IST SUNDAY OF LENT Year b 18th february 2018

Dear Parishioners,

We have had some magnificent thunder storms this past week and the one last Sunday night was pretty

scary - I remember walking up the steps of St Marys and could hear the voices of an argument at the

front door – I turned around and looked over Timothy Maloney Park and saw this magnificent rainbow.

Fr Nicholas walked by, and I made some comment to him and said ‗what a beautiful reminder of hope

… there is hope!‖ A couple of years ago I was driving with a friend who has recently had a cataract

operation and he was singing the praises of the doctor and the operation – we stopped for afternoon tea

this day and as we walked to the Coffee Shop he pointed out to me a rainbow: it was one of those

special moments and as if it were meant to be - nothing prepared him for the grandeur of this rainbow

which he could see properly after many decades of near blindness! I can understand why the writer of

the Noah story looks at the rainbow as a sign of both God‘s gracious covenant and peace. The sheer

beauty of the reality reflects the glory of the Lord of creation. But today, on this first Sunday of Lent, our

real attention goes to the beauty of the new covenant unfolding with the preaching of Jesus. The call to

repent is the call to change our lives in response to the love of God, whose kingdom is one of peace

and joy. The opportunity to change is the gift Christ gave us in his passion and resurrection. It‘s a sign

of God‘s wondrous love. When we understand that with all our hearts, we also will stare with awe and

ask, ―What is that?‖ May we all enter this Lenten period with a determined sense of renewal and

change. Have a good week. Stephen ofm

WEEKEND MASS TIMES 24th & 25th February WEEKLY MASS TIMES

SATURDAY CHURCH LOCATION Monday, 19th February - Monday of the 1st week of Lent

7.00am St Joseph’s, North Ipswich

7.00pm Mater Dei, Sadliers Crossing

Tuesday, 20th February - Tuesday of the 1st week of Lent

9.00am Immaculate Heart of Mary, Leichhardt, followed by Stations of the Cross

Wednesday, 21st February - Wednesday of the 1st week of Lent

9.00am St Mary’s, Woodend, followed by Stations of the Cross

9.30am St Brigid’s, Rosewood, followed by Stations of the Cross

7.00pm Adoration, St Mary’s, Woodend

Thursday, 22nd February – The Chair of St Peter, apostle

9:00am St. Mary’s, Woodend

9.00am St Joseph’s, North Ipswich

Friday, 23rd February - Friday of the 1st week of Lent

8.00am St Mary’s College

8.30am OLMM, Reconciliation

9:00am OLMM, Eastern Heights

4:30pm Immaculate Heart Leichhardt

5:30pm OLMM Eastern Heights

6.00pm St Mary‘s Woodend

SUNDAY Mass CHURCH LOCATION

7:30am St. Joseph‘s North Ipswich

8:00am St. Brigid‘s Rosewood

8:30am St. Mary‘s Woodend

6:00pm St. Mary‘s Woodend

SACRAMENT OF PENANCE

DAY TIME CHURCH

Friday Saturday

Saturday

8.30am - 8.50am 4.15pm - 4.25pm

5.00pm - 5.30pm

OLMM Leichhardt

St. Mary‘s

OUR CHURCHES

St. Mary’s - Elizabeth Street, Woodend St. Brigid’s - Matthew Street, Rosewood

Mater Dei - Cnr Ferrett Street and Rowland Tce, Sadliers Crossing St. Joseph’s - 42 Pine Mountain Road, North Ipswich

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal - Robertson Rd, Eastern Heights Immaculate Heart of Mary - 22 Old Toowoomba Road, Leichhardt

A very warm welcome to anyone visiting our Parish. It is good to have you with us. If you have any questions or would like to know more about the Ipswich Catholic Community please visit our parish website at www.ipswichcatholic.com We hope you enjoy your time in Ipswich. Please call again soon.

