THE PARISH OF BAULKHAM HILLS
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Click here to go to St Michael's church site. Email St Michael's at admin@parishofbaulkhamhills.org.au Phone: +61 2 9639 0598 |
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Click here to go to Our Lady Of Lourdes church site. Email Our Lady of Lourdes at olol@parishofbaulkhamhills.org.au
Phone: +61 2 9639 8385
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COVID UPDATE – FRIDAY MAY 7 2021
A COVID SAFE PARISH
Dear
Parishioners,
Yesterday (Thursday 6 May), the NSW Government
mandated once again the compulsory wearing of masks in places of worship,
and cancelled all singing until 12.01am Monday morning.
Thus
masks must be worn at all Masses and
liturgies
this weekend.
Masks will be available from the
Church, so there’s no need to go and buy them.
There are no other changes at this stage.
You MUST now check in using the SERVICE NSW APP
as you enter the Church.
If
unable to do so, you can still write your name and contact details on the
sheets.
Please remember to sanitise and use wipes.
This applies to all weekday and weekend Masses
and services.
LIVESTREAMING
The following link is the link for Saturday
evening’s 6pm Mass from Our Lady of Lourdes for the 6th Sunday of Easter -
https://youtu.be/jv7Mpzjp1PE
FORMATION OF
PARISH RENEWAL
WORKING GROUP
Yesterday (6 May) saw the first meeting of a Parish
Renewal Working Group which will
steer the process for Parish Renewal and the development of the Parish
Pastoral Council.
The
group will help
our two communities in
realising the following goals:
·
Celebrate existing strengths
of the
communities in the service
of God’s mission
·
Engage the communities in the
development of a shared vision
and shared dreams to grow
and
live our faith
in Jesus Christ
·
Commence a Parish Pastoral Council
to be both symbol and vessel to steward this shared
vision and
shared dreams
going forward
I would appreciate your prayers
for this group, and, as unfortunately one person is unable to take her
place, if you feel you’d like to be part of it, please contact me. Fr Wim.
MASS TIMES (still subject to the 2 sq metre
rule)
Mass times for St Michael’s – up to 320 people
allowed
· Saturday,
5.30pm
· Sunday,
8am 10am and 6pm
· Monday
to Friday, 9.15am
· Saturday
9am
Mass times at Our Lady of Lourdes – up to 220
people allowed
· Saturday,
6pm – live streamed on YOUTUBE
· Sunday,
9.30am
· Wednesday
to Friday 9.30am
Remember:
1.
The dispensation from attending Sunday
Mass still holds in the Diocese of Parramatta, i.e. you do not have to
attend Mass on Sundays.
2.
Please do not come to Church if you
are feeling unwell.
3.
Always use hand sanitiser
4.
Always check in at the Church either
using the APP or Writing your name.
BISHOP VINCENT’S SUBMISSION ON THE
PROPOSED PARENTAL RIGHTS BILL
Bishop Vincent
has made public the
updated
submission to the Legislative
Council’s Portfolio
Committee No.3
- Education
about the
Education Legislation Amendment
(Parental Rights) Bill 2020
submitted on behalf of the Diocese of Parramatta. This submission
can be found after Pope Francis’ meditation on Contemplative Prayer.
CONFIRMATION PROGRAM
Online Registration for the Confirmation program
at St Michael’s take place until May 16. The Registration link is
https://forms.gle/daNTSUstnxnE6rnS9
At this stage the programs will be done at home
as will be explained in the video.
PLANNED GIVING ENVELOPES AVAILABLE
There are still some envelopes at the back of the Church. Parishioners
registered with Planned Giving Program please pick up their new
envelopes from the back of the Church.
The new envelopes commenced 4th April 2021.
POPE FRANCIS ON CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
Pope Francis’s teaching on Prayer at his audience on Wednesday reflected
on Contemplative Prayer.
SACRAMENT OF PENANCE—St Michael’s only
The Sacrament of Penance
will normally be celebrated at St Michael’s on Saturday Morning from 9.30am
to 10.30am. Afternoon confessions at St Michael’s from 4.45pm to 5.15pm.
