catholic life feb14

Catholic LifeCatholic LifeFree Publication of the Diocese of Sale ISSUE 180 February 2014

A new name but a million reasons to keep your charity local.

We ask you donate generously to help grow our charitable fund so we can help more families.

TrinityFAMILIES

TRINITY Families is the new name for what was previously known as the Bishop’s Family Foundation.

It is being relaunched this week in an attempt to revitalise the Diocese of Sale’s charitable arm by moving it more into the wider community.

It was established 12 years ago by Bishop Jeremiah Coffey to serve the needs of struggling families in the area covered by the diocese.

In that time it has successfully raised more than $2 million dollars from the Catholic community and the return on invested funds has meant more than $1 million has been able to be handed out to charities providing programs to assist families.

The name Trinity Families was agreed to by Bishop Christopher Prowse prior to his appointment to the Archdiocese

of Canberra and Goulburn following a review into operation of the charitable fund.

As part of the revitalisation, he ap-pointed Colin Coomber as the part-time executive offi cer and charged him with raising the public awareness of what has become Greater Gippsland’s biggest charity.

Businesses across the diocese will all be encouraged to make annual donations so that the trust fund can grow and more struggling families can be helped.

Mr Coomber said the old Bishop’s Family Foundation had been highly suc-cessful because of the way it had been set up.

The aim was to establish a large trust fund to earn enough income so that oth-er charities did not have to be continu-ally raising funds.

“To that end we have been highly suc-cessful because we have been able to

provide over $1 million, but if we had been able to meet all the requests for funding, we probably could have given away three times that amount.”

He said Trinity Families would have a higher profi le than the previous entity and would also eventually take on an advocacy role whereby it would assist other charities in making submissions to governments for funding.

Mr Coomber said there were hundreds of charities collecting funds in the re-gion but it was unfortunate that these funds often never returned to provide as-sistance in the area in which the funds were raised.

Trinity Families raised the money in the Greater Gippsland area and only funded charities providing services in Greater Gippsland.

He said many organisations collect-ing funds in Gippsland purported to be charities but did not have deductible gift

recipient status and so donations to them could not be claimed on tax.

People would be disappointed to learnthat sometimes more than half of their donations disappeared in advertising, wages and even bonuses to collectorswho were paid a percentage of the mon-ey they took.

Trinity Families would continue tobe supported in the background by the Catholic Church and all donations re-ceived would be paid into the trust fundto earn more money for distribution.

Mr Coomber said Trinity Families op-erated in the area covered by the Cities of Casey and Latrobe, and the Shires ofCardinia, Baw Baw, Bass Coat, South Gippsland, Wellington and East Gipps-land.

Trinity Families is in the process ofsetting up a new web site which will al-low people to make secure on-line dona-tions.

DIOCESAN administrator Fr Peter Slater (right) and Trinity Families executive offi cer Colin Coomber launch the new name.

Charitable fund relaunch

- Catholic Life, February 2014

Catholic LifePO Box 1410,

Warragul Vic. 3820Phone: (03) 5622 [email protected]

www.sale.catholic.org.au

Editor: Colin Coomber

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In thisIssue OUR diocese fi nds itself without a bishop. Since Bishop

Christopher Prowse took up his appointment as Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn in November of last year we have begun a time of waiting for the announcement and arrival of our next bishop of Sale.

It is a time of waiting, of transition. How long will it take? Who will be appointed? These are questions we can’t answer though we trust that the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, is working at the matter on behalf of Pope Francis. We will know in due course.

Some years ago I heard some thoughts on the question of being in transition. While these thoughts were intended to apply to an individual’s personal experience they suggest some elements that might be useful to our communal experience as a diocesan community during these months.

The fi rst thing to note is that transition is not just an empty time of waiting; it is a time of movement for us. We can do it well or poorly.

Basically I learned that transition consists of three different phases or stages. It starts with an end; it moves through a time of neutrality; and it leads to a new beginning.

“Start with the end” I heard. That sounds odd but it simply means that we should give time to what has come to an end. Bishop Prowse was with us for a little over four years. The end of his time in our diocese began with the announcement of his appointment to Canberra and Goulburn. That was last September. That announcement was quickly communicated to parishes and schools. There were news items in the media. There were the farewell functions in various parts of the diocese. Many of you had the chance to express your farewell to him. Some of you went to Canberra for his installation there.

But there is more to the end than that. This is a time to refl ect on events and developments in our diocese during his time here.

The increase in the number of priests from overseas who are working here is one of those developments. We had some before he came but Bishop Prowse himself acted to bring clergy from India, Sri Lanka and Nigeria. Many of you have met one or more of these priests. Bishop Prowse established connections between our diocese and the diocese or religious congregation concerned. He has also welcomed seminarians from other countries too and we look forward to the ministry of these in time.

The relocation of the diocesan offi ces from Sale to Warragul is another legacy of Bishop Prowse. I think I can say the priests were ready for that initiative but it was the bishop, after taking advice, who made the decision.

A further initiative is the pastoral plan, Finding Home in Jesus. This year’s emphasis on family prayer is the fi rst stage of that plan. Many, if not all of you, would have the prayer card that has been printed.

All of these took place during the four years of Bishop Prowse’s ministry in Sale. We do well to look back on those initiatives as signs of his presence here.

I understand of course that you may have your own memories of something he said or did. The fi rst stage of transition includes that looking back over those memories. That’s something that needs to be done before moving through the central stage. I hope to share some thoughts on that in a future article.

Fr Peter SlaterDiocesan Administrator

A Time of Transition in the diocese

Retreat opportunity for VCE studentsBy Cassie Gawley

UNWIND is a retreat for Year 11 and 12 students who are cur-rently undergoing their VCE studies.

The retreat aims to provide an overnight escape from the busy and hectic lifestyle of VCE by providing an opportunity for these young people to recon-nect with their faith, make some new friends and have some fun.

During VCE, the stresses of study, future planning, assess-

ments and prerequisites can be so overwhelming to students, that faith gets pushed to the side.

It is important for young peo-ple to nurture their relationship with God during all parts of their lives, particularly the dif-fi cult ones.

During Year 11 and 12 it is imperative that students are looking after, not only their physical but also their mental

wellbeing, and this retreat will give students some helpful tips on how to look after themselves during this period.

Unwind will be held from 5pm on Friday April 4 until 4pm on April 5 at Rawson Vil-lage, Pinnacle Drive, Rawson, at a cost of $30 per person.

The Youth Ministry Offi ce is

currently trialling a new online registration system, so to reg-ister please visit this website www.trybooking.com/EECM

If you have any questions about Unwind, or feedback about the online registration system, please contact Cassie Gawley via email [email protected]

Milestone for Mgr AllmanTRARALGON – Mgr John Allman will next month cel-ebrate 50 years since he was made a Prelate of Honor by the Pope.

The Papal Honor in 1964 en-titled him to be called monsig-nor.

In 1990 he was also awarded the highest Papal Honor, the Prothonotary Apostolic, and is currently one of eight priests in

Australia to have that award.Mgr Allman lives in retire-

ment at O’Mara House in Traralgon.

He was ordained by Bishop Richard Ryan in 1951 and has the record of having served un-der six of the diocese’s eight bishops, mainly in leading roles as either Vicar General or Dean of the Cathedral.

Newboroughwelcomesnew priest

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Special Massfor familieswho have loss

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Medjugorjeconvert tospeak here

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Moving intonew schoolis delayed

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Two Josephitesleave diocesefor Melbourne

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ProjectCompassionAppeal

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CelebratingSt Valentine’sDay

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Catholic Life, February 2014 -

It’snot all about

themoney!

The Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale is not subject to the provisions of the Corporation Act 2001 nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Deposits with the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale are guaranteed by CDPF Limited, a company established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference for this purpose. We welcome your in-vestment with the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale rather than with a profi t orientated commercial organisation as a conscious commitment by you to support the Charitable, Religious and Educational works of the Catholic Church. Neither the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale nor the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Sale are prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority; contributions to the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale do not obtain the benefi t of the depositor protection provisions of the Banking Act 1959; the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale is designed for investors who wish to promote the charitable purposes of the Catholic Diocese of Sale.

Can you help us fulfi l the mission the Church in this way?Have you got money invested elsewhere that you could

consider investing with the CDF?If you are able to help why not give the CDF

a call or email and see how easy it is. You will be rewarded with:

• A competitive rate of return on your investment;• The security of investing with the Catholic Church; and,• Most importantly you are making a contribution tofurthering the Catholic faith and education in our diocese.

So you see it’s notjust about the money

Phone 5622 6699 [email protected]

Trinity Families - What’s behind the name?

Facing the Truth

Log in to follow the Catholic Church response and latest on the Victorian

Government inquiry into child abuse.

www.facingthetruth.org.au

TRINITY FAMILIES was cho-sen by Bishop Prowse from among several names suggested during a review of the charita-ble fund.

He liked Trinity because of its religious connotations and Families tied in with the focus of his pastoral plan.

The word Trinity means three and the operation of Trinity Families is a three step process.

The fi rst step involved the generous donations received from people and organisations, the second the secure invest-ment of those funds to earn the

best possible income and third-ly, sharing that income with other registered charities pro-viding programs for families.

In 2005 a Monash University study into the Bishop’s Fam-ily Foundation recommended changing the name of the or-ganisation because the word Bishop identifi ed too closely with the Catholic Church and alienated the 75 per cent of peo-ple who were non-Catholics.

They suggested a name change would stop confusion with the annual Bishop’s Fam-ily Appeal promoted by the An-

glican Bishop to raise funds for Anglicare Gippsland.

Trinity Families is now a reg-istered name of the Catholic Diocese of Sale which operates the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale Charitable Fund and all donations of $2 or more enjoy full tax deductibility.

