Upper Mt Gravatt Wishart Parish · That’s what I like best about the model of loving Jesus gives us in today’s Gospel. ... Denis Fitzpatrick, Amanda Fitzpatrick; David Stubbs,
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Website:http://umgwcatholic.org.au/ F: Like us: http://www facebook.com/umgwparish
DEANERY www.parishes.bne.catholic.
net.au/south/index.html
ST VINCENT DE PAUL Welfare: 1800 846 643
ST BERNARD’S SCHOOL 1823 Logan Rd., U M G Phone: 3849 4800
ST CATHERINE’S SCHOOL 388 Newnham Rd., Wishart Phone: 3349 7188
CLAIRVAUX MACKILLOP COLLEGE
24 Klumpp Rd., U M G Phone: 3347 9200
NEWSLETTER 5/6 May 2018
SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER/B READINGS: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; 1 St John 4:7-10
GOSPEL: John 15:9-17
Upper Mt Gravatt Wishart Parish
Guided by the Holy Spirit, we aim to be an evangelising, faith-filled parish whose members care for one another and are welcoming and inclusive.
Remain in my Love... The Italian film, Life is Beautiful vividly portrays the truth of today’s Gospel. It shows a father convincing his five-year-old son that the concentration camp is an elaborate game that the Nazis had invented to test the Italians. Some members of the Jewish community criticised this film because they claimed it made light of the holocaust. Writer and director, Roberto Benigni, however, argued that the heart of the film lies in the fact that most parents will do anything to spare their children the reality of evil. Most parents who have seen and wept through the film know exactly what he’s talking about. And if parents could take such risks and go to such lengths for their children, how much more has God done for us in Christ Jesus. We are the only world religion to believe that our God took our form and died out of love for us so that we might understand the love God has for us, and the love we are called to have for each other.
It isn’t, however, just any old love Christ calls us to practise. It’s not about a fleeting feeling or having a warm fuzzy inside. Jesus tells us today that the character of Christian love is the degree to which it’s sacrificial. This is a challenging way of working out who we really love, isn’t it? The people we love are those for whom we are prepared to sacrifice something of ourselves, maybe everything. If that’s the case we could decide to stop telling people we don’t love, that we love them.
The goal of the Christian life is to love everyone, but until we achieve that, the more we lie about love the more we lower its currency. It’s perfectly acceptable to like, enjoy, be fond of, respect, admire and be grateful to others, and not love them. There are a very few people for whom most of us would be prepared to lay down our lives. This criteria sorts out our intimates fairly quickly.
We could also decide to stop saying we love things, animals, ideas or organisations which cannot love us back. Human beings can only truly love people. Jesus did not die for an ideology or an institution. He was put to death because of his uncompromising love for all humanity everywhere. If we find ourselves saying we love our pets, house, car, job, our ideology, even our Church more than we love other human beings, then we’re in trouble.
That’s what I like best about the model of loving Jesus gives us in today’s Gospel. Just when we might expect to find him using the analogy of a family, he talks about us being his friends. Sometimes we can hear people lament that they are ‘stuck’ with their families, and that they prefer their friends. It’s an instructive moment, usually born out of a bitter and unloving history. We choose our friends, and the strength of any particular friendship is usually found in how we know their history and story, and they know ours, in the way we give them time, attention and affection. A true friendship is mutual. Jesus loves us, his friends, enough to know us, be available to us, challenge and forgive us. And his love is mutual. The only thing stopping us from having a deeper relationship with Christ is our desire for it.
But Jesus also shows how friends are prepared to give their lives for one another. That’s what we celebrate here each Sunday, that Jesus the Lord showed the quality and care of his love for us so that we might be empowered to go out and enable others to know and experience his love in the joyful way we sacrifice ourselves for them. No one promised us that the Christian life would be easy. All we have is our brother Jesus and all our friends, our family in faith, to support us in every loving sacrifice we make.
BAPTISM Congratulations to Kelsey Franklin, daughter of Joseph
& Kimberley. She will be baptised this Sunday in St Bernard’s Church.
Volunteer
Requirements
Thank you to the parishioners who contacted the Parish Office regarding the Memorandum from Monsignor Peter Meneely, Vicar General ou t l i n ing the new Vo lun teer Requirements which were published in our newsletter dated 28/29 April 2018. It is important to remember that while the Archdiocesan requirements have changed to include positions of trust, as outlined in the Memorandum these changes also safeguard us as volunteers. We are extremely grateful to our volunteers who play a very important role in our parish. Please contact the Parish Office for the various forms, as all paperwork has to go through the parish. Accreditation from other agencies is not approved by the Archdiocese.
The Best is Yet to
Be! Retreat
Wednesday 9th May, 9.00 am-1.00 pm,
Fr Aspinall Centre,
Upper Mt Gravatt.
Confirmation
Celebration
We have 31 children in final preparation for their full initiation into the Catholic Faith. We celebrate their Confirmation on Friday 18 May, 6.30 pm in St Bernard’s Church. Please keep them and their families in your prayers at this special time on their faith journey.
Did you know?
Did you know the parish has a Lifelong Learning/Social Justice/Share Our World Group. This group meets once a month on the second Thursday of the month at 7.00 pm. This very small band of parishioners are the ones who keep important issues and events before us as a parish. This group is desperate for more members who are passionate about important social issues affecting our society.
They are going through a transition time to break into a Social Justice group [including Share our World] and a
separate Lifelong Learning Group.
With all your amazing and insightful ideas, please contact Trish.
Extraordinary
Ministers of
Communion
Training
Tuesday 15 May, 7.00 pm
St Bernard’s Church
Sunday 27 May 9.30 am
St Catherine’s Church.
All rosters at St Bernard’s and St Catherine’s could do with more
volunteers please.
Many people, when approached, say that they are not worthy, or not good enough for this ministry. We do not make ourselves worthy for these ministries.
God does! and through the grace of our Baptism we are called to serve our community.
Please give it some serious thought.
PARISH MEN’S
BREAKFAST
“Come Hungry, Get Fed!” ALL MEN WELCOME Saturday 12 May, 7 - 9.00am. Aspinall Centre, Upper Mt Gravatt. $10.00 pay at door. Fellowship-Guest Speaker-Lucky Door-Joke of the Day-Raffle! Bacon, Eggs, Tomato, Sausage, Baked Beans, Toast, Jam, Coffee, Tea, Juice. RSVP by Thursday 10 May to Robert Baldi 0419 675 838 or [email protected].