- Please go to the Services page for information regarding services.
- Please take time to read the weekly and daily prayers which can be found on the Prayers page.
- The weekly Spiritual Communion Service documents as well as other documents you might find useful are posted on the Services page.
- Also, notices are updated on the Weekly Notices each Sunday and, sometimes, extra notices are posted during the week. There is a lot of useful information on the Weekly Notices. Please use this link to access the page.
- We advise you to follow the 'Pray as you Go' website daily, for each day's short service. The service is reflective, quiet and aims to help you to become more aware of God’s presence in your life, listen to and reflect on God’s word and grow in your relationship with God. (link below). You need only click on the date and follow the service which you can pause at any time. There is the option, if you wish, to download specific parts of the short service, such as the reading, prayer or music. Having used this site regularly I enjoy just following the service. Try it. https://pray-as-you-go.org
READING ON TUESDAY 7th DECEMBER
Anguish,
Painted by August Friedrich Albrecht Schenck (1828-1901),
Painted in 1878,
Oil on canvas
© National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Jesus said to his disciples, "Tell me. If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them strays, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that strayed? If he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not stray. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost." (Matthew 18:12-14)
Reflection by Patrick van der Vorst
Today’s reading is very short, yet packed with rich imagery. As we approach Christmas and the birth of Jesus, our guiding Shepherd, we hear the parable of the man who has 100 sheep. Upon realising one of his sheep is missing, he leaves his 99 sheep to search for the lost one. Each of us is that sheep who wandered off. We stray at times from our shepherd and also from our flock, the Church.
I want to look at the word ‘stray’ in our short reading. It appears three times in our Gospel passage of Mathew. Luke’s version of this parable uses the word ‘lost’. The parable of the ‘lost’ sheep is probably the better known version to us. Yet ‘stray’ is probably the better word for what Jesus tries to communicate to us. If we get lost, it somehow means that maybe it isn’t our fault that we got lost. It wasn’t our intention to get lost, it just happened accidentally. However, to ‘stray’ means the we deliberately took a decision to distance ourselves or move away. That is what happens when we sin: we deliberately leave the right path and thus distance ourselves from God.
During Advent, as Christmas is approaching, we have to realise why Christ came into the world: to help save his ’strayed’ sheep.
The painting from 1878 is by August Schenck. It depicts a ewe bleating in grief, her breath freezing in the cold air. The mother sheep is standing over the dead body of her lamb; a trickle of blood is running from its mouth into the white snow. The scene is almost reminiscent of a pietà. The pair of sheep is encircled by black crows that look threatening. Maybe the little lamb strayed and it was too late for it to be saved? The painting conveys a desperate sense of grief and isolation when we are away from the flock. This canvas was an early acquisition by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, just a few years after it was founded in 1861. Remarkably, it has been voted the most popular painting of the gallery's 75,000 works on two occasions, in 1906 and 2011.
(Pietà - a picture or sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ on her lap or in her arms.)
Reflection by Patrick van der Vorst
Today’s reading is very short, yet packed with rich imagery. As we approach Christmas and the birth of Jesus, our guiding Shepherd, we hear the parable of the man who has 100 sheep. Upon realising one of his sheep is missing, he leaves his 99 sheep to search for the lost one. Each of us is that sheep who wandered off. We stray at times from our shepherd and also from our flock, the Church.
I want to look at the word ‘stray’ in our short reading. It appears three times in our Gospel passage of Mathew. Luke’s version of this parable uses the word ‘lost’. The parable of the ‘lost’ sheep is probably the better known version to us. Yet ‘stray’ is probably the better word for what Jesus tries to communicate to us. If we get lost, it somehow means that maybe it isn’t our fault that we got lost. It wasn’t our intention to get lost, it just happened accidentally. However, to ‘stray’ means the we deliberately took a decision to distance ourselves or move away. That is what happens when we sin: we deliberately leave the right path and thus distance ourselves from God.
During Advent, as Christmas is approaching, we have to realise why Christ came into the world: to help save his ’strayed’ sheep.
