father Medebielle passed away in 2005. Karak s Christian history was particularly marked by the forced emigration of Christian families to the historic city of Madaba. This was because of a serious dispute between the Christian and Muslim EOHSJ Australia-Victoria November 2017 Newsletter pg. 3
tribes. At the root of the conflict was the kidnapping of a Christian woman by a young Muslim in 1879. The purpose of these booklets, as well as preserving the memory of past generations that have succeeded in Jordan while retaining the faith they have received, is to allow younger generations to rediscover their history. It is therefore a long-term pastoral work. Copies of these volumes are distributed in the parishes of Palestine, Galilee and Jordan. Books already published: History of the parish of Taybeh; History of the parish of Ma in; History of the parish of Salt; History of the parish of Zababdeh; History of the parish of Smakieh; History of the parish of Naour; History of the parish of Beit Jala; History of the parish of Gaza; History of the parishes of Karak and Ader; History of the parish of Madaba. Upcoming books: History of the parish of Jaffa of Nazareth; History of the parish of Fuheis; History of the parish of Beit Sahour. The Feast of Our Lady Queen of Palestine The Diocese of Jerusalem celebrated the Solemnity of Our Lady Queen of Palestine in the Sanctuary of Deir Rafat on Sunday 29 October 2017. The Mass was presided by Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, and concelebrated by Bishop Giacinto Boulos Marcuzzo, Patriarchal Vicar in Jerusalem and Palestine and Fr. Hanna Kildani, Patriarchal Vicar in Nazareth with the participation of priests, religious men and women, Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, seminarians and the faithful. In his homily, Fr. Kildani delightfully welcomed the participants in this Holy shrine, and highlighted Virgin Mary s words to Jesus in the wedding at Cana in Galilee They have no more wine (John 2: 1-2) and he asked, what would she say today? He urged her to Whisper to him that they have no peace, no hope of the future, and they are desperate for they don t have an internationally recognized state, don t have oil nor olives, as it has been looted and plundered. Also, he called upon the Queen of Heaven and Earth not to forget her earthly land and children. Many world leaders tried to build bridges but what we saw instead was more walls built. He finished his homily asking Mary Immaculate to help us build faith in God, ourselves and others who are similar and different from us, as together we make the nation who are seeking God s kingdom. EOHSJ Australia-Victoria November 2017 Newsletter pg. 4
The solemn Mass was followed by the traditional procession with the statue of Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Palestine. More than 2,000 local and international Christians were present who came at the invitation of the Patriarchate. As their first time in the Holy Land, Mr. Stephan and Ms. Renetta Torres, of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, felt honoured and humbled to come all the way from New Mexico to the Holy Land. They expressed their touching experience in their pilgrimage and in participating in this Mass. We ve been so impressed; I have never been so humbled and proud in the same time said Mr. Stephan. Ms. Torres added that this whole experience is so moving, it s unlike anything you could ve prepared yourself for; to be where Jesus Christ lived and walked with His Blessed Mother. It s a very emotional trip. I can feel God s hands with us, being here in this mass with our robes of the Holy Sepulchre: it is a gift. As a tradition, many faithful came from different parishes in the Holy Land to participate in the Mass. Ms. Sawsan Shomali, from Beit Sahour, reflected on her pilgrimage to Deir Rafat: It is a yearly event I look forward to as a Catholic, a Palestinian and a female. Often, due to travel restrictions, the trip is charged with mixed feelings: to cross or not to cross the checkpoint. However, this year was different. The drive was smooth, and the place was bustling with worshippers from all over the world to revere this place and in search of Mary our Lady of Palestine, requesting her intervention for peace in her homeland. The live hymns charged the pilgrims minds and hearts and unified them under one umbrella, one church and one mission. The shrine of Our Lady of Palestine was built in 1927 at the initiative of His Beatitude the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Louis Barlassina, who instituted the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Palestine. In 1933, the feast day in Deir Rafat was approved by the Holy See. Grand Magisterium Payments to the Holy Land The financial report for the period 1 January through 30 September 2017 shows a total of 9,709,583.63 was forwarded to the Holy Land from the Grand Magisterium. The purposes of the funds included Migrant Children s Aid ( 224,587.14), Our Lady of Peace Centre ( 92,226.68), Schools including salary support ( 2,867098.15), Medical and Humanitarian Aid ( 625,172.87), Bethlehem University ( 347,811.55), Other Institutions ( 833,063.26), Pontifical Mission activities ( 200,00.00) to name the main activities, In addition to our financial contributions it is important to continue to pray for peace and justice in the Holy Land. It is worth repeating again the words of Fr Kildani from his homily on the Feast of Our Lady Queen of Palestine, Whisper to him that they have no peace, no hope of the future, and they are desperate for they don t have an internationally recognized state, don t have oil nor olives, as it has been looted and plundered. For those yet to make their 2017 Contribution: a) By Cheque. Make payable to: EOHSJ Mail, clearly identifying your name and the amount, to: EOHSJ Australia-Victoria November 2017 Newsletter pg. 5
Michael Howard KCHS EOHSJ Treasurer 58 Berringa Road Park Orchards, VIC 3114 b) Bank Transfer to: National Australia Bank Account Name: EOHSJ BSB: 083-347 Account: 64-850-8659 Please Email Treasurer Michael Howard KCHS (temah6108@optusnet.com.au) with your name and amount transferred. Found Following the Vigil at the Carmelite Monastery the Sisters found a Jerusalem Cross. It is slightly different to those as part of our regalia and might be part of someone s personal jewellery. If you have lost such an item, please contact me to have it returned. 2017-18 PROGRAM Monday 4 December: 2018 6:00pm Mass and Rosary followed by refreshments Our Lady of Lourdes, 631 High Street Armadale Monday 5 February: 6:00 pm Mass and Rosary followed by refreshments Expected to be at the new facilities: St Peter s, 585 Toorak Road, Toorak Information Night for prospective candidates February; date to be determined. Monday 2 April: 6:00pm Mass, Rosary and Annual General Meeting St Peter s, 585 Toorak Road, Toorak Fraternally in Christ, Will Kininmonth KCHS Lieutenant Australia-Victoria 2503/80 Lorimer Street Docklands, VIC 3008 0418 376 236 w.kininmonth@gmail.com EOHSJ Australia-Victoria November 2017 Newsletter pg. 6