French's Forest Catholic Parish eNEWS

Cecilia Ellam 24 October, St Martin’s, 1.30pm
Mary Duncan 25 October, St Joseph’s, Rockdale, 10.30am. Burial, Frenchs Forest Cemetery 1.30pm.
Joan Williams 26 October, St Anthony’s, 1.30pm

A church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.He wrote “I’ve gone for 30 years now and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 homilies, but for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them.So I think I’m wasting my time, the priests are wasting theirs by giving the homilies at all.” This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column. Some weeks later the editor printed this letter in reply – “I’ve been married for 30 years now.In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals.But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this, they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work.If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today!” When you are DOWN to nothing, God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! If you cannot see God…

Sunday 4 November….9am Mass
Please join us at the special time of 9 am, for this whole of parish and school event as we celebrate the feast day of one of our parish’s patron saints. Morning tea will follow.
This means that the 9.00am Mass at St Anthony’s & 10am Mass at OLGC will be cancelled on that day.

Fr Leonse (Syro-Malabar Chaplain) warmly invites all Parishioners to come to the special Syro-Malabr Rite Mass at St Anthony’s on Saturday 27 October at 5.30pm.
For more than 2 years this Eastern Rite Mass has been celebrated in our Parish and as part of the Month of the Rosary you are invited to share in this special event. Dinner will follow the mass. Please use the clipboards at the back of each church to RSVP for catering purposes.
Please note this will be the Terrey Hills vigil Mass

ALL SOULS DAY Friday 2nd November
Blessing of the Graves at Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery. Registration 1.45 for 2.00 pm.
Remembrance Mass at 7.00 pm at St Martin’s,followed by supper
Please write the names of your loved ones on the clipboard at the back of the church, contact the Parish Office on 9451 5097, or send your email to: parish.office@ffcp.org.au

Did you know there are 45catechists who play an important role in the faith formation of 900 children in 8 public primary schools schools and 300 in our public High Schools in our Parish? Our catechists bring joy and spiritual fulfilment to children in their Catholic scripture classes. There are 16,500 children who receive Catholic Religious Education in NSW Public Schools in our Diocese.
When you make the decision to give to the Charitable Works Fund you are helping your local community. Donations received are distributed between the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD), CatholicCare Hospital Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care Practitioners, St Lucy’s School, St Edmund’s College

This weekend we have a Listening and Dialogue session after the 8.30am Mass at St Martin’s and 7.30pm on Monday evening 22nd October at St Anthony’s, all are welcome to join in these sessions. Thank you to everyone who has already participated in small group sessions.Your voice is important and will make the Plenary Council 2020 meaningful for ALL.Subscribe to Plenary Post online on plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au if you would like to know more.

This weekend we celebrate our Catechists with a Thanksgiving Mass at 5.30pm at OLGC. We are blessed at Frenchs Forest Catechists to have 45 Catechists who go into our State schools weekly to teach our Parish children who do not attend Catholic Schools.Please pray for them in their Ministry, however perhaps you would like to join the team..........................
What does it mean to you to be a Catechist? To share God’s love with children in a classroom environment. What qualifications do I need? A love of children A desire to share your faith A willingness to learn new things The ability to follow provided lesson plans A desire to share your strengths with the parish community
Term 4 Catechist meeting is being held on

As there is another meeting in the Parish on our practice night our Music Practice will be on
WEDNESDAY 24 OCTOBER 7.00PM at OLGC  
If our Music Team could make every effort to be there  as we missed practice last month.

On October 26, Christine Mooney, Leo Ward andMike Skippington will visit Alas, Timor Leste, for what has become a routine activity. However, it is important to keep this personal connection with the Alas community to assure them of ourcontinued support, to share the joy of their achievements and to discuss their plans for the future. A full update will be available after the visit.Please include them in your prayers.

Take the time to step back from everyday distractions and rediscover your relationship!  16 – 18 November at Mt Carmel Retreat Centre, Varroville, NSW  Book online at www.wwme.org.au Or contactAdrian and Janet Sullivan: on 0490 774 419 oremail adrian.janet1@bigpond.com

Father Paul Finucane, Parish Priest of Kincumber Parish and our Chaplain will be celebrating Mass for Serra at Sacred Heart Church, 2 Richard Porter Way Pymble on Thursday 25th October 2018.
The evening will commence with Mass at 6.30PM followed by a light meal and a short meeting.After the meal Father Paul will be our guest speaker.He will speak to us about his recent visit to the Holy Land.
Everyone is welcome.
RSVP: Terry Scanlan on 0438 887 295 or email terry_scanlan@bigpond.com if you would like to attend.

The man in today’s gospel story is described (at the end) as a man of great wealth, so that when Jesus says ‘There is one thing you lack’, it would have got his attention. But he learnt to his shock that what he lacked was the big-heartedness which would enable him to give up the security and status and power which came with his possessions. Jesus was not satisfied with the wealthy man’s minimalist agenda of keeping the commandments. He is just as dissatisfied with us. We each know what is holding us back from being a wholehearted follower of Jesus Christ. At some stage in our lives, we have known, or know now, or will know, what it is we are hanging onto: the one thing we cannot, will not, give up, the one thing that is so much part of our personality we cannot imagine what it would be like to get rid of it. There is only one thing that can give you, give me, the courage and trust that is needed. In this Gospel story, and the only time in Mark, it says: ‘Jesus looked steadily at him an…

2nd November
Blessing of the Graves at Frenchs Forest Bushland Cemetery. Registration 1.45 for 2.00 pm.

Remembrance Mass at 7.00 pm at St Martin’s,followed by supper

Please write the names of your loved ones on the clipboard at the back of thechurch, or contact the Parish Office on 9451 5097, or send your email to: parish.office@ffcp.org.au

Fr Leonse (Syro-Malabar Chaplain) warmly invites all Parishioners to come to the special Syro-Malabrar Rite Mass at St Anthony’s on Saturday 27 October at 5.30pm.
For more than 2 years this Eastern Rite Mass has been celebrated in our Parish and as part of the Month of the Rosary you are invited to share in this special event. Dinner will follow the mass. Please use the clipboards at the back of each church to RSVP for catering purposes.
Please note this will be the Terrey Hills vigil mass

Sister Lucia, one of the three Fatima children who was canonized last year, said this of the Rosary: “The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families… that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.”

We wish our Parish Catechists a restful break before the start of Term 4 which begins on Monday 15 October.  Our Term 4 Catechist Meeting will be held on Wednesday 24 October at 7.30pm
Our Catechist Thanksgiving Mass is the 5.30 pm Vigil Mass to be held at OLGC on Saturday 20th October, followed by a shared shared.Please note the change of date.We look forward to celebrating the year of teaching SRE in our State schools as one group.
Catechist Prayer Here I am Lord, I am not worthy to be the one to teach your truths, but you, in your wisdom, have called me to this place.Give me the wisdom to use my abilities for the good of your kingdom. Give me the courage to be a witness of the Gospel. Give me the grace to deepen my Faith so that I might share that Faith with others. With your help, I will speak your words.Reveal your presence. Show your love, now and all the days of my life. Amen