August 1 & 2, 2015 - EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME- Year B Issue Number 649

The Massabielle The Weekly Newsletter of St Bernadette’s

Parish Community, Castle Hill, NSW

Today’s Readings

First Reading: Exodus 16:2-4,12-15. God provides manna in the desert for the people of Israel who have recently fled Egypt. It is a story of God’s abundant provision and care for his people.

Second Reading: Ephesians 4: 17,20-24. Paul explains that a Christian life is a fundamentally changed life, one that requires a change of spirituality and lifestyle.

Gospel: John 6:24-35. Jesus tells the people that the bread they are seeking is not the food but himself. “I am the bread of life,” he says.

Next Week: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B 1 Kings 19:4-8; Ephesians 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51.

FIRST FRIDAY MASS WITH ANOINTING OF THE SICK will take place this Friday, August 7 at 12 noon followed by a light lunch in the Marian Centre. All welcome. If you can help with transport or by providing sandwiches it would be greatly appreciated. Contact Maureen Fearnside on 9634 3329.

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION this Friday following 6.45am Mass until 9.15 and following 9.15 Mass until 11.45am.

CHRISTMAS IN THE HILLS SPONSORSHIP: Carols at Bella Vista Farm is happening again this year on December 16. The committee involved is

looking for corporate sponsors for this event. If you are interested please contact Stephen Giacomelli via email on stephen@guardianrealty.com.au. Packages for sponsorship start at $1000.

Feast Days this Week

Thursday 6 August - The Transfiguration of the Lord

Saturday 8 August - St Mary of the Cross

PUBLIC FORUM ON LAUDATO SI - 15 August: A forum on the new encyclical from Pope Francis will be hosted by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) and Holy Family Parish, Mt Druitt. Speakers: Fr Gregory Jacobs SJ, Parish Priest of Holy Family Parish; Prof Neil Ormerod, Professor of Theology at ACU; Dr Hamish Clarke, Senior Climate & Atmospheric Scientist and Thea Ormerod, ARRCC President. From 10am-4.30pm at Loyola Senior High Hall, 91 North Parade, Mt Druitt. RSVP Thea: 0405 293 466 or chair@gmail.com.

LITURGY CORNER

We continue the ‘bread of life’ theme in the gospel

this week. The gospel reminds us of the Old

Testament story of the manna in the desert – the

bread from heaven. Jesus helps the people to see

that he is the new bread from heaven. The people

have been fed by ordinary bread but they still are

hungry for Jesus and his teaching. Jesus promises

them that those who believe in him will never be

hungry or thirsty. The people also want to know what

‘works’ God requires of them, and Jesus answers:

“you must believe in the one he has sent.” The

greatest work of our lives is to put our faith in him. The summit.

Thank you for your very generous donations totalling $20,868 which will help provide the Living Water to the people of Madagascar. Your generosity is making it possible for local priests and sisters, like Sister Rose Rasoavololona, to continue to offer life-saving practical and spiritual support to those in need.

Freecall: 1800 257 296 catholicmission.org.au/water

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION Saturday 15th August

Masses: Vigil Friday 14th August at 6.00pm & 7.30pm Saturday 15th August at 8.00am

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Holy Day of Obligation

NATIONAL VOCATIONS AWARENESS WEEK

2-9 August

Prayer cards and information brochures are available from the church foyer.

VINNIES DOORKNOCK APPEAL: The annual doorknock appeal is being held again this year on the weekend of August 22/23. All money collected will be used locally to help the poor and needy in our diocese.

We need volunteers to give a few hours of their time on the Saturday or Sunday, morning or afternoon. Please help if you can. To register, please call Margaret on 0413 013 390. HOLY HOUR WITH BENEDICTION this Thursday evening from 8.00 to 9.00pm including Rosary, prayers, hymns and scripture reading. All welcome. SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION – PREPARATION PROGRAMME 2015: The programme will continue with Session 2 on Tuesday 11 August (4pm & 7.30pm) and Saturday 15 August (3.30pm) in the Parish Hall for parents and children. The Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred in our parish on Saturday September 12 at 11.00am. SAVE THE DATE: St Bernadette’s Netball Club 40th Anniversary Dinner Date: Saturday 22 August. Time: 7.00pm for 7.30pm start. Venue: The Madison Function Centre, 632 Old Northern Road, Dural. Table bookings of 10 can be made or smaller bookings welcome. Enquiries: Kym Holden, Club Secretary email: sbncsecretary@gmail.com.