PRAYERS PLEASE
In your mercy please pray for those who have died recently –
John McCreanor, Christopher Dias
and
those whose anniversaries occur around this time
– Barbara Oakes, Francesco Cardinale, Chris Galea and Frank Grech.
Fr Wim
SUPPORT
DONATIONS
The
Tap’n’Give machines are now active in both Churches. The monies collected
through this system are for the Parish and the Priests and not for the
Diocese. Thank you
for those who are using this system. It appears to be very highly
successful.
For your information 30 cents in every
dollar donated via these machines goes to support the clergy (first
collection) while balance supports the Church (second collection).
Thanks to those who have made contributions to our parish
and priests at this time. I again include these details for your
information.
For EFT to the First Collection - supporting the priests
BSB
067 950
Account No
000004265
Account Name
Diocesan Clergy
Reference
6001 your name
For EFT to the second (envelope and loose) Collection – for
support of the Parish,
BSB
067 950
Account No
000000214
Account Name
St Michael’s Baulkham Hills
Reference
Your Name (if you wish)
If you wish to pay by credit card, please use this link
https://www.bpoint.com.au/pay/stmichaelsparishbaulkhamhills
POPE’S
TEACHING ON CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER
In his address in Italian the Pope continued his cycle of catechesis on
prayer, focusing on “Contemplative prayer” (Bible reading: Psalm 8.
1O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name
in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes
and infants
you have founded a bulwark
because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and
the avenger.
3When I look at your
heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that
you have established;
4what are human beings that
you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for
them?
5Yet you have made them a
little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory
and honour.
6You have given them
dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things
under their feet,
7all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the
field,
8the birds of the air, and
the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the
paths of the seas.
9O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name
in all the earth!
Catechesis of the Holy Father
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
We continue the catechesis on prayer and in this catechesis, I would like to
reflect on contemplative prayer.
The contemplative dimension of the human being – which is not yet
contemplative prayer – is a bit like the “salt” of life: it gives flavour,
it seasons our day. We can contemplate by gazing at the sun that rises in
the morning, or at the trees that deck themselves out in spring green; we
can contemplate by listening to music or to the sounds of the birds, reading
a book, gazing at a work of art or at that masterpiece that is the human
face… Carlo Maria Martini, when he was sent to be the bishop of Milan,
entitled his first Pastoral Letter The contemplative dimension of life:
the truth is that those who live in a large city, where everything – we can
say – is artificial and where everything is functional, risk losing the
capacity to contemplate. To contemplate is not primarily a way of doing,
but a way of being. To be contemplative.
And being contemplatives does not depend on the eyes, but on the heart. And
here prayer enters into play as an act of faith and love, as the “breath” of
our relationship with God. Prayer purifies the heart and, with it, also
sharpens our gaze, allowing it to grasp reality from another point of view.
The Catechism describes this transformation of the heart that prayer
effects, citing a famous testimony of the Holy Curé of Ars who said this:
“Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. ‘I look at him and he
looks at me’: this is what a certain peasant of Ars used to say to the holy
curé while praying before the tabernacle. […] The light of the countenance
of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in
the light of His truth and His compassion for all men” (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 2715). Everything comes from this: from a heart that
feels that it is looked on with love. Then reality is contemplated with
different eyes.
“I look at Him and He looks at me!” It is like this: loving contemplation,
typical of the most intimate prayer, does not need many words. A gaze is
enough. It is enough to be convinced that our life is surrounded by an
immense and faithful love that nothing can ever separate us from.
Jesus was a master of this gaze. His life never lacked the time, space,
silence, the loving communion that allows one’s existence not to be
devastated by the inevitable trials, but to maintain beauty intact. His
secret is His relationship with His heavenly Father.
Let’s think, for example, about the Transfiguration. The Gospels place this
episode at the critical point of Jesus’s mission when opposition and
rejection were mounting all around Him. Even among His disciples, many did
not understand Him and left Him; one of the Twelve harboured traitorous
thoughts. Jesus began to speak openly of His suffering and death that
awaited Him in Jerusalem. It is in this context that Jesus climbs up a high
mountain with Peter, James and John. The Gospel of Mark says: “He was
transfigured before them, and His garments became glistening, intensely
white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them” (9:2-3). Right at the moment
in which Jesus is not understood – they were going away from Him, they were
leaving Him alone because they did not understand – in this moment that He
is misunderstood, just when everything seems to become blurred in a
whirlwind of misunderstanding, that is where a divine light shines. It is
the light of the Father’s love that fills the Son’s heart and transfigures
His entire Person.
