From Fr Greg's Desk: Sunday 16th March, 2025

Hi everyone!
There is so much happening in and around our Parish right now, that I feel a little 'breathless' trying to keep up with it all.

Last Sunday's Centenary Celebrations at OLQP Church
Firstly, I wanted to express a huge 'thank you!' to everyone who helped make last weekend's Centenary Celebrations at OLQP Church such a 'classy' affair. The feedback I have received from all sorts of people has been extremely positive. I am told that "the whole thing ran like clockwork!'. The Church looked resplendent, the welcoming and ushering were outstanding, and the Mass itself was beautifully celebrated (thanks in no small part to His Grace Archbishop Anthony Fisher and his 'Master of Ceremonies' Fr. Ben Saliba).

Others have said how uplifting the music and singing was, as were the resounding responses given in unison by those present, which reverberated joyfully throughout the Church, as well as outside through the speakers and TV screen to the 100 or so who couldn't fit into the Church (I estimate that we had a total of somewhere between 600 - 650 people all told, physically present - in addition to all those who followed the Mass via live streaming). My sincere thanks go out to Stefan Wisniewski for his professional help in setting up and running the live streaming on the day.

The reception in OLQP School grounds afterwards (thank you, Mr. Frank Cohen) was also extremely well run, warm and 'homely'. The food was so good and the 'servers' taking it round were so gracious in their approach, that some asked us afterwards to pass on the names of the 'caterers'!! Little did they realise that those sandwiches were all lovingly homemade and that the friendly 'staff' all volunteers from either OLQP Church or Primary School.

It was a credit to all of you, and it beautifully manifested the friendly and welcoming face of Christ of our combined Parish to all and sundry. I particularly thank our friends at OLQP Primary School, especially Simone Scoullar, the Assistant Principal, who spent long hours in making the gathering possible afterwards in the OLQP Primary School grounds. Our Youth Team and volunteers (including our own resident 'Mr. Slushy', Paul Profilo) kept the kids entertained, watered and fed throughout, and it was lovely to see how the visitors - including many past parishioners of OLQP - mingled and lingered in the school grounds for hours afterwards.

So, again, a big 'thank you' to the Centenary Committee for all the hard work that went into it, and the long volunteer hours given by the Parish Office staff. And a heart-felt thank you to all the other volunteers who helped get this event up and running. Ryde Catholic Gladesville Parish, I am incredibly proud of you! (Photos page 4)

By the way, there is a lovely article in this week's edition of our local Ryde Weekly Times (TWT), penned by none other than Br. Nicholas Harsas, fsp, that I hope you all had a chance to read, (if not, you can catch it on page 4 of this week's edition). Thanks, Br. Nicholas, for making that contribution, and for getting such an edifying message out to the locals. You can also catch the opening article about the OLQP Centenary celebrations here at https://www.weeklytimes.com.au/centenary-of-gladesvilles-our-lady-queen-of-peace-catholic-church-celebrated/. Thanks as well to Anthony Stavrinos for that, the Assistant Editor, who attended the celebrations and covered the event for the TWT.

Marilyn Rodrigues of the Catholic Weekly was also present throughout, and tells me they will be running a special article about it next week, as the huge RCIA Rite of Election in the Cathedral, which 'enrolled' about 380 people to be received into the Catholic Church this Easter at their local Parishes, took up most of the available space in this week's edition. I will request they send us more copies next week to make sure everyone who wants one can get it.

RCIA Rite of Election - Ryde Gladesville Contingent.
Speaking of which, RGCP was also beautifully represented at the RCIA 'Rite of Election' last Sunday afternoon at the Cathedral. There were 10 Catechumens presented (for reception of both Baptism and Confirmation}, along with two Candidates (for Confirmation alone). Two others are also preparing to be received into the Catholic Church at Easter, but they couldn't make it to last Sunday's Rite due to other commitments. The photo taken outside the Cathedral even made it onto the Archbishop's Facebook page (see below).

The names for the RCIA this year are as follows: Our Catechumens: Lina Peeauake, Garcia Chui; Kristy Tai; Thanh Thy Nguyen; Rozhina Mohammadi; Aileen Sudharma; Demi Elis; Belle Elis; Peter van der Eyk and Eric Li. The names of our 'Candidates' are: Sophia Nabutovskaya and Tara Ikonomou.

We ask you to continue to pray for all of our Catechumens and Candidates as they progress through the final six weeks of preparations for the big day. They will be received into the Church at the 6.30 pm Easter Vigil Mass at SCB Church, on Saturday 19th April.

West Ryde Easter Celebrations (WREC) at Anzac Park West Ryde Sat 12 April
For the first time this year, our Parish will be participating in the annual West Ryde Easter
Celebrations or "WREC" for short (which is a funny abbreviation for such an edifying event!!) in which many of our local Christian Churches in the Ryde Area get together for a bit of Easter fun and festivity before the big event. There is also a singing competition, an 'Easter bonnet' competition, and a 'colouring in' competition (but you have to be there to win the prizes) They will have rides, farm animals to pat, and food trucks on the day. The St. Charles Primary School Choir will be performing on the stage that morning and we will have a stall with things about the Parishes, Schools, Colleges in the area, since we, on behalf of the Parishes in the area, have become a "Silver Sponsor” of the event.

If anyone would be willing to 'man the stall' that day, we'd love to hear from you. We want to have a visible presence in more civic events, and this is an excellent way of doing just that.

So please "Save the Date" being the Saturday 12 April (just before Palm Sunday). Get in touch with me if you would be happy to be involved in manning the stall

Rosary Making Classes with Mrs. Livia Mio
Interested in learning how to make a set of rosary beads with wire to hold it all together? An expert rosary maker, Mrs Livia Mio, wants to hand this 'legacy' on to others, having made over 10,000 rosaries over the last 30 years of her life. Every year she has made 150 rosaries so that all our First Holy Communion recipients can get one (see the photo below). She in willing to come to Ryde on a weekday morning, to show others how to do it. The course is free of charge, but they will have to supply their own beads and other materials (she can help source them). Please give the Office a ring to find out more.

'Didasko' Biblical Formation: Jesus and the Gospels with Dr. Peter Holmes - Monday 7, 14, 28 April (7.30 - 8.45 pm)
The Archdiocese is once again offering online Biblical Formation through the ‘Didasko' programme, and Notre Dame University Sydney. We are happy to offer you all the opportunity for free here at the Parish. If anyone is interested, let us know over the next two weeks, as the Parish plans to sponsor the $100 group fee. We intend to screen it here at the Parish Centre at SCB Ryde, downstairs in the Gell Room (as we have in prior years). There is an info box for more information below.

And that's about it for now. God bless, and have a lovely week.

Fr. Greg