St Michael's Church, Belfield in Sydney, Australia | Religious centre

St Michael's Church, Belfield

Locality: Sydney, Australia

Phone: +61 2 9642 2736

Address: 26 Margaret Street, Belfield 2191 Sydney, NSW, Australia

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25.01.2022 https://www.facebook.com/groups/44844958274/permalink/10160396079128275/

25.01.2022 Parish Bulletin for Sunday 29th November 2020 - First Sunday of Advent

25.01.2022 TODAY'S FEAST DAY - THE BIRTHDAY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY The Church has celebrated Our Lady's birth since at least the sixth century. Scripture does not give an account of Our Lady's birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no definite historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child who... will advance Gods plan of salvation for the world. This emphasises the special presence of God in Marys life from the beginning. Saint Augustine connects Marys birth with Jesus saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed. The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Our Lady's Son as the dawn of our salvation, and asks for an increase of peace. We can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world. The love of husband and wife has joined with God in his creative work to create a new living human child with an immortal soul. The loving parents have shown hope in a world filled with travail. Their new child has the potential to be a channel of Gods love and peace to the world. This is all true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of Gods love, Mary is the foreshadowing of that love. If Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation, Mary is its dawning. Next to the birth of Jesus, Marys birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth, we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large.

25.01.2022 NEW! EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT at 8.30pm, St Michaels Church Belfield: Sung Traditional Roman Rite Latin Compline according to the Breviary of 1955 at 8.30pm. ALL WELCOME TO COME AND SING TRADITIONAL COMPLINE

24.01.2022 Saint for today: St Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) St. Padre Pio was born in May, 1887, in Pietrelcina, Italy. His parents were peasant farmers. As a child, he was very religious and by the age of five he made the decision to dedicate his life to God. Fortunately, his parents were pious Catholics who attended daily Mass. Francesco served as an altar boy at his local parish, and he was known for extreme penances. His mother once scolded him for sleeping on a stone floor....Continue reading

24.01.2022 St Michaels Parish Belfield daily spiritual Reading: An instruction by St Vincent of Lérins The development of doctrine Is there to be no development of religion in the Church of Christ? Certainly, there is to be development and on the largest scale.... Who can be so grudging to men, so full of hate for God, as to try to prevent it? But it must truly be development of the faith, not alteration of the faith. Development means that each thing expands to be itself, while alteration means that a thing is changed from one thing into another. The understanding, knowledge and wisdom of one and all, of individuals as well as of the whole Church, ought then to make great and vigorous progress with the passing of the ages and the centuries, but only along its own line of development, that is, with the same doctrine, the same meaning and the same import. The religion of souls should follow the law of development of bodies. Though bodies develop and unfold their component parts with the passing of the years, they always remain what they were. There is a great difference between the flower of childhood and the maturity of age, but those who become old are the very same people who were once young. Though the condition and appearance of one and the same individual may change, it is one and the same nature, one and the same person. The tiny members of unweaned children and the grown members of young men are still the same members. Men have the same number of limbs as children. Whatever develops at a later age was already present in seminal form; there is nothing new in old age that was not already latent in childhood. There is no doubt, then, that the legitimate and correct rule of development, the established and wonderful order of growth, is this: in older people the fullness of years always brings to completion those members and forms that the wisdom of the Creator fashioned beforehand in their earlier years. If, however, the human form were to turn into some shape that did not belong to its own nature, or even if something were added to the sum of its members or subtracted from it, the whole body would necessarily perish or become grotesque or at least be enfeebled. In the same way, the doctrine of the Christian religion should properly follow these laws of development, that is, by becoming firmer over the years, more ample in the course of time, more exalted as it advances in age. In ancient times our ancestors sowed the good seed in the harvest field of the Church. It would be very wrong and unfitting if we, their descendants, were to reap, not the genuine wheat of truth but the intrusive growth of error. On the contrary, what is right and fitting is this: there should be no inconsistency between first and last, but we should reap true doctrine from the growth of true teaching, so that when, in the course of time, those first sowings yield an increase it may flourish and be tended in our day also. See more