Some spiritual masters of the past understood contemplation as opposed to
action, and exalted those vocations that flee from the world and its
problems to dedicate oneself entirely to prayer. In reality, Jesus Christ,
in His person and the Gospel, there is no opposition between contemplation
and action. No. In the Gospel and in Jesus there is no contradiction. This
may have come from the influence of some Neoplatonic philosophy that creates
this opposition, but it surely contains a dualism that is not part of the
Christian message.
There is only one great call, one great call in the Gospel, and it is that
of following Jesus on the way of love. This is the summit and it is the
centre of everything. In this sense, charity and contemplation are
synonymous, they say the same thing. Saint John of the Cross believed that a
small act of pure love is more useful to the Church than all the other works
combined. What is born of prayer and not from the presumption of our ego,
what is purified by humility, even if it is a hidden and silent act of love,
is the greatest miracle that a Christian can perform. And this is the path
of contemplative prayer: I look at Him and He looks at me. It is that act of
love in silent dialogue with Jesus that does so much good for the Church.
Thank you.
_______________________________________________________________________
Diocese
of Parramatta submission into the
Education Legislation Amendment
(Parental Rights) Bill
2020
5 May
2021
1.
The
Roman Catholic Diocese
of Parramatta (Diocese
of Parramatta)
makes this
submission to the Legislative
Council’s Portfolio Committee
No.3 -
Education about
the Education
Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill 2020
(Bill).
2.
This
submission supersedes the
submission dated
26 February
2021 (Submission
No 32) from
Catholic Education Diocese
of Parramatta.
3.
This submission
by Diocese
of Parramatta
proposes improvements to that
Bill.
4.
Diocese
of Parramatta,
through its
education agency,
Catholic Education
Diocese of
Parramatta, runs a
system of
80 faith-based
schools in
Western Sydney
and the
Blue Mountains. Diocese of
Parramatta educates over
43,000 students
and employs
almost 5,000
staff.
5.
Diocese
of Parramatta
covers 16
State Electorates including: Baulkham
Hills, Blacktown, Blue
Mountains, Camden,
Castle Hill,
Granville, Hawkesbury,
Londonderry, Mount
Druitt, Mulgoa, Parramatta,
Penrith, Prospect,
Riverstone, Seven
Hills, and
Wollondilly.
6.
Diocese
of Parramatta
is committed
to responding
to the
needs of
all students.
Diocese of Parramatta
collaborates with
parents, students,
and staff
to realise
the mission
of bringing the
person of Jesus Christ
into the
lives of the
young people
in its care
and their
families.
7.
Catholic
educators are
called to
accompany students
from diverse
backgrounds in
dialogue with different
perspectives.i
All students
- including those who
identify as
gender diverse should have the
opportunity to reach
their God-given
potential, to
learn with
their peers
and feel a sense of
belonging in
their learning
environment.
8.
Diocese
of Parramatta
proposes amendments
to clarify
and improve
parts of
the Bill.
As an education
provider schooling one in
five students
in Western
Sydney, Diocese
of Parramatta is trusted by
local families
to make
appropriate discernments regarding
sensitive matters
in
student
learning.
9.
Diocese
of Parramatta
strongly affirms
the Catholic
teaching that
parents are
the primary educators
of their children
in matters
of faith
and education.ii
10.
Diocese
of Parramatta
recognises parents as
each child’s
most influential,
primary, and essential
educator and
actively partners
with parents
and caregivers,
encouraging open communications
and supportive learning environments.
Diocese of
Parramatta works
in partnership with
parents and
carers to
provide holistic
Catholic education
programs for
our students.
11.