The logo features a light blue geometric symbol known as a triquetra.

This Celtic knot predates Christianity but has long been used in the Church to signify the Trinity. Interestingly, the triquetra features on the stained

glass door of the former Bish-op’s House in Sale, albeit in an inverted position.

Bishop Prowse likened the top loop of the triquetra to a

bishop’s mitre and the twolower loops to his outstretchedarms.

Widespread support is needed to boost trust fundTRINITY FAMILIES is in the process of setting up a stand alone Web Page which will en-able people to securely make donations by credit card or di-rect debit.

Once the necessary links are established with bankers, do-nors will automatically receive their receipt on-line which they can then print off and use for tax deductions.

Getting the name registered caused some delays and then the Christmas break has also

hindered development on the website.

Trinity Families will contin-ue to allocate funds annually as did the Bishop’s Family Foun-dation.

Calls for applications from charities operating in Gipps-land and the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne will be made mid-year and funds will be allocated in September or October.

It is intended to become more pro-active by identify-

ing needs not being met in the region and discussing this with established charities to see if they can extend their programs with the held of Trinity Fami-lies funding.

Meanwhile, much is going on behind the scenes and it is intended to set up several re-gional sub-committees to assist with fund-raising and promo-tion in the wider community.

The annual May appeal will again be held in Catholic par-ishes and this year parishion-

ers will be asked to consider making pledges to give an an-nual donation for the next three years.

Schools within the Sale Dio-cese will be asked to ensure that Trinity Families receives support in fund-raising efforts before giving to non-Catholic charities.

The business community will also be appealed to for support with the estimated 10,000 busi-nesses in the region being all asked to contribute $100 a year

to support charitable works which actually benefi t the re-gion.

Larger businesses and multi-national companies operating here will be asked to consider larger donations.

Donations can be sent to Trinity Families, PO Box 1410, Warragul 3820. Those wishing to make direct deposits should call 5622 6688 for details.

The internet donations ser-vice is not expected to be fully operational for several weeks.

4WD trip to theGippsland AlpsA FOUR wheel drive trip to Miller’s Hut near Mt Wellington, north of Heyfi eld, will be held on February 28 to March 2.

Vehicles will leave Newry on the Friday night and return on the Sunday.

It is planned to have a day trip out to the Sentinels to look out over Lake Tarli Karng and to the Gable End of Mt Wellington to look out over Miller’s stock route.

It is hoped that Fr Jeff Klenjans will again be along for the trip and he will celebrate Mass on the mountain.

There is no cost to participate as the trip is self catering but some places are available for those who do not have four wheel drive vehicle. In their case a donation towards sharing

fuel costs would be appreciated. Vehicles should meet at St

Ita’s Church, Hastings St., Newry at 5.30pm on February 28 for a 6pm departure which will enable participants to arrive at the hut and set up camp before dark.

Enquiries, including what to bring, should be made to [email protected] or Don Dwyer on 0428 556 636.

Scott and Sharon Anderson

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Great supporterTHIS issue of Catholic Life is the fi rst of the new two-monthly publishing schedule.

We have tweaked design only slightly for this issue but you can expect to see more changes in coming issues.

Our regular features are continuing except for the Gippsland History column written by Patrick Morgan of Boolarra who has decided to end the series.

Patrick began writing for our forerunner, the old Sale Catholic Life back in the late 1980s, and continued until it closed down in 1995.

When we started this publication in November 1997 we invited him on board and we can’t recall him missing an issue.

We would like to publicly thank him for his services of keeping people informed about their history.

Puzzling signsSOLAR powered electronic fi re danger signs have appeared around Gippsland for this summer.

What we can’t understand is why signs continue to show a green low fi re danger rating on 25 degree days when the surrounding grassland is tinder dry and rural fi re restrictions apply.

Surely, during summer the lowest the reading should go is ‘high’, just like it used to with the old manually operated

signs.There are still three

more categories including ‘catastrophic’ above high to cater for those 40 degree scorchers.

Man of the YearHAS a Pontiff ever had such a high public profi le as Pope Francis?

Time magazine Man of the Year, front cover of Rolling Stone and even the ‘Super-Pope’ graffi ti which appeared in Italy.

The general public, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, have embraced this man for his openness and willingness to move the Church into doing something to help those in poverty.

Attack on ChristADELAIDE Fringe Festival has caused some furore for staging a show called Come Heckle Christ.

The SA Premier, organisers and sponsors say they can’t pull the show which is reported to be offensive to Christianity.

Imagine the response if the show was called Come Heckle Mohammed!

Of all the decisions we make in ourOf all the decisions we make in ourlifetime, making a valid will is amonglifetime, making a valid will is among

the most important.the most important.

This fi nal testament speaks loud-ly of the values, causes and pos-sessions we hold most dear. We bequest personal treasures and mementos to special friends and loved ones and ask them to care

for them after our passing.

If you hold the Church dear, you may consider leaving a percent-age of your estate or a specifi c

amount to theDiocese of Sale.

The Diocese is grateful for the support of its benefactors, who

have enabled the Churchto grow in its service of

its people, and invite youto share in thisrich heritage.

National Liturgy Conferencemarks resurgence of hopeSOME 600 Catholics gathered from Australia and New Zealand, including 2 delegates for the Diocese of Sale, celebrated the heart of their faith over 15 to 18 January 2014 at the Lift Up Your Hearts National Liturgy Conference, at the joint Wollongong venues of St Mary Star of the Sea, College and Xavier Conference Centre.

Participants included Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Bishop Peter Ingham of Wollongong, Bishop Peter Elliott of Melbourne and Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett of Lismore.

Liturgy, which is the Catholic Church’s name for its public worship, was the theme of the Conference, and keynote speakers including Fr Jan Michael Joncas, United States priest and renowned composer and liturgical theologian, helped participants break open the Mass as “source and summit” of Catholic life.

Another keynote speaker, Dr Clare V. Johnson, theologian, author and senior lecturer at the Australian Catholic University, Strathfi eld, refl ected on the importance of music in worship, urging participants to identify sacred music treasures

of “inestimable value.”When asked why there was

such interest in this event, to the extent which registrations had to be closed off early due to a “full house,” conference convener Mr Paul Mason said, “I believe the interest stems from a resurgence of hope in the Catholic Church, perhaps due to the ‘Francis Effect.’” Pope Francis has captured the imagination of Catholics and non-Catholics alike in his down-to-earth living out of Jesus Christ’s mission of love and service to the most in need.

Conference speakers, including Archbishop Mark Coleridge, reminded delegates that worship does not make sense if it is divorced from the world’s concerns. Catholics are called to serve all people, particularly those most in need, with the very word “Mass” stemming from the word “mission,” to be sent.

Participants experienced many workshops and talks on topics - such as styles of sacred music, inclusion of indigenous and multicultural expressions of worship, and the joys and challenges of providing worship in rural communities without a priest. Mass was celebrated daily in St Francis Xavier Cathedral, a wonderful party on Wednesday night honoured the golden jubilee of a landmark document on the liturgy at the Second Vatican Council.

At the conference dinner, Dr Tom Elich, a Brisbane priest, was announced as recipient of the inaugural award for Outstanding Contribution to Liturgical Renewal. Bishop Peter Ingham, of host Diocese, Wollongong, observed: “Much has changed in the last 50 years, even in what we eat! Many of the meals we enjoy today through the benefi ts of multiculturalism were not even recognisable words in the

past. The same is true in our worship. Much has changed,and we are still on a journey, staying faithful to Jesus Christ, yet remaining relevant to ourchanging context.”

It is incredible to consider the changes in Catholic worship over the last 50 years.

Where once Mass goers experienced Latin, today’schurch predominantly offersMass in the language of the people.

Even the conference itself isan expression of this change. Fifty years ago, liturgy was the primary province of clergy.Today, the majority of theparticipants at the conference were lay women and men, withmany drawn from rural settings, with many lay women and lay men involved in signifi cantministries during the Masses held throughout the week.

Keynote Dr Louise Campbell,director of the National Liturgy Offi ce of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, urged participants to continueto “Lift up our hearts!” She echoed the sentiment of manydelegates who were strong in praise for the presentations, hospitality, organisation andmarvellous volunteers.

• This article used with thepermission of the Catholic Diocese of Wollongong www.dow.org.au

Away for a weekend and need to check local

Mass times?Use the QR scanning app on your smart phone and it will take you directly to the Diocese of Sale website

CAMP Nazareth which was to be held next month at Trafalgar East has been cancelled.

The family camp was part of the Year of Family Prayer initiative but with the move of Bishop Prowse to be Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn and youth coordinator Jess Denehy leaving to take up a position with Melbourne Archdiocese, organisation was too diffi cult.

A CANTOR leading the Psalms workshop during the conference.- Photograph by Daniel Hopper, Diocese of Wollongong.

Family campcancelled

HAVE you suffered the loss of a child by miscarriage, abor-tion, still born, illness, suicide, crime or accident?

If so, you and others are warmly invited to Mass for Families to be held on the Feast of the Annunciation Tuesday,

March 25 at St Mary’s Ca-thedral, Pearson St., Sale at 7pm, with Rosary preceding at 6.30pm.

A light supper will follow. This invitation extends not only to parents, but also siblings, grandparents – all extended

family and friends - everyone is welcome.

The Mass for Families will be offered for those effected by the loss of a child and to remem-ber, offer thanks and celebrate the life of all God’s children gifted to us, whom we know by Holy Scripture are all lov-ingly created and consecrated by God “‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I con-secrated you” (Jeremiah 1:5) and proclaimed by the Church “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end.” CCC 2258

This Mass is an initiative

for the Year of Family Prayer by Action for Life - a newly formed pro-life, pro-family group which serves the parishes and communities of the Heart Region which encompasses Sale Cathedral and Maffra par-ishes and communities by pro-moting a culture of life and love

in presenting the truth, beauty and goodness of life, marriage and family, within the teachingsof the Catholic faith.

