Gospel Reflection 2020

 Sunday 30 Yr A 

A Pharisee asks Jesus about the greatest of the commandments.
The question requires Jesus to interpret the Law of Moses. The Mosaic Law consists of the Ten Commandments and many additional rules, numbering over six hundred. Adherence to the Mosaic Law, for a devout Jew, is an expression of faithfulness to God’s covenant with Israel. The ranking of the Commandments was regularly debated among the teachers of the Law.
Jesus answers the Pharisees’ question with a two-fold summary. Jesus says that all of the commandments can be summarized in two commandments: love God and love your neighbor. Both of these were central elements of the religious tradition Jesus learned from his Jewish community. Indeed these continue to be central aspects of contemporary Jewish religious understanding. Jesus’ response to his questioners proposed an integral connection between these two aspects of the Jewish Law. Love of God finds its expression in our love for our neighbor.     > read on, click below

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Audio Gospel Reflections -  Fr Frank Moloney SDB

[Updated Oct 25]

A message from Fr Martin ...
Dear All
I hope you all have had a great week and kept safe. It is good to see the Covid-19 cases on the downhill slide which gives us some hope for lowering the restrictions sooner rather than later. However, we still need to look after ourselves and in turn we are also looking after each other. In my opinion I believe we need to get used to living with this virus for the foreseeable future. Let us continue to support each other: in word, in action and in our prayer life. I look forward to the day we can have a large number of people in the church to celebrate Eucharist together. For now, it is still great to see those few people who can come to church and support the online mass by reading. I also very much appreciate those who join us online during the weekly masses, whether it be during live mass or those who take time during the day to revisit the mass.  
We are already starting to think about Christmas and how we can celebrate the Birth of Christ. We can only do so much, as a great deal will depend on the churches being opened and the number of people allowed to attend, either inside or outside. I will keep you informed as we get closer to the Advent Season. I don’t know about you, but it is great to see some rain this weekend. It waters the garden and refreshes everything.
Recently, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the canonisation of Mary MacKillop – St Mary of the Cross MacKillop – Australia’s first Saint. St Mary of the Cross was canonised on October 17th, 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. One of the qualities Mary was known for was her belief in the ‘Providence of God’. She put her faith in God when she first started her journey as a Josephite Sister, starting schools for the benefit of those who were missing out on an education. Another quality Mary had was the gift of leadership. Not only was she motivated to help those in need, but she had the gift of motivating others to follow her and do the same. Other qualities she had were the gifts of faithfulness, generosity, bravery, compassion, holiness, righteousness, and her strong will. Even though Mary was canonised a Saint, that does not mean she did not suffer, struggle, and make mistakes during her lifetime. Not everyone is born with saintly qualities, but they are formed, developed and nurtured during their lifetime. Let us pray to Mary on the 10th anniversary that she will give us the qualities of her life to make us saintly during our lives. Amen. Have a safe week. God Bless Fr Martin

Congratulations to our very own Lucy Fitzsimons, who has recently been elected to be the 2021 Faith and Mission Captain at Santa Maria College. It is so lovely to relay this good news of one of our young parishioners taking on an active leadership role in making our Catholic faith alive in the school community and the wider world.
Congratulations and good luck in your role next school year, Lucy.

Catholic Theological College. 2020 Knox Public Lecture
Thursday 5th November at 7.00pm with Sheree Limbrick
Safe Church: Commitment, awareness & action for cultural change
 Bookings and Info: ctc.edu.au/knox-public-lecture
Enq: sarah.styring@ctc.edu.au or phone 9412 3333 Venue: online

Jewish exiles and us today
Our experience of the pandemic of COVID–19 has in some ways been a time of exile. We lost freedom to move around our neighbourhood and to travel interstate or overseas. We lost the prospect of dining out or inviting friends over for a meal. We lost the opportunity to participate in the eucharist with a gathered community, although we may have been able to join them online from our homes.
In a time of exile, we search for ways to be nourished both physically and spiritually because food is essential for both body and spirit. Fortunately, we were able to shop for food, provided we kept our distance from one another. Spiritually, we were called to be creative in deepening our relationship with the Lord and caring for one another. The self-isolation was a time to pause and draw deeply on the rich resources of the scriptures, to renew personal and family prayer, to practise meditation, and to assess what we deemed valuable in life. It was also a time to create networks of care by communicating with family and friends using the variety of ways of making and maintaining contact.
Perhaps – and hopefully – fasting from eucharist can be an opportunity to value it more deeply whilst at the same time developing deeper spiritual resources to nourish us on our life’s journey in ways that help us understand, as Jesus teaches in today’s gospel, what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God. Michael A Kelly CSsR

Month of the Rosary
All are welcome to pray a community Rosary each Wednesday evening at 7:30pm during the month of October via zoom. We had our second rosary last Wednesday, which again was well attended and a lovely way of seeing each other briefly and sharing a quiet time of prayer. To attend, please go to the following link, or email Jennifer at <Jennifer.jacobs@utoronto.ca> God bless!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83454834567?
pwd=SVgwT1EzTXRnZEZYbWRFMVBBNktpdz09
Meeting ID: 834 5483 4567 Passcode: nda5av

St John’s Mango fundraiser
If you love mangoes, here's your chance to indulge in fresh juicy Kensington Pride mangoes and support our fundraising drive or St John's Primary School. We are selling trays of mangoes picked and packed during the harvest. Cost per tray is $25. Orders are due by Friday 29th October. Delivery is expected the first week of December and we are happy to provide contactless delivery to your home. For further information contact: Julia 0407343637 or the school office 94891346. Thank you in advance for your support.


Heart of Life
'Walking with Wisdom' Contemplative Sessions (via Zoom) – Thursdays, 10am-12.30pm (AEST) on 8, 15, 22 & 29
October 2020. We invite you to join us for a series of
contemplative sessions with Carole Carmody rsm and Marlene McGrath, providing opportunities for Deep Listening: to oneself at this unique time in our lives; to Divine Wisdom in the Heart, and in the Hearts of Others; and to engage in a
gentle, creative response. Join for one or all sessions. $85 for the Series or $25 per session.
Bookings at www.trybooking.com/BLILH. Heart of Life Centre
for Spiritual & Pastoral Formation, tel 03 9890 1101,
www.heartoflife.melbourne

Thanksgiving - the easy way 
If you wish to assist in “keeping the parish afloat” we offer
different ways of giving … direct debit, credit card or sacrificial envelopes. Ring the office on 9481 7333. Remember …
25% of your commitment is returned in the form of a tax
deductible receipt at the end of the year. Our Parish bank
account details are: BSB 083-347 account: 16647 1224.