PARISH OF ST. THERESE, DENISTONE

Presbytery and Office

8 Inkerman Rd, Denistone 2114 Tel: 9809 2925, Fax 9809 5546

Website: www.sttherese.org.au

Parish Priest: Fr Roberto Castillo

Parish Secretary: Gayle White admin@sttherese.org.au

Office hours Tues-Fri 9am-3pm St Therese’s School

448 Blaxland Rd, Denistone 2114 (02) 9874 0412

School Principal: Mr Adam Nolan

MASS TIMES:

SATURDAY VIGIL: 6:00 pm

SUNDAY: 8:00 am and 9:30 am

MONDAY No Mass

TUESDAY 8am Mass

WEDNESDAY through to SATURDAY 9.00 am Mass.

FRIDAY: 9.00 am Mass.

Exposition & Benediction every Friday after Mass

RECONCILIATION Saturday 5pm – 5.45pm or by appointment.

Baptism: Every Sunday at 11am or 11.30am. Please contact Parish Office.

Marriage: By appointment.

Anointing of the sick: Please give names to Father Roberto Castillo

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

13th

/ 14th

February 2016

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON:

When he calls on me, I will answer him; I will

deliver him and give him glory, I will grant him

length of days.

FIRST READING: Deuteronomy 26:4-10

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy

The confession of faith of the elect.

Moses said to the people: 'The priest shall take the

pannier from your hand and lay it before the altar of

the Lord your God. Then, in the sight of the Lord your

God, you must make this pronouncement:

"My father was a wandering Aramaean. He went

down into Egypt to find refuge there, few in numbers;

but there he became a nation, great, mighty, and

strong. The Egyptians ill-treated us, they gave us no

peace and inflicted harsh slavery on us. But we called

on the Lord, the God of our fathers. The Lord heard

our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our

oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with

mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror,

and with signs and wonders. He brought us here and

gave us this land, a land where milk and honey flow.

Here then I bring the first-fruits of the produce of the

soil that you, Lord, have given me." You must then lay

them before the Lord your God, and bow down in the

sight of the Lord your God.'

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Ps 90:1-2. 10-15

RESPONSE: Be with me, Lord, when I am in

trouble.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

and abides in the shade of the Almighty

says to the Lord: 'My refuge,

my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!'

Response.

Upon you no evil shall fall,

no plague approach where you dwell.

For you has he commanded his angels,

to keep you in all your ways.

Response.

They shall bear you upon their hands

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

On the lion and the viper you will tread

and trample the young lion and the dragon.

Response.

His love he set on me, so I will rescue him;

protect him for he knows my name.

When he calls I shall answer: 'I am with you.'

I will save him in distress and give him glory.

Response.

(continued on back page)

SECOND READING: Romans 10:8-13

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans

The confession of faith of the believers in Christ.

Scripture says: The word, that is the faith we

proclaim, is very near to you, it is on your lips and in

your heart. If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and

if you believe in your heart that God raised him from

the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from

the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with

your lips you are saved. When scripture says: those

who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it

makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all

belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however

many ask for his help, for everyone who calls on the

name of the Lord will be saved.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: Matthew 4:4

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless

glory!

No one lives on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of

God.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless

glory!

GOSPEL: Luke 4:1-13

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led by the

Spirit through the wilderness where he was tempted.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and

was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being

tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that

time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry.

Then the devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God,

tell this stone to turn into a loaf.' But Jesus replied,

'Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.'

Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him

in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and

said to him, 'I will give you all this power and the

glory of these kingdoms, for it has been committed to

me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me,

then, and it shall all be yours.' But Jesus answered

him, 'Scripture says:

You must worship the Lord your God,

and serve him alone.'

Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on

the parapet of the Temple. 'If you are the Son of God,'

he said to him, 'throw yourself down from here, for

Scripture says:

He will put his angels in charge of you

to guard you,

and again:

They will hold you up on their hands

in case you hurt your foot against a stone.'

But Jesus answered him, 'It has been said:

You must not put the Lord your God to the test.'

Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the

devil left him to return at the appointed time.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON:

One does not live by bread alone, but by every word

that comes forth from the mouth of God.

READINGS FOR NEXT WEEK:

Gen 15: 5-12,17-18;

Phil 3: 17 – 4:1;

Lk 9: 28 – 36.

PROJECT COMPASSION 2016 –

Learning more, creating change: It's

so apt that our Lenten appeal is called Project Compassion as each year we witness the power of compassion as our supporters raise funds to help people less fortunate than us. So once again we ask for your support by using the envelopes or money boxes provided at the front of the Church, as your generosity makes a

difference to provide vital learning and renewed hope to those most vulnerable to extreme poverty and injustice.

LENT in the YEAR OF MERCY. Reconnect With Christ Thru Listening To The Preaching. Let yourself be caught by the Word of God, just like St Paul was. This Catechesis comes to give clarity to our daily lives and pressures, to encourage us and be an opportunity to see Christ in our day to day events. To live in the Light of Christ. These catechesis are fulfilled in the Gospels, and you have an opportunity to experience these deep fruits for your life. Every Sunday and Wednesday at 7.30 pm, commencing Sunday 14th February in the school hall.