Enquiries should be directed to Elaine on 5144 2762, Mari-anne on 5147 1019 or email: [email protected].

NEWBOROUGH - The Catho-lic Parish of Immaculate Heart of Mary has embraced the new year by welcoming a new par-ish priest, Fr Harry Dyer OMI.

Fr Harry will lead St Mary’s Parish Newborough and St Ki-eran’s Parish in Moe.

Newborough had previously been served by diocesan priests but now comes under the care of the Oblate of Mary Immacu-late priests who have looked af-ter Moe.

This means where possible the parishes will work togeth-er in celebrating the Catholic story while still preserving and honoring each parish’s unique tradition.

Fr Dyer is a past Provincial of the Oblates and has a close affi nity with the area as he was born in Newborough and at-

tended St Mary’s Primary School when he was a young boy.

This week the parishes also welcomed Fr Paul Smithers OMI who will act as assistant priest.

For the past few years the Ob-lates have been served in Moe by Fr Bernie O’Brien who has moved to the Oblate parish of Sorrento.

A spokesperson from the Newborough parish said “This is a time of change. We look forward to working positively with St Kieran’s Parish to fur-ther develop the Catholic com-munities of Moe, Newborough and Yallourn North.”

A similar welcome service took place for Fr Dyer at St Kieran’s Moe on the Saturday night.


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Newborough welcomes new parish priest

A 16 day pilgrimage with Fr Mark Podesta JCLDeparting 29th June 2014• Venice • Padua • Florence

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Also departing 24th Apr, 29th May, 29th Sep & 29th Oct 2014

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Departing 9th June 2014

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AT the welcoming ceremony at Newborough are Diocesan Administrator Fr Peter Slater, visiting Oblate priest from Madagascar Fr Johnny, new parish priest Fr Harry Dyer OMI and Provincial of the Oblates Fr Leo Mifsud OMI.

Special Mass for families who have suffered loss

Gladiator to play NoahRUSSELL Crowe will feature as Noah in a fi lm of the same name which will be released in cinemas in late March.

The New Zealand born actor is used to starring in epic roles and it will be his fi rst in a Bibli-cal fi lm.

He shot to international prominence for his lead role in Gladiator in 2000, and later won several major fi lm awards for A Brilliant Mind and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

He had the title role in Robin Hood and most recently Javert in Les Miserables.

Noah is described as an epic in the mould of the great Hol-lywood Biblical movies of the 1950s and 1960s.

The fi lm covers God’s revela-tion to Noah that he is going to

fl ood the world and Noah’s ac-ceptance of the fact that judge-ment is coming.

There is a realistic take on the ridicule and danger Noah would have faced as he went about constructing the ark.

A RENOWNED international speaker on Medjugorje Wayne Weibel is coming to Australia next month and his speaking tour will include Warragul, Narre Warren and Sale.

His visit was instigated by a Neerim East woman Julie Pow-ell who was so entranced by one of Weibel’s fi rst books that she became a Catholic.

Weible too was a non-Cath-olic in 1985 when he decided to write a newspaper article about the apparitions in Bosnia-Herzgovina mountain town of Medjugorje.

It was while viewing a video tape of the apparitions that he felt a strong message within his heart to write about the events and spread the message of rec-onciliation with God.

After writing a series of arti-cles and spending a great deal of time in prayer, he sold the four newspaper he owned so he could devote his time to spread-ing the Medjugorje message.

In 1986 he wrote an eight page tabloid Miracle at Medju-gorje and initially printed 3000 copies to distribute. More than 125 million copies have now been distributed around the world in several different lan-

guages.Weibel has now authored nine

books on his experiences, in-cluding Medjugorje: The Mes-sage (1989) which Mrs Powell read and became overwhelmed with the message from Our Lady.

Like Weibel, she decided to become a Catholic and went through the RCIA program.

However, Weibel emphasises that the message coming from Medjugorje is for all faiths not just for Catholics, or for that matter Christians.

When Gippsland-based devo-tees were looking for a suitable speaker to visit Mrs Powell sug-gested Weibel and after making contact he agreed to visit.

He arrives in Australia on March 1 and his fi rst talk will be at St Joseph’s Church, War-ragul, immediately after 9am Mass on March 2.

On Monday, March 3, he goes to Our Lady Help of Christians, Narre Warren, where there will be praise and worship at 7pm, Mass at 7.30pm and Weibel’s talk at 8.15pm.

He will be at St Peter’s Church, Clayton, at 10am on March 4, and then St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, on March 5 for a talk after 7pm Mass, followed by a light supper.

His tour then takes him to Bendigo, Mooroopna, Sheppar-ton, Albury, Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Camberwell, Faw-kner and Bulleen. Full details of these visits can be obtained from Mrs Powell at [email protected] or 5628 1343.

The Medjugorje apparitions are yet to receive offi cial sanc-tion from the Holy See, but like many other offi cially accepted apparitions, such approval can take decades.

Since 1981 apparitions of the Virgin Mary began in the village, originally to six young

seers, and today three of them still receive apparitions.

The message has consistently been one of peace and that God has sent her as an act of grace and to encourage people to re-turn to God.

Since 1981 more than 50 mil-lion people have travelled to Medjugorje and left there spir-itually and strengthened and renewed.

Many bring back stories of miraculous healings of body, mind and spirit, supernatural signs and deep conversions

back to God.The Congregation for the

Doctrine of Faith concluded its study of the Medjugorje claims last month and is believed to have made a report to Pope Francis.

The study looked at the ex-periences of those visiting the site, weighing evidence and assessing claims and counter-claims including those of a for-mer Vatican exorcist who said the visions were the work of the devil.

News of the apparitions have

been denounced by the local bishop, and before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Cardi-nal Joseph Ratzinger also ex-pressed doubts as to the verac-ity of claims. At one stage the Vatican urged Catholics not tomake pilgrimages to Medjugor-je because the supernatural ex-periences could not be verifi edbut still devotees have fl ockedthere in the millions every year.

Wayne Weibel leads severalpilgrimages from the United States to Medjugorje and the Holy Land every year.


Reflectionsby Jim Quillinan

THE Judean wilderness is an extraordinary place – it is the area immediately south of Jerusalem where Jesus is believed to have roamed during the 40 days before He began His public ministry.

By day it is very, very hot. Goat tracks criss-cross its steep hills and ravines. There is little or no vegetation and precious little shade. The rocky and unstable soil means that a sure foot is needed. By night it is very cold. Like any other desert, it is very, very dry.

At fi rst nothing seems to be alive, nothing moving until the eye that has been rid of other distractions begins to see the shepherd and the sheep, then another fl ock, then another.

After some time of quiet you begin to realise that you are not sitting on rocks and sand but grass, perhaps not as we are used to but it is still sustenance for the animals in this place.

There is shade in the deep valleys and, although many of the goat tracks lead nowhere, there are other, wider tracks which wind their way around the sides of the ravines.

After some time of quiet and stillness, one can see that even in this harsh environment, there is life! But it takes time – otherwise it just appears as harsh wilderness.

This is one place where the words of the psalmist to “Be still and know that I am God” become very real.

Lent gives us the opportunity to be rid of other distractions – to look again at our lives and our world with the eyes of faith.

Lent is a reminder that we

do need to see with other eyes, that we do need to restore our vision, to look for those things which bring us life, which build community, which restore relationships, harmony and justice in our own lives and in the community in which we live.

Lent, one website confi dently proclaims, comes from the Germanic word for springtime. Another says that the English word ‘Lent’ comes from the early Anglo-Saxon word meaning to ‘lengthen’ as Lent comes at a time when the hours of daytime are ‘lengthening’ with the approach of spring.

That is a great time in any year – winter is over and the promise of warmer days becomes real. New shoots herald the return of life to many plants.

It’s the opposite here in the Southern Hemisphere as the days shorten and the coldness of winter begins to set in. That is a reminder that we fi nd God in the good times and in the bad, in the sun as well as the shade of our lives, that every season brings hope and renewal.

The season of Lent challenges us to fi nd out own wilderness places, fi rstly those places in our minds and hearts where we can Be Still and come to know and feel the presence of God. It

challenges us to open ourselves to God.

At this time, in the words of the prophet Hosea: God says: ‘I will allure her into the wilderness and speak to her heart’ (2:14).

Lent is a time to allow Godto speak to our hearts. It is sometimes in the barrenness, in the wilderness times of our lives that God is waiting, opening our hearts to those who are in desperate need, the one billion poor, the 17 million refugees,the marginalised, the lonely and the lost.

It offers us the opportunity toopen our hearts to the times and places of wilderness which so many people experience today,to those who have lost hopeand meaning, those who sufferfrom violence and hostility,those who feel unwanted and are struggling just to survive.

Lent is not a season for looking only at ourselves buton how we connect with otherswho are made in God’s ownimage and likeness, those we are called on to love as Jesus did, and what stops us from doing that.

Lent challenges us to stop and ask: Where do I fi nd God in my life today? How am Iresponding to God’s call to care for others, for God’s creation?

Lent creates opportunities

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CRANBOURNE EAST - Unexpected delays over the school holidays have meant that the diocese’s newest primary school St Thomas the Apostle was not able to open for the start of the school year.

However, the 130 students enrolled for 2014 have begun classes in the hall at St Agatha’s Primary School, Cranbourne.

They are excited about the impending move to the new school which

should take place before the end of this month.

Principal Brendan Marrinon said it was unfortunate that the students were not in the new school for the start of the year but the delays were beyond his control.