OLMC PARRAMATTA OPEN MORNING TOUR: Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta invites you to attend an Open Morning Tour this Monday August 3 followed by morning tea. The College is now enrolling for 2017 with limited places in 2016. Visit www.olmc.nsw.edu.au or phone 8838 1222 to reserve your place or obtain further information. St. Bernadette’s CHRISTIAN MEDITATION GROUP meets on Thursday Evenings at 7.30pm in the Lourdes Centre (Out of School Hours Care Centre), 31b Brisbane Road, Castle Hill. (Follow the lighted pathway). Newcomers very welcome. Contact Lesley Maker 8677 8845, Mobile 0433 051 969: Email jandlmaker1@optusnet.com.au.

REPARATION PRAYER GROUP meets Tuesdays in the Parish Basement from 8.00 to 9.00pm including Rosary and a cuppa. All welcome. HOUSING AFFORDABILITY ‘TABLE TALKS’ SESSION: 19 August. Join the diocesan Family & Life Office and Social Justice Office for an evening of ‘Table Talks’ on the topic of Affordable Housing. This event will highlight the moral and social justice dimensions of housing affordability. Wednesday 19 August from 7pm-8.30pm followed by supper at the Institute for Mission, 1-5 Marion St, Blacktown. RSVP to bsmith@parra.catholic.org.au. SRE MASS AND PRESENTATION will be concelebrated by priests of the Diocese on Friday 21st August at 11am in St Paul the Apostle Parish, 40 Buckleys Rd, Winston Hills. A light lunch will be served. RSVP by 10th August to Maree Collis on 9890 4731 or mcollis@ccdparramatta.com.au.

SAME-SEX ‘MARRIAGE’ LEGISLATION INFORMATION EVENING: What is the issue about and what action can I take? An information evening will be held at St Paul the Apostle Parish Hall, 40 Buckleys Rd, Winston Hills this Thursday 6 August at 7.30pm on the issue of the Catholic response to ‘same-sex marriage’ as outlined in the Australian Bishops’ Pastoral Letter: Don’t Mess with Marriage. Ben Smith, the Director of the diocesan Family & Life Office will be on hand to explain the issues and to answer any questions. Ben will also provide information on what people can do practically in the face of the upcoming debate on this issue in the Federal Parliament. All welcome.

A Deeper Way of Thinking

We are all too familiar these days with those heart-rendering television pictures that show

people in the developing world, often tiny children, ravaged by the effects of hunger and thirst. They are a potent reminder that food and drink are among our most basic human necessities; without them, we suffer intensely and ultimately we die. In 1984, on returning from a visit to an Ethiopia devastated by famine, Cardinal Basil Hume told of a memorable meeting he had had with a little Ethiopian boy. The child, an orphan, clutched the cardinal’s hand and was reluctant to let go. After a while he pointed towards his open mouth; there was no need for an interpreter to explain that the child wanted food. Then he gently rubbed his cheek against the cardinal’s hand, again a self-explanatory sign of his desire for affection. The cardinal commented that the youngster was expressing the needs of every man, woman and child – the need for nourishment and the need for love. Without food there is no life; without love there is no life worth having. In the Eucharist we receive the bread of life and the most powerful pledge of boundless love. After all, the sacrifice of the Mass – the body given for us, the blood shed for us – cost Jesus his life. Jesus had the crowd pegged. They ask for a sign like Moses performed when he gave the people manna in the desert. This is a double affront, as Jesus had just given the multitude

miraculous bread, and also because the people attribute to Moses what came from God. Jesus assures them they are looking for the wrong kind of bread, the kind that does not last. So they ask for bread that lasts, and Jesus offers himself. Though Thomas Aquinas would later suggest that one can come to faith through reason, faith is not a ‘reasonable’ thing. Faith is often described as a leap, a crossing through air, a movement over the gap that separates the worldly concern from the eternal. For the crowds to accept Jesus as the bread from heaven, they would have to lay down their expectations of who he is and what bread is. They would have to be willing to cross over into