24.01.2022 St Michaels ARCHANGELS going to play football in Belfield

24.01.2022 St. Louis de Montford on the rosary; Of Celebrating the life, death and heavenly glory of Jesus and Mary in the Holy Rosary and a method of restraining our imagination and lessening distractions. To do this a word or two is added to each Hail Mary of the decade reminding us of the mystery we are celebrating. This addition follows the name of Jesus in the middle of the Hail Mary: and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,... JOYFUL MYSTERIES 1st "Jesus becoming man" 2nd "Jesus sanctifying" 3rd "Jesus born in poverty" 4th "Jesus sacrificed" 5th "Jesus holy of holies" SORROWFUL MYSTERIES 6th "Jesus in his agony" 7th "Jesus scourged" 8th "Jesus crowned with thorns" 9th "Jesus carrying his Cross" 10th "Jesus crucified" GLORIOUS MYSTERIES 11th "Jesus risen from the dead" 12th "Jesus ascending to heaven" 13th "Jesus filling thee with the Holy Spirit" 14th "Jesus raising thee up" 15th "Jesus crowning thee" At the end of the first five mysteries we say: May the grace of the joyful mysteries come into our souls and make us really holy. At the end of the second: May the grace of the sorrowful mysteries come into our souls and make us truly patient. At the end of the third: May the grace of the glorious mysteries come into our souls and make us eternally happy. Amen.

23.01.2022 St Michael’s Parish daily spiritual Reading: From a homily on Matthew by St John Chrysostom, bishop Salt of the earth and light of the world You are the salt of the earth. It is not for your own sake, he says, but for the world’s sake that the word is entrusted to you. I am not sending you only into two cities or only into ten or twenty, not to a single nation, as I sent the prophets of old, but across land and sea, to the whole world. And that world is in a miserable state. ...Continue reading

23.01.2022 https://www.facebook.com/472018529559361/posts/3788700327891148/?d=n

23.01.2022 Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Extraordinary Form)

21.01.2022 Saint for today: Pope St Callistus, Martyr As a young slave Callistus was put in charge of a bank in which the brethren and widows lodged money. Callistus lost it all, and fled. When his master caught up with his ship Callistus jumped overboard to escape capture but was saved from drowning. He was given the punishment reserved for slaves, that of turning the pistrinum or hand-mill. His creditors got him released in the hope that he could retrieve some of their money, but... when he tried to get back some of the money he had lent to Jews the result was a fight for which he was re-arrested. He was denounced as a Christian and was condemned to work in the mines of Sardinia (thus, incidentally, ceasing to be a slave). Marcia, a mistress of the Emperor Commodus, obtained the release of the Christians including Callistus. His health was so weakened that he was sent to Antium to recuperate and was given a pension by Pope Victor I. Somehow, from a weakened ex-slave in receipt of a invalidity pension, Callistus rose to be archdeacon, had charge of the Roman catacomb which now bears his name, and ended up as Pope. The question of what to do about repentant sinners was a matter of intense debate and dissension at that time. What should be done if someone committed a serious sin? The rigorists held that once you had done such evil acts you were for ever separated from the one true Church, and there was no way back. However, Pope Callistus decreed that sinners for example, fornicators and adulterers could be readmitted to communion with the Church if they repented and did penance for their sin. Callistus based the theology of his decree on the power that Christ gave to Peter and his successors, both to bind and to loose from sin. Not much is known about how Callistus died. He is the earliest pope found in a fourth-century martyrology, but details are scarce. Since he lived in a time of peace under the emperor Alexander Severus, whose mother was a Christian, he may have been killed in a riot. See more

21.01.2022 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Ordinary Form)

20.01.2022 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

20.01.2022 15th Sunday after Pentecost (Extraordinary Form)

20.01.2022 GOSPEL READING Luke 6:27-38 Jesus said to his disciples: I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to t...Continue reading

20.01.2022 Saint for today: St Teresa of Ávila (1515 - 1582) She was born in Ávila in Spain and entered the Carmelite convent there at the age of 20, not because of any great attraction to the religious life but because it seemed the most sensible thing to do. At this time Carmelite convents were comfortable places. One was well looked after, had as much contact with the outside world as one wanted, and could keep one’s own possessions. With time, and despite ill-health, she made gr...eat progress in contemplative prayer and had a number of mystical experiences, which she treated with great suspicion since she felt that she was not nearly holy enough to be granted them by God. St Teresa’s prayer life led her to seek a more perfect life, and in 1562, in the face of much opposition, she founded a convent of Discalced Carmelite nuns in Ávila. Discalced (shoeless) signified their devotion to poverty. The rest of her life is a story of the establishment of more and more Discalced Carmelite convents in the face of intense opposition from the unreformed Carmelites, but help coming to her from the highest levels at the same time. Thus in 1566 the General of the Carmelite Order approved Teresa’s original foundation and permitted her to make new ones. In 1575 the chapter of the Order decided to dissolve them all, and for the next five years every effort was made to destroy Teresa’s reforms and many of her followers (including St John of the Cross) were imprisoned and cruelly treated. At length, in 1580, and with the support of King Philip II of Spain, the Discalced Carmelites were made independent and St Teresa was able to found more convents. She died, worn out by her efforts, on 15 October 1582. St Teresa is an outstanding example of how the contemplative life can well up and overflow into action. In addition to all this, she wrote much on the subject of contemplative prayer and her writings are still standard works today. She was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970. A favourite story about St Teresa illustrates the intimate relationship that the saints have with God. When she was on one of her many long and tiresome journeys across Spain, her horse threw her as she was crossing a river. Soaked to the skin she looked up to heaven and said, If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them! We should bring everything to God in our prayers, even our reproaches with joy and good humour. For a reproach, in the end, is simply our way of offering up to God our lack of understanding at what he sometimes permits to happen in our lives. See more