He said the 130 students were enrolled across all class levels and it was expected that the school would grow rapidly over the next few years as the Cranbourne East and Clyde North area

continued to grow.St Thomas the Apostle

School will eventually be part of a new parish with a church and presbytery already planned for adjoining land.

The school is on Cranbourne-Berwick Road, almost opposite the Melbourne Football Club’s Casey Fields training facility, and at the rear it adjoins the Cranbourne East campus of St Peter’s College.

New school is delayed

STUDENTS from St Thomas the Apostle School are jumping for joy on the fi rst day of school but they can’t wait to celebrate even further when they get to move in.,


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Two stalwart Josephite Sisters leave our dioceseKOO WEE RUP - Two well-known Jo-sephite Sisters have left Sale Diocese to live in Melbourne.

Sr Christina Scannell and Sr Rose Wood left their convent in Koo Wee Rup last weekend and are now living in Hawthorn.

Irish-born Sr Christina has spent most of her religious life in Gippsland.

She was one of seven Irish girls recruited by the Josephites and so after the novitiate and teacher training in Sydney she spent 1971-72 years teaching at Sacred Heart School, St Albans, which in those days had a multi-cultural blend of 1400 students from prep to Form 4 (Year 10).

She moved to Yallourn in 1973 where she found less than 100 students.

After two years there it was off to Wonthaggi for two, Orbost for six, Newborough for fi ve and fi nally to Sacred Heart School, Morwell where she was principal for six years.

After her mother suffered a serious stroke, Sr Christina returned to Ireland to nurse her until her death fi ve years later.

Sixteen years ago the late Fr Joe Flynn, then parish priest of Pakenham, invited her to take up the position of parish pastoral worker and so she returned to Australia and had been serving the parish in that role since then.

In Melbourne, Sr Christina will be helping out at the 91 bed nursing home run by the Josephites at Hawthorn East, taking residents to appointments and doing their shopping.

Pakenham parish farewelled her on February 2.

At the farewell, parish representative Marie-Therese Tuck spoke glowingly of St Christina’s contribution to parish life and how she had infl uenced so many

people.Her cheerful manner, smile, Irish

jokes, sense of humor, care and support had endeared her.

Mrs Tuck said Sr Christina was well known for her two walking speeds - fast and faster - and for the way in which she recruited assistance, even from unwilling parishioners who could never quite say no to her.

Sr Christina was rarely far from the parish, even on her days off and she had given great support to the priests over her time.

She said that Sr Christina had proved to be very adaptable to changing times with family life now being more complex

and an altered dynamics in society. However, her core values of kindness,

caring, helping and always making everything seem effortless had not changed.

Sr Christina was always available to assist children, families, people with health problems, older people, the homebound, new parishioners migrants and refugees in the wider community.

Mrs Tuck said Sr Christina was the closest person that we would know as a “saint among us”, and she was an exemplar of her congregation and a model of who we should be if we were to follow Jesus.

Sr Rose Wood has been an icon at St John’s Parish, Koo Wee Rup, where she has faithfully served the community for 31 years.

She came to the parish in 1983 and spent her fi rst seven years teaching at St John’s Primary School following which time her role became predominantly pastoral work within St John’s Parish, which includes the townships of Koo Wee Rup, Lang Lang and Tooradin and the surrounding districts.

Her ministry has seen her welcomed into many homes. Her empathy for others, sense of humor and unwavering devotion to the Essendon Football Club has guided many a conversation and brought smiles and laughter to many faces.

She also earned a reputation as a bit of a practical joker and was even known to dress up to pull some jokes on some of the parishioners.

Sr Rose was instrumental in the success of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and Baptism programs, Lenten Groups, Liturgy team, RSJ Associates, Parish Pastoral Team, St Vincent de Paul Society, and providing sacramental

education to students of government schools and visiting the housebound, sick and elderly.

Although taking things much quieter in recent years, Sr Rose remained in ministry to the elderly, the sick and to the residents of Killara Hostel at Koo Wee Rup.

She was always been a great supporter of parish functions and loved a chat and cuppa after Mass on Sundays. Sr Rose regularly joined the staff for morning tea at St Johns Primary school and provided great insights into parish life for the school community.

Parishioners, family and friends have proudly come together to celebrate many achievements with Sr Rose over the years including a surprise 70th Birthday party to which she was lured unknowingly by the call of duty to a needy parishioner, a large gathering to celebrate her Golden Jubilee, and an Australia Day Award recognising service to the people of Koo Wee Rup.

The parish farewelled her at Mass and morning tea last Sunday

SR Christina Scannell packing boxes prior to last weekend’s move.

SR Rose Wood, 31 years at Koo Wee Rup.

“Men and women of all times and all places desire a full and beautiful life ... a life that is not threatened by death but that can mature and grow to its full-ness.”

- Pope Francis

THANKS to the generous support of people from around Australia, commu-nities like Maristely’s can enjoy a full life.

Caritas Australia’s partner, the Move-ment for the Defence of Favela Resi-dents, is working to improve life and living conditions within Maristely’s community, and in 40 other favelas in the city.

Maristely, 18, lives in a favela (slum) in São Paulo, Brazil with her family. Like Maristely, one in every seven peo-ple in the city of São Paulo lives in a favela.

Dark and cramped, favelas are fi lled with irregular, self-constructed houses. When Maristely was growing up, her family’s house, like many others, was made of cardboard and had no electric-ity, water or connected sewerage.

Favelas are often built on land that no one wants to live on due to threats of fl oods, landslides, or their proximity to roads and train lines. And many locals face daily discrimination from the wider population.

“Outside the favela, we are socially excluded. When people ask us where we live and we tell them, people look down on us,” said Maristely.

From the 1950s, Brazil experienced one of the largest population movements in history when an estimated 20 million people, looking for a safe and secure fu-ture, moved from rural areas to the big cities. Many found themselves living in favelas, including Maristely’s family.

But with dense populations, limited space, a lack of available jobs, constant threat of eviction and widespread pov-erty, favela life is diffi cult.

Caritas Australia’s partner, the Move-ment for the Defence of Favela Resi-dents (MDF), is changing lives across 40 favelas in São Paulo.

“The role of MDF is to work with families so they are aware that they can advocate for improvements where they live,” said Maristely.

As all people have the right to partici-pate in decisions that affect their lives, MDF educators regularly visit favelas to engage with the local people and ad-dress the challenges of favela life. Now a young leader with MDF’s Youth Em-powerment Program, Maristely is work-ing to promote peace, improve access to basic facilities and increase citizens’ awareness of their rights and dignity.

Through MDF, Maristely’s family, along with thousands of others, now has access to clean water, electricity and connected sewerage, leading to a reduc-tion in respiratory and skin diseases, and better overall health. Her family also has a certifi cate of home ownership which provides greater security for the house-hold. Thanks to this legal protection, they can no longer be evicted.

Across the favelas, up to 70 percent of families experience violence in the home; MDF is working to decrease these levels, as well as youth and gang violence, and drug use among commu-nity members.

“In this community there was a lot of violence, especially against women and young people,” said Maristely. “When I was younger we could hardly leave the house. There were a lot of young people using drugs. We had to stop playing on the streets because there were police cars driving very fast. We were very scared.”

This culture of violence is closely linked to a lack of self-esteem. MDF attendees participate in sessions which address their identity, favela history, and the challenge of being counter cul-tural in a community affected by drugs, gangs, violence and unemployment.

This program is empowering people like Maristely to challenge prejudice and make their voices heard. The partic-ipants engage in media and social media workshops, radio and television inter-views, peace rallies and environmental care. The program promotes peace so young people can attain education and employment; rather than joining local gangs.

“Maristely is a fl ower who has bloomed in the middle of the favelas,”

said Getúlio, MDF Youth Empower-ment Coordinator.

“Being a part of MDF has given me awareness of my dignity as a person, and critical thinking. I have learnt a lot about the problems we have in our so-ciety. I know that to live in a favela is nothing to be ashamed of … because of my perseverance, I live in a better place and we are recognised for that,” said

Maristely.Your donation to Project Compassion

is helping Caritas Australia end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

To donate, support or fundraise forProject Compassion 2014 please visit our website at www.caritas.org.au/pro-jectcompassion or phone 1800 024 413.


A SPECIAL Lenten visitor from Caritas Australia’s head offi ce will be tour vari-ous schools and parishes in Sale Diocese next month to promote Project Compas-sion.

Shaun Carroll has been Supporter Care Coordinator at Caritas Australia since joining the agency two years ago following a career in the corporate sec-tor.

Seeing fi rst-hand the benefi t of Cari-tas Australia’s programs in Nepal, Mr Carroll is passionate about his work and enjoys sharing his commitment to social justice with Caritas donors and support-ers across the country.

He is inspired by the everyday gener-osity of the Australian community and says he gets to see the best of people as they donate their time and money in sup-port of Caritas Australia’s life-changing work.

He will be in this diocese from March

15 to March 22.The offi cial launch of the 2014 Project

Compassion will take place at St Francis Xavier College’s Beaconsfi eld campus at 11am on Shrove Tuesday, March 4.

Project Compassion is Caritas Aus-tralia’s annual fundraising and aware-ness-raising appeal that links thousands of Australians in solidarity with the world’s poor to help end poverty, pro-mote justice and uphold dignity in the most vulnerable communities.

Running for six weeks of Lent each year, Project Compassion is an extraor-dinary, ongoing demonstration of the faith, love and the generosity of Cari-tas’s caring supporters.

Caritas Australia’s staff work with our dedicated partners, inspiring program benefi ciaries, and compassionate sup-porters to promote peace and justice in the world’s most marginalised commu-nities.

Maristely’s story: a fl ower in the favelas of Brazil

Lenten visitor in our diocese

AnnualLentenAppeal

ONE comment I hear quite of-ten is “I don’t have any money – I don’t need a share broker”, to which I usually reply “If you don’t have any money, then you really need a share broker”.