faith, and leave the material values behind. GPBS

DO YOU SHOP AT WOOLWORTHS? St Bernadette's Primary School is participating in the Woolworths Earn & Learn program. If you would like to help support them to collect Earn and Learn stickers when you shop at Woolworths you can place completed sticker sheets in the collection box in the foyer of the church. At the end of the promotion they will be able to get some great new equipment for the children using these stickers! Thank you for your support. ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS AND DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP ON SALE NOW: Entertainment books are available from the Parish Office during office hours or from the Bookshop in the Church foyer. Sydney/ Sydney North still $70 and Sydney Greater West edition $65. Digital membership is also available and can be ordered online at http://www.entbook.com.au/21y5021. 3RD ANNUAL FAITH IN MARRIAGE CONFERENCE: 23 August. This year’s conference has the theme: Marriage – A Culture of Love & Life and is aimed at married couples, engaged couples and individuals interested in marriage. Speakers include the Diocesan Administrator, Very Rev Fr Peter Williams, Jonathan Doyle and Lara & Tim Kirk. From 9am-3pm at Edith Angel Hall, Our Lady of Mercy College, Ross St, Parramatta. Cost: $25 per person ($50 per couple) includes lunch, morning & afternoon tea. On-site child minding for participants available for $30 per family (bookings required). Registration: CatholicCare Parramatta 9933 0222 or marriage@ccss.org.au.

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION DAY: 16 August This Christian Meditation Introduction & Renewal Day at St Benedict's Monastery includes presentations, Introduction to Christian Meditation, meditation, Eucharistic Celebration and information exchange. BYO picnic lunch. Tea & coffee provided. All welcome. The Monastery is at 121 Arcadia Rd, Arcadia. For information phone 9653 1159. ST PHILOMENA ASSOCATION HOLY MASS: 8th August at noon with Confession from 11.30am. St John Vianney's Church, 17 Cameron St, Doonside Please bring a snack to share. RSVP Elizabeth on 0423 15 44 63 or epeoples9@gmail.com. FAITH AT THE FIDDLER: Relationships, Intimacy and Holiness featuring Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, international speaker on culture and life issues. Thursday 20th August from 5-7pm at The Mean Fiddler, Cnr Windsor & Commercial Road, Rouse Hill. Information: Steven Buhagiar 9840 5743 or sbuhagiar@parra.catholic.edu.au.

Into LIFE Friday 7pm-8.30 for years 7 to 8: What

does salvation even mean? Don't forget your $2

donation!

Life NIGHT Sunday 7-8.45 for years 9 to12: It’s bring a friend week! Don't forget your $2 donation!

Have ideas for new works and ministries? Please

contact James Hay.

More information? Please contact James Hay on

0403 933 732, Twitter: @StBernadettesYM, Instagram: StBernadetteYouth or ym@stbernadette.org.au.

ST BERNADETTE’S FOOTBALL CLUB MASS: All families involved in the St Bernadette’s Soccer (Football) Club are invited to gather with the community at the 9am Mass on Sunday 16th August to celebrate and give thanks for the 2015 Soccer Season. Children are invited to wear their St Bernadette’s soccer jersey. MADE FOR EACH OTHER YOUTH DAY: On August 15 the diocesan Family & Life Office is hosting a day for youth and young adults aged 16 to 35 centred on the complementarity of man and woman. Based on six short films that unpack the different dimensions of the complementarity between man & woman. The day will include: group discussion and sharing, Q and A, Mass for the Assumption, panel discussion. Rego at 8.30am, starts 9am, ends 4pm. Cost: $10 students, $20 non-students (incl morning tea and lunch). Diocesan Assembly Centre, 1-5 Marion St, Blacktown. RSVP 7 August at www.trybooking.com/IIMF (credit card required) or famlife@parra.catholic.org.au (cash payment at event). Inquiries: Family & Life Office 8838 3440 or famlife@parra.catholic.org.au. THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF PARRAMATTA WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU: If you or someone close to you has suffered ANY abuse by a representative of the Catholic Church (school, parish, other Catholic group) in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains we invite you to contact the Diocese. Their professional staff will listen to your experience, respect your confidentiality and discuss all available options. You can contact them on safeguarding@parra.catholic.org.au or 9933 0233 or write to Safeguarding Response, PO Box 3066, North Parramatta, NSW, 1750. For more information please visit: www.safeguarding.org.au For any complaints that may relate to criminal conduct we encourage you to contact NSW Police on 1800 333 000.

Youth & Young Adults Ministry

Have you considered leaving a gift to the parish in your will? If you would like further information please phone the Parish Office on 9634 2622 for a confidential discussion.

