St Thomas More Catholic Parish Church, Ruse | Community organisation

St Thomas More Catholic Parish Church, Ruse

Phone: (02) 4628-2967

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25.01.2022 CONFIRMATION: Congratulations to our 32 Parish Candidates who were Confirmed in our Parish last weekend. Thank you to Fr Michael, the Sacramental Team and families in preparing our Parish Candidates for this Sacrament. Thank you also to the Sacristan, Organist and AV Operator for giving of your time for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

24.01.2022 From what was once a sad spindly stick, with a bit of love and nurturing look how it has blossomed. Thank you to Dexter for your commitment to keep our surroundings beautiful.

23.01.2022 The Bishops Annual Appeal is being held in parishes across the diocese over the next couple of weekends, and the scope of this years appeal has been extended ...to support two important ministries: Our faith calls us to help one another through prayer and action. Your donation to my appeal will enable me to provide a dignified retirement for our diocesan clergy and ensure that our parish communities stay connected during this time of pandemic. While I acknowledge the pressure that some households are facing at this time, if you are in a financial position to give, I would be very grateful if you would consider giving generously to this appeal." +Bishop Brian Mascord To find out more information and to donate, please visit the Bishops Annual Appeal web page: https://www.dow.org.au/giving/bishops-annual-appeal/ #forallthingsgivethanks #BAA2020

19.01.2022 Thomas the Echidna came to check if the ladies toilet was clean today!

15.01.2022 Just over 24 hours to go until the Jesus is Christmas A Christmas Carols Special! Featuring Aria Award winning artist and X Factor Australia Vocal Director Ga...ry Pinto, the Queen of Carols Silvie Paladino, international opera performer Michael Petruccelli - Tenor, Melbourne's very own The SAGA, the Sully Family and more, the carols special will be broadcast on C31 (Channel 44 on digital TV) and on our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/archmelb) on Sunday 20 December, 7pm. Together, let's celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ gift of love and hope for our world! See more

15.01.2022 PARISH GROUNDS WORKING BEE FOR CHRISTMAS: Will be held on Saturday 12th December from 8.30am to 11.00am. Thank you to the parishioners who have been keeping our Parish lawns mowed and gardens tidied, many have positively commented on how our Parish grounds have been kept. There are many jobs to be included in this working bee: eg: mowing, trimming etc. could you please bring mowers, brooms etc. Morning Tea will be provided. Many hands make light work. This is also a good opportunity to catch-up with those you have seen in a while. Thanking you all in anticipation.

14.01.2022 Today marks the feast of St Pio of Pietrelcina, commonly known as Padre Pio. A most humble and unassuming priest, he draws our attention to the suffering of Chr...ist in a highly visible and dramatic way. With the marks of Christs passion revealed in his own flesh, he reminds us that Christ rose from the tomb with his wounds; those wounds no longer testimony to death and decay, but now a triumphant sign of the terrible price paid for our ransom. St Padre Pio, pray for us!

14.01.2022 Congratulations to our four new priests: Frs John Pham, Noel Custodio, Roberto Keryakos and Jonathan Vala who were ordained today at a Mass at St Mary's Cathedr...al. The Class of 2020 will forever be identified with the Year of the Virus and this will shape your mission: for beyond COVID you must help rebuild people's confidence and trust and reawaken their hunger for that Eucharist and community they can only find at Mass. I pray that you may from today be pandemoy or spiritual pandemics for all the people. God bless you in your many decades of ministry ahead. Read more about the ordination Mass here: https://bit.ly/3hOiFuF

14.01.2022 Friends, tomorrow morning at 11am I will be celebrating the State Funeral and Pontifical Mass of Christian Burial for John Fahey, a truly great Australian, who ...made a remarkable contribution to state and federal politics and most recently in higher education, as Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University. I had the pleasure of presenting him with a papal honour only last year for his service to Church and society. Given public health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, you are invited to watch a livestream of the Requiem Mass for John Fahey via this link: https://youtu.be/VQ-QlnLsPoo My ongoing prayers are with Johns family at this time. His passing is mourned by all who knew him or of him.

14.01.2022 ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY TOY APPEAL: While we are not running a Jesse Tree in the current pandemic, the need for (not wrapped) any age toys remains. For this year, a box for toy donations will be available in the Parish Office during business hours. Many thanks in anticipation of your generosity.

