My friend has a delightful little cat that loves to play. Her favourite game is to madly chase a laser beam of light from a torch. Regrettably, the cat never quite captures the elusive beam of light.

Humans are not unlike the little cat. We frantically chase around for the light of insight that might lead us to truth and authenticity. We search for peace and wisdom and chase the mysterious gift of enlightenment.

Today, in the gospel story, we meet the Magi – a group of wise Persian astrologers who begin a journey to find the source of wisdom by employing the tools of their craft of astrology. They follow a star and their journey leads them to Bethlehem. They chase the light and find their source of wisdom – the infant Jesus.

The star symbolises the psychological and spiritual journey they and we must make in order to be truly enlightened. A star is a source of light. It is a symbol of the human spirt seeking guidance in the dark night of ignorance. Like our little cat, we humans need to chase the light. We seek an illumination of spirit. We need a ‘star’ to follow, a ‘star’ that does not lead to an illusory, empty destination.

Today’s gospel reveals that the Star of Bethlehem is the source of spiritual light to which we must hitch our wagon. Our star is the light of God, Creator and author of light. The God who spoke earth’s first illumination “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Gen 1:3); and, as the epochs rolled by, sent his only Son into our world to shine in our midst to radiate the light of the knowledge of God’s glory.

The Star of Bethlehem reveals the divinity in its starkest and simplest form – The Son of God revealed to be a helpless infant lying in a manger. “I, the light, have come into, the world so that whoever believes in me need not stay in the dark anymore.” (Jn. 12:46)

To come into the Light we, like the Magi, must make our own spiritual journey out of darkness. We are given a ‘star’, an interior light to guide us – our conscience. Each person has, imprinted in their heart, a natural instinct for what is good and true as God sees it. Conscience is a light that, if developed and followed, will lead us to God.

The light of conscience is magnified by right choice and good actions. It is intensified by grace in the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist. It is expanded by reflection on the scriptures and the teaching of the Church. It reaches its nadir when we contemplate, love and adore the Christ in his epiphany as the Light comes into the world. The chase ends. We have ‘caught’ the Light!

Michael Gilbert CSsR © Redemptorists 2017

Reprinted from the Sunday Majellan with permission

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - YEAR A

8th January 2017

Sacred Heart

Catholic Parish

PARISH CHURCHES Church of the Sacred Heart

Murwillumbah Street, Murwillumbah

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour

River Street, South Murwillumbah

St. Brigid’s Church Broadway, Burringbar

St. Columba’s Church Convent Lane, Uki

—————————————————

PARISH STAFF

Parish Priest

Fr. Anthony Lemon

Parish Manager

Mary-Ann Thackray

Parish Secretary

Beth Gorton

Pastoral Associate

Barbara Grant —————————————————

PARISH OFFICE

Monday to Friday 9.00am - 3.00pm Phone: 02 6672 1118

Website: www.shpmurwillumbah.com.au

Email: shpmbah@norex.com.au

Mail: PO Box 45 Street: Queensland Road,

Murwillumbah NSW 2484

—————————————————

PARISH SCHOOLS

Mt. St. Patrick College

Murwillumbah Street, Murwillumbah

Ph: 02 6672 2340 mspcmbah@lism.catholic.edu.au

Principal: Mr. Paul Clohesy

Mt. St. Patrick Primary School

Mooball Street, Murwillumbah

Ph: 02 6672 1821

murp@lism.catholic.edu.au Principal: Mr. Brendan Ryan

St. Joseph’s Primary School

Greville Street, South Murwillumbah

Ph: 02 6672 1867

smurp@lism.catholic.edu.au

Principal: Mr. Jason Clarke

Chasing the light

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL MARY MACKILLOP

CONFERENCE meets each Wednesday

at Parish Meeting Centre. New members welcome. “Come Grow With Us”.

Phone: Marie Donaghy 6672 2933

ROSARY STATUE Cathy Martin

In 2017, we are only having one Rosary list and thus, one statue of Our Lady.

