From Fr Greg's Desk: Sunday 2nd November 2025

Hi everyone!

Well, we have a big weekend coming up, with not just one, but two major feast days. We have another big weekend coming after that, with the first of our First Holy Communions and the visit from Sr. Josephine Marie, our 'artist' for the five 'Marian windows' which will be installed next year at OLQP. Anyway, here's a bit more information for you to let you know 'what's going on at RGCP':

All Saints Day Saturday 1st and All Souls Day Sunday 2nd November
This weekend you will be 'treated' to two very different Masses (and homilies) as we have two important feast days and the Liturgy of the Mass will change accordingly. Saturday 1st November is "All Saints Day" and so the Saturday morning and evening regular Masses (8am and 6pm SCB Ryde and 5pm OLQP Gladesville) will be for that feast. Sunday 2nd November is "All Souls Day" and so all the Sunday Masses (including the 4pm Italian Mass at OLQP) will be for our deceased loved ones.

Please note that we also have our annual "Remembrance Mass" at OLQP on Saturday 1st at 10.30am for deceased loved ones, as a special Mass for them. That's a lot of Masses and a lot of activity for your Priests. November Mass envelopes are available in the usual places at our Churches for the names of your deceased loved ones for the "Remembrance Book" we will have for the month of November.

Catholic Mission Appeal This Weekend 1st & 2nd November 2025
As advised last week, our annual Catholic Missions Appeal will be made this weekend. Irene Eaik from Catholic Missions will be speaking at all our regular weekend Masses to promote their invaluable mission work on our behalf. This year the focus is on their missions in Zambia (see the info box on the opposite page). Please make her welcome and contribute best as you can with the work of Catholic Missions. You can also take the envelope home with you and bring it in next week.

Visit of Sr. Josephine Marie Next Weekend 8 - 9 November to our Parish
The long awaited visit of our 'Marian Windows Creator" is happening next weekend. She is on a home visit from England, where she currently resides and will be 'gracing our pews' next weekend at the 5pm Saturday (OLQP) and 8am and 10am (SCB) Masses, to give us a rundown of how her creative energies are being channelled into these wonderful iconic widows due to be installed at OLQP Church Gladesville next year (see info box on opposite page).

Sr. Josephine will be presenting a powerpoint presentation on the Five Marian Windows after the 5pm Mass in the Parish Hall there at Gladesville and also a presentation on Christian Art and Iconography after the 10am Mass downstairs in the MacKillop Room at SCB Ryde. Come along and enjoy this.. she is a real wealth of information in these things! No bookings needed, just grab a coffee and grab a seat in the Parish Hall there.

Toiletry Drive for St. Merkorious Charity for This Year's 'Street Fest.'

Thank you to all who have already responded to our appeal for toiletry items for the annual "Street Fest" hosted by the Archdiocese of Sydney to serve a meal to the homeless of the Inner City and provide a bit of light entertainment. This is happening on Friday 14th November, on the forecourt of St. Mary's Cathedral. The Archdiocese provides a very large marquee, tables and chairs and the homeless are served a wonderful meal.

St. Merkorious are making toiletry packs to give out on the day, and they could use our donations from us of 'personal toiletry items' (such as in the info box on the opposite page). We still need more 'toiletry gifts' for the homeless, so please, keep them coming. Please leave them in the baskets provided at the doors of our Churches over the next two weekends, and outside the Parish Office in the corridor.

Work in Progress with our 'Lawn Repair' at SCB
Work is ongoing with the lawns at SCB, and it is truly a big job! We have decided to "re-turf" major sections on the Charles Street side of the Church, as the sinkage of the land due to it being a gravesite had caused major depressions to the existing lawn and it would not have been cost effective to just keep spreading small layers of soil over the existing lawn. So far Keith tells me we have layered 86 tonnes of organic topsoil over the lawns ... and we still have more to do!

We will be taking down most of the front taped 'barriers' of red-and-white plastic tape as we have a wedding this weekend, but we please ask you to still keep off the grass there (and ask anyone else to do so as well) so that the lawn can recover well. Thanks for your continued help and patience; hopefully all will be back to normal soon.

And that's about it for now (as if that's not enough...). God bless,

Fr. Greg