13.01.2022 On The Journey This Week: A couple of Questions from Mother Hilda and Fr Mike Delaney how many times has God put an act of kindness into your life after a ...rugged day when you needed it and how do we react to the Johnny-Come-Lately getting the same deal as those there from the beginning? Plus Trish McCarthy says God wants us to make disciples by telling others what Gods done in our life and Darren McDowell looks at Jesus leadership style and asks Do we let Jesus empower us through His Spirit to be the same type of leader? . The Journey available at jcr.org.au And more great music! The Journey available as a podcast now https://www.dow.org.au/media-resources/journey-radio/ See more

06.01.2022 ADVENT: 2020-2021: This weekend we begin the Church’s New Year with the First Sunday of Advent Year B. The first Sunday of Advent gives us the opportunity to centre our thoughts on hope. It's a beautiful chance to remember the hope God offers to our lost and dying world, and that He's given us through Jesus. Galatians 4:4-8 says: But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

06.01.2022 Today we mark a very special celebration for the Archdiocese of Sydney with the ordination of four new priests to serve our parishes: Deacons Jonathan Vala, Noe...l Custodio, John Pham and Roberto Keryakos. The ordination of these faith-filled young men is a gift for the people of God in Sydney and beyond. This gives us great hope, confidence, faith and gratitude to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Attendance at the 11am Ordination Mass is limited to invitation only because of COVID-19 restrictions. If you're unable to attend the Mass in person, I invite you to watch it online here: https://bit.ly/2ZPCzz9

05.01.2022 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Some thoughts from Fr Frank Brennan sj on the Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard... "Whether were first or last in the queue... for work or in the queue for payment, we Christians know that we depend on our God who displays all three attributes: justice, mercy and benevolence. All three are signs of the kingdom breaking in here and now, and of the kingdom which is to come. And all three should be aspects of our own lives too. In what proportions, only each of us can discern before our God." You can listen to the full homily from Fr Frank here: https://soundcloud.com/frank-brennan-6/homily-20920

05.01.2022 SUNDAY MASS ONLINE WITH BISHOP BRIAN MASCORD - 25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME | 9AM AEST 20 SEPTEMBER 2020 In an effort to continue the practice of our faith d...uring the coronavirus outbreak, we will be broadcasting an online Mass from St John Vianney Co-Cathedral Fairy Meadow for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time with Bishop Brian Mascord here and on our YouTube Channel at 9am AEST 20th September 2020. WATCH YouTube channel: https://dow.sh/YouTube Diocese of Wollongong website: https://www.dow.org.au/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WollongongCatholic PARISH PLANNED GIVING During this period of time where Masses in the diocese are suspended, parishes are going to continue to need the financial support of parishioners. As the vast majority of parishioners give physically to their parish in the first and second collection baskets during Mass, we are encouraging all parishioners to join the electronic parish planned giving program. We have created a page on our diocesan website with two simple options for parishioners to give to their parish electronically. Join today at: https://www.dow.org.au/plannedgiving. NOURISH YOUR FAITH AT HOME During these times of uncertainty and isolation, nourishing our faith becomes even more important. Through spending time with God and with one another we find the hope, comfort, guidance and certainty that our loving God and Father wants to share with us. Jesus wants to be with us and care for us during these days. We have put together some resources to help support your own faith along with your children and family, including: - Participating in Masses and other liturgies and prayer gatherings - Sharing faith with others in the community - Nourishing your faith and that of your family https://www.dow.org.au/covid-19/nourish-your-faith-at-home/

05.01.2022 COVID-19 | UPDATED PARISH DIRECTIVES AS A RESULT OF CORONAVIRUS (EFFECTIVE 21 SEPTEMBER 2020) From Monday 21 September 2020, Catholic churches and chapels in... the Diocese of Wollongong will be able to open for Masses, Weddings, Funerals and Baptisms, subject to the following directives: https://www.dow.org.au//210918-FAITHFUL-DIRECTIVES-COVID-1 We have created a page on our website dedicated to the latest guidance from the diocese outlining its role in preventing the spread of the virus in our communities. The diocese will always act in accordance with the guidelines of health authorities and update its advice as necessary. https://www.dow.org.au/covid-19/

04.01.2022 No one begins by saying, And lastly We start with, First and foremost, make our way to secondly, and then through the numbers. We might finally get to Las...t, but not least. However, none of us begins with, And lastly None, that is, except for the Lord. Start with the last arrivals, said the landowner in Jesus parable, and end with the first. When it comes to the order of things in Gods kingdom it is the last who are first; and the first, last. Who are these last who come first in the reckoning of Jesus? We could all readily think here of the various blesseds that Matthew speaks of elsewhere in his gospel: Blessed are the poor (in spirit) and those who hunger for what is right. Blessed are those who mourn, or are meek, or the merciful. Blessed are the peacemakers and the pure in heart. Blessed are those who are persecuted. We might also add to this list of the last some of those who receive special Godly attention: the widow and orphan, the sick and disabled, and so on. But I wonder to what extent we might have on our list of the last who are first those prostitutes and tax collectors and other sinners Jesus couldnt help himself hanging around? Or the Zacchaeuses and Judases of the world? I wonder if, at the time when he first met them, we would be like Jesus and reach out to Mary of Magdala with her seven evil spirits or the woman at the well who was despised by her own people? The last, in the order of Gods Kingdom, are not just the deserving poor, but also the undeserving. This can be a difficult and challenging thing to acknowledge for us who aim to be faithful disciples of the Lord. We are perhaps inclined to be a bit more like the workers in the field, who started early and laboured all day, only to have to wait at the end and receive nothing extra in our wages. I think the way in which we might grapple with this challenge is to consider that the way of Jesus is always invitational. From the beginning, Jesus invited people to share in his divine life: Repent, the kingdom of God is near at hand; Come and see; Put out into the deep. All of these are invitations. As we know, this way of invitation was especially heard by those in greater need; they were the ones for whom the gift of forgiveness meant all the more. That man at the back of the temple: Have mercy on me, a sinner. Or the woman at the meal: You did not offer a bowl of water to wash my hands, yet she has washed my feet with her tears. Or from the Cross: Today, you will be with me in paradise. Jesus went to the place where people were most in need, and there he invited them into his life. Still (I might say to myself), how might I share in this heavenly generosity to the least and the last, if I am not that broken or wounded or despised or ugly? Ah, but I am! We are each, every one of us, a mixture of both the first labourer to start in the field, and the last to arrive. Each of us are light and shadow, each are great and least, each are living and dying. And it is to that darkest place, to that most remote setting in our own lives, to that most grievous inner wound of sin for which we turn away in disgust that Jesus goes first to invite us into his life. Jesus saves, precisely at that place in each of us most in need of saving. Thanks be to God, for he goes first to our inner last. In the kingdom of God, it is the last who will be first; in the way of Jesus, it is our last that will be first. [Artwork: 'The Red Vineyard' by Vincent Van Gogh]

04.01.2022 Feast of St Hildegard of Bingen "Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of earths greenings. Now, think.... What delight God gives to humankind with all these things . All nature is at the disposal of humankind. We are to work with it. For without we cannot survive." What a delight to begin the day with St Hildegard of Bingen on her feast day and to read these inspiring words during this Season of Creation. Hildegard...woman of fire and passion, woman of the earth and healing, woman of vision and music, Benedictine woman...we celebrate you today and claim you as our sister! Happy feast day to our Sr Hildegard, to our oblates who have taken her name and to all women and men who draw inspiration from this amazing woman. Thank you for your many prayers for Hildie. She is still in hospital and will be having an MRI today...hopefully the results will be positive and make this fesatday a special one for her. Mother Mary read your messages to her on Tuesday and they certainly lifted her spirits. Thank you! St Hildegard, pray for us today and give us the courage to be people of passion, in love with our God and all created things.

02.01.2022 ****LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS CANCELLED THIS WEEKEND**** Due to recent NSW Health advice, Lights of Christmas will not go ahead tonight Saturday 19th December and to...morrow Sunday 20th December. Please continue to check www.lightsofchristmas.com.au for event updates and stay safe during this time. St Mary's Cathedral will still remain open tonight for silent prayer. Life, Marriage & Family Office will be holding a prayer intention evening tonight for any of your prayer intentions before Christmas Please continue to pray for an end to this pandemic #covid #covid19 #lightsofchristmas