ATTENTION ALL CATECHISTS &

HELPERS: THIS Tuesday the 16th

February a catechist meeting will be held in

the presbytery to discuss the term ahead.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS will run throughout Lent on

every Friday evening at 7.30pm.

Come and meditate and pray on the

Passion of our Lord to prepare well for Easter.

FOR YOUR REFLECTION Pope Francis on Ash Wednesday.

“There can be some obstacles, which close the doors of the heart. There is the temptation of armouring the doors, namely, of living with one’s sin, minimizing it, always justifying oneself, thinking one is no worse than others; thus…one remains closed inside, prisoners of evil. Another obstacle is the shame to open the secret door of the heart. In reality, shame is a good symptom… however; it must never be transformed into dread or fear. And there is a third snare: that of distancing ourselves from the door: it happens when we remain in our miseries, when we brood continually… until we sink into the darkest cellars of the soul. Then we even become familiar with the sadness we do not want, we are discouraged and we are weaker in face of temptations. This happens because we remain alone with ourselves, closing ourselves and fleeing from the light. Let us then be reconciled, let us listen to Jesus who says to those who are tired and oppressed “Come to me” (Matthew 11:28)…

The Gospel that opens Lent invites us to be protagonists, embracing three remedies, three medicines that heal sin (Cf. Matthew 6:1-6.16-18).

In the first place prayer, expression of openness and trust in the Lord: it is the personal encounter with Him, which shortens the distances created by sin.

In the second place is charity, to overcome extraneousness in dealing with others. True love, in fact, is not an external act; it isn’t to give something in a paternalistic way to quiet our conscience, but to accept one who is in need of our time, of our friendship, of our help. It is to live service, overcoming the temptation to satisfy ourselves.

In the third place is fasting, penance, to liberate us from dependencies in facing what is happening and to train us to be more sensitive and merciful. It is an invitation to simplicity and to sharing: to take something from our table and from our goods to rediscover the true good of freedom.

THIS WEEK 13 / 14 FEB 2016

1ST SUNDAY OF LENT SATURDAY 6.00PM SUNDAY 8.00AM SUNDAY 9.30AM

Acolyte J RAPER D ELLIS K GLEESON

Minister of HC J KEYSER T DABBAH (M&H) J MORABITO (M&C)

Minister of HC VOLUNTEER S LOWER (M&H) J PERERA

Reader B CLARK P TREACY N BRIERLEY

Wardens VOLUNTEER N MORRIS K HOLDEN

Offertory DABBAH FAMILY VOLUNTEER FAMILY D BRENNAN

Projection T. MORFUNI NIL K. NGUYEN

Altar Servers GROUP 2: Nicole and

Nichelle Parakelem No rostered group VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Welcomers A CHAN D BRENNAN

Counters Group 5: J LOWER S LOWER J WATT

Altar Flowers K PERERA / S CHAMISA

No Flowers During Lent FEBRUARY ALTAR LINEN: MAUREEN PEARCE

NEXT WEEK 20 / 21 FEB 2016

2ND SUNDAY OF LENT SATURDAY 6.00PM SUNDAY 8.00AM SUNDAY 9.30AM

Acolyte T DABBAH D ELLIS (M&H) A PERERA

Minister of HC J KEYSER Kr PERERA (M&H) Ka PERERA

R HIINI J KWONG J PERERA

Minister of HC D D'MELLO (C)

Reader T DABBAH M PEARCE / S JAYAMANNE J MORABITO

Wardens L SEETO N MORRIS VOLUNTEER

Offertory DABBAH FAMILY VOLUNTEER FAMILY VOLUNTEERS

Projection J. MCLEOD NIL S. PERERA

Altar Servers GROUP 3: Wilson Family No rostered group GROUP 7: Daniel, Rochelle, Gabrielle and

Rebecca Succar

Welcomers A CHAN D BRENNAN

Counters Group 6: C BRERETON S RATH P BRODERICK

Altar Flowers M CUSACK –

No Flowers During Lent FEBRUARY ALTAR LINEN: MAUREEN PEARCE

PARISH NEWS & NOTICES: Please remember in your prayers all who have died recently. We also pray for all who

have anniversaries at this time especially Jack BURKE.

LENTEN PROGRAMMES: LENT is a time of penance, but also it is a time of prayer and reflection. Like in previous years, we are going to have another set of LENTEN REFLECTIONS, the Jubilee of Mercy. Come and be inspired by the face of mercy of our Lord. Our programmes will begin on Wednesday the 17th February. We will be running two sessions on Wednesday’s: one at 10.15am and the other at

7.30pm in the presbytery. If you are interested in attending please add you name to the appropriate clipboard on the table at the front of the church.

24 HOURS OF MERCY WITH OUR LORD: In this Year of Mercy and Lent it is important to make

real efforts to come closer to Our Lord. And once again this year we have an opportunity to do so, by spending time with the Lord in prayer, especially participating in the global initiative of 24 Hours For The Lord. Something the Holy Father Pope Francis wants us to do in a special way. We encourage and urge everybody to join in. Our “24 Hours of Mercy” will be on Friday 11th of March from 11am till Saturday 11am. Last year proved to be a wonderful spiritual experience and we want this to be repeated. So I urge you all to join us in this

Lenten exercise. If you are coming write your name on the clipboard at the front of the church and choose the hour (s) you wish to come, and please bring somebody with you too.