19.01.2022 FOR TONIGHT ONLY (SUNDAY 11TH OCTOBER) THERE WILL BE NO COMPLINE at St Michael’s Belfield. COMPLINE WILL RESUME NEXT SUNDAY NIGHT, 18TH OCTOBER AT 8.15pm. The Rosary will be prayed in the church this evening at around 8pm instead. God bless always Fr. Benton.

19.01.2022 Saint for today: St Robert Bellarmine (1542 - 1621) St Robert Bellarmine was born in Tuscany, Italy, and became a Jesuit priest, and later a bishop. He taught theology in Rome, and was active in disputing against the errors of the Protestant heretics, where his effectiveness was increased by his charity and moderation. He was a moderating influence in the Galileo dispute, and he gave Galileo much friendly advice and treated him with charity and respect.... In due course he was nominated a cardinal and archbishop of Capua, Italy, but he is best known for his writings. He wrote two catechisms defending the Catholic faith, some devotional commentaries on the Psalms, and also on the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross.

19.01.2022 Saint Michaels young mens Catholic group - The Archangels out for dinner

19.01.2022 Parish Bulletin for Sunday 13th September 2020 (Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Tme)

19.01.2022 Parish Bulletin for 21st February 2021 - First Sunday of Lent

18.01.2022 Todays feast day the Exultation of the Holy Cross Spiritual reading: From a discourse by Saint Andrew of Crete... The cross is Christs glory and triumph We are celebrating the feast of the cross which drove away darkness and brought in the light. As we keep this feast, we are lifted up with the crucified Christ, leaving behind us earth and sin so that we may gain the things above. So great and outstanding a possession is the cross that he who wins it has won a treasure. Rightly could I call this treasure the fairest of all fair things and the costliest, in fact as well as in name, for on it and through it and for its sake the riches of salvation that had been lost were restored to us. Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christs side, blood and water for the worlds cleansing. The legal bond of our sin would not be cancelled, we should not have attained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed the fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand open. Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled. Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honourable. It is great because through the cross the many noble acts of Christ found their consummation very many indeed, for both his miracles and his sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honourable because it is both the sign of Gods suffering and the trophy of his victory. It stands for his suffering because on it he freely suffered unto death. But it is also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gates of hell were smashed, and the cross became the one common salvation of the whole world. The cross is called Christs glory; it is saluted as his triumph. We recognise it as the cup he longed to drink and the climax of the sufferings he endured for our sake. As to the cross being Christs glory, listen to his words: Now is the Son of Man glorified, and in him God is glorified, and God will glorify him at once. And again: Father, glorify me with the glory I had with you before the world came to be. And once more: Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven: I have glorified it and will glorify it again. Here he speaks of the glory that would accrue to him through the cross. And if you would understand that the cross is Christs triumph, hear what he himself also said: When I am lifted up, then I will draw all men to myself. Now you can see that the cross is Christs glory and triumph.

18.01.2022 http://chng.it/Cs4Gt7WbSQ

18.01.2022 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time(Ordinary Form)

17.01.2022 St Teresa of Avila pray for us. One of the greatest spiritual writers and genuinely Catholic reformers of all time who has brought a great flowering of true holiness to the Church and the world. Many people have been converted just by reading her life, including Edith Stein - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, OCD (who was later gassed in the holocaust of WWII).

17.01.2022 St Michaels Archangels game in progress:

16.01.2022 Lumen Verum Apologetics is BACK!!! With appropriate social distancing, PhD Candidate Robert Haddad will deliver the first talk of the year, "Do Catholics B...elieve in a False Jesus?" Friday, September 11, 2020, at 1930 (7:30 pm) - St Michaels Catholic School Hall - 24 Margaret St, Belfield NSW 2191 Please register to assist us to prepare the room with appropriate COVID-19 precautions. https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/lumen-verum-apologetics-do-

16.01.2022 Saint for today: St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647 - 1690) She joined the Visitation Sisters at Paray-le-Monial. She made rapid progress along the way of perfection and was given mystical visions as a result of which she worked hard to institute devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Church.

15.01.2022 Monthly First Friday all night vigil of prayer in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 11pm Mass Friday 4th September After Mass there will Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament all night until the following morning at 8am (Saturday 5th September). ALL WELCOME TO ATTEND.