It tends to reinforce the fact that getting started is really the hardest step.

I’ve talked in this column about investing now ever since I started writing it. But many people don’t have the capacity or knowledge to start invest-ing by themselves or some just don’t know where and how to start.

For someone who has advised investors for more years than I care to count, I still take real pleasure in speaking to people with just a small amount, and helping them start on their way.

I don’t work with property and getting started there is ex-pensive. In country towns a home buyer, if they have an ad-equate income, can need from $50,000 to more than $150,000 as a deposit for their home.

It’s not so simple just to save that amount, especially if there’s a family and only one income.

The answer never lies in just saving in a savings account or term deposits, if it’s unlikely that the target won’t be reached in a year or so.

The interest rates paid by banks and tax that needs to be paid will mean that the gains generated quite probably won’t keep up with house prices. The

“deposit gap” just gets wider, and wider.

If you’ve a young family and want to guarantee a choice of education for your children in the future, how do you generate the investments to cover possi-bly tens of thousands of dollars in fees a year?

I never recommend taking out an Education Fund program in any circumstances. High fees and restrictions mean that you can do better yourself.

If you already own a home and want to grow your wealth, without excessive debt, how do you establish a diversifi ed in-vestment portfolio? People say that you need $5000 to start but that’s not true at all.

Putting your money in the bank won’t really help you get ahead. You need to start invest-ing, and saving isn’t investing. But how do you do it?

Buying shares directly with small amounts of money can be expensive, as it means that you will need to use an on-line bro-ker with no advice and no-one to use as a sounding board.

It also means that you may not end up with a portfolio

that’s adequately secure. Gen-erally portfolios developed like this are unbalanced and are a bit like Topsy.

When investing directly the bigger the investment you can make the better – better returns and lower costs help ensure that. But you don’t have that money available.

The simplest and I feel the best approach is to invest in a diversifi ed, Australian Share Fund. The normal minimum amount is usually from $2000, so it’s fi ndable, even if it isn’t easy.

The real secret to doing this

successfully is to keep adding to it on a regular basis. There are funds that will allow you to start with as little as $1000 if you agree to make regular monthly payments of $100 or more.

So you can start small and grow steadily, with moderate fees and own part of a diver-sifi ed portfolio. You get told what’s in it and you can track it’s progress. It will help you learn about investing, too.

Previous articles have touched on the draw backs of managed funds but to get started there’s nothing simpler or easier, and it doesn’t require debt.

The share market over time has always beaten property into second place, especially on an after tax basis. Even now with the property recovery making headlines, shares have made more than twice as much over the last year. So it’s worth using

shares to get started.Build your assets. Use the

growth to invest directly as thefund increases (you can redeemin multiples of $500) or to geta deposit for your home fasterthan saving in a bank.

Use a managed fund to growthe funds for your children’seducation by starting a fundand depositing any family al-lowances.

You don’t need, or want, aspecialist fund – you just need abasic, Australian Share Fund ofthe common or garden variety.

Bear in mind that if you cre-ate a fund with your child’sname as the designation, thismay be an implied trust for thebenefi t of the child, not for yourpersonal use.

If you want any more infor-mation on these funds feel freeto contact me through the edi-tor.

OVER the last decade Aus-tralia has welcomed thousands of Indian Catholics of a large Eastern rite known as the Syro-Malabars.

Most of the India priests who have served in this diocese have been of the Syro-Malabar rite which is in full communion with Rome.

Syro-Malabar Catholics, also called “St Thomas Christians”, trace their origins and faith to the missionary efforts of St Thomas the Apostle, who land-ed at Kodungallur in Kerala, In-dia, in 52 AD.

With a shortage of priests in many dioceses, many Austral-ian bishops have also pioneered bringing to Australia Syro-Ma-labar priests and Sale Diocese was among the fi rst.

In the hope of providing a permanent presence and pasto-ral care to Syro-Malabar Catho-lics, the Pope has established the new Eparchy of St Thom-as the Apostle of Melbourne (Australia), and has appointed Bishop Bosco Puthur as its fi rst “Eparch”.

The formal establishment of the new diocese for Australia and the installation of the fi rst Eparch will take place on March 25 at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, in the presence of Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry, Apostolic Nuncio to Australia Archbish-op Paul Gallagher, president of the Australian Catholic Bish-ops' Conference Archbishop Denis Hart, and many bishops and people of God.

Archbishop Hart said, “I welcome Bishop Bosco Puthur as the fi rst Bishop of the St Thomas Catholics in Australia, and I look forward to working with him as a colleague in Mel-bourne, while he has care of his brothers and sisters through the whole country.”

Fr Francis Kolencherry is a Syro-Malabar priest residing in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn. He has been ap-pointed Vicar General of the new eparchy.

“The Catholic Church consid-ers that the advent of new cul-

tures, and new rites of liturgy can only add to the richness of the Church in Australia”, said Fr. Francis.

“Today the total number of Syro-Malabar Catholic faithful in Australia is approximately 40,000, spread across 18 active communities.”

“Preparations are well un-derway to receive and install Bishop Bosco Puthur, and his appointment is a source of joy among the Syro-Malabar faith-ful in Australia.”

Bishop Puthur was born on 28 May 1946 in Parappur, India.

He has a Licentiate in phi-losophy and studied at the Pon-tifi cal College Propaganda Fide in Rome, where he gained a Licentiate and Doctorate. He speaks English, Malayalam and Italian.

Bishop Puthur has served as a

Rector and Lecturer at a numberof Indian Seminaries as well as directing a Liturgical ResearchCentre in Kakkanad.

He has worked as Vicar Gen-eral of the Archeparchy of Tri-chur, Kerala, and has extensiveparish and pastoral experience.

Bishop Puthur was conse-crated Bishop on 13 February 2010, and has served in the cu-rial offi ce of the Archdiocese ofErnakulam-Angamaly.

The Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest of the 22 Oriental (Eastern Rite) Catho-lic Churches in full communion with the Church in Rome, and one of four having in common the East Syrian Liturgical tra-dition. It is a Sui iuris (i.e. au-tonomous) Church governed by a Synod of Bishops headed by a Major Archbishop.

While the majority of Roman Catholics belong to the Latin Rite, the Eastern Rite provides a unique dimension to Catholic heritage and spirituality.

Each of these communi-ties profess the same beliefs and they are all united as oneChurch, yet differences in cul-ture, language and geographical location, over time, have infl u-enced the expression of theirfaith.


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SENSEwith David Wells

Getting started in share trading - The fi rst step

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Prepaid and prearranged funeral plans available.

If you like reading ‘Dollars & Sense’, why not speak to the author?

David Wells, MSAA, is a sharebroker and fi nancial planner at Baillieu Holst Ltd. Since 1889 the fi rm has built its business on offering professional, appropriate and responsible sharemarket advice, helping its clients build and maintain their wealth. David is proud to continue with that tradition, working for clients and to the benefi t of clients. He’s only too happy to visit you anywhere in Gippsland. If you or any one in your family, need advice or information on :

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Please contact:

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Visit our Website at www.catholicbookshop.com.au

Browse through our range of books and sacra-mental and religious gifts, or search for specifi c

items by author, title or keyword.Open seven days

Phone and mail orders welcome. Credit cards accepted

Phone (03) 9639 [email protected]


Will your giftBE USED WISELY?There are many worthwhile charitable appeals but

unfortunately there are others which give little value for your hard-earned donation. Some of the larger, legitimate charities regularly spend more than half of what they raise in promotion

which also erodes the value of your giving.

Many organisations appealing for your help do not have Australian Tax Offi ce Deductible Gift Recipient status and

therefore you cannot claim a tax deduction.

Trinity Families invests your donations wisely and uses the proceeds to support programs which aid families in this

region. Struggling families need to access services such as drug, alcohol, family and relationship counselling, youth

services, family support, bereavement support, suicide prevention, emergency accommodation, assistance for at-risk

adolescents – and the list goes on!

Trinity Families is there year after year, providing much needed fi nance to charities which run programs for our needy families.

So far we have distributed more than $1 million to the cause.

Please donate generously to Trinity Families.Send your donations to:

Trinity Families,PO Box 1410

WARRAGUL 3820

or phone 5622 6688 for details of how to make a direct transfer of funds

All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale Charitable FundABN 51 486 581 500

Donation form: Trinity FamiliesI/We enclose $............ towards the work of Trinity Families

Please fi nd enclosed a cheque/money order payable to theTrinity Families or debit my Visa or Mastercard.

❑❑❑❑ ❑❑❑❑ ❑❑❑❑ ❑❑❑❑Expiry ............/...............

Signature ..............................................................................................

Name ....................................................................................................