The painting from 1878 is by August Schenck. It depicts a ewe bleating in grief, her breath freezing in the cold air. The mother sheep is standing over the dead body of her lamb; a trickle of blood is running from its mouth into the white snow. The scene is almost reminiscent of a pietà. The pair of sheep is encircled by black crows that look threatening. Maybe the little lamb strayed and it was too late for it to be saved? The painting conveys a desperate sense of grief and isolation when we are away from the flock. This canvas was an early acquisition by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, just a few years after it was founded in 1861. Remarkably, it has been voted the most popular painting of the gallery's 75,000 works on two occasions, in 1906 and 2011.
(Pietà - a picture or sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ on her lap or in her arms.)
READINGS ON SUNDAY 5th DECEMBER
The Second Sunday of Advent
First Reading 1 Philippians 1:3-11
I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
Gospel Reading Luke 3:1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
Gospel Reading Luke 3:1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
ADVENT REFLECTION: Week Two
Written by Sister Anna Yeo and sourced from: https://www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/advent-reflection-1-1.pdf
I love lighting candles in the Church. For some reason, it fills my heart with warmth. As we watch the candle of peace being lit on the Second Sunday of Advent, it can be hard to be at peace either with God or with all that is happening around us. Peace has never been an easy state to attain. It is more so this year isn’t it? Even without the pandemic, the pain of separation and suffering, uncertain and fearful moments as well as the experience of grief and loss are already part of our lives.
I have always found peace to be like a fog or mist. I could see it and even feel it but when I reach out to grab hold of it, it slips through my fingers. I end up grasping nothing. God did not make peace or his graces hard to be obtained. God does not tease or enjoy being mean to us. Look at the words of the prophet Isaiah: COMFORT, COMFORT MY PEOPLE, SAYS YOUR GOD. These words reinforce God’s love for us by reminding us that God is not slow and does not forget his promises. He is being patient with us.
I will be the first to hold my hands up and admit that I can certainly test people’s patience! Let’s face it. We are not perfect. However, God in His boundless love and unending patience always gives us time and opportunities repeatedly for us to prepare a way for him. The way for him to us. It is always about us and for us. God loves us that much.
Do not let the opportunity of Advent pass by us. How often we find ourselves no different on 26th December than we were on the 1st Sunday of Advent. This year, we are so eager to get back to normal when we are actually presented with a glorious opportunity to reflect and start anew, a new normal. Let this Advent not only help prepare us for the coming of Jesus but also the coming of a new us.
As you journey through Advent, know that you are never alone. You have an army of angels, saints and the whole Church praying with you and for you. I have lit a candle for all of you who are reading this. May that knowledge give you peace and hope. May God bless you.
ADVENT REFLECTION: Week Two
Written by Sister Anna Yeo and sourced from: https://www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/advent-reflection-1-1.pdf
I love lighting candles in the Church. For some reason, it fills my heart with warmth. As we watch the candle of peace being lit on the Second Sunday of Advent, it can be hard to be at peace either with God or with all that is happening around us. Peace has never been an easy state to attain. It is more so this year isn’t it? Even without the pandemic, the pain of separation and suffering, uncertain and fearful moments as well as the experience of grief and loss are already part of our lives.
I have always found peace to be like a fog or mist. I could see it and even feel it but when I reach out to grab hold of it, it slips through my fingers. I end up grasping nothing. God did not make peace or his graces hard to be obtained. God does not tease or enjoy being mean to us. Look at the words of the prophet Isaiah: COMFORT, COMFORT MY PEOPLE, SAYS YOUR GOD. These words reinforce God’s love for us by reminding us that God is not slow and does not forget his promises. He is being patient with us.
I will be the first to hold my hands up and admit that I can certainly test people’s patience! Let’s face it. We are not perfect. However, God in His boundless love and unending patience always gives us time and opportunities repeatedly for us to prepare a way for him. The way for him to us. It is always about us and for us. God loves us that much.
Do not let the opportunity of Advent pass by us. How often we find ourselves no different on 26th December than we were on the 1st Sunday of Advent. This year, we are so eager to get back to normal when we are actually presented with a glorious opportunity to reflect and start anew, a new normal. Let this Advent not only help prepare us for the coming of Jesus but also the coming of a new us.
As you journey through Advent, know that you are never alone. You have an army of angels, saints and the whole Church praying with you and for you. I have lit a candle for all of you who are reading this. May that knowledge give you peace and hope. May God bless you.
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