15.01.2022 Saints for today: Pope St Cornelius ( - 253) St Cornelius was made bishop of the church in Rome in the year 251 AD. He fought against the Novatian schismatics. They were rigourists who refused the readmission back into the Church of those baptised Catholics who had denied their faith under persecution or offered ritual sacrifice to the pagan gods under persecution. The Roman Emperor Gallus sent him into exile, and he died near Rome in June 253 AD. He is buried in Rome.... St Cyprian (210 - 258) He was born in Carthage and spent most of his life in the practice of the law. He was converted to Christianity, and was made bishop of Carthage in 249 AD. He steered the church through very troubled times, including the persecution of Christians under the emperor Decius. St Cyprian went into hiding to be able to continue looking after the church. In 258 AD the persecution of the emperor Valerian began. Cyprian was first exiled and then, on the 14th of September, executed. Cyprians many letters and treatises shed much light on a formative period in the Churchs history, and are valuable both for their doctrine and for the picture they paint of the early Church in constant peril but still determined to keep the faith.

14.01.2022 Parish Bulletin for Sunday 20th September 2020 - Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

14.01.2022 https://www.facebook.com/Veracesmedia/videos/262185938482913/

14.01.2022 St Michaels Parish Belfield daily spiritual Reading: An instruction by St Vincent of Lrins The development of doctrine Is there to be no development of religion in the Church of Christ? Certainly, there is to be development and on the largest scale.... Who can be so grudging to men, so full of hate for God, as to try to prevent it? But it must truly be development of the faith, not alteration of the faith. Development means that each thing expands to be itself, while alteration means that a thing is changed from one thing into another. The understanding, knowledge and wisdom of one and all, of individuals as well as of the whole Church, ought then to make great and vigorous progress with the passing of the ages and the centuries, but only along its own line of development, that is, with the same doctrine, the same meaning and the same import. The religion of souls should follow the law of development of bodies. Though bodies develop and unfold their component parts with the passing of the years, they always remain what they were. There is a great difference between the flower of childhood and the maturity of age, but those who become old are the very same people who were once young. Though the condition and appearance of one and the same individual may change, it is one and the same nature, one and the same person. The tiny members of unweaned children and the grown members of young men are still the same members. Men have the same number of limbs as children. Whatever develops at a later age was already present in seminal form; there is nothing new in old age that was not already latent in childhood. There is no doubt, then, that the legitimate and correct rule of development, the established and wonderful order of growth, is this: in older people the fullness of years always brings to completion those members and forms that the wisdom of the Creator fashioned beforehand in their earlier years. If, however, the human form were to turn into some shape that did not belong to its own nature, or even if something were added to the sum of its members or subtracted from it, the whole body would necessarily perish or become grotesque or at least be enfeebled. In the same way, the doctrine of the Christian religion should properly follow these laws of development, that is, by becoming firmer over the years, more ample in the course of time, more exalted as it advances in age. In ancient times our ancestors sowed the good seed in the harvest field of the Church. It would be very wrong and unfitting if we, their descendants, were to reap, not the genuine wheat of truth but the intrusive growth of error. On the contrary, what is right and fitting is this: there should be no inconsistency between first and last, but we should reap true doctrine from the growth of true teaching, so that when, in the course of time, those first sowings yield an increase it may flourish and be tended in our day also. See more

13.01.2022 16th Sunday after Pentecost (Extraordinary Form)

13.01.2022 14th Sunday after Pentecost (Extraordinary Form)

12.01.2022 Fr Benton will be on annual leave for the next two weeks commencing Monday 23rd November. During his absence Fr Brendan Lee will take care of the Parish. All Masses, confessions, holy hour, Rosaries and other prayers and devotions will continue as normal during Father’s absence. God bless one and all.

11.01.2022 Saint for today: Saints Andrew Dng-Lc and his Companions, Martyrs The evangelization of Vietnam began in the 16th century and was formally established with the setting up of two Vicariates Apostolic in 1659. There are now about 6 million Catholics in Vietnam, some 10% of the population.... This growth comes partly from the fact that since the earliest times the seed of the Faith has been watered by the blood of the martyrs of Vietnam the missionary clergy, the local clergy and the ordinary Christian people. They have all shared the labour of apostolic work and have together faced death to bear witness to the truth of the Gospel. In the course of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries no less than 53 decrees, signed by the lords and emperors of the country from 1625 to 1886, launched one persecution of Christians after another, each one more savage than the last. Over the whole territory of Vietnam about 130,000 Christians were killed in these persecutions. Over the centuries the names of most of them have been lost, but their memory is still alive in the Catholic community. Since the beginning of the 20th century 117 of these heroes (those whose sufferings were cruellest and best documented) were beatified, in four groups. They were all canonized together by Pope John Paul II on 19 June 1988. By nationality, there were 96 Vietnamese, 11 Spanish and 10 French. By status, there were 8 bishops, 50 priests, and 59 laymen and women. By mode of death, 75 were beheaded, 22 strangled, 6 burned alive, 5 torn to pieces while still alive, and 9 died of torture in prison. See more