Address ...................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................... Postcode............................Please provide address so receipts can be issued

✄

TrinityFAMILIES

Quick calendarWhat’s on & whenFEBRUARY18 – Central Region meeting,

7.30pm, Trafalgar18 – East Region meeting,

10.30am, Omeo25 – Diocesan Pastoral Coun-

cil meeting, 9.30am, MacK-illop Room, St Michael’s, Traralgon27 – Valley Region meeting,

noon, St Michael’s, Traralgon28 – 4WD weekend leaves

Newry 6pm

MARCH4 – Launch of Project Com-

passion Appeal5 – Ash Wednesday10 – Labor Day public holi-

day12 – South Region meeting,

11.15am, Leongatha14 – Valentine’s Day17 – St Patrick’s Day19 – St Joseph24 – Deadline for April Cath-

olic Life25 – Annunciation25 – Mass for Families, St

Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, 7pm, preceded by Rosary 6.30pm

APRIL2 – Catholic Life published4 – 1st Term holidays begin4-5 – Unwind retreat for Year

11 and 12 students, Rawson6 – Daylight saving ends

(turn clocks back 1 hour)13 – Palm Sunday18 – Good Friday18 – Annual collection for

Holy Places19 – Holy Saturday Easter

Vigil20 – Easter Sunday21 – Easter Monday public

holiday22 – 2nd Term begins24 – Valley Region meeting,

noon, Morwell parish centre, Wilson St25 – Anzac Day public holi-

day25 – St Mark27 – Canonisation of John

Paul II and John XXIII27 – Divine Mercy Sunday29 – St Catherine of Sienna

MAYTrinity Families appeal

month (formerly Bishop’s Family Foundation)11 – Mother’s Day11 – Education of Seminar-

ians Bursary Fund collection13 – East Region meeting,

10.30am, Lakes Entrance20 - Diocesan Pastoral Coun-

cil meeting, 9.30am, Room 58, Sion House, Warragul20 – Central Region meeting,

7.30pm, Warragul24 – Our Lady Help of Chris-

tians26 – Deadline for June Cath-

olic Life

JUNE1 – Ascension4 – Catholic Life published6-7 – Emmaus Spirituality

Centre promotional weekend8 – Pentecost9 – Queen’s Birthday public

holiday11 – South Region meeting,

11.15am, Leongatha15 – Trinity Sunday

19 – Valley Region meet-ing, noon, St Kieran’s church meeting room, Moe22 – Corpus Christi Sunday24 – Nativity of St John the

Baptist27 – 2nd Term holidays begin27 – Sacred Heart of Jesus29 – Sts Peter and Paul29 – St Vincent de Paul annu-

al Mass for the Poor Appeal

JULYPeter’s Pence collection

month5 – St Thomas the Apostle14 – 3rd Term begins22 – St Mary Magdalene31 – St Ignatius of Loyola

AUGUSTAnnual CatholicCare ap-

peal5 – Diocesan Pastoral Coun-

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MacKillop11 – Deadline for August

Catholic Life11 – St Clare12 – East Region meeting,

10.30am, Bairnsdale12 – Central Region meeting,

7.30pm, Drouin15 – The Assumption20 – Catholic Life published21 – Valley Region meeting,

noon, Lumen Christi Hall, Churchill27-28 – Catholic Women’s

League state conference, War-ragul Arts Centre28 - St Augustine of Hippo

SEPTEMBER7 – Priests’ Welfare Founda-

tion annual Father’s Day col-lection7 – Father’s Day13 – St John Chrysostom14 – Exaltation of the Holy

Cross19 – 3rd Term holidays begin21 – St Matthew27 – St Vincent de Paul27 – AFL Grand Final

OCTOBER1 – St Therese of Lisieux4 – St Francis of Assisi5 – Daylight saving begins

(turn clocks back 1 hour)5-19 – Extraordinary Vatican

synod on the family.6 – 4th term begins6 – Deadline for October

Catholic Life15 – Catholic Life published15 – St Theresa of Avila18 – St Luke19 – Mission Sunday Appeal22 – South Region meeting,

11.15am, Leongatha26 – Valley Region meet-

ing, Noon, St Mary’s Church meeting room, Newborough28 – Sts Simon and Jude

NOVEMBER1 – All Saints2 – All Souls4 – Melbourne Cup public

holiday9 – Dedication of the Lateran

Basilica11 – Remembrance Day

ST Valentine is a bit of a mys-tery and while the experts agree that he existed, it is possible that there may have been several Valentines who were martyred in the early days of the Church and their stories may have been woven into one.

The most popular theory is that Valentine was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius II.

He was arrested and impris-oned upon being caught marry-ing Christian couples and oth-erwise aiding Christians who were at the time being perse-cuted by Claudius in Rome.

Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudi-us took a liking to this prisoner – until Valentine tried to con-vert the Emperor – whereupon this priest was condemned to death.

He was beaten with clubs and

stones; when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. Various dates are given for the martyr-dom or martyrdoms: 269, 270, or 273 AD.

A slight variation to the story describes St Valentine as the former Bishop of Terni, a city in southern Umbria, in what is now central Italy.

While under house arrest he is said to have restored the sight of a judge’s adopted blind daughter. The judge freed all the Christian inmates under his authority, and was baptised as a Christian.

In this version the emperor again took a liking to Valentine until the conversion attempt which led to Valentine being executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269.

There were at least four other people called Valentine who

were martyred in the early days of the church, including a fe-male Valentina who died in Pal-estine in 308.

Whoever he was, Valentine re-ally existed because archaeolo-gists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to St Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14 as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom.

This was also the day that the Roman honored Juno who was their goddess of women and marriage. The annual Luper-calia festival began the next day and it was a custom for boys to choose a girl’s name from a jar and she would accompany him for the festival. This often led to romantic liaisons.

In the early days of the fes-tival naked youths used to run through the streets with whips but this custom appears to have subsided by St Valentine's era.

Lupercalia was one of the old-est Roman festivals and was originally associated with the she-wolf who suckled the twins and founders of Rome, Romu-lus and Remus.

In the early Church, Christian celebrations were often aligned with similar pagan celebrations in an attempt to stamp out the ingrained old religions and su-perstitions.

It can be seen from this that that the fortuitous date of St Valentine's death and his as-

sociation with marrying young couples that he was a natural to be forced into the calendar to replace Juno and the Lupercalia festival.

Whatever other good things hemay have done have been for-gotten in time but it his associa-tion with love and marriage thatcontinues to this day.


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THIS Friday is a popular day for those who are roman-tically minded. In our secular society, many people are unaware that St Valentine’s Day is based on a legend-ary saint who was believed to have been a priest living in the third century in Rome under Emperor Claudius II.

It is said that St Valentine was martyred for perform-ing secret weddings against the decree of the Emperor. It was his compassion for young couples in love that earned him the title of patron of lovers.

In the Catholic Church we celebrate not only the love shared by those couples among us, but also the love of the Great Lover, Jesus Christ, who invites us to join him in an everlasting covenant, an eternal love union that is refl ected in the love of each and every dedicated married couple.

Many parishes across the diocese held short celebra-tions last weekend as a prelude to St Valentine’s Day in which couples were blessed and in some cases married couples renewed their wedding vows.

St Valentine’s Day is a popular event in the secular community with a vast commercial industry backing it, particularly for fl orists. More fl owers are purchased on Valentine’s Day than any other day in the year.

It is worth remembering however, that St Valentine was a real person who apparently had quite a heart for young couples. When the Emperor Claudius II banned all weddings so as to more effectively recruit single young men into his army, Valentine risked his life to marry young couples in secret. He used his resources to shed light into the despair of these desperate cou-ples.

We know that as a sacrament, marriage also is a light;

it illuminates an aspect of God that is fundamental to our understanding. Marriage helps us to ‘see’ the lov-ing intimacy between the Father, Son and Spirit.

It is a great mystery, but we can start to understand it, by refl ecting on the union between a husband and wife.

Marriage is a gift from God and God calls you to be a ‘light to the world’ – a beacon of hope witness-ing to the reality of the intimate union of Father, Sonand Holy Spirit – the living manifestation of Love andsource of all love in the world.

That’s why it’s so vital for us to acknowledge the sig-nifi cance of marriage in our community. It’s also im-portant for couples to be committed to deepening their love and understanding of their sacrament. One way to do this is through developing a habit of couple prayer.

It’s not easy to make time for God in our busy lives,especially when you have young children. And if it’shard to make time for personal prayer, it’s even harder to make time for couple prayer.

However, I really want to encourage you to try it. Your couple prayer time doesn’t need to be long or complicated – even just the Lord’s Prayer a few times a week is a start. Then gradually increase it.

St Valentine's Day a celebration of loving couples

The saint behind the day a small mystery

QUEEN Elizabeth will meet Pope Francis for the fi rst time when she visits Rome in April as a guest of the Italian presi-dent, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The Queen and her husband Prince Philip will have an audi-ence with the Pope after attending a lunch hosted by President Giorgio Napolitano during the one-day visit on April 3.

It will be the fi rst time that the Queen, who is head of the Church of England, has met the Roman Catholic leader since he was elected in March last year.

The trip was announced the day after it was confi rmed that the Queen will make a state visit to France to mark the 70th an-niversary of the Normandy landings on June 5-7.

The 87-year-old monarch and her 92-year-old husband have sharply reduced their overseas trips in recent years, allowing heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and other royals to represent them.

Queen is off tomeet Pope Francis THE death occurred in Nigeria

last month of the father of SrMercy Akoh, a Sister of the Na-tivity based in Cranbourne.

Edward Akoh died on Janu-ary 25 and Requiem Mass for the repose of his soul was of-fered at Cranbourne on January 30.

Sr Mercy is one of the threeNigerian sisters in Cranbourne and has been there for the past six years.

Death of fatherof Sr Mercyin Nigeria

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Catholic charity rushes aidto help the people of AleppoBy John Pontifex

WOUNDED, destitute and sick people in one of the cities worst affected by the confl ict in Syria are to receive emergency aid from an international Catholic charity amid worsening reports of crisis as winter bites deep across the region.

The aid packages totalling $290,000 being sent out by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) this week will provide medical help for the wounded, repairs to the war-damaged homes of Christians and basic aid – heat-ing, food and rent money for people on the breadline.

This latest emergency help means that, since the Syrian cri-sis broke nearly three years ago, ACN urgent aid for the region has now topped $4.1 million – one of the largest aid packages of its kind since the charity be-gan in 1947.

Amid continuing dire re-ports from Syria, ACN pushed through this latest aid after a desperate S.O.S. appeal from Bishop Antoine Audo of Alep-po, who described “the bomb-ing of many Christian homes” and the urgent need to help “many wounded people” in his city, in the north of the country.

