Gospel Reflection 2019
 Sunday Lent 3C

What is the meaning of the Parable of the Fig Tree?
Jesus told the Parable of the Fig Tree immediately after reminding His listeners of a tower over the pool of Siloam which unexpectedly fell and killed eighteen people. The moral of that story is “Unless you repent, you will like-wise perish.” To reiterate this moral, Jesus tells the story of the fig tree, the vineyard owner, and the gardener who took care of the vineyard. The three entities in the story all have clear symbolic signifi-cance. The vineyard owner represents God, the one who rightly expects to see fruit on His tree and who justly decides to destroy it when He finds none. The gardener, or vineyard keeper who cares for the trees, watering and fertilizing them to bring them to their peak of fruitfulness, represents Jesus, who feeds His people and gives them living water. The tree itself has two symbolic meanings: the nation of Israel and the individual. As the story unfolds, we see the vineyard owner expressing his disappointment at the fruitless tree. He has looked for fruit for three years from this tree, but has found none. The three-year period is significant because for three years John the Baptist and Jesus had been preaching the message of repentance throughout Israel. But the fruits of repentance were not forthcoming. The Jews were offended by the idea they needed to repent, and they rejected their Messiah be-cause He demanded repentance from them. They had de-parted from the true faith and the true and living God. He, as the vineyard owner, was perfectly justified in tearing down the tree that had no fruit.
However, we see the compassionate gardener interceding for more time to water and fertilize the fruitless tree, and the gracious Lord of the vineyard responds in patience. In the parable, the vineyard owner grants another year of life to the tree. In the same way, God in His mercy grants us another day, another hour, another breath. But if there is no fruit, no repentance.

   [Updated March 23]

Stations of the Cross
We will be having reflection and prayer of the Stations of the Cross every Friday
during Lent in St John’s Church at 7:00 pm, commencing 22nd March.

St Peter Claver Concert
The Missionary Sisters of St Peter Claver of Kew are holding their annual mission concert on Sunday, 31st March at the St Peter Claver Hall, 154 Cotham Road, Kew commencing at 2pm. Admission is free—a collection will be taken during the concert.

Parish Reconciliation
We will have three parish-wide Reconciliation Litur-gies during the Lenten season; the first at St. John's Church on Wednesday, 3rd April at 7:30pm, the second at St. Joseph's Church in Collingwood on Tuesday, 9th April at 7.30pm and Vietnamese on Wednesday, 10th of April at 7:30pm. All welcome.

Project Compassion
Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion offers hope to people most vulnerable to extreme poverty and injustice, whilst ensuring they are the architects of their own development.
Week 3 : Solomon Islands ... 16 y/o Peter experi-enced six decades of water shortage. Students would walk many km each day, searching for water—which was particularly challenging for Peter who lives with a disability.
Caritas Australia teamed up with the local school to provide a 90Kl water tank and pump, while staff and students took part in training, dug trenches and are helping with a management plan.
Please offer your help and take a box and bring it back full of your small change at our Easter Vigil on the Saturday evening.

Christian Brothers College
CBC St Kilda is holding its annual CBC Open Day on Sunday 31st March from 12:00-3:00pm (in conjunction with our adjacent partner sister school, Presen-tation College Windsor - PCW). CBC St Kilda also makes available a number of Bursaries for boys who would benefit from a CBC education, but may experence financial constraints. Please see flyer at the back of the church.

Heartbeat of the Church
“He said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none.’” (Luke 13:7)
We can all be like the barren fig tree at times. Do you cling to what you have or do you generously share with others? How will you respond when God asks you what you have done with all the gifts He has given you? Remember, not only are we called to be generous, we are called to develop and nurture our gifts and return with increase.

Helping our Refugees
On Saturday 23 March there will be Forum for Par-ishes “Helping our Refugee Families and Friends” at Cardinal Knox Centre, 383 Albert Street, East Melbourne, from 9.30am-1.00pm. The Forum, a periodic service from the Welcome the Asylum Seeker program at Catholic Social Services Victoria, will review the current situation facing asylum seekers and potential changes in 2019. The forum will focus on enabling participants to increase or renew support in their parish, drawing upon the experience of parish leaders who have already achieved lasting support. Cost: $20, includes lunch. Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/ZWMI; enquiries to Adrian.foley@css.org.au, tel 0497 780 233.

Message from Pope Francis for Lent 2019