Image used with permission of artist Paul Newton 

Home    About Us    Contact Us    Mass Times    Marriage    Baptism    Memorial    Becoming Catholic   
Priest-Brother-Sister    Youth    St Joseph's   
 St John's   Salesian    Good Shepherd    Links

 


See lower far right column for options 


2023 Newsletter
March 18-19 + Readings
March 25-26 + Readings
Holy Week Liturgies


  OLSC Parish


 Cộng Đoàn Thánh Gioan Hoan - Collingwoo
Thanksgiving ways

... or direct debit BSB 083-347 Account 16647 1224
or credit card or envelope.
25% tax deductible


Today's Mass Scripture
Today's Morning Prayer
2023 Liturgical Calendar


News & Stories
Cathedral Daily Mass


Diocese Youth Site

 



Holy Week Liturgy Times (Click for flyer)

PALM SUNDAY
Saturday
6pm St Joseph's (English)
*  There will be no 6pm Mass at St John's
Sunday
9am St John's (Italian)
9am St Joseph's (Vietnamese)
11am St John's (English)
5pm St John's (English)

HOLY THURSDAY
7.30pm Combined Mass at St John's
9pm Eucharistic Adoration

GOOD FRIDAY
10am Way of the Cross at St John's
3pm Veneration of the Cross at St John's (English)
3pm Veneration of the Cross at St Joseph's (Vietnamese)

HOLY SATURDAY - EASTER VIGIL
6pm St Joseph's (English)
7pm St John's (English)
8pm St Joseph's (Vietnamese)
EASTER SUNDAY
9am St John's (Italian)
10am St Joseph's (Vietnamese)
11am St John's (English)
*  There will be no 5pm Mass at St John's





March 2023     
25 Annunciation
26 Lent 5A

April 2013
2 Passion/Palm Sun
6 Holy Thursday
7 Good Friday
8 Easter vigil
9 Eeaster Sunday
16 Easter 2A
23 Easter 3A
25 ANZAC Day
26 St Mark
30 Easter 4A

October 2023
8 St John Church Centenary of Consecration

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
 


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
 
          





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

Gospel Reflection 2023

 Lent 5A - March 26 

See Fr Anthony's Reflection below.

Audio Gospel Reflections -  Fr Frank Moloney SDB




March 19


For Kids







Sunday Cinema
Online Viewing
for this Week's Liturgy

[Updated Mar 24]

Fr Anthony's Message
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet you with
the love, joy and peace from the Lord.
For the last two Sundays, we have heard from the
Gospel of John. We once again encounter the Gospel of John this Sunday, the fifth Sunday of Lent. The reading from John continues the break from Cycle A’s focus on the Gospel of Matthew. Today’s Gospel reading recounts another sign, or miracle, found in John’s Gospel, the raising of Lazarus. As we and especially our catechumens move closer to the celebration of their Baptisms at the Triduum, we have reflected on the themes of water (3rd Sunday of Lent) and light (4th Sunday of Lent), today’s reading invites us to reflect upon what it means to call Jesus the Resurrection and the life. 
The context for the story of the raising of Lazarus is the Jewish leaders’ growing animosity toward Jesus.
Jesus has been in Jerusalem, taking part in the feast of
the Dedication, which we have come to know as Ha nukkah. The people have been pressing him to declare
plainly whether he is the Messiah. Jesus tells them to
look to his works, which testify to his coming from
God. Many do not believe Jesus, however, and some
try to stone him for blasphemy. Into this scene of
confrontation, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Laza rus, send word to Jesus that his friend is ill. Jesus is
said to love Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, but he delays
his journey for two days. The delay heightens the drama and shows Jesus’ obedience to God, who is to be glorified through Lazarus’s resurrection. When Jesus finally declares that he will journey to Bethany, his disciples fear for his life. Thomas declares that he and the other disciples should prepare to die with Jesus. Thomas’ attitude poses in front of us a challenge: Are we prepared to die with Jesus: Die for
our sins, die for our shortcomings and vices in order
to rise with him?
The scene described at Bethany is a sad one.
Martha meets Jesus weeping and saying that if Jesus
had been there, Lazarus would not have died. Yet she
remains confident that God will do whatever Jesus
asks. Martha affirms her belief that there will be a
resurrection of the dead in the last days. Then Martha’s sister, Mary, comes to Jesus with the same confidence, saying that Jesus could have cured Lazarus. This scene makes us ponder upon our daily life situation.   We sometimes encounter sad experiences. There have been times in which we have confidence in God, in Jesus; but there have been moments wherein we lost our trust in him. Even though we falter, but Jesus is always there and asks us to bring him to our sad experiences in order that he can pray and call us out from those sad moments.
Dear brothers and sis ters, as we are moving closer
to the Holy Week, with our catechumens preparing for
their Baptism at Easter, the
Gospel today calls us to reflect on Baptism as a dying
and rising with Jesus. In Baptism we die to sin’s power over us, rising as children of God. In Baptism we join ourselves with Christ, who conquered death once and for all so that we who believe in him may have eternal life. With Martha and Mary, we are called to profess our belief that Jesus is indeed the Resurrection and the life.