Working under Bishop Au-do’s authority, Aleppo-based Sisters of Jesus and Mary are being entrusted with $140,000 to help up to 500 families in ur-gent need of gas and electricity for heating and cooking as well as rent money, medical assis-tance, food and clothing. A fur-ther $77,000 will fund repairs to war-damaged homes, shops and other businesses of Chris-tians in Aleppo who are deter-mined to stay in the country.

Bomb-blasted windows and doors are being given top prior-ity for repairs.

At Bishop Audo’s request,

another $77,000 is going to help wounded people receiving treatment at St Louis Hospital, Aleppo.

In her letter of last week re-questing ACN help, Sr Annie Demerjian from the Sisters of Jesus and Mary described the urgent need to increase help for suffering families both in Aleppo and in another north-ern Syrian city, Hassake, also receiving aid from the charity. At a time of increasing reports of a widespread breakdown of schools and employment in Aleppo with bombing of facto-ries and key services, Sr Annie said: “We feel the massive need to carry on providing assistance to our Christian families threat-ened with the loss of morale. “The assistance will enable us to erase the families’ pain.”

This aid for Aleppo comes on top of earlier ACN aid sent through the Jesus and Mary Sis-ters a year ago.

Since then, the help needed has drastically increased and the number of people receiving emergency assistance from the Sisters has more than doubled.

Appealing to ACN for help, Sr Annie wrote: “Unfortunate-ly, life has become very expen-sive due to the lack of materials, particularly energy. To obtain gas and diesel fuel, especially in the harsh winter, is like a dream.”

Echoing the words of Bishop Audo, she said that a key aim is to help Christians to stay in the region.

She said: “Despite the dra-matically diffi cult situation, people still do not want to leave their homes.

“So that they are not forced to emigrate, we are trying to help them survive until hopefully this present crisis is overcome.”

Thanking ACN for its help, Sr Annie wrote: “Many people

in Aleppo and Hassake, par-ticularly women, children and elderly are expecting us – as workers of Christ – to give a helping hand.

“Without your help, we can-not alleviate their suffering in this misery that we actually un-dergo in Syria.”

A SOUP kitchen set up by the Church to help destitute families in war torn Syria © ACN

Pope praises consecrated lifeVATICAN CITY (Zenit) - Dur-ing his weekly Angelus ad-dress, Pope Francis refl ected on the importance of those in consecrated life, saying that a Church without sisters is unim-aginable.

The Day of Consecrated Life coincided with the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. The Pope told the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square that the Gospel, which recalls this event, “constitutes an icon of the gift of their life made by those who, by a gift of God, assume the traits of Jesus as virgin, poor and obedient.”

“This gift of ourselves to God regards every Christian because we are all consecrated to him through our baptism,” he said. “We are all called to offer our-selves to the Father with Jesus and like Jesus, making a gener-

ous gift of our lives, in the fam-ily, at work, in service to the Church, in works of mercy.”

The Holy Father highlighted the lives of religious, monks and consecrated laypersons, who by their vows, belong to God and give witness to Him. He underlined the precious con-tribution of religious and con-secrated persons, and that they are needed to foster a just and fraternal society.

“There is great need of these presences that reinforce and re-new the commitment to spread the Gospel, Christian educa-tion, charity toward the needi-est, contemplative prayer; the commitment to human forma-tion, the spiritual formation of young people and of families; the commitment to justice and peace in the human family,” he said.

“But think about what would happen if there were no sisters in the hospitals, sisters in the missions, sisters in the schools. Think of a Church without sis-ters! You can’t. They are this gift, this leaven that moves the People of God forward. These are great women who conse-crate their life to God, who ad-vance the message of Jesus.”

Before reciting the Angelus, Pope Francis urged the faithfulto pray for those who are con-templating entering religious life, especially young people.

“We must pray that manyyoung people answer “yes” to the Lord’s call to consecrate themselves totally to him in view of a disinterested serviceto their brothers, of consecrat-ing their life to serve God andtheir brothers,” he said.

Hint that Pope mayvisit PhilippinesMANILA - A Vatican cardinal visiting the Philippines on be-half of Pope Francis as a ges-ture of consolation and spirit-ual closeness to the population after super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) has raised hopes of a papal visit to the country.

Cardinal Robert Sarah, presi-dent of the Pontifi cal Council Cor Unum, said during a Mass in Leyte, one of the hardest-hit areas, that Pope Francis had said to him: “You go now be-cause I might be going there also.”

The super typhoon hit the Philippines in November last

year.The Pope has donated an ini-

tial US$150,000 in emergency aid through Cor Unum, and sent Cardinal Sarah to the Philip-pines to visit the areas affected by Yolanda, and to extend more assistance for rehabilitation ef-forts.

According to recent reports by Caritas Philippines/Nassa, the typhoon caused over 5500 deaths, more than 26,000 in-juries, and almost 2000 miss-ing persons. Around 3,8 mil-lion people, belonging to more than 851,000 families, were left homeless.

Growing demonstrations in favor of traditional familiesPARIS, Lyon, Brussels, Bucha-rest, Madrid, Warsaw and Rome saw demonstrations last week in favor of marriage and the tra-ditional family and against fur-ther relaxation of abortion laws.

The mainstream media large-ly ignored the marches despite tens of thousands of people turning out in some of the cit-ies.

Police said 80,000 people took to the streets of Paris; the organisers, La Manif Pour Tous (Protest for Everyone), estimat-ed the crowd to be far higher and closer to half a million. At least 20,000 are reported to have marched in Lyon.

The French protesters are opposed to a raft of policies under President Francois Hol-lande including last year’s law allowing same-sex ‘marriage’, legislation in favor of medically assisted procreation techniques for lesbian couples and in vitro fertilization, and an experimen-tal school program aimed at combatting gender stereotypes.

Beyond France, the protesters were also marching against the Lunacek report on equality with regards to sexual orientation and gender identity. The report

calls for a new EU action plan to combat ‘homophobia’, and demanding that lesbian and gay rights should now be consid-ered human rights. It also calls on the European Commission to promote “equality and non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity throughout its youth and education programmes”

The movement against such policies has quickly grown across Europe since La Manif Pour Tous held its fi rst march in January 2013 – an event which also drew vast crowds.

The organisation now has an offi ce in Rome, and the protest in Rome’s Piazza Farnese co-incidentally took place on the same day as Italy’s Day for Life (during his Angelus address yesterday, Pope Francis re-minded those present of the day which had the theme “Generat-ing the Future” and encouraged those committed to the defence of life from its conception to its natural end).

At the Rome rally, Jacopo Coghe, director of La Manif Pour Tous Italia, said they had gathered “to affi rm that we will not be instruments of violence

and destruction.”“We will defend the family,

paying in person if necessary,” he said, adding that it fi lled him with “pride and courage” to see so many young people and fam-ilies present. “This is the only possible future for Italy and France,” he said.

“The family is being targeted within the European Parlia-ment, where laws that do nottake into account the reality arebeing approved,” he continued. “So I would like to tell MEPs in a loud voice that Italy also de-fends the family and marriage between a man and a woman and strongly rejects the Lu-nacek plan.”

He added: “We Italians, also moved by your example andby your courage, are mobilis-ing to defend these values, wecontinue to support each other in this line of defence, because only the union between a man and a woman can form a stableconstruct that is the family, theplace par excellence of solidar-ity and acceptance“.

Drawing on the enthusiasm of the protests, Coghe said he had “bags of hope for the future of Europe.”


For the Young and Young at Heart

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age . . . . .

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A TEXAN farmer comes to Australia for a vacation. He meets an Aussie farmer and gets talking. The Aussie shows off his big paddock of wheat and the Texan says,

“Oh! We have wheat fi elds that are at least twice as large”.

Then they walk around the farm a little, and the Aussie shows off his herd of cattle. The Texan immediately says, “ We have longhorns that are at least twice as large as your cows”.

The conversation has, meanwhile, almost died when the Texan sees a herd of kangaroos hopping across the paddock. He asked,

“And what are those”? The Aussie replies with

an incredulous look, “Don’t you have any grasshoppers in Texas”?

Q. Why did the emu cross the road?

A. To prove he wasn’t a chicken!

BERT feared his wife Peg wasn’t hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid.

Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family Doctor to discuss the problem. The Doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform to give the Doctor a better idea about her hearing loss.“Here’s what you do,” said

the Doctor, “stand about 15m away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 10m, then 5m, and so on until you get a response.”

That evening, the wife was in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself,

‘I’m about 15m, let’s see what happens. Then in a normal tone he asks, “Honey, what’s for dinner?”

No response. So the husband moves

closer to the kitchen, about 10m from his wife and repeats, ”Peg, what’s for dinner?”

Still no response.Next he moves into the

dining room where he is about 5m from his wife and asks, “Honey, what’s for dinner?”

Again he gets no response. So, he walks up to the

kitchen door, about 5m away. ”Honey, what’s for dinner?”

Again there is no response.So he walks right up

behind her. “Peg, what’s for dinner?’“For Pete’s sake, Bert,

for the FIFTH time, CHICKEN!”

THE seven dwarfs went off to work in the mine one day, while Snow White stayed at home to do the housework and cook their lunch.

However when she went to the mine to deliver their lunches, she found there had been a cave-in, and there was no sign of the dwarfs.

Tearfully she yelled in to the mine entrance: “hello - is anyone there. Can anyone hear me”.

