From Fr Greg's Desk: Sunday 11th February, 2024

Hi everyone.
Ash Wednesday is Next Wednesday - 14th Feb
Well, we are once again at the doors of 'Lent', which is meant to be a time of greater prayer, abstinence, and almsgiving, beginning with Ash Wednesday. I am sure we all need to renew our following of Christ, and do our bit to help the Holy Spirit,with our own personal efforts at 'repenting and believing the Good News'. The Mass times for Ash Wednesday are printed on the front page of this bulletin.

Please note we have introduced a 6.30 am Mass at OLQP this year for those who work, along with the usual 7.30 pm Mass at SCB. We want to offer everyone the possibility of taking part in a Mass this day, along with the Sacrament of reconciliation before each of these Masses.

"Almsgiving": Project Compassion Lenten Appeal
Almsgiving is very much a part of Lent, designed to show practical Christian charity and help make us more sensitive to people who are 'doing it tough'. As a Church, we support Caritas Australia, particularly during Lent, which is our own Catholic international aid agency. Caritas Australia organises the annual Project Compassion Appeal nationally. They support aid projects for people in poor countries who barely have the basic means of survival. Please support this important charitable work by taking home a set of envelopes, or a 'Project Compassion' box, or by donating directly to the agency. More details can be found on the opposite page.

"Prayer" - Lenten Companion 'Be Filled with the Love of God' Available Free.
Lent is also a time of deepening in our prayer life, to better understand the will of God in a growing personal relationship with God. Our Tuesday night School of the Word is an excellent place to start, by learning to pray with the Word of God. But we also still have copies available of the Archdiocesan Lenten Companion 2024 to help focus your prayer during Lent. This guide has been produced by the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation of the Archdiocese, and is provided free of charge to anyone wishing to conduct their own prayer group this Lent, or indeed, just to do so individually. Copies will be left at the Church entrances this weekend. If you would like to be part of one of the Prayer Groups at RGCP, please contact the Parish Office for more details.

And that's about all for now. God bless you all, and I pray that this Lent will be a time for us all to take stock of our spiritual lives and use the means available to us to improve our following of Christ, and make the world a better place for our passing through it.

Fr. Greg