Fr Anthony's Message
Dear brothers and siters in Christ!
I wish you a blessed week in the Lord.
As the new school year begins, I wish teachers and
students a successful and joyful year in teaching and
learning. May the Lord inspire you in any project you
undertake!
We also take this opportunity to congratulate our
newly ordained priests (Frs. Jeffery Miller, Kevin Fiame, Peter Duc, Joseph Huong, Eteuati Milo). We pray
that they may be faithful to their vocation and ministry and God will be their reward. 
Dear brothers and sisters, today’s Gospel is the
beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which is
found in Matthew’s Gospel. The form of the Beatitudes
found here is not unique to Jesus. In fact, Beatitudes
are found in the Old Testament, in the psalms, and in
wisdom literature, for example. They are a way to
teach about who will find favour with God.
We quickly note in the Gospel that the people
whom Jesus calls “blessed” and “happy” are not people
we think of as blessed or happy – the poor in spirit,
the meek, the persecuted. This Gospel is one of rever sals. Jesus’ blueprint for happiness reflects little of
what the world might call happiness.
“Blessed” is sometimes translated as happy, fortunate, or favoured. In other words, Jesus is saying that
divine favour is upon those who are poor, those who
mourn, those who are persecuted. This news might
have been welcome—and surprising—to the crowds
who heard Jesus that day but may not be accepted
today by some people. 
As we read or listen to the Beatitudes, we need to
open our hearts to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
then we come to realize that the Beatitudes can be
understood only in the framework for Christian living.
To be concrete, our vocation as Christians is not to be
first in this world, but rather to be first in the eyes of
God. By referring to the good things that the faithful
will experience, Matthew reminds us that those who
act in the manner described in the Beatitudes will find
their reward with God. Let us look for praise and rewards in God rather than in human.

Priestly Ordinations
Congratulations to our newly ordained priests:
Fr Jeffery, Fr Kevin, Fr Duc, Fr Joseph and Fr Eteuati,
who were ordained yesterday at St Francis’ Church with our own former Parish Priest, Archbishop Tim Costelloe presiding. 
Dear Frs Eteuati Milo SDB, Jeffery Miller SDB,
Joseph Vu Viet Huong, Kevin Sailele Fiame & Peter
Tran Ngoc Duc: May God’s blessings be upon you: As you walk the journey of life in the Holy Priesthood of Christ: Our love and prayers will follow you: May you remain faithful to Him forever
and be a blessing to all.

St Therese of Lisieux’s Prayer for Priests
O Jesus, eternal Priest, keep your priests within the
shelter of Your Sacred Heart, where none may touch them.
Keep unstained their anointed hands, which daily touch Your Sacred Body. Keep unsullied their lips, daily purpled with your Precious Blood. Keep pure and unearthly their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of the priest hood. Let Your holy love surround them and
shield them from the world’s contagion. Bless their labors with abundant fruit and may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here and in heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown.