From Fr Greg's Desk: 15th January 2023

Hi everyone, and welcome to what the Church calls “ordinary time” (with the green vestments). Except that there is nothing “ordinary” about it ... The Christmas period is over, yes, but now that “Christ child” within needs to be nourished and fed, cleaned and clothed, and must learn to walk and talk, and grow to maturity.

Perhaps instead of “ordinary time” we could speak of a “time for ordering” our lives to become more like Jesus, “fixing our eyes on him” as master painters fix their eyes on the subject being painted, so that the image being painted concurs with the original.Thanks Fr Steve for ‘Holding the Fort’
I am very grateful to Fr. Steve for having ‘manned the fort’ in my absence, while I, Fr. Dan and Fr. Daniele were away for rest and prayer. We are all now back at the Parish and the New Year is in full swing. God has big things in store for us, so let us ‘get cracking’!

Ode to Cardinal Pell: A Great Catholic Leader for Our Times
We were very saddened to learn of the untimely death of our courageous Cardinal Pell who, as many fine articles in the Australian this week, is remembered as one of the greatest of all Australian prelates, as Cardinal Manning was to the early colony of the ‘Great Southern Land’.

I will personally be eternally grateful to him for having received me in Rome while I was there, in the years before coming back to Australia, and for subsequently making it possible for the Male Branch of the Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity to establish itself here in Sydney.

Cardinal Pell was instrumental in bringing me back home. He enthusiastically supported my petition to come to Australia, after 27 years of missionary service overseas, and take up ministry first of all at the former Parish of St. Joseph’s Rosebery, before being appointed as Parish Priest here with you and my fellow Verbum Dei brothers at Ryde Gladesville.

Rest in Peace, beloved and courageous Pastor. May the Good Lord shower you with blessings for your unique and timely, courageous and staunch defence of the Catholic Faith, as indeed, for having done your best to right the wrongs of the past and audaciously lead our Archdiocese of Sydney into this very challenging 21st century.

Upcoming events: CatholicCare Community Companioning Workshop”
As noted late last year, we wish to develop our “Seniors Ministry” more in the Parish, and if you remember, we invited Steven Hollai of CatholicCare to address us on this important ministry late last November. He offered to give us formation to know how to accompany elderly people in this important part of their lives, in the ‘twilight years’.

On Tuesday February 14th, he will be conducting a “Community Companioning Workshop” from 9am to 4 pm (with morning/afternoon tea and lunch provided), as an initial formation for this marvellous ministry. Places in the workshop are very limited.

Please make your expressions of interest known to me in writing by email by the end of this month (31 January).

And that’s about it for now.

God bless, and enjoy the relative calm of the January summer break.

Fr. Greg