August 2023
6 Transfiguration,
Vocations Awareness
Week
8 Mary MacKillop
10 Lawrence
13 Sun 19A
17 Assumption,
Mary Glowrey Museum visit
20 Sun 20A
24 Bartholomew
27 Sun 21A,
Fr Peter Varengo
50th Anniversary 11am
29 Passion of John Baptist
September 2023
3 Sun 22A
8 Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary
10 Sun 23A
14 Exultation of the Cross
15 Our Lady of Sorrows
17 Sun 24A
21 Matthew
24 Sun 25A
27 Vincent de Paul
29 Michael, Gabriel, Raphael
October 2023
1 Sun 26
2 Guardian Angels
3
9.15am School and Parish Mass with special school activities to
follow
4 Francis Asisi
8 Sun 27A,
St John's Church Centenary of
Consecration Celebration Mass, History book launch and parish
celebration
Samoan Mass 12.30 4th Sundays
Sacramental Reception Baptism :
Second and fourth Sundays of the month at
12 noon (email the
office to book) Marriage:
by appointment Reconciliation: approach a priest before Mass
First Communion and Confirmation:
Preparation for this is conducted in our
two schools; we also offer this preparation to State School
children. Email our office at
office@olsc.org.au for
further information.
Our Parish Priest
Fr Anthony Dung Ngoc Nguyen SDB PP The mobile phone
is available anytime via text. In case of an emergency a call
can be made. 0424 376 193 A word from Fr Anthony
If a parishioner would like to have a pastoral visit
from the Parish priest, or a priest, or a seminarian, or
a co-parishioner, kindly leave a message to the office
or to my cell phone number: 0424 376 193.
Assistant Parish Priest
Fr Peter Varengo SDB
Help bring St John's history to life If you have any photographs, publications
or personal memories that can bring St John’s Story (since
1864) to life, then your help is needed and appreciated.
For more information, please ring John Andrews, care of the
office on 9481 7333 or email to collclift@hotmail.com
Just a gentle reminder that two dates are important for our
Centenary of the Consecration
of the
church of St. John the Baptist:
#
3 October:
9.15am School and Parish Mass with
special school activities to follow.
#
8 October:
Celebration Mass, History book launch
and parish celebration
Please keep these dates free to join in our commemoration and
celebration. More information to follow.
IS YOUR FAMILY THE FIRST CATHOLIC FAMILY
AT ST. JOHN’S? Our Denton family
descendant, Julia Manickam tells me her family arrived in
Fitzroy in 1884 and bought the site at 151 McKean Street in
1886, building Dentonville in 1887. Does anyone have an earlier
connection with the Clifton Hill-North Fitzroy area or St
John’s? If so, can you please let Joan know at the office on
office@olsc.org.au
Consecration Centenary
Where was the original site for St. John’s? When land was set
aside by the colonial government St. John’s was to be built near
the corner of High Street and Cunningham Street. ‘Careful’
negotiations saw it moved to the present and higher point.
Whose heads are above the arches? At the end of each
arch of the central nave and the east and west aisles of the
church are heads. Whose heads are these? Watch this space.
Did you know?
Who were Thomas and Elizabeth Verga?
On either side of the entrance to the side chapel,
the Lady Chapel are two brass plaques, one to each
of Thomas and Elizabeth Verga. To find the answer
to the question, take the time to read these two
plaques. Where else in the church might you find
reminders of these two people?
Consecration Centenary Corner
Where did our stained glass windows
come from?
Most are locally made but a significant number
(8) came from Birmingham where they were created by stained
glass makers, John Hardman and
Company. Can you tell the difference? When published, the new
history of St. John’s will give you the
answers.
Support lifeline.org.au
13 11 14 BeyondBlue.org.au 1300 22 46 36
Defence Family Helpline 1800 624 608
Open Arms 1800 011 046
SANE Helpline 1800 18 SANE (7263)
Domestic Violence 1800 RESPECT (737 732)
Vic Statewide Suicide helpline 1300 651 251
Mensline Australia 1300 789 978
Drug info. to your mobile phone 0439 TELL ME
CrimeStoppers 1800 333 000
Suicide Helpline Victoria 1300 651 251
parentsbeyondbreakup.com 1800 853 437
Where homeless people might go for help ...
* Ozanam House in North Melbourne
* Mary House of Welcome in Fitzroy
* Jesuit Social Services in Richmond
* Margaret Oats Van, corner of Smith and Stanley Streets (near
Safeway) in Collingwood.
For further information on where people can get free meals
contact Joan in the office on 9481 7333.
At Our Lady of the Southern Cross,
we hold the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young
people as a central and fundamental responsibility of our
parish.
We acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional land of
the Wurundjeri people and offer our respects to the elders past,
present and future. We recognise and respect the cultural
heritage of this land.