St Bernadette’s Parish Community

Parish House, 367 Old Northern Road, Castle Hill, NSW 2154

Telephone 9634 2622 Fax 9899 3511 Email: admin@stbernadette.org.au

Web page: http://www.stbernadette.org.au

Parish Staff Mass Times for this Week Monsignor John Boyle, Parish Priest Sunday Sat 6.00pm Fr Eugene Szondi, Assistant Priest Sun 7.30am, 9.00am, 10.30am & Fr Michael Gathuku, Assistant Priest 6.00pm Parish LIFE TEEN Youth Mass Sr Judy McLeod, rsm, Pastoral Associate Weekdays Mon 6.45am Mrs Alice Bradshaw (maternity leave) Tue 6.45am Mr James Hay, Youth Minister Wed 6.45am, 9.15am Mrs Frances Gallagher, Office Manager Thurs 6.45am, 9.15am

Mrs Monica Rubic, Parish Secretary (Finance: Mon-Thu) First Fri 6.45am, 9.15am, 12 noon Mr Darren Edwards, Maintenance Sat 8.00am

Reconciliation Sat 8.30am - 9.00am, 4.30pm - 5.30pm Mass on Public Holidays at 8.00am

Baptisms and Marriages: By appointment only. Contact the Parish Office. Please note the Church law: Parents are obliged to take care that infants are baptised in the first few weeks. As soon as possible after the birth or even before it, they are to go to the pastor to request the sacrament for their child and to be prepared properly for it. [Can. 867 §1]

St Bernadette’s Parish School: Mrs Leanne Nettleton (Principal) 9634 2898

Acting Parish Council Administrator: Peter Grace 9659 5350.

Sacramental Programme 2016 Information Nights - 12th & 13th October, 2015

Please pray for George Hayunga, Manuel Jugueta, Wilfredo Lozada and Jerry Robinson who have died recently and for the anniversaries of Orlando Dalumpines, Cecil Taylor, Roman de la Cruz, Maria Fava and Vicki Therese Hord and in remembrance of Honor Webb, Tannous, Marin & David Maujalie.

Prayers for the Sick: Kalem Dempsey, Elaine Rowe, Robin Reyden, Peter Yao, Archer Kemmis, Carol Ho-Elder, John Reynolds, Ramon Preller, Elaine Francis, Joyce Wrightson, Anthony Coorey, Mary Lazar, Ronald Tabila, Javier Pons, Vicki Mizzi & Alfred Tsang.

ROSTERS FOR NEXT WEEKEND - 8 & 9 August, 2015

ACOLYTES/ SERVERS LECTORS MINISTERS OF COMMUNION

VIGIL Terry O’Mara, Vince Connelly

S1

Patricia Williams John Geoghegan Kathrin Nathan

Sue Pinkerton, Carol Cividin, Esther & Frank Coleiro, Lucille Wilson, Maureen Fearnside, Beverley Curtis,

Leevon Abuan, Warren Hiser

7.30AM Stephen MacMahon, Reg Sinha

S2

Anne Parker Mary Ward

Matthew Troy

Joe Busuttil, Patricia Bright, Hilary Burton, Margaret Elder, Jeff Davis, Peter Grace

9.00AM Philip Myers, James Tchang

S3

David Green Chin-Seong Chan Shane Robinson

Karen & David Askey, Christine & Hubert Jenneke, Cathy & Greg Piggott, Trevor & Joanne O’Shea,

O’Shea Family

10.30AM Melvyn Myers, David Tye

S4

Bill Gleeson Elizabeth Fogolin

Michael Puckeridge

Marion McDonald, Mabel Pereira, Michael Puckeridge, Florina Vanderwaals, Barbara Shannon, Maria Mochnik,

Tony & Wendy Smith, Edmund Fernandez

6.00PM PARISH LIFE TEEN YOUTH MASS MINISTRY ROSTER - 9 August, 2015

Servers Cassie Holden

S5

Welcoming James Hay Dom Jones

Lectors Nat Jones

Mystique Nelis Veronica Ward

Offertory Brendan Hassan

Clair Ward Simon Jones Anne Younis

Projectionist Josh Becker

Communion James Hay Paul Fam

Aleksei Gracias Flor Raphael De Leon

Zara Boudib Tony Muscat Tina Muscat

Lorena Perez

Singers Adam Chioatto

Nic Holden Jamison Bonifacio

Emma Rimac Bernice Tang

Matt Willis

Lauren Fernandez

CHILDREN’S LITURGY Vicki Ford

Louise Oxford

FLOWER ROSTER Christella Jayawardena

CHURCH HOUSEKEEPING Joan McAuliffe, Faye Goldsworthy,

Denis & Delphine Bellerose

COUNTING (1st Collection) Alfred & Gladys Tsang

COUNTING (2nd Collection) Bill Lee, Christopher Crowe, Greg Piggott,

Eddy Pagnucco

BOOKSHOP Maureen Gain / Heather Woods / Margaret Stedman

& Lisa Onsley / Nancy Eberhaut / Patricia Smith

Piano Alyssa Tchang

Bass Dominic Jones

Guitar Sean Sahabu

Andrew Tchang

Drums Chris Dogulin