11.01.2022 https://fb.me/e/fr3PqusXh

11.01.2022 Todays feast day: The Beheading of St John the Baptist From a homily by St Bede the Venerable, priest Precursor of Christ in birth and death As forerunner of our Lords birth, preaching and death, the blessed John showed in his struggle a goodness worthy of the sight of heaven. In the words of Scripture: Though in the sight of men he suffered torments, his hope is full of immortality. We justly commemorate the day of his birth with a joyful celebration, a day which he himsel...f made festive for us through his suffering and which he adorned with the crimson splendour of his own blood. We do rightly revere his memory with joyful hearts, for he stamped with the seal of martyrdom the testimony which he delivered on behalf of our Lord. There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life for him. His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: I am the truth? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ. Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer. Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men; he was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ. John was baptized in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptize the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him, and to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon him. But to endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward. Since death was ever near at hand through the inescapable necessity of nature, such men considered it a blessing to embrace it and thus gain the reward of eternal life by acknowledging Christs name. Hence the apostle Paul rightly says: You have been granted the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for his sake. He tells us why it is Christs gift that his chosen ones should suffer for him: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us. https://upload.wikimedia.org//800px-Salome_with_the_Head_o See more

11.01.2022 St Michael’s Parish Belfield daily spiritual reading: A sermon of St John Chrysostom on St John's gospel We have found the Messiah... After Andrew had stayed with Jesus and had learned much from him, he did not keep this treasure to himself, but hastened to share it with his brother. Notice what Andrew said to him: We have found the Messiah, that is to say, the Christ. Notice how his words reveal what he has learned in so short a time. They show the power of the master who has convinced them of this truth. They reveal the zeal and concern of men preoccupied with this question from the very beginning. Andrew’s words reveal a soul waiting with the utmost longing for the coming of the Messiah, looking forward to his appearing from heaven, rejoicing when he does appear, and hastening to announce so great an event to others. To support one another in the things of the spirit is the true sign of good will between brothers, of loving kinship and sincere affection. Notice, too, how, even from the beginning, Peter is docile and receptive in spirit. He hastens to Jesus without delay. He brought him to Jesus, says the evangelist. But Peter must not be condemned for his readiness to accept Andrew’s word without much weighing of it. It is probable that his brother had given him, and many others, a careful account of the event; the evangelists, in the interest of brevity, regularly summarise a lengthy narrative. Saint John does not say that Peter believed immediately, but that he brought him to Jesus. Andrew was to hand him over to Jesus, to learn everything for himself. There was also another disciple present, and he hastened with them for the same purpose. When John the Baptist said: This is the Lamb, and he baptizes in the Spirit, he left the deeper understanding of these things to be received from Christ. All the more so would Andrew act in the same way, since he did not think himself able to give a complete explanation. He brought his brother to the very source of light, and Peter was so joyful and eager that he would not delay even for a moment.

10.01.2022 TODAYS FEAST DAY - THE BIRTHDAY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY The Church has celebrated Our Ladys birth since at least the sixth century. Scripture does not give an account of Our Ladys birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no definite historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child who... will advance Gods plan of salvation for the world. This emphasises the special presence of God in Marys life from the beginning. Saint Augustine connects Marys birth with Jesus saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed. The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Our Ladys Son as the dawn of our salvation, and asks for an increase of peace. We can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world. The love of husband and wife has joined with God in his creative work to create a new living human child with an immortal soul. The loving parents have shown hope in a world filled with travail. Their new child has the potential to be a channel of Gods love and peace to the world. This is all true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of Gods love, Mary is the foreshadowing of that love. If Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation, Mary is its dawning. Next to the birth of Jesus, Marys birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth, we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large.