Parish of Our Lady of the Southern Cross
St John the Baptist, Clifton Hill -
St Joseph's, Collingwood
Webmaster will be overseas for six weeks from August 19 and
will resume updating this page from 4 Oct 2023
Gospel/Scripture Reflection 2023
Sunday 19A - Aug 13
See Fr Anthony's reflection
below
Sunday 20A - Aug 20
Knowing about Jesus’
debate with the Pharisees helps
us to understand today’s Gospel.
In fact the story heightens the
surprise and shock we feel as we
hear Jesus’ exchange with the
Canaanite woman. The woman, who
is not Jewish, approaches Jesus,
requesting that he heal her
demon-possessed daughter. At
first Jesus ignores her; he says
nothing. The disciples ask Jesus
to send her away, and Jesus
agrees, remarking that he was
sent to minister to the Jews
alone.
The woman persists, paying
homage to Jesus, and yet Jesus
denies her request again. He
even insults her, using a Jewish
word of derision for Gentiles,
“dog.” But the woman cleverly
turns Jesus’ insult into an
affirmation of faith. Only then
does Jesus grant her request and
heal her daughter. < Read
on>
Audio Gospel Reflections -
Fr Frank Moloney SDB
Aug 13
Aug 20
Sunday Cinema Online Viewing
for this Week's Liturgy
[Updated Aug 12]
Fr Anthony’s Message Dear
brothers and sisters,
I wish you and your family a blessed Sunday. Today is the final
day of our National Vocations Awareness
Week. It is providential that we hear the account of Jesus
breaking five loaves [and two fish] and then
giving them to his disciples, who in turn distributing to
people. I be lieve this is the true meaning of all
vocations in the Church, namely, we are called to give to one
another what God has blessed and handed to us. Allow
me to firstly focus on Jesus, who, for the
sake of the crowds, had postponed his time of solitude
to feed them. Now, at last, when everything is done, he
finds some time for quiet and prayer. He sends his
disciples ahead of him by boat, dismisses the crowds,
and then withdraws to the mountain to pray. This
calls us to pay attention to our time for quiet and
prayer; to our time for being alone with ourselves and
with God; to be alone with our loved ones and to what
is most important in our life.
Dear brothers and sisters, time for quiet and prayer is
important when we struggle to weather the wind and waves, making
little progress in our journey like the twelve. It is here that
we are reminded of a previous story in Chapter 8 of Matthew’s
Gospel, when Jesus calms the seas. This time, however, Jesus
does not calm the seas, and the disciples do not express
fear until they see Jesus walking toward them on the water. In
this story it is not the storm that is feared but the sight of
Jesus before them, whom they mistake for a ghost. While the
disciples confused, Jesus calls
them and calms their fears. He is not a ghost. The impulsive
Peter seeks proof that the person is indeed Jesus. He asks Jesus
to call him out onto the water, and Jesus grants this request.
Peter’s fear and doubt overtake him, however, once he is walking
on the water. Jesus reaches out to Peter and saves him. When
Jesus and Peter enter the boat, Mat thew reports that the wind
ceases, and the disciples confess that Jesus is the Son of God. In
the last analysis, this Sunday’s Gospel calls us to
faith in Jesus. This is the faith that enables us to do the
work that Jesus has done: to walk on water, to feed a
multitude of people. However, we need to learn from
Peter that when he fears and doubts the person of
Jesus, he falters. Peter’s example teaches us that true
Christian ministry emerges from the faith that Jesus is
the Messiah, God’s only Son.
National Vocations Awareness Week
Please pray for our priests today in thanksgiving for their
ministry and presence in our community. Please pray for the
religious who do so much in pastoral care, education, health
care and many other ministries. Pray also that the saints may
inspire many vocations to consecrated life and priesthood,
especially from our community.
Mary Glowrey Museum visit
[see articles below]
Following the recent article in the parish bulletin about the
nearby Mary Glowrey Museum
https://maryglowreymuseum.info, a number of
parishioners have expressed interest in visiting the
Museum and learning more about Sr Dr Mary Glowrey JMJ, whose
cause for canonisation is being promoted.
The Museum is located at 20 Brunswick Street,
Fitzroy, on the second floor of Cathedral Hall. The
planned visit is on Thursday, 17
August at 10 –
11.30am.
Those intending to participate are asked to
advise the Parish office:
collclift@hotmail.com The
outing is no charge, but bookings are essential.
Participants will gather to commence the Museum
visit at 9.50am in front of Cathedral
Hall. Trams 11
and 86 both stop on the corner of Brunswick and
Gertrude Streets which is two minutes walk from
the Museum. Gabrielle.
Fr
Peter Varengo will be celebrating his 50th
year of priesthood on
Sunday, 27th August at our 11am Mass. Please join us for
Mass and refreshments afterwards. All welcome !!
A working Bee is being held on
Saturday, 19th August
starting at 10 am at St John’s. Please help us clean the
church.
