French's Forest Catholic Parish eNEWS

We welcome our Bishop of Broken Bay, Rev Anthony Randazzo, to 10am Mass this weekend. We are so pleased that Bishop Anthony has taken the time to visit our Parish and we extend a huge Frenchs Forest Catholic Parish welcome.

As we hear the story again about the feeding of the five thousand we know that this parable assures us that Jesus nourishes us and will never desert us. This parable also teaches us that we are nourished by God through the ministry of each other, through the simple things in life, distributing food to those in need, visiting the sick, consoling the grieving and so much more. Sharing a cup of tea after Mass and talking with one another is also part of this and something that we are so used to doing in our Parish. This makes us feel the loss of this even more, especially this weekend with having Bishop Anthony with us. Not to be able to offer him food and drink, seems to go against our ministering to one another. But let this not make the celebration any less. Let…

This week we reflect on a Homily given by Pope Francis last week on the real essence of life.

“You can have flaws, be anxious, and even be angry, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can stop it from going bust. Many appreciate you, admire you and love you. Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments.  To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord. It is not only to enjoy the smile, but also to reflect on the sadness. It is not only to celebrate the successes, but to learn lessons from the failures. It is not only to feel happy with the applause, but to be happy in anonymity.  Being happy is not a fatality of destiny, but an achievement for those who can travel within themselves. To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny's author. It is to cro…

Congratulations to Stephanie, Myles and Leo Paul who received the Sacraments of Initiation last weekend and to Liam and Parker who were baptised. We are truly blessed as a community to have them join us.This completes our RCIA Program for this year.

This is a week for the entire Church to consider, support and pray for those searching for their vocations in life. We might think about and pray for the young people in our community and in our families this week especially. In prayer, ask the Lord to enlighten them and give them the grace and courage to respond to His call. The Lord calls each of us to a particular vocation (marriage, consecrated life, priesthood or a single life of service).
PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD – DIOCESE OF BROKEN BAY Send your Holy Spirit upon us, O Lord, that we may be holy. In your mercy, guard and strengthen us to be disciples who witness to the Good News of Jesus. Call forth from our community of the Church generous and loving shepherds after your own heart. May they be zealous preachers of the Word; faithful teachers of the Truth; and devoted servants at the Altar. Fill their hearts with love for you and your creation; open their minds to a lifetime of learning; and make them humble servant…

The Parish Office will be closed on Tuesday 11th & Wednesday 12th of August. Please contact Fr Jose on 0451 685 116 for any urgent matters.

Our Preparation classes will begin again on Saturday 8th August at 4pm in the Parish Centre at OLGC. We look forward to welcoming our families to this preparation class.

As our Catechists return to teaching we wish them every blessings and assure them of our prayers.This is truly a selfless ministry and we are blessed to have so many dedicated men and women who go into our State Primary and High schools to teach the Word of God.In saying this we do unfortunately have many Catechists who are in the “vulnerable” category and are unable to return to school just yet. CAN YOU HELP? ............Would you be willing to take a 30 minute SRE class for half an hour per week for either a term or the rest of the year? There are pre-prepared lessons that are age-appropriate and easy to use.It’s as simple as clicking through a PowerPoint.Please contact our Catechist Coordinator, Fran van Schie onpastoral@ffcp.org.au or phone 94515097.

The OLGC Readers Roster is being updated.  If you would like to join the group who read the Word of God at our Saturday Vigil and Sunday Morning Masses please contact the Parish Office.  No experience is necessary and training will be provided

We have worked out the numbers for each Church based government regulations. We are now able to accommodate the following numbers;
OLGC—100 St Martin’s—95 St Anthony’s—60
Please note the following requirements;
·You will be required to sign in (with contact details in case contact tracing needs to be carried out). ·Families or people from the same household must sit together. ·You will no longer be required to make a booking with the Parish Office. ·Please use the hand sanitiser provided (particularly after signing in). ·Please maintain social distancing of 1.5m at all times. ·

A Spiritual Bouquet is being arranged for Fr Michael, who is now being cared for in a Nursing Home in the Eastern Suburbs (closer to relatives) If you wish to participate, simply remember Father in your prayers. We are preparing a Certificate to be sent to him, and will display this when available.

Vinnies is proud to announce the launch of the Mini Vinnies Formation Program (MVFP) for students in Years 4 – 6, who wish to undertake Social Justice Formation in their own time. For more information please go to  https://bit.ly/MVFPinfo
Please go to the following link for Vinnies Metropolitan Schools July 2020 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/VinniesMetroSchoolsNewsletter2020Term3

We will resume the Sacramental Program during Term 3.  A letter will be sent to all families who were preparing for Reconciliation before we went into COVID-19 lockdown.  This is only for the children who were Confirmed last year, 2019, and who have already completed most of the Reconciliation Program.  We will have more information about Eucharist and Confirmation at a later date. Email sacraments@ffcp.org.au if you have any concerns or questions

I am sad to announce that our beautiful Sister Wilga has moved out of the Parish. I have enjoyed seeing her smiling face at OLGC over the last 5 years and know her holy, spiritual presence will be greatly missed.
During the past 70 years that Sister Wilga has dedicated to Holy services, she has moved 27 times so she is no stranger to change.
Sister Wilga has moved to St Joseph Aged Care in Hunters Hills and if you are in the area she would love to see you.
All the best Sister Wilga!
Fr Jose

Now that the restrictions are easing and we can accept 95 people for Holy mass, we would like to hold a special Youth mass and Funday. Sunday 12th July at 10.30am  St. Martin’s, Davidson We invite all our youth and their families to join us.
Please RSVP to Fr Shiju or the Parish office

The Chancery of the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay is recruiting for the role of Facilities & WHS Officer.  This is a full time, one year fixed term role based at Pennant Hills. The Facilities & WHS Officer provides facilities management and expertise in maintaining Diocesan assets as well as assisting with the coordination and management of Chancery and Parish WHS responsibilities. For the full advertisement see the Positions Vacant page of the Diocesan website:  https://www.bbcatholic.org.au/people/positions-vacant