10.01.2022 THE CROSS OF CHRIST Our Lords words in the Gospel this Sunday are some of the most challenging for us as Catholics, who are privileged to be members of his one True Church. Our spiritual life MUST involve the Cross, Jesus says, and if it doesnt involve the Cross we are not authentic Disciples of Christ - we are just looking for a feel good religion which can never be true. But does this statement of Jesus about the Cross, and our obligation to carry it, make any real sense ...Continue reading

09.01.2022 Parish Bulletin for Sunday 22nd November 2020 - Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - Solemnity

09.01.2022 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Ordinary Form)

08.01.2022 Saint for today: St Peter Claver (1581 - 1654) He was born in Catalonia and studied at the University of Barcelona in Spain. He became a Jesuit; and while he was studying philosophy, the door-keeper of the college, Alfonso Rodrguez, saw that his true vocation was to evangelize the New World, and encouraged him to fulfil that vocation. (Rodrguez was later canonized on the same day as St Peter Claver himself). He arrived in Cartagena, in what is now Colombia, in 1610, a...nd after his ordination six years later he became the slave of the Negroes forever, labouring on their behalf for 33 years, attending to both their spiritual and material needs. The slave trade was repeatedly condemned by the Popes; but it was too profitable to be stopped and on the whole the local church hierarchy kept quiet about it, much as they did in North America in the 19th century. He brought fresh food to the slave-ships as they arrived, instructed the slaves and baptized them in the faith, followed their progress and kept track of them even when they were sent to the mines and plantations, defending them as well as he could from oppressive slave-owners. He organized teams of catechists who spoke the many languages spoken by the slaves. He worked in hospitals also, looking after lepers among others, and in prisons. Naturally he made himself unpopular by his work: as his superior said, unfortunately for himself he is a Catalan, pig-headed and difficult. Opposition came from both within the Church and outside it, but there were always exceptions. For instance, while many fashionable ladies refused to enter his city churches because they had been profaned by the presence of the blacks, a few, such as Doa Isabel de Urbina, became his strong and lifelong supporters. At the end of his life he fell ill with a degenerative disease and for four years he was treated neglectfully and brutally by the servant whose task it was to look after him. He did not complain but accepted his sufferings as a penance for his sins. See more

08.01.2022 ST MICHAEL’S ARCHANGELS SATURDAY TOUCH FOOTBALL TEAM ALL WELCOME! They play each Saturday at 2 pm at Rudd Park in Belfield. This is a good way to make new friends and have some exercise. All are very welcome to come and play. We meet at the St Michael’s Presbytery at 26 Margaret Street Belfield, every Saturday afternoon.

08.01.2022 Sunday night Compline is cancelled for tonight only.

08.01.2022 St Michael’s Parish Belfield daily spiritual reading: From St Ignatius of Antioch's letter to the Romans I am God's wheat and shall be ground by the teeth of wild animals... I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God. No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being. Give me the privilege of imitating the passion of my God. If you have him in your heart, you will understand what I wish. You will sympathise with me because you will know what urges me on. The prince of this world is determined to lay hold of me and to undermine my will which is intent on God. Let none of you here help him; instead show yourselves on my side, which is also God’s side. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. Do not harbour envious thoughts. And supposing I should see you, if then I should beg you to intervene on my behalf, do not believe what I say. Believe instead what I am now writing to you. For though I am alive as I write to you, still my real desire is to die. My love of this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather within me is the living water which says deep inside me: Come to the Father. I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God’s bread, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, formed of the seed of David, and for drink I crave his blood, which is love that cannot perish. I am no longer willing to live a merely human life, and you can bring about my wish if you will. Please, then, do me this favour, so that you in turn may meet with equal kindness. Put briefly, this is my request: believe what I am saying to you. Jesus Christ himself will make it clear to you that I am saying the truth. Only truth can come from that mouth by which the Father has truly spoken. Pray for me that I may obtain my desire. I have not written to you as a mere man would, but as one who knows the mind of God. If I am condemned to suffer, I will take it that you wish me well. If my case is postponed, I can only think that you wish me harm.

07.01.2022 St. Michael’s Parish Belfield daily spiritual reading: A homily of Pseudo-Chrysostom Prayer is the light of the soul The highest good is prayer and conversation with God, because it means that we are in God’s company and in union with him. When light enters our bodily eyes our eyesight is sharpened; when a soul is intent on God, God’s inextinguishable light shines into it and makes it bright and clear. I am talking, of course, of prayer that comes from the heart and not fro...m routine: not the prayer that is assigned to particular days or particular moments in time, but the prayer that happens continuously by day and by night. Indeed the soul should not only turn to God at times of explicit prayer. Whatever we are engaged in, whether it is care for the poor, or some other duty, or some act of generosity, we should remember God and long for God. The love of God will be as salt is to food, making our actions into a perfect dish to set before the Lord of all things. Then it is right that we should receive the fruits of our labours, overflowing onto us through all eternity, if we have been offering them to him throughout our lives. Prayer is the light of the soul, true knowledge of God, a mediator between God and men. Prayer lifts the soul into the heavens where it hugs God in an indescribable embrace. The soul seeks the milk of God like a baby crying for the breast. It fulfils its own vows and receives in exchange gifts better than anything that can be seen or imagined. Prayer is a go-between linking us to God. It gives joy to the soul and calms its emotions. I warn you, though: do not imagine that prayer is simply words. Prayer is the desire for God, an indescribable devotion, not given by man but brought about by God’s grace. As St Paul says: For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself intercedes on our behalf in a way that could never be put into words. If God gives to someone the gift of such prayer, it is a gift of imperishable riches, a heavenly food that satisfies the spirit. Whoever tastes that food catches fire and his soul burns for ever with desire for the Lord. To begin on this path, start by adorning your house with modesty and humility. Make it shine brightly with the light of justice. Decorate it with the gold leaf of good works, with the jewels of faithfulness and greatness of heart. Finally, to make the house perfect, raise a gable above it all, a gable of prayer. Thus you will have prepared a pure and sparkling house for the Lord. Receive the Lord into this royal and splendid dwelling in other words: receive, by his grace, his image into the temple of your soul. See more