A very warm thank you to Madeline
and Barry again for their generous availability of a skip for St
Joseph’s working bee. Thank you most sincerely.
PHOTOGRAPHER(S) WANTED
Are there any budding photographers out there who would like to
have their work immortalised? If so, could you please offer your
services to record the Celebration of the Consecration of our
church, St John the Baptist on Sunday
8 October. Digital images are fine. History will be
indebted to you. Please let Joan at the parish office know. John
Andrews
Parish Pastoral Council
Greetings and a quick update from the Parish Pastoral Council
(PPC). We have met twice this year and our initial focus was on
how we work together as a new team and defining our operating
model under the Instruction "The pastoral conversion of the
Parish community in the service of the evangelising mission of
the Church", of the Congregation for the Clergy, 20.07.2020,
Rome. Closer to home, we are excited about being involved in a
number of upcoming activities, including:
• Working with the Planning Committee for theParish
Centenary of Consecration and representatives
across all community groups to make October a very special month
of celebrations, particularly, our combined mass on 8 Oct. We
will be looking for volunteers to help with the celebrations,
including greeters, singers, musicians and readers. Please email
the office if you would like to be involved.
• Working Bee on
Sat 19 August from 10am –
Please come and join us and the Samoan Community to spruce up
our church and hall.
• Finalising the Vision and Mission Statement –
many of you have been involved in the discussions and drafting
of the Parish Vision & Mission Statement – coordinated by our
very own John Andrews. There is a copy of the statement at the
back of the church for your review before it goes live
mid-August. We will keep you posted with other Parish activities
including the return of our Parish Fun Night!! We would also
love to hear your ideas on how we could enrich our parish life.
Quyen Pham-Nguyen.
Online training program for Ministers of
the Word
The Archdiocese is running another "online training program for
Ministers of the Word starting 16 August". The link is
https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/institutes-academies-and-centres/acu-centre-for-liturgy/pastoral-training
Parishioners’ Column
We recently celebrated the birthday of Sr Dr
Mary Glowrey JMJ,
an Australian woman whose cause for canonisation is being
promoted – she was born on 23 June 1887 in Birregurra near
Colac. Before leaving
Melbourne in 1920 to spend 37 years in
India serving the sick poor, she worked in our neighbourhood,
both at
St Vincent’s Hospital and the Eye and Ear Hospital. In 1916 she
was the founding President of the Catholic Women’s Social Guild,
now the Catholic Women’s League Victoria and Wagga Wagga. During
the years of World War I, Mary both advocated for social reforms
and actively served the disadvantaged in
Fitzroy and
Collingwood.
Her Indian legacy includes the Catholic Health
Association of India (CHAI), which she founded in
1943 and whose members today care for at least 21
million people annually. Mary Glowrey's cause for
canonisation opened in 2010 and she has been declared a Servant
of God.
Some years ago, a museum in her honour was
established on the top floor of Cathedral Hall in
Brunswick Street, which is now part of Australian
Catholic University. Here is a link to the Museum
website:
https://maryglowreymuseum.info/, which
provides information about Mary’s remarkable life.
On her birthday this year, the Museum launched
the Mary Glowrey Circle which will both promote
her cause and seek to preserve and catalogue her
extensive correspondence and other artefacts.
Given the location of the Mary Glowrey Museum in our precinct,
perhaps we could organise a
parish visit. I would be happy to arrange that. Gabrielle McMullen
There are several avenues in which
Mass can be viewed.
1. EWTN
provides Masses every day at 8am and many other quality
programs about the Catholic faith. the EWTN App can be
downloaded to your phone or iPad. It has continuous live
streaming of programs. These include news, interviews,
children's and teenager's programs and more. Access the EWTN
schedule at
https://www.ewtn.com/tv/
schedule/asia-pacific
or on the EWTN App go to "Program Schedules" then "Pacific
Rim".
The 11am Sunday Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral will continue
to be televised free to air on C31
(often listed as Channel 44
on digital TVs) 3. Mass for You at Home 6.00-6.30am Sundays or catch up
on
10 PlayFreeview [need to sign up!]
Returned to the Father
Condolences:
We pray for the families and souls of
those who have departed recently: especially for
(Enis) Dorina De Rango whose
funeral is scheduled for
tomorrow (Monday) at St John’s starting at 10 am.
Both Dorina and Attilio have been parishioners at St John’s
for many, many years. It is sad when we lose our dear
friends
Anniversaries:
Enrico Di Blasio We remember ...
Prayers for healing:
Ian Armstrong,
Matt Kennedy,
Lorena Ferri,
Tony Addamo,
Betty Croker,
Attilio De Rango,
Teresa Boetti,
Fr Chris Riley,
Cecily Hollingworth,
Mario Misurelli,
Julia O’Malley.
Please let us know if the office can help in any way.