COUNTERS:

08 Jan: P & R Marr

15 Jan: P & L McMahon

22 Jan: M & M Cooper

29 Jan: C & J Anderson

05 Feb: D Gillespie & C Kerr

12 Feb: U O’Grady & B Brodbeck

19 Feb: T & P Zambelli

26 Feb: J Morgan & L Green

05 Mar: G & K Bewes

2ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME -

Year A

14/15 January

Sacred Heart Murwillumbah

6.00pm Saturday

Sacred Heart Murwillumbah 8.00am Sunday

Acolyte R Daley P Marr

Altar Servers K McCarthy (C),

E McCarthy, L Grant B Lofts

Readers U O’Grady (C) R

B Cook R T Clothier P/F

F Wright (C) P/F C Wightley R P Callaghan R

Ministers of Communion

L Haigh (C) D Clarke, N Macartney,

K Mumford, B Nolan

MA Thackray (C) J Morgan, M Roberts

J Schiller, A Egan

Hospitality —————— F Berg & B McGrouther

Procession of Gifts —————— Heanes family

Children’s Liturgy No Children’s Liturgy No Children’s Liturgy

The Sacred Heart Church ‘Prayer Chapel’ is open for private prayer on weekdays

THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH 9 - 15 JANUARY

CHURCH CLEANING SANCTUARY & ALTAR

Sacred Heart Church: 8 Jan: C Wightley, P & T Zambelli, N Gear 15 & 22 Jan: B Gorton, M Reynolds, M Trevithick

OLPS Church, Sth M’bah January: MA Thackray

Monday The Baptism of the Lord

9.00am Parish Office re-opens

Tuesday 4.15pm - 5.15pm Adoration - Sacred Heart Church

5.30pm Mass - Sacred Heart Church

6.00pm Rosary - Sacred Heart Church

Wednesday 9.00am Mass - Greenhills Lodge

4.15pm - 5.15pm Adoration - Sacred Heart Church

5.30pm Mass - Sacred Heart Church

Thursday 8.30am Mass - Sacred Heart Church

Friday 10.00am Communion Service - M’bah Nursing Home - C Dennis

10.00am Mass - Heritage Lodge - Fr Anthony

12.15pm Mass - Sacred Heart Church

2.45pm - 3.45pm Adoration - Sacred Heart Church

Saturday 9.00am Rosary - Sacred Heart Church

6.00pm Vigil Mass - Sacred Heart Church

Sunday 2nd SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME - Year A

8.00am Mass - Sacred Heart Church

NO 10.00am today at Burringbar

Readings for next week:

2nd SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME-Yr A

Is 49:3, 5-6; 1 Cor 1:1-3; Jn 1:29-34

FAMILY GROUP “CUPPA” ROSTER

Sunday 12th February

hosted by all Family Group leaders

RECENTLY DECEASED: Henry Kanai (husband of Wendy, Solomon Islands), Tony Clarke, Allan Sharp.

ANNIVERSARIES: John Cummins.

NOTICE BOARD

CALENDAR

~ JANUARY ~ 16 Meals on Wheels - Roster 2

22 3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - A

10am Mass - OLPS, Sth M’bah

Baptisms

26 AUSTRALIA DAY - 9am Mass - SH

29 4TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - A

NO 10am Mass - 5th Sunday

30 Mt St Patrick Primary & St Joseph’s

Primary students Yrs1-6 return to school

31 Mt St Patrick College Yrs 7, 11 & 12 return

~ FEBRUARY ~ 01 St Joseph’s Primary Kinder commences

01 MSPC Yrs 8, 9, 10 return to school

02 The Presentation of the Lord

03 10am Mass - M’bah Nursing Home

05 5TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - A

10am Mass - St Columba’s, Uki

06 Rosary & Prayers - OLPS, Sth M’bah

06 MSPPS Kinder commences Catholic Papers

available in the Church today.

PLEASE PRAY FOR: SACRAMENTS

RECONCILIATION - Sacred Heart: Saturday : 5.30pm - 5.50pm

Sunday: 7.30am - 7.50am

BAPTISMS: Sacred Heart Church - 12.00pm

2nd and 4th Sundays of each month

(At least four weeks notice required)

Baptism Preparation Evening:

7.00pm Parish Administration Centre

on 2nd Tuesday of each month.

Next Evening - Tuesday 14th February

PLEASE NOTE: There will be no 10am Mass celebrated in Burringbar next Sunday 15th January.

CARNIVAL SURVEY!

We would like to hear from you! With a change in venue for the 2016 Christmas Carnival and Nativity Tableau and to help us improve, we would appreciate your feedback and comments on the new venue and your overall satisfaction with the Christmas Carnival and Nativity Tableau. Copies of the survey can be found on the table at the Church entrance. We ask you to complete and return it to the Parish Office. The survey will only take about 5 minutes to complete.