07.01.2022 Saint for today: St Ignatius of Antioch (- 107) He was the second bishop of Antioch after St Peter (the first being Evodius). He was arrested (some writers believe that he must have been denounced by a fellow-Christian), condemned to death, and transported to Rome to be thrown to the wild beasts in the arena. In one of his letters he describes the soldiers who were escorting him as being like ten leopards, who when they are kindly treated only behave worse.... In the course of his journey he wrote seven letters to various churches, in which he dealt wisely and deeply with Christ, the organisation of the Church, and the Christian life. They are important documents for the early history of the Church, and they also reveal a deeply holy man who accepts his fate and begs the Christians in Rome not to try to deprive him of the crown of martyrdom. He was martyred in 107 and his feast was already being celebrated on this day in fourth-century Antioch. See more

07.01.2022 The Sorrows, given to our Blessed Mother focus on her intense suffering and grief during the passion and death of our Lord. Traditionally, this suffering was not limited to the passion and death event; rather, it comprised the seven dolors or seven sorrows of Mary, which were foretold by the Priest Simeon who proclaimed to Mary, This child [Jesus] is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, a sign that will be opposed and you yourself shall be pierced with ...a sword so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare (Luke 2:34-35). These seven sorrows of our Blessed Mother included the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt; the loss and finding of the child Jesus in the Temple; Marys meeting of Jesus on His way to Calvary; Marys standing at the foot of the cross when our Lord was crucified; her holding of Jesus when He was taken down from the cross; and then our Lords burial. In all, the prophesy of Simeon that a sword would pierce our Blessed Mothers heart was fulfilled in these events. For this reason, Mary is sometimes depicted with her heart exposed and with seven swords piercing it. More importantly, each new suffering was received with the courage, love, and trust that echoed her fiat, let it be done unto me according to Thy word, first uttered at the Annunciation. St. Bernard (d. 1153) wrote, Truly, O Blessed Mother, a sword has pierced your heart.... He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since His (De duodecim praerogatativs BVM).

07.01.2022 24th Sunday after Pentecost (Extraordinary Form)

07.01.2022 St Michael’s ‘Archangels’ watching the final State of Origin football game. The NSW score not looking good

05.01.2022 St. Michaels Archangels walking group. Evening walk to Henley Park and back to Saint Michaels church

05.01.2022 St Michael’s Parish Belfield daily spiritual reading: A sermon of the second century The living church is the body of Christ My name is constantly blasphemed by unbelievers, says the Lord. Woe to the man who causes my name to be blasphemed. Why is the Lord’s name blasphemed? Because we say one thing and do another. When they hear the words of God on our lips, unbelievers are amazed at their beauty and power, but when they see that those words have no effect in our lives, thei...r admiration turns to scorn, and they dismiss such words as myths and fairy tales. They listen, for example, when we tell them that God has said: It is no credit to you if you love those who love you, but only if you love your enemies, and those who hate you. They are full of admiration at such extraordinary virtue, but when they observe that we not only fail to love people who hate us, but even those who love us, they laugh us to scorn, and the Name is blasphemed. Therefore, if we fail to do the will of the Lord, we shall be among those to whom it is said in Scripture: My house has been made into a robbers’ den. We must choose then, if we want to be saved, to be members of the Church of life. You surely cannot be ignorant of the fact that the living Church is the body of Christ; for Scripture says: God made man male and female. Now the male signifies Christ, and the female signifies the Church, which, according to both the Old and New Testament, is no recent creation, but has existed from the beginning. At first the Church was purely spiritual, even as our Jesus was spiritual, but it appeared in the last days to save us. For the spiritual Church was made manifest in the body of Christ, in order to show us that if we uphold its honour in the outward, visible form, and do not defile it, we shall, through the Holy Spirit, be made its members in the true, spiritual sense. For the body of the Church is a copy of the Spirit, and no one who defaces the copy can have any part in what the copy represents. In other words, brothers, you must preserve the honour of the body in order to share in the Spirit. For if we say that the body is the Church and the Spirit is Christ, it follows that anyone who dishonours his body, dishonours the Church. Such a man will have no part in the Spirit, which is Christ. But if the Holy Spirit is joined to it, this body can receive an immortal life that is wonderful beyond words, for the blessings that God has made ready for his chosen ones surpass all human powers of description. See more

