Gospel Reflection 2019
 Trinity Yr C

Holy Wisdom in Community

Deep in the mystery of the being of God there is community. There is only one God. Yet there is relatedness within this one God; and, furthermore, that capacity for relating, for loving in communion, within the one being, is extended to include us. Jesus prayed for us [John 17:21] to have the same unity that is the unity of communion within the one God. Jesus said "The father and I are one." [John 10:30], yet there was a relationship between them. That is the beginning of our understanding of the Holy Trinity -- of communion within unity. A similar mutual relationship of the Father and the Son is expressed with the Holy Spirit, who is promised in the gospel reading today [John 16:12-15] and elsewhere in Christ's farewell to the disciples and in the final prayer of Jesus. [John 14:16; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:7]

Holy Wisdom and Christ

If this imagery of Father, Son and Holy Spirit sounds too masculine to be true of God, notice the feminine character of Wisdom as she introduced herself in the Old Testament lesson [Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31]. She appears also, as a woman, in the Wisdom of Solomon [Wisdom 6:12-15]. This winsome, attractive character is described in Proverbs as having been created by God at the beginning before the world was made [Proverbs 8:22-25] and as sharing in and celebrating the creation [Proverbs 8:27-31] Where else do we read about a person who shared with God in the creation at the beginning? John writes of the Word, rather than Wisdom, and of he rather than she, in reference to the Word that became flesh, but see how similar is the opening part of John's gospel [John 1:1-4,14; compare John 17:5 and 1 Colossians 1:12-15]. The work of Wisdom (Sophia) can also be identified with the work of the Holy Spirit. [Gen 1:2; Wisdom 1:6,7; Job 33:3; Psalm 104:30; Romans 8:22-23].

We always struggle when we try to express the mystery of God in human terms. It helps if we use some feminine as well as masculine images to confess our faith in the one holy God who gives life, bears pain, nurtures, protects and rescues us, and as one who possesses community of persons within the one being and extends that loving communion to us.

[Updated 14.6.19]

STOP PRESS: Mark in your diaries now …
our Parish Fun Night on Saturday, 20th July
at St Joey’s Hall. Be there to enjoy the fun !!

The Collingwood Cottage Inc.
(Foodbank for the Neighbourhood)
Founded in August 1983 by past parishioners and our wider community as an Inter Church VOLUNTARY Or-ganisation, is NOW seeking some ‘new faces’ to share the workload, carried so generously by Board Mem-bers, Servers, and Van Drivers, over the past 26 years!!
If any person hears God’s call ‘to serve the needy in this simple way’ would you please contact
The Parish Office or Sister M Zita 9470 4483 for
further details!? Thank-you! See archive web page

Thank you from Little Sisters
Dear Fr. Martin Tanti and the Parishioners at St. John ’s Clifton hill and St. Joseph’s,
We, little sisters of the Poor at St. Joseph Home take this opportunity to thank you for your warm welcome to your parish last week-end. It was our pleasure to meet you and your Parishioners, once again few of whom have had contact with us previously. We express our gratitude for their gen-erosity and the total received was $1,534.40
We continue to pray for our benefactors every day. Once again, be assured of our prayers for you all.
Our Mother St. Jeanne Juan said: “We must always say Blessed be God, thank you my God and Glory be to God.”
“Making the elderly happy that is what it counts.”
May God Bless you.
Sr. Josephine PSDP

To our OLSC Parishioners
Many thanks for your many good wishes and gifts on the occasion of my 50th birthday. Not everybody is graced to reach this age and beyond. This milestone has been a chance for me to celebrate with my family, friends and parishioners. Sometimes we worry about growing old, but what may be more important is how fulfilled we are in our lives. How much love are we giving to each other? How do we give witness to God’s love in our homes, our communities and our world. Whatever age we may be, let’s pray on the eve of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit may be a light in our challenging world. Fr Martin.

Alight Family Fiesta
Saturday, 21 September
at St Bede’s College Mentone
At a time when living Christian family life can feel like swimming against the tide, Alight is an event that will strengthen everyone – especially parents – to be renewed in their mission. Fr Leo Patalinghug, a priest and chef, will serve up a creative presentation of faith and food that will have the whole family wanting more. Rides, food and live music will help to make this a joyful celebration for the whole family! To register or for more info, look for the Alight flyers in your parish or visit www.cam.org.au/alight19

Can you help please ??
An Asylum Seeker family from Iran needs some child-minding. The single mother has two boys, aged 13 and 8. She is going through a tough time and needs some “own” time to go to Bible Studies on Thursday evenings 6:30 - 9:00 pm. They live in Murray Road, Coburg. If you are interested and able to help please contact Joan at the office on 9481 7333.

Prayer Evenings at St John's
Do you thirst for a spiritual conversation? Here is an invitation to join us in prayer and spiritual conversa-tion. We meet fortnightly in Aikenhead Hall from 7pm to 8.30pm. Our next meeting is June 3. These evenings include shared prayer contemplating Gospel texts and the First Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola, as well as spiritual conversation. There is no cost and all are welcome.

Healing Mass at St Joseph's
Don’t forget our Healing Mass at St Joseph’s on Saturday, 22nd June, commencing at 10 am.
And we will be experiencing that wonderful Vietnamese catering afterward in the hall. Come and join us.

Pondering Grief
Saturday 22 June 2019, 10am-4pm.
This Reflection Day offers an invitation to reflect on and honour our inner life of change and transition. With creativity, space and gentle guiding support, this workshop will offer a sacred place for the breadth of human experiencing and spirit to guide individual exploration.
Facilitated by Linda Espie, with 35 years' experience specialising in loss, grief and trauma.
Cost $80 including materials. Contact Heart of Life: Centre for Spiritual & Pastoral Formation, Box Hill, tel 03 9890 1101, emailholsc@bigpond.com or book and pay online at www.heartoflife.melbourne

Youth Conference
Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed,
for the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9
The Chosen Conference is a national conference for youth and young adults between 18 - 30 years old, organised by Jesus Youth, an International Catholic Association with a focus on evangelising young peo-ple and nurturing their missionary initiatives.
We invite you to join us from the 4th - 7th July 2019 at Sacred Heart Girl's College Melbourne for 4 power-packed days of youth rallies, up-lifting talks, work-shops, theatre, Eucharistic celebrations, vocation & mission expo and live music.
For registrations please visit www.chosenconference. org.au. For further information, queries or group registration please contact info@chosenconference. org.au or call us at 0491 002 081.

Winter Warmers Drive
OLSC parish is collecting socks, gloves, hats and scarves which are badly needed items and can make a huge difference to keeping warm in the cold.
On the next rainy boring day clean out those drawers, cupboards and ward-robes that house the clothing that hasn’t seen daylight for some time. Bring your unwanted (clean) clothing items to Mass and leave them at the back of the church.

Salesian Mission News - May 2019

Cagliero - June 2019      

Cagliero Newsletter #40