COMMUNITY DIRECTORY

Administrator Fr. Stephen Bliss ofm

sbliss@franciscans.org.au

Parish Ministers Fr. John Hong

Fr Nicholas Okafor

Pastoral Associate

Bernadette McAndrew

Contact 0488008817

Office Hours

Mrs Maree Coyne

Mrs Kathy Lund

Mrs Rosalia Risati

Mrs Bernadette Lenihan

Monday: 10:00am—3:30pm

Tues-Thurs 8:00am—3:30pm

Friday: 8:00am—1:00pm

Ipswich Catholic Community Contact Information

Telephone 07 3281 2133

Email ipswich@bne.catholic.net.au

Fax 07 3812 3911

Post PO Box 23, Ipswich 4305.

Mass Times 07 3281 0707

New Media - Evangelisation

Website www.ipswichcatholic.com

Find us by searching for ‗ipswichcatholic’ on

Facebook YouTube Twitter iTunes

Schools and Colleges in our Community

St. Mary’s Primary School Woodend 07 3281 1998

Immaculate Heart School Leichhardt 07 3812 1077

St. Joseph’s School North Ipswich 07 3201 6188

St. Brigid’s School Rosewood 07 5464 1563

St. Mary’s College Woodend 07 3432 5444

St. Edmund's College Woodend 07 3810 4400

PLEASE PRAY FOR ….

RECENTLY DECEASED: Terri Sander, Ray Angus, Chicka Sauer, Charmaine Warwick, Peter Stirling, Betty Robertson, John Clarke.

ANNIVERSARY: Darren Roach, Brendan Madden, Win Burchmann, Robert Albury, Johnny Williams, Peter Byrne, Mary Byrne, Eileen Matthews, Bill Roach, Pat Kelly, Yolanda Brennan-Rowe, Joanne Tau Rice.

FOR ALL THOSE WHO ARE HOUSE-BOUND AND RECEIVE COMMUNION AT HOME.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS will be celebrated during Lent: -

Immaculate Heart Church after Mass on Tuesdays,

St Mary’s Church after Mass on Wednesdays, St Brigid’s Church after Mass on Wednesdays,

St Joseph’s Church at 7pm on Wednesdays.

Administration Staff

The call to repent

is the call to change

our lives

in response

to the love of God.

Lent invites us to set some time aside to reform our lives and re-establish our priorities as

Christians. We need to stop, think, and

make firm resolutions to truly make us Jesus people.

LENTEN SYMBOLS

The Altar and Sanctuary area is bare in all our Churches during Lent to help us be in the ‘wilderness’ and long for the beauty, grandeur and majesty again that comes with Easter. The Ashes are left on the Sanctuary so you can come up and mark yourself again (and again) during Lent or their very presence be a reminder to you of the changes you are making to be a stronger ‘disciple of the Lord’. The Holy Water disap-pears from the fonts as it is an Easter symbol – we now ‘repent and believe in the Gospel way’ so we can each renew our Baptismal Promises.

PLEASE NOTE: NEXT FRIDAY THE PARISH OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED.

THE STAFF WILL BE UNDERTAKING INSERVICE -

PHONE WILL BE ATTENDED.

… What’s happening in the Ipswich Catholic Community ...

ASHES: We thank the children of St Mary’s Primary and Immaculate Heart for helping us prepare the Ashes for all the Churches: The children burned their Lenten Promises and psalms left from last year. We also burned the leaves from the ‘Tree of Goodness’ we used in Advent. Special thanks to the Schools for their assistance and the children for the wonderful way they joined Fr Stephen and Bernadette in preparing the 2018 Ashes. The Ashes were distributed in each of the 6 schools in the Ipswich Catholic Community.

A FAMILY OF FAITH

The care we have for our children, parents, and siblings should model how we think about and care for creation. In this sense, Saint Francis of Assisi had it correct from the start: Each aspect of creation is our brother and sister; we are part of the same family, the same community of creation. When I hike and find myself overwhelmed by the beauty of God‘s creation, I am grateful to be a part of this community. The rest of creation cares for you and me; it‘s our duty to care for it, too. And that‘s not just some romantic

birdbath talk; it‘s the meaning of being part of this extended family. —from the book God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude by Daniel P. Horan, OF RCIA - This weekend our Candidates for Initiation will journey to St Stephen’s Cathedral for the Rite of Election. Accompanying them will be those who have been received into the Church recently along with their sponsors, and catechists. As it is not always possible to get to know the candidates, we have included their photos in the newsletter so you are able to put a name to a face. They are a great bunch of people and very committed to deepening their relationship with God by celebrating with our parish community. If you recognise one of the candidates we ask you to make them feel

welcomed and to include them in your prayers as they continue their Christian journey.