05.01.2022 St Michael’s Parish Belfield daily spiritual reading: A letter by St Margaret Mary Alacoque We must know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge... It seems to me that our Lord’s earnest desire to have his sacred heart honoured in a special way is directed towards renewing the effects of redemption in our souls. For the sacred heart is an inexhaustible fountain and its sole desire is to pour itself out into the hearts of the humble so as to free them and prepare them to lead lives according to his good pleasure. From this divine heart three streams flow endlessly. The first is the stream of mercy for sinners; it pours into their hearts sentiments of contrition and repentance. The second is the stream of charity which helps all in need and especially aids those seeking perfection to find the means of surmounting their difficulties. From the third stream flow love and light for the benefit of his friends who have attained perfection; these he wishes to unite to himself so that they may share his knowledge and commandments and, in their individual ways, devote themselves wholly to advancing his glory. This divine heart is an abyss of all blessings, and into it the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need. Therefore, you must unite yourselves to the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, both at the beginning of your conversion in order to obtain proper dispositions, and at its end in order to make reparation. Are you making no progress in prayer? Then you need only offer God the prayers which the Saviour has poured out for us in the sacrament of the altar. Offer God his fervent love in reparation for your sluggishness. In the course of every activity pray as follows: My God, I do this or I endure that in the heart of your Son and according to his holy counsels. I offer it to you in reparation for anything blameworthy or imperfect in my actions. Continue to do this in every circumstance of life. And every time that some punishment, affliction or injustice comes your way, say to yourself: Accept this as sent to you by the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in order to unite yourself to him. But above all preserve peace of heart. This is more valuable than any treasure. In order to preserve it there is nothing more useful than renouncing your own will and substituting for it the will of the divine heart. In this way his will can carry out for us whatever contributes to his glory, and we will be happy to be his subjects and to trust entirely in him.

04.01.2022 Saint for today: Pope St Gregory the Great (540 - 604) He was born in Rome and followed the career of public service that was usual for the son of an aristocratic family, finally becoming Prefect of the City of Rome, a post he held for some years. He founded a monastery in Rome and some others in Sicily, then became a monk himself. He was ordained deacon and sent as an envoy to Constantinople, on a mission that lasted five years.... He was elected Pope on 3 September 590, the first monk to be elected to this office. He reformed the administration of the Churchs estates and devoted the resulting surplus to the assistance of the poor and the ransoming of prisoners. He negotiated treaties with the Lombard tribes who were ravaging northern Italy, and by cultivating good relations with these and other barbarians he was able to keep the Churchs position secure in areas where Roman rule had broken down. His works for the propagation of the faith include the sending of Augustine and his monks as missionaries to England in 596, providing them with continuing advice and support and (in 601) sending reinforcements. He wrote extensively on pastoral care, spirituality, and morals, and designated himself servant of the servants of God. He died on 12 March 604, but as this date always falls within Lent, his feast is celebrated on the date of his election as Pope. See more

04.01.2022 Can I still pray if I am in a state of mortal sin? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6KDiOh_Pn8

04.01.2022 CHASTITY AND PURITY One of the greatest struggles in the spiritual life today, particularly for men and young people in particular, is to remain pure in body and soul, and to resist the temptations of the flesh, the world and the Devil. We call this persevering in purity of mind and chastity of body. Its a definite fact that we live in a world in sexual overdrive; each way you turn there are people who are immodestly dressed, and easy access to impure images and videos on th...Continue reading

02.01.2022 Parish movie night at Burwood cinema to see the new movie about Our Lady of Fatima.

01.01.2022 ACSA warmly invites you to listen to a talk by Fr Terence Mary Naughtin, who will be speaking about demonology. Father Terence Mary is a priest of the order of ...Friars Minor Conventual, founded by the much loved St Francis of Assisi. He is a true mendicant friar, well loved across Australia for his invaluable service, and has offered the Holy Mass and other sacraments in the Traditional Latin Rites for any community in need of this ministry. See more

01.01.2022 From Question Time with Fr John Flader on the more sinister realities of Yoga: Yoga and Christianity My uncle is a yoga instructor and a practising Catholic. I thought yoga was somehow not compatible with our faith. Can you enlighten me on this?...Continue reading