EPISCOPAL ORDINATION OF BISHOP-ELECT HOMEMING OCD

The Episcopal ordination of Fr. Gregory Homiming will take place in St. Carthage’s Cathedral on Wednesday 22 February at 7.00pm. Please keep him in your prayers.

REFLECTION...

The Christmas season reaches an apex with the Epiphany. In some liturgical traditions, it is the central celebration of Christmas. It commemorates not only the birth of Christ and the visit of the Magi, but also his baptism in the Jordan and the manifestation of his glory at the wedding feast of Cana. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the focus is on the visit of the Magi and the implications of that visit for the glorious manifestation of God to all the peoples of the world.

There is a wonderful summons to alertness and presence of mind and heart, a call for all the nations to witness the marvellous works of God that shine as light in the midst of the surrounding darkness. The light of God is known in the ways in which the most vulnerable in the city are cared for and acknowledged. In just action and righteousness, the city becomes the beacon of God, and all the nations are attracted by this light. The quality of the light leads the way through the darkness and sustains the world in goodness and peace.

The manifestation of God among us changes the ways in which we perceive each other. Christ's birth provides us with the light by which we see a new criterion for relating. The Magi represent the multi-ethnic and cultural diversity in civic and parish situations, as well as the many religions of the world. All people, regardless of race or ethnic origin, can be co-heirs with Christ.

© Dianne Bergant CSS

INVEST WITH PEACE OF MIND www.dif.org.au Phone 1800 802 516 Paying 2.15%

Agents: Egan Simpson Solicitors: 15 Prince Street, Murwillumbah.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, marking the end of the twelve days of Christmas, reminding us

afresh of the Christmas carol The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Although a popular piece with a rather secular concern

for gift-giving, the carol probably had its origins during the sixteenth-century English Reformation, when Christmas was abolished and Catholics in England were

prohibited by law to practice their faith either in public or private.

It appears that The Twelve Days of Christmas is a song

of Christian instruction dating to this period, with hidden references to the basic teachings of the Catholic faith. It functioned as a catechetical tool for teaching children the basics of the faith.

The “true love” mentioned in the song is not an earthly suitor, but refers to God. The “me” who receives the

presents refers to every baptised person who is part of the Christian faith. Each of the “days” represents some aspect of the Christian faith that was important for children to learn.

The partridge in a pear tree is Christ Jesus upon the Cross. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a

mother partridge because she would feign injury to decoy a predator away from her nestlings. She was even willing to die for them. The tree is the symbol of the fall of the human race through the sin of Adam and Eve. It is also

the symbol of its redemption by Jesus Christ on the tree of the Cross.

The “two turtle doves” refers to the Old and New

Testaments. The “three French hens” stand for faith, hope and love - the three gifts of the Spirit described by Paul in

1 Corinthians 13. French hens were valued for their beauty and rarity and, hence, they also represent the gifts

of the Wise Men at the nativity, which stood for the three aspects of the Christ as King (gold), God (frankincense), and sacrifice (myrrh).

The “four calling birds” refers to the four major prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel - who told the coming of the Christ, and the four evangelists who wrote

the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - who “sing the song of salvation” through Jesus Christ.

The “five golden rings’ represents the first five books of

the Bible, also called the Jewish Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The “six geese a-laying” is the six days of creation. The “seven swans a-swimming” refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord (1

Corinthians 12:9-10).

The “eight maids a milking” reminded children of the eight beatitudes listed in the Sermon on the Mount. The

“nine ladies dancing” were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit found in Galations 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and

self-control.

The “ten lords a-leaping” represents the Ten Commandments. The “eleven pipers piping” refers to the

eleven faithful apostles who witnessed the resurrection and went on to found the Church. Finally, the “twelve drummers drumming” were the twelve points of belief expressed in the Apostles’ Creed.

Ian Elmer © Redemptorists 2014

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - YEAR A

RESPONSORIAL PSALM: (PS 71)

R: Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

IF SUNG:

R: Lord, every nation will adore you.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: Alleluia, Alleluia!

We have seen his star in the East;

and have come to adore the Lord.

Alleluia!

BAPTISMS: Please welcome

Siennah Rose Felsch & Aviana Mae Felsch

to our faith community.

12 Days of Christmas

“We have seen his star in the East; and have come to adore the Lord.”