Palm Sunday, also called Passion Sunday,
in the Christian tradition, the first day of Holy Week and the Sunday before Easter,
commemorating Jesus
Christ’s triumphal entry
into Jerusalem. The liturgy
begins with a blessing and
procession of palms, but
prime attention is given to a
reading of the Passion. The palms are often taken
home by the members of the congregation to serve as
sacramentals and some of them are burned the following year to serve as the ashes for Ash Wednesday.
Encyclopaedia Brittanica

Moving forward ...
Our vision and Mission Statement
Please take a copy of the draft revised Vision and
Mission Statement for our Parish. It was developed
during Covid by an online Lenten Reflection group
and has been reviewed by Father Anthony. After
Easter we will arrange a meeting after 11am Mass for
parishioners to share their thoughts and suggestions
how this statement can truly reflect our parish in
2023 and in the years ahead. Your input is both welcomed and valued.

Parish Lenten Refection
The parish is holding Lenten Reflection with
Reconciliation on Friday, 31st March at 7:30-
8:30pm with Fr Frank Moloney. All are welcome to
join us at St John’s Church. Please note that there
will not be Lenten series this coming Thursday.

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?

St Johns School welcome all parishioners to our major fundraiser, twilight market. Come for an evening of live music, food, community stalls, craft and family fun!
Food stalls, craft, clothing, cakes, plants, relishes, oils, candles, Ethiopian coffee, games and activities for kids, bar, band and much more. We would love to see
you all there!

Playing your part at Mass
EASTER HELPERS WANTED AT BOTH CHURCHES
For Holy Thursday, Good Friday including Stations of
the Cross, Saturday Vigil and Easter Sunday
we need people for the following:
*  Meeters and Greeters
*  Readers
*  Washing of the Feet (Holy Thursday only)
*  Offertory Procession
*  Special Ministers
Please put your name down for any or all of
these tasks on the large sheets at the back of the Church. Include your contact details please.
Thanks for your support of our parish.

Church Centenary
MPORTANT DATE AND INVITE
Please keep Sunday 8 October free as we will be
celebrating the Centenary of the Consecration of our
church on that day.You may have ideas to
share of how best to cele brate that important historic
occasion in the lead up to and on the day.
Leave your name and contact details in the Office.
Be part of our centenary.


 
Loretto Cultural Series for 2023
As St Pope John Paul II said, “The future starts
today, not tomorrow.” Together, we can help vulnerable communities face their challenges today and
build a better tomorrow For All Future Generations.
The first event in the Series is “The Summer in
Opera and Operetta”, exploring 400 years of opera
and operetta from the 17th to 20th centuries including Monteverdi, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Lehar, Debussy and Menotti. This concert features world renowned Pianist, Anthony Halliday, Soprano, Judith
Dodsworth, Mezzo Soprano, Lynlee Williams and
Bass, Eddie Muliaumaseali'i.
Sunday 26 March, 2.00pm in the Chapel of Christ
the King, Loreto Mandeville Hall Toorak. Tickets:
$50 / $40 which includes light refreshments

Parish Lenten Series
The parish is holding a series of Lenten Reflec tions, prayers and sharing on Thursdays at 7:30-8:30pm during Lenten Season. All are welcome to join us at St John’s Church.

The Holy Hour for Vocations will resume on the
first Friday of each month. You are invited to come
and join those praying for discernment of their
vocation. The next time of prayer will be at Friday
3rd March, 7.30pm
St Johns Clifton Hill.
The Salesian Sisters will also be running Taize
on Wednesdays during Lent 7-8pm at 43 George
Street, Scoresby. All welcome.
For more information contact Sr Rochelle on
rmLamb195@hotmail.com.au





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".

2Daily streaming of Masses at St Patrick's Cathedral https://www.youtube.com/
user/archmelb


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 Play Freeview [need to sign up!]





 Returned to the Father 
Condolences: We pray for the families and souls of
those who have departed recently:  

Anniversaries:

Maria Papasergi,
Maria Ferrante,
Therese Ashford,
Fr Ermie Smith. 
   
 We remember ... 
Prayers for healing:
Andrew Wilson,
Ian Armstrong,
Matt Kennedy,
Betty Croker,
Attilio & Dorina De Rango, Terry Whelan,
 Mario Misurelli,
Julia O’Malley,
Teresa Boetti,
Cecily Hollingworth,
Fr Chris Riley,
Tony Addamo, Lorena Ferri.

Please let us know if the office can help in any way.