Gospel Reflection 2018
 Fr  Peter Hoang - Sunday 32B
Did you know?
• Every Jewish male was required to pay an annual half shekel offering towards the costs of the Temple (Mt 17:24). Women were not obligated to make this offering. The offering of the widow was not required but freely given.

• The Jerusalem Temple was a massive structure with a large cohort of priests and attendants and its upkeep must have been a very expensive exercise.

• The treasury was a part of the Temple in Jerusalem and its function was under the exclusive control of the Sadducees, an elite and wealthy group of families of high priestly caste.
    >Cont

No one knows that day or hour

   [Updated Nov 15]

St John's Primary - Concert
“St John's Goes to Broadway”
Fri, November 23, 6:30pm – 8:30pm at the Academy of Mary Immaculate, 88 Nicholson St, Fitzroy. A review style show with song and dance numbers from a range of well known musicals through the years. Come along and be prepared to sing along with lots of old favourites and some new ones too. Light refreshments will be available to purchase on the night. Bookings via TryBooking.

Loretto Mandeville Hall
Christmas Concert: Gloria in Excelsis Deo!
Monday 10 December 2018, 7.30pm—8.30pm fol-lowed by light refreshments
Venue: Chapel of Christ the King, Loreto Mandeville Hall, 10 Mandeville Crescent, Toorak
RSVP Monday 3 December 2018
Bookings: www.trybooking.com/ZIQQ

Villa Maria Catholic Homes
Aged Care | Affordable Housing | Retirement Living | Home Care | Disability and Specialist Education
A Catholic, not-for-profit organisation providing services to more than 7000 people across Victoria.
We observe the teachings and practices of the Catho-lic Church by celebrating the life of individuals and their communities as expressed in their physical, social and spiritual wellbeing.
For more information phone 1800 036 377 or visit www.vmch.com.au

Plenary Council
We already have some suggestions on how we might better our services here in the Parish, such as ...
 For big events (Christmas, Easter, etc) when we have ‘visitors’, special care should be taken to keep our Mass simple, short and sweet (just like our normal Mass—simple messages of love and about how to do better).
 Priests should be allowed to marry, thus lessening the shortage of priests.
 The Archdiocese is maybe seen to be too rigid in the Decision Making Process, sometimes resulting in unfavourable decisions being made.
Looking forward to receiving your feedback - forms are available at the back of both churches.

This week’s Gospel was written to give you courage during the tough times.
The early Christians faced rejection and persecution. Mark’s Gospel reminded them that Jesus is with his followers during the toughest of times. Even though everything may seem to be falling apart, Jesus’ words “will not pass away.”

Parish Fun Night
St Joseph’s hall came alive as families gathered for our annual Parish Fun Night last Saturday. The crowd of over 100 filtered in from about 6.30 pm – some with hats, headbands and fascinators – all ready to party to the Spring Carnival Theme. Our new caterers delighted us with a delicious range of options of chicken, lamb and lasagne. Plenty of salad options followed by dessert options of pavlova, cannoli, black forest and chocolate eclairs – fresh fruit was also available for those health conscious party goers. There were raffles with some fantastic prizes, table prizes, a door prize, some games but mostly revellers danced away. There may be some budding Australia’s Got Talent stars amongst us!! Hope to see more of you there next year!!!
Thank you to those parishioners who donated be-cause they were unable to attend. A big thank you to Quyen and Rafelina and their organising team, plus a bigger thank you to our own Margaret Tran (Can’s daughter) who did a fantastic job of MC for the evening.

Warm Welcome to Fr Martin
A very warm welcome to our new incoming Parish Priest, Fr Martin Tanti.

Fr Martin arrives from Lysterfield where he was the Director of the Retreat Centre at Auxilium College, Lysterfield.
Fr Martin spent his study years at the Salesian Don Bosco House next door to the Presbytery in Clifton Hill.
So, one could say that he is not new to OLSC, just returning home.

Advent Reflection Series
Tuesday, 27th November at 7pm : “Reflecting on the Gospel of Luke” presented by our own Fr Frank Molo-ney at St John’s Church
Tuesday, 4th December at 7pm : “Living with Lau-dato Si’ for Advent” presented by Alda Balthrop-Lewis at St Joseph’s Church
Tuesday, 11th December at 7pm : “Opening our Hearts to Joy” presented by Sue Smith at St John’s.