A voice fl oated up from the bowels of the mine:“Australia will win the

World Cup soccer”“Thank God” said Snow

White “at least Dopey’s still alive”

Q. What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back?

A. A stick!

AN old Australian battler lies dying in his bed. He calls over Shirley, his faithful wife of 60 years, and says, “Shirl, when we started out, tried to buy a business in the depression, went bust: you were with me”“Oh, yes, Bruce”, she says. Then the war started, I

joined up, and was sent to the front line, where I lost my legs. You stayed with me.”“Oh yes, Bruce” she says.“Then, came home,

couldn’t get a job, due to my disability, and bought a farm.”“Oh, yes, Bruce”, she says.“The farm fl ooded, then

just when we got over that, there was a bushfi re, and then the drought, which wiped us right out: you still stayed with me.”“Oh yes, Bruce,”“Now here I am, in

excruciating pain, about to die, useless and you’re still with me.”“Yes Bruce.”“Shirl.”“Yes, Bruce?”“I’m beginning to think

you might be bad luck!”

Time for a LaughColor in the family of deer

Send entries to Catholic Life Colouring Contest. c/- PO Box 1410, Warragul 3820.

This month’s prize winnerTHIS month’s winner is ISABELLE VALENTINE who is a student at Trinity Catholic Primary School, Narre Warren South.

Her colouring-in of Santa in his workshop was a spectacular effort.

We will visit the school in the next couple of weeks to deliver the prize to Isabelle.

Good luck with the contest this month everybody!

FOR a chance to win a prize from Catholic Life, children are invited to colour in the picture above and send in their entries by mid March. The winner will be announced in our next issue on April 2.

JAIME Little from St Brigid’s, Offi cer, shows off a prize she won late last year colouring in Mary and the baby Jesus.


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VOCATIONSPriests &Deacons

Are you considering a vocation as a priest or

deacon for the Diocese of Sale?

If so please contactDiocesan Vocations

DirectorFr Darek Jablonski

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HOLY SPIRIT You who makes me see everything and shows me the way to reach my ideals, you who gives me a di-vine gift to forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me; in this short dialogue I want to thank you for everything and affi rm once more that I never want to be separated from you, no matter how great the mate-rial desire may be. I want to be with you and my loved ones in Your perpetual Glory. (Mention your request). Thank you Holy Spirit for your love towards me and my loved one. Amen

This prayer should be said for 3 consecutive days. After the 3rd day the request will be granted, no matter how diffi cult it may be. While making the request one must either prom-ise to publish on granting the favour or promise to circulate copies of it to as many people as possible. This is to spread the wonder of the Holy Spirit.

READERS please note that published prayers refl ect the beliefs of those who place the advertisements. Catholic Life makes no judgement on wheth-er these beliefs are in accord with the established theological and canonical accords and we ask readers to judge for them-selves, especially in regards to suggested fulfi lment of requests made in these prayers.

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Eyes down 11am. Ticket sales 10.30amNow 55 games at 20 cents per game.

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Candles for Special OccasionsBaptisms, Weddings, Memorials, First Holy Communions,

Anniversaries, any other special occasions.Contact Carol 5668 7219

[email protected]

Your will be doneTrinity Families asks you to consider assisting our work in

funding charitable projects across the diocese.Remembering Trinity Families in your will by making a bequest is an effective way of ensuring that you do

something to help those struggling families in our midst.If you need more information on bequests contact:

PO Box 1410, Warragul 3820Ph: 56 22 6688ABN 51 486 581 500

THANK YOU ST JUDE. O Holy St Jude Apostle and Mar-tyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patron-age in time of need.

Natural FamilyPlanning courseTHE Australian Council of Natural Family Planning with Broken Bay Institute will devel-op an online tertiary level unit Foundations in Human Fertility to be launched later this year.

ACNFP President Sharon Young believes the course will

be a wonderful opportunity tocreate awareness of natural fer-tility.

“Training as a natural fertil-ity practitioner with ACNFPcounts towards a higher degreethrough the BBI and the Coun-cil is also planning a numberof exciting new initiatives for2014”, she said.

The ACNFP also discussedits support for a major fertilityconference to be held later this year in Melbourne involvingthe three major natural fertility methods available in Australia today, and the John Paul II in-stitute.

This collaboration will pro-vide a high quality conferenceand attract international speak-ers.

Other issues discussed by the executive included the AC-NFP’s online services for Natu-ral Fertility Planning (NFP) clients. The website provides services where couples can register to learn NFP for avoid-ing or achieving pregnancy at www.acnfp.com.au.

Natural Fertility Planning is a means of achieving or avoid-ing pregnancy by coordinatinga couple’s love making with thenatural fertility cycles of theirbody.

Modern scientifi c understand-ing of the human reproduc-tive system ensures that thesemethods are as effective as thecontraceptive pill. However,because they are natural they don’t come with any of the sideeffects often attributed to manycontraceptive approaches.

“Couples these days want healthy and natural alternativesto contraception for managing their fertility and this is what Natural Fertility Planning pro-vides”, said Mrs Young.

“By seeing an accredited edu-cator of Natural Fertility Plan-ning couples are able to use an approach that is equal to or bet-ter than many of the contracep-tive approaches currently avail-able.”

ACNFP is responsible fortraining and accreditation of Natural Fertility Educators across Australia. ACNFP isfunded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Age-ing and has an offi cial liaison with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Couples wishing to learn NFP to avoid or achieve pregnancy can contact their nearest centre by calling 1800 114 010 or vis-iting http://www.acnfp.com.au.


Help Religious Sisters - the unsung heroines in the Church!

They smile, they heal, they teach, they comfort. Around the globe Catholic religious sisters quietly perform their dedicated and heroic service without remuneration and

barely even noticed by the wider world. But in order to help oth-ers, they themselves also need to be helped, for although they are ministering angels to so many, they themselves still need their daily bread and a roof over their heads.

Each year the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) supports over 9,000 religious sisters in every corner of the globe. Many religious congregations turn to the charity for help, not least for the formation of their precious new vocations. While many congregations in the Western world have few or no new vocations and even seem to be dying out, in other parts of the

faces.

ACN also helps those sisters active in the charitable apostolate, relieving them of the daily burden of supporting themselves while they also care for the poorest of the poor, whether in the slum quarters of the great cities, in the vast expanses of the Amazon rainforest, or in the remotest regions of the African Savannah.

It is vital that the indispensable work of religious sisters in Christ’s Holy Catholic Church and throughout the missions worldwide continues. Religious sisters are the unsung heroines in the Church. ACN is therefore proud to help them in their efforts to make the world a better place, even just a little.

The average grant ACN gives to support a religious sister or novice is $300 – but whatever you can afford will be enormously appreciated. ACN forwards the donations directly to the religious superiors in charge of the religious communities and congregations.

Sr Lucia a religious sister from Italy rendering assistance to the poor in Ethiopia

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AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED...a Catholic charity dependent on the Holy See, providing pastoral relief to needy and oppressed Churches

The Papal rosary designed by the Vatican rosary makers will be sent out to all those who assist this cause and tick this box.

I enclose a cheque/money order payable to Aid to the Church in Need or please debit my Visa or Mastercard

Some of the young and vibrant Dominican Sisters from Ho Chi Minh City that ACN supports

Commendation for St Peter’s College buildingTHE Sr Rosemary Graham Building at St Peter’s College’s, Cranbourne East campus, has won a commendation in 2013 industry awards for outstanding school facilities.

The building was opened late last year by Bishop Christopher Prowse.

The commendation was at the Council of Educational Facility Planners International awards for the Victorian chapter.

The judges’ citation for the Year 7 and 8 building noted the building comprised year level learning communities designed as fl exible and adaptable spac-es spilling out to collaborative learning commons with areas for individual instruction and small performances.

The building included an in-novation hub for integrated learning with specialist areas for media studies, wood tech-

nology, drama and visual arts, a gallery for exhibitions and dis-plays, and an outdoor learning performance space.

The design utilises different materials and colors to deline-ate learning areas with move-able walls to create a variety of meeting areas and small group discussion spaces.

The school considers that the facility has far exceeded its ex-pectations.

STUDENTS at work in the fl exible learning spaces of the highly commended building.

CWL pilgrimageTHE Catholic Women’s League of Victoria and Wagga Wagga is making a pilgrimage through Spain and Portugal from Octo-ber 10-30.

This pilgrimage is incorporat-ing the General Assembly of the Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations in Fatima.

Escorted by an experienced bi-lingual guide and an Austral-ian chaplain Fr Tony Shallue PP of Myrtleford with CWL liai-son offi cer Sylvia Neaves.

It will be a spiritual journey featuring Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Ignatious of Loy-ola and the way of St James en-route to attending the General Assembly in Fatima.

This is an exciting opportu-nity for CWL members and friends to travel in the footsteps

of the great Spanish saints and aconsiderable part of the Caminoto Santiago de Compostela.

From there they head southto Fatima, Portugal, the reveredMarian site, for the WUCWOGeneral Assembly, which willbe held from October 21-28 andthen arriving back in Australiaon October 30.

Catholic Women’s Leaguemembers are invited to attendthe General Assembly but pil-grims need not be members-they can proceed on to furthertravel after a short visit to Fa-tima or return directly to Aus-tralia. Deposits to hold a placeare payable by April 10.

Full details are availablefrom Sylvia Neaves, email:[email protected] orphone 5147 2629.

LOCH - When Subin Daniel returned to his home town in India to marry his fi ance, Prin-cy he invited workmates from the Korumburra hospital and friends from St Vincent’s Cath-olic Church, Loch.

Because of time and fi nan-cial constraints his invitation could not be accepted. How-ever, following Subin’s return, parishioners from St Vincent’s decided to conduct their own

wedding celebrations after Mass on January 5.

The most unusual element of this celebration was a missingbride!

Princy, Daniel’s wife was required to return to Saudi to complete her nursing studies. Daniel is expecting that she willjoin him in Australia within 6months.

Parishioners gave Daniel ablanket as a wedding gift.

Friends share wedding joy

SUBIN Danile looks through his wedding album with parishioners from St Vincent’s, Loch.

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