Greg, Sam and Ian to be Baptised, Confirmed and received into the church at Easter.

Fiona and Seini to be Confirmed and Nicole, Maree and Sherene have already received into the church at Easter. been received into the church.

SAM GREG

SEINI FIONA NICOLE

IAN

SHERENE MAREE

Pope Francis Ash Wednesday 2018

In his homily, the Pope said the Church gives Christians the 40 days of Lent as a time to reflect on ―anything that could dampen or even corrode our believing heart.‖ ….―Lent is a time to pause and step back from situations that lead to sin, a time to see how God is at work in others and in the world and, especially, a time to return to the Lord, knowing that God‘s mercy is boundless. Lent, the Pope said, is a time ―to allow our hearts to beat once more in tune with the vibrant heart of Jesus. ‖Hitting the reset button, the Pope said, requires taking a pause from ―bitter feelings, which never get us anywhere‖ and from a frantic pace of life that leaves too little time for family, friends, children, grandparents and God. People need to pause from striving to be noticed, from snooty comments and ―haughty looks,‖ he said; instead, they need to show tenderness, compassion and even reverence for others.‖

A REMINDER: THE ANIMATION GROUP WILL BE MEETING ON

WEDNESDAY 21ST FEBRUARY AT 7PM IN THE PARISH OFFICE

LEICHHARDT CARE & CONCERN: Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 20th February, at 9.30am in the former presbytery at Leichhardt (between the school and the old parish hall). New members always welcome, and invited to ‘just turn up’ at this meeting.

Marg Homburg and her family extend sincere thanks to all parishioners of the Ipswich Catholic

Community for their prayers and support and attendance at Egon’s funeral. Please know your

caring words and prayers were greatly appreciated by all of us at this sad time. The Homburg family

ST EDMUND’S COLEGE TWILIGHT TOURS - Wednesday March 7 from 5-00pm – 7-00pm. This is a great opportunity to meet the Principal and staff and tour the College. All enrolled students in year 6 will be in our Eddies’ Rookies Program, which is designed to transition the boys smoothly into High School. We are interviewing boys now for 2019/2020 and look forward to seeing you at our Twilight Tours. Please phone the College enrolments 3810 4448 for any further enquiries.

ST EDMUND’S COLLEGE FOUNDATION DINNER: Saturday March 10 in the College Hall. The evening will commence at 6-30pm , tickets are $100-00 which includes a 3 course meal, beer, wine and soft drinks. Our Special guest speaker is William McInnes – Movie, TV and Author. We can seat you at a table or there are tables of 10 available for booking. Please call Kath at the College on 3810 4448 or 0403 269 955. This will be a fantastic evening.

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER: This year the World Day of Prayer will be celebrated with a prayer service at St Thomas’ Anglican Church, Lawrence Street, North Ipswich. Please come and join in praying for the people of Suriname which is located in Northern South America. The theme for this year’s prayer is All God’s Creation is Very Good. World Day of Prayer provides a great opportunity to gather in ecumenical worship with other Christian denominations. For more information you can access the website www.worlddayofprayeraustralia.org FOR THOSE WHO MISSED OUT THEIR PROJECT COMPASSION

ENVELOPES LAST WEEKEND THERE IS MORE AVAILABLE THIS WEEKEND.

PLANNED GIVING ENVELOPES ARE AVAILABLE

FOR COLLECTION AT THE FRONT OF THE CHURCH

PLEASE TAKE HOME THIS WEEKEND

NEWS FROM AROUND OUR COMMUNITY

“Holiness consists

simply in doing God’s

will, and being just what

God wants us to be.” –

Saint Therese of Lisieux

24 years old French nun in the 1880s

ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT–

Music, Lenten reading & reflection, silent

prayer. Reconciliation available. Wednesday

21 February 7-8pm St Mary’s church.