Diocese
of Parramatta
affirms the
prohibition of
teaching gender
ideology (gender fluidity)
in an educational
setting. As
I explain
in my
attached Pastoral
Letter (attached
Appendix 1)
I have serious concerns,
echoing Pope
Francis, about
this ideology.
12.
Our
Catholic position is well outlined
in Male
and Female
He Created
Them: Toward
a Path of
Dialogue on
the Question
of Gender
Theory in
Educationiii
and Amoris
Laetitia.iv
In his apostolic
exhortation, Amoris Laetitia,
Pope Francis says that
“the young need
to be
helped to accept their own
body as it
was created”.
13.
Our
major overriding
concern is also
to affirm
that each
and every
child is loved,
supported, comforted,
extended emotional
and pastoral
assistance, and
given appropriate
accompaniment. That
is our essential mission as Catholics
called to live the
Gospel and reach
out compassionately to
those experiencing
harassment and
marginalisation.
14.
Diocese
of Parramatta
also affirms that
parents are the
primary educators
of their
children, provided it occurs
within a
framework of open
collaboration with the
school. These
two elements should work
together harmoniously and
with transparency.
15.
Parents'
role in education
is vital, necessary and sought
after at
all times because parents are their
children’s first teachers (Canon
793 §1).v
In addition,
“the family’s right to be
recognised as the primary
pedagogical environment for
the educational formation of children”
must be
paramount.vi
16.
This Bill,
in our
view, however,
should not
in any way be
used as a
means to diminish or reduce
the professional capacity
and expectations
of a
teacher and
the school
community.
17.
Certainly,
steps must be taken
to ensure
such legislation
respects the rights of children
which Australian
governments have ratified in
international agreements.
18.
Diocese
of Parramatta therefore
encourages respectful and
intelligent dialogue
with students, with
our deeply committed
teaching staff,
and within
a caring
Catholic environment about
sensitive or challenging
topics such as consent,
sexuality, and
gender. It is important
that the school
community is able
to challenge
unhealthy, ill-informed and
discriminatory attitudes.
Our primary concern is to
affirm, like
Pope Francis,
the absolute dignity and
uniqueness of each child
of God.
This is best
fostered where there
is an inclusive
and healthy atmosphere
among all
students and
staff.
vii
19.
We
are of
the view
that the
Bill should
not be
used to
prohibit a
school from
supporting children who are already at
risk of marginalisation
because of
gender identity issues.
20.
Diocese
of Parramatta supports the
individual and
loving the
individual, regardless of their sexual
orientation. Catholic
teaching requires us to
uphold the
dignity of each
human person and invites us to
accompany all
people and
provide all
people with
pastoral care. We
strongly endorse the
leadership of Pope
Francis and
his pastoral approach
which places great emphasis on
inclusivity, dialogue
and the
acceptance of each
unique child
of God.
21.
I
am thankful on
behalf of the Diocese
of Parramatta
for this opportunity to
present a submission into this important
topic that will impact the
lives of children
for generations.
Most Reverend Vincent Long Van
Nguyen OFM
Conv Bishop of Parramatta
i
Congregation for
Catholic Education (for Institutes of Study). (2013). Educating to Intercultural
Dialogue in Catholic Schools. Living in Harmony for
a Civilization of Love. Vatican City. 28 October,
cls. 61-63 Retrieved on 22 February 2021 from https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_20131
028_dialogo-interculturale_en.html
ii
The Sacred
Congregation for Catholic
Education. (1982). Lay Catholics
In Schools:
Witnesses To
Faith.Vatican City. 15 October, cl.12.
Retrieved on 22 February
2021 from
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_19821015_lay-catholics_en.html
iii
http://www.educatio.va/content/dam/cec/Documenti/19_0997_INGLESE.pdf
iv
https://w2.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia_en.pdf
v
http://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib3-cann793-821_en.html
vi
http://www.educatio.va/content/dam/cec/Documenti/19_0997_INGLESE.pdf
vii
See attached Appendix 1
Pastoral letter
to the pastors, parents and
the faithful of the Diocese of
Parramatta on the proposed Parental
Rights Bill, April 27th,
2021
https://parracatholic.org/pastoral-letter-to-the-people-of-parramatta-